Chapter 4: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The group stood barely a sixty metres from the armoured Berserker, the armoured figure had slowly begun to approach them, the heavy echoes of his footfalls serving as the only sound that could be heard across the ruined street, cutting through even the roaring of fire.

"Havel relies on his strength and durability." Saber explained "He's slow, but don't let him hit you."

"Can attest to that." Caster supported with a grimace "Once saw him hit Saber with that club of his, anyone else would have been turned into paste."

"Oh…" Ritsuka swallowed nervously at the information, then looked back down at Havel "So, he's...um...slow but strong?"

"Indeed."

"Ah…" Nodding his head, the boy tried his best to think up and plan, pursuing his lips as the sounds of footsteps grew louder and louder, which did nothing to ease the nerves he felt at this very moment in time. His eyes slowly trailed over to Mash's shield before they widened "If...If Mash can block him...can you guys try and flank him?" he suggested.

Olga turned her head away from the Berserker to stare at him for a few moments, then eventually nodded her head in approval at the strategy "That might work, however if he uses his spell which cancels magecraft, then Caster will be virtually useless in this fight."

"Cheers for the confidence in me." Cu rolled his eyes "I can do more than throw a few runes, you know?"

"Against a Berserker?"

"...That's fair."

"Mash." Ritsuka turned to the girl, the Shielder stared back at him "Can you try and tank his hits?"

"I…" She nodded her head once, eyes alight with newfound confidence "Yes, Senpai!"

"Good lass." Cu pat her on the shoulder, earning a subtle glare from Ritsuka, the Caster merely gave an innocent smile in return and he spun around to face the Berserker once again.

"I cannot match Havel in strength." Saber spoke up "But I should be faster than him, if you can distract him, I can try and whittle them down."

"I'll support how I can." Caster continued on "However my fire runes do nothing to him, probably all that rock he's wearing, and he'll probably activate his bullshit skill to prevent me from casting again."

"Let me worry about that." Saber gripped his sword with two hands "If I can keep him unfocused on you, he will not have enough time to cast the barrier."

"I'll be relying on you two then." Caster nodded to Saber and Mash, slowly inching away from them as the two servants stared Havel down.

"Ready?" Saber asked, Mash gave a fierce nod in response.

"Go!"

Mash and the Ashen one sprinted at Havel as he charged them down too, his club resting on his shoulder ready to be swung.

They got to within a few feet of each other before Mash stopped braced herself against the oncoming attack, Havel swung Dragon Tooth. The second the bone met the shield the ground beneath Mash cratered and she was forced to her knees, Havel kept swinging driving Mash further and further into the ground. He eventually relented only to do a full spin with this club to knock Mash to the side and her shield out of her grip.

Before he could move to finish her off however, the Ashen one ran into the deliver a strike to his side, the Berserker however saw this coming and raised his shield to block the blow, the Saber servant cursed and then leapt back as Havel swung the club at him. The Ashen One was thankful for his speed as it kept him from immediately getting pulverised. Havel was swinging wildly at him, trying to land a solid blow; however the Saber servant was faster than him by a considerable margin which allowed him to avoid all of the strikes.

'This can't go on!' The Ashen one thought to himself as he avoided another overhead blow 'I've got to wait for an opening!'

Havel swung again but this time his strike went wide, leaving his chest exposed to a thrust 'Now!' The Ashen One leapt into range and went to deliver a thrust in-between the plates of armour.

Havel, however, was no fool and even in his Berserker state he was still smart enough to remember the basic principles of fighting humanoid opponents. When the Ashen One went for the thrust, Havel did something that the Saber servant didn't expect.

He parried.

The massive shield, moving at speeds the Ashen One hadn't expected, easily batted away the Saber Servant's sword before the club was swung again while the Servant was exposed. The Ashen One held an arm in front of him in a futile gesture to prevent some of the damage, all it did was break his arm entirely before the club met his ribs, dented his armour inwards, and sent him sailing across the street and into a nearby building.

"Saber!" Ritsuka called out in shock as he watched his other Servant get tossed around like a rag doll.

Havel turned his attention back to Mash, who during Saber's and Berserker's duel had gotten back to her shield, and began walking towards her until a fireball harmlessly dissipated off his armour. He turned his attention to see Caster with his arm outstretched.

