Chapter 16: The Black Beast
The sound of someone screaming woke me up from the tatami mat I was sleeping on. I had no time to dream. Hell, I wasn't tired in the slightest even though I only just opened my eyes. It's because I knew instantly those weren't screams of joy but of agony. It was happening again. Another…
…Massacre.
"…Oh no." I muttered as I stood up and attempted to get out of the room. But then…
"Stay here. We'll check it out." An officer spoke as he opened the door and immediately closed it. I tried to open the door, but he locked it. Though there was a window to the left of the room. I could only watch the horror that was about to unfold…
"…Hey Hiroshi, why did you scream li-what the hell." The officer spoke as he found the other officer at the front desk or what was left of him. All that remained of Officer Hiroshi was blood. Except, there was something else there. A black alligator. Its fangs were drenched with blood.
"You son of a bitch!" The officer shouted as he aimed his gun at the alligator.
'Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!' The officer fired five times at the alligator but even though he hit it all five times it still rapidly moved toward him and bit into his arm that was holding the gun.
"GAAAAAAHHHHH! Eat lead fucker!" The officer screamed at the top of his lungs and-
'Bang!' He fired one more time into the alligator. It fell to the ground and didn't move a muscle. The alligator was dead. However, not before it took the officer's entire right arm with him.
"S-Someone please help me!" The officer begged for mercy but then…
'Crack! Crack! Crack!' One by one the windows broke and then…
'Caw! Caw! Caw!' A group of black crows cawed as they swarmed into the building from the windows.
"NO! PLEASE! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The officer screamed as the crows bit into his body and in a matter of seconds only the bones remained. However, several other officers arrived to see their friend get brutally eaten alive. Five of them. And they were all utterly petrified by it.
'Caw! Caw! Caw!' The crows cawed again as they found their new targets and soared toward them. Before the officers could blink the crows were biting and ripping their necks open.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" All of them screamed in unison as they were brutally killed by the crows. Their corpses fell to the ground and were thoroughly consumed by the crows. Suddenly-
'Crack. Crack. Crack.' A man appeared as he walked through the broken glass on the floor. However, this wasn't just any man. His hair was grey, and he wore a black trench coat. He was the same one from a bit earlier. He was also the master of these crows. His name is…
…Berserker.
"Hands in the air! You are under a-oh shit." Another officer appeared with three more officers, and they were utterly horrified at the ghastly spectacle before them.
"YOU BASTARDS!" One of the officers roared at the top of his lungs as he shot at one of the crows and killed it. The other three officers joined in and exterminated the rest of the crows. Only Berserker was left. This should have been checkmate for the four officers because there were four of them and only one of him.
But that changed as quickly as the passing of a single second.
Suddenly, a group of black dogs, four of them came out of Berserker's chest. And now the tide has turned in the favor of this monster.
"Go." Berserker spoke as he snapped his fingers and the next second, the dogs were already eating the officers. They had no time to react. No time to even scream. Before they knew it, there was nothing left of them. Except, the blood on each of the dogs' mouths.
'What the hell is this?' I thought internally as I watched the bloodbath from the window. Wait-
'Eh? Oh, that! That girl was around our age, right? I heard she was eaten alive by dogs and that the only remains of her were a few bones.'
'That's right. That was one of the incidents that occurred on the night of the 18th. Since then, there have been about thirty incidents that have taken place sin-'
C-Could this monster be whoever has been murdering people?! No! He has to be! But then-
"…" Berserker noticed my presence as his head twitched unnaturally in my direction.
"Ah!" I gasped as our eyes met again. Because this wasn't the first time, we've seen each other. Back then, while I was being driven to the police station by Officer Akasaka, we noticed each other. Ever since that moment, he must have been walking toward the police station.
And now he has arrived.
"…" Without uttering a single word, I sprinted toward the desk in the back of the room and hid behind it. It was all I could do in this situation. Even if I could take down all of those dogs with Formalcraft, there was still a Servant waiting for me. And late time I faced off against an enemy Servant…
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'
I was pierced in the chest with Rider's Harpe.
And the time before that too…
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'
I was pierced in the chest with Archer's sword.
Not only did I not want to feel that pain, that agony of having something that shouldn't belong tear my chest open, I knew it would be over if I tried to fight him. Because after everything that I've seen tonight, I would end up just like all of those officers. Even Avalon wouldn't be able to save me because my entire body would be consumed by that monster.
"Haah…Haah…Haah…" I breathed in and out as I attempted to calm myself. There was only one thing that I had to do. Escape. That's it. But in order to escape I need to calm down and think. Think of every single thing I could do and take the best course of action!
The distance between me and that monster is about thirty feet. If he only takes a step forward for each second, then that would give me roughly thirty seconds. About five seconds have already passed since I hid behind the desk so that leaves me with just twenty-five seconds.
