Chapter 5: Archers and Sabers.
The group's trip to Mount Enzo was primarily silent, the knowledge of their foe had hampered much of their spirit of enthusiasm. Except Saber and Caster, the former because he already had experience fighting foes who were more powerful than him, and the latter because he was more excited to be putting an end to the Grail War.
Saber looked at Ritsuka's shoulder, then noticed something "Out of curiosity, summoner...What is that small animal on your shoulder?"
"Huh?" Ritsuka turned to the Saber, then looked towards the object of interest. Fou, the furry white rodent creature, merely let out a 'kyuu' noise in response to suddenly finding themselves the centre of attention "Well...This is Fou."
"I see." Saber nodded "...What are they?"
Ritsuka furrowed his brows in thought, not entirely sure how to answer a question that he himself didn't know the answer to.
"Fou is Fou, Saber-san." Mash answered for him, and while he appreciated her sentiment very much, it didn't really answer the question of what Fou actually was to begin with-
"Ah. I see, that makes sense."
'Unless it does and maybe it's just me who doesn't understand.' Ritsuka thought instead, still confused as to what Fou was but when he was surrounded by magical spirits and undead swordsmen who could throw fireballs and apparently kill gods...who also existed, he wasn't really going to concern himself too much with the specifics.
Besides, Fou was probably a weird magical pet that they kept around.
"Fou." The animal called into the side of his head, Ritsuka turned to see the white ball of fluff staring at him, eyes narrowed in what could almost be described as indignation, as if Fou had read his thoughts and believed that being called a mere pet was an insult to him.
Ritsuka felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he stared at the small animal, electing to look away, he missed Fou's look of triumph at having won the stare down.
"Through there." Caster pointed towards the mouth of the cave as the group came to a stop. "The Greater grail lies at the end of that system of tunnels, right underneath the mountain."
"And...Saber is there…" Ritsuka pointed out nervously, sweating ever so slightly before he felt a hand rest on his shoulder, looking behind him, he came face to face with the darkened visor of Saber's helmet.
"I will be honest with you, Master." Saber began "Many of the foes I faced were undoubtedly stronger than myself. Worse was that I encountered many of them by surprise with no time to prepare. However, I did not allow fear to grip my heart and cloud my vision. This is a duty for yourself, the resolution of this quest. Should you falter even for a moment, you will have failed. Steel yourself, and prepare to fight with all your strength. Be they Gods, Demons or Dragons, you must face them head on and with courage." he removed the hand from his shoulder and slammed it into his chest "For when you finally achieve victory, it makes it all the grander."
"Yeah…" Ritsuka nodded, then gave Saber a smile "Besides, it looks like it always worked out for you."
"…"
"Saber?" Ritsuka asked again, the servant now pointedly looking away from him "Saber what's wrong? Saber, why aren't you looking at me?"
The Ashen one thought it best not to tell him that in most of those surprise encounters he was usually killed within mere moments of being jumped. Or the fight would go on for minutes and then he would die, despite having done his best or in the rarer cases where he was so outclassed that he would have to withdraw from the area entirely before trying to make a repeat attempt.
If he was to speak of time in the untended graves alone, he probably spent hours being killed by Gundyr.
"Well…" Caster suddenly turned around, looking at the upper part of the hill jutting out behind them "Was wondering where you were, I was a bit surprised when there was no disciple to greet us."
The group turned to see a tanned man with white hair standing atop the outcrop. A black tight-fitting combat vest, dark trousers with steel boots was his primary apparel. A torn red waist cape fluttered in the wind. The exposed arms showed red vein-like growths along his skin and moving up one side of his face.
Steel grey eyes narrowed at the group as the man uncrossed his arms "I have no memory of becoming a disciple. But I can at least chase away mundane visitors."
"Ah! A gatekeeper then?" Caster smirked, although it held a more bloodthirsty edge to it, and began twirling his staff "Although I suppose you do have the making of a bodyguard."
"Ho?" Archer titled his head "Coming from a guard dog, I suppose that is rather high praise, should I consider it an honour?"
Caster stilled, his eyes narrowed and glinted with murderous intent as the air around him seemed to chill instantly "What was that, bastard?"
"Don't tell me you cannot see the irony of you calling someone else a guard dog." Archer smirked, a large black bow came into existence in his hands as his face flattened out "However, as amusing as it may be, I'm afraid that I lack the free time necessary to humour you." gripping the bow tightly in one hand, the other quickly clenched into a fist, a sword soon formed out of motes of blue light.
