Chapter 18: Decisive Battle
Lightning flashed across the dark sky, illuminating Ryudou Temple for only a second. It was still raining by the time Shira, Saber, and Rin finally reached the stairs that led to the temple, the trees surrounding the mountain providing little protection from getting wet. However, Shira could hardly think of how soaked and chilled she was at the moment.
"Sakura..." she muttered. It hadn't taken too long for them to get to their destination—a little over half an hour would be her estimate—but that wouldn't mean anything if Caster had decided to do away with Sakura in between the moment she'd captured her and now.
Rin must have noticed the worried note in Shira's voice. "It's okay. She's fine."
"You can sense it?" the redhead asked.
"Caster said it herself: her only objective is to sacrifice Sakura," Rin continued, looking away and ignoring Shira's question. "She won't kill her because she needs her."
"But why did Caster abduct Sakura in the first place?" Saber wanted to know. "I was under the impression that she did not possess any magical talents."
"Sakura has magic circuits," Rin said simply, still not looking at either Saber or Shira. "And she also comes from a long line of magi."
Shira stared at the black-haired girl's back quizzically; she was still trying to wrap her mind around the notion that Sakura apparently had the capacity to use magecraft. Sure, she knew the Matous were a magi family, but she also knew their magical powers were dried up. If Shinji hadn't had magic circuits, why would Sakura have any?
Rin's voice broke Shira out of her musings. "Let's go; we can't waste any more time. Sakura's as good as dead if we don't do something quickly."
And with that, Rin proceeded to run up the stone steps, Saber and Shira following after her. After a few minutes, the first flight of stairs had been crossed, and they would have continued running up the smaller flight if Rin hadn't suddenly stopped dead in her tracks with a slight gasp.
"Rin, what is it?" Saber asked after nearly five seconds of silence.
"This way." Instead of hurrying up the remaining steps, Rin got off of the staircase entirely to walk into the woods, and Shira and Saber had little choice but to follow.
What's gotten into her? Shira wondered when they stopped again in front of an area of the mountainside flanked by trees. It was another thing that she couldn't figure out. She had assumed Sakura and Rin barely knew each other, yet the latter seemed even more concerned than she was about the former's welfare. Why? Granted, Rin wasn't nearly as heartless as she pretended to be, but her reaction over the plight of a girl she'd had spent only about a week or less around seemed pretty extreme.
At present, Rin stepped closer to the mountainside, holding her hand out in front of her and chanting a spell. As soon as she touched the rocky surface, a black and red portal appeared, and she, Saber, and Shira stepped inside to find themselves in a dark cavern.
After a few minutes of running, they came to the end of the tunnel, stopping at a staircase that sloped downward, a stone arch directly above where they stood. What was before them looked almost like a small town, albeit underground. On both sides of several flights of stairs were many little houses, and the stairs led to a place overlooking the houses, surrounded by Greek pillars.
"Can you believe it?" Rin asked rhetorically, her voice humorless. "Caster's really outdone herself."
"How's she able to create all this?" Shira wondered out loud.
"Magic," Rin answered, not elaborating further. "But right now, we've got bigger things to worry about."
It was true; even as Rin spoke, bony, skeletal beings walked out of the houses and slowly advanced towards them. Without another word, Shira, Saber, and Rin launched themselves at the skeletons. Rin fired Gandr Shot after Gandr Shot at their enemies, blowing them to bits, while Shira and Saber hacked the skeletons that came after them to pieces with Kanshou and Bayuka and Excalibur respectively.
Caster's minions weren't at all a threat, but with every skeleton that was destroyed, at least five more took its place. It wasn't long before dozens of skeletons were facing them, their backs to the stone arch the three had previously stood under.
"We're getting nowhere with this," Shira complained.
But seeing the stone arch seemed to give Rin an idea. "Saber! Above you!"
