Chapter 68: Storm brawl

"Hurry up scumbags!" Drake shouted out as she marched through the ship, the crewmembers were stumbling around as Asterios and Havel pushed the Golden Hind away from the shoreline and back out to sea. "Get those sails raised!"

"We shall be underway soon then." Oscar remarked as he leaned against the ship's railings for support, his helm briefly scanned the crew complement before they landed on the figure closest to him "You seem to be taking this situation quite well, Sir Kyrielight." he mused with a nod of his head.

Mash physically recoiled as if struck by the comment before she shook her head "I-I'm not a 'Sir' Oscar-san, I don't know if being possessed by a Heroic Spirit grants me their titles or not…" her expression turned downcast as she stared at her armoured gauntlets "Besides...I do not know the Heroic Spirits name."

"I see." Oscar slowly nodded his head "I am sure the answer will come to you in time."

"Thank you." Mash gave a smile in thanks, although it held a slight tinge of doubt to it. Oscar stared at her for a few moments in silence before he straightened himself out, turning his body to face her.

"That is a dour look upon your face."

Mash blinked "Sor-"

"It is not one I find offensive." Oscar shook his head, swiftly cutting off her attempt at an apology. He looked around the ship, staring at all those assembled before raising his arm in a sweeping gesture "They're all quite incredible, aren't they?"

"They are." Mash agreed easily "We're lucky to have so many Servants on our side."

"When I stand next to such persons, I cannot help but feel as though I am not quite on their level." Oscar admitted with a quiet sigh, turning away from Mash. "It is a shock...as if I am surrounded by legends from my childhood."

"Did you read about stories growing up, Oscar-san?" Mash inquired as she walked closer to him, stopping next to him and placing her own hands on the railings. Oscar nodded his head in response.

"Indeed. My favourite was always the tale of Pharis." He spoke in a reminiscent tone bordering on amusement "He was a human Archer but his skill with a bow." he shook his head "Sir Ash told me you encountered the Legendary Hawkeye Gough, did you not?"

"Oh, yes." Mash nodded her head, her eyes wide with childish glee "I'd never thought I'd see a giant but he was amazing."

Oscar released a warm chuckle in response "I imagine he would be, but Pharis was said to equal the legendary Knight with pure skill alone." he remained silent as the statement set in "Could you imagine it? Just a normal human like myself being able to compete with a giant who could shoot dragons down from the sky?"

Mash shook her head before pausing "Some Heroic Spirit's legends are incredible." pausing, the girl reached up and rubbed her arm. "It does feel a little strange to be beside them at times."

"Like you've cheated your way there." Oscar distantly commented, jolting and shaking his head "Forgive me, I meant no offence towards you." he assured her with a wave of his hand "The one who granted you their power must have seen something to be nurtured, indeed you are still young aren't you?" he queried towards her.

"I'm only fifteen, Oscar-san." She replied, fidgeting slightly as he turned to stare down at her, she could feel the raised eyebrow he held behind his helmet "B-but I'll be sixteen in a month!" she helpfully supplied as if it didn't change the fact she was still barely above a child.

"I'd only just left to join the Knight's at that age." Oscar didn't seem as though he cared in the least however, instead taking on a nostalgic tone "You have a bright future ahead of you then, I would not feel as inferior to those around you." he reached out and gave her a pat on the shoulder before retracting his arm "Unlike me…" he trailed off, his hand curling slightly before falling limply at his side.

"I don't know about that…" Mash frowned at Oscar "You still were able to make it to the Throne of Heroes." she pointed out "You're a Servant just like everyone else."

"Not like them." Oscar released an ugly snort "Not at all like them. Dreams they had which might have been achieved or dreams they have yet to achieve." a weary sigh escaped him "All I can say is that I stumbled upon the first hurdle in my quest and lost my will to carry on."

"You're here now, Oscar-san." Mash affirmed to him, earning a side-helm look from the Knight "I'm sure you can be a big help."

"When I find myself surrounded by the likes of Havel the Bishop?" Oscar shook his head "No...I doubt that very much." he paused releasing a hum "It seems I have answered a question I held for some time though…"

"What question?"

"I cannot Hollow, for I would have surely done so by now." His laugh was empty. "How strange." muttering to himself, he shook his head and turned away from Mash "I will not burden you further, we have to prepare for our encounter with Blackbeard-"

"Oscar-san." Mash stopped him "I...I'm certain you'll find something you can do."

"...What of you?" The Shielder blinked at the sudden question, her brows furrowed in confusion as Oscar turned his head to stare at her "The dreams of the others are known to me but what of you?"

"Dream?" Mash blinked several times, opening and closing her mouth repeatedly before she answered "I...Is a dream important?"

"To undead? It is invaluable." Oscar replied "More often than not, a dream or desire is what could keep us going. A desire and a will to fulfil it, be it a desire to fulfil a duty or a dream to see through. Had you been like myself, perhaps you might indeed have Hollowed."

"I...Want to be a good Servant for Senpai-"

"That is a duty to fulfil." Oscar shook his head "Hmmm. Perhaps you are not so different from Sir Ash, that is if he has a want of his own."

"What do you mean?" Mash stepped closer, tilting her head in confusion "Doesn't Ash-san want to help?"

"A want is born of personal feelings." Oscar corrected "Whether or not you can agree with some of them, they all originate within ourselves. I wanted to realise a grand destiny for myself, it was an ambition I held and perhaps my first failure was a realisation they were but the dreams of a fool. Perhaps you will find an ambition of your own or perhaps you will not…" he trailed off, his helm lowered so as to stare her in the eyes.

"But if you have an ambition you want realised." His tone was stern. "Be sure that you have the will to see it through."

Mash stared at him in silence, her eyes still holding a glimmer of confusion within them as the Saber turned away from her and moved across the ship, remaining stationary for a few moments before her expression scrunched up into a troubled one. She wanted to be a good Servant so that Senpai could rely upon her but wasn't that the duty of all Servants?

Shaking her head, she moved through the ship, still unable to get the small question in the back of her head out. She had seen what Ash was truly about, the performance of a Servant without question if the action made sense but…

Did he have anything he wanted beyond that?

She didn't know, but she knew she didn't know much about a lot of things.

A dream to realise and the will to see it through.

She stumbled as the ship swerved to the side, several people loudly cursed on deck to match with the heavy thump of bodies hitting the deck. Instantly manifesting her shield, Mash swung around to look for potential attackers.

"Warn us next time you're gonna swing the ship asshole!" Only to falter when she caught sight of Drake leaning over the railings and violently swearing at someone "Nearly fell on my face!" she then pointed down towards whoever it was "And what the ship! We just fixed it! Why can't you be more like Asterios!? He's calm when he moves the ship and does it slowly as well!"

