Chapter 13: Whose Blade Betrayed
Assassin leaped backwards in time to avoid the cataclysmic strike aimed towards his cloaked body. He landed on a jutting piece of concrete with unequaled precision, and gave a bewildered stare towards his opponent. She looked to be incredibly young, and her small, frail body was encased in brilliant silver armor that shined in the moonlight. Her green eyes shimmered with resolve and her hands appeared to be gripping something that his eyes could not see. An invisible sword. Behind her was a tall, muscular man who barked at Archer. Assassin could not make out what he said, but Archer's sudden retreat would lead him to believe that he told her to run.
The cloaked killer cursed under his breath. He had them. She was weakened, he could have killed right then and there. But this damned pair had to show up and completely ruin his night. He drew his Liar's Blades, a pair of swords that seemed to have no definite shape, and rippled like water.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked the girl, his voice demanding.
"I am Servant Saber," responded the girl, saying no more.
"Not the talkative type I see," remarked Assassin, "You and that damned ninja have a lot in common then." In an instant, with a sweep of his arm, Assassin flung a torrent of daggers towards Saber, their black shapes sung through the air. However, they were all for not, and Saber simply flicked them aside with her phantom sword. Assassin then leaped towards her, using the knives as a distraction he would move in for the strike, using his superior speed. He had the advantage. Even if she did block his strike, the Liar's Blades would do their work and snake around her defense.
He thrust his right blade, aiming it for the small girl's gut. However, something happened that Assassin did not expect. In one crisp move, Saber sidestepped Assassin's blade and brought her sword down onto his shoulder, Assassin flipped backwards, barely managing to land correctly in his panic. He grasped his shoulder, feeling a faint trickle of blood ebbing from a small wound. She had struck him, but just barely. He managed to avoid a fatal blow, but had he not, he would have been destroyed.
"We know how your blades work, Assassin," said the red coated man, "When an opponent's weapon blocks them, they bend and stretch over the weapon, hitting them regardless of the defense. It's like striking a metal pole with a leather belt. The belt cannot possibly break through the pole, but it will still whip around it, striking anything that's on the other side. However, if that same leather belt is dodged completely, it has nothing to whip around and is completely open to attack."
Assassin felt a hint of panic swell within him. This man had managed to learn how to counter his blades, he had lost his one advantage in this fight. Before he could even think of a plan the silver knight jumped towards him, her speed almost equal to his own and swiped at him with her invisible sword. Assassin jumped backwards again but the girl's onslaught did not cease.
Shirou felt a great amount of confidence course through his body, Saber had Assassin on the run. He was helpless against her and he knew it, it was only a matter of time before she would be the victorious one in this fight. However, a shiver ran up his spine and without warning a dazzling bolt of light crashed down in front of Saber, uplifting stone and concrete. To his relief, Saber had jumped backwards in time to avoid the strike. He quickly ran to her side, summoning Kanshou and Bakuya to him.
From the smoke of the blast emerged a pair of warriors whose faces were hidden away by masks. The pair were quite intimidating in appearance. One was a young girl wearing a pure white kimono that covered her entire body. In her right hand was a japanese katana, it's blade shimmering in the moonlight like a crystal lake. Her face was hidden away behind a white demonic mask, a hanya mask, and her auburn hair rested on her shoulders. Her partner was a man clad in gunmetal gray armor. His gauntlets were clawed and he wore a brilliant red robe underneath. His face was hidden away as well, a steel helm with crude horns adorning his head. In his hand was a glorious sword, with a pearl white hilt and a wide, shimmering, silver blade. The tip of the sword seemed different than the rest of the blade, being an obsidian black color.
"So," said Shirou, maintaining his confident manner of speech. "Who are you two?"
"It is none of your concern, Emiya Shirou," said the masked girl, "You have been snooping around long enough."
