Author's Note: College starts up again for me next week. I'll try to continue updating every Sunday, but I can't make any promises.
Chapter 15: Inside the Ruins
Shira got Saber into a sitting position, the latter breathing hard and sweating profusely.
"You're pushing yourself too far," the redhead scolded.
"What are you talking about?!" Saber demanded, his head shooting up as his face reddened; whether due to his weakening condition or his current anger, Shira didn't know. "I have been in much worse situations than this!" He shook off Shira's hand from his shoulder.
"Hey, no matter how many times you've experienced it, pain is still pain." Shira stood, picked Saber up (she fought back her concern about how light he'd gotten—had the mana depletion taken such a toll on his body that he was losing weight, or was he now on the verge of disappearing?), and slung him across her back, stooping a little as she did. "You know, your life would be so much easier if you'd just complain once in a while."
"Shira!" Saber exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"What's it look like? I'm forcing you to take a break," Shira informed him tersely. "Watching you run like that is causing me pain."
"Let go of me!" Saber began struggling against Shira's grasp. He'd fought in wars and come out without a scratch, damn it! And now he was reduced to being carried on the back of his thin, petite Master? "If you think I'm going to fall apart because of—!"
Shira found herself buckling, but luckily kept her balance. "Stop fighting me already!" she snapped. "That's an order from your Master!"
"If he continues to resist," Rin said, "you can always use a Command Seal."
Rin's words caused Saber to stop squirming long enough to glare at her. "That's not fair!"
"Then do as I say!" Shira snapped. "If Ilya and Berserker catch up to us, we're done for."
And with that, the running resumed. It wasn't long before Shira, having to make sure Saber remained on her back, lagged quite a bit behind Rin. It didn't help that his rising body temperature distracted her from trying to run as fast as she could.
"Shira—"
"Don't talk; just rest," she interrupted. "You've done nothing but save me from the minute you were summoned. The least I can do is save you now."
She let out a yelp as her foot suddenly got caught by a root, falling face first onto the grass. Saber grunted from the impact and quickly rolled off of Shira, but remained lying on his side, not having the strength to stand at the moment.
"What's the holdup?" Rin asked, hurrying back to reach them.
"Nothing," Shira said, getting up and facing her Servant. "I just snagged my foot on something. Come on, Saber." She bent down and grabbed the blond by his shoulders to get him to sit up, but before she could get him on her back, Saber removed her hands from him with a sigh.
"This is ridiculous," he stated flatly, "and it ends now."
Shira frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"You must go; you and Rin need to focus on saving yourselves."
"You're the one being ridiculous," Shira protested. "I just tripped; I can easily carry you the rest of the way."
Saber looked up to address Rin. "Rin, I want you and Shira to leave me behind. If she has to carry me, you will never escape. Besides," he smiled sadly, "there is no use in trying to save me."
"Saber, don't talk like that!" Shira exclaimed. She would have said more, but Rin interrupted.
"All right, would you quit your bickering?" the black-haired girl demanded irritably. "Look over there."
Shira turned to face Rin, looking to where the latter was pointing. An ancient stone building—ruins, it looked like, with a lot of moss growing along the walls—was standing a short distance from where they were. Saber made no protest when the redhead slung him on her back, and they and Rin headed to the ruins.
"What is this place?" Shira asked as Rin opened the door.
"Something they've abandoned," Rin told her. "Archer spotted it on our way here and thought we could use it as a hideout."
They walked into the ruins to find a musty-smelling room. The floor was made from the same stone as the walls, the two glass-stained windows were cracked and in need of dusting, and on the far side of the room was a plain bed with only a mattress. Shira had Saber lie down on the bed and sat beside him, while Rin remained on her feet.
"It should be awhile before Ilyasviel finds us," Rin continued. "If we're lucky, we should be able to hide here until daybreak."
"Tohsaka," Shira began quickly, "are you sure you're okay? You know, about Archer...?"
Her voice trailed off awkwardly; maybe it would've been better if she hadn't brought up Archer at all.
For her part, Rin pressed her lips together in a thin line and turned away. "Arrogant bitch," she muttered, loud enough for Shira to hear. "I told her all she had to do was buy us time, but 'buy us time' must mean 'fight until I drop dead' where she comes from."
Shira remained silent, waiting for Rin to continue venting, but the latter soon faced the former with a hardened expression.
