Chapter 69: One Problem to replace another
Rendal continued to move around the deck of the ship as he avoided being caught out by two of the Archer's whilst also attempting to avoid Sanura. The Lion knight swiped the spear through the air towards his side the moment he stopped. Raising the flat of his blade, he blocked the pole-arm of the weapon.
Sanura grunted as she pulled the spear back towards her, the cross section just underneath the spear tip hooked itself around the blade and jerked it forwards along with Rendal's arm. The Knight widened his eyes as his guard was briefly exposed, Sanura launched her body forwards to slam her shoulder into the man's chest. Rendal grunted from the impact as Sanura unhooked her spear and swung the butt of the weapon towards the man's jaw.
Raising his left arm, Rendal blocked the attack with his armoured bracers before shoving Sanura away from him, the Lancer grunted as she stumbled backwards. Rendal advanced, swinging his sword high before quick-stepping backwards to avoid another arrow of light striking against his head.
His eyes briefly flickered over to see the two Goddesses aiming towards him, the man pursed his lips before returning his attention to the Lancer. Sanura jumped backwards, skating to a halt a good distance away from the Saber and crouching her body low like an animal, her left hand placed flat against the deck of the ship as she very clearly prepared herself to rush forwards.
Tensing himself, Rendal pulled his straightsword back until it was parallel to his body with the tip pointed towards the Lancer.
Wood splintered and cracked as Sanura launched herself forwards with a boom, instantly moving to close the distance between the two of them whilst thrusting her lance forwards, aimed at running him through the gut. Hunching his body right, Rendal raised his left arm just as the tip of the spear passed by the top of his bracer, the Knight parried the blow upwards whilst thrusting his sword towards the collar area of the armour.
Sanura headbutted the sword instead, causing Rendal to widen his eyes in surprise as she made no effort to slow down and instead collided with him still moving at full speed. The force of the impact swept Rendal off his feet as the two of them slammed into the deck of the ship in a flurry of limbs. He kicked out, slamming his knee into the Lancer's side and throwing her off him.
Grunting as she collided with the deck, Sanura instantly rolled to the side just as the tip of Rendal's sword buried itself into the deck of the ship in a stabbing motion. Using the sword as leverage, Rendal made to stand up before being struck in the side by several pink arrows of light, hissing at the damage.
His eyes snapped back to the Lancer just in time for the woman to land a roundhouse kick against his chin, jerking his head to the side and slamming it into the railings of the ship before he recoiled from the wood, blinking repeatedly to focus himself again.
"Haaaa!" Spinning her spear in her hands, Sanura struck him in the nose with the butt of the weapon, causing him to clasp his face around it and step backwards, while being undead did grant him a greater degree of pain resilience, it still didn't make him immune to pain. Being struck in the nose with a metal spear had a way of bringing out a painted reaction from him. His focus locked itself onto the Lancer as she twirled the spear in her hand and thrust it forwards. His hands came away from his nose and latched around the spear, turning his body so that it grazed past him as he span around and slammed his elbow into the side of Sanura's head.
The woman released a grunt of pain as the blow loosened her grip around the spear, Rendal yanked the weapon free from her grip and tossed it further down the length of the ship before he span back around and slammed his fist into the helmets chin in a brutal uppercut which dented the metal inwards slightly and launched the woman off her feet and onto her back.
His instincts screamed from behind him, ducking low he felt something pass through the air just above his head – followed by the signature sweeping sound of metal moving at incredible speed reaching his ears – soon looking up to see the bladed section of Asterios Halberd pass where his head had been a few seconds earlier.
Rendal threw his body forwards into a roll, clasping the hilt of his sword still buried in the deck of the ship and spinning around to face the Minotaur just as they took another blast of dark magic to the back from the Angel. With a heavy beat of its wings, the Angel flew out of range of Asterios return swipe and into the air. Raising the flat of their palm towards the Berserker, the Angel's hand glowed before a burst of light shot forth from the limb and formed a spear of dark light.
Asterios raised his halberds in a blocking manner as the spell collided with his guard, hissing from the explosion in his face before lowering them and tensing his body, preparing to jump.
Rendal rushed forwards, sliding past the back of Asterios left leg and reaching out with his sword, slashing across the Berserker's hamstrings and dropping them to the ground with a pained cry and a heavy thud. Spinning back to his feet, Rendal thrust the sword towards the Berserker's head to finish it off.
He got punched in the face by Havel for his troubles, the impact sent him cartwheeling through the air with a numbness in his face.
Havel grunted as he watched the man fly before raising his shield to block the beam of light fired from the Angel, the attack slammed into his shield before being redirected towards the deck of the ship, carving a burning line through the wood before being pointed upwards. Lowering his shield, Havel snarled at the first Angel while the Second pointed its hand towards him before sweeping its right wing down as a shield.
Artemis' arrow of light struck the Angel with enough force to stagger it in the air, the left wing furiously beating faster as it attempted to stabilise itself before sweeping its hand out in front of it, generating a large black gate which consumed the next barrage of arrows launched towards him.
Sammy snapped his fingers, a gate opened up above Artemis, Ritsuka and Euryale. The trio looked up to see the arrows which Mikey had caught suddenly rain down upon them and the Golden Hind. Ritsuka let out a panicked shout as he threw himself out of the way of the barrage.
"Senpai!" Mash heard the panicked cry and the explosive sound of arrows striking against wood, however her attempt to intervene was swiftly blocked off when the Assassin slammed his shotel into her shield, Mash leaned backwards as the curved blade hooked around her shield and stopped just shy of her throat.
"Ha!" Shouting, Mash thrust the shield forwards and shook the Assassin's blade around her shield free before swinging her shield upwards in an attempt to catch him in the chin. The man leaned away from the attack as Mash pulled the shield back and thrust it forwards like a battering ram. The Assassin released a heavy cough as the impact sent him reeling backwards before righting himself.
"That's quite the violent attitude you have there young lady." The Assassin mused with a cocky tone "Dear, dear me. You must beware of how your appearance might affect first impre-"
He was cut off as Mash swung at his head, slamming her shield into the deck of the ship before using it as an anchor to swing her body around and strike his head with an axe kick. The assassin hissed as his head snapped to the side before he reversed his blade and swung upwards towards her leg. Mash's eyes widened as she thrust her second leg forwards as well, catching the Assassin in the chest with a drop kick.
A pained cough erupted from the man's throat as her heeled boot slammed into his gut and caused him to stumble away from her. Mash grunted as she impacted the deck of the ship before scrambling to her feet to try and assume her combat stance. Grasping the handle of her shield, she turned around and thrust the flat of the tower shield towards the Assassin.