Saber gave a short nod, apparently understanding. He leapt forward, Excalibur raised, while Rin fired a series of black spheres at the pillars holding the arch together. Saber sliced at both the pillars and the rocky wall, the resulting debris crushing all of the skeletons. The knight landed on his feet in front of Shira and Rin, and they hurried up the stairs to where Caster was surely holding Sakura hostage.
They had gone up two flights of stairs when a sudden gust of wind forced them to halt. The wind passed as quickly as it had come, and a glance upward revealed that a purple-clad samurai stood at the top of the third flight of stairs.
"Assassin." Shira heard Saber gasp softly from behind her.
Assassin turned his gaze to the blond. "Why are you so surprised? You know very well that I am the gatekeeper here."
Saber, Shira, and Rin all tensed, but Assassin only said, "You two Masters can relax. Both of you are invisible to me."
"What do you mean?" Shira pressed, even as she allowed herself to obey the samurai.
"My only duty is to eliminate Servants," Assassin explained calmly, "so I will face off with Saber, the most capable Servant of all. It makes no difference to me if these two slip by in the process."
Saber paused only briefly. "Very well, then. Shira, Rin, go on ahead."
Shira turned around to stare at Saber. "What?"
Rin answered before Saber could say anything. "There's no time for any arguing; we have to go."
The redhead bit her lip; it wasn't like she thought Assassin would pose a serious problem for Saber, but leaving him behind didn't sit well with her.
"Just...be careful, okay?" was all Shira said to her Servant.
Inexplicable warmth rose in Saber's chest. Any other time, Shira fretting over his safety would have confused or annoyed him, but now it was almost...endearing, he supposed.
Nonetheless, he did not stop to ponder what that meant. "You take care as well," Saber told Shira, trying to keep his face stoic (and not entirely succeeding).
Nodding quickly, the redhead turned around and ran up the steps with Rin, leaving Saber alone with Assassin.
"You have my thanks," the knight said.
"Oh, there's no need to thank me," Assassin replied blandly. "I simply wish to enjoy this fight for as long as possible. Being summoned by a Servant, there's only so much mana my body has."
As if to emphasize his point, Assassin's body suddenly glowed with magical energy, the white color making him appear ghostly. "I don't even know if I have enough to last until morning," he added as he pointed his katana at Saber.
In response, Saber readied his sword.
At last, Shira and Rin had raced up the last flight of stairs. They could now see that the pillars they'd seen from a distance once they had entered Caster's underground hideout were circling a large, round pit, but there didn't seem to be any sign of either Caster or Sakura.
How much farther do we have to go? Shira thought in frustration as she and Rin hurried forward. But all her mental grumblings ceased once they looked down into the pit.
"Sakura!" Rin breathed.
Indeed, there Sakura was. She was standing on top of a dark red altar, dressed in a black, skintight bodysuit and surrounded by a red magic circle. Shira and Rin were too far away to see her face, but they could just barely hear her ragged, shallow gasps, sounding as if she had just run a ten-yard dash.
"Sakura!" Rin repeated loudly, getting ready to run over to her.
Sudden footsteps reached Shira's ears, and she swiftly turned to see Kuzuki with his fist outstretched, right in the direction of Rin's head.
"Tohsaka!"
Barely a second later, Shira rushed in between Rin and Kuzuki, raising Kanshou and Bayuka in front of her to prevent Kuzuki from smashing his fist into the back of Rin's skull. Startled, the black-haired girl stopped and turned back, momentarily forgetting about her current goal.
"Nicely blocked," Kuzuki remarked tonelessly as he stepped away, lowering his fist. "You must be accustomed to being ambushed."
Shira ignored him. "Tohsaka," she began, "I can handle this guy. Just focus on saving Sakura."
She didn't have to look to know that Rin was fine with that arrangement. No sooner had the older girl hurried away did Kuzuki remove his glasses again and place them in his pocket. He charged forward, his fists at the ready, and Shira barely had enough time to parry his blow.