"Ah, you know my name," remarked Shirou with a smile, "Seems like everyone does these days." Shirou looked at the armored man, puzzled. He knew he was a Servant, but he wasn't expecting a Servant like this to appear in the war. What class was he? Lancer? Perhaps even Caster?
"I see you are eying my Servant," said the girl, observing Shirou, "Do not waste your time. He is not of the other classes, he is a Saber, just like yours."
"Another Saber?" exclaimed Shirou, bewildered, "How is that even possible?"
"This grail is far more potent than the ones in the past Emiya. It has more than enough power to accommodate for the abnormal amount of Servants."
"Interesting," said Shirou under his breath. This only made his concerns worse. What could the thief have possibly done to make the Grail this powerful?
Then suddenly, without so much as an order from his Master, the Servant leaped towards Saber, his blade crashing into her, pushing her into the darkness of the street. Her feet dug deep into the concrete, Saber locked blades with the Servant, but his strength was great and she found herself losing ground to the vicious opponent.
Shirou expressed surprise at such an action, he wasn't expecting a Servant to act without orders from it's own Master. Looking at the masked girl, he could see her charging towards him, her blade held high above her head. Shirou quickly blocked the blow and the two engaged in a battle of their own.
Her form was excellent, almost perfect. Her fluid movements and swift strikes were almost impossible for Shirou to track. Almost. Although she was incredibly skilled, her attacks reflected a lack of experience, she had never fought in a pitched battle before. Shirou moved around her blows, dodging slash after slash and parrying with his Kanshou and Bakuya.
"Your technique is perfect, almost flawless," he blocked a vertical slash aimed for his head and locked blades with the masked girl, "But you still have a lot to learn." He pushed her backwards and ran towards her, striking with Kanshou and Bakuya in a synchronized attack. The girl avoided the strikes, managing to jump backwards in time and counter with a horizontal slash aimed for Shirou's midsection. Without so much as an effort, Shirou blocked the blow with his Kanshou.
The girl was silent and her attacks against Shirou did not cease, much to his dismay. She has a lot of determination. But she had no hope of victory against him. Their blades clashed again and again, lighting up the night with showers of sparks. The girl slashed downward, another blow aimed towards Shirou's head. Seeing the strike, Shirou sidestepped and lashed out with Bakuya, the pearl white blade aimed for the girls neck. Stepping slightly backwards the girl managed to avoid the strike, however the blade's edge nicked her neck drawing a small amount of blood.
The masked girl touched her neck in surprise and quickly reoriented herself. Shirou could see it in her eyes. She knew that she was going to lose and that there was no hope for her in this contest. However she continued her assault and locked blades with Shirou once again.
Saber engaged her masked enemy in an explosive duel of strength and skill. Saber couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia at the blade in her opponent's hand. It felt as if she knew who this warrior was, as if they had known each other in life.
The Servant smashed his blade against Saber's, his strength great enough to launch her backwards through a building. Saber crashed through a stone wall and into the building, rolling on the ground. She barely managed to rise up and parry another strike by the Servant, who had bounded after her. Their blade's locked in a desperate struggle. After exerting much of her own strength, Saber pushed back her attacker, almost managing to slice him across the chest.
However, her foe was relentless, and he continued to slam his sword against her invisible weapon. His fighting style was very familiar, and his movements mimicked Saber's. It was as if the two of them were one and the same, their fighting styles almost identical. The two leaped away from each other simultaneously and held their swords out in front of one another.
"Who are you?" asked Saber, "Your style, sword, armor. I have seen them before."
"So, you've forgotten about me?" said the knight, his voice hollow through his helmet. "My hatred is justified then. Do not attempt speaking to me...King of Knights."
Saber's eyes widened. This Servant had already managed to deduce who she was in life. Who was this Servant? Who could be so knowledgeable in Saber's methods? Before she could dote on it further, the enemy Servant jumped towards Saber, his sword at his side. Saber quickly blocked the incoming blade, holding the vicious Servant at bay.