The man raised his twin shotels as a guard, the weapons taking the brunt of the attack and pushing him backwards a few steps before he stopped, lowering the weapons and scanning Mash up and down before he gave a half-shrug. "I suppose I should have expected this level of violence. Still, you really ought to be much more serene."
A dark chuckle bubbled from the man's throat as magical energy slowly began to intensify around him, Mash widened her eyes at the release of his Noble Phantasm – because it could only have been that – and raised her shield in preparation to block it.
"Perhaps living like a Fire Keeper will pacify you." The Assassin's body glowed a subtle red as wisps of light danced around him "Tend to the flames a little longer, maiden!" the Assassin rushed forwards, Mash tensed herself in preparation, jumping backwards as he moved to close the distance, "Fire Keepers Fate!"
The wisps of red smoke rushed away from him and towards the shielder, immediately making their way towards her face.
The second they made contact with her eyes, she screamed.
Oscar stumbled backwards as the red cutlass slammed into his shield once again, the pain in his arm and leg still flaring as he struggled to defend himself properly. It wasn't difficult to see that without the presence of Archer, he likely would have been dead already.
Mary jumped away from the Knight when he made for a slash, the smaller girl frequently darted her attention over to Anne – still fighting David – before looking back to the two in front of her. She wasn't exactly a master at sword combat, but she was better at it than Anne who really needed her support right now.
Archer rushed in again, swinging his twin swords towards the Rider and forcing her onto the back-foot almost immediately, the height and skill advantage he had was almost laughable as the girl struggled to deal with his repeated blows. Oscar stumbled to pursue before a scream of genuine pain reached his ears. His head snapped around to the source just in time to see Mash drop her shield and begin to claw at her face – all the while screaming loud enough to echo out over the sounds of combat – just as the bronze armoured man moved in and delivered a swift kick to her gut and forcing her onto her back.
He'd seen enough, the pain in his leg burned but that didn't matter to him. Forcing as much power into his body as possible he charged forwards. Raising his shield up he cleared the distance of the ship just as the man raised his curved sword to finish her off.
Lautrec heard the rushing footprints a second before he felt the full weight of the Astoran Knight slam into his side with enough force for the both of them to keel over into a mess of limbs, Oscar was quick to mount the Assassin with his sword raised high in preparation to descend. Lautrec swung his left shotel upwards, slicing into Oscar's side and causing a pained cry to erupt from the man as he gripped his shoulder with his right hand and roughly threw him off. Immediately noticing the heavy gash in his knee, pulling himself up slightly he raised his right fist and hurled it downwards as hard as he could onto the injury.
The armoured gauntlet slammed into the knee-cap with a sickening crunch, soon followed by a popping sound as the leg broke. Oscar cried out in pain as Lautrec's left hand lashed out and tightly wrapped against the handle of his weapon before he ripped the shotel still embedded in Oscar's side out, flipping his body over onto his right side as he did so. Oscar's grip on his straight sword faltered long enough for Lautrec to kick the sword out of his hands and further up the ship before raising his boot and stamping it onto the man's wounded arm.
"How many times will these pitiful lambs rush to slaughter?" Lautrec shook his head derisively, giving Oscar a tired shake of the head "Well…" twirling the shotel in his left hand, he raised ithigh above his head "Let's get it over with!" he swung the blade downwards, the Saber jerked his body up and to the side as the weapon descended.
Instead of the shotel slicing off his head, Oscar insured it buried itself deep into his right shoulder and through into his ribs. Lautrec seemingly recoiled in surprise at the sudden move before he moved to rip the blade clean. Oscar's wounded arm lashed out and clamped down around his wrist, stopping the movement in its tracks.
Oscar's roar was primal, throwing himself forwards and onto his feet and completely ignoring the shattered bones in his leg. He didn't care for that right now, all that truly mattered was defeating the opponent in front of him.
'If it's just this much-!' He screamed in his mind whilst continuing to roar, swinging his shield in his arm upwards across his body and into Lautrec's elbow. Metal bent and bones broke as the arm shattered, bending inwards with the strike and causing Lautrec's grip on the shotel to falter.
Oscar's grip remained as tight as ever as he held the Assassin in place, pulling his shield back and slamming the ridge into the faceplate of the helm with the full weight of his body behind the blow. The two of them went down with Lautrec still hissing in pain and cradling his broken arm while Oscar fell flat onto his face. Whatever strength had possessed him departed his body and left only agonising pain from the blade still buried in him, the deck of the ship acted like a hammer and drove the weapon deeper into his body.
Spitting out blood through the visor, Oscar heaved as he struggled to move.
Lautrec rolled himself over, still gritting his teeth at his broken arm before he spied his spare shotel lying on the ground not far from him. He hobbled towards it, reaching out and clasping the handle of the blade.
A heeled boot slammed into the flat of the blade, holding it in place as a shadow loomed over him.
Lautrec stilled, slowly craning his neck up towards the figure.
Mash glared down at him, her eyes still puffy and red from the effect of the Noble Phantasm, breathing heavily even as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Piss-'' Mash swung the shield forwards with all her weight behind it, the edge of the metal crashed into Lautrec's chin with a heavy thud and sent the Knight flipping through the air and over the railings of the ship, soon followed by a heavy splash into the water. Mash made to turn back to Oscar only for a flash of light to appear in front of her and for the Assassin to manifest back in front of her, the man still soaking wet from his brief fall into the ocean.
The unfortunate fact of the matter was that he was still recovering from the shield uppercut, which left him vulnerable enough for Mash to smash the shield into the top of his head, slamming him face first into the deck of the ship with enough force to shatter the wooden floorboards and bury his head and neck into the ship.
Her head snapped back to Oscar, her puffy eyes instantly widened in alarm at the state the Knight was in, sputtering and coughing blood with the shotel still buried in his body. She'd been barely able to hear the clash between him and Lautrec while she was recovering from the Noble Phantasm – something which still stung and made seeing rather difficult – but until she got onto her feet she hadn't known how bad it had been.
She stepped towards the Knight with her hand extended only for a strained grunt to reach her ears, the shielder snapped her head towards the edge of the ship just in time to see Asterios get struck in the back by a ball of fire shot forth by one of the Angels. Her eyes darted between Oscar and Asterios.
"F-Forget…" Oscar croaked, spitting out another glob of blood onto the deck of the ship as he raised a trembling hand "Help...them…." he pointed it towards the others before it fell back onto the deck of the ship, the Knight's breathing stuttering.