For the next few minutes, that was all Shira did: block Kuzuki's punches with her twin blades before he could hit her. The man's attacks were fired in quick succession, not allowing the redhead any time to formulate a countermeasure.
I don't know how long this can go on, Shira thought as she blocked yet another punch. Just then, she heard a scream that sounded like Sakura. She took her eyes off of her own fight to look down at the pit. She watched fearfully as pink light shot upward from the magic circle, Sakura glowing purple with mana. Was Caster trying to summon the Holy Grail already? No! We can't be too late!
"Hold on, Sakura!" Rin cried.
But Shira never saw what happened next. Kuzuki took advantage of her momentary distraction by rushing at her and punching her in the face. She reeled back, and before she could regain her bearings, Kuzuki had punched her two more times, sending her flat on her back.
She rolled over onto her stomach, crawling along the rocky ground to hide behind a pillar. She slowly stood up, her breath coming out in pants and Kanshou and Bayuka miraculously still in her hands. Shira was positive that her nose had been broken by Kuzuki's latest blows, but even now, she felt it in the process of healing.
Her brief respite was shattered the instant Kuzuki smashed his fist into the pillar, just barely missing her head.
The clanging of steel filled the air as Saber's sword clashed with Assassin's katana. Saber swung at Assassin's feet, but his opponent expertly avoided the attack and made to strike again. The knight parried the blow and continued slashing at the samurai, who blocked each one.
For the second time in as many minutes, both blades collided with each other, sparks flying, and Saber leapt back a little.
Assassin chuckled. "Such impeccable swordplay. I would expect nothing less from you, Saber."
"I could say the same about you." Saber lunged forward, swinging Excalibur, but Assassin evaded his fierce strikes. He struck against the katana, hoping to disarm his opponent, and Assassin counterattacked. The force of the blow send Saber flying backward, and he landed on the stone surface dividing one flight of stairs from the next.
"I cannot remember the last time I fought someone with such a composed technique," the knight continued. "You said your name was Kojiro?"
"Just call me Assassin," the other man said. "'Kojiro' never actually existed. He's a man with a forged past and a master swordsman only in the minds of people."
Saber's face betrayed none of his surprise at this declaration. "Are you telling me that you are a fictional hero?"
"I am," Assassin said simply. "I have no place to go back to or any wishes I want granted; I'm just a nameless swordsman acting out the role of Kojiro Sasaki. So," his face hardened as he raised his katana, "this battle here," he rushed towards Saber, who blocked the attack just in time, "is all I wish."
And with that, the fight resumed. What followed was a series of furious strikes from both combatants, more sparks flying as the two blades clashed. But no matter how many times one Servant launched an attack, the other would deflect and deliver an attack of their own. At last, when Assassin attempted a horizontal slash, Saber blocked it aggressively, pushing Excalibur against the katana and gritting his teeth from the effort. The power behind his blow was enough to force the samurai back a few paces, but he lunged forward before Saber could do anything else.
Saber just barely managed to parry Assassin's strike, and the former followed up on it by rushing forward, swinging his sword in the latter's direction. Assassin was able to sidestep the attack, getting away with only a long, thin scratch on his face. After trading a few more blows, Saber abruptly stopped, gasping as he noticed the column of pink light up ahead. Sakura!
But there was no time to worry about Sakura being used as Caster's sacrifice. Saber tore his gaze away from the light to see that Assassin was charging towards him. The knight jumped out of the way of his opponent's attack and, with a battle cry, swung Excalibur downward. Assassin lifted his katana before the sword could slice up his face, and Saber rained more strikes against him. The samurai was forced to step backward as he parried Saber's attacks, but a slight smirk had crossed his face. A few seconds later, Saber understood why.
"Damn it!" he cursed. At this point, both Servants stood on the very flat stone surface rather than the stairs.
"That's right." Assassin's smirk broadened. "Now that I'm on level footing, I can finally unleash my Turning Swallow Strike."
