"Thank you, Mordred."
Mordred had just finished showering and putting on clean clothes when, while making his way through the halls of the Einzbern Castle, he encountered his mom.
"Thanks for what?"
"For talking to Iri."
"Oh, right." Apparently mama told mom about the talk they had the other day. Mordred could feel his face heating up. He was hoping mama wouldn't mention that since it was embarrassing. "No problem. Mama just needed some help, so I helped her."
"Mama? You've started calling Iri mama?"
"Uh." Mordred's face was on fire. "I mean, she's basically my mama at this point." Mordred stopped looking at his mom and instead at the wall as if the cracks in it were the most interesting things in the world.
"You're cute, Mordred." Mom was definitely forcing herself to say that, but not in a way that sounded like a lie. It was more like she was making herself state her inner thoughts. Mordred's face felt like lava now as he was complemented by the parent he was so unused to being praised by. The catharsis was only matched by the awkwardness it was paired with. "A-Anyway, thank you for talking to your mama. She needed someone to talk to and I wasn't up to the task."
"You're welcome." Mordred murmured out.
"Mordred, I just want to let you know that I'm proud of you. I feel like I and everyone else treats you like you aren't that smart, but you are smart. Intellectually and emotionally."
"Thanks." Mordred squeaked as his skin was as hot as the Sun's core. "It's nice to hear that." Even if Mordred usually wasn't called stupid, except by Kay(or Add in this case), it was clear that almost everyone thought Mordred wasn't very smart in any sense except as a combatant. It wasn't hard to see why everyone had this impression of Mordred given his habits such as speaking vulgarities constantly and always taking the brashest option available to him. Hearing his mom tell him he was smart was so nice that it made Mordred feel as if he was getting lighter. It felt weird.
"You're a good boy, Mordred. You're smart and you're strong and I'm proud of you. I trust you and that's why I'm okay with you accompanying your mama, Gray, and Add. Gray isn't allowed to fight right now, so it's up to you to protect everyone from enemy Servants or anything else that comes your way. It's your job to be the guardian. I know you can do it." Mordred felt a responsibility put upon him that he had never previously known. It didn't make him feel afraid or nervous, it made him happy to know that his mom had finally seen him as worthy of his trust and respect. "You'll also be the one who'll have to make tough decisions if necessary. Neither your mama or Gray are in a healthy headspace and Add, or rather Kay, has always been a better advisor than a leader. You are the one everyone will have to lean on. Do you think you can handle that?"
"Yes." Mordred didn't even hesitate for a second. He would make his mom proud and protect his new family no matter what Servants, magi, or whatever tried to hurt them. "I'll protect mama, Gray, and Add." Mom smiled at Mordred's resolve.
"I'm glad to hear it. I'm sorry for stopping you. You need to get going with the others."
"Right." Mordred continued on his way with his mom accompanying him. The former knight of treachery walked quicker than he had before, not because he was eager to leave, but because he had been vivified by his conversation with his mom and wanted to meet her expectations.
Mordred and his mom exited the castle and went over to the family car where Sella, Leysritt, Gray, and Illya were packing luggage in the trunk. Mama was watching from the side with Chloe while they talked about cars. Chloe was holding her nose to safeguard herself against the sour stench of the car that refused to stop smelling of the sewer.
"Is everything ready to go?" Mordred said.
"Yup." Illya slammed the car's trunk closed
"Then let's get going and find that puppet chick!" Mordred skipped over towards the car and stood by it as everyone started saying their goodbyes. Mom and mama held each other and kissed while Gray thanked Chloe for all her help. Mordred was never the type to really get into saying goodbyes so he just stayed back and gave a wave towards Illya and mom who reciprocated, as well as a obligatory nod towards Chloe and her maids. It looked like Archer wasn't going to show his face. He had been scarce to see in the castle the whole time they had been there. Was he shy or just too serious to hang out?
Once everyone had said their piece, Mordred, mama, and Gray shuffled into the car. Mordred was driving since mama wasn't in the condition to take the wheel and Mordred had the Riding skill. Despite Mordred having a skill that guaranteed he would be a good driver, Illya still felt the need to tell Mordred to be careful and to drive safely a good dozen times. Mordred really came off as reckless to everyone, except mom who said nothing who really did have faith in Mordred. Mama sat in the passenger seat in case Mordred needed to quickly reach her if something bad happened. She was a sweaty mess and was leaning into the back of her seat in a daze. Gray took a seat in the back and was so stiff it looked like she had a metal rod shoved up her ass like a mannequin. This probably wasn't going to be a fun drive. Mordred's discomfort didn't matter, saving mama and Gray did.