"Mash!" Her heart lightened as she heard Ritsuka's voice ring in her head "Get Oscar back onto the Golden Hind and then go help Asterios!" The shielder nodded her head with a pleased smile as she grabbed Oscar as gently as she could and lifted him into a bridal carry before rushing over to the boarding ramp.
Lautrec grunted as he ripped his head free of the deck of the ship, blinking rapidly behind his helmet as the ringing continued to scream in his ears. His eyes locked onto the retreating form of Mash with Oscar in her arms. The Assassin heaved, using his right arm to push himself up. A flash of light in the distance was the only warning he received before one of Artemis arrows punched its way through his gut and out of his back, tearing through his damaged armour and forcing him down.
The man coughed out blood from the hole now running through his gut, lying flat on his back staring at the sky.
"F-Fina…" He wheezed out, stretching his hand upwards towards the sky "I...I failed once again…" he sputtered out another bloodied cough as his form began to flicker away into golden motes of light, the arm went limp and thumped against the deck of the ship.
"I'm sure next time...I'll...give you...the...perf...ect…" His form flickered away.
The Goddess gave the Assassin a disdainful look before flashing Mash a wide smile and waving her over.
"Sometimes it's scary how easily you can just switch tones like that." Orion commented, staring up at the Goddess "I mean...It's a little bit of a turn on but still scary."
"Awww~ Really? Should I do it more often?" Artemis placed a dainty finger on her chin and tilted her head in puzzlement. If Orion had the ability to, he would have blanched at Artemis acting more tonally flippant than she already did.
"N-no!" He sputtered out "No need for that!"
"Really?"
"Yes! Now get back to shooting arrows!"
"Okay!"
Mash gently lay the Knight down against the Mast, the shotel in his body already fading into golden motes of light as it followed its master in death. Her eyes flashed over to Ritsuka as he rushed towards her, ducking low to avoid any wayward gunshots as he crouched by Oscar's side.
The Master grimaced "O-okay, this is pretty bad-"
A pained wheeze was Oscar's response "Y-you have never seen...undead injuries...befor-" a coughing fit cut him off as more blood poured free of the wound, flakes of blood splattering against Ritsuka's cheek and causing the Master to freeze "M-my apologies-" Oscar heaved "-that was unsightly…"
"Forget that!" Ritsuka blurted out in shock "Form a contract with me!"
"W-what?"
"Senpai?"
"I can't heal you unless we're contracted." Ritsuka explained "Just-" he nodded over to Mash "Go help Asterios, try and cover him from the Angel and give him an opportunity."
"Yes, Senpai!" Mash gave a single determined nod, manifesting her shield and spinning around before rushing back onto the Queen Anne's Revenge.
"Just form a Contract with me." Ritsuka urged him, holding out his hand "I can heal you so that you will at least not fade away, you're hardy right?"
Oscar stared at him in silence "I'm...not worth…" he coughed again "Not worth it."
"Hell you are." Ritsuka growled "I don't care where you're from or whatever the heck your legend is, you're part of Drake's crew and you're a part of the team. There's no way I'm letting you die here if I can do something about it."
The helmet stared down at the extended hand before looking back at Ritsuka "You shouldn't…"
"I consider myself the authority on what I shouldn't do, right now." He paused for a few moments "Alright, the Director might disagree but this isn't something I shouldn't do. This is something I am absolutely going to do and so help me if you try and let yourself die without even trying I will summon you back!"
"...Why?" The man panted out "I'm not worth-"
"I'll decide what you're worth." Ritsuka's eyes bored into him "And right now, you're worth something."
"H-ha…" Oscar coughed out a pained laugh "I-is this what faith is…" he slumped "...Very well…" he reached out his left hand towards Ritsuka's "If...you have faith."
Ritsuka cracked a smirk at him before he steeled his expression "I tell thee, thou shalt serve under me…"
Halflight stumbled backwards as Ash slammed Galvatyne into his blade, the force behind the strike causing him to buckle. The man rolled away and lashed out with another barrage of light spears towards Boudica as she rushed towards him. The Rider slowed, raising her shield to block the spears aimed at her face, before thrusting her sword forwards.
A beam of golden light shot forth from the blade, Halflight widened his eyes as the beam slammed into his chest and caused him to skate backwards across the deck as Ash pursued him, raising his sword high to cleave through the Archer.
Halflight steadied his breathing, changing his position and sheathing his sword while focusing on Ash. His expression steeled as Galvatyne closed in on him.
Magical energy built up around him rapidly, long enough for Boudica to notice something was wrong, before she could attempt to warn Ash – Halflight lunged forwards.
The sword was ripped free of its scabbard "Hokorobitō!" glowing a brilliant purple as Halflight launched four attacks upon the unkindled.
The first slash struck Ash just below his right wrist, slicing it open and causing his grip on his greatsword to falter.
The second slash sliced along his inner thigh, he stumbled on the wounded leg.
The third slash cut upwards across his kidneys on his right side.
The fourth slash sliced down across his shoulder from the left side, down to his hips.
Ash stumbled away from the Archer, his wounds bleeding as he hissed in pain, the greatsword fell from his hand and thudded against the floor. Halflight stepped backwards, raising his sword high as he noticed Boudica rushing towards him. The air behind him shimmered at the same time he thrust his left hand forwards, a trail of lightning sparked along the ground.
Boudica sidestepped the barrage of spears just as the divine spears shot out from the deck of the ship, blocking off her access to Ash. Turning on the unkindled, he ducked low as Ash hurled a fireball at his head, the black flames slammed into the wall of spears behind the Archer as he rushed forwards.
Ash's left hand clasped around the Aquamarine dagger at his belt, ripping it free and thrusting it towards Halflight's throat. The Archer raised his sword, blocking the dagger by its hilt just shy of his jugular. The archer kicked against the wound on Ash's thigh, causing the Saber to fall onto one knee as the Archer loomed over him.
Pushing the katana downwards and closer to Ash's neck, Halflight gave a victorious smirk "Now, Unkindled. I shall claim ju-"
He was cut off, his eyes bulging as his next sentence came out as a gargle of bloodied words, Ash stared blankly at him. Haflight's eyes trailed down to the dagger, staring at it.
And the crystalline blade which had erupted from the dagger, more than doubling its length and running straight through his throat. Halflight's grip on his katana went slack, the blade fell down with a thud as he clasped at his bleeding throat, Ash slashed the blade across, spraying blood across the deck as the Archer fell into the puddle, still clasping at his wound in a futile effort.
Ash grunted as he pushed him to his feet, the Aquamarine dagger's extended blade fell back into its dagger form as he slid it into its sheath. "You should have just killed me when you had the chance." was the only advice Ash offered him, limping over to Galvatyne and picking it up from the deck with his left hand and turning back to Halflight, raising the sword above his head in an executioner style.