"Don't think you can forget about me so soon bastard!" Caster sneered at him before twirling his staff in his hands "I'm more than just my Runes!"

Havel immediately turned again to bash his shield into Mash's, the two stood there for a few moments before Havel began pushing her back.

From the ruin of the building where Saber had been flung however, a black fireball emerged and struck Havel in the back.

"AhAhhAhaaaHa!" Havel screamed as the black fire began to slightly melt his armour, in his rage he swung his club and knocked Mash away before turning back to The Ashen One who had was slowly stumbling his way out of the building, his sword arm now sporting a pyromancers glove while his sword was held limply in his broken arm.

"Your...fire…resistance..."The Ashen one panted out between breaths as he tried to steady himself on his feet "...doesn't...extend to….the abyssal...pyromancies...does it?"

Havel screamed again before charging the Ashen One, once he got close the Ashen one ducked to the side to avoid another strike while letting off a black fire combustion in Havels face. The Berserker screamed and tossed his shield away and before grasping at the burns of his helmet.

The Ashen One used this as an opportunity to dart away and regroup with the other two servants.

"I...believe….I may have...angered him…" The Saber servant gritted through his teeth while staring at his broken arm.

"Lets get that arm patched up before he turns back to us again." Caster began inscribing runes on the Ashen One, it was nowhere near as fast as Estus but he would have his arm working properly soon enough. "What was that fire anyway? Looked like it hurt him."

"Abyssal fire. A dark Pyromancy, it will bypass his flame resistance but I need to get close to him in order to land a killing blow."

"Then me and the young lady will have to get you an opening, right girl?" Caster turned to Mash who stood protectively in front of the pair.

"Yes! I'll distract him for you!" Mash replied.

Havel turned back to the group, the front of his helmet was singed and slightly melted in places as he gripped his large club with two hands.

"mAgEsss!" Havel hissed out as grouched down slightly and held a fist in front of his face, a small white ring surrounded him and the Ashen One felt his connection to his pyromancies terminated.

"He cancelled our magic!" Saber shouted out as he gripped his own sword with two hands "We'll have to wait until the miracle is dispelled!"

"How long will that be then?" Caster shouted back as he twirled his staff, preparing for melee combat.

"At least a minute!"

"Shit! Don't die then!"

"Mash! Block his blows I'll try and keep his attention between us!"

"Roger!" Mash called out and then charged Havel, the Berserker roared and charged her.

Mash held up her shield as Havel swung his club down with greater force than he had done previously, unbreakable club met the unbreakable shield with an epic clang as it released a small shockwave and staggered Mash back slightly. Before Havel could capitalise on this however he jumped back to avoid having his head removed by a swing sent by the Ashen Saber, the Berserker shifted his focus to the offending servant and swiped his dragon tooth club at him. The Ashen one rolled underneath the swipe and behind the Berserker, moving faster than the Berserker could react. The Saber servant spun round on the ground and slashed his sword into the back of Berserker's right knee where there was a gap in the armour.

Berserker fell down on one leg and the Ashen One rolled away from the return strike which imploded the ground where he had been moments ago. Before Havel could think to give chase Caster struck him in the back of the head with the end of his staff, while not enough to actually hurt the Berserker it did serve to focus his attention elsewhere. The second he turned his attention away from Saber and to Caster he was struck in the face with the end of Mash's shield.

Havel was forced back as the strike to the head stunned him, he was barely forcing himself back on his feet when he had to raise his club to block a continued strike from the Saber servant again, while he was distracted Caster struck again and delivered another blow to the back of his head which staggered him forwards slightly. Saber moved out of the way as Mash came in again for another shield bash which knocked the Berserker back further.

"Get back!" Saber shouted to the other two servants who quickly got the memo and jumped away from the berserker servant.

Saber gripped his blade with two hands and held it pointed at the slightly dazed Berserker.

"This Blade is the Abyss itself" Saber intoned and the sword promptly erupted in a jet of black fire "The Dark Soul of Man clears all away!" he thrust the sword forwards and the fire was launched towards the Berserker.

"Elfreide!"

"Stone Flesh!"