'Ah, she's speaking to Havel-san.' She realised with a nod of the head, the Berserker obviously being responsible for the ship's sudden change in direction. Lowering her shield, she allowed it to vanish into motes of light. Releasing a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Someone get a ladder-" Drake cut herself off, assuming a thinker's pose before shaking her head and dismissing an idea "On second thought, drop the anchor for him. Doubt the ladder will take either of their weight."

The heavy rattling of chains followed by a splash of water indicated that the anchor had indeed been dropped for Havel and Asterios, Mash braced herself for the ship to inevitably lurch when either of them began to climb.

"They'll see us coming leagues away on open water." Drake stated as she leaned against a barrel, her arms crossed and her expression tight "So...anyone got any ideas?"

"...Can we not just sail towards them?" Ash asked in questioning before he paused at the blank looks he received from everyone around him. "Is that not an option?"

"I mean…" Drake scratched her chin, humming in thought "Cannon's blazing and that might confuse them long enough for us to get close alongside and board them, wouldn't it?"

Mash shook her head "I don't believe so, given the presence of Servants on-board, they will likely spot us at a great distance and the cannons will barely serve as a distraction to them." the Shielder's lips turned into a troubled frown "I do not believe that plan will work."

"You are actually describing that as a plan?" Romani blurted out loud "He literally just said the equivalent of walking up to them."

Ash, Oscar, Havel and Sanura were all pointedly silent as they all looked around in silence, not meeting the eyes of anyone present.

Ritsuka snorted, reaching up and rubbing the bridge of his nose "Alright then...so we can cross off just sailing towards them."

"What about during a storm?" Mash suggested "We could wait for a Wild Hunt?"

"That's hoping for too much." Drake rejected "Besides, who knows how long we'd be waiting for one to form and how long it would last." she frowned before turning to Ash, Archer and Artemis "You three use bows, can't you help distract them as well?"

"I could make the attempt." Ash admitted, turning to Oscar "I could gift you a simple longbow and some arrows."

Oscar nodded his head.

Artemis gave a simple nod of her head and hummed, then tightened her hold on Orion as he was busy staring at Sanura without her helmet on.

"Don't they still have us outgunned though?" Ritsuka asked, looking around the gathering of Servants and then towards the screen with Romani and Olga present "Wasn't Blackbeard's Noble Phantasm quite powerful?"

"It was." Romani grimly nodded his head "Combined with the presence of multiple Servants – even if they are down one – the Noble Phantasm can still outmatch whatever power you could use against Blackbeard. If he sees you coming straight towards him, I'd say a sensible Servant would immediately use it."

"Given their last encounter, how likely do you actually think that is?" Olga dryly retorted, Romani gave a hapless shrug.

"I did say sensible." The man pointed out with a strained smile "But anyway, as it stands the Noble Phantasm represents the biggest problem to you. If you were able to get in close you might be able to match them with the quantity of Servants you have available."

"So we would need a greater distraction then?" Sanura hummed, scratching her chin. "I confess I am...unfortunately inexperienced with such matters."

"Why doesn't someone just board the ship and cause a big distraction beforehand?" Artemis tilted her head, placing a single finger on her chin.

David blinked twice, his smile faltering slightly as he and Romani shared similar expressions of perplexity. "How exactly would someone board Blackbeard's ship beforehand?" the man questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Adding onto that, how would they even be able to board undetected and then escape?" Romani added on with a puzzled expression "We don't have very many Servants who are that stealthy and even an Assassin would have problems getting to it."

"Just ignore her." Orion waved his hand in the Goddess direction with an exhausted face "Sometimes she says silly things like that. How it's not like we have anyone who can casually just walk across to…" he trailed off, his features flattening before he slowly turned his head to stare at Artemis proud smile "...You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yep!" Artemis enthusiastically replied "I think it will work, Darling!"

"How is it that you suddenly come up with these bizarre schemes whenever it directly relates to me?"

"Because it will make you look cool!"

"...Terrific."

"Care to share?" Drake raised an eyebrow at the bear, Orion gave a heavy sigh before turning to face the Pirate.

"Despite appearances, I am still a Servant." He explained with a shrug "I still have access to most of my basic skills...like my ability to walk on water."

"Ah, yes." Euryale commented as if in remembrance, looking up from her nails and giving Orion a mildly intrigued look "You are the son of Lord Poseidon, aren't you?"

Drake whistled, looking away while David and Oscar looked equally ready to not pay attention to the bear. Havel slowly turned his head to stare down at the furry toy, the clear aura of disbelief that emanated from him had Orion throw up his hands in annoyance.

"I know it ain't the best power alright?" He turned towards Boudica "I'm feeling down! Please comfort me in your bos-" Artemis hand tightened around his head, earning a mildly amused look from the red-haired Rider. "...I would like to retract my earlier statement."

"Oh Darling...you keep making these strange comments and people might misunderstand something."

"You mean that you're actually likely to kill someone over a petty insult?" Orion blurted out, Artemis remained silent as she continued to hold onto the bear's head, then slowly began to tighten her grip "Alright! Alright! Give! Give!"

"Moving on." Archer coughed into his hands, turning the attention of the group away from the bizarre display "Assuming Orion can actually board Blackbeard's ship without being detected, there would still be considerable...ground for him to cover." he raised an eyebrow "And it doesn't exactly look like he has speed on his side."

Ritsuka frowned in thought, giving a small hum before his eyes fell upon something. They then narrowed before widening as an epiphany came to him, his head snapped in the direction of Artemis and Orion "How durable is Orion?"

Orion and Artemis blinked, the two of them stared at each other before staring at Ritsuka, "Well...I am a bit tougher than your average teddy bear…" Orion hesitantly replied with a growing sense of dread "...Why?"

Ritsuka's eyes trailed up to Artemis "How would you feel if I suggested a plan that might get Orion hurt?"

Artemis frowned, narrowing her eyes at Ritsuka "Are you going to hurt Darling on purpose?"

"No on purpose." Ritsuka quickly replied "But it might hurt him, depending on how much damage he can take. It can change really easily."

"Senpai?" Mash tilted her head, leaning forwards "You have a plan."

"Kind of." Ritsuka replied in a strained voice, pointing towards the item which had birthed his idea "I'm not claiming it to be a very good one."

The eyes of everyone trailed to where Ritsuka was pointing, Havel himself giving a confused grunt as he looked between the item and Ritsuka. Romani and Olga looked through the screen before the former choked back a laugh as he seemingly came to the same idea as Ritsuka.

"R-really, Fujimaru-kun?" Romani managed to get out between disbelieving chuckles "That's your plan?"

"What?" Olga blinked, staring at Romani and then staring at Ritsuka. Her expression gradually turned into a mixture of annoyance and puzzlement "What's his plan? What is he suggesting?"