The blade descended without giving the man an opportunity to do much else, cleaving through his neck and causing the spear wall to vanish. Boudica rushed through and paused as she saw Ash pull the sword free of the deck and turn to her, the Rider gave a sigh of relief.
"Thought he got you with his Noble Phantasm." She spoke, Ash gave a pained nod and looked down at his bleeding wounds, falling back down onto the deck of the ship.
"He did...It might take some time to heal these." He muttered out, grunting as he tried to prop himself up with his greatsword "Aid the others, I will be fine."
"Alright…" Boudica muttered in a somewhat unsure tone before levelling a finger at Ash and with a strict expression "But I shall hold you to this, Master will be most upset if you die." Without waiting for a rebuttal, she rushed off to the other fights occurring throughout the deck.
Ash remained silent as she ran past him, still staring at the dissipating body of Halflight.
Archer would never be one to underestimate an opponent, that would be foolish and often end up with someone dead. But as it stood, he would admit that he likely outclassed this Rider in physical combat and in terms of skill.
Parrying away the red cutlass, the young girl shot away from him as he sliced through the air at her head, cutting away a few wisps of her hair as he did so before he shot off after her. Without the support of the other Servant, there wasn't much she could do against him.
Mary knew that as well, it was why she was desperately trying to get back to Anne.
Which was much easier said than done, using her small stature and superior speed she had been able to avoid the fatal blows thus far. However, it didn't matter much when it came to this Servant, who seemed to have already seen through her fighting style and come up with countermeasures.
Every time she went for his ankle or joint he was already waiting for her and she didn't have Anne's support to break the stalemate. It had gotten easier when the other Knight had run off but it had been marginal.
Swinging upwards, her cutlass slammed into the black sword held in the Servant's left hand, steel grey eyes stared down at her as the Servant jerked the sword to the side and swung his right blade towards her head. Kicking off the ground, she deftly avoided being slashed across the face, the Servant swiftly following after her and unleashing a barrage of thrusts and jabs designed to break away at her guard.
Gritting her teeth, Mary continued to pedal backwards as she tried to avoid the Archer. A beam of golden light struck the ground next to her ankle, the small explosion caused her to lose her footing. Eyes wide in alarm, she was unable to do much when Archer slammed his boot into her cheek and sent her flying across the deck head first into the railings of the ship.
Archer glanced over his shoulder just in time to see Boudica rushing towards him, her swords glow dying down as she sent him a brief nod before continuing her charge against Mary. The girl already pulling herself up and seeing the already pitiful odds stacked against her further.
A familiar grunt of pain had her shoot a glance over her shoulder just in time to see David slam the top of his staff against Anne's chin, the girl recoiled backwards as the Archer advanced forwards, twirling the staff and slapping the rifle off to the side as it fired and thrusting his weapon down into her knee, causing her to step backwards as he continued onwards.
Mary made to help before a stab from Boudica had her roll aside in order to avoid-
"Guh!?" A pained cry erupted from her throat as something slammed into her side, looking down she stared in disbelief at the crossbow bolt in her ribs before she looked past the two Servants charging her as time seemed to slow.
Ash lowered his left hand with the large Crossbow in his grasp, cringing in discomfort at having to fire with his left hand. If he was being honest, he was aiming at her knee's.
Mary released a huff of annoyance as she watched Archer's sword descend towards her without a trace of hesitation in him.
'As expected.' She thought to herself as she felt the kiss of steel against her neck 'I really shouldn't split from Anne...Shame. I really wanted to fight Drak-' Archer's sword cleaved through her body, separating her head from her shoulders.
Anne gasped as she felt her strength cut itself off, her eyes snapped away from David briefly and towards the dissipating remains of Mary, the woman's face scrunched up before it fell in resignation.
David paused in his advance, following her sight and then looking back to her "I see. I suppose that explains it, two Servants with one spirit core. One of you goes and the other follows."
Anne offered a half-shrug as her answer "Well...I suppose it was bound to happen. Me and Mary aren't that good as solo acts anyway." her expression steeled as she turned towards David, spinning her rifle and levelling it towards him as he rushed towards her. The Archer closed the distance, ducking low and hissing as a gunshot went off next to his ears, cringing at the sound he still didn't stop as he slammed into the Rider with a shoulder barge and knocked her over.
Rising up to try and smack David with the stock of her rifle, she barely caught a flash of light before she was struck with half a dozen glowing purple lights, the Rider recoiled as injuries marked her body from the impacts, wincing in pain which only worsened when David struck her in the side with a kick.
Reeling from the blow, Anne raised her rifle towards the direction the shots had come from. Euryale saw her and widened her eyes before a cold expression came to her face. Anne saw the expression shift and then noticed Artemis aiming towards her as well, the arrow of light already shining brightly as the Goddess loosened it towards her.
"Oh." Anne spoke in a simple tone before the light impacted her right side, instantly shredding through her body and sending her reeling with a pained look on her face as she slammed into the ground. Coughing out once she leaned back against the deck of the ship with a tired expression, despite the injuries she sustained.
'We really aren't cut out for these fights Mary...ah, that's right...she went first didn't she…'
A pained wheeze escaped her throat as she started to fade away into motes of light, closing her eyes, she leaned back and allowed herself to dissipate with as peaceful an expression as she could manage.
David watched her depart with a cool look, closing his eyes and offering a silent prayer before he turned his attention further up the ship towards Drake and Blackbeard.
Then promptly cringed at the sight of the two.
Drake staggered backwards, her nose crooked and leaking blood like a faucet despite the shark-like grin on her face as she took a single step towards Blackbeard. Teach matched her ferocity blow for blow as the two had long since forgone any measure of composure and just resorted to wailing on each other like barbarians.
Blackbeard snorted blood out of his nose as he stumbled back from Drake, releasing a war cry and swinging his clawed hand towards her head. Drake watched the arm descend as she ducked low, the claw still impaling her hat and swiping it off her head.
The woman gawked at it before giving Blackbeard a venomous glare "That was my favourite hat, you fucker!" she launched herself forwards and slammed her palm into Teach's nose, the pirate recoiled from the blow at the crack before his eyes locked onto Drake.
Swinging his body forwards, he slammed his forehead into Drake with all the force of a sledgehammer and caused the woman to recoil back from him, stumbling as she tried to reclaim her footing as Teach charged again, throwing the full weight of his body behind his left hand and slamming his fist into her gut with enough force to briefly knock her into the air.