"Still, she was my Servant, so I won't let her death be for nothing. Berserker took out Archer; I'm going to take out Berserker." Rin pounded her right fist into her left palm. "I believe that if you have time to worry, you have time to do something about it. So when the time comes, you need to be ready, too."
"Okay," Shira agreed, "but how?"
Rin shifted her gaze to look out one of the windows. "I don't care how strong Berserker is; he had to have come out of that fight with Archer with at least some injuries that are going to weaken him. I have a special stash of gems that I've fortunately brought with me, so if we can get Saber back on his feet, I should be able to come up with a plan to get us out of here."
Shira looked at the flushed, silent Saber gloomily. "But how can we do that if I can't help him?"
"The only thing he needs to get going is more mana," Rin said. "If we can at least give Saber the bare minimum his body requires, then he should be able to recover as he always has."
"Again, how do we do that?" Shira repeated, standing up in her agitation. "If there's any way to save him—any way at all—tell me and I'll do it! Wait a minute," her brain caught up to what she was saying, "if you're gonna tell me to force him to attack someone, you can forget it."
"I'm not suggesting that," Rin said with a hint of impatience. "There aren't any souls for him to take out here anyway. I'm thinking of something a little more reliable. I want to try transferring some of your magic circuits over to Saber."
The blond lifted his head slightly. "Rin, that would—"
But Rin interrupted him. "I'll need to create a state of synergy first, and then reconnect his spiritual pathways." She looked at Shira with a very serious expression on her face. "At this point, a transplant is our only option."
"Transferring magic circuits, huh?" Shira mused. "Fine; if it'll help Saber, let's do it."
Saber stared at the redhead in disbelief as he slowly sat up on the bed. "But to a magus...magic circuits are far more valuable than their own lives!"
And you think you're less valuable than a few measly circuits? Shira thought incredulously. Before she could say as much out loud, though, Rin spoke again.
"And this transfer spell is a bit like ripping nerve endings out of your own body. If we do this, Shira, you're definitely going to feel it."
"I don't care," Shira said, "as long as it works."
"Keep in mind," Rin warned, "that transferring some of your power to Saber means you'll forever be somewhat flawed as a magus. No matter how hard you try, you'll never be able to truly reach your full potential."
"This is far too much to ask of Shira," Saber objected.
"No, it's not," Shira contradicted.
"Are you absolutely sure?" Rin pressed.
"Yes. I already said I'd do anything to save Saber, and if transplanting some circuits is the way to do it, then so be it."
Shira spared a quick glance at Saber, who still looked as though he couldn't believe what she was saying.
"All right; let's begin," Rin said after a pause. She stepped closer to Shira—and suddenly pulled her into a big hug.
Shira's mind promptly went blank, unable to comprehend this uncharacteristic behavior from the normally prickly, stand-offish Rin Tohsaka. Three seconds passed very slowly, and Rin was still hugging Shira as though they'd been as close as sisters their entire lives. Finally, Shira shoved Rin away, her facial expression a mixture of shock at the hug itself and annoyance at the invasion of her personal space.
"What the hell?" she exclaimed.
"It's just some prep work we have to do to start the ritual," Rin snapped. "Trust me, this is going to be just as hard on Saber." She walked away from Shira to stand next to the blond. "In order to put you in the same state of mind, you first need to be thrown a little off balance."
"Oh, and just how are you going to—what are you doing?!" Shira yelled suddenly.
Rin had bent down to Saber's level, grabbed his face with both hands, and kissed him fiercely on the mouth. Shira clenched her fists at her sides as she took note of how Saber stiffened in obvious discomfort the instant Rin's lips touched his. Stop it, Tohsaka—you're scaring him! She found herself resisting the urge to go over there and yank Rin away from Saber before she could do more harm to his mental health.
She also told herself that her extreme reaction had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Rin had dared to kiss Saber in the first place.
At last, the kiss was over, but then Rin proceeded to roughly push Saber—unresponsive and white-faced aside from the feverish flush on his cheeks—onto his back and straddle him.
"In order for the transplant to take effect, we must establish physical contact between each of us," Rin explained without a trace of embarrassment.
"Couldn't you have just poked him or something?" Shira groused.
Rin turned her head towards the younger girl with a pointed glare. "We need to create synergy for it to succeed; this involves you, too. Do you want to save Saber or not?"
Shira bit her lip, then forced herself to walk over to the bed as Rin stood up and went to the middle of the room. Trying not to think too hard about what she was doing, she sat herself on top of Saber, straddling his waist and placing her hands on his shoulders.