Archer stared longer before he released a heavy sigh, moving his right hand up to cradle his forehead "I have to hand it to you, Master." he commented, shaking his head and giving Ritsuka an incredulous expression "That is certainly an unorthodox plan you have come up with."

Ritsuka returned his look with a lopsided smile and a half-shrug.

"What?" Orion started to sweat as he looked around "What plan? What plan have you come up with and what's with this terrible feeling I'm currently experiencing!?"

Rendal looked across the deck towards Blackbeard, his expression turned into a slight frown as he reached out and grabbed hold of Halflight's collar as he walked past, stopping the man in his tracks "How long has he been like that?"

Halflight turned his head to stare at Blackbeard before his expression tightened into a frown "Several hours, I believe." the man gave a huff and shook himself free of Rendal before continuing on "He's been fantasising again."

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Rendal turned away and made his way over to Blackbeard, passing by Anne and Mary as he did so – the pair looked equally disgusted by Teach – as he closed in. "Edward."

"Euryale-chan~" Blackbeard sang out "Euryale-chan~. Wherefore art thou, Euryale-chan~?"

"Edward." Rendal called out again, crossing his arms in front of him and repeatedly tapping his boot against the deck "Captain."

"Wherefore art thy feet? So tender and supple? Thy skin but a delicate flower, thy eyes but glittering jewels, thy lips are tender pillows~"

Rendal lifted his right hand to cover his face while moving his left to rest upon his hips, exhaling loudly into his palm before removing his hand. "Captain Teach…" he paused, staring out and eventually opening his mouth again "Good heavens, is that the delicate Euryale-chan of legend?" His voice was dry enough that it would make a desert envious.

"Where!?" Blackbeard spun around, only to find himself staring at the half-lidded expression on Rendal's face. Blackbeard groaned and threw his hands up "Why did you have to catfish me like that bro? That's the kind of banter I expect from Sammy but at least he can pick a time and place."

Rendal's brows furrowed, looking over his shoulder and staring at the Angel – which to his knowledge hadn't spoken a single word in the entire time he'd been present – before turning back to Blackbeard and shaking his head, dismissing the thought he held. "Captain, you have yet to actually explain your orders."

"Huh?" Blackbeard blinked then made a small 'O' shape with his mouth, nodding his head "Simple, isn't it? There's a big hole in her ship which means the hag will have to find somewhere she can land and make repairs." he smirked, gesturing over his shoulder towards the islands they were closing in on "Which means they'll likely have landed on one of these. Even if that sad man can use the huff and puff sword, they'll still have been in bad enough condition to have to land at the first island they saw."

Rendal stared long and hard at the man, slowly raising his eyebrow "I do not know if should be concerned or amazed at the seemingly intellectual mind you hide behind this veil of stupidity."

"Thanks!" Blackbeard beamed "I try!"

Rendal looked the man up and down, as if trying to discern his intentions before releasing a sigh and turning away from the man. His eyes travelled upwards to find the Angel staring down at him, the two of them engaged in a stare down before Rendal broke contact and continued to walk through the ship.

Blackbeard hummed to himself as he looked around, soon pausing as he felt something crawl up his spine. "Hmm...I feel like something is going to happen soon."

"I would very much like to complain about this!" Orion pleaded loudly as Sanura held the bear in her hands "Very much so!"

"It's fine, Darling!" Artemis reassured him with a wave of her hand "You'll be great! I have faith that you'll look cool!"

"I'll look like a splatter mark!" Orion cried back in horror "Artemis!"

"I'll...hold...back…" Havel grunted in a manner which could very easily have been misunderstood to be calming, Orion was currently too panicked to be fully convinced of that fact as the Berserker mounted the large club on his shoulder and gripped it tightly with both hands, turning their body to the side and getting into a very worrying position.

A batter's position.

"Using a Heroic Spirit as a baseball." Romani shook his head in disbelief "In fact, using Orion as a projectile feels as though it's ironic in some strange way. At least this will make for an interesting report, right Director?"

Olga gave the man a blank look before turning her head back towards the screen as Havel took several practice swings. "Master Fujimaru."

The boy snapped to attention "Yes, Director?"

"How confident are you in this plan?"

"...Seventy percent." Ritsuka replied after a beat "...Maybe seventy-two."

"That isn't one-hundred percent!" Orion exclaimed in a very horrified voice "Lady, please don't do this!" he begged Sanura, the woman stared at the bear and then looked towards Artemis with a slightly timid expression.

"It's alright, Darling!" Artemis replied with a carefree tone "Even if you get hurt, I'll just nurse you back to health!"

"You're hoping I get hurt now!?" Orion struggled "Stop! Stop!"

Ash walked towards the bear and the Lancer, removing his hand from his bottomless box and revealing a bulky ring which he then placed in the bear's hands "Hold this. It should mitigate some of the damage to you."

"...Really?"

"Oh, yes." Ash nodded "I was once punched by a Giant God and was back on my feet without much concern moments later because of this ring."

"So I won't feel it?"

"You will not feel the full effects."

"...Alright! Alright…" Orion shakily exhaled "Lets get this over with…"

"Archer?" Ritsuka looked to the Servant "Can you see them yet?"

"I can just about make them out." Archer nodded his head "They're at least three kilometres away from us." the tanned Servant slowly turned his head towards them "It depends how far you can launch Orion without him being spotted."

"We'll wait till we're closer." Drake ordered "Once we're close enough that all of us can open fire, we'll send the little guy flying."

"This is making it so much worse…" Orion whimpered "The tension is going to ruin me. I don't care anymore...as long as someone holds me in their bosom I can do it!" he shouted out to the sky "Preferably Boud-" he cut himself off at the burning glare he received from Artemis and – surprisingly – Sanura.

"You have been granted a great privilege in being the consort of a Goddess." Sanura sternly talked down to the bear, spinning him around so she could hold him at eye level "I will not have you insult Milady Artemis honour by openly flaunting your infidelity."

"...Sorry, Miss." Orion looked down "...You know, you're pretty cute when you look angry."

Sanura sputtered, her cheeks dusting with a tint of redness although whether it was from anger or embarrassment was difficult to tell "Did you not listen to a word I just said!?"

Boudica walked over to Ash and leaned towards him "Did that Ring actually protect you from being punched by a giant?" she whispered to him with a suspicious expression.

"It felt marginally less painful." Ash whispered back to her, "And I was indeed back on my feet...after a large helping of Estus to repair my broken body."

Boudica gave him a conspiratorial smile "You lied, huh?"

"I omitted." Ash shrugged, his expression still blank save the slight twitch of his lip "The Ring will still protect him. Besides, he seems much calmer with the knowledge that he now has some form of protection. He would have continued to argue and waste time."

Boudica raised an eyebrow at him, her smile not disappearing as she crossed her arms. "Hmmmh."

