Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
King of Beasts Productions Presents:
Fate/Zero Hour: A Fate/Zero Multicrossover Fanfiction
Chapter 17: The Brilliance of the King
Ryuudou Temple.
"Guys..." Leone, having just tossed aside an orc whose skull she crushed with her bare hands. "I don't think this is going to end..."
Kiritsugu nodded as he fired a few rounds with his Calico before rolling to avoid getting his head taken off by an errant orc's axe. Of course, he was kind enough to repay the favor with a bullet to the back of it's head via Contender. "I'll agree. This is still proving difficult even with the Counter Guardian helping us out."
They then turned to where the white hooded Counter Guardian was, moving swiftly as her curved scimitar, which she had named Mezzaluna, cut through the enemy like a scythe through wheat. She needn't fear any attack from behind, as spear, axe and sword passed through her form.
Despite the heated situation they were in, Kiritsugu took this time to contemplate on how much things escalated. He came into the Grail War believing that he would be fighting the other Masters, having Saber engage the Servants while he dealt with them personally. Now, he found himself fighting alongside said Masters in an attempt to stop a rogue Servant from unleashing hell on Earth.
Then there was the matter of those who appeared to help out. He couldn't believe his eyes; many of those who had gathered could easily be considered at the level of a Servant. They displayed abilities he'd expect one to have at least; the ability to go half-beast, the power to summon manifestations of the mind, a sword that could kill in one stroke, a massive gun combined with a blade to match it's size attached to it; all these and more have thrown the Magus Killer for a loop.
"But I can't worry about that right now."
Kiritsugu cast these thoughts aside, much like the grenade he cast into a group of Blood Elf archers. He would address all these anomalies later, especially when they had to stop a potential apocalypse. Thus, he pressed on his earpiece to speak to his assistant. "How are things on your end, Maiya?"
The sniper round that killed an orc that attempted to ambush him from behind gave him her answer. "Still rather bleak, sir."
"Yeah, this has gotten bad." Kiritsugu said as he surveyed the battlefield. "Even with these new allies, there seems to be no end to Caster's minions." He whipped around to fire at another fel orc that would try to ambush him, only to find that it had been turned into a Black Key pincushion. To add to the brutality, Kotomine Kirei leaped right in and slam his palm into it's chest with enough force to splatter it's internal organs.
"Hmph. That was enjoyable for all but two seconds." Kirei sighed before turning to Kiritsugu. "I could not help but overhear you speak to your partner."
He casually leaned his head to the side to dodge the combat knife thrown at him. He would then turn to see that it's true target was a blood elf that had gotten a little too close for comfort.
"And?" Kiritsugu raised his brow at him before going back-to-back with his nemesis in the midst of their enemies.
"Assassin was able to confirm the death of Caster's Master. However-" Several of the foes would try and close in, only for a segmented whip sword sliced them into ribbons.
"Caster is somehow keeping himself manifested in this world, am I correct?" Walking in on the discussion was Counter Guardian ROSE, whose weapon retracted back into it's blade form.
"It would appear so, Counter Guardian."
"Well, that's annoying." She sighed. "Seems that Caster's using something to keep himself anchored to this world. But what?"
"We'll figure it out later." Kiritsugu interjected as he reloaded his Calico. "For now, we have to trim these numbers and make sure that they do not leave the Temple."
"Hmph...something we agree on." Kirei grinned as he leaped into the fray, his Black Keys bared as he began slicing foes into ribbons with utter glee.
"...I swear, that man scares me no matter what timeline." Counter Guardian ROSE muttered under her breath before turning to the Magus Killer, who noticed that she was giving him an odd, yet warm smile.
"Is something the matter?" He asked as he tossed a grenade into the enemy's midst.
"She died peacefully."
That statement caused him to raise a brow, making the Counter Guardian giggle. "She died as herself, as she wanted, and with a smile on her face. Just thought I should let you know."
With that, she returned to the fight as well, her sword swinging and cutting down orcs and blood elves as if they were wheat. He pondered on her words, but chose not to dwell on them too long. They still had to weather this storm after all.
Black Temple, At that same time.
Streaks of black and blue collided against each other in the sky as Caster and Archer engaged each other in battle. Yamato and the Warglaives created sparks whenever they clashed, both Servants striking with intent to kill.
"Tsk." Archer clicked his tongue in annoyance as Caster pushed him back into the ground, forcing him to land in a crouching position as he looked up to see that Assassin had jumped from behind in an attempt to blindside him.
"Your attempts to surprise me are futile, girl." The Servant of the Spell easily sidestepped a vertical chop from her Scissor Blade. He brought his Warglaives together and swung them outward horizontally to slice her from the waist down. However, it was soon revealed that it was a mere body double when it exploded in a red puff.
"Your head is mine!" Caster turned to see Lancer descend upon him, spear flashing blue. Once she had gotten close enough, she rained a barrage of thrusts on the Servant, who responded by raising his glaives to defend himself. Meanwhile, Archer watched from the ground, his blue eyes narrowing as swirls of energy built itself around him.
"So you've forced me to go all out." Without even gesturing his hand, he transformed into his Devil Trigger form. "Be honored." The Son of Sparda then leaped to join the fray, forcing the empowered Caster to defend from two fronts.
"Well now." Berserker grinned as he stood beside Rider. "Looks like I gotta go all out too." He took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes in concentration. "Forgive me if this is going to hurt, Master."
"Restriction 666 Released!" The Servant of Madness roared as a black and red shroud of energy began to surround him. "Dimensional Interference Field Deployed! Activating the Idea Engine! BLAZBLUE, ACTIVATE!"
Rider could only stare in awe as power surged from Berserker's person, the raw energy bursting forth as he watched him unleash what lay within.
"Cover me." Berserker crouched, then leaped into the air. "I'm going in!"
Faster than even Caster could react, Berserker slams is right hand, now shaped into a claw with jagged red nails, into his face just as Archer and Lancer jumped back.
"Eat this! DEVOURED BY DARKNESS!" The Grim Reaper then turned around and threw Caster onto the floor, where black spikes began to emerged from the ground to impale him. With a might roar, bright green flames emerged from Caster's person to immolate the tendrils before they could even touch him.
"Impressive." He grinned as he summoned more Infernals. "But if that is all you have, then you have no hope of defeat-ARGH!"
He lurched forward as his shoulder found itself penetrated by a high caliber bullet. He turned to see Rider's rifle smoking at the barrel, his aim trained straight at him.
"Ah damn it." Rider cursed as he unsummoned his rifle, once more switching to an assault rifle.
"YOU!" Caster would attempt to swoop down at Rider, who began to fire shots at him, when Saber charged straight at him when he got too close.