Rin's chanting became background noise as Shira gazed down at Saber. His eyes, unusually wide and fearful, stared unseeingly at the ceiling, his lips were parted slightly as if he wanted to scream but couldn't, and his body was still tense. At that moment, he looked much younger than fifteen.
There was no time for Shira to wonder about Saber's behavior; all she could do was give him a soft, reassuring smile. It seemed to work; she felt him relax beneath her and his gaze snapped back into focus.
"Shira..." Saber murmured.
The incantation concluded. Instantly, Shira felt her soul separating from her body, getting closer to Saber and being engulfed in a white light.
When the light faded, Shira found herself falling through what appeared to be a dark cavern. She briefly panicked, her arms and legs flailing uselessly in an instinctive attempt to prevent crashing onto the rocky surface, but she continued to fall. Below her was a glowing white portal, and she closed her eyes against the brightness as she went through it.
The next time Shira opened her eyes, her surroundings had changed again. The sky was a dark red and full of bright red smoke, and she was several feet above a sea of lava, a few rocks not big enough to stand on floating around here and there.
Shira decided that her soul must have entered Saber's mind. Now all she needed to do was find his spiritual core and give him one of her circuits.
She had barely started to go forward when she heard a rumble and the snapping of jaws. Shira whirled around and came face-to-snout with a huge, fire-breathing, European dragon. The dragon flew towards her, and Shira got out of the way before it could take a bite out of her. She hoped the dragon would lose interest in her, but it flew at her again, and Shira had no time to float away before the dragon bit her arm off.
A piercing scream tore from Shira's throat as she felt the sensation of falling, blood and mana flowing freely from her stump of an arm. Her heart sped up as the dragon swooped in on her, its jaws open wide.
Saber!
Everything went black, then Shira's vision was filled with a web of magic circuits, Saber standing in the middle of it. He was unarmored, but still held Excalibur in his hands.
Shira. His voice echoed, coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
Saber... she responded, but that was as far as she got before darkness consumed her again.
Shira kept her eyes closed even as her body returned to the waking world. She could feel the morning sun's rays on her and knew she'd have to get up sooner or later, but she wanted to be lazy for only a few minutes. A vague smile crossed her lips as she pressed her cheek against her pillow. She was so warm, so comfortable; she could get used to this...
Her eyes flickered opened against her will. Huh...what's that white all about...?
"Shira...?"
Is that...? Shira's vision finally cleared, and she saw that what she'd thought was a pillow was Saber's shirt. About half a second later, she realized that what she was lying on was a body.
A very male body.
She let out a short shriek as she quickly got up and as far away from Saber as possible without falling off the bed.
"Um...uh...good morning, Saber," Shira stammered out, staring out into space as her face burned as hot as the lava she had seen in his mindscape. The irony of sharing a bed with Saber last night was not lost on her.
When she looked back at him, she saw that Saber was sitting up with his legs crossed. While his coloring was much better than it had been the night before, his face was still tinged red, likely due to their previously close proximity.
"Good morning to you, too, Shira," Saber replied as calmly as he could.
Shira momentarily paused. "I'm glad to see you're okay."
Saber nodded, the blush fading. "Well, now that I am able to regenerate my mana, it should no longer be a problem."
"Great." Shira grinned. "Looks like the transfer spell worked."
"I would like to apologize, however." Saber's voice had become solemn. "When I was receiving your circuits, I did the best I could to take only what I required, but I am afraid even that was still too much."
Shira just shrugged. "Really, it's fine. I feel like I can still use reinforcement, so the magic circuits we transplanted were probably ones I didn't even use anyway. And besides," she smiled again, "I meant what I said last night. If losing a little potential I have as a magus is the price for saving you, then I'm willing to pay it."
Saber didn't exactly smile, but the redhead could have sworn she heard his voice in her head: Thank you, Shira.
"Well, you two seem to be doing alright." Rin's voice broke the peaceful silence. Both Saber and Shira looked to see that the black-haired girl had woken up and was now standing in front of them.
"It's a good start," Rin went on. "Come on; we've got a battle to plan."
Wordlessly, Shira stood up from the bed, looking at the other girl expectantly.
"As far as plans go," Rin said, "this one's pretty simple. We'll have to ambush them to win—our attacks must be constant so that Berserker has no chance to counterattack, and our finishing blow must be swift and successful."
"Agreed," Saber said.