"I am not being vindictive." Ash argued "It is simply that pain is a great teacher and this might encourage him to better keep his lecherous opinions in check so as to not distract others." he turned to walk away before pausing "Besides, he will most likely live anyway, so where is the problem?"

"Nowhere." Boudica gave an amused hum, giving Orion one last glance – still being shaken by Sanura with Artemis also looking ready to throttle him – before looking back to Ash. "Nowhere at all."

"What do you mean 'a bad feeling'?" Mary stared at Blackbeard with a raised eyebrow "Do you mean something bad is going to happen or that you feel nauseous?"

"I mean like something bad is going to happen." Blackbeard frowned, scratching his beard with a thoughtful expression "Like...wait, can Servants even get nauseas?"

"I do every time I'm around you." Anne muttered to herself, Teach recoiled as if struck, his eyes looking like they were going to tear up.

"That hurts my feelings, you know…" He sniffed, then did a complete tonal shift "Please say it more often, except have this disdainful look on your face like you've stepped in something particularly disgusting and say it all 'You're pathetic' in an ice cold voice with glassy eyes?" he paused then added on "If you could also step on me while doing so, that would be nice too."

"I'm quite certain I have never met a man quite so perverse as yourself." Lautrec mumbled, reaching up and scratching his helm "And I feel blessed that I had lasted quite so long without meeting one."

"Tsk." Teach clicked his tongue "Sammy understands me, don't you Sammy?" he looked up, the eyes of everyone else looked towards the floating Angel. The being craned its blackened hood down to stare at the group in silence for a few seconds before looking away from them.

"See?" Teach boasted with a confident smile "What did I tell you?"

"""They didn't say anything!"""

"You all just don't have the same close bond relationship that I have." Blackbeard scoffed, crossing his arms and pouting "Sometimes I wonder if I'm truly the only sane man in the world?"

"I dread to think of any world where you are its only sane man." Halflight remarked with a disturbed expression "Perhaps if everyone else had hollowed first."

"I'm sensing a complete lack of team spirit from some of you all." He waved his hands in the air "Just try to imagine what we're fighting to obtain here!"

"The Grail."

"...Well...yeah, but mainly Euryale-chan."

"This is not a matter of-" Rendal stepped forwards, only to pause when he heard a splash next to the ship. The entire group of Servants as one immediately turned their head in the direction of the splash. Blinking once, Blackbeard strode over to the railings and peered over the edge, staring down at the ripple in the water from where something had impacted it.

"Did anyone drop something?"

"Huh." Ritsuka squinted his eyes as he stared in the direction where Orion had been launched. "For a bear, he flew pretty good."

"Sounded like he was screaming." Sanura scratched her upper lip before frowning lightly, turning her head towards Ash "I thought that Ring was supposed to negate the damage?"

"I said it would hurt less." Ash responded with a blank expression "Not that it still wouldn't hurt. Although given that my own tolerance for pain dramatically exceeds yours it is highly likely that he is still in incredible pain."

"How does he even feel pain to begin with?" Ritsuka wondered aloud "He's a stuffed animal? Does he actually have nerves to feel anything with?"

Mash blinked once, her own expression slowly turning into a puzzled one "I...I don't know, Senpai...Perhaps because his body is a direct product of Artemis? Divine Spirits do utilise magic rather than Magecraft."

"There's a difference?"

"It's more in line with the spells that Ash-san uses." Mash explained "Although I'd imagine it's better seen with the other branches of magic." she turned her head towards the Saber "Isn't it?"

"It is, Miracles and Sorcery-" Havel growled "-Have a greater degree of flexibility to them than Pyromancy, but Pyromancy is far simpler to understand. Regardless, I suspect we will soon be spotted now that we have safely launched Orion."

"Is it truly 'safe' if he was still injured?" David commented.

"It's safe for Fujimaru-kun." Romani replied with a shrug "That makes it safe for everyone else. Considering Artemis is technically the holder of the Spirit Core, I'd wager that Orion can take an exceeding amount of damage."

"As long as Lady Artemis does not feel a need to seek retribution on his behalf, we are quite safe." Oscar remarked before pausing "Although once he attempted to flirt with Sir Sanura, she seemed to change her approach almost entirely."

"Gods are fickle." Archer offered as way of an excuse as he held out his left hand, manifesting a large black bow before Ash brought out a similarly ludicrously sized bow, pulling out a slightly smaller wooden longbow and handing it to Oscar along with a large collection of arrows.

"Alright, so we've got the artillery team ready-" She paused when she noticed Euryale with a bow "...Seriously?"

"I'm still an Archer Servant." Euryale huffed "Besides, even if my combat abilities are poor if its just the act of distraction, I can do that much...Besides, I feel a strong desire to teach that lousy Pervert a lesson."

Archer glanced at Ash "No comment about that?"

"The Gods are not adherent to the same principles as I am." Ash commented, his lip twitching downwards as he nocked a large spear-arrow into the bow "Besides...I have long since come to terms that they favour their own personal desires. Even if I do not like it."

"Yes, well…" Archer grunted, nocking his own bow "The Gods are troublesome like that."

"You know we're right here, right?" Euryale stared at Archer and Ash with a mild frown "I can literally hear every word you're saying."

"Same!" Artemis pouted "I'm not troublesome...unless it's with someone other than Darling, but they probably deserve it."

"...I'm not going to comment on that, just fire when ready." Drake shrugged.

"Senpai." Mash whispered to Ritsuka "Do you think Orion-san is alright? Havel-san looked like he hit him pretty hard."

"I do feel a little bad about it, but I'm sure he's fine." Ritsuka reassured, giving a confident nod "Either way, it's the best plan we actually have at the moment." looking to the Shielder, he gave her a half-smile. "It'll work out, if not…" he slowly looked over to where Artemis was "It's only on my head."

"I'm telling you, it was definitely a splash." Blackbeard argued, still leaning over the railings and staring down at the water "Like something hitting the water as well."

"Maybe it was a fish?" Lautrec guessed with a shrug "They sometimes jump out of the water, right?"

"They do?" Rendal blinked "I'd never heard of that."

"The ones near the streams did so."

"That's salmon." Anne pointed out "And I don't think you get salmon in the ocean...do you?" she framed the question towards Mary, the smaller girl looked up at her and raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"I don't know the behaviour of fish, Anne."

"I grew up in a city, so I cannot tell you." Halflight shrugged "It might well have been a fish of some variety but it could also have been-"

"INCOMING!" Rendal screamed at the top of his lungs, tackling Blackbeard away from the railings just in time for a larger splash to go off just a few feet from the ship, the explosion rocked the ship and sent the servants stumbling about the deck trying to re-orientate themselves.

"Shit!" Blackbeard scrambled to his feet, staring over the railings and catching sight of the familiar outline of the Golden Hind approaching them at great speed, the man's lips quirked into a savage grin "Attacking at the crack of dawn, eh? Gotta hand it to you. You're certainly gutsy, you old hag!"