Two voices called out at the time as the fire made contact with Havel and a massive explosion kicked up a cloud of smoke which obscured both of the Servants.

"That was your Saber's Noble Phantasm?" Caster quizzed Mash with a raised eyebrow.

"I think so…" Mash replied in an unsure tone.

"Think he got him?"

Seconds after he said that, the Ashen One was launched out of the cloud of smoke and into the ground next to them creating a rather sizable crater, the two other servants raised their eyes before turning their head back to the cloud of dust as it dissipated.

Havel stood there, virtually unscathed, his armour seemed to be coated in rocks with slight burn marks to them but beyond that nothing.

"That's his…!" Ritsuka shouted out as they realised what it was. Havel's defensive Noble Phantasm had completely negated the Ashen One's attack.

Havel growled before gripping the club tightly and began marching over to the trio of Servants, albeit much slower than he had been moving previously.

"Shit...now what?" Caster spoke with a slightly irritated tone.

"His helmet…" the Ashen one coughed out as he stood back up.

"Saber-san are you alright!?" Mash shouted in concern as his armour now had a rather obvious indentation of a fist directly in the centre of his torso.

The Saber servant shook his head slightly before repeating "His helmet isn't protected by his Noble Phantasm."

"What do you…" the other two turned to see that although most of Havel's body was covered in the rather clunky stones, the slits on his helmet were still exposed.

"If I can stab him through one of his eye-ports and release my Noble Phantasm again…"

"You're a crazy son of a bitch aren't you!" Caster laughed before turning his attention back to the walking boulder "Alright, sure. Why the hell not?"

"What about Senpai though?" Mash spoke and the two turned round to see Ritsuka looking slightly paler than usual. The strain of his magic circuits never sustaining three servants before was beginning to wear down on him.

"In that case I'll just have to stab him through the visor rather than aim fire at his face." The Ashen One easily replied "Ready Mash, he'll be slower than last time but he's still powerful."

"Ready, Saber-san!"

With that said the Servants charged each other again.

Caster was first in, sliding underneath a horizontal swing which Mash ran in and blocked, she was once again gradually being pushed back until Berserker dashed backwards to avoid a thrust aimed for his head by the Saber servant.

The Ashen one's eyes widened under his helmet as he saw he had overshot "Shi-" his curse was cut short when Havel swung an armoured shin into the Servant's gut, knocking the wind out of his body and sending him flying across the street.

Expecting it this time Havel immediately turned around and gripped Casters staff with one hand before it could strike him in the head, Caster's eyed widened and a boot to his solar plexus had him launched backwards coughing up small amounts of blood. Mash swung her shield again and caught the Berserker in the side of his head, the servant however retaliated with a punch to her shield. While not as powerful as a club it was still strong enough to stagger her back slightly and cause the ground to crack underneath her.

Havel let out a primal roar as he drew his fist back and gripped his weapon with both hands again before smashing it down onto the shield, Mash was staggered downwards and Havel reversed his grip on the club and swung it in an uppercut. The shield was blown away and Mash was left exposed.

"Eh?" was all she managed to get out before Berserker reared back a fist and sent it hurtling towards her head.

"Wickerman!" before the fist could reach her a large wooden hand came out of the ground and gripped Berserker, restricting his movement and carrying him up. The large wooden arm then smashed the Berserker back into the ground and kicked up a cloud of ash which hid him from view.

When the smoke cleared the Berserker servant was struggling to his knees, he turned his head slightly just in time for a thrust by the Ashen One to pierce straight through his visor and out the back of his helmet.

The Saber Servant then ignited his sword with an abyssal pyromancy and instantly a jet of black flame coated the sword and billowed out of every gap in Havel's armour. There wasn't even a scream as the flames died down and the sword was ripped from his helmet. There was a tense silence as everyone watched the Berserker stay on his knees for a few more moments before he collapsed onto the ground and dissipated.

Saber watched the particles of light fade away before he collapsed onto his back, coughing up small traces of blood.

"Saber-san!" Mash called out as she rushed to him, her voice tinged with concern "Are you alright?"

"...No." Saber replied as he struggled to sit up "But give me a moment…" rolling his body over, he placed his hands against the ground and slowly pushed himself back to his feet, Mash linked her arm under his shoulder, helping him get back up.

