Day four of this War. Rider is with me while the girls are out doing their own thing. We have plans to make, fights to prepare for, so much to do. The sisters in the church helped me raise Rider's parameters, increasing his Agility to A-rank and his Magic to B. Today, I plan on grinding in the Arena until so we can raise his Luck. I don't know how someone can hack Luck into someone, but we are in a glorified computer program. Anyway, higher Luck can only be a good thing. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I said, perhaps we should take a break and head to the Arena."
"Alright. Sounds like a good idea." It doesn't take us very long to get to the Arena. The various programs are often killed in a single swing of Balmung. I wonder if the programs are weak because the War has just begun? It would make sense, in a roundabout kind of way. The Masters and Servants that made it to later rounds would need to be prepared to fight each other, where they can all be assumed to be stronger than the fallen. Stronger, smarter, better. If the original goal of the Moon Cell was to observe humanity, then forcing them to improve, to adapt in conditions of its choosing would be beneficial to that goal. Who knows how many Wars came before this one. Wait a minute.
Is that Sakura? "Sakura!" I run to her side. "Sakura, are you alright?" She seems to be in pain. "Sakura, what happened to you?"
"I came to warn you. And then I was attacked by a Servant."
"Rider, stay close. I think we might have a second run-in with Assassin."
"Why are you so worried about me? I'm just an NPC." This beautiful young woman seems resigned to that fact.
"And I see a person who needs help. If you're trying to convince me to leave you, you'll need to do better than that." A cruel laugh rings out.
"I knew you'd take the bait. You men are so predictable. Place a woman in distress and you'll come running. You always have to be the hero, thinking that you'll be rewarded with sex."
"Assassin? I take it you didn't enjoy the irony."
"I have every intention of taking my time with that bitch. She's far too soft to be Cinder Fall."
"And you seem to like the sound of your own voice."
"I think I'll keep you alive. Yes, I'll let you watch as I turn that little girl into my personal toy. Then I'll have her skin you alive. The protector being murdered by the protected. A fitting irony, don't you think?" Rider found her. Whatever method she used to come back from the dead seemed to have unhinged her. "How dare you!"
"How dare I? Like this." Rider began his assault on the Servant. "You are an idiot, Assassin. Monologue to your enemy when they are dead. Not before." Rider seems to have her on the defensive.
"Kick her ass, Rider!"
"Find her Master. She brought him back with her, so she probably needs him to keep existing." I pick her up, bridal style.
"Can you take me to him? I don't know how long Rider can keep her occupied." I follow her directions, the cacophony of the Servants raging behind me.
"I am the Fall Maiden!" Assassin activated her Noble Phantasm. Troublesome, but still within my ability to defeat.
"And that is a very important sounding title, but so far it has not helped you harm me." She's rather easy to provoke, very much unlike the disposition of the woman described by Caster. "Caster would be ashamed. She isn't this easy to enrage, and my Master has been actively trying for the past day. Then again, I guess that just means she is the more mature of the two." Assassin isn't playing to the strengths of her Class. She keeps trying to use brute force, no real technique or skill. Her scimitars lash out at me, only to be turned aside. "Even Caster is more skilled than you." Her attacks, though fast, are all B-rank. Nothing she used broke through my Noble Phantasm. "Is that all?"
'Rider, keep her occupied as long as you can. I have Sakura and am currently trying to find her Master.'
'As you command.' Balmung broke her right scimitar. Why would she try to block? She quickly took flight, just outside of my range. Her eyes, tellingly, are crazed. My Master seemed to be right.
"Behold! This is the full power of the greatest of the Maidens! Witness this Ceremony, and know despair! The Dragon that I alone command! A Grimm Ceremony!" She's pulling a massive amount of prana. To summon a dragon is no small feat. To slay a dragon is even greater, however.