Spinning away from the railings, Blackbeard willed the ship to turn in the direction of the Golden Hind, a savage smile still playing on his lips as the vessel went hard to starboard. "Anne, Archer-" Halflight scowled at the man obviously forgetting his name "-start to open us, the moment we're in range, I'm going to deploy my Noble Pha-"

An explosion cut him off, the fireball tearing through the side of the ship and causing the entire vessel to lurch heavily to one side. The shockwave from the immediate explosion sent Halflight and Anne spinning through the air – the two having been the closest to the initial explosion – and slamming heavily into the deck.

Black smoke erupted from the now gaping hole in the port side of the ship, Blackbeard spun around and blinked several times. As he stared at the burning hole in his ship "Report!" he demanded, Mary rushed over to the hole and stared down into it before loudly cursing and spinning around to face the Rider.

"The ammo ignited!" The girl announced with a grimace "It's burning away!"

"...How the heck did they manage that?" Blackbeard asked with genuine confusion, Rendal rushed towards the side of the ship and starboard side of the ship and scanned the water before he spotted something, his lips twitching into a deep frown.

"A saboteur." The King grimly revealed, squinting his eyes "Although I had not thought to see something like this."

"Like what?" Blackbeard shouldered past him and stared, blinking once, twice and then a third time as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. "Is...Is that a teddy bear?"

"'It won't hurt', my ass!" Orion loudly cursed as he sprinted across the surface of the water as fast as his feet could carry him "Thought I saw that damn scorpion for a second there!"

The bear stared down at the steel ring he was still holding in his hands "Next time he can wear this damn thing and get punted like a catapult, see how he likes it!" while Orion was busy cursing the existence of everything which currently related to the great deal of pain his hide was in – including the ability to actually feel pain of that scale despite being a stuffed animal – he failed no notice the Queen Anne's revenge bank hard to starboard so that it was facing his back before the ship sailed forwards.

A distant crack of gunfire followed by something splashing into the water barely a foot from him had the bear let out another panicked shout and sped up towards the Golden Hind "Oi! Oi! Cover fire! Cover fire!"

The crew Golden Hind stared at the billowing smokestack currently rising into the air, the Queen Anne's revenge sailing towards them while trailing behind the thick black smog from the destruction of most of its ammo.

"Won't they be able to fire again soon?" Ritsuka asked with a slight hint of worry "If they're like Arash, can't they make more cannonballs?"

"It isn't the same." Romani disagreed "...Well, technically it is because its ammunition but at the same time it isn't. Blackbeard still kept a physical stash of his ammunition on his ship in case of being attacked and destroyed, which still does damage to his actual ship itself. While they could use the magical energy of the Grail to repair the damage and produce more ammunition."

"Having the Grail provides you with near unlimited mana but it doesn't change your ability to channel it." Olga explained "An example would be having a tap attached to a damn. Turning on the faucet doesn't immediately mean the damn is going to run dry. It just means that you have an excess of water to call upon." the woman paused before continuing on, seeing the look of understanding on Ritsuka's face. "While the enemy Rider does not have to worry about running out magical energy to generate new ammunition or repairs to his vessel, it doesn't speed up the process of creating it."

"Ohhh." Rituska nodded his head "Yeah, that makes sense." He turned back towards the direction of the Queen Anne's revenge before frowning as he stared at the water "Is that Orion coming back?"

"I…" Mash squinted her eyes "I believe it is Senpai! It means he was able to get away safely!"

"That's Darling for you!~" Artemis cooed "Making a heroic get-away."

"I think I can hear him shouting." Ritsuka leaned forwards, trying to catch onto what Orion was shouting about. "What's he saying?" Ritsuka cupped his ear at the distant shouts, Ash stood next to him and furrowed his brows.

"I believe...he wants to be covered in fire?" Ash frowned "I'm not certain why though."

"Covering fire." Archer supplied, drawing back his bow and preparing an arrow "He wants covering fire."

"I don't know what that is."

"Just loosen some arrows at the boat."

"Ah, I see." Ash nodded his head, planting the large bow into the deck of the ship and pulling back the steel wire as far as it would go to the point where it began to audibly creak, the unkindled focused on the ship before releasing the spear-arrow at tremendous speeds towards the oncoming vessel. The spear-arrow slammed into the belt of the ship and once again skidded off the wood, however this time it left a noticeable mark in the wood.

"Than confirms his Noble Phantasm gets stronger the more Servants are present on it." Archer commented as he loosened half a dozen arrows in a short duration of time.

Flashes of light danced between the two ships as the Archers and gunners on either side opened up in full, the Queen Anne's Revenge clearly taking the majority of the fire and yet continued to sail strong, a testament to the sheer endurance of the ship when supported by multiple Servants.

"Brace for impact!" Drake cackled as she twirled the wheel, banking the ship to port and sailing so as to graze the side of the oncoming ship "Get those boarding anchors ready!"

A lance of light shot across the sky before being met with a long sword, Rendal parried the projectile upwards while his arms protested at the force behind the arrow. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the ship and quickly scowled "They appear to have increased their number."

"That sucks." Blackbeard pouted "No fair! How come they get all this help...fine!" he threw up his hands "Prepare to board!"

"Board!?" Rendal gaped at the man, looking away long enough to show clear shock before his expression turned strained as he parried another arrow of light, the beam dissipated in front of him as Halflight rushed past and loosened another dozen arrows towards the Golden Hind. "Are you mad? They outnumber us nearly two-to-one."

"For now." Blackbeard, looking away "Sammy!" the Angel turned to stare down at him "Bring out Mikey."

Nodding its head, the Angel's hands clasped together before its body began to glow.

"Almost there…" Drake muttered to herself as the ships came alongside each other "Boarding party!"

Several servants swung ropes across with grappling hooks, the metal prongs buried themselves into the wooden deck of the ship before the boarding plank was lowered, slamming down onto the main deck of Blackbeard's ship.

"The old bastard is mine!" Drake exclaimed loudly as she rushed down the stairs and towards the ramp, her hand already clasping her flintlock "Teach him to call me a hag! I'll have his head swinging from the front of my ship!"

Ritsuka blinked at the violent declaration before looking to Mash, the shielder shrugged her shoulders in an equal display of puzzlement before Ritsuka steeled his expression "Remember! Sammy is our priority!"

Havel rushed past him, his heavy footfalls clumping as the Servant leaped across the two ships and slammed into the deck with a heavy thud, soon being followed by the other Servants as they all similarly boarded the ship in a rush, a stare down erupted at the two groups faced off against eachother.

"Back so soon, old hag?" Blackbeard snickered "I thought you'd still napping, I know that old folks can't-whoa!" leaning to the side, Blackbeard narrowly dodged the bullet which had made to take his head off, the man shrugging his shoulders in response "Straight to it then, huh?"