"So basically, we have to jump them before they can see us," Shira summarized. "But do you really think Berserker is going to let himself get ambushed?"
"That's a good point," Rin admitted. "He has Ilya with him, so she'll be able to pick up on both your and Saber's presence."
Shira's eyes narrowed slightly. "I've noticed you left yourself out. You don't think you'd be able to ambush those two on your own, do you?"
"Of course I can," Rin retorted with a sniff. "It makes perfect sense; you're the one they're after, not me. And even if they were after me, I can mask my presence."
Shira fought against the urge to roll her eyes.
"Saber," Rin spoke once they'd left the ruins to stand in a forest clearing, "how much strength have you recovered?"
"Regular combat will not be an issue," the knight, now wearing his armor, replied.
Rin gave a short nod as she stood in front of a tree, placing her hand on its bark. "That's all we'll need. Saber, I want you and Shira to do your best to keep Berserker's attention. I'll stay hidden and watch for an opening. Shira, you'll need to come up with something to trick Ilya."
"No problem," Shira said. "I'll tell her you left us."
"There is still something that needs addressing," Saber cut in. "I am quite capable of fighting Berserker, but I will not allow Shira to do the same; she is no match for that beast."
"No one's asking her to do that," Rin told him before Shira could open her mouth to say anything. "Once the fighting begins, Shira will fall back and act as your rear support."
Saber frowned. "That is absurd. Shira knows nothing about black magic."
"Actually, I think I can help." So saying, Shira bent down and grabbed a nearby branch. She closed her eyes and mentally pictured the bow she'd seen Archer use, her circuits turning on and pouring mana, slowly and carefully, into the branch. When she opened her eyes, the branch had been reinforced so much that it had transformed into a bow; it wasn't quite the same as Archer's—it was crooked and not particularly impressive-looking—but it would do.
At least the spell worked, Shira thought, looking up to see Rin staring at her in slight surprise. "All I need to do now is come up with arrows the same way I came up with this."
"Okay; that's fine," Rin said, shaking off her surprise and keeping her voice neutral. She looked upward into the branches of the tree. "I'll be up there, watching as things progress. Saber, I'll wait for you to create an opening. Once you do that, I'll come forward with my gems and destroy Berserker."
"Do these gems you have respond to your magecraft, Rin?" Saber inquired as the black-haired girl pulled out almost a dozen multicolored jewels from her pocket.
"I've been saving these up like pennies in a jar since I was young," Rin told him. "Trust me, they'll work." She put the gems back into her pocket. "Let's get going."
As Rin started to walk away, Shira decided that now was a good time to speak to Saber again before any fighting could occur.
"Saber," she began, causing the blond to stop before he could take more than a few paces, "I want you to promise me something."
He turned around, regarding Shira coolly. "Yes? What is it?"
"Whatever happens—even if it'll help in defeating Berserker—I don't want you using your Noble Phantasm," Shira said firmly. "I mean it, Saber; the last thing I want is for you to disappear."
A moment of silence passed; Shira half expected Saber to start arguing with her, but instead, he nodded and said, "I understand. With my current mana levels the way they are, my Noble Phantasm might not work against Berserker anyway. And if I disappeared, I would not be able to win the Holy Grail."
"All right." A light grin tugged at Shira's lips. "That's the Saber I know—someone so calm and single-minded that it's kind of unnerving."
Saber raised an eyebrow, unamused. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Shira's grin merely grew bigger. "Nothing."
"Come on already!" Rin shouted from a distance. "What are you two dawdling for?!"
The redhead gave a start at the volume of Rin's voice, and when she glanced over Saber's shoulder, she could see that the other girl was several feet away and waving her arm impatiently.
Guess our conversation's over, Shira thought as she and Saber started their way across the clearing, not wanting to give Rin more reason to continue yelling.
They hadn't gone more than a few steps before Saber tripped over a root. A brief, surprised exhale escaped from his mouth as he fell forward, and Shira stepped closer and grabbed his arm to steady him.
For a reason Saber could not put his finger on, his heart quickened at his Master's touch.
"Be careful; watch where you step." Shira's voice was in his ear, and Saber was keenly aware of her breath on him, right in the spot where his shoulder and throat connected. Suddenly, every hair on the back of his neck stood erect, and his face was a few degrees warmer than it had been only seconds ago.
"...Saber?" Shira asked, noticing the slight blush on her Servant's face. "What's wrong?"