If I were to run out of that door, then I'd be killed. So, I can't use that door. There are no windows in this room besides the one near the door. Except, those don't lead outside, but rather back into the building itself. That's out too. This is a locked room scenario.
Twenty-five…twenty-four…twenty-three…twenty-two…twenty-one…twenty…
A locked room scenario in layman's terms is a room with no possible way to escape. It's a plot device used in mystery novels to showcase how it would be impossible for the murderer to kill a victim. It should only exist in fiction.
…Nineteen…eighteen…seventeen…sixteen…fifteen…
However, this is reality. Besides the door and the windows, everything else is a wall. If I were to turn the wall into ice with Formalcraft, and then burn it down, it would take more than thirty seconds. Not just that, but it would make a loud enough sound for that monster to hear.
…Fourteen…thirteen…twelve…eleven…ten…nine…
The monster would then undoubtedly move faster toward me to prevent any chance of me escaping and I would be screwed! It's no use! I'm going to die! No matter what I do in this situation, without a doubt, I'm going to die!
Eight…seven…six…five…four…three…
"THEN TO HELL WITH IT!" I roared at the top of my lungs as I stood up and ran toward the door.
…Two seconds left…
'Bam!' I shot a particle of ice at the door which froze it completely.
…One second…
Zero.
'BAM! BAM! BAM!' The door was being bashed open. It was only a matter of time before it was destroyed by the monster and his dogs. But there were also the windows!
'Crack! Crack!' The glass of the windows cracked as the dogs used their heads to break them. Within a few seconds, they would be in the room. But I was prepared for this.
"Bam! Bam!' I shot two particles of fire at the windows as the dogs were about to jump inside.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" The dogs screamed as they were being burnt to a crisp.
'Serves them right!' I thought internally as the dogs turned to ashes. Not only that, but the fire would keep away that monster too! That gave me some time!
"…" Without a word, I dashed toward the back wall. I then aimed at it and-
'Bam!' I shot a particle of ice which made it frozen solid and then-
'Bam!' I shot a particle of fire that was burning the ice at a rapid pace. It was burning slowly because I only shot a single particle. I would have shot another one but using two types of magic in rapid succession from each other was draining my supply of Mana.
"…Haah…haah…haah." I breathed in and out. Not only was supply diminishing as a result of that but my magic circuits were also being affected. Using magic again and again was straining them because I have yet to master Formalcraft.
"O-Ow." I groaned in pain. My entire body was hurting…
'Throb! Throb! Throb!' …And my brain was throbbing.
All of these were consequences I'm currently paying for being so reckless. But could you blame me?! I'm quite literally cornered! Trapped like a rat who's about to be eaten by a monster who eats humans for breakfast! If there was another way out, I would use it!
The only other way out of this mess would be to summon Saber here! Except, Saber is already in this building, to begin with so it would be pointless to waste a command spell as he's probably, no. Definitely on his way. Even more than that-
'I promise that you will never die while I draw breath. That I promise.'
I believe in Saber's words. So, I just have to buy time until Saber arrives-
'BAM!' The monster broke the door down as it shattered completely and turned to water. The wall was still frozen as the fire has yet to completely dissolve the ice. This is it! This is the last possible second! I have no choice! I'm just going to have to use a command spell and summon Sabe-
"It's over. Die." The monster spoke as he leaped forward at me. By performing that action, he definitely intended to finish me off himself. Everything started to slow down. It was almost like time had completely stopped.
'Remember, Ayaka.'
"Ah." I gasped as words were being flooded into my mind from somewhere.
'Never forget the promise he made to you.'
"…That's right." I muttered as the monster slowly moved toward me. His hand stretched out as he was about to rip my head off. And then…
'BAM!' The frozen wall behind was instantly shattered into pieces!
"AYAKA, DUCK!" A familiar voice roared as I did just that. However, the monster was still in mid-air! Which meant that there was no way he could dodge the fire! The fire then engulfed the monster completely!
"I-It's over." I muttered.
"No. Not yet." The same familiar voice spoke to me as he extended a hand toward me to help me back up. It was none other than the knight in shining armor. The Servant that swore to protect me even if it cost him his life. It was…
"…Saber." I muttered as we were finally reunited at last. Tears dripped down my eyes. I couldn't help it. I was just so happy that he was here.
'Slap!' I slapped my cheeks, leaving a red mark on them.
"A-Ayaka?!" Saber shouted as he was surprised over how I slapped myself. Saber was right. It's not over yet. Which meant that there was no time to cry. Not only is that monster a Servant, but I also know for a fact he's not going down so easily.
'Whoosh!' A gust of wind was released from the monster which extinguished all of the flames. He stared at us for a few seconds until-
"So, you must be the Saber-class Servant I've heard about." The monster spoke.