"Your battle is with me!" The King of Knights' sword roared like a howling gale, a hurricane that threatened to tear Caster asunder as he defended against her powerful, swift strikes. As she did this, the remaining Servants once again engaged the tower fiery golems.
"Impressive." The Betrayer growled as he stood steadfast, holding his own against Saber despite her furious onslaught. "You live up to your reputation, Saber. Not to mention," He pushes her back and launches a green beam of light meant to to burn her mana...only for it to dissipate harmlessly in front of her. "That magic resistance of yours, as well as your holy sword, makes you my worst possible opponent."
"And yet you continue to resist?" As Saber asked, Archer, Lancer and Berserker joined Saber in her charge. Despite the might of four great heroes bearing upon him, the Betrayer was able to hold his ground, fending all four of them off with some measure of difficulty.
"But of course!" Caster grinned as he defended against all their strikes, which came at him from all directions, before pushing all four of them back. "Like all of you, I have my own wish to pursue!"
"And pray tell, what kind of wish is worth all this destruction?!" Lancer roared as she threw her spear in the air, which in turn began to rain several icy spears onto Caster. Archer summoned several swords and followed suit, a cascade of blue swords and ice spears pouring in a torrent on their foe.
"Power."
With a burst of green fel fire, Caster created a shockwave that dispersed Lancer and Archer's attacks before they could reach him. "I desire power." He repeated again before charging once more at his astonished foes. "Power to chart my own destiny!" He ducked a spear thrust from Lancer and responded by blasting fel fire into her chest, which was thankfully armored, and sent her flying and sprawling onto the floor. "The power to no longer be shackled by chains!" He ducked an simultaneous attack from both Archer and Berserker before spinning on his heel, his Warglaives extended and slashing them both in the gut. The shock on their faces as they fall into the floor told the whole story. "The power to stop those I called my masters from destroying all that I hold dear!"
"Your masters?" Saber, despite being in shock at how easily he dispatched three Servants, stood her ground as Rider pointed his rifle at him.
"The Burning Legion, a collection of demons led by the mad Titan Sargeras." Caster grinned as he stepped towards Saber. "Even now, I wish to use the Grail to give me the power to defeat them!"
"But for what price?!" Rider growled as he tossed his assault rifle aside and a massive plasma gun appeared in his hands. "Killing innocent men, women and children?! Breaking families and leaving little girls orphans?!" In his rage, he fired round after round of plasma energy unto Caster's chest. Each blast forced him back a step, and even did a decent amount of damage. Ultimately, he was not able to be stopped in his tracks, though the smoking marks on his chest were visible.
"If it means stopping those demons from overrunning the world, then I will pay any price!" Caster roared as he leaped at Rider, who was barely able to roll out of the way. The demonic Servant did a u-turn and, with a flap of his wings, and turned to descend on the Servant of the Steed again, only for Saber to stand in his way,
"But what of those you've killed?!" She roared as she swung her magnificent blade at him. "What of those lives you destroyed?! Those souls you've used as fuel to your stones?!" Sword and glavies moved so fast that they appeared to be blurs to the untrained eye. "You seriously believe it was all worth it?!"
"They are!" Caster growled as he pushed the Servant of the Sword back. "I would do whatever it takes to make sure I attain the power to end the Legion! Even if I have to kill people of this world to do it!" He was about charge straight at the two Servants when he felt a sharp pain at his back, causing him to roar in agony. He turned and swept his glaives horizontally at Assassin, who had reappeared and attacked him from behind.
"Damn you!" Caster whips around and fires several shadow bolts at the Servant of the Shadows, forcing her to bob and weave between the blasts.
"Well, well...there goes a whole lot of the respect I had for you, Caster-kun~!" Assassin giggled as she leaped above Caster's head, ready bear her Scissor Blade down on him. "You could've just let your demon masters rule, y'know?"
"Perish!" Caster roared as he summoned a gigantic sphere of green flames and sent it straight at Assassin. To both their surprises, they found that it was cut in half by Archer, whose wound had recovered due to his own demon heritage.
"Aww, thank you, Archer-kun~!"
"Don't get the wrong idea; I'm not saving you out of the goodness of my heart." Archer's warped voice echoed from his now demonic visage. "But it would now do if I lost a dependable ally if I am to win the Grail for myself."
"Prepare to perish, you-GAH!" Caster was struck again, this time from a recovered Berserker and Lancer as their respective weapons got him in the back.
"I'm not one for ambushes like these, but I would make an exception for you." Odin's Witch grunted as she leaped back and launched several ice projectiles at Caster, to which he countered with fel fire. He would then trade several blows with Berserker, weapons clashing and sparking, before he pushed the Servant of Madness back to where the rest of the Servants stood to regroup.
"How the hell is he still this hard to take down?!" Berserker growled as he got to his feet. "Are you absolutely sure you killed his Master, Assassin?"
"Are you doubting my skill as a killer, Berserker-kun?" Assassin pouted. "Now that's just being mean! But just to satisfy you, I made 100% sure that I killed him. I can go back and bring his head if you like..."
"That won't be necessary." Archer quickly interjected. "Indeed, with his Master dead, Caster would have eventually disappeared from this world..."
"But he's still here." Rider grunted as he watched Saber and Lancer re-engage the Betrayer. "That just means there's something still holding him here. Something providing him the mana he needs to keep him here."
"But what, though?" Archer put a hand on his chin. "For him to remain manifested, he must be drawing mana from an alternate source. A particularly vast one if he's using this much power."
"But what kind of..." Rider was about to ask when a realization dawned upon him; the soul stones which, in turn, powered the Well. "Of course! The Well! He's using that goddamn Well as an anchor to keep him rooted to this world! That's how he still has so much mana!"
"That would make sense. I wouldn't be surprised if he tethered himself to it before hand just in case his Master was killed." Archer nodded. "But unfortunately, we aren't able to handle it right now. It's on the other side of the portal we just went through. The journey back would take a while, and we need all the Servants here if we are to defeat Caster as he is now."
"Then we're just gonna have to depend on our Masters." Rider then focused his mind on the link he had with Wave "Kid, if you're listening, pay close to attention to what I gotta say."
"Damn it!" Kiritsugu cursed as even after he fired bullet after bullet at the growing horde, there was simply no end to them. He even looked around the battlefield; even with all these allies helping out, it seemed as if their numbers didn't thin out. "If there was only a way to stem this flow-!"
"Look out!"
Kiritsugu ducked, looking up to see several cutlasses zip past his head and impale an unfortunate blood elf on the chest. He looked to see a grinning blue-haired girl with a cape as his savior.
"Uh...thank you." He blinked in surprise. "And you are...?"