The dragon makes its appearance. Rather, a wyvern. A magnificent specimen, but both smaller and weaker than Fafnir. I can feel it. The external skull, exposed ribs, dorsal spikes. Yes, this is a divine beast. This is a powerful trump card to play, enough to destroy a great number of Servants. However, it is still a dragon, and thus mine to kill. A powerful trump card this beast may be, but it is still a dragon against one of the dragonslayers.
Balmung responds to the beast's appearance, becoming lighter, more solid, sharper, superior. The fluid dripping off of the beast is forming a horde of monsters, a horde that grows with every second. Yes, I can understand why this would require so much prana to summon. That horde would be able to overwhelm almost any Servant, eventually reaching the vulnerable Master, assuming Assassin didn't get there first. Now there's an interesting thought. The horde, the dragon, Assassin. A three pronged attack that would all but ensure victory.
"Impressive, is it not?"
"Indeed it is. Such a shame." I brought Balmung up, guard level with my eyes. "You demonstrated your Noble Phantasm without regard for any tricks your opponent may have. Your sin is your arrogance, your crime is to attack my Master. Collapse." The jewel blinded the horde and the dragon, such was its radiance. Regardless, the horde charged. Bipedal wolves, massive bears, black scorpions, enormous crows. All of them shared the traits of the dragon that spawned them. An ear-splitting roar ripped free, showing that the jaw went all the way down its neck. An impressive display. A show of force that few Noble Phantasms can achieve.
All of it was depressingly futile.
"Balmung." The cursed holy sword of the Nibelungs hungered for the blood of the dragon before me, and that hunger showed. The shining wave was absolute in its destruction, uncaring of the fact that the lesser beasts were not truly dragons. A dragon had spawned them, and dragonspawn would not be spared. The radiant twilight surged inexolerably towards the dragon. No matter how it maneuvered, Balmung had caught the scent and would not, could not, be denied its prey. Assassin was swept aside, her broken body consumed by the sparkling light, a sight so beautiful, not even she could sully it. Indeed, even a woman as vile as her seemed to be at peace, at rest within the rushing torrent that caressed her flesh, whispered through her hair, and destroyed her soul for it was the source of the dragon. A dragon that was overtaken, rent in two. The onrush cared little for such things, and ensured to carve the very meaning of agony into its immortal soul.
It took one second for the ultimate Noble Phantasm of Cinder Fall to be destroyed, while it took ten to construct it.
'Master, Assassin has been defeated.'
'Damn, Rider. Overkill much?' My Master's voice was quite shaken.
'Are you harmed, Master?'
'I'm fine, but DAMN. I didn't think you had a nuke in sword form as a Noble Phantasm.'
Note to self, if you see a dragon, put Rider between it and you. I don't particularly feel like getting hit by that thing.
"The Master is here." I look around for Shinji. Instead, I find a little kid.
"Shinji?" He doesn't respond verbally. "Can you hear me?" The boy nods slightly. I'd rather not think about what Assassin did to this kid. "Shinji, I'm sorry." Shinji doesn't do anything when the deletion process begins. He holds eye-contact, unflinching. A stark difference compared to the first time. I take his hand, and he squeezes it tight. He's still afraid, but he still doesn't break eye-contact.
"Fiat justitia ruat cælum." Let justice be done, though the heavens fall. His last words before he passes on. In his place, the second trigger.
"Rider, can you pick up the trigger?" Sakura wipes away tears I hadn't realized I'd shed.
That was the moment that solidified her position as a human, for me. It wasn't a programmed response. It was Sakura, and only Sakura. I'm not ashamed of the fact that I responded by kissing her, and I think she expected that reaction.
Noble Phantasm
Balmung: Phantasmal Greatsword, Felling of the Sky Demon
Rank: EX
Type: Anti-Dragon
Range: 1-∞
Maximum number of targets: ∞ dragons
A cursed holy blade which had accomplished the feat of dragon slaying.
In anti-dragon mode, Balmung is an illusion that exceeds even the sword of its origin, Gram. Balmung, when used against a dragon, has a greatly amplified effect that can overwhelm even Excalibur, at a fraction of the cost to use.