Drake heaved out the air in her lungs in response, her eyes cracking up towards Teach and narrowing as space ripped open behind her.
Teach widened his eyes and jumped back, swinging his arms upwards and raising the appearance of spirits as cannons formed over Drake's shoulders pointed at him. Beams of light fired forth from the weapons as Teach skipped backwards, the beams shredding through his spirit defence and slamming into his shoulder. Blackbeard hissed in pain from the burn before a smile spread across his face.
"Not bad, you hag!" He complimented with a gruff shout, still grinning from ear to ear as he swung his hand forwards. "Not bad at all! Very cool!" more humanoid spirits pulled themselves from his ship and charged towards the Captain.
"Keep talking asshole!" Drake shouted back as she ripped her own cutlass from its scabbard and pulled her flintlock from her opposite side "I'll have that head of yours as a trophy!"
"I give the threat a six out of ten." Teach laughed "Sounds a little cliché but points for the badass look!"
Drake scoffed and charged forwards, swinging the cutlass in her right hand whilst firing off the flintlock in her left hand. Ducking low, she split one of the spirits in half and without a moment of hesitation she swung her left arm to level with the head of another spirit, instantly pulling the trigger and destroying its head before she continued her brutal charge towards Blackbeard.
The Pirate captain blinked as inch by bloody inch, Drake forced her way closer and closer to him. Hacking and slashing her way through the ghostly apparitions. Spinning on her heel, drake sent a wide swing and cleaved through a dozen spirits at once as the cannons above her shoulder continued to fire indiscriminately in front of her, wood shattered and was sent flying as the deck exploded.
Teach covered his eyes and stepped backwards to avoid being consumed in the explosion, covering his eyes, he squinted at the heat before they widened. Smoke parted as the form of Drake leapt through the clouds, her expressions set in a shark-like grin as she flew through the air towards Blackbeard. Raising her sword high, she swung down towards Teach.
"Ha!" Teach laughed as he swung his claw upwards, the sword and claw locked against each other in a show of strength with both of the pirates straining against each other. Releasing a cry of effort, Teach threw Drake backwards with a wide swing of his claw. Drake raised her left hand as she was thrown backwards, levelling her flintlock at Blackbeard and pulling the trigger. The bullet slammed into Blackbeards side and out the back of his body, causing him to cough up blood and lurch backwards with the impact.
Her boots slammed into the deck of the ship, digging in as she skated backwards across the deck and scraping away at the wooden panelling before coming to a halt, her head snapped up with her smile still remaining on her face.
Blackbeard clasped his bullet wound on his right side with his hand, pulling away his fingers to stare at the sticky red liquid clinging to them before chuckling. "As expected of Francis Drake though...Still, you'll have to do a lot better than that if you wanna beat the great Edward Teach!" he slammed his left foot into the ground and hunched himself forwards in a tackling position.
Kicking off the ground, he charged forwards towards Drake, the woman flipped her pistol around in her grip and swung the handle of the flintlock towards Teach's head like a hammer. The pirate ducked just underneath the pistol and slammed into Drake's waist, wrapping his arms around her and hoisting her up into the air. Drake let out a surprised squawk as Blackbeard leaned forwards and rushed down towards the ground, slamming her back against the deck of the ship with enough force to splinter the wood and bend it inwards.
Coughing heavily, she looked up just in time to see Teach cock his left hand back in preparation for a punch. She did the only thing she could think of.
She kicked upwards.
Between his legs.
As hard as she could.
Her knee slammed into Blackbeard's own treasure with a heavy thud, the pirate's eyes bulged nearly out of his skull in an almost comical fashion as his expression scrunched up like a lemon. Blackbeard full over and released a reverberating groan of pain as he clasped at his injuries and occasionally released a deep hiss of pain.
Unbeknownst to the pair of them, everyone who had managed to catch a glimpse of the fight – more so the men – also felt a deep phantom pain strike them, cringing at the reaction of the pirate.
"S-shiver me timbers…" Blackbeard whimpered, still breathing heavily "T-that's a dick move."
Drake grunted as she pulled herself out of her small indentation, giving Blackbeard a flat look as she clambered to her feet. "Man up, not like there's much there to damage."
"...I don't know if that hurts more or less than getting kicked there." Blackbeard wondered aloud in a slightly higher pitched voice than usual.
"Yeah well, maybe next time you won't call me a ha-"
"Drake! Look out!"
"Hah?" Drake turned just in time towards the direction of Ritsuka's shout to see Rendal flying towards her, the King's armoured boot struck her gut with a heavy crunch. Drake felt her body recoil violently before she flew through the air and smashed into the edge of the ship with enough force to cough out blood. Heaving, the woman desperately attempted to get oxygen back into her lungs as her eyes remained fixed on Rendal, the Knight staring blankly at her before he looked down towards Blackbeard.
The pirate looked up at Rendal with a scowl "Hey! I was gonna win tha-'' he cut himself off, flattening his features as he stared longer at Rendal's blank expression. "Ah...So that's how it is."
"For what it is worth...This also disgusts me." Rendal offered as way of an apology, the confusion lasted for barely a moment before Rendal thrust his straightsword through Blackbeard's heart, the Rider's breath caught in his throat before the Saber ripped the blade free and leaned down to clasp the glowing jewel around his chest, pulling it free.
The Knight's expression shifted to a slightly troubled one as his eyes flickered away from the jewel in his hands to Teach, the pirate lying on his back and coughing heavily.
The conflict seemed to die down in the wake of what occurred.
"You…" Drake's expression warped into an ugly sneer "How long were you waiting to do that?"
"Not long." Rendal answered with a bland tone of voice "In truth, I had hoped he would perish in combat...but that outcome would lead to the Grail being lost...which is not something I would allow."
"You betrayed your Master just for the Grail?"
"No...I was never summoned by Edward to begin with." Rendal shrugged, looking away from Drake and towards the litany of Servants now staring at him, all of whom were assuming offensive positions. "But even so, I did not want to kill him in such a way but that is simply the way conflict plays out. We do not always get the end we so desire."
Drake pulled herself up, grabbing her flintlock and pointing it towards the Knight's back "It won't matter much pal, you'll still die here."
"Will I?" Rendal wondered aloud before he sighed "Perhaps...but that is not to say I do not have a trump card up my sleeve." he looked across the deck of the ship and softened his features "Having perished this way, it is not a fate I would wish upon another...but I would like you to know I am truly sorry for what is about to occur to you."
The Servants wasted no further effort, charging towards him en masse as Rendal slammed his sword into the deck of the ship and spread his arms wide.