"That's right." Saber answered.
"Then I will annihilate you myself." The monster spoke as he suddenly vanished without a trace.
'Huh? Where did he-crap!' I internally thought as I turned my head around and saw that the monster had rematerialized behind us. I tried screaming 'Saber' but there was no time. Once again, the monster had cornered me completely-
'Slice!' Not even a second later, Saber turned around completely and sliced the monster's right arm off!
"You're going to have to do better than that if you actually want to catch me off guard, Black Beast." Saber spoke as the monster's arm fell to the ground.
"So, you know my true name then?" The monster asked as he picked up his arm and reattached it to his body in seconds.
"Of course! That alone confirms it, vampire! You are the Black Beast, #10 of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, Nrvnqsr Chaos! Which means your class is obviously Berserker!" Saber shouted as he pointed at the monster and revealed his true name.
'A dead apostle ancestor?! No way! Even one of those demons is seeking the grail!?' I internally thought to myself but then…
"Ha." Berserker laughed as his lips curled into a sinister smile.
"Then that means you know what I'm capable of." Berserker spoke as something materialized from his chest. A black deer, a black leopard, and a black cheetah. All three of them were brought into reality all at once. I couldn't say anything. Such a horrifying power has no right to exist in this world!
But I couldn't just stand here and do nothing!
"Eat this!" I yelled as I charged up my magic and then-
'Bam!' I shot a particle of electricity at the beasts in front of me. But it missed and hit the water on the floor instead.
'Wow! That was lucky!' I internally thought to myself.
"GRAAAAAHHHHH!" The beasts growled as they were being electrocuted.
"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Saber roared as he then leaped at the beasts.
'Slice! Slice! Slice!' He then made quick work of them as the beasts were sliced into mincemeat in front of me. It was a sight that would have scarred me if this happened yesterday. But I've already seen and experienced hell.
"They're dead! Now's our chance!" Saber shouted as he extended his hand toward me.
"Right!" I replied and grabbed on as we ran out of the room and into the hallway. Blood drenched the floor, but I had no time to shed tears over the fallen police officers. Berserker followed after us as we sped out of the building. However…
"Saber! Do you know how to hotwire a car?!" I asked.
"Not a clue!" Saber replied.
"Me either! Let's run and find a taxi!" I shouted as we proceeded to run towards the nearest taxi. Thankfully, there was one only a few meters away.
"Thank goodness, HEY!" I shouted once more at the taxi. The taxi driver then unrolled his windows.
"Hop on in, young lady!" A familiar middle-aged taxi driver wearing a red shirt yelled.
'SERIOUSLY?! IS THIS GUY THE ONLY TAXI DRIVER IN TOKYO?!' Is what I wanted to say but right now this guy was our best shot at successfully escaping so I held back my complaints as me and Saber got into the car.
"Drive! Floor it! Just get us the hell out of here as fast as you can!" I shouted.
"You got it." The taxi driver replied with a thumbs up as he drove out of the station's parking lot at insane speeds!
"Phew. I think it's finally o-" I spoke as I wiped my forehead which was drenched with sweat but then…
…A black cheetah was chasing after us!
'I've had enough of this shit!' I internally thought as I charged up my magic and then-
"JUST GO TO HELL ALREADY!" I roared at the top of my lungs as I rolled down the window and-
'Bam!' I shot a particle of fire at the cheetah.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" The cheetah screamed as it collapsed to the ground! It was a direct hit! It looks like I'm getting better at using Formalcraft! Al-
"Ayaka! You're bleeding from your nose!" Saber shouted as I put a hand to my nose.
'Ah. There it is.' I internally thought as I noticed blood on my hand. There are always going to be consequences to using magic recklessly. But I can at least dream that one day there won't be any repercussions for using it. Well, I'm still alive, and that's what matters.
You know what? I think a deserve a reward.
"Saber." I muttered.
"Yes, Aya-whoa!" Saber yelled as I put my head on his lap without asking him for permission to do so. For once, I'm going to be selfish.
"W-Where did this come f-" Saber asked but I cut him off before he could finish.
"Just be quiet and let me enjoy this." I spoke.
"Sure. If that's what you want." Saber replied.
"Good." I muttered.
A few seconds later…
"So that must be your boyfriend, young lady. Good for you." The taxi driver spoke as he continued driving.
"HE. IS. NOT. MY. BOYFRIEND!" I roared at the top of my lungs as I couldn't understand why people think Saber and me are dating! 'Though soon I would be able to return home, take a hot shower, and finally get some rest. Things are going to be crazy for the next couple of days, so I'm going to enjoy the night while it lasts.' I thought all of this as I closed my eyes and enjoyed myself on the lap of my knight.
But even though my eyes were closed all I could see was my dead classmates and the corpses of the police officers.