Chapter 5
XxXxX
He has been preparing himself long enough for this.
His mind was no longer haunted by doubt and fear. He has gotten rid of his own weakness, the time for action has come.
And although it would condemn his soul, his will was strong enough to proceed.
He observed the city before him. It was close to sunset, three days since the arrival of the last Servant to Fuyuki had passed, and despite his presence altering certain events, there were still those bound by fate to always repeat themselves.
The elimination of Lancer and his Master has proceeded as it was written. Emiya Kiritsugu striked down the Lord of the Clock Tower through a loophole, and Lancer died cursing both the War as well as those fighting for it.
It didn't affect Rigo on a personal level, but it certainly helped his agenda in ending this war. Without a deranged Caster in the equation, Rigo for a moment feared that this War would turn into a slow-paced conflict. Something not all appealing for him. He just wanted to end this, and today his wish will come true.
"We are ready," Artoria announced once she entered the bedroom which she shared with Rigo since the beginning, and was recently joined by Sita too.
Rigo gave her a grateful smile, noting in his head how low he had kept the romance with either Artoria or Sita. Something he will need to remedy once they abandon this world.
Rigo cracked his neck, before looking at the set of Company's Command Seals. What was once a single set was now replaced by four of them, extending from the skin of his hand to mid-way to his elbow. It should be enough.
"By the Power of these Command Seals, I order you: Saber, Rider, Irisviel, and Waver, to come to me!" he started in a low voice, only to exclaim at the end, a blinding crimson light combusting into the room.
Once the light ended, four new people were standing inside his Sweet Home.
Their reactions were as he expected. Waver almost fainted on the spot, Europa blinked a couple of times trying to register the change in scene, meanwhile Irisviel and Saber armed themselves almost immediately.
Saber looked at Rigo directly with a silent fury, meanwhile Irisviel had a worried expression that she tried to cover under a cold look.
"Hello," Rigo gave them a slight bow, internally smirking once he noticed that Artoria put an illusion over herself to not be seen yet.
She liked her drama.
"Who are you?" Saber demanded to know, pointing at Rigo with her sword in full view to highlight her tone. "Why did you bring us here? Answer me, or else…"
Now Rigo's smirk was visible. Without an ounce of fear, he took a step forward, making sure that Excalibur's tip was dangerously close to his throat.
"Or else, what?" he taunted her.
Saber expression went through a myriad of emotions in a single second. A bit of shock at Rigo's brazyness, annoyance at going against her demands, acceptance that she was going to have to go through her threats, mild surprise for immediately dismissing the motion of violence against this man, horror at the realization, and finally fear.
Saber dissolved her weapon in motes of light, a terrified look in her face.
"W-Why…?" she asked no one in particular, a lone tear rolling down her left cheek. "Why the…the mere thought of harming you repulses me?"
It was Irisivel's turn to look terrified. "It is crushed by a primal urge of caring and…and loving you," her eyes looked sad.
"My heart feels heavy at the mere thought of you in harm's way," Europa muttered on her own.
Waver was just looking at the women with an odd look. Although the 'no harming' part he could sort of understand too, some of the stuff that they were saying sounded completely irrational for him. When he thought of Rigo, he felt he owed him his complete loyalty.
He valued Rigo's life over his own.
"My beloved has opened your eyes," Sita materialized out of thin air, her arms wrapped around Rigo in a possessive manner. Her eyes were shining in amusement, for she had gone through the same realization as them all.
Rigo was the most important person in their lives now.
How foolish it was of her, to waste her entire afterlife looking to reunite with Rama, when her one true love wasn't even born yet. But now she had found him, and she wasn't going to let this chance go to waste.
"The time for this War to conclude has come," Rigo regained the focus of the group, once the group had gotten into their heads their new purpose in life. "Europa, Waver," he spoke to the first pair of Master and Servant he had binded. "You two will hunt down Kotomine Kirei and kill him; that man is much too twisted to let loose on the world at large," he grumbled in the last part, but he was still heard. He passed his phone to Europa, the app for Bounty Tracker set for them.
"I…I understand," Europa's tone was resigned, she couldn't fight the compulsion to obey, and her mind hadn't adjusted itself just yet. But Rigo wasn't worried about it, it was just a matter of time.