Saber remained silent a bit longer, pursing his lips. "Nothing," he finally said. "It's just...you still have not let go of my arm."
Shira glanced at her hand, belatedly realizing that Saber was right. Heat rushed to her own face as she quickly removed her hand from Saber's arm and stepped away from him. Awkward silence settled in as the pair busied themselves with not looking at each other.
Honestly, girl; you began the morning by waking up on top of Saber, Shira reminded herself. Something like this was bound to happen.
She was almost grateful for what happened next.
"I found you!"
Ilya's voice rang throughout the clearing. Shira tensed up, her senses on high alert. She vaguely heard the sound of Rin climbing (Ilya better not hear that, she thought) as Saber, his face now blank, stepped forward with the invisible Excalibur at the ready. Not even two seconds later, Ilya and Berserker stepped into view, the former curtsying as if welcoming them into her home.
"I'm surprised," Ilya began pleasantly. "I expected you to run until the very end." Her red eyes flickered to Saber, her lip curling. "Oh. I see Saber's recovered his strength. How disappointing. But really, Shira, it's cute that you think someone like him can actually beat me. The bad news is that all three of you are going to—wait a minute," Ilya cut herself off. "Where's Rin?"
"She's gone," Shira lied smoothly. "She took off a while ago. Knowing her, she's probably out of the forest by now."
"I don't know about that," Ilya countered (Shira felt her stomach clench; if Ilya knew Rin was in the clearing with them, their plan was doomed). "This forest is an Einzbern barrier. If Rin had left, I would've known about it." Her brows furrowed slightly. "Guess I'll have to kill her later."
Shira felt the knots in her stomach lessen slightly. Okay, that was good; for all Ilya knew, Rin was running around trying to escape.
"On the other hand, Shira," Ilya continued, "if you and Saber were to start begging for your lives, I might reconsider killing you."
"I have a better idea," Shira said. "If you walk away right now, Ilya, no one has to get hurt."
"Sorry, but I have to follow my grandfather's orders. As long as I have Berserker, I'm the Einzbern Master, which means I have to kill the other Masters and bring home the Holy Grail."
"Fine. If you won't do this the easy way, then as Saber's Master, I'm just gonna have to defeat Berserker and make you back down."
Ilya's eyes glittered coldly. "Then I guess you're going to die." And without another word, red, glowing patterns appeared all over her body.
Shira gasped in astonishment.
"Ilyasviel's Command Seal," Saber muttered from beside her.
That thing is a Command Seal? was all the redhead could think. The pattern covering Ilya's body was enormous; it made the Command Seals Shira had look like cheap knockoffs in comparison.
"Playtime's over," Ilya stated, now glowing red.
Berserker's sudden roar was enough to shake the earth; he roared and roared as though going insane, his body radiating with mana.
"Go on, Berserker!" Ilya cried. "Kill anything in your way!"
The mad, snarling giant jumped forward, and Saber ran towards him with a battle cry. Berserker landed in the middle of the clearing with a thud, his sword swung downward. Saber parried the blow, leapt backward, then dashed at Berserker with an attack of his own. The two Servants traded blows for the next few seconds; a particularly powerful strike by Berserker sent Saber reeling backward.
The knight doubled over, clutching his side, and Shira could almost feel the pained grimace on his face even though his back was to her. Fear coiled her insides, just as it had that night during Saber's first battle with Berserker. She must have not done a good job of hiding how afraid she was, because Ilya chose that moment to speak.
"Their difference in power is so obvious. If Berserker's sword so much as scratches him, your little Servant will be ripped to shreds."
Saber barely managed to evade Berserker's next few attacks. The huge sword came down; Saber blocked it, causing sparks to fly, and jumped away from another swing. But there was no time to even take a breath before Berserker struck; a grunt escaped Saber's lips as he lifted Excalibur to clash against his opponent's weapon.
He's nearing his limits. Without allowing any time to second guess herself, Shira snatched another branch from the ground and quickly changed it into an arrow. She nocked the arrow into the bow she was still holding, aimed at Berserker, and let the arrow fly.
It deflected harmlessly off of Berserker's head, but it caused his attention to divert from Saber to Shira, which was exactly what the redhead intended.
"Berserker," Ilya spoke firmly, "don't bother with Shira for now. We can deal with her after you've crushed Saber."
And with that, Berserker returned his focus to Saber. He swung his sword to the ground, creating cracks in the earth and causing dust to rise. Saber leapt away from a crack speeding toward him and blocked Berserker's next swing.