Saber forced back a frustrated exhale, scanning the area for any means of evading Assassin's technique. Even so, he knew it was a hopeless endeavor; when executed properly, the Turning Swallow Strike left no room for defense. During Saber's first fight with Assassin, he'd only been able to block the technique because the samurai was unable to send three strikes at him. Now, though, Assassin had the advantage, and no matter what Saber did, whether he tried to rush him or hurry onward to where Shira and Rin had gone, the Turning Swallow Strike would be used.
The knight briefly turned his gaze to the circle of pillars up ahead. The pink light had disappeared, but he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. For all he knew, Caster had gotten her hands on the Holy Grail and Sakura, Rin, and—he suddenly felt his insides clench—Shira were dead.
"This is a fight to the death," Assassin said presently, causing Saber to look back at him. "Stop thinking about what will happen next."
A snarl rose from Saber's throat, and he impulsively rushed forward, slashing at his opponent. Assassin blocked the attack, but Saber exerted more force against the katana.
"You and I were called forth to fulfill certain duties," the samurai spoke as the blades continued to clash. "Just as it's my duty to guard this gate, you too have something to protect. There's nothing to be hesitant about. And besides, need I remind you that you're not the only one who's almost out of time?"
Saber regarded Assassin coolly. "My apologies. You're right; neither of us has time to spare."
So saying, Excalibur began to glow as mana was released, forcing Assassin to slightly retreat. Saber readied his sword, the glow having faded, and the other man lifted his katana, pointed horizontally and at level with his head.
Assassin closed his eyes. "Secret technique." His eyes snapped open a scant few seconds later. "Turning Swallow Strike!"
The katana struck, not once, not twice, but three times simultaneously. However, Saber's sharp eyes had suddenly spotted an opening—a very small opening in between Assassin's left arm and waist—and with a battle cry, he charged at that opening with all his might—
Clang!
And the two Servants were now standing some feet apart, their backs to each other. Aside from his armor being chipped, Saber remained unharmed from the Turning Swallow Strike. He turned around to face Assassin, and his opponent did the same, wasting no time in hurrying forward, the katana ready to strike.
But as fast as Assassin was, Saber's own attack was a bit quicker. The latter slashed at the former, who let out a pained grunt as blood spewed from his chest. And with that blow, the fight was over.
Saber watched silently as the dying Assassin tensed up to prevent himself from falling.
"Go," was all the samurai said, and Saber promptly turned around to hurry up the stairs, not looking back for an instant.
Shira scrambled out of the way as shards of the broken pillar fell to the ground. She whirled around to face Kuzuki, charging forward with a yell. Kanshou and Bayuka sliced through the air as Shira swung the broadswords at Kuzuki, but her opponent dodged and sidestepped every blow that came his way.
After quite a few rounds of this, Kuzuki ran towards Shira, his fist aimed at her face, and she blocked his attack just in time. She dodged his next punch, then raised Bayuka, preparing to stab him. He merely turned to the left to evade her, dodged her next swing, and punched her in the stomach, causing her to fall to the ground with a yelp.
She got to her feet, ignoring the pain, her swings becoming more wild and aggressive. Kuzuki parried her blows, and soon Shira was on the defensive again, the sound of ringing metal filling her ears as she blocked the older man's punches. The power behind Kuzuki's attacks forced her to step backward until her back hit a pillar, and she swiftly jumped away to avoid his fist.
Scarcely a few seconds later, Kuzuki was rushing towards Shira, who raised Kanshou and Bayuka to protect her face. The punch her opponent delivered was enough to smash both blades into pieces. Shira's eyes widened in slight shock as both the shards and the hilts faded away, and the next punch Kuzuki delivered sent her flying. A shrill scream tore from her throat as she fell, landing face first on the ground of the pit.