"You know it!" Drake rushed towards Blackbeard after releasing a war cry while Blackbeard responded in kind.

Stormruler collided with the Frayed Blade, Ash and Halflight glared into each other's eyes before the unkindled pushed the man backwards, pulling the greatsword back and then thrusting it towards the man's gut. Halflight rolled to the side before sweeping his arm towards Ash, the trail of lightning infused light sparked along the ground and was soon followed by the spears erupting from the deck.

Ash rolled to the side, the attack rushing past him and through the middle of the group of Servants, Asterios let out a yelp as one of the light spears thrust itself through his foot and then soon began to electrocute him.

Closing the distance between the two of them, Ash thrust his left hand forwards in an explosion of fire, the cloud of flame had Halflight recoil from the heat and release an annoyed hiss before he flipped backwards – barely a second too soon as Ash's sword pierced through the deck where he had last been.

Grunting, Ash ripped the blade free of the ship and pursued after the man, space above Halflight's shoulders glowed as brilliant orbs manifested themselves into glowing spear heads and launched themselves in several directions across the deck. The projectiles were deftly avoided by the more observant Servants while Sanura growled in pain as one of the electrified spears slammed into her side.

Rendal made use of the distraction to slam the pummel of his sword into the side of the woman's helm and follow the attack up with sweeping kick to her gut from the opposite side, the women released a pained wheeze as the attack launched her onto her back with a heavy thud.

The Knight King deftly rolled away to avoid being crushed by Havel, the Bishop releasing a growl and charging down the man.

Hooking the smaller blades towards the hilt of Stormruler around the Frayed Blade, Ash jerked the sword to the side before swinging his head forwards like a battering ram. This time, Halflight responded in kind and slammed his own forehead into Ash's. The two recoiled from eachother in response to the impact, Ash being the first to recover and striking Halflight in the side of the face with the back of his left arm.

The man stumbled with the blow before Ash levelled the tip of his greatsword at the man and released a jet of wind directly into him. The sudden gale force winds sent the man careening through the air before he slammed face first into the mast of the ship and slumped down, dazed from the impact.

Rushing forwards, Ash grasped Stormruler with both hands and swung the sword towards the man's neck. A gunshot and the sound of metal striking metal was all the warning he got before he found the angle of his sword's descent reversed as it was forced upwards and buried into the wooden mast. His eyes quickly darted over to see the blonde woman twirl her rifle before deftly dodging David as the man narrowly avoided braining her with the staff in his hands.

His eyes quickly shifted back to Halflight just as the man snapped up to him, the Spear of Filianore slammed the heel of his boot into Ash's gut and used the force behind the kick to roll backwards. The kick wretched Ash's sword free from his grasp and left it buried in the ship, the spear clasped his hand onto his Katana and rushed towards the seemingly unarmed unkindled.

Ash's hand clasped onto the Aquamarine dagger on his belt and unsheathed it just in time to raise it high to block the swipe aimed at bifurcating him. Halflight glared into Ash's eyes, the temptation of violence almost proving too much for him before he composed his breathing. The words of Rendal still ringing in his head.

"You swing your sword like a beast possessed." Rendal bluntly stated as he watched Halflight train, the sting of his earlier defeat against the Unkindled still burned within him "And watching you train now with such skill only worsens the sight."

"What would you know, undead?" Halflight bit back a retort "I will see the Unkindled brought to justice."

"Not if you fight him full of anger you won't." Rendal grunted, crossing his arms in front of his chest and levelling Halflight with an utterly unimpressed look. "I could tell that the moment you launched yourself from the ship like a Hollow, you were destined for defeat and had it not been for the intervention of your allies you would have surely perished."

Halflight bristled at the insinuation, now fully facing the King with a burning glare. Rendal's response to the glare was a cool look.

The Archer stomped over to the King, staring up at the slightly taller man with a burning fire in his eyes "If you expect me to remain civil in the face of a wanton butcher-"

"Wanton?" Rendal raised an eyebrow "From what I could hear, your charge meant nothing more than a means to an end. He did not revel in the destruction of a city not did he dance through rivers of blood like a creature." the knight's lip twitched "That is the difference between you and the Unkindled. He does not allow sentiment to guide his blade. Because he knows he would lose otherwise."

"That is nothing to boast of." Halflight sneered in disgust "I took great pride in my service to the Princess Filianore, I saw it as my calling to remain behind even after we lost contact with my home of Oolacile."

"That is very noble of you to remain behind in the face of personal tragedy." Rendal admitted with a note of respect "Your duty as a 'Spear of the Church' clearly meant a great deal to you...which is why it pains me so to see you throw this respect away like trash."

"How dare-!" Rendal cut him off with a shove, swiftly followed by a sweeping kick which brought the Archer flat on his back, he made to stand up only to find the tip of Rendal's sword pointed at his throat, the Knight's expression full of visible disappointment.

"All it took were a few choice comments for you to loosen your guard." Shaking his head, the Saber leaned away and sheathed his blade. "Had you been in control, you likely would have recognised my intent with ease, not that I made much of an effort in hiding it."

Grinding his teeth, Halflight glared up at the Saber "What...is your point?" he eventually growled out, Rendal stared at him with a crinkled expression before shaking his head.

"If you cannot discern my objective when I have made it obvious, then perhaps I have misjudged your skill." Scoffing, the Saber turned away from him "Remember this when you next face the Unkindled you so desperately wish to slay, for what little killing him is worth now."

Halflight watched the man depart with a sullen glare still aimed at his back before his focus fell upon the Katana in his hands, his grip tightened around the handle to the point his knuckles turned white. The man exhaled loudly, struggling to get his breathing under control.

It was easier said than done to remain calm in the face of a man who had taken away the only thing he had left that was valuable to him.

Taking a deep breath, Halflight disengaged from Ash and danced backwards, sliding to a halt and tensing his body as he watched the Unkindled. His eyes turned calculative as he scanned the pattern of the attacks.

Like when they had duelled in 'life', the Unkindled was most definitely his physical superior and was more than willing to make use of their flames as a distraction or an attack. It meant he would have to play it safe.

His eyes briefly flickered away from the Unkindled and towards the rest of the ship, the crew were already engaged in duels of their own. Noticing how they had separated Anne and Mary from eachother with the Astoran Knight chasing down the younger girl while the green haired man fought Anne. Halflight pursed his lips and glanced back at the Unkindled as they stared at him with a cold expression.

Loathe as he was to admit it, perhaps Rendal held some point. The Unkindled was approaching this fight like he had when they first fought. It truly meant nothing to him. Perhaps that was the difference indeed.

Halflight exhaled, twisting his body and holding the Frayed Blade with two hands parallel to his head and pointed forwards. The unkindled continued to watch him without so much as twitching before they took a single step forwards. Halflight immediately thrust his arm forwards, the trail of spears erupted from the ground heading straight for the unkindled.