"The King has led his people to ruin, the Knight's are lost and salvation remains beyond our reach!" The air around him began to glow before he spoke a final time "Behold my invasion of failure! Lost Knights!"
Air around him exploded outwards, blanketing the entire ship in a single instant.
? blinked twice, rubbing his head as the headache set in. He was…
He was…
What was he doing again? Looking around he soon found himself surprised to see he was standing upon a…
A…
What was he standing on? Where was he?
"H-huh?" He jolted, spinning around to see a…
Boy? Was that a boy? No...no that was wrong…
A girl! That's what they were! They were a girl!
She was being grabbed by a person. A...person with metal attached to them they were a...A knight! They were a Knight.
That was weird. Why was a Knight here? He didn't think that was right but he couldn't remember much at the moment. He grimaced as the headache got worse, moving his hand up to cradle his head. The sound of struggling had him blink as he stared at the Knight holding the small purple haired girl.
She looked about as confused as he felt, although the Knight took great care in holding her as he walked towards him. ? blinked as the Knight approached him, he felt like he should say something but instead all he could give was a troubled expression.
"Excuse me, young man." The Knight spoke in a cordial tone, he blinked once and stepped aside "My thanks. I suppose I should kill you-"
He blanched at the sudden declaration.
"-but...I have already dirtied myself enough for the moment." The Knight's expression shifted into a troubled frown, "Besides….I believe you might have problems of your own shortly." they moved past him with a single nod and towards.
Wait...was he on a ship? Why was he on a ship in the first place?
He was there for…
"Kid! Hey, Kid!" He blinked, looking down at something punching his leg…
"What the Hell!?" He recoiled away from the talking bear, those things weren't supposed to talk!
Except Orion but he was…
Wait…
"O...Orion…" He paused, staring at the bear "That's….that's your name...right?"
"Yes!" Orion let out a sigh of relief "That's my name...something's wacky here! Everyone got affected by that guy's Noble Phanta...ah...you got hit too didn't you?"
"Huh?" He blinked once at the bear "Noble fanta? What...huh?"
"Oh great…" Orion sighed "Listen, Kid you've got to-"
A loud ban echoed out across the ship, followed by a pained cry. He and Orion snapped their heads in the direction of the shout only to see the Knight stumble slightly, a hole punched through the back of his armour near his shoulder. The man's head snapped around in surprise.
He and Orion followed the Knight's point of view to see another man, bleeding from his mouth with a gun raised towards the Knight, the barrel still smoking from having fire. "I don't know much...but as a pirate I ain't gonna let someone steal treasure from me without a fight."
"...Tenacious until the very end." The Knight huffed in amusement "That's fitting for you."
"Senpai!" He blinked at the feminine cry, turning around to see Mash-
Mash…
Her name was Mash!
"Mash!" Ritsuka – His name was Ritsuka - exclaimed before realisation set in and he snapped his head towards the Knight "Mash! He has Euryale!"
Rendal blinked before tilting his head "I would have thought you'd have forgotten longer...must be because of the shield bearing girl. No matter." he nodded to something to their left "You have more pressing matters."
"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked, turning to his side only to see Oscar looming over him with his sword raised high, poised to cut him down.
Mash roughly gripped the back of his collar and pulled him backwards, raising her shield and blocking the first strike with ease "Oscar-san!? What are you doing!?"
"Haaaa!" A guttural snarl was her only reply as Oscar pulled back his shield and slammed it into the centre of Mash's defence like a battering ram, the girl held her ground even then. Which only seemed to prompt Oscar to become more animalistic in his attacks towards her. Virtually throwing himself at the shielder with slashes and punches like an enraged beast, all the while growling as if he were one.
Rendal turned away, moving towards the edge of the ship and jumping overboard. A lifeboat seemingly manifested beneath him; he sat Euryale down gently and began to row away from them at high speeds.
"Rendal is escaping with Euryale and the Grail!" Romani cried over the communicator "Wait! Forget that! Fujimaru-kun is in danger first! Mash, what's happening!?"
"I don't know!" Mash grunted as she parried Oscar's sword away, coiling her shield back she thrust it forwards like a spear and slammed the butt of the weapon into Oscar's chest, staggering him backwards from them "He just...perhaps it is still the effect of the Noble Phantasm and he's forgotten we're allies?" she reasoned, although that didn't explain the noises.
"Try not to kill him!" Ritsuka commanded "We need to hold him back until-" he paused as an explosion went off behind him, heat touched the back of his neck and caused him to stumble from the blast. He spun around to see the deck of the Queen Anne's Revenge currently on fire, the entire ship was burning from stem to stern without any hint of what had happened.
Blackbeard fell backwards, his body didn't quite touch the deck of the ship however, finding himself caught in someone's arms. He looked up to see the faceless hood of Sammy cradling him.
A snort escaped his throat as he turned away "Ha...would have been better if you were a pretty girl."
Sammy didn't respond, Blackbeard sighed loudly "...Well. It was a fun adventure, wasn't it? That's what matters…" he grunted, forcing himself up "Still though…" Sammy floated alongside him as he helped Teach to his feet "I'd rather not leave without at least doing something...Can't let just anyone steal away Euryale-chan, right?"
The hood stared back at him "Ha...you always do have a way with words…" he spat out a mouthful of blood "But…" he looked across the burning deck of his ship, the sounds of steel clashing against steel ringing in his ears. "Well shit…" Teach chuckled airily "Looks like a real bad time...better sort his out first." he pushed himself out of Sammy's grip and towards the burning ship "Ain't no one burning my ship down while I'm still alive, that's for sure."
Sanura gasped as the burning first slammed against her helmet, the woman staggered with the punch only for the follow-through backhand to send her cartwheeling through the air, over the top of Archer and Boudica as they stepped away from the burning river of fire.
The scrapping of steel was soon followed by the dark silhouette of Ash emerging from the inferno, his eyes crazed as they darted between the two of them. Scraping the sword up, Ash hoisted Galvatyne onto his shoulder and snarled at the pair of them, the sword ignited with demon fire – the flames even started to burn away at his armour and cloth without him paying much attention – as his left hand crackled with black fire.
"Calm down!" Boudica ordered him as best she could, stepping away from the raging inferno and bringing the Saber's eyes onto her "What's gotten into you!?"
"He's gone Hollow!" Sanura growled from behind them, pushing herself back to her feet "We'll have to kill him before we all die!"
His eyes fell upon her, coiling his left arm back in a throwing position. The three servants in front of him widened their eyes in alarm as he hurled his first forwards, unleashing a giant ball of black fire towards the trio.