"Is everybody ready to go?" Both Gray and mama nodded. "Then we're off!" Mordred started the car and they got moving. Mama looked back to everyone staying at the castle with trembling shoulders. Gray just stared ahead while not really looking at anything just like how a camera doesn't look at anything, only captures images through automated processes. Gray really was becoming more like a robot, or rather a god.
"Hey, let me out!" A voice came from Gray's purse so she opened it and let Add out. "Finally! I hate having to lay low for so long!"
"And I was finally getting used to not having to deal with you." Mordred hummed.
"And I was getting used to not getting verbally abused by you, so I guess we're all disappointed."
"Get along, you two." Mama leaned her head against the window of her door. "This is going to be a long trip." Both Mordred and Add held their tongues for the sake of not forcing mama to listen to them while she was exhausted both physically and mentally. Any strain while she was in such a fragile state would make her suffering more cruel and inch her closer to breaking.
And so the car ride remained quiet. Dreadfully so. There was no banter or play. It was just a sterile and by the numbers car ride. The family ended up in traffic on the expressway out of Fuyuki where the buildings faded while waves of trees and craters where mountains once stood became the new landscape. Thanks to people being eager to both enter and exit Fuyuki due to the first night of the war's chaos, the roads were all congested and inching along at the speed of a dying snail. It created the sensation that the whole planet and even time itself was slowing, freezing, dying. The silence that nobody had the courage or interest to break was heavy and made Mordred want to jump out of the car and run around to let the energy inside him be released. The only stimulus that Mordred was blessed with was the ache of his unhealing wounds which was all he could focus on besides the awkwardness. Mordred was a hyperactive person when you got right down to it and so trying to keep calm and just wait something out was a Sisyphean request. The sting of his injuries, the beating of his own heart, the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed, all these little things became so hard for him to ignore. He even noticed every time he blinked and suddenly felt the need to consciously think about every time he wanted to shut and open his eyelids to keep his eyes moist. Focusing was becoming harder with every second that passed, every new thing that Mordred couldn't ignore and was slowly driving him nuts. Mordred began tapping his free foot and twisting his tongue around in his mouth. He was going from stir crazy to exhausted. His body was accepting that it wasn't going to be moving around and was trying to just shut down. This car ride was torture and Mordred didnt even have the luxury of being allowed to take a nap since he was driving.
Christ, Mordred had to get a grip already. He just had to let his Riding skill make him drive on autopilot while he daydreamed about something to keep himself entertained. What to daydream about? Food? Thinking about food would just make him hungry so that was a no go. Fighting? Fighting who? Lancer? Mordred imagined facing that spearwoman by the name of Scáthach again and even in his imaginings he was getting his ass kicked. He imagined those spear thrusts that pierced through his body so easily and he tried to picture himself diverting them with Clarent, but every time he still got hit. Even in his mind he couldn't imagine himself overcoming that monster of a woman. Only mom or Archer could beat her. Mordred couldn't imagine beating any of the Servants that he had seen in the war so far, which wasn't that many to be fair, but it still made him feel inadequate and emasculated. This wasn't fun to imagine. How about someone easy to take down, like Dinadan or Bedivere? No, they'd be no fun to fight.
Minutes passed and Mordred was getting frustrated at how hard it was to entertain himself. Mordred decided to imagine something that used to make him feel bitter. He thought about what it would have been like if mom had accepted him as her son back in Camelot, if mom had opened her arms and embraced him as a being worthy of her love and who deserved to be her successor. Mordred would have been taught personally by her in how to fight and how to rule over others as a wise monarch. Merlin, Kay, and Dinadan would make jokes and Mordred would get mad and yell with mom scolding him afterward like parents were supposed to. Gawain, Gaheris, and Gareth would have become like real siblings to Mordred and they would spend time together. Tristan, Palamedes, Ywain, Galehaut, and Lancelot would have become mentors to Mordred while Bedivere, Percival, and Galahad would be like his friends. Mordred would tell mom of Morgan's plans and they would foil them. Lancelot and Guinevere would never have their affair and maybe Galehaut would finally admit his feelings for Lancelot and they would get together. When it came to the issue of Mordred's shortened lifespan due to the nature of his creation, they could use Avalon the same way it was being used to preserve Illya's life in the real world. Mordred would grow and meet all his mom's expectations and they would have become an inseparable pair. Mordred would eventually take the throne and mom would be free to live a simple and happy life free from the burdens of being king.