"Sayaka Miki of the Sentinels, reporting for duty!" She giggled as she regarded the raven haired man. "And you're Kiritsugu Emiya. Funny, I only met you today, but you seem familiar to me somehow..."
"I feel the same way." Kiritsugu said to his own surprise. "Huh...well, that's something we can address later." He narrowed his eyes as he addressed the endless stream of foes. "We need to find a way to stop this."
"Yeah, I agree." The bluenette nodded as she summoned a sword in each hand. "Seems like for everyone we cut down, two more show up. We may have no choice but to go all out at this point...though if several of us did, there wouldn't be a Mt. Ryuudou left standing. Not to mention getting unwanted attention from the Mage Association and the Church."
"HEY! OVER HERE!"
Kiritsugu and Sayaka turned to see two more figures approach from the entrance. He recognized the scrawny, black-haired teen as Waver Velvet, Master of Rider, and the snowy-haired woman accompanying him as his wife Irisviel.
"What are you two doing here?" Kiritsugu would ask the pair approached where he and Sayaka were.
"He says he got a message from Rider." Irisviel explained. "He knows what's still keeping Caster in this world!"
"Now, that's an interesting development." At that point, Salem, Edgar and Kokonoe joined in on the conversation, all ears at what they had just heard. "Mind elaborating on what you've learned?"
"Of course." Waver nodded and began explaining how he came across the knowledge; Rider had contacted him via their link and explained the situation. He explained that while Caster's Master was dead without a doubt, the Servants tethered himself to Well before hand, as if he saw the possibility that they would go after his Master.
"Yes, that would make sense." Salem nodded as he placed a hand on his chin. "The Well is basically a swirling mass of mana. It would be no surprise that he is using it keep himself anchored to this world, among his other nefarious purposes."
"That's all well and good, but how're we gonna go about destroying it?" Kokonoe asked as she popped a lollipop into her mouth. "That thing is massive!"
"I may have an idea." Edgar saw the heads turn to him, so he explained straight away. "Seeing that the taint in the lake is demonic in nature, then it is at least possible to purify it. If that happens, Caster won't have a leg to stand on." He smirked as he continued. "As it turns out, we have a couple of priests who should find exorcising the lake not to be that much of a problem."
"Sounds like a plan." Salem nodded, then raised his voice so that all could hear him. "Listen up! We have a new plan; break through the enemy lines and reach the Well!"
"Hmph. Easier said than done." Selvaria chuckled, but brandished her lance all the same. "That being said, that doesn't give us the luxury to back down!"
"Alright people! Allow me to help out!" Alvin grins as he raised his pistol and fired a giant blue fireball into oncoming crowd. "Pulse Shot!"
The blast sent several foes flying, but not enough to clear a path.
"Damn, looks like I came short." Alvin clicked his teeth in annoyance. It was at this point an pony-tailed orange-haired girl clad in a green military uniform with white stockings stepped forward. The most striking thing about her was the two mechanical arms she had and the tiny, pudgy dog-like creature with her.
"Then allow me! Koro, Number Seven!" The tiny creature then opened it's ginormous maw and chomped on the right arm, only for it to be replaced by an anti-tank cannon twice her size. "Taizan's Cannon of Justice!"
She fired the cannon and watched with a grin as the resulting explosion sent several more foes flying.
"Looks like we're making progress!" Kokonoe grinned as she pat the girl's head. "Nice one, Seryu!"
"Thank you, Professor!" The girl giggled as she saluted her commanding officer. "Just making sure Justice always prevails!" However, though the path opened with Seryu's attack, the blood elves and orcs were quickly closing in.
"Quickly! We must not waste this opening!" Selvaria urged as she would lead the charge to the fountain. Thankfully, she wasn't doing so alone; as two members of the other organizations quickly aided her.
"Mind if I cut in?" A man, his tanned skin showing his Latino descent, clad in a form fitting body suit with a cybernetic right arm asked as he drew a peculiar red katana flashing for but a brief second before beheading an orc with it's axe a little too close for comfort. An blood elf would try to draw his bow, but a flying bayonet to the head swiftly fixed the problem.
"Out of my way!" The Valkyrur would charge her lance, spinning like a drill, and upon pointing it at the enemy, unleash a blue flame that would engulf all in front of her. She then turned to the ones who had aided her. "You have my thanks. I am Selvaria Bles of the Sentinels."
"Samuel Rodrigues of the BMD." The man with the red katana chuckled.
"Father Alexander Anderson of the OSG." The priest grinned maniacally as he crossed his bayonets together. "Let's show these heathens just who exactly they are messing with!"
With a nod, the three would lead the charge. Another company would try to close in, but they were immediately incinerated with a torrent of flames or devoured from the inside out by a swarm of insects.
"Intensive Einascherung!" Tohsaka Tokiomi declared as he burned them alive. Matou Kariya, despite being a little burdened by Berserker, watched as his Blade Worms set themselves upon the enemy.
"Hah...hah..." The Master of Berserker was panting, barely holding himself together. "That's right...take that...BLARGH!" He then fell on all fours, coughing up blood due to the strain Berserker using his Noble Phantasm is causing his body.
"Look at you." Tokiomi gave a glance that could be interpreted as one of disdain at Kariya. "You're barely holding yourself together. To have abandoned the path of the Magi, yet still be drawn to the Grail..."
"Heh," Kariya smirked back despite the pain. "I have nothing to say to a man who gave his own daughter away."
"I only did so that she could have a bright future as a Magi." Tokiomi countered. "As you should know, only one can inherit the family's Crest, whilst the other either lives unable to tap her potential or be given away to another family." He sighed. "At least with the latter choice, Sakura can develop her prodigious talent as a Magus as well."
"Is that so..." Kariya chuckled ruefully. "You have no idea what that old bastard is doing to her there, do you?"
"What do you-?"
"Gentlemen." Salem would advance past them, bisecting a Myrmidon with his scythe. "I understand that you have much to talk about, but now is not the time nor place. As soon as we are able to deal with Caster, you two can continue your discussion."
Without another word, the scythe bearer advanced.
"Hmph." Tokiomi snorted as he began walking ahead. No sooner did Kariya stagger to his feet did he hear the voice of his Servant in his head.
"Hey, you alright? I know that using my Noble Phantasm must be a bitch to deal with for you."
"I'm fine, Berserker." Kariya smiled. "You don't need to worry yourself. How're things over there?"
"Looking bad." The voice responded. "We're throwing almost everything we have at him, but he's still going strong. Please tell me you guys have dealt with the Well."
"We're working on it." Kariya answered truthfully as he trudged after the others the best he could. "We would've been overwhelmed if it weren't for those mysterious guys who suddenly showed up to help us."
"Mysterious guys? What do you-?"
Kariya wouldn't be able to answer, as he got shoved by an errant attack from an orc that got too close.