"Scatter!" Archer cried out as he hurled himself to one side, Boudica dived in the opposite direction and rolled across the ground. Sanura skipped backwards as the ball of fire collided with the deck of the ship in front of her and exploded in a wave of black flames, the girl released a cry as she was forced back through the wall of flames.
Ash threw his head backwards, releasing a primal roar before he charged towards the nearest target. Boudica looked up and widened her eyes as she saw Ash rush towards her – dragging his burning sword along the ground and leaving behind a trail of fire in the wood – and raised his sword in a chopping motion, swinging it down with as much force as he could muster.
Boudica raised her shield to block the attack.
Galvatyne slammed into her with enough force to knock her onto her back, the impact sending her reeling and causing her arm to jolt with pain, the flames seemed to transfer onto the shield and began to burn away at her skin. The Rider hissed in pain, dismissing her shield and turning her attention to Ash as he swung his sword in a sweeping motion towards her.
Raising her own sword in a blocking pose, she was knocked back as he slammed through her guard, throwing his left hand towards her face with his pal still burning with black flames.
Archer's boot slammed against the side of his head, his arm diverted off course and exploded next to her head, the heat had her cringe and lean away from the explosion, falling back into a roll as Ash lashed out towards Archer in retaliation. The servant hopped backwards to avoid the return slash.
Ash's sword positively exploded with flames, pulling his right arm back and sweeping it forwards to unleash a torrent of the chaos fire upon the deck of the ship once again.
He stared at the raging inferno in front of him before heavy thuds caught his attention, his head snapped in the direction of the sound, watching as a large silhouette appeared and got closer and closer, his eyes narrowed as he prepared himself. Havel exploded forth from the wall of fire, his armour smoking from the Chaos flames with his shield raised and club primed for a striking attack.
Ash snarled and jumped backwards as Havel slammed the club into the deck of the ship with as much force as he could muster. The entire ship teetered to the starboard side in response to the crack, burning debris was sent flying from the point of impact with the shockwave from the attack instantly snuffing out the surrounding flames.
Landing backwards, Ash locked his eyes onto Havel, raising his left hand and then slamming it into his chest. A red aura exploded forth from his body, clinging to his entire being like a blanket as his left hand moved away from his chest and clasped around the handle of his sword.
Ash threw himself forwards, swinging his sword like a club towards Havel, who raised his shield to block the attack. Gritting his teeth as Ash slammed the sword into his defence with enough force to stagger him slightly, Ash's eyes locked onto another silhouette in the flames, his right hand came free of the handle as he twisted the blade so the flat edge rested against Havel's shield.
He slammed his palm onto the blade and pushed, pivoting the two servants so the tip of the blade was pointed towards the silhouette. David and Sanura emerged from the blaze, only to see the tip of Ash's sword immediately glow white while pointed in their direction. David's eyes bulged before he threw himself to one side "Down!" he yelled as he did so.
Sanura was slower on the realisation – her view having been blocked by David – and only barely caught the warning before Ash's sword fired forth a beam of pure light. The projectile slammed into her chest and sent her flying back the way she came with a grunt of pain.
Pulling his hand free, he twisted the blade into the edge and scraped it along Havel's shield while igniting it with fire, the chaos flames splashed across the shield and over the top onto Havel. The Berserker growled as the cursed fire impacted against his armour. He pushed the shield forwards and into Ash, battering the unkindled away from him to get some distance.
Ash rested his right hand onto the greatsword while pulling his left hand free, staring at the Berserker and the more Servants which soon began to emerge from the flames. He growled louder before his left hand burst to life with fire, the flames leaked down from his grip before they suddenly twisted and curved.
Then solidified into the shape of a curved sword.
"Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhh!" Ash threw himself into the middle of the Servants like a frenzied beast, swinging both weapons with reckless abandon in a vortex of fire. The moment a servant would get closer to him, Ash would release another jet of flames to force them backwards as he continued his rampage.
Asterios slammed the halberd into Ash's guard, blocked by Galvatyne, Ash roared and pushed the weapon to the side before slashing out with Demon's Scar, the curved sword stabbed into Asterios side and caused the Minotaur to release a cry of pain. The sword then melted back into Ash's palm which rested against the wound.
Only to explode in a ball of fire which sent the Berserker reeling from them with scream, his side charred from the impact. Ash twirled away from the Berserker, slashing in an arc downwards towards David, the Archer skipped away from Ash as Galvatyne struck the deck of the ship and then exploded, Ash used the force of the explosion to propel the blade back across the deck of the ship and into an attack against Archer.
The Servant stepped backwards as Galvatyne shattered Kanshou in a single swipe, the tanned Servant widened his eyes as Ash manifested the burning sword once again and thrust it towards his chest. Raising Bakuya, Archer blocked the attack with the flat of the blade and used the power behind the attack to increase the distance between the two of them.
Ash snarled, spinning around and blocking Sanura's spear at the cross-section, diverting it over his left shoulder and slashing at her leg with Demon Scar, the Lancer skipped back to avoid losing the limb – instead only suffering a slight slash across the top of the armour.
Havel charged in, swinging his club down towards him as Ash dissipated Demon Scar and raised Galvatyne in a blocking motion, supporting the weapon with his palm resting on the flat of the blade. The club slammed into his guard with a heavy thud, the shockwave served only to fan the flames surrounding the ground. Ash caught sight of Boudica moving out of the corner of his eyes, twisting his body, he forced Havel's club down onto her sword as she attempted a stab. Locking both weapons down he then swung his left hand in a haymaker which caught the red-haired Rider in the jaw.
Boudica's head snapped to the side from the punch as she staggered away, Havel heaved and pulled his club upwards, swinging it and Ash's weapon into the air before pivoting his body and thrusting the ridge of his shield into Ash's gut. The Unkindled folded forwards with the impact, soon sending him flying back with the blow and slamming into the railings of the ship with a crunch – shattering the wooden planks and sending more splashes of fire across the deck of the ship.
The Unkindled's eyes snapped up towards them, he made to rush back upwards before he blinked once, then twice, peering at the group as if he'd seen them for the first time.
"Wait...what…" He muttered out to himself "Where...what?" He then looked around the burning remains of the ship as the mast shattered, burning splinters sent flying as it keeled over the side of the ship and splashed into the water.
"What happened?" He asked, looking more puzzled than anything else, the Servants were still tense as he made to stand back up. David released a sigh of relief.
"I'd say you're back...you are back, yes?"
"Back?" Ash blinked at him in confusion "I was gone?"
Oscar recoiled away from the blow, the arrow of light slammed into his side and sent him to ground. The man scrambled to get back to his feet only for space in front of him to distort.