What could have been.
Mordred wiped away a tear. The past was the past, no use dwelling. Mordred's present was what mattered and he had been gifted one that was better than he could have ever reasonably hoped for. He had finally been accepted by his mom and also had a mama that was one of the nicest people ever. He had Illya who was a caring and fun person while Gray incited Mordred's protective instincts in a way that made him feel needed. Add was annoying, but he wasn't that bad and arguing with him was enjoyable in its own way. Mordred had been accepted into a loving family that made everyday pleasant and caused the past to fade away for the first time in Mordred's existence. This was a life Mordred was satisfied with and one he never wanted to end. That was why Mordred cared so much about protecting it. Nobody was going to hurt his family.
Mordred took an exit and the car ended up going down a long turning road that was tightly bordered by trees. Due to the big turn creating space between the Pendragon family's car and the other vehicles along with the foliage getting in the way, Mordred couldn't directly see any of the cars in front of or behind them and the other drivers likely couldn't see them. That meant that if anything happened to their car, nobody would see it. Mordred's Instinct kicked in and he knew that he and his family were about to be ambushed. He had no time to tell the others. It was about to happen so he had to follow his intuition and just act.
Mordred let go of the wheel and moved his arms towards mama. It all happened so quickly, but he knew mama was about to be attacked. His Instincts told him that there was an unseen enemy that had just phased into the car who was, right at that moment, unleashing two lethal blows towards mama. Mordred felt blades dig into his arms as he covered mama's neck and chest. Both of the knight's arms were barely able to avoid getting completely cut through and that was only because he used Mana Burst to release a shockwave of red lighting. The crimson wave repelled the unseen blades and their wielder which caused them to crash through the car's windshield. They weren't leaving without a parting gift as an invisible strike hit the side of the vehicle and launched it off the road and into the forest next to it, Mordred and his family getting knocked around within the airborne automobile.
The car was ripped apart as it crashed through tree after tree. Mordred materialized his armor and grabbed mama while Gray got hold of Add and they both punched their way out of the vehicle and landed on the ground. There was no time to relax as Mordred gave mama a piggy back ride while summoning Clarent to block slash after slash from the invisible assailant who had already recovered from the Mana Burst they got hit with. They were definitely using two swords and were absolutely gunning to kill mama in particular. Mordred didn't care what the reason was, he promised mom he'd keep everyone safe and he was going to do just that no matter what.
"Are you okay?" Mordred heard mama say through a telepathic link.
"I'm fine. Are you good?"
"I'll be fine. Gray, Add, are you okay?"
"We're fine."
As he continued to black and counterattack, Mordred saw Gray holding Add and standing a distance away. She couldn't help with the fight due to the potential risk of accelerating her loss of self, but that was fine. Mordred had things under control.
Instinct told Mordred that his opponent just changed their weapon to a polearm. They were probably trying to take advantage of their invisibility to disguise that they had multiple weapons that could attack from different angles. The enemy Servant tried to catch Mordred by surprise after making him confident he was fighting someone with two swords so he wouldn't be ready for a different kind of attack. That wasn't going to work on Mordred as he parried the new armament as easily as the swords. This was an Assassin that they were dealing with based on their strength and fighting style, but their specific identity was anyone's guess since it was unlikely that they were going to show their face and potentially give away hints as to who they were.
This Assassin wasn't too fast, thankfully. Due to the boost Mordred was getting from having Illya as his second Master, Mordred should have been able to outspeed this invisible Servant, but his wounds were holding him back. He had to power through the pain that certain movements caused in order to not hesitate or give away where his weak spots were.
"I am the bone of my sword"
Projected into the air above the obscured Assassin was a series of swords, each a Noble Phantasm with their own properties. Mordred had no idea how this Servant was just cranking out Noble Phantasms, but that didn't matter. The swords shot at the knight who knocked each of them away easily and shifted to be more aggressive in his offensive. With Mana Burst powering him up, Mordred swung his sword repeatedly to unleash short range bursts of magical energy that carved craters into the earth and disintegrated trees. Assassin began to run rather than face the waves of energy head on, but they weren't fast enough to avoid them completely. Mordred couldn't see them, but he knew he had at least grazed the invisible fighter a few times.