"Hey Kariya! What's happening down there?! Kariya!"
"Damn it..." Kariya looked up to see the orc's axe raised for the kill. Thankfully, that didn't happen as a lightning bolt struck the foolish orc, shocking it with millions of volts to the body before it dropped dead.
"Oh dear...it seems the Master is as inept as the Servant, if only less so." Floating down in front of him was a dainty, petite blonde whose hair was tied in pigtails with black ribbons, looking at him with dazzling red eyes and clad in a black gothic lolita style dress. However, despite her whimsical appearance, even he could see that she was a being of untold power.
"Uh..." Kariya blinked in confusion a few times.
"Yes, I understand your confusion, but now is not the time." The girl giggled as she helped him to his feet. "Just let your Servant know that I will be seeing him quite soon."
Before Kariya said anything, the girl had gone ahead.
"You alright?"
"I-I'm fine, Berserker." Kariya regained his wits rather quickly after such a sight. "I was in a bind, but I was saved by one of those mysterious helpers." He dusted himself off and joined the others as they made a beeline for the Well of Eternity. "In fact, she told me to tell you that she'd see you soon..."
"See me soon?" Berserker grunted as he cut down the latest Infernal summoned by Caster, being keeping them busy along with Rider and Assassin while Saber, Archer and Lancer engaged Caster. "The hell does that mean?"
"I don't know...but if it means anything, she could be someone from your past."
"Unlikely, but whatever." The Grim Reaper grunted as he grabbed the arm of an Infernal that attempted to slam its fist on him, and tossed it over his shoulder with a roar. "Just tell the other Masters to let us know when they're done with the Well."
"Got it."
Rider converged on Berserker's position, his plasma gun firing on all cylinders as each blast took down one Infernal each. "Any word from our Masters?"
"Unfortunately, they're still just breaking through the enemy lines." Berserker quickly explained as he cut down another Infernal with one more swing. "Good news is that they got some help from a bunch of mysterious strangers."
"I see..." Rider shrugged, then took aim at his foes once more. "Well, we could use all the help we can get."
Assassin then walked into their view, a piles of rocks that were once Infernals left in her wake. "Looks like we're done here~!"
"Good." Berserker nodded as he turned to where Caster was; Saber had taken the direct approach whilst Lancer and Archer flanked him from the sides. It made sense that it would be those three to face the Servant of the Spell; Saber had her holy sword, Lancer had her Anti-Demon spear, while Archer had been a hunter of demons and knew how to kill his own kind.
"I'll cover you two." Rider said as he took aim and fired a few shots at Caster, who pushed Saber away and leaped into the air to dodge. "You go help them out."
"Right!"
As Caster once more took to the air, Lancer did not waste time and followed after him. She thrust her spear forward and spun as she rose, the ice magic surrounding her swirling in a spiral as she threatened to drill right through him.
"What right do you have?!" She roared as Caster raised his guard, bringing his glaives together to catch the spear by the edge. "To sacrifice innocents for your goal?!"
"Nghh..." Caster grunted as he was pushed back further into the air before he pushed her back. "I have nothing to say to one unwilling to do whatever it takes to achieve her goal!"
"I will admit, I admire that resolve." Archer would appear from behind Caster in a battou stance. He would draw so quickly that, had Caster not turned in that half-a-second, he would've been cut in two. Instead, his glaives barely made it in time to block Archer's swift attack. They would exchange several more lightning quick strikes before the Betrayer pushed the Son of Sparda back.
"As a matter of fact, you and I both desire power. That is something I respect." As Archer descended, several ethereal swords. "However, I'm not known to share!" He launched the blades at Caster, who flew like a dart to avoid the rain of swords coming his way.
"Not so fast!" As soon as Caster was clear of the swords, Lancer had erected a wall made of ice by planting her spear into the ground. Said wall would be decimated by fel-flames cast by the Betrayer, but it turned out to be a ruse; Assassin charged right out of the rubble, her Scissor Blade gleaming in the dark as she began raining a flurry of lightning fast strikes at Caster and grounding him.
"It's my turn in the spotlight~!" The Grand Couturier stated with glee as Caster defended against her onslaught with his glaives before pushing her back. This prompted her to reach into her dress and pull out several white suits, which then gained body mass and muscle. Of course, they were made of Life Fibers themselves, beings simply known as COVERS. "Have at 'im, boys~!"
"You know, you could've used that MUCH EARLIER!" Berserker scowled as he watched Caster then effortlessly cut down one COVERS after another, prompting him to join the fray and slam Blood Scythe at the Betrayer.
"Meh, it wouldn't have been as fun." Assassin shrugged as she attacked Caster from behind, forcing him to deal with an offensive from two fronts.
"You cretins!" Caster roared as he cast yet another spell, this time a burst of green flames that sent both of them back. "You will NEVER defeat me! The Grail is mine for the taking!" He turns to see Saber taking her turn to attack next, leaping at his direction.
"That is not up to you to decide!" Saber roared as she brought Excalibur down for a hammer blow that, while he was able to defend it, sent him flying into the wall.
"Guh..." Caster groaned as he picked himself up. "Damnation...Even with in my full demonic form, these five continue to endure. No doubt, they're much strong than Maiev and those thrice damned meddlers who helped her defeat me. Still...as long as I have the Well of Eternity, I will hold out and win this day-GUH!" The Betrayer then lurched forward as if he felt something in him was pulled out. The powerful surge that was welling in him began to ebb away, leaving him weaker with each second. His eyes widened beneath the blindfold and his clawed hand clutching his chest, he slowly began to realize that just happened. "No...that would mean...The Well...What happened to the Well?!"
As the events of that last clash occurred...
"We have visual on the lake!" Imca called as she joined the vanguard in bringing down more of Caster's minions.
"Unfortunately," Coyote "Raymond" Starrk, formely the Primera Espada and now an Agent of the OSG, groaned as the enemy came into view. "It looks as if we're about to have a pretty hearty company."
Tager, who stood at the vanguard as well, swung his massive fists and began tossing elves, naga and orcs left and right. "Be that as it may, we have to keep pushing on! We're almost there!"
So the Masters, as well as the Organizations, pushed for the Well, giving their foes no quarter. Swords, bullets, spells, and energy blasts and all manners of weaponry and powers were flying as they inched closer and closer to their destination.
"We're almost there!" Selvaria roared as she swung her lance left and right, sending foes flying with each strike.
"Aye! When we get there, just leave the purifying to me!" Anderson roared as his blessed bayonets ripped foes to shreds.
Sure enough, they managed to reach the Well. Anderson and Kotomine then began to prepare to purify the well, but the enemies began to flood in more intensely through the portal.