Saber watched with mild curiosity as Archer proceeded to knock the arrow into the bow and pull back the string, he noted that it was eerily similar to the bows used by the Millward knights.
Archer was about to release his pseudo arrow when a voice cut through the air "Ath nGabla!" Caster cried out as he slammed his palm into the ground. Archer stopped his movements, fixing Caster with a look of disbelief for a few moments before his expression flattened out.
"Better get going!" Caster called back to the group "I can handle this guy. You deal with Saber and I'll be along to join you soon enough."
"Eh?" Mash blinked at him "But-"
"Stop wasting time lass!" Cu shouted to her, not turning to face her as he advanced towards Archer, the servant still regarded Caster with a serious expression. "Don't worry about me, I can take this bastard easily enough."
Mash bit her lip and looked to Ritsuka and Saber, the Servant stared at Casters back before turning to the other three "You heard him, let's move."
"But-" Mash made to argue before Saber cut her off, although his voice was stern it wasn't unkind.
"He can handle it." Saber repeated the Casters words "Besides, we will have our own worries to deal with soon enough."
"...Alright." Ritsuka nodded his head, turning to Caster briefly "Good luck!" he called to the Caster before rushing into the cave. Caster grinned at the saying.
"There's a reason its called the luck of the Irish." The Caster retorted back as the group disappeared into the Cave.
"I knew you were reckless, but this was stupid." Archer bluntly stated "A death match from a Caster class of all things?"
"Eh." Cu shrugged, his staff catching fire "Figured its best to teach you a lesson or two about not underestimating different classes." a knowing smirk came to his face "Because how many other Archers fight with swords?"
"Hmph." Archer grunted as he jumped off the outcrop and into the air "I suppose so." he replied, a pair of black and white swords formed in each hand as he shot towards the Caster.
The group quickly came to a halt at the large opening. The inner sanctum was massive, a flat top raised section of ground lay in the centre. Saber frowned behind his helm, he could feel the power radiating from whatever it was that was there.
It was certainly far more than he had been expecting it to be.
"This is…" Ritsuka breathed out in shock as he beheld it, malignant dark power visibly radiated from the central structure.
"The Holy Grail has been converted into a magical reactor?" Olga widened her eyes as she stared up at the source "And an exclusive one at that?"
"Your divine chalice created this?" Saber asked, somewhat perturbed at the level of power it radiated.
"Oh-ho?" A voice echoed across the chasm, the group instantly focused onto a figure standing atop the hill, staring down at them. Pale skinned and in dark armour with glowing red lines spread across it, the short woman stared down at them.
Her small stature was completely contrasted by the sheer level of power she radiated from her being. Something Saber took note of as he prepared himself.
"It would appear that the legends of their Dragon blood are accurate." The Ashen one spoke up as he stared up at the opposing Saber "She certainly feels like one…"
"An interesting pair of Servants you have there." The altered Saber walked forwards, coming to a stop just at the edge of the drop, her gaze swept over them before falling on Mash, eyes narrowed nearly imperceptibly as she stared down at the girl "A shield, is it?" her face remained blank as she leapt from the ridge, hurtling through the air before crashing into the ground in front of the group with enough force to release a small shockwave.
Saber and Mash stood protectively in front of the Masters, Saber raising his black sword in response as Mash raised her shield.
"If you are to take up the mantle of defender, strange girl." The Altered Saber began to advance "Then you must prepare yourself." raising her own sword, she pointed it towards them "With this blade, I shall deem whether your protection is true."
The Ashen One stepped forwards, holding his sword out in front of him sideways, resting his palm against the flat side of the blade. In a flick of motion, he swiped his hand across it, causing the sword to burst into life with black fire.
Saber remained blank faced at the gesture, although something flickered through her eyes as she stared at him. "Are you to be the sword for her shield?"
"I am merely a Warrior of Sunlight, charged with defending my summoner." The Ashen one replied, pointing his burning sword towards Saber "I have no deeds of renown, nor grand titles of King to my name, Arthur." Saber narrowed her eyes at the distinct lack of respect he showed her "However, I will devote my all to seeing this through."
"...So be it." Saber shot towards him at the same time the Ashen One charged her, dragging her sword upwards along the ground in a vertical slash, Saber launched the first attack towards the Ashen One.
The Unkindled Saber swung his own blade down to meet hers.