Mordred was about to pursue the Assassin until he sensed people approaching who had unusually high magical energy. No, it wasn't the people who had a lot of magical energy, it was the things they were holding. From deeper in the forest appeared men in suits wielding blades, spears, and other weapons that were all Noble Phantasms. They were cheap mass productions and certainly weaker than proper Noble Phantasms, but they were still dangerous. The wielders were human, so how did they have Noble Phantasms and so many at that? This was really bad. They all rushed towards Gray who couldn't protect herself right now. These guys must have been working for Assassin and were trying to split Mordred's focus and overwhelm him.
As they got close, Mordred ran over to Gray to keep her safe. The suits charged with their weapons, the one taking point wielding a weapon resembling a sword, but with a spiraling 'blade.' The man thrust it and Mordred saw that the weapon twisted space around it and rent it asunder which meant trying to block was a dumb idea. Mordred sidestepped the attack easily and sliced the man's head off in a single motion. Based on the way these thugs were moving, they weren't magi. They were having their physical capabilities boosted, but it seemed to be caused by magical energy funneling into them like with reinforcement magecraft that was coming from things they were wearing under their suits. They must have been given Mystic Codes to supplement that fact that they were really just normal people.
More mooks ran in and tried to overwhelm Mordred with numbers, but despite having Noble Phantasms, they lacked the technique necessary to match a real Heroic Spirit. A single swing of Clarent and the men were split in half at their waists with their upper bodies spinning in the air from the force of the impact. More of the suits walked over the corpses of their allies and continued their blitz. The cold heartedness of these men at seeing their own compatriots be slaughtered meant they were likely used to seeing people die and were able to steel their resolve. Mordred continued hacking away at the thugs with slashes that made the ground shake and caused blood to splatter all over Mordred, mama, and Gray. Mama was shaking in fear and disgust at the scene which was the appropriate response to a horror show such as this, while Gray just stood ready to run if necessary with her face still neutral.
The constant waves of thugs in suits made Mordred forget for a moment about Assassin who took advantage of that lapse in attention to attack Mordred and mama again. Mordred blocked the swing of a greatsword, but the force of the blow while he was taken off guard ended up knocking him away. When he landed on his feet, he saw that he was now a great distance away from Gray who stood stone faced while surrounded by the suited men. A punch charged with crimson lightning created a shockwave that flew at the crowd around Gray and turned a good half of the men to a mist of atoms. The other guys couldn't help but flinch at what had just happened to their comrades which left them open. Mordred smiled as he readied another Mana Burst enhanced fist to obliterate the rest of the suits, but then his Instinct alerted him to incoming projectiles. Spears and arrows from more suited men hiding in distant trees forced Mordred to counter them to avoid the entire area getting torn to shreds and Gray getting caught up in it. With a backhanded swing of his arm, Mordred created an arcing steam of magical energy that served as a shield that crumbled the volley of Noble Phantasms that flew into it and caused shrapnel to shoot out in various directions. Fragments of Noble Phantasms shot clean through trees and dirt which made a fog of dust swaddle the battlefield.
While Mordred was forced to handle the projectiles, he couldn't protect Gray who was forced to maneuver around the slashes and stabs of the numerous suits. That meant Gray was using magical energy which risked her losing control to the Divine Spirit. Mordred sensed another salvo of ranged Noble Phantasms were on the way, as well as the Assassin who was aiming for mama again. Mordred thrust his blade to the heavens and used his Crimson Lightning technique, a high power Mana Burst that unleashed lightning in all directions that eradicated the cloud of dust along with all other nearby objects in a great shockwave that repelled Assassin and sent them flying away. If they hadn't blocked and jumped back as the burst of magical energy reached them, they'd have certainly died. The second barrage of Noble Phantasms were left as less than dust and the explosion of red made the suits attacking Gray become nothing.
The explosion caused the entire area from horizon to horizon to be cleared of all vegetation. Considering there wasn't a road in sight, Assassin had kicked the car deeper into the forest than Mordred had realized. Mama and Gray had been spared by the explosion thanks to Mordred maneuvering the energy around them. Such precision put strain on Mordred, especially while using such a powerful technique that could be considered just a step below a Noble Phantasms's True Name release. The fact that he just used such a technique after using Mana Burst multiple times and while in a wounded state, it was lucky he had two Masters providing magical energy or Mordred would be running on fumes by now. Speaking of that other Master…
"Gray, mama, can either of you contact everybody at the castle? I don't think this is over yet."