"Irisviel, I need you to summon the Greater Grail's bessel upon Fuyuki, we will use it to amplify and transmit a powerful illusion to the whole city to make it seem like a massive fire happened."
Irisviel's eyes widened once she registered the orders. Her rational mind told her that it was impossible, she shouldn't have the capability for this, she only had absorbed Lancer at the moment. But she just somehow knew that she was capable of calling the Grail into existence.
Rigo only received a nod from Irisviel, but it was good enough for him. He centered his eyes upon Saber lastly. "Arturia, you, Sita, and Berserker will handle one of the biggest threats for my interests in this city, Caster."
Arturia nodded at the orders, her mentality as a knight allowing her to follow orders issued from a superior more easily than the other three, but something picked her interest. "'One of the biggest threats'? Who is the other one?" she couldn't help but ask.
Rigo adopted an expression of disgust for a moment, before it returned to his calm and collected one. "Zolgen Makiri," his tone when saying that name was the same one one would use when talking about the weather. It was a fact.
"Of him, I will take care of."
In a dramatic reveal, particles of light started to slowly assemble on a single point. It started from the feet, but with an increasing speed, the body started to form itself. Dark blue heeled shoes, purple stockings, and a white dress covered by a short cape of blue with golden accents. She was carrying a short sword at her hip, and holding a staff as long as herself. Her green eyes were sparkling with mischief, and her almost golden-like hair was capped-up by a singular blue hat.
Irisviel audibly gasped, while Arturia was left speechless.
Her face was the same as Saber's.
One face was full of mischief, while the other was gaping.
It was instinctive what happened next.
"Who are you?!" Arturia extended her left arm and pointed her index finger in clear surprise.
"Arturia, Artoria. Artoria, Arturia. Or, have you met?" Rigo 'presented them, internally laughing his ass off at being able to pull that one.
Artoria sent him a small smile. It seemed that she also got the reference.
"What sort of witchcraft is this?" Arturia's question returned Rigo from his own train of thought.
He, just like the rest of those present in the room, was looking at the interaction between the two look-alikes with intensity.
"Are you another of Morgan's pawns?" Arturia didn't seem to realize that the attention of the rest of the room was on them. To be honest, she couldn't care less.
The mention of that name made Artoria lose her smirk. A scowl was traced on her face now. "I am my own person, King of Knights," her tone was cold, it made Arturia freeze in place. "I am no longer bound to that witch. My name is Artoria, and despite our shared looks, you and I are nothing alike," with her piece said, Artoria once more entered into Astral Form.
Although she couldn't be seen, Rigo could feel how she quickly exited the Sweet Home and went to do her task.
Rigo clicked his tongue, he will have to deal with that. Later, right now he had a Grail War to win.
"Well, everybody has their tasks, people. Chop chop!" he clapped his hands to emphasize his point.
They had some work to do.
XXX
With her cheeks as inflated as a squirrel, Artoria walked through the streets of Fuyuki burning in anger.
She understood why Rigo wanted/needed the King of Knights as part of his routine. From a certain point of view, it would have been foolish to let such an opportunity go to waste just like that. It didn't mean that Artoria had to like the money cow that was Arturia Pendragon, especially after even voicing the idea that SHE was a mere pawn of the witch.
She was her own person, damnit!
No longer a mere facet of the blasted witch, or even the 'Child of the Prophecy', she was finally her own person.
The next one that even thought something so ridiculous, she was going to blast them with Marmyadose at full power!
BZZZZ
The ominous sound of insects alerted Artoria that she had finally arrived at her destination.
An old western mansion, with such an oppressive aura emanating from it. Millions of bugs from nightmares flying and crawling through the property. And that putrid smell of a rotting soul.
Tapping her staff against the concrete, Artoria prepared herself for what has going to happen next.
Motes of light started to dance around her, the spirits of nature awakening.
"This is the signaling star that will come someday.
The land of hope, the traces of the paradise.
Surely you will hold over the star, even without anyone needing to tell you so.
Destiny is for someone's sake.
[Around Caliburn]!"
From the top of her staff, a ball of light condensed itself. Once Artoria had uttered the last part of her chant, it expanded at an incredulous pace.
In just the blink of an eye, it had covered the entire property, transporting those trapped inside to land that only those free of sin may pass.