"This is getting dicey, guys!" Alvin roared as he swung his blade in a horizontal arc. Though it took down several orcs and naga, more seemed to sprout.
"Just cover our two priests until they're done!" Scarlette called out from the deafening din of battle as Graveryl sailed through the air, the ruby tipped Pyspher slicing and burning foes.
"Easier said than done!" Counter Guardian ROSE growled as she shifted her weapon into it's whip form, the segmented blades slicing enemies with each swing. However, Caster's minions seem to be increasing in number with every second, more and more pouring out of the portal he created. "Even I can tell that this Well is seeping in demonic energy! It'll take time to completely purify it. Time we unfortunately do not have!"
"Then let me buy you that time."
A glyph formed above the horde's collective heads and, within seconds, the elements of fire, ice, earth and air rained forth in a furious maelstrom that decimated a good number of the horde in a single move. They looked up to see a woman with long, untamed blonde hair with a green tuft at the top, a white halter top held together by black cris-cross straps, pink and white arm guards and boots and a short skirt to complete the ensemble. That, combined with her deep amethyst colored eyes and her slender frame, gave her an otherworldly appearance. Alvin would be the first to recognize her, grinning as he did so.
"And the Lord of Spirits graces us with her presence."
"It is good to see you too, Alvin." Milla Maxwell, the aforementioned Lord of Spirits, greeted him with a smile. "Staying out of trouble, I hope?"
"Me? Trouble? Wouldn't dream of it." The ex-mercenary chuckled as he brought out his pistol and fired on several blood elf archers trying to snipe them. "So, what brings you here?"
"Lady Alucard asked for my aid regarding the Grail Wars, and it seems she was right to." Milla turned her attention to the Well of Eternity. "I take it that this is the source of the corruption?"
"Righto, oh Lord of Spirits!" ROSE answered with a grin.
"Yes...I can feel a strong taint in this lake...very well, I shall help you purify it." Milla said as her body began to glow, a manifestation that she called upon her Spirits to aid her. At that, Anderson and Kirei took their positions and began reciting arias meant for purification.
"Alright, let's buy them some time!" Edgar roared as he raised Belderiver. "Show them no quarter!"
They all nodded as they fought back, making sure that none reached the three as they began the ritual meant to cleanse the lake. All of them, each of them a warrior of renown from their home world, fought tooth and nail in order to hold the line.
Imca, who stayed in the rear and unleashed shell after shell unto the enemy with her weapon, would turn to see the lake's sickly green glow turn a bright white as the priests and the Lord of Spirits channeled their energies into it. "It's working!"
"Keep at it!" Tager roared as he dismissed an orc with a massive, lightning charged backhand. "Don't let up!"
"Evil that rests deep in this lake..." Kirei began.
"In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit..." Anderson continued.
"We cast you out!" Milla concluded as she raised her hand, causing a bright pillar of light to engulf the entire lake. This searing light would serve to cleanse the body of water, ridding it of demonic corruption.
"They actually did it..." Kiritsugu would stare flabbergasted, as did the other Masters. Waver would end up being the first to recover, speaking through the mental link with his Servant.
"Rider! We purified the lake! Caster now doesn't have any mana source to draw from!"
"Music to my ears. Good job, kid." Rider grinned as he watched Caster weakened. He then turned to his fellow Servants. "They did it! The Well is down and this bastard has no more mana to draw from!"
"Best news I've heard all day!" Berserker grinned as he brought Blood Scythe to bear. "Now let's take this guy out!"
"Insolent wretches!" Caster growled as he rose to the air and began raining felfire and shadow bolts unto his foes, who scrambled out of the way. "I have enough to take out the lot of you!"
"I have a plan." Saber explained as they all got to cover. "I will unleash my Noble Phantasm to destroy him once and for all. Can I ask all of you to buy me time until then?"
"We will keep him busy for as long as we are able." Lancer declared as she brought her spear to bear.
"It's not like we have a better plan." Berserker sighed, but smiled.
"Alright, let's go!" With that, the Six Servants began their final charge.
"I WILL SEND YOU ALL TO OBLIVION!" Caster roared as he intensified his barrage on of black bolts and green flames at the heroes.
"Scissor Blade: DECAPITATION MODE!" Assassin called out and her weapon began to change shape; it expanded in length, it's blade became curved, akin to a scythe, and the handle became another scythe blade as well. She dashed through the barrage, using her enhanced blade to strike any projectile that came too close. "Allow me to take a little off the top!"
The two Servants clashed in mid air, purple and green flashing with each clash in a magnificent display. As this was happening, Rider pressed on his earpiece. "You in position, Matt?"
"Yes sir!" The voice of Matt Horner was heard as the massive Hyperion's mast was aimed at the Sanctum, glowing as energy began gathering. "The Yamato Cannon's almost primed and ready to go."
"Alright, fire on my signal..." Rider looked up at the clash and managed to get eye contact with Assassin, who returned it with a playful wink.
"Later~!" Assassin jumped back, giving Caster only enough time to look up to see the Hyperion's main cannon pointed at him with deadly intent.
"NOW! FIRE!" Rider gave the signal, which was followed seconds later by a gigantic orange orb of energy headed straight for the Betrayer.
"NEVER!" Caster immediately summoned a magic barrier in an attempt to defend himself. The shot hit him head on, but it had yet to implode as the Servant of the Spell desperately tried to guard against it. His barrier was barely holding up, and he was visibly straining to defend himself from it.
"Now it's my turn!" Lancer took to the skies, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She held her palm up and her spear, which floated upon it, expanded several times in size. "Feel the wrath of Odin's Witch! GUNGNIR!"
She threw the now massive Psypher at the Betrayer, straight at the pulsating orb of energy he was trying to defend against. It imploded upon contact with the spear, creating a massive explosion that shattered the magic barrier and sent Caster flying.
"GRAAAH!" The Servant of the Spell roared in agony as his landing was rough, tumbling several times on the ground before coming to a stop. "D-Damn it..." He staggered to his feet only to find Archer waiting, thrusting his sword forward as he rushed at his foe.
"Begone!" After catching Caster with the initial strike, he followed it up with several more, his blade moving to fast for the eye to follow. With each strike he summoned an ethereal blade that floated above the Betrayer's head. With the last slash, he turned on his heel, dispersed his Devil Trigger form, and sheathed his blade.
"Rest in peace."
With the resounding click of Archer sheathing Yamato, the swords he had summoned rained down on Caster, the latter screaming in agony as the blue blades pinned him where he stood.
"Alright, my turn."
Berserker rushed in, his weapon transforming into a scythe with a red energy blade and his body shrouded in a black aura. "I'll show you the power of the Azure! BLACK ONSLAUGHT!" He swung his scythe several times, all the hits landing their mark on Caster, before the aura covered his body even further, his red and green eyes glowing ominously as his right arm formed into something akin to a black, spiky wing.