"We tried, but there's something stopping the signal. I think some kind of Bounded field has been erected that's stopping telepathic signals." Mama said.
There wasn't any Bounded Field around that Mordred could sense, meaning that the barrier interfering with communication was probably around wherever mom, Illya, and Chloe were. That meant they were probably also under attack. This was a two pronged assault.
Mordred wanted to just give mama to Gray and tell her to run while he held Assassin off, but Assassin would just focus on targeting mama while she wasn't with someone who would fight back. There was no way for Mordred to stop both Assassin and any of his forces that might remain from pursuing Gray and mama if they ran away together. Mordred needed to have mama with him so he could keep her safe. The only option was for Mordred to keep doing as he had been until he finally dealt a killing blow to Assassin. That was fine. Mordred could handle this, he had to, for mama and Gray's sakes.
"Gray, stick close to me, even when I'm fighting. Don't worry, I won't hit you and I won't let anyone else hit you. Just stay by my side and everything will be fine." Mordred said while giving a smile of reassurance which he forgot Gray couldn't see due to the helmet he was wearing.
Gray did as she was told and stood close to Mordred while continuing to be as unperturbed as ever. She looked taller, her hoodie and undershirt pulled up and exposing her midriff thanks to her boost in height and bust size. Her facial features were sharper, more refined. She held a kingly dignity that reminded Mordred of mom and made him worried that Gray had already crossed the point of no return. Gray was a good kid, she didn't deserve all this heartache. They had to find that puppet chick and fast.
There was movement at the horizon and Assassin appeared in view, casually walking towards Mordred and company. He was finally visible and he was covered in red tatters of something he was once wearing that Crimson Lightning ate away. The tall man was tan of skin and white of hair with a serious face while wearing a sleeveless black top and pants. In his hands were two curved short swords, one black, one white. He was bloody and burned from Mordred's last attack, but his wounds were healing. He didn't look or feel like anything Mordred couldn't handle by himself.
Mordred crouched and made sure Gray was behind him and that mama was still holding onto him tightly. Assassin bolted towards Mordred with hypersonic speed that made the air explode and rip apart the land. The Assassin crossed the distance between himself and Mordred in the time it takes sound to move an inch. White and black met silver as Mordred and Assassin dueled again, with Assassin putting his all into his swordsmanship this time rather than trying to be deceptive. The movements of the black and white swords flowed into each other immaculately which allowed for an unpausing sequence of slashes that meant Assassin was always ready to act and never let up on the pressure he put on his enemies. Though his technique was admittedly masterful by the standards of modern humanity, it couldn't compare to that of a Saber such as Mordred. The knight's unorthodox and freeform style that focused on raw might was more than capable of outdoing Assassin not only in terms of power, but it was even far more capable of adapting to enemy styles. There were no two ways about it, Mordred was simply superior in all ways that mattered. Assassin's swords were smashed and then were replaced a moment later thanks to projection magecraft. This happened repeatedly with it appearing that Assassin could create as many blades as he needed as long as he had magical energy. This was going nowhere so Mordred changed a slash using Mana Burst which created a giant crater in front of the knight. Assassin narrowly avoided getting caught up in the red blast by sidestepping before jumping back a bit.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm"
The twin swords Assassin held were thrown at Mordred. The weapons spun like saw blades and moved down curved paths towards the knight in silver and red. Mordred had no clue what Assassin was trying to achieve with an attack like that, but it didn't really matter so he swung Clarent and knocked the two blades away. The twirling weapons flew behind Mordred and Assassin created two more swords while running forward.
"Our strength rips the mountains"
Assassin slashed with one sword and Mordred's Instinct informed him that one of the blades he deflected was curving back to attack the knight from behind. The weapon being swung and the returning blade were being attracted to each other. If Mordred wasn't careful, mama would get hit. Mordred swung wide and destroyed both blades with a single slice. Mordred knew what was coming next as Assassin swung his remaining weapon and the other deflected blade curved back.
"Our swords split the water"
The two remaining swords turned to pieces and Mordred's guard was left completely open due to being forced to make two wide slashes in quick succession. Two new swords blades appeared in Assassin's hands that looked like longsword versions of the black and white swords he was using before. There was little distance between Mordred and Assassin and the dual wielding man was reeling his arms back for a downward X-shaped slash that would kill both Mordred and mama. This was terrible and there was no time for Mordred to do anything about it while in his current position. He couldn't pull in his arms in time to block as Assassin began his killing slash that would cut right through Mordred's Spirit Core.