Ash rolled to the left so the spears passed him by, Halflight sheathed his sword and drew his bow, nocking an arrow and bathing it in blue light before it became invisible and loosening it across the ship.

Oscar let out a yelp of pain as the arrow struck him in the sword arm, the Knight recoiled from the blow just before Mary slid to a halt and swirled on her heel, slashing across his knee and dropping him to the ground. When she went for the head, the Astoran parried the blow away and crawled back to get some distance.

Mary went to chase him down before the tanned servant with two swords rushed her, instantly forcing her on the back foot as he let loose a vicious assault.

Nocking yet another arrow, he loosened it across the deck and struck Havel in the joint of the knee, the Berserker stumbled which Rendal took full advantage of, thrusting his sword towards the Berserker's elbow joint and catching him between the plates. Havel thrust his shield forwards, forcing Rendal to break off and spin away to avoid being run through by Sanura's attempt at skewering him.

A grunt of exertion had Halflight dismiss his bow in an instant and unsheathe his sword, spinning around and raising it high to block the downwards slash from the Unkindled Saber, a greatsword which looked to be made of molten metal slammed into the blade and locked against it. The two engaged in a staring match before Ash shoved the weapon downwards, exposing Halflight's chest.

Ash's left fist slammed into his gut with the force of a hammer, Halflight's eyes bulged as a cough erupted from his throat, stumbling backwards he leaned his head to the side and cringed as a dagger slashed open his cheek – which was preferable to taking his whole head – and once again danced away from the Saber.

Sheathing the aquamarine dagger, Ash stared at Halflight with a focused expression as he raised the new sword. Halflight recognised the blade as the one which the unkindled had used to obliterate the sails earlier.

"I had not used this blade out of the danger of damaging the ship I stood upon." Ash commented as he raised his left hand and placed it upon the flat of the blade "I have no such compunctions about this vessel."

He flicked his hand across the blade, fire soon danced across its surface, consuming the sword. Ash moved his left hand to grasp the handle of the greatsword and lean his body forwards.

The Unkindled charged forwards, swinging the blade high with the sword still coated in deep orange flames, Halflight widened his eyes and rolled to the side just as the sword made contact with the deck, releasing an explosion of chaos fire which had the man recoiling away. Ripping the greatsword clean, Ash hunched his body forwards and brought the blade across in a sweeping arc while releasing another burst of demonic flames towards the Archer.

Halflight slammed his hand into the deck, instantly manifesting a wall of glowing spears of light in-between himself and the wave of fire. The deep orange flames washed against the defence with a heavy crash. Ash's lip twitched before he pulled the greatsword back, the tip glowing with white light before he thrust it forwards in a thin beam of light which burst through the wall.

Halflight slashed his sword upwards as the beam broke through, slicing through the light and sending the two halves either side of him as they dissipated.

"Those were not normal flames." Halflight stated, his own expression a mix of shock and horror "You infused your sword with the rumoured Chaos?"

"It is the embers of the original materials rather than personal preference." Ash admitted with a shrug "The fire of the Demons is potent in its use and I am not one to spurn an advantage." He took a single step forwards, his sword igniting in chaos fire. "It is controlled well enough-"

"C-controlled!?" Halflight spat in disbelief "Are you insane!? The Chaos exists because it could not be controll-"

"I have no desire to birth demons with it." Ash cut him off with a frown "I simply use the Flames as they are."

"...No, I see you for the fiend you truly are now." Halflight growled, tightening his grip on his sword "A man who would so easily wield the Chaos flames is not one I can allow to live, regardless of your crimes."

"Very well." Ash replied without much thought "Loathe me all you like, if that should make you feel more comfortable. I held my duty, you held yours. They conflicted, such is the way of life."

"Such a simple excuse." Halflight scoffed, eyes flickering between the burning sword and the rest of the ship before heading back to Ash. "But if that is how you wish to see life, so be it. I will defeat you as my duty to Princess Filianore demands."

"And I shall defeat you as my duty as Ritsuka's Servant demands." Ash replied with a nod "Once again, our duties conflict."

"Once again...but this time-" Halflight launched himself forwards "-I shall not fail!"

Rendal rolled backwards as the halberd slammed into the spot where he had been, lashing out with his left hand he grasped hold of the cross-spear and yanked it forwards. Sanura stumbled with the pull only to jerk backwards when Rendal slammed his elbow into the face of the helm.

His eyes fell back onto the two Berserkers, Havel taking the more cautious approach while the bull ripped their halberd free of the deck and took several panels of wood with them. Rendal didn't so much as balk at the display – or the three on one he was facing – he quickly jerked his sword and parried away another arrow of light and quick stepped to the side so as to get out of line of sight of the white haired woman with the glowing arrows.

The four on one, would be more accurate.

His advantage being that Havel was too slow, Asterios was too brutish and Sanura was less skilled than he. Despite that, she remained his greatest threat. If given the opportunity, she would hamper him and soon he would become easy pickings.

Space tore open behind Asterios, the bull servant swung around just in time for Sammy to unleash a fireball into his chest. The explosion rocked the Servant and sent him skating backwards across the deck of the ship. Fully revealing itself in all its glory. The wings stretched wide as its hood looked between Sanura and Havel.

Asterios growled as he pulled himself back to his feet, a large scorch mark present on his torso from taking a fireball to the gut.

Space tore open behind him, a second black gate emerged only for a deep black orb to slam into the Berserkers back and cause him to let out a more pained scream as he lurched forwards.

"Asterios!" Euryale's panicked voice carried over from her place on the ship, swinging her bow over to the direction of the Minotaur before freezing as the Angel emerged from the gate.

The Goddess blinked as her eyes danced between the Angel behind Asterios.

And the Angel currently facing off against Sanura and Havel.

Ritsuka widened his eyes as he stared at the sudden arrival of the second Angel, identical to 'Sammy'.

"Doctor!" Mash called into the communicator "Confirming presence of second Angel type Servant!""I read it too...wait…" Romani trailed off, his voice hitching "That isn't...That isn't an illusion at all! These readings are confirming the presence of two of the Angel type Servants! Their readings haven't changed at all! It's as if it just copied and pasted itself!"

"Doesn't matter right now." Ritsuka stated "Mash, help Asterios against the second Angel." he pointed towards it "Try and cover for him." he turned up towards Artemis and Euryale "Can you try and focus on the other Rendal and the other angel, try and keep them distracted."

"Alright." Artemis instantly locked onto the Saber "Seeing so many of my arrows blocked is quite infuriating anyway." she loosened the arrow of light towards the back of Sammy, the Angel swung around and outstretched his hand. A small black gate appeared in front of his palm with a second one appearing behind Havel's head.