The second they collided, Arthurs strength proved superior to his as the Ashen One was launched into the air with the crack of a cannon going off, shooting upwards into the roof of the cavern and slamming into rock.
Arthur gave a look of distaste before she returned her gaze to Mash, raising her sword and preparing her herself to stri-
Her eyes widened as her instinct blared. Kicking her legs backwards just as a black greatsword sailed through the air where her neck had been moments prior, pale golden eyes shifted as they trailed back to the Saber servant. The horizontal slash continued on, however Sabers fist shot upwards, colliding with Arthurs chin and snapping her head back ever so slightly.
Saber slammed his right foot into the ground, the stone crunched downwards where his boot made contact before he shot his knee upwards towards Arthur's gut. The Servant let out a scoff before she swung out her own hand towards his head.
Saber leaned backwards so that the back of her fist barely scraped past the front of his helmet at the same time her other hand swung the blackened holy sword towards his knee.
She never got the chance to remove his leg as Mash slammed the bottom of the shield into her gut, launching her backwards. Arthur, however, took little time to recover as she skated to a halt. Raising her head and staring back at the servants with no discernable emotion in her eyes.
Slowly raising her sword in response.
Saber raised his left hand, a flame was burning away in his glove which he soon slammed into his chest, a red hue covered his body as he felt his strength double. Arthur had surprised him with the burst of strength, her form was quite deceptive with how much power she could pack into her blows.
"Careful." Saber spoke to Mash as she joined him at his side "She is not as strong as Havel, but she is close."
"Ho?" Arthur tilted her head "So you knew the odd Berserker? I was curious as to who could match my strength." she exhaled "But it matters not, he is dead now and whatever curiosity he was died with him."
"I can match her strength for a time." Saber whispered to the Shielder "However, I am relying on you to take her hits."
"Yes, Saber-san."
"Speaking in front of an opponent." Arthur frowned "How arrogant."
Saber shot forwards, instantly disappearing in a burst of speed as he closed the distance between himself and Arthur in barely a few moments. Raising his sword above his head and swinging it downwards towards her.
Arthur scoffed at the obvious attack and swung her own blade to parry the blow aside, only to widen her eyes briefly as she felt the Saber match her own strength. 'No...He's barely stronger. An enhancement?' she briefly wondered before dismissing the claim. He was stronger than her base strength.
So she merely released an explosion of magical energy.
Saber was blasted away as Arthur charged him down in the wake of the explosion. Sliding to a halt, Saber was met with Arthurs furious blows as she swung her sword towards him. The two exchanged in a vicious clash. Saber narrowed his eyes.
He already knew he was no master swordsman and Arthur was undoubtedly better than him, however swordsmanship was never his forte. He was middling at best but it was because he focused himself on being able to wield all manner of weapons.
As Arthur batted his sword away, Saber raised his palm to her face and let loose an explosion, the burst of fire obscured her form. Then an armoured black fist slammed into his gut, sending him shooting backwards and away from her.
Stabbing his sword into the ground to halt his flight, the blade left a gash through the rock as he raised his head, still coughing from the blow, to stare as Arthur marched out of the cloud of smoke, undamaged in any way.
Saber clicked his tongue, the words 'magic resistance' filtered through his mind as a reason for this sudden development.
"A swordsman who uses magic? An odd thing." Arthur commented "Perhaps if you had spent more time practising your blade, you would have been above the level of an average knight."
Saber let out an amused huff as he straightened himself out, ripping his greatsword free from the ground "I was never a knight to begin with."
"Hmph." Arthur merely curled their lip in response, swinging their sword towards him at the same time that a jet engine of magical energy erupted from the blade.
Widening his eyes in alarm, Saber kicked off the ground, shooting off into the air as Arthur slammed the wave into the spot where he had stood but moments ago, destroying the area and sending debris shooting off in all directions.
Saber flew through the air towards the wall, he tilted his body so as to hit it feet first, his boots slammed into the rock face as he turned his head to lock eyes with Arthur. The woman recognised his intent and turned to face him as he shot off the wall like a bullet towards her.
The two black swords collided with each other with an explosive blast of air, Saber's pyromancy boost had given him the means to temporarily match Arthur's strength, however he could feel its power already beginning to affect him.
It wouldn't last forever and it was power that his body wasn't designed to hold.
Arthur pushed the Onyx blade to the side, Saber allowed her to do so before he swept his leg towards her, his boot making contact with the back of her knee. Arthur grit her teeth in annoyance as she stumbled slightly, Saber took advantage of the small blunder to raise his sword high, swinging it down towards her neck.