Shira stared as Saber clashed against Berserker again and again, hating herself for being so useless. For all the good her bright idea of distracting Berserker did, it would've been just as well if she'd done nothing. If she tried to attack right then and there, it would only cause Saber even more problems.
There's nothing I can do. Saber's going to collapse sooner or later, and there's nothing I can do—!
Suddenly, Archer's words came rushing back to her: "You only have one skill, so it is imperative that you master it. Never forget that you should always be visualizing yourself at your most powerful."
Visualize... But Shira was ripped away from her thoughts by the sound of Saber's yelp. She gasped as she watched the knight be knocked away by Berserker. The giant advanced towards Saber, who defiantly stared up at his opponent even as he struggled to his feet.
A bow isn't gonna cut it with this guy, Shira thought. I need something stronger. I need—
The image of Caliburn flashed in her mind.
I need a sword.
Berserker slashed at Saber, the strength of the former's blow enough to shatter the latter's armor. The blond stared in numb shock as his armor disappeared, leaving him in only his blue shirt and black leggings, then his expression hardened as he charged forward, Excalibur raised. Berserker's sword powerfully struck against the invisible blade in an attempt to break it as well. Slowly but surely, Saber successfully managed to knock the sword away and force Berserker back, gritting his teeth from the effort.
"Saber!" Rin called. "Out of the way!"
The words were barely out of Rin's mouth before she launched out of the trees. She quickly recited a spell and threw several gems in Berserker's direction. He deflected most of them with his sword, but one gem hit him in the arm, causing ice to spread all over both the limb and his weapon. Undaunted, Berserker reached out with his other arm and snatched Rin from the air.
If this were anyone else, it may have posed quite the problem, but Rin only smirked.
"I had a feeling this would happen. Gotcha!" She threw a few more gems at Berserker, and a tiny explosion occurred on impact.
Shira watched on with bated breath as Berserker, whose entire head was hidden by smoke, crashed to the ground. "Did that kill him?" she wondered out loud.
The smoke cleared, and although Berserker's face, head, and neck were all blackened by the explosion, they were still connected to the rest of his body. And if that wasn't enough, the overly large hand still holding Rin was tightening its grip.
The black-haired girl gasped. "No way...that's impossible!"
The gems that were thrown clearly should have been the end of the giant, and yet, he was somehow still alive.
"I guess I need to change my opinion of you, Rin," Ilya remarked. "I can't believe you actually managed to take one of Berserker's lives."
One of his lives?! Shira's eyes widened in complete shock.
"Unfortunately for you," Ilya went on, "Berserker won't die unless you kill him a total of twelve times."
Rin seemed just as stunned as Shira. "Twelve times?!"
Ilya nodded smugly. "I'm sure you know the legend. Hercules had to go through the twelve labors to repent for his sins, and the reward he received was a form of immortality."
"A stockpile of lives," Rin interjected faintly. "Multiple layers of resurrection spells."
"That's why killing Berserker is going to be a problem. It's a curse of immortality that forces him to live through the deaths that he avoided in life."
As Ilya spoke, Berserker's head began regenerating, looking just as it did before Rin's gems tried to blow it off. "It's called the God Hand. It's Berserker's Noble Phantasm. That attack of yours may have taken one of his lives, but he has seven more to go."
"You've got to be joking!" Rin exclaimed, sounding as if her whole understanding of the world had been shattered. "We've got to kill this damn thing seven times?!"
"Rin! Get out of there!" Saber yelled.
"Berserker!" Ilya trilled, pointing up at Rin. "Turn her into mush!"
And Berserker was all too willing to comply.
Author's Note: Before anyone asks, I used the transfer spell from the anime/Realta Nua instead of the sex from the original version of the visual novel for the following reasons:
1. Transferring mana through magic makes a lot more sense and is a lot less stupid than "lol let's shag."
2. As a virgin, I wouldn't be very comfortable writing about explicit sex. Heck, I sometimes feel awkward simply writing about kissing, for Pete's sake.
3. Saber darn near went catatonic just because Rin planted one on him. If he was told that a way to replenish his mana was to have Shira sleep with him, he probably would've died anyway due to heart failure.
In summary, Shira takes a little excursion up De Nial and chills with dragons in Saber's head, the UST between our gender-flipped couple has left them feeling awkward and confused, and Berserker is in the middle of fulfilling Ilya's order to turn Rin into a pancake for breakfast.