"Look at you," said the Servant, his helmet in Saber's face, "You call yourself a King? Don't make me laugh. You are no more a king, than the ground beneath my feet!" Saber could feel the sting of her foe's words. She remembered all of her failings, all of the mistakes she made as the ruler of her people. The grip around her sword grew loose as her thoughts began to race with memories of her previous life. Taking advantage of her moment of weakness, the Servant kicked her in the stomach, launching her across the room with his inhuman strength. Saber grasped her belly in pain, her eyes gazing at the Servant as he charged towards her, dragging his sword across the ground.
"You betrayed your people!" yelled the Servant, slamming his sword into Saber's invisible one. Saber desperately tried to defend, but the Servant's words constantly ate at her. "You led your country into destruction!" With one swipe the Servant flung Saber aside, his strike far too powerful for her to block head on. Saber flew through the wall of the building, ending in the middle of the street once again. She struggled to get to her feet, this Servant was far more powerful than she had thought.
The Servant walked through the gaping hole of the building, his sword dragging across the ground lighting up sparks and scarring the concrete. Saber leaped backwards into the air, and landed on the face of a tall building. She knew what had to be done, but she could not risk firing such a powerful technique in a populated area. She would have to lead the other Saber into a place where she could better use it. As planned, the enemy Servant gave chase.
"Hah!" he scoffed, "The King of Knights fleeing from battle?" The two ran across the face of the building as if it were solid ground and in mere seconds, Saber reached the pinnacle of the building. She could feel the enemy Servant quickly approaching so she took her place on the opposite side.
The enemy Servant emerged from the dark and landed on the top of the building, his sword shimmering in the moonlight as he faced Saber. "It is the end of the line, Saber, you have nowhere to run. Accept your fate. You are to be killed, here and now!"
In an instant, Saber's invisible blade began to glow a bright, exuberant yellow and lifted the veil of invisibility. In her hands was grasped a beautiful sword, almost unequaled in it's magnificence. The dazzling sword charged itself with an unbelievable power, one that shook the ground and caused the air itself to howl. Saber could not see the Servant's face behind that mask, but she felt safe in assuming that it had a look of surprise plastered across it. This was it, her victory was near.
However, the enemy Servant's sword began to glow as well. In fact it glowed just as brightly as Saber's own sword, a bright scarlet light enveloped it and swirled around the blade of the sword.
"I have been waiting for this!" exclaimed the Servant loudly, "Now we will see who the true King is!"
Saber quickly brought her sword down in one fluid motion, yelling, "Excalibur!"And from the tip of her radiant sword shot forth a pristine yellow light of unbelievable power. The roof of the building shook and tiles were destroyed and uplifted as the gargantuan light shot towards her armored foe.
The enemy Servant, brought his blade down as well, yelling words that were all too familiar to Saber, "Clarent!" From the Servant's blade erupted a dazzling scarlet light that collided with Saber's powerful blast. The power of the two strike's collision was so powerful that the Servants were knocked backwards into the air as an explosion, mammoth in size, engulfed the entirety of the roof.
Saber, flipping wildly through the air, managed to just barely land on the edge of a building opposite of where she was. However, she was not worried about falling. A far more frightening thought had taken hold of her. Clarent. She knew that sword. When she was alive the sword was very special to her and her knights. It was the sword used for knighting ceremonies. A blade that was stolen many years ago by one man. A man who used it to bring about the end of her kingdom and mortally wound her.
She looked up at the smoke and fire rising from the top of the building where they had battled. Emerging from the blackened smoke was the Servant. Clarent grasped tightly in his hand as he stared at Saber with an unending hatred.
"Mordred," said Saber, a tear running down her eye, "Is that you?"
The Servant paused momentarily, removing his helm and revealing his true appearance. He was exactly as Saber had remembered him. Young and handsome. His features were very similar to her own, and he looked more like a woman than an actual man. His eyes shimmered as the moonlight bounced off his brilliant green irises.