"Our names reach the imperial villa"
Mordred and mama were dead, and Gray was next.
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together."
Mordred had failed.
Arms wrapped around Mordred from behind and the knight was pulled back. Gray tried to pull Mordred out of range of Assassin's blades and partially succeeded in that the blades still cut into his chest, but not deep enough to hit his Spirit Core. He still took serious damage and the swords sliced right through one of Gray's arms that held Mordred, the one that possessed her Command Spells. The limb severed as Gray continued jumping back with mama and Mordred and landed a good distance away.
"Gray, your arm!" Add said.
"I'm fine. Mordred, can you still fight?"
"Y-Yeah!" Mordred closed his wound with magical energy, but now he was finally feeling tired. It shouldn't have been too big a problem as Assassin was probably far more exhausted by this point.
Mama was in a daze at this point. She wasn't fully cognizant of the world around her which was probably for the best since she'd freak out if she saw her daughter lose an arm.
"You're a surprisingly good fighter, I have to give you that." Assassin stood tall with his spiky longswords. "I figured you were the type to just run in and swing your sword left and right like a Berserker. I guess I should have known not to trust my men's assessments of you. Only a warrior can judge a warrior, not that I'm much of a real warrior."
"Thanks for the compliment. As for you, you're a sneaky little shit, but you're at least good at what you do. You're better than those thugs you sent after us."
"They were meant to distract you. I wasn't expecting you to just flatten the area like that. I'd normally mock you for using such a thoughtless method of handling the situation, but it worked out rather well. Sometimes simplicity is best."
"Hey, can I ask why you've been targeting her so specifically?" Mordred pointed towards mama on her back.
"She's a threat to humanity."
"So you know about her connection to the Grail."
"She isn't just connected to it. She's primed and ready to be the host of an Evil of Humanity representing the sin of Retribution. I'm a Counter Guardian that was summoned to execute her before she fuses with the Greater Grail and becomes a Beast."
Well, fuck. Turns out shit was a lot more dire than it already seemed. Mordred knew that the Greater Grail flooding the Earth with its mud would kill humanity and yet it never dawned on her that basically meant that thing was an egg for an Evil of Humanity.
"Thanks for making it clearer than ever how much we gotta blow that Grail the fuck up. You're still not gonna kill mama."
"Mama?"
"Yeah, she's my mama."
"Wow." Assassin snickered. "I've never heard of an adult Servant seeing a human as their 'mama.' It won't end well."
"And why is that?" Mordred sneered at the implication that things were gonna go south.
"That's how it always goes between humans and Servants. Heroic Spirits don't belong in this time. They are outsiders who aren't meant to stay beyond their time as soldiers in the Holy Grail War. To try, as a Heroic Spirit, to latch onto a time period and culture that is not your own, to find new love and bridge all the gaps in your way will only end in tragedy."
"And how do you know that?"
"First hand experience."
"Just because you fucked up doesn't mean we will."
"I'd be happy to be proven wrong, not that it's my job to find out. My job is to kill you all right here and now."
"And you're gonna fail at that too."
Assassin shrugged before looking melancholic with glazed over eyes. A bitter past played before him and he placed a hand onto his chest.
Mordred's Instinct was screaming at the top of its lungs that Mordred needed to kill Assassin now. He had to stop Assassin from doing whatever he was about to do.
"I am the bone of my sword"
Mordred didn't want to leave Gray's side so he used Mana Burst to unleash a wave of destruction Assassin's way. The chanting Servant dodged as magical energy slowly grew and the space of the battlefield began to shift.
"Steel is my body and fire is my blood"
Deciding to just go ballistic, Mordred swung his sword like madman and sent wave after wave of red lightning, of raw magical energy towards Assassin who kept dodging around and continuing his incantation.
"I have created over a thousand blades"
More Mana Bursts one after another failed to hit Assassin who was running around faster than ever before. He was in some kind of trance to push his limits and improve his evasion while he incanted.
"Unknown to Death,"
Mordred was questioning whether it would have been better to leave Gray and attack Assassin up close. It would make it easier to hit the bastard, but that would put Gray at risk so that was a no go.
"Nor known to Life."
Mordred was sweating and his throat was dry. Should he leave Gray and attack?
"Have withstood pain to create many weapons"
Mordred felt himself getting tugged in two directions. He had to do something.
"Yet, those hands will never hold anything"
It was too late.
"So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works."