Their left hand came away from Excalibur's hilt and wrapped itself around Saber's wrist, halting the blade's descent, at the same time she slashed her own sword toward Saber's chest. Recognising the danger, The Ashen One's free hand released the handle of his blade and latched itself to Arthur's sword-arm.
The two began to grapple, straining against each other's strength as they both attempted to force their own swords to strike their opponents. Saber and Arthur grit their teeth before Arthur began to squeeze down on Saber's wrist.
His metal gauntlet began to groan as steel bent under Arthurs grip. The Ashen One did the only thing he could think of in that moment.
He headbutted Arthur. The woman barely reacted, a look of incredulity flashed across her features. Saber could see Mash rushing the woman from behind, something Arthur felt as her golden eyes darted to the side as if sensing the girl, she scowled, her grip on Saber's wrist tightened until a loud snapping sound could be heard as she broke his wrist.
Saber let loose a small grunt of pain as his sword fell out of his right hand and clattered to the ground, Arthur pulled back her fist to strike him in the chest, only for Saber to rear back his right arm in a backhanded motion across his left side and slam his elbow into her jaw.
Arthur's head snapped to the side as Saber kicked away from the ground, leaning back so as to avoid her retaliatory strike at the same time Mash swung her shield into Arthur's back. The woman let out a small gasp as the metal shield drove the air out of her lungs.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she stamped into the ground, spinning her whole body around to face Mash, gripping her sword tightly with both hands and she swung it into the shield. Mash released an intake of breath as the sword slammed into the shield, although she did not falter under the barrage.
Arthur narrowed her eyes, turning around and blocking Saber's strike aimed at her back, his greatsword now held in his left hand. The altered Saber parried the blow to the side but not before Mash slammed the edge of her shield into Arthurs ribs, causing the woman to stumble away from her before turning around to face them again.
Saber leapt back so as to stand next to Mash, his right hand rendered useless due to the broken wrist and mangled steel gauntlet. Mash's eyes briefly flickered to it in concern before focusing back on Arthur with determination.
"A fierce gaze." Arthur noted, moving her other hand to tightly grip the handle of her blade "However, the steel in your eyes is meaningless if you cannot support it." she raised the sword above her head as another burst of power exploded forth from it.
Mash widened her eyes in realisation of what Arthur was about to do.
"Vortigen, Hammer of the Vile King!" Arthur exclaimed as the power exploded forth from the blade in a jet of dark magic "Reverse the Rising Sun, Swallow the light!"
"Lord-" Mash raised her shield as Saber ducked behind her.
"Excalibur-"
"-Chaldeas!" Mash cried out as she slammed her shield into the ground, the blue light exploded forth and covered them as well as the two humans behind them.
"-Morgan!" Arthur brought the blade downwards, the beam of malignant black power shot across the ground towards them, the Noble Phantasm crashed into the shield like a hurricane of power, splitting off in several directions. Lances of power reflected by the blast carved up along the chasm walls and roof, causing debris to rain down across the cavern.
Ritsuka and Olga let out strangled gasps of alarm as they beheld the devastation, only to cry out in shock when they suddenly felt arms wrap around them, Saber scooped the pair up under his arms as he zigzagged in order to avoid the falling debris.
Sliding to a stop as the magical energy began to die down, stabbing his sword into the ground, Saber cast Warmth above his hand, the bones in his wrist healed gradually, it wasn't back to its full durability, but it was enough that he could at least move his fingers again.
And that was all he needed.
"Stay put, summoner." Saber nodded to Ritsuka with an oddly calm voice "I'll be back soon." were his final words to them as he spun on his heel, facing the direction of Mash and Arthur before kicking off the ground and disappearing in a blur of movement.
Arthur lowered her sword to see Mash had survived her assault, for the briefest of moments, a minute smile flashed across her face, although it was such a fleeting event that it could have hardly have been said to have occurred at all. Their eyes shot past Mash as Saber rocketed past the girl towards them, his greatsword held in his right hand as he skated towards her, grinding to a halt.
"This sword is the Abyss itself." Saber intoned, flicking the blade so that it was coated in the black flames again, but this time drawing it under his left arm and hunching himself over slightly "The Dark soul of man clears all away."
Arthur's eyes briefly widened in surprise 'That stance-!' was the thought that flashed through her mind, it was a stance she knew all too well and now recognised the similarities the two had held, especially in their rather direct fighting style. Perhaps it was fate that she should be contested by such figures.