"It is I...Father." A silence passed between the two as they looked at one another. Through Mordred's eyes Saber could see an burning, intense hatred. An emotion unparalleled. Without another word, he lifted his sword and chanted, "Carnwennan." Swiping his blade in a horizontal arc in front of him, the brilliant sword sent out a crescent shaped white light that shot towards Saber with the speed of a bullet. Saber jumped out of the way, barely managing to avoid the slash. But that was not the end, three more crescents shot towards her, slicing through the midnight air with unimaginable speed. Majestically handling her sword, Saber managed to block two of the crescents but the third sung through a part of her arm, drawing a sizable amount of blood.
She fell to the floor, a river of blood flowing from her arm. Carnwennan. She remembered that name as well. Mordred stood composed a mere few feet away from Saber, pointing the tip of his sword towards her. "Rhongomyniad," he said, and in an instant the tip of the sword extended forth, stretching like rubber. Saber rose to her feet and deflected the incoming blade, only to have it reorient itself to attack her once again. It was like a serpent, a living creature hellbent on striking it's target, however Saber would not give it the satisfaction. She beat back the blows, as the razor sharp tip collided into her brilliant sword. With a roar, she slammed the flat of her blade against the flailing tip of steel and sent it back to it's master.
Mordred merely gazed at Saber with furrowed brows. Saber breathed heavily, tired from exhausting so much energy in the battle.
"You recognize those names don't you?" asked Mordred, "Clarent, Carnwennan, Rhonogmyniad. You should, they once belonged to you." Saber's eyes widened, the memories of the weapons returning to her. "You prized your sword more, and they were cast aside. Forgotten until I stole them away and combined them into this blade! More than a match for your precious Excalibur! A Noble Phantasm that is three in one!" With that Mordred raised his sword above his head, "It is time for you to finally die!" Clarent began to glow a brilliant red color and the air around Mordred began form a violent cyclone.
Saber raised Excalibur, it's magnificent blade glowing with an intense, yellow light. She was speechless. What was she supposed to say to such hatred? What could she possibly do to stop someone so angry? Someone so hellbent on her destruction? Suddenly, before the two could bring their swords down, Mordred disappeared in a explosion of light. The light of Excalibur died down as Saber, watched on, puzzled. From behind her emerged Shirou, unscathed from his battle with the masked girl.
"She retreated," he said, "I managed to get her across the arm, she probably didn't want to take any chances and called him back to help her escape and tend to her wounds."
Saber was silent. Mordred. The one who had betrayed her country. The one who rose against her and wounded her in battle. The one whom she had hoped never to see again.
"Is something wrong Saber?" asked Shirou, worry spreading through his face. He looked at the gruesome wound across her arm. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?"
"It is nothing," replied Saber, with a false smile.
Mordred found himself standing in the middle of a dark alley, Clarent held high above his head. Before him stood his Master, Natsumi, grasping her shoulder tightly as blood flowed down her kimono.
"Why did you call me back?" yelled Mordred, displeased at what had occurred.
"Why else would I have called you back?" replied Natsumi flatly, "I am wounded. Would you rather we lose the war due to a little blood loss?"
"I don't give a damn about you mages and your stupid war! I care only for that Saber! I want to see her pay for what she has done!"
"And what exactly has she done pray tell?"
"It is a business that is not yours to know little mage girl! And I would suggest you stop sticking your nose into someones affairs. Lest you want that pretty nose of yours to be cut off!" The Servant quickly disappeared into his spirit form, as if he were never there at all.
Natsumi sighed under her breath. After all of the years she had spent training she was still no match for her father. She was not even close to him in terms of skill or magecraft. She felt ashamed. What would he think of her if he found out? She had to prove herself to her parents that she was a strong magus worthy of their name. She knew what to do. She had to become stronger and she knew someone that could help.