A flame spread out as magical energy peaked and space was overwritten. A burning boundary line etched itself through reality and trapped Mordred and his family. He should have left Gray to go on a fiercer offensive. Now his entire family was getting sucked into a Reality Marble, the apex of magecraft. Light spread out and part of the World itself was temporarily rewritten. The battlefield became a gloomy desert with a heat haze that warped the image of the thousands of swords stabbed into the sand standing like gravestones. The colossal gears above slowly turned and the deep clacking sounds they made resembled the ticks of a clock counting down to the end of time. It was a lifeless land embodying Assassin's mentality and the fact that such a dead place was what embodied him was genuinely chilling. Assassin stood alone.
Assassin's hands extended and swords tore themselves from the sand and flew into his hands. They weren't the only weapons to move, the functionally endless armory before Mordred began to rise from the land and into the sky. This was the absolute worst. Mordred just drained himself using his Mana Burst like a madman and he had to defend not only himself from all these blades, but mama and Gray too. The weapons rained down and all of them targeted Mordred and her family. There was nowhere to dodge. Mordred used Mana Burst and unleashed a tsunami of magical energy that destroyed numerous blades, but not all of them. Mordred kept on slashing and using Mana Burst, yet it wasn't enough to stop all the weapons that continued to fire at him and his family. Mordred was impaled by multiple swords and one spear managed to go straight through Mordred and into mama's gut. She screamed and Mordred's heart sank. Gray was forced to use Add to defend herself. She used Add's halberd form with her one remaining arm to deflect as many of the armaments as possible, but she still got stabbed and lacerated in a few spots. Gray was going to lose even more of herself to the Divine Spirit. More swords kept flying into the sky above and striking back down like bolts of lightning. Assassin was putting his all into ending things now and that meant he was probably running low on magical energy. He was on the brink. If Mordred could just think of a way out of this, they could finish off Assassin.
Clarent was held in front of Mordred as he retracted his helmet to reveal his face and use his strongest Noble Phantasm, only to get interrupted. Assassin ran in while his deluge of blades curved around him and he swung his two swords which Mordred was forced to clash with while dodging the sword rain as best he could. He continued to use Mana Burst combined with wide swings to destroy the swords from above and the ones Assassin held in single swings, but more were projected to replace every arm shattered. Weapons started appearing in a dome shaped formation around Mordred and his family. The arms fired at them from all angles now while Assassin kept up his direct offensive. Mordred had no time to use his ultimate Noble Phantasm or do anything other than constantly unload waves of magical energy every which way through his sword while trying to protect his family. He barely cared about protecting himself at this point. He was just going to let his Battle Continuation do all the legwork of keeping him moving while he tried to destroy every weapon aiming for his family. Both mama and Gray had taken more impalements despite Mordred's best efforts. Mama was crying from the pain as she healed herself and Gray with healing magecraft. Gray was just focused on protecting herself. The pressure kept on building as Mordred continued to fail in his mission of protecting his precious family. They were the people who saved Mordred from his hatred and gave him a second chance, who forgave him of his sins and let him know what it meant to truly be happy for the first time. Mordred had a responsibility to do anything and everything to keep them safe.
Anything.
"Gray." Mordred spoke to Gray through their telepathic connection. "I need you to give some people some messages for me."
"What do you mean?"
"Just listen. Tell mama that she's strong enough to beat the Greater Grail and that she'll come out of this okay. Tell Illya that she's a good person for trying to make peace with Chloe. Lastly, tell mom that I'm sorry for all the heartache I've caused her and that no matter what she may think, she's a good mom."
"Okay." Gray understood where Mordred was going with this.
"Take mama off my back. Don't worry about the blades. I've got this."
Gray did as she was told and took mama off Mordred's back and held her. As for the blades she was no longer deflecting, Mordred unleashed a Mana Burst that destroyed them. While she destroyed the swords that were going to hit Gray and mama, the ones heading for Mordred, including the ones in Assassin's hands, all hit their mark. Mordred's body was riddled with swords and spears that decimated his Spirit Core.