The effect was immediate. In a single moment, the whole property was covered in blue, purifying flames. The screeches of the thousands of familiars being burned alive was chilling, but it brought a sense of pride to Artoria. One less obstacle for Rigo to claim complete and total victory. She saw a giant shadow extend itself from the mansion, in a last and desperate attempt of escaping, but as soon as it formed, it was soon covered in flames.
Nothing of the swarm was spared, she saw to it.
When the last wisps of fire were extinguished, she collapsed her Noble Phantasm, and they were back to Fuyuki. The oppressive aura was gone, only the echoes of it remained.
Pushing the gate, she took a step forward. There was still someone she needed to rescue.
XXX
A scowl plastered on his perfectly carved face, the Wise King of Uruk allowed himself a small sip from the glass of wine in front of him. Its deep taste was a small soothing for his deep headaches these past few days.
The moment the Wise King was summoned as his Caster self, he knew that something was fundamentally wrong with this war. His own Clairvoyance, the very same skill that permitted him to be a candidate for the position of a Grand, was glitching.
That has never happened to him before. Not the actions of the King of Demon Gods, or even the madness being unleashed by that terminal of the Root on those other timelines could remain hidden from him.
Yet, there was something lurking here.
He still had his sight beyond sight, but apart from his own person and those close enough to him, it was like he was blinded. He could make out shapes of blobs, but nothing beyond that. What he could see painted a grim picture for this Grail War.
His Archer self, his past self, would have reacted with untold amounts of violence to this threat. Yet the Wise King chose to take a different course of action. Instead of fighting this hidden enemy head on, he had spent the last couple of days preparing his own countermeasures.
He would admit, it was foolish of him to take such an apathetic approach, the range of his visions has been reduced even more. Now, even the Priest was beyond his field of vision.
But, this wasn't Uruk. If he were to die today, he would do so with a fight, but not one as fierce as those he used to have with his beloved friend. This wasn't his kingdom to defend, he could only help the locals in what little he could.
Gulping down the last contents of the glass of wine, Gilgamesh, Caster of the Fourth Grail War, opened his Gate and readied his wands.
He didn't have to wait long.
XXX
"O White Grail, sing…"
"That's our signal!" Sita barked at Lancelot, making the rage monster awaken from his slumber.
"!"
Howling to the skies, he advanced toward the house.
The Tohsaka mansion has been well protected by all sorts of wards and barriers that each head of the family had been modifying and strengthening over the centuries. It being located over one of the biggest Ley Lines that ran through Fuyuki made it so that the residence was almost a fortress that dissuaded many Magi that had some past beef with the family.
Against the mad charge of the Knight of the Lake, they held their ground for approximately 10 seconds before being broken like cheap glass.
The south wall of the mansion didn't do any better, being reduced to rubble by the Servant.
What did give Lancelot a pause, and actually managed to expel him off the property was a literal wall of Mystic Codes, all charged with their strongest spells from the different eras, just to be unleashed point blank against his armored visage.
RAAAMM!
"-!"
A smoking Lancelot was adorning the garden of the Tohsaka Residence, his armor red on some part by pure heat alone. But he was still able to stand.
Out of the hole created by Berserker, almost at a casual stroll, walked the responsible for it.
His red eyes were looking analytically at the trio of Servants united against him.
Archer, Saber, and Berserker.
The two women had neutral expressions on their faces, while Berserker's visor was glowing in a furious red.
"Mongrels, I will not feign ignorance on your actions here today, but it is with satisfaction that I inform you three that my Master and his family had abandoned Fuyuki since 2 days ago," gates started to open at his back, all with a different kind of magical wand at the ready to use. He smirked viciously. "Which means that I have no chains holding me back from unleashing my true power," a stone tablet was deposited in his waiting arms, but he wasn't done yet.
Around the residential area in which they found themselves, multiple magical circles started to appear, from which cannons emerged from.
There were too many for the three of them to count at once, but they knew that each and every single one of them was now aiming at them.
"Witness the power used to protect Uruk," his tablet opened like a book, mystical words flowing around Caster and making his body shine under its glorious golden light. "I am Humanity's First Hero, the perfect king that led Uruk to a golden age like one never seen before. My True Name is Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, those who face me on the battlefield better be prepared for the embrace of death! Now, come!"
BANG!
The first cannon fired, but Sita responded in kind with an arrow of her own. The explosion between the two projectiles illuminated the now dark sky of Fuyuki.
It was on!