"Well…" Caster coughed out from a distance, the pair turned to see him limp towards them, a hand resting against his chest from the injury he had sustained "I would say lets get Saber...but I can think of easier ways to kill ourselves."

"Indeed." Saber nodded "I'll need to heal myself…" he rested his hand against his side where Havel had struck him, wincing in pain from the injury which had no doubt broken his ribs and damaged his organs. He was rarely thankful for being unkindled, but in situations like these, it was one of the few times he was.

"Eh?" Mash blinked at him "You know healing Magecraft, Saber-san?"

"If you refer to miracles, then no." Saber replied, grunting in discomfort as he returned to his feet, rolling his shoulder until he heard the sound of bone snapping as his shoulder was clicked back into place, Ritsuka, Mash and Olga flinched at the sound while Cu only raised an eyebrow "However I am aware of a pyromancy that can heal me."

Olga stared at him with curiosity "I was not aware that fire based magecraft could be used in such a manner."

"Its an outlier." Saber replied "And one of a kind spell, but its useful when one has no Estus available."

"We can play twenty questions later." Caster interrupted them "For now, I'd suggest we find a place to lay low for a while. Considering the kid over there ain't looking too great."

"Senpai?" Mash turned to the boy, who was looking rather pale. Olga grit her teeth as she walked up to him, roughly grabbing his face and examining his features, Ritsuka froze as she made a quick check of his body.

"You've never used your magic circuits before, have you?"

"I...didn't know those existed before today…" He replied rather nervously, Olga sighed.

"No, of course you wouldn't...because we had to get Civilians." She clicked her tongue "Regardless, you're experiencing feedback from having them forcibly used in a manner they have never been. Much like a muscle you've never exercised."

"Oh…" Ritsuka nodded his head "That makes sense…"

"Come on." Caster pointed down the street "I know a spot we can rest up, sits over a Leyline too, and the kid can get back up and ready before we make our last stop."

"I can try and see if we can send some supplies." Romani's voice came through the communicator "Although I can't promise anything more than a few ration bars if we are able."

"That will suffice." Olga replied sternly "As long as you can send something, it will do us no good if the only available Master to us collapses due to exhaustion."

"I'll get on that." Romani nodded back to them, cutting out the communication as the injured group slowly began their walk in the direction that Caster had pointed out.

Ritsuka slumped into the wall, slowly dragging down it into a seating position as he panted for a few moments, the others were in differing states of recovery in the Hospital corridor.

"One moment…" Saber spoke up, raising his left hand and allowing a flame to slowly form in his palm, he waved his hand, a few feet into the air a golden flame came into existence. The flame held a comforting warmth to it as it slowly began to pulsate, sending out waves of light which washed over the group.

Saber exhaled and sat down, crossing his legs "That should be sufficient to deal with the worst of our injuries." Mash stared down in naked amazement as the bruises on her arm healed away in a few moments, turning her eyes to stare at the healing flame in naked amazement.

"Damn…" Caster blinked "That's a hell of a spell you got there. That craft of yours must be pretty versatile."

"It has its uses." Saber exhaled "Although a Miracle would have likely cured all our injuries nearly instantly."

"Miracles?"

"Faith Magic." Saber explained "Mainly used by old clerics, and it's rather more versatile. I can either use my pyromancy in an offensive or defensive way but only in regards to myself. Then there is Sorcery which can be used much the same...and Miracles, which can support groups if need be."

Caster whistled "That sounds like some Age of God's level shit."

"...We call it the Age of Fire." Saber replied "If Age of Gods refers to the Lords still being present, then yes."

Olga gaped at him "A swordsman with mysteries from an equivalent to the age of Gods…" she murmured in disbelief "How common are these?"

"There were the old dragon schools in Vinheim, they produced sorcerers." Saber explained "Then there were the Clerics from the old churches and then there were the pyromancers...who came from the great swamp."

"...Swamp."

"Yes."

"...As in literal-"

"I've never been so I wouldn't know." Saber shrugged his shoulders in an innocent manner "Although I think so."

Olga rubbed the bridge of her nose "I can worry about that later…" she paused, seemingly realising something "The Berserker was also from your world, wasn't he?"