"Elfriede!" Saber cried out as he swung his sword outwards in an arc in front of him, a wave of fire shot out and accelerated towards Arthur like a tsunami. The woman narrowed her eyes and assumed her own stance, Excalibur Morgan burst with magical energy as the wave approached.
Swinging it up, she lashed out with mana burst at the Noble Phantasm. It did well to mitigate some of the damage, but not all as the wave soon overcame her resistance and washed over her.
Arthur let out a cry of pain as the flames seared her body and shattered away parts of her armour.
Saber lowered his sword as he gazed at the abyssal inferno in front of him, the black flames clung to her as they continued to burn. Arthur, however, was not without some tricks left. Her magical energy exploded outwards from her body, dashing the flames away, however the damage had been done.
Heavily wounded with burns covering her body, Arthur slowly turned her head to face them when another voice cut through the air.
"You really are quite determined, King of Knights." Caster's voice called out, Mash let out a brief gasp of surprise as the Servant shot past her, sending a quick nod of approval in her direction before sliding to a halt next to Saber. "But you should know when you're beat."
"Caster." Arthur called back, despite the injuries to her body she still sounded perfectly calm "I see. Archer is dead then."
"Yep." Caster admitted, he twirled his staff in his hands and levelled it towards her "You're finished Saber."
"I can still hold my sword." Arthur called back "Therefore I can still fight. Surely that is reasoning you can understand, child of light."
"...Fair enough." Caster gave a wry smirk, sending the Ashen One a glance "Still, I didn't think a God slayer would have much trouble with a little girl."
The two Sabers stared at him, they were briefly united under the common cause of Casters not so subtle jab at both of them.
"She's a King-/You did not seek this 'little girls' blade during the War, Caster." The pair responded at the same time, causing Caster to let out a small bark of laughter.
"No, that's fair enough." Cu nodded his head, then steeled his expression "Still, if that is how you want it, Saber, I can support that line of reasoning."
"Very well." Arthur nodded her head, readying herself as best she could "Then we shall end this."
"Yeah." Caster nodded his head, the two fell into a staring contest for a few moments.
Then they moved, Caster slammed the butt of his staff into the ground while Arthur charged forwards. The ground beneath Arthur split open as branches wrapped around her limbs, the Saber servant growled before she wretched her arms free, shattering the makeshift manacles in the process.
It didn't buy Caster much time, but it had bought him enough. Arthur, already wounded from taking Saber's Noble Phantasm to the face, was far too slow to prevent Caster from continuing his chant.
"My Magecraft is a cage of flames! A flaming yet verdant giant!" He jumped away as Arthur slammed her sword into the ground where he had stood, the Ashen one ducked away from her when she attempted to slash at him before returning her eyes to the Caster "Retribution! A shrine that purifies the evil of Human affairs!" landing on his feet a good distance from her, Caster thrust his staff forwards "Wickerman!"
Arthur widened her eyes in alarm and looked down as the ground beneath her feet erupted in an inferno, the circle of fire exploded outwards as she suddenly found herself standing atop a giant patchwork wooden palm, huge fingers curled into a fist around her and clenched tightly, Arthur let out a sharp cry of pain. The rest of the giant wooden figure soon emerged from the pit of fire, raising itself to its feet, the cage on its chest swung open, the arm holding Arthur flung her towards the interior of the body, the woman was brutally slammed into the inside of the wickerman as the cage door slammed shut.
The burning giant turned itself, leaning forwards and making no attempt to stabilise their enormous body as it fell face first towards the ground. Saber held an armoured hand in front of his eyes as the wickerman collided with the ground in an explosion of fire, a cloud of smoke soon obscured the sight of the impact.
Caster slowly lowered his staff with a frown, clicking his tongue "Doesn't feel right killing an opponent who's already weak."
"I'm not one to complain about it." Saber shrugged in response, Caster turned to the Saber with a slightly raised eyebrow as he slowly nodded his head, a small thoughtful frown flashed across his features.
"Ah." He suddenly made a noise of realisation "You're like one of those warriors where it's a fight of 'kill or be killed' kind of thing, aren't you?"
"Isn't that what fights normally are?"
"...Most of the time, sure." Caster replied, giving a small shrug as he turned his head to the gradually disappearing cloud of ash, only to grimace and let out a scoff "Are you shitting me?"