Sita let loose a trio of arrows against the Gilgamesh, but a pillar of flames surged right in front of the King's feet that managed to block the attack.
"!" Lancelot let loose a howl, and using his personal sword, Arondight, charged forward!
BANG!
Two more cannons fired over the Knight of the Lake, but the King of Knights was quick to respond to her camarade's aid.
"HA!" releasing a gale of wind from her sword, she managed to shield her knight and allowed him to continue on his charge.
With a gesture of opening his arms, more and more of his cannons opened fire and unleashed a torrent of lighting towards his enemies.
"AAROOOONDIGHTTTTTT!" holding his precious swords with both hands, Lancelot released its True Name and responded to the assault of lighting with a pillar of light.
GRAAAGHHHH!
The clash was deafening, and even the holy knight was pushed by the sheer force of the clash. There was no doubt that if he were to face this foe alone, we would have lost.
He wasn't alone.
His crimson eyes flashing in warning, Gilgamesh centered his vision on Sita.
Sita's golden bow was slowly dissolving itself in particles of golden light, her figure was brimming with power. "I declare this vow here and now. For the sake of my beloved, I will no longer contain myself."
A giant replica of her bow suddenly manifested above her. It was larger than Sita was tall, easily dwarfing her by a good margin. Yet, she still had the strength to pull from the string. Even if she had to use her whole body to pull, pulling did she did.
"Go, [Haradhanu Janaka]!"
A piercing monolith of light was shooted against the King of Heroes, who could only summon as many barriers as he could while at the same firing his cannons to try and intercept the shot.
"HAHH!"
What he didn't expect was for Saber to appear on his other side and slash at him with her own sword. He was forced to summon his ceremonial ax to try and parry the King of Knights' attack.
CLANG!
CRACK
Being pushed against his own barrier, Gilgamesh gritted his teeth when he saw that they were being shattered by the still ongoing shot.
In the distance, he thought that he saw a mechanical giant.
XXX
"AAGGHHHH!" Waver was screaming his throat raw at the same time he tried to hold into Talos.
"Hahaha, go, go Talos!" Europa for her part was cheering for her giant to crush more of Assassin's personas. She was helping too, summoning her lightning with her lyre.
Their target was a sneaky fellow. Their initial assault at his hideout in the commercial district was a bust, her precious bull received a few dirks in the face, making her mad enough to summon Talos to try and smash them all.
Talos was the strongest, after all!
"Although this Hassan sure is bothersome," Europa was grumbling loudly at this. The Hundred Personas were offering a large amount of human shields for the Executor to slip right through. A fourth of them had already died, but it seemed like they never ran out of fresh bodies to throw at them.
Welp, they could still go through demolishing the area. Rigo asked for at least that amount of collateral damage.
"Crush them, Talos!"
XXX
Rigo was looking at Europa's rampage with a raised eyebrow. He never truly expected that the airheaded grandma of Greek heroes would have a flare for unwonted amounts of destruction.
"Maybe the Stamp messed with her head a bit?" Rigo questioned no one in particular, watching the event currently unfolding at Fuyuki through a flat screen that was included in the Sweet Home and Irisviel managed to hook up with the Holy Grail currently floating over Fuyuki.
He winced a bit when one of Gilgamesh's attacks managed to clip Saber on the shoulder. Yeah, she had Avalon now thanks to Irisviel transferring it back to her, so the wound closed almost immediately, but it still looked like a nasty wound in the short seconds it wasn't healed.
He would have to handle it to the King of Heroes, the man was hard to kill despite being outnumbered 3 to 1. That kind of tenacity was to be respected.
Artoria silently took a seat herself by his side, wrapping him in a hug.
"How is she?" Rigo casually asked, noting on the TV how both combats seemed to get closer to each other.
"Irisviel is preparing the bath for her," Artoria looked at him with a concerned look. "She was covered in her own waste in that pit, and it looked like the worm hasn't been feeding her well in the last week."
Rigo didn't express his anger at the news in any visible way, he simply bit the internal part of his left cheek. He could taste his own blood.
"What are your plans regarding Sakura?" Artoria finally questioned. Not even she was aware of that part of the plan, Rigo hadn't really thought that far ahead when all this started.
"I am gonna leave her here with Waver, it would do her some good to get experience regarding the politics of the Clock Tower," after a brief pause, he revealed.