"Shira!" Rin exclaimed nearby. The redhead didn't answer as she struggled to get up, dimly hearing Kuzuki descending some stairs and walking to where they were.
"Master," came Caster's voice, "please go inside. I can handle these two all by myself."
At this point, Shira managed to stand up and walk to where Rin was holding an unconscious Sakura. "Tohsaka, can you get out of here?"
"Unfortunately, no," Rin responded lowly.
"I have quite a finish in store for you," Caster said silkily. She lifted her hand, her palm facing Shira, and a glowing ball of energy appeared. The glow intensified as Caster prepared to fire.
"Shira! Stand back!"
Shira turned around just in time to see Saber leaping into the pit towards Caster, his sword raised. Caster's glowing energy disappeared and was immediately replaced by a purple, transparent force field. Excalibur hit the quickly constructed barrier, causing sparks and light to emit from the latter, and Saber jumped back to stand next to his Master.
"There's no way you can defeat me," Caster said smugly, "not after being struck by my Rule Breaker. You of all people should realize this, Saber, so don't be such a fool."
Saber clenched the hilt of Excalibur, unpleasantly reminded of the fact that his sword's full power was currently sealed.
"This temple is an extension of myself," Caster continued. "Without your Noble Phantasm, do you truly believe you can destroy an entire city?"
The witch paused thoughtfully, turning her hooded face in Shira and Rin's direction. "You know, perhaps I should sacrifice both of you. It would definitely allow us to see the Holy Grail at its finest. However," now her attention was solely on Shira, "depending on your cooperation, I may be persuaded to spare the life of Saber's Master."
"At what cost?" Shira asked.
Caster smiled wickedly at the knight. "All Saber would have to do is become my slave. I'm certain you would be a far better pawn than my late Assassin was."
Shira froze at that declaration. She didn't look to see Saber and Rin's reactions, but she heard the former's jaw clench. Her lips parted, but before any words came out of her mouth, an unfamiliar, masculine voice broke in.
"That's enough. It seems to me that you have forgotten your place, lowlife."
Caster gasped as she, Shira, Rin, and Saber turned in the direction of the voice. There, up at the edge of the pit, stood a blond-haired man wearing golden armor (a Servant, no doubt...but how could there be eight Servants?). However, as unexpected as the man's arrival was, it wasn't the most shocking part: behind him, a large red wall (or at least what looked like a wall to Shira) concealed about a quarter of the underground temple from view, with hundreds of weapons embedded in it.
"You have become nothing more than a fool grasping at straws." The man spoke with an arrogant, disdainful air, and Shira was strongly reminded of Shinji. "Watching this event play out has been rather amusing; however, that last statement of yours went too far, Caster."
His eyes were cold as he stared at the witch. "You disgusting little magus! You presume that you're at liberty to take the King's tools whenever you wish?"
"I am nobody's attack dog!" Saber burst out, surprising Shira with the ferocity with which he glared at the golden-armored Servant.
But Saber's proclamation was ignored. "There's only one punishment for such a despicable crime. So long, mongrel."
With those last three words, the weapons which had stayed motionless up until now shot into the pit.
"Master!" Caster cried as she hurried in front of Kuzuki, conjuring up another force field and managing to block some of the projectiles. But while she had been effortless in deflecting Saber's Excalibur, it was clear that trying to do the same against so many weapons was more difficult.
Three swords appeared from nowhere and placed themselves in the Servant's hand. He threw them in Kuzuki's direction—
And Caster dispelled the force field to get closer to her Master, screaming as all three blades hit her instead.
Author's Note: Yes, it's Gilgamesh, the Sumerian King we all love to hate.
In summary, Assassin is pwned by Saber, but at least got to have the fight he wanted; Shira tries fending off Souichirou "My Fists Can Punch Out Servants" Kuzuki with limited success; Sakura is obviously not sacrificed for the Holy Grail; and Gilgamesh shows his face just to be a prick (and apparently was never taught how to share).