Saber turned his head to see what had upset the Caster, only to see Arthur standing in the scorched rubble, staring at them with a dispassionate gaze.
"You should not worry yourself, Child of Light." Arthur called out, only then did Saber and Caster notice the golden flakes of light beginning to peel away from her form "I have lost this fight." a small smile flickered across her face "A Victory for the power that protects...so much like that one." releasing a nearly inaudible sigh, her smile vanished "It seems that no matter how it is, I always face defeat when alone.
Caster raised an eyebrow at her "What's up, you're not normally this chatty."
"Is it not the right of a King to show wisdom to the ignorant masses?" Arthur replied, Caster's features flattened "However, you will realise it soon. The Grand Order has just begun."
"Hey!" Caster stepped forwards "Bastard! What the hell is that supposed to-" she had already vanished, Caster lowered his hand to see the limb slowly turning transparent as golden motes of light floated away from his body, he let out a click of the tongue "Well...That's that then."
He turned to see the others already approaching him. "Caster-" Ritsuka made to speak with the Servant gave an uncaring shrug of his shoulders.
"It is how it is." He dismissed "Don't worry about it too much. Still, if there is a next time." a smirk came to his face as he rested the staff on his shoulder "Summon me as a Lancer."
Olga's eyes briefly tore themselves away from Caster as his form disappeared, staring instead towards the location where King Arthur had been standing moments ago, she bit her lip in concern for the words.
"Confirming the disappearance of Saber and Caster." Mash spoke up as Roman's face came into existence through the hologram "...Did we win?"
"I hope so…" Ritsuka muttered next to her, a sorrowful expression on his face "...I kind of hope we meet Caster again."
"With Servant summoning, anything is possible." Romani replied to him, then his face split into a joyful expression "More importantly! You guys did it! The Director must be so proud of you...Where is she?" his face turned more confused as he looked at the pair in front of him to see Olga nowhere in sight.
"Grand Order…" Olga muttered under her breath "How did she know that name?"
"Is there some concern?" Saber called out to her as he approached, the woman jolted and spun around to face him, coughing into her hand as she brushed herself down.
"No." She shook her head, turning away from the Saber and began walking towards Ritsuka and Mash "W-well done Mash, Master Candidate Number 48, and Saber. Several points of this mission remain unclear, but this mission has been a success, our first objective is to retrieve that crystal-" she pointed to the glowing object behind her, Saber turned around, only just noticing it, to see the gleaming rock that sat where Arthur had disappeared. "-so we can take it back to Chaldea, considering it is the reason this became a singularity to begin with."
"Alright." Saber shrugged his shoulders, turning to the crystal and began walking towards it. Then froze.
The others notice him still, sending him fleeting glances of concern "Saber-san?" Mash called out, tilting her head to the side "Is something wro-" she cut herself off when she felt it as well, rushing past Ritsuka and standing in front of him protectively.
"Well...I didn't expect you to get this far…" A voice echoed out around them through the cavern, an annoyed sigh soon followed "It was well beyond my expectations and plans…"
Saber sharply turned his head upwards to the outcrop of rock, a figure soon emerged above them on the spot where Arthur had originally stood before she engaged them. Wearing a long green suit with a matching top hat. The man stared down at them with closed eyes and a small frown on his face.
"Professor...Lev?" Mash called out uncertaintly, shifting her body to better prepare herself for any altercation. Saber was still glaring at the man.
"Eh!?" Romani called out through the communicator "Professor Lev? He's there!?"
"Hmm? Romani?" Lev responded to him in an irritated tone of voice "I thought I told you to meet me in the command centre. Honestly…" his lips spread into a vicious scowl as he opened his eyes to glare at the image of the man "Trash that cannot even follow the simplest of instructions, it makes me sick to my core. Why couldn't you have simply listened to me and haplessly marched along to your death, it would have been much simpler."
Mash widened her eyes in alarm as Olga's face soon turned joyful.
"Lev!" She cried out in glee, sprinting towards the man "Lev! You're alrig-Hey!" she barely got past Saber when the Servant spun around and wrapped an arm around her waist, hoisting her up and backing away from the direction Lev was in "What are you doing!? Fujimaru! Control your servant!"
"B-but-" Ritsuka hesitantly looked between the Director and Lev, the man staring at the scene before him with obvious amusement.
"Release me!" Olga tried to pry herself out of Sabers grip to little effect. Saber remained silent as he continued to back away from the 'man' standing above him.