"SHATTER!"
He ended the attack with one final thrust that sent Caster tumbling hard on the floor and crashing onto the wall. As he stumbled out of the wall, his mind went back to various points in his life; growing up with his brother Malfurion and Tyrande, the woman he was in love with, fighting against the Burning Legion alongside his people, gaining the powers that would grant him the ablity to channel fel magics, and many, many more images flooded his mind as he got to his feet. One that would stand out, however, was one of the Naaru Xe'ra, and his following words to him:
"You will defy death. I have seen this. Whatever you were, whatever you are, a champion of Light is what you shall be."
"She was wrong..." Caster laughed ruefully as he got to his feet. "I...I am no champion of Light...I am no hero..."
Those images would dispel when he noticed a bright, warm glow from another part of the Sanctum. He, along with several others would look to Saber's direction and see her holy sword raised, it's radiance and the glowing orbs that manifested around her giving her the appearance of an angel descended from Heaven itself to smite the wicked.
"Damn..." Rider found himself staring in awe, as did the other heroes.
"So this is the fabled Sword of Promised Victory." Archer noted somberly. "To think Saber wields a weapon of such power."
"It does give her a semblance of royalty." Lancer added as she and the other Servant stared on. "No, it goes beyond that; that sword serves as a beacon of light for warriors and heroes of the past, present and future. A tangible miracle that surpasses any weapon this world can conceive. The blade that sings of the legacy of the King of Camelot, and ensures that her legend, as well as that of her kingdom and her knights, will live on in tales that are carried from one generation to the next. She truly lives up to her title as 'The Once and Future King.'"
"That light..." Caster would turn to Saber, the king's expression one of steeled determination, her gaze impassive as if she was judging him as immaculate beings would. However, the Betrayer saw something else...the image of the blonde knight standing before him was replaced by one in black plate armor and with white hair. He wielded an enchanted sword as well, but it was one of darker origins; with ominous blue runes and horned skull acting as the guard on the hilt. Instead of a holy light, he saw a chilling, aura that permeated evil.
"No..." Caster growled, his mind slipping further into madness, as he gathered all his mana into both hands, manifesting itself as a giant orb of fel-energy. "I will not lose to you...NOT AGAIN! ARTHAS!" He launched it all in a stream that threatened to vaporize anything that got in it's way. It slammed right into into Saber, engulfing her entire frame.
"SABER!" Berserker called out in concern, all the other Servants sans Assassin staring in shock. Caster grinned in delight as he had believed that he had won. However...
"EX..."
Caster's smirk changed into a frown within seconds as the flames instantly dispersed, seeing the innumerable amounts of mana gather into Saber's raised blade, her eyes narrow in deadly focus as she was ready to bring her blade down. In other cases, Caster would have tried to escape such a precarious situation by any means, whether it be a portal or to fly off into the night. However, the fact that he fell to his knees showed he just didn't have the energy left for an attempt. All he could do now was accept his fate.
All he could do was watch as the light of the holy sword bore down on him.
"...CALIBUR!"
Caster braced himself for the inevitable the golden wave engulfed him in searing light. It burned into his skin, quickly going further with every intention of disintegrating the Servant. As he was being engulfed in Excalibur's holy light, his words wondered back to the Naaru's words to him once again:
"Whatever you were, whatever you are, a champion of Light is what you shall be. You will be a hero...but there will be a price."
"Hehe...How ironic..." His thoughts then turned to one last sight: Malfurion, his brother, and Tyrande, the priestess he had fallen for, smiling at him as if it was old times, before everything went so wrong.
"Tyrande...Malfurion...I bid you...farewell..."
Caster dissolved in the light, thus ending his part in the 4th Holy Grail War. He did so, however, with a smile on his face. Excalibur's light would burst to the sky in a pillar seen throughout the entire battlefield, then vanish within moments.
The only thing left were the Warglaives of Azzinoth planted on the ground. Before they could vanish as Caster did, Archer would walk over to them and picked them up. After making a few practice swings, he then claimed them as his own. He would then notice his fellow Servants looking at him.
"His weapons are indeed of fine quality." Archer answered their stares as he unsummoned the Glaives. "It would be a waste to have a useful tool fade away."
"...Fair enough." Lancer would finally answer, thus ending that discussion.
"Is it over?" Berserker would be the first to ask as Rider pressed on his earpiece to confirm for himself.
"What's the status out there?" He asked.
"Whatever that was, you guys did it. Caster's minions began disappearing around the same time that light did." Matt Horner from aboard the Hyperion explained. "However, that portal looks like it's about to close. If you guys don't evacuate quickly, you'll be stuck here for who knows how long."
"Alright. You guys go and get yourselves some well-earned rest. Raynor, out." With that, he closed his comms and turned to his fellow Servants. "Good news is that Caster's minions disappeared along with him. The bad news is that we gotta hightail it to the portal before it closes. I don't think I need to tell you what happens if we get there too late."
"Right. Out of my way!" Berserker, his Azure still activated, would run into the wall and punch right through them, creating hole they can pass through. "We're not going to make it if we go back the way we came. So leave creating a new path to me."
"Hmph. Looks like we found a use for your savagery after all." Archer huffed as he and the rest of the Servants hastily followed the Servant of Madness.
"When this is all over, I'm gonna enjoy killing you the most."
"We can settle this AFTER we get out of here!" Saber interjected as the two finally cooled it off and hastily made their way out. Even with Berserker creating a shortcut, it still took some time to reach the entrance, as the portal began to shrink by the time they got there.
"Oh no!" Lancer showed understandable concern at the sight.
"Shit! Well looks like we have to book it!" All six of them began running towards the portal, which shrank even further to dangerous levels.
"We're not going to make it!" Lancer shouted as they all sprinted for it.
"Yes...We...WILL!" Berserker roared as, due to being at the head of the group, would be the first to make a leap of faith.
Meanwhile, the Masters and the Organizations were breathing heavily as they had fought off wave after wave of minions after the Well was purged. They were all just about ready to drop dead when their enemies suddenly vanished into specks of light.
"It seems that it's finally over..." A young blonde male in a black cloak, armed with a tome in his right hand and a sword with a lightning bolt shaped blade in the left, said as he surveyed the battlefield.
"We should make sure first, Robin." A blue-haired woman about his age, wearing dark blue clothing and sword in hand as well, threw in her two cents.
"You're right, Lucina." He nodded as he turned to those with him. "Scan the perimeter. Make sure that there aren't any of those things left."
They all nod as they proceed to do so, leaving the rest and the Masters to catch their breath. Kiritsugu would turn to Irisviel. Seeing as she was the Lesser Grail, it would make sense to ask her. "Is Caster truly gone?"