Ritsuka and Mash widened their eyes in alarm as the familiar black gate manifested itself. Only to jolt when Blackbeard came flying out with a two footed drop kick, slamming into Oscar and sending him cartwheeling backwards and onto the ground.
"Yoohoo!" Blackbeard cheered, throwing his hand up "He scores!" then span around, spitting out blood as he did so "That was badass, right Mashu-chan?~"
"Senpai! Enemy Servant!" Mash shouted instead "I'll eliminate him right now!"
"Wait! Wait!" Blackbeard waved his hands in front of him, spitting out more blood "I'm being helpful here you know…" he gestured to the gate, Ritsuka and Mash followed his gestured only to blink as Sammy floated through the gate, Drake held in his arms.
"Bridal carried by an Angel." Drake flatly spoke as she caught sight of Ritsuka and Mash "I'd say suspension of disbelief doesn't exist anymore."
"I'm a dead man with an Angel as my crewmember and trying to steal a Goddess…" Blackbeard shrugged "I'd say suspension didn't exist to begin with…" he panted out, then fell over. The second Angel appeared from the gate and swiftly caught Blackbeard before he fell.
"Once again…" Blackbeard snorted "I wish you were a pretty girl…"
Ritsuka stared at Blackbeard with a weirded out expression before looking over to Drake as the Angel gently set her down "Why would you-"
"Help you?" Blackbeard coughed "Ah...not for you. Mainly for Euryale-chan...you'll go off and save her...also...well…" he snickered "I think that this was a rather cool moment for me anyway…"
"You're crazy." Ritsuka blurted out, shaking his head in disbelief "But...well...I suppose I should thank you."
"Ha…" Blackbeard coughed out blood "You should also kill that Rendal guy...really...getting stabbed after getting kicked in the balls...talk about beating someone while they're down." he muttered, leaning back into Mikey's arms "Sheesh...I hound on about that old hag but really...she was human and she kicked my ass…" looking over towards Drake, he cracked her a smirk "Not bad...That was cool to see."
"Yeah, yeah…" Drake dismissively waved her hand as she stumbled to her feet, giving Blackbeard a tired smile "Hurry up and die you bastard...take that head with you. Probably not worth much anyway."
"Pfft!" Blackbeard wheezed "Yeah...See you in Hell, Drake."
"Yeah...see you there, Teach." She smirked at him, crossing her arms "See you there."
Blackbeard chuckled before he noticed Mikey and Sammy slowly begin to fade away as well, looking up and frowning. What are you doing then? Don't want me to disappear on my own, do you?"
The Angels both remained silent.
"Jeez, you really are too serious…" Blackbeard muttered, closing his eyes as his body faded away "Really...well...can't say it wasn't fun...it was, right?"
The hoods nodded their heads.
"Ha...that's alright then…" Blackbeard spoke as he almost fully disappeared, "That's alright…"
Sammy and Mikey soon followed after him, their own forms vanishing into golden motes of light. The two remained silent as they followed Blackbeard at the very end.
Ritsuka watched them in silence, pursing his lips.
"Confirming the disappearance of Blackbeard and...Sammy." Mash reported, her own expression slightly perturbed before her eyes widened "Rendal has escaped with Euryale-san and the Grail!"
"Not for long he ain't!" Drake shouted out, limping over to the wheel of the ship "Not if I have anything to say about it! That's my treasure he's stealing!"
"Everyone!" Ritsuka shouted through his mind "Get back to the ship! We're following after Rendal and Euryale."
Once he received his replies, he nodded to Mash to continue to watch over Oscar, the man groaned as he pushed himself up.
"Wha...what happened…?" He mumbled to himself, then clasped his body "Oh...what hit me?"
"We'll explain later!" Ritsuka told him, turning away and seeing the other Servants rush across the boarding platform. Almost doing a double take at the burns and bruises on them along with the troubled expression on Ash. He could guess what happened but for now it would have to wait.
"We're getting underway!" Drake exclaimed, spinning the wheel of the ship and turning it away from the burning remains of the Queen Anne's revenge as it dissipated into nothing. "We're getting Euryale back from that traitorous little Knight."
Euryale stared at Rendal in silence as the man rowed on the boat, the man making not a single sound as he continued on before she eventually spoke.
"So...I assume you work for someone else?"
"Astute." Rendal answered "He's...a pompous ass, but he did summon me. I do have a duty to see it through to the end."
"Hmmm." Euryale leaned back, frowning "Does he have the same tastes as that pervert?"
"No." Rendal shook his head "You need not worry about such things...admittedly that was Edward's downside, that and his obvious banditry." he sighed "Really...I am a King." he paused and raised an eyebrow at Euryale "You seem calmer than I expected."
"I'm not a fighter." She responded blandly, before smirking "Besides, I'd much rather spend my time waiting for Asterios to tear you to pieces. That's going to be quite violent...I wonder if he can match my sister."
"...Charming." Rendal grunted "It won't be long…" he sighed "It means I'll have to speak with her again though."
"We've got time. I can listen."
"No."
"Hm. Probably boring anyway."
AN: Blackbeard goes bye bye and Sammy goes with him.
Also yes, Rendal's Noble Phantasm did instill a brief state of Hollowing onto Ash and Oscar.
So that was Ash when he had nothing holding him back and lashed out like an animal.
Anyway…
Lautrec Stats.
Lautrec of Carim
Servant: Assassin
Strength: C+
Endurance: D
Agility: B
Mana: D
Luck: B (A+)
Noble Phantasm: C
'A Firekeepers Fate': C (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 1, Max Range: 5
Re-enacts his habit of killing Firekeepers. Without strong enough magic resistance, the target is temporarily blinded. Lautrec can use this to his advantage to either make an escape or strike while they are vulnerable. However, the duration of the blindness is affected by the Magic Resistance of the Target, ranging from a full minute to a few seconds depending on the strength of the Resistance.
The effect this has on female Servants can be considered worse as it is a curse against them. Causing them to feel the pain that Fire Keepers endure to become fire Keepers, without the actual damage. However, the length at which this affects them is directly affected with Magic Resistance. Those with high magic resistance will only feel the pain for a few seconds.
Class Skills:
Presence Concealment: D
Personal Skills:
Ring of Favour: A+
Increases LCK to A+ for a brief moment
Espionage: B+
Enamoured of Fina: C
He is truly enamoured by the Goddess Fina.
She is the only woman he loves. He deals extra damage to females.
Red Tearstone Ring: C+
In times of crisis when his life is in danger, he will briefly gain strength.
Summoning.
"Oh? Human are you? I am