"Was he always a demon?" Saber asked, raising his sword to level it towards the man, Olga stilled in his grip, furrowing her brows and turning to face the Servant with a look of pure bewilderment.
"What do you-"
"A Demon." Saber repeated "Was he always one?"
"He's not a-"
"Well...I suppose it is expected of a Servant from another world to be a little troublesome." Lev interrupted her with an almost cordial tone which was far too exaggerated to be genuine "Although there was a reason I made a deal with Saber rather than Berserker...he was quite unhappy to see me." shaking his head "Really, and I had hoped that everything would work out so well too…" he turned his head to the spot where Arthur had been and pursed his lips "I hadn't expected Saber to be such a fool though, if she had merely done as I asked I would have been more than content to just leave her be."
"W-what?"
"I suppose it doesn't compare to the complication that is whatever your little circus act is." Lev turned to them with a sneer "I honestly couldn't have predicted what went on here. The failed demi-servant awakens, a Master Candidate is kicked out early and manages to survive, another servant from across the Kaleidoscope appears and Olga somehow survives the bomb I planted under her feet." he shrugged his shoulders "The only thing I could predict was that Romani would be too lazy to follow my instructions and wouldn't be killed. I'm disgusted to know I was right in my estimations of the man, if only because that pathetic nature of his proved to save his life."
"M-my feet?" Olga looked down, eyes wide and shaking "L-Lev? What do you mean?"
"Ah, I suppose I shouldn't give you false hope." The man snapped his fingers and grinned down at her, his sharpened teeth exposed. "I did plant the bomb under your feet and you, in fact, did die. It was what came next that was so surprising. Trismegistus thoughtfully transferred you into this land after you became residual thoughts. You had no aptitude for Rayshift when you were alive, right? You can't teleport while you have a physical body. Understand? You only gained the aptitude you desired after you died! That's why you can't return to Chaldea. The moment you do, your consciousness will vanish."
"...Eh?" Olga slumped in Saber's arms "W-what? But...I'm dead?"
"Indeed." Lev gave her a smile of faux sympathy "But the thought of you just fading away is too pitiful to think of...so I shall provide you with one last comfort." he raised his hand into the air, Saber and Mash tensed as he snapped his fingers.
Space behind him ripped open, the image of Chaldeas soon appeared through the tear in space, the burning heavily damaged control room with the burning red orb hanging above.
"Thats-!" Olga cried out in alarm "That has to be some sort of trick right!?"
"I'm afraid not." Lev mockingly replied as he shook his head "I've connected space and time just for you, with the grail in my possession, such a thing becomes mere child's play." spreading his arms wide, Lev let out a bark of laughter as he continued his rant "Now behold, descendant of Animusphere. Behold your folly! Not a sliver of blue remains which represents the survival of the human race. Nothing but a burning, bright red. That is the outcome of this mission, isn't it wonderful Marie? After all it was your incompetence which led to this."
"N-no!" Olga slumped in Saber's arm "That's not-!"
The Ashen One stabbed his greatsword into the ground, switching Olga to his other arm as he ignited a pyromancy in his left hand. The black flames engulfed the palm as he cocked his arm back in a throwing motion before hurling the ball of black flames at the man.
Lev watched the ball of fire accelerate towards him with a somewhat bored expression, snapping his fingers as a decorative walking cane appeared in his left hand, flicking it upwards and slicing through the Pyromancy with a sudden blade of air.
Saber widened his eyes and leapt back as the wind projectile sliced through the air towards him, narrowly avoiding it as it cut through the ground where he had been moments ago.
"I suppose there was no need for concern after all." Lev sighed "Your arrival via the Second Magic and the nature of your own world are trivial. Nothing that could pose any threat." the mocking smile returned to his face, the portal closed behind him as the image of the burning Chaldea's faded away "Especially not now that we have already succeeded."
He turned his attention away from Saber, facing the Master and Roman with a composed expression "I shall introduce myself properly this time. I am Lev Lainur Flauros. Dispatched to 2017 to eradicate humans. Are you listening, Romani?" he looked down at the hologram of the doctor "As a fellow student of Magecraft, allow me to give you some advice. Chaldea is finished, you humans have at last reached the moment of your destruction."
"Professor Lev…" Roman spoke in a serious tone "No...Lev Lainur, is this related to why we are unable to see 2019?"