Since he wasn't held up with defending himself, Mordred could finally use his ultimate Noble Phantasm. Battle Continuation let Mordred use one last attack before he perished and so he held out Clarent which was filled with Mordred's magical energy and the hatred he once held for his mom. Perhaps this could be said to be Mordred's chance to release the remnants of his grudge against King Arthur and finally move on. The pain coursing through Mordred's body thanks to the weapons stabbed into him and by his own Noble Phantasm was excruciating and yet he didn't pay it any mind. He had a job to do and he was going to get it done. Clarent opened up and Assassin knew what was happening. His frustration and fear was evident by how he jumped back and began running away while building walls of giant blades to protect himself from what was to come. They wouldn't help. A great pillar of red came from Mordred' sword as he held it aloft. The beam destroyed the weapons raining from above and unleashed a shockwave that destroyed the rest of the dome of blades and the arms piercing Mordred's body. The dreary desert lit up crimson from Clarent's light.
"Gray, I have a message for you too. That Divine Spirit can't beat you. Not because you're related to mom or anything like that, but because you're you and you alone. Never forget that."
Gray's mind was silent for a moment.
"Thank you."
Mordred smiled and took a step forward as he put his heart and soul into this one final slash. Unlike Mordred's final attack on his mom, he was conscious this time and this attack was being used for good. He was going to protect his family. Every ounce of magical energy in Mordred's body was infused into his Noble Phantasm as he swung his arms down and called out the last words he would ever say.
"Clarent Blood Arthur!"
The red beam from Clarent charged forward and utterly eradicated the numerous walls made of swords that tried in vain to bar its path.
Assassin stood with his arm held out.
"Rho Aias!"
Seven petals bloomed and formed a seven-fold shield. The crimson ray struck the shield and the air rampaged while the ground melted and everything was put on the line, everything was set to be decided by this one final exchange. The Reality Marble began to shake as the space itself struggled to hold in the majesty of this clash and Mordred poured his entire soul into his attack. This crimson beam contained all his hatred and all his love. This beam was all that was Mordred Pendragon, son of Artoria Pendragon and Illyasviel Pendragon, brother to Illyasviel Pendragon and Gray Pendragon, and friend of Add. This was the very essence of Mordred and nothing would stand in his way when it came to those he loved. The desert began splitting apart and the petals of Rho Aias shattered one after another before all that was Mordred. No more anger. No more hate. No more spite. This was who Mordred truly was. A knight and a hero. No mere seven layered shield could stop him. No mere downpour of unlimited blades could get past him. He was no longer an icon of treachery. He was a champion of loyalty to all that deserved his love and protection. That was how he would be remembered in the hearts of all who mattered to him.
Clarent Blood Arthur destroyed Rho Aias and exploded into a tower of crimson that shot upward and destroyed the gears above. The pieces fell from their perch in the dead sky before vanishing as the entire Reality Marble vanished. The cleared away forest returned and Mordred stayed on his feet as he felt his body begin to dissipate.
After the chaos of that battle, the sudden peace was refreshing and made Mordred just revel in it for a moment while he had the chance. The cool wind made her mangled skin feel nice and caused her to forget the pain she was in. The birds above flapped their wings as if today were just a normal day.
Mordred turned his head back to look at Gray who had mama on his back who was looking at Mordred with tears wetting her face. Gray began to run away since he had to get as far away from Mordred as possible before he died so wouldn't get absorbed into mama rather than Illya or Chloe. She moved with speed befitting a Servant and Mordred hoped that he could keep himself from dying long enough for them to get a safe distance away.
Assassin was nowhere to be seen, but it didn't look like mama had absorbed him so he probably escaped somehow. It didn't matter since he had to have been so drained of energy that he'd die if he tried to fight Gray to get to mama.
Things were going to be okay for Mordred's family. Mama and Gray would both be free from the entities that tormented them and Illya would become friends with Chloe. Mom would definitely be fine, she was too strong to let a Holy Grail War beat her down. Would mom be sad that Mordred was dead? Mordred hated to admit that he hoped she would be sad. That would mean she really did love him.
Man, Mordred's new family was fun to be with. Every day was so interesting, but also peaceful. It was like heaven. It was everything Mordred had ever wanted and more.
And it was over now. Mordred would disappear and the main Mordred in the Throne of Heroes wouldn't remember any of this. That Mordred still felt so much hatred in his heart.
But at least these happy days happened at all. Even if this Mordred was gone, this Mordred had nonetheless existed at one time.
This dream had been temporary, but it was nice.
Tears plopped onto the dirt. Mordred felt himself fading more. He was going to disappear and be nothing. It was scary.
The dream was going to end, but nobody could say it hadn't happened.
Mordred had made up with his mom and lived a brief, yet happy life. Nobody could take that away.
It was getting darker.
It was getting quieter.
Memories were fading.
Thoughts were fading.
The dream was over.