The combat on the TV now turned into a full-on brawl. His own forces against the united might of Gilgamesh and Hassan of the Hundred Personas. With the support of the King of Heroes, Assassin was attacking Talos with renewed strength, actually managing to damage the iron giant.
"Is there any other reason?" Artoria questioned with eyes that conveyed that she didn't believe such a weak excuse.
Rigo inhaled exasperado. "I don't do lolis, happy?" he huffed while crossing his arms, although he then put on a pensive expression. "Well, I don't do Sakura as a loli. Jack, Kama, or Ibuki maybe," he admitted with a sheepish expression.
Artoria's grin matched a fox at that moment.
PUAGHHHH!
Looking back at the screen, Rigo made sure to always remember this moment.
Gilgamesh's head, being separated from his body by Excalibur.
At the same time, Talos was victoriously holding an object in his right hand. There was too much blood, but the dark clothes the figure was sporting were more than enough to identify the victim.
He had won.
XXX
Emiya Kirtisugu was running through the devastated streets of Fuyuki, looking for at least one survivor amongst such a disaster.
His sweet wife was dead, killed by the very man he had most out of the bunch that participated in this conflict. He put a bullet in between his eyes, and just to make sure, blew up his corpse with some C4.
That man was an agent of chaos, short and simple. He amputated his own father's arm to take his Command Seals, and ordered all the remaining Servants to battle each other to the death, leaving the urban area of Fuyuki not better than a smoldering crater. Archer and Caster were the most glamorous of the bunch, but it was Rider the one that finished them all with that iron giant of hers.
He felt blessed beyond relief that his mistress, Maiya, was left behind at the Einzbern Castle, she was one of the few remaining people in his life.
A hand sticking out of the rubble.
He ran with all his remaining strength, and just before the limb could collapse to the ground, he was there to pick them up.
It was a girl, her eyes were almost lifeless, and her legs were almost pulverized by the motor of a car, but she was alive.
He felt himself cry for the first time in a very long time. Relief and lament, hope and despair, it didn't matter to him.
He managed to save someone at least.
XXX
With tears in her eyes, Irisiviel saw the visage of her husband carrying that little girl away. She couldn't do anything but pray for him. Pray that he would find some solace of happiness with Maiya, pray that her sweet daughter will have the necessary strength to face the hardships that were in store for her, and pray for herself to not lose her mind.
Lookin at her new coven with a furious scowl, she just wished that every single one of them would die a horrible death. Then she felt miserable for even thinking that regarding the people she loved the most in this world.
Rigo was looking at the destruction around him with a contemplative look. He didn't look like he was relishing in the untold amounts of death he created, but he also didn't look the very least guilty about it.
He then turned to the priest, and raised his Command Seals. "You will never tell a single soul what truly happened here. The official story is that your son turned mad with power, he amputated your arm and ordered all the Servants to kill each other. Waver Velvet is the official winner of the Holy Grail War, but due to damages to the Ley Line occurred during the battle, the Grail never manifested."
His seals stopped glowing, and Risei's face twisted in a futile effort to fight the command. It didn't last very long, and with gritted teeth he bowed his head. "It will be as you say," he vowed.
Rigo's expression turned into a half-smirk, before looking at both Waver and Sakura. "You two should go back to the Clock Tower, where you Waver will raise Sakura as your adopted sister for the time being."
The young man grimaced at being left with such a responsibility, before palling visibly. "What about the El-Melloi Family?" he asked with dread.
Now it was a sly grin. "Why would they ever harm the man that brought them salvation, and managed to return to them their Magic Crest?"
Artoria gave Waver an ice pack, and the youth let out a squeak once he saw what was inside.
"It was damaged, that much I can tell you, I did what I could to fix it," Artoria admitted, Magi Magic Crests weren't really a specialization of hers.
"T-Thank you," Waver said in a low tone, and with Sakura in hand, they left towards Waver's temporary residence. His 'grandparents' would be worried sick, no doubt.
Rigo watched them go, and just when they were out of sight, he stretched. "*YAWN* Welp, it's time for a bit of rest now," and with a lazy gesture, they all returned to the Sweet Home.
XxXxX
AN: Welp, next chapter a bit of downtime before the jump into the next world. Be sure to vote on the poll.
I made a slight mistake regarding my maths, so the Captures and Sales section will have to wait for a day or two to be fixed