In response, Lev merely let out a mocking laugh "Fool. It's not 'related' it is simply the reality that this is the end. Unable to observe the future and babbling about how it had 'disappeared' truly that was wishful thinking." sneering at the man, he went on, much to the growing horror present on everyone else's face "The truth is that 2019 no longer exists. It was incinerated the moment Chaldeas was dyed red. Your era no longer exists." he paused, letting out a sigh of exasperation "However it seems Chaldeas' magnetic field protected Chaldea, however it won't be able to do so for long." he shrugs "Not that it truly matters, all those outside will meet the same fate as Fuyuki city."
"So that was it…" Roman breathed out "We didn't lose contact with the outside world...we lost the outside world itself…"
"Hmph. You really are perceptive, aren't you?" Lev shook his head "A pity I didn't kill you earlier." he smiled again, face worked into a snarl "It means nothing in the end though, the outcome is already certain. The end of humanity was not caused by your inability to evolve or some war with an alien race. Rather it was your own folly which lost the grace of our King!"
The area around them began to rumble, Lev looked up "So the Singularity has already begun to fall apart? Dear me, I appear to have rambled on for far too long...Oh well." giving an unconcerned shrug, he merely smiled down at the group "Farewell Mash, Roman, Marie and Master Candidate 48...I am not without mercy, however, and I will depart, allowing you a brief moment to make your final prayers."
Disappearing in a flash of light, leaving everyone else in the cavern alone, the rumbling continued as stalagmites began to fall down from above, Saber jumped back over to Mash with Olga still in his arm. The woman had gone quiet, muttering incoherently under her breath the whole time.
"Lady Sorceress." Saber addressed her, she tilted her head, the only indication she heard him "I do not claim to understand all that has occurred. However, I...would recommend you steel yourself. Dying while afraid...is unpleasant."
She let loose a whimper in response, tears sliding down her cheeks, Saber winced behind his helmet, he wasn't very good at comforting people. "...I will tell you this. You did...an admirable job during this event." he went on, giving her a slight pause "If these are to be your final moments...I advise leaving this world with the same dignity you walked upon it with."
The woman sniffled, rubbing her eyes "Y-yes...I...I did a good job?"
"You did."
She exhaled "Master Candidate 48...Mash." She addressed the pair as Saber slid over to them, the two staring at her in shock, no doubt realising what the end of the singularity meant for her.
Rock smashed into the ground near them, Mash raised her shield above her head "Doctor, the Cavern is collapsing!"
"I'll get you ready for departure!" The man called back, Mash and Ritsuka widened their eyes.
"But if we leave, the Director will-" Ritsuka made to argue back when Olga cut him off.
"I will hear nothing of it. As our final Master candidate….I order you to return Chaldea's blue." She commanded with as much authority as she could muster, Mash sent the woman a wide-eyed look while Ritsuka stared at her with crinkled eyes.
"Director…"
"P-please...Return it blue."
"...Yes."
"We're trying to pull you back!" Romani called through "Just try to hang onto your consciousness for a little longer!"
"Above!" Saber cried out in alarm, Mash buckled as a large portion of the roof of the cavern slammed into the shield, the ground cratered as she fell to one knee.
"Romani!" Olga cried out "Get them out of here!"
"I'm try-!" Another boulder slammed into the shield, Ritsuka collapsed as a stray bit of debris hit his head, Saber stared at him in alarm as he felt his body begin to lighten, looking at his hands he saw a blue glow begin to surround him.
There was a single flash of light which engulfed the group before the ceiling collapsed on them entirely.
"Senpai!" Mash cried out in alarm as she dropped to her knees, tending to the boy with a small cut on his forehead. "Doctor! Get down here!" she called out.
"On my way!" The man replied over the intercom, throughout it all, Saber stood still. Staring at his palm.
A few moments later, the doctor burst into the room, sprinting across the ruined section of the Rayshift chamber with a small bag in hand as he dropped down to Ritsuka's side, looking the boy over as Mash watched desperately from the sidelines. The doctor examined his head before he let out a small sigh of relief "It looks like it wasn't that bad of a hit, probably combined with the exhaustion from being Ray shifted caused him to black out, but I'll need to get him to the infirmary to-hm?" he furrowed his brows, looking away from Ritsuka and in the direction "Saber? What's wrong?"
The Servant turned to face them in response, the eyes of Mash and Roman were drawn to the subtle glowing orb in the Servant's palm, almost dancing like a flame.
"Saber-san?" Mash looked at it "What...what is it?"
"...I...I believe it is Lady Olga's soul." He replied, much to the shock of the pair.