Too late, Artemis realised his intentions as the arrow shot through the gate in front of his palm and instantly re-emerged from the second gate behind Havel. Slamming into Havel's back and causing the Berserker to stumble forwards with the force of the attack.

Ritsuka stared at the display with wide eyes "Alright...this might be a little harder than I thought…" he muttered, looking back at Artemis "Focus entirely on Rendal then."

A crash and a bright light had Ritsuka turn his attention to the far deck of the ship, only to balk when he saw Ash swinging around a burning sword towards the enemy Servant. Ritsuka grit his teeth, one wrong swing and Ash might end up hitting someone.

"Boudica." Ritsuka called through the link "Help Ash against the enemy Servant." the moment he got an affirmative from the Rider, he activated the link again "Ash, try and keep the flames to a minimum, we don't want to set the ship on fire with everyone still on it."

"...Ah." He watched as the Saber halted momentarily as if in realisation before they continued on, the sword still burning but no longer throwing around blasts of fire in all directions "My apologies."

Ritsuka rolled his eyes before he realised something "Where's Assassin?"

He got his answer when the Bronze armoured man rushed onto the scene, making a beeline straight for Mash.

"Mash! Behind!" The shielder wasted no time in following the order, sliding to a halt and raising her shield just in time to hear the clang of metal as Assassin's shotel rebounded off her shield.

The man skipped backwards to get some distance as he scanned the shielder over, twirling the curved swords in his hand.

Ritsuka scanned the battlefield with a troubled look. Despite outnumbering the enemy Servants, he could tell this was going to be a tough battle.

AN: Tough combat, eh? Halflight even gets the Shonen flashback for that extra power up!

Also Mash gets a little one to one with Oscar, because poor Oscar is getting bullied so far.

He'll get his moment to shine...probably.

Anyway!

I believe I owe you some stats so here we are with Halflight! We'll cover Lautrec in the next Chapter!

Halflight, Spear of the Church

Servant: Archer

Strength: D

Endurance: D

Agility: B

Mana: B

Luck: B

Noble Phantasm: C

Frayed Blade: C (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 1, Max Range: 1-2

'Hokorobitō' Blade is slashed rapidly 4 times within a short interval.

Ventum Mortiferum: C (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 1, Max Range: 1-99

Arrows loosened by this bow are invisible to the naked eye.

While they still produce sound and can be sensed, they still remain difficult to discover until they strike.

Class Skills

Independent Action: D

Magic Resistance: C

Personal Skills:

Clairvoyance: C

Spear of the Church: B

Makes use of minor miracles of the Church of Filianore.

Can create spears of Divine Light, either above his head or along the ground.

Disengage: C

Summoning.

"I am Halflight, Spear of the Church and Archer class Servant. I am here to serve as your protector and warrior."

Dialogue 1

"You also enjoy moments of tranquillity, eh? Good, good. It is important to remember the peace you wish to fight for. One cannot live for combat at all times."

Dialogue 2

"There are quite a few Servants about, aren't there? Myself? Oh, I am not jealous if that concerns you. It means you have ample defenders."

Dialogue 3

"A Master and Servant relationship? I believe it follows the same principles as my role as a Spear. I act to defend you from all harm."

Dialogue 4 (If you have Ashen One)

"...To think I would see him again. The Unkindled who slew me and lay waste to the Ringed City...perhaps it might have been different in his time but it changes nothing. It was a City of Filianore and as long as she remained, I would always defend it…If he is here and at your command...I...will avoid him. It is better that way. He might not hate me, but I cannot say the same about him."

Dialogue 5 (If you have Gwyndolin)

"I would like to offer my most profuse apologies to the God of the Darkmoon for failing to defend the Princess. However, I cannot find the strength to stand before him."

Dialogue 6 (If you have Gael)

"Another of those who desecrated the city...I know of his crimes. However, I shall stay my blade. If only because to challenge him is suicide. It would not serve you well if I were to throw my life away for the sake of revenge."

Dialogue 7 (If you have Filianore)

"The Princess is here!? She is awake!? I-I must not be here! She will be most disgusted by my failure to...Say...Master...Is that a little girl riding the great Dragon Midir? Huh? Child Servants? But...why is Midir so...he de-aged himself? This is...most unexpected. Regardless, I am still a Spear devoted to her safety...although as I am contracted to you, your safety does take priority. Just...do not make me choose."

Dialogue 8 (If you have Sulyvahn)

"That-That fiend! That ultimate scoundrel! Who? That accursed tree spirit! He took one look at me, discerned my identity and then laughed at my failure. I swear...My pride shall be avenged for this insult."

Likes

"What do I like? I liked my time in the Ringed City and my duty to Princess Filianore. I would say most of all, I enjoyed the days of commune."

Hates

"What do I hate? Scoundrels who act purely for duty with no pride in their achievements. Simple slaves to demands and nothing else, especially those who trample over the duty of others without a care in the world."

Wish for the Holy Grail

"I would wish for the restoration of the Ringed City. Perhaps you could visit, I know the Pygmy Lords would welcome you as well."

Bond Level 1

"You have not yet been harmed, have you? No? Good. That pleases me, to allow you any harm would be a grave personal wound upon me."

Blond Level 2

"I've noticed you are in frequent danger quite often, perhaps more than necessary. I'm curious, do you do so because you enjoy the thrill of battle or because you just wish to keep me in top shape?"

Blond Level 3

"It is most bizarre, isn't it? As a Spear of Filianore, I was rarely called upon to act and yet I find myself increasingly active while in service to you. I do not regard it as a bad thing, but perhaps you should spend some time away from the battlefield."

Bond Level 4

"Another run is it? Alright, I can at least show off my Archery skills as well. It's useful to polish both my sword and my bow skills so that I can better serve you. Hmm? 'I sound more used to this', you say? Haha! Perhaps you are correct, dear me."

Bond Level 5

"Well, I shall always remain a Spear of the Church of Filianore. However, 'Spear of Chaldea' does not have an unpleasant ring to it. Hahaha, I might have gotten carried away there. But it is a genuine pride I feel in serving you. Perhaps not as much as Serving the Princess, but to feel this much pride serving you is not something to be scoffed at."

Birthday

"A birthday is it? I wish you my most heartfelt congratulations."

During an Event

"Hmm? I sense something occurring outside? You can participate if you wish, as your Spear I will prepare myself to follow."

1st Ascension

"Ah, I feel a little stronger. That is good, I can defend you better."

2nd Ascension

"Another increase in power? Most prudent. It would not do for your defender to be weak."

3rd Ascension

"Well, this is most comforting now. Another increase and yet I feel closer to completion still. Can it be that there is more improvement?"

4th Ascension

"I shall remain your Spear, for as long as I am your Servant. So for you to have this much faith in me fills me with a strong belief that I should not fail in your expectations."