She nods with an impassive expression. "I felt his mana enter me just as those things disappeared. He's definitely gone."
"That is all well and good," Waver would add, looking warily at the shrinking portal. "But if our Servants don't get out of there, they'll be gone too!"
"That does pose a problem." Tokiomi put a hand on his bearded chin contemplatively. "It will be hard to fight a Grail War if all our Servants were to be eliminated in such a manner."
"Have a little faith in your Servants, gentlemen." Salem Azal chuckled as he joined their company. "They wouldn't be heroes of legend if they were to fall in such circumstances."
Imca would then return from her rounds, stopping directly in front of the portal. "We've scanned the perimeter, sir. There are no hostiles left."
"Excellent work, Imca." The ancient one nodded.
"Uhm, Imca?" She would turn to Ace, who was looking behind her."
"What is it, Ace?"
"You might wanna turn around and look up."
The Darcsen soldier would proceed to do so, only for a screaming red and black blur to jump right out of the portal and crash into her.
"AGGH!" The two would roll a few times before coming to a complete stop. "Ow..."
"Damn, that was a rough landing." The said red and black blur, who so happened to be Berserker, would move his hand up and felt something soft and squishy in his grasp. "What the hell am I touching?"
"You...!"
He looked down to see that he was on top of a black-haired girl clad in blue, her blue eyes narrowed, cheeks red and her teeth clenched in anger. He would then see where his hand was: on her chest.
"Oh shit." It was on this moment that Berserker knew, he screwed up.
"You..." He swore he could see a fire beginning to burn in her eyes as he hastily got off her. The next thing he knew, she reached for the giant gun/sword weapon she was holding earlier with killing intent. "YOU!"
"WaitIcanexplain-!"
The other five Servants managed to exit out the portal safely, much to the relief of their Masters.
"Saber!" The blonde turned to see Ilyasviel, Kiritsugu and Maiya approach, as did the other Masters.
"Ah, you three. 'Tis good to see you all well." She nodded with her usual stoic expression. "I am pleased to report that Caster has fallen to us."
Kiritsugu would only answer with a nod before lighting his cigarette. "That takes care of this anomaly. Now we can continue with the War as planned."
"Yeah, but howabout we take a rain check on that?" Rider suggest as he dematerialized his armor. "I'm sure we all wanna get some well earned rest and relaxation after that throwdown."
"...Very well." Tokiomi nodded in agreement. "We shall call a ceasefire for tonight. We should use this time to recuperate from this battle."
"And we'll keep a wary eye on those who would break it." Salem Azal interjected with a smile.
"Now that that is all over, will you tell us who exactly you people are?" Kiritsugu directed a wary glance at the multidimensional traveler, as well as his comrades.
"It is as I said earlier; we are those who protect the universes from the shadows. It so happens that the Holy Grail War is one of those events we have an invested interest in."
"...Fair enough." The Magus Killer finally relented, but it was obvious to all that he still had his suspicions.
"Anyone know where Berserker went?" Rider would ask.
"He should be here, since I'm quite sure he jumped ahead of us." Lancer would throw in her two cents. That question would be answered shortly when they heard screaming, followed by the Servant in question being chased by a dark-haired woman clad in battle fatigues wielding a massive gun/sword.
"DIE, YOU PERVERT!" She yelled like a screeching banshee after the Grim Reaper.
"WHY THE HELL DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?!"
"Oh dear..." Salem sighed before turning to Rachel. "Will you-?"
"I am already on it." The vampire sighed as she poofed in front of Berserker, who stopped in his tracks at the sight of her.
"RABBIT?! WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Yes, so good to see you too, Ragna. Though you're as crude and degenerate as always." She sighed before turning to Imca. "Would you kindly hold off on maiming him? He's not worth the effort, I assure you."
"Bite me!"
"...Fine." Taking a deep breath, Imca backed off and, before giving Berserker the stink eye, left to rejoin her comrades.
"Okay, what the hell are you doing here, Rabbit?" Berserker asked in a much calmer tone now that the girl who was trying to kill him backed off.
"Alas, I cannot reveal much yet." Rachel sighed. "I can only tell you that from here on in, it becomes much harder." She walks past him, but not before curling her lips into a warm smile. "At any rate, 'tis good to see you again, Ragna." He turned around to see that she was gone.
"Damn it. As cryptic as always..." Berserker let out a sigh.
"Hey there."
Saber turns to seen a blonde girl, her hair tied in pig-tails and clad in a black coat, and a silver-haired boy grinning at her with shark-like teeth.
"I'm sorry..." The King of Knights addressed the girl. "But do I know you?"
"Not in this universe." The blonde answered with a smile. "But, you and us...we became really good friends over the course of my War. I'm Maka, and this is Soul. I hope we get the chance to become to friends as well."
"Uh...sure." Despite herself, Saber found herself smiling...as if she had a connection with these two some how. "Wait! You two are Servants in the Holy Grail War as well?!"
"Looong story." The one called Soul interjected. "Way too long to tell now."
"Hey."
Archer turned to see who had greeted him, his eyes widening in recognition at the red clad man who, for all intents and purposes, was a spitting image of him. The intial surprise quickly faded, however.
"Dante." The Servant of the Bow regarded his brother. "I can't say that I expected to see you here."
"Ditto. Then again, you have that tendency to survive what ever gets thrown at you." The mirth in the red-clad Son of Sparda vanished quickly. "So, what's your wish on the Grail?"
"...You should know by now what it is." Archer walked past his brother to where Tokiomi, Kirei and Assassin were without batting an eye. "And even if you didn't, why would I tell you?" Before he could say anything, the other Son of Sparda was gone.
"...Heh." Dante sighed. "You never change, Vergil."
Edgar would sigh as he watched the Servants, Masters and the various organizations intermingle. He could only smile at the sight, contemplating that while he knew the multiverse was vast, he didn't think it would be like this.
"Oswald?"
His heart stopped beating right then and there, his eyes wide in shock as he had heard the silky, angelic voice that plagued his dreams utter his true name. He dared to turn to see the woman he had lost, staring at him with that same expression he had on his face. He knew it was her for certain; those icy blue eyes, her long silky hair tied in a bun, and her battle regalia that allowed her to live up to her title as Valkyrie was an image forever seared into his mind. Looking right at him was indeed his lost love, Gwendolyn.
"Oswald? Is that..." Her eyes watery and her voice quaking. "Is that really you?"
He wanted to answer her. He wanted to just walk right up to her and wrap her in his arms as he had so long ago, longing to feel her warmth. However, there was one thing that held him from doing so; the one fear that he knew existed, but denied:
She was the Lancer of the 4th Holy Grail War. As such, he knew that it was a stark possibility that he would lose her again. Before he went on his trip, he steeled himself for that possibility, telling himself over and over that it was for the greater good.
However, seeing her before him in the flesh, as well as his own resurfacing issues with Sayaka Miki, it was just too much for him to take right now. He hung his head low and turned his back to her, his words a hushed whisper that told volumes of his inner conflict.
"I'm sorry."
Before anyone could say anything else, he ran off.
"Oswald, WAIT!" Lancer would try to stop him, but he was already long gone. "Oswald..."
"Yet another question to the list." The Servant of the Spear would turn to see another familiar face smiling at her. "It's been a while, dear sister."
"V-Velvet?" The Valkyrie would murmur in shock.
"I imagine that you have so many questions." The Witch of Elrit Forest sighed. "We cannot talk of that now. However, if you are able tomorrow lunch, I would gladly try to answer them. You can bring your Master and Miss Sola-Ui if you wish...if it is alright with you."
"Y-Yes..." Odin's Witch would nod as she wiped her tears, trying to regain her composure. "O-Oswald...W-Was it really-?"
"Yes. It was him."
"Why?" Scarlette felt her heart break in two when she heard that anguished croak come from Lancer. "Why did he leave? Did I do something wrong?"
The Witch knew that all she could do was comfort her shaken half-sister, so she proceeded to do that by wrapping her arms around her in a tender embrace. "I'm sorry. He's not acting like himself tonight. I'll try to bring him tomorrow so that you can all talk, okay?"
Lancer said nothing, instead burying her head on her shoulder and quietly sobbed.
"Welp. That was interesting." Kokonoe would say as she watched all this go on. By that point, the respective Masters and Servants were already going their separate ways. "We should probably get going too. I'll probably send some people to collect residue from the lake. You can never be too sure."
"Yes, that would be prudent." Salem would nod. "It was good seeing you and the Bureau again, Kokonoe."
Without another word, the pink-haired Grimalkin began rounding up her people and made their exit. He then turned to Milla Maxwell and Counter Guardian ROSE. "Will you both be leaving as well?"
"Aye." Milla nodded. "I will be keeping a close eye on the proceedings, however."
"Same." The Counter Guardian interjected "Alaya wants to make sure that there aren't anymore incidents like this."
"I see..." Salem nodded as both turned to leave. "Thank you both for your help." However, Counter Guardian ROSE would turn back, glancing short at Scarlette holding a sobbing Lancer in her arms before speaking. "Will they...will they be alright?"
"...I really hope so." Salem sighed, the aforementioned two letting go and going their separate ways. "The tale of Oswald and Gwendolyn is one filled with both joy and sorrow. I only wish they both get the happy ending they deserve...as unlikely as it is."
"Hey, don't we all?" ROSE would smile. "You know that it just gets harder from here on in, right?"
"Aye." Salem affirmed once more. "Still, I and my comrades will continue to fight, to make sure that lives are saved and that the balance is defended."
"Good answer." ROSE giggled before she turned to leave, vanishing into white rose petals with each step. "Good luck to you, Zasalamel. I really hope everything works out." Within seconds, he found himself the last person in Ryuudou Temple. He took a look around, let out one last sigh before he turned to depart.
"...Me too."
"And so ends the Battle for Mt. Ryuudou. Quite the entertaining play, to say the least." Cinder smirked as Jhinn and Hazama stood at each side, having watched the entire proceeding hidden from the others.
"A shame I had to miss it."
At that same moment, a portal opened behind them. Out of it the swirling vortex stepped a statuesque woman with blue hair that flowed all the way to her knees. Clad in a black and white military uniform complete with a hat, mini skirt and black stockings, she carried herself with the grace and dignity expected of a woman of her caliber. There also lay a savage love of battle underneath that exterior.
"Ah, Esdeath. So glad you can join us." Cinder turned to face her, as did the other two. "I take it you're here with orders from up above?"
"Indeed. We are to return to the Castle." The woman confirmed with a nod. "We are to leave them be. Let this little War run it's course for now as we prepare."
"Perfect. Time is essential in preparing a grand production such as the one we are planning!" Jhinn nodded with a grin.
"That mask ain't doing me favors, but it sounds like you're happy, Jhinny." Hazama sighed. "Why the hell did you send me to do recon again? You could've sent Terumi..."
"True, but that snake would have tried to kill Berserker the moment he laid eyes on him." Esdeath answered swiftly. "An interesting sight, but not one we can afford. For now, secrecy is key."
"Indeed." Cinder beckoned the others to follow her into the portal. "For now, we leave them alone. Let them finish this Holy Grail War. What happens afterwards, though..." She smirked devilishly once more. This time, though, the others joined her. "I suppose that is anyone's guess."
End Chapter 17.
A/N: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER! OHMYGOSH, THIS TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE!
Gwen: This would be the longest chapter he has written to date. Clocking in at 11K+ words.
Saber: I reckon that he is still in shock that he has written this much.
Right you are, ladies. Anyway, welcome to another chapter of Fate/Zero Hour. As you probably all saw, that was the end of the Caster arc and, without a doubt, his demise. This took a lot of time to write (it wouldn't have taken as long had a not been a lazy slacker who plays too much videogames, but I digress.)
Anyways, here's a few things that I should note:
1. I'm well aware of what happened in Blazblue: Central Fiction...as well as Ragna's eventual fate. Taking that into account (and taking advantage of multiverse theory), I'll say that this Berserker is from an alternate timeline where things went a little differently. A little spoiler for next chapter: There'll be a dream sequence involving such.
2. I'm also aware of the expansion of Illidan's lore in WoW as of Legion. (Thanks to X the Reaper for bringing that up). So I somehow managed to wriggle it into this chapter.
3. I'm going to have to modify Lancer's stat sheet, thanks to the release of Odin Sphere Leifthrasir which revealed new attacks (some of which, you've seen already throughout this fanfic).
4. If you're wondering what ROSE meant by "She died peacefully.", it's a reference to the Zero/Hour spin-off "The Life and Times of Summer Rose." Feel free to go there if you wanna know what happened.
5. Speaking of spin-offs, after brainstorming a megaton of ideas for the Zero/Hourverse with X the Reaper, I'm considering creating a series of one-shots called "Zero Hour: DLC" to cover a lot of that. Because it'll be hard to make full fledged tales with some of them. xD
Lastly, Cinder's little group will end their role here...for now. :)
Cinder: Ooh, ominous~!
Welp, I'll have to end this here. Feel free to read and review when you're done. Those reviews are highly appreciated! Until next time, this is the King of Beasts. See you all in the next chapter!
Next time on Fate/Zero Hour: Windstille!