"He was."

The woman crossed her arms in thought "But how? That…" she suddenly pursed her lips "Ah, yes...your bastardised second magic."

"It has never been this effective." Saber did his best to try and reassure her, although didn't quite understand why she was so upset to begin with "Usually it sends you to an alternate world...like a mirror."

"So...There aren't that many changes?" Ritsuka asked, Saber shrugged in response.

"It's not exactly an exploratory venture...You just go there to kill something and then leave."

Caster snorted, shaking his head in amusement "Sounds like the kind of magic I could get behind."

Olga clicked her tongue in annoyance "One servant from another world is something unheard of, twice is something more profound."

"So…" Ritsuka coughed into his hand "What did you know about Havel?"

"I only met those who took up his mantle and donned copies of his armour." Saber shrugged "All I know about him is that he was a dragon slayer during the war at the end of the Age of Ancients, hated Seath and then disappeared."

"Seath?"

"Scaleless dragon." Saber waved his hand "Although I only know of him because he created sorcery."

"A dragon creating a branch of magic…" Olga let out a huff of something, but not amusement "That's ridiculous."

"I wasn't there so I don't know. Anyway, Havel hated Seath but Gwyn recognised the dragon and gifted him dukedom. I think there may have been a falling out between Gwyn and Havel over the issue."

"Eh, probably." Cu sniffed, rubbing the back of his neck "Always something like that."

Saber shrugged in response.

"Caster…" Olga turned to him "I have been meaning to ask you something for some time."

"Oh?" He smirked, "What can I do for you, Ane?" Olga bristled at the nickname but decided to ignore it for the time being.

"You made many mentions of Saber before." She went on "And said that her legend involved her having the blood of dragons in her."

"Hmm." Caster nodded his head, carefree expression washing away and being replaced by a more composed one "It does."

"You know their true name."

He snorted in response "Anyone who's ever seen her Noble Phantasm would know her true name. The most famous of Holy swords that even in your time its name is still known...The sister sword to the Sword in the Stone which selects the King."

Olga and Mash widened their eyes in alarm while Ritsuka and Saber remained silent in their mild confusion at the sudden recognition.

"Oi, oi!" Romani called in, having heard the tail-end of the conversation, his voice now thick with concern and a rising tone of fear "You don't mean that-"

"Yeah." Caster nodded, his face blank "Excalibur. The Sword of Promised Victory."

"E-Excalibur!?" Ritsuka cried out, now recognising the name "Then that means that the Saber is-"

"King Arthur…" Olga breathed out the name in alarm.

Saber merely remained silent for a few moments while he pondered something before he spoke up "I thought a King was supposed to be a man."

"Huh?" Ritsuka turned to him, then blinked in realisation as he understood where Saber was coming from, turning to Caster with a confused look of his own "Yeah...How come you keep calling them a her?"

"Because they are?" Caster replied as if the boy had said something stupid, everyone looked at him "What? They are. It's a little girl, actually shorter than the kid there." he gestured towards Ritsuka, who was staring at the man with raised eyebrows.

"Shorter...than me?" Ritsuka parroted "That's...um...I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"Its a ridiculous case of mistaken identity is what it is." Romani called through the communicator "How the heck do you mistake a...well actually, I heard that when King Arthur pulled Caliburn from the stone they stopped visibly ageing." he muttered under his breath "I suppose they could have just hidden their feminine nature by dressing as a boy…"

"I don't know." Caster shrugged, "All I know is that its a girl."

"...How odd." Saber replied with a somewhat bewildered tone of voice "But why does this bode poorly for you all?"

"King Arthur would be one of the strongest Heroic Spirits you could summon." Romani explained "As a Saber, they would be in their ideal class, and with Excalibur as a Noble Phantasm…"

"It's Anti-Fortress." Caster called out "Big explosion."

"Ah…" Saber nodded "I see."

"You...don't sound that worried." Caster pointed out, Saber merely raised his head and titled it to the side.

"When you've killed Gods and dragons, you tend to have a low bar when it comes to expecting ridiculously powerful foes." He explained "It's actually a surprise when you encounter one that isn't capable of ripping you in half with little effort."

"...You're home must be fucked up."

"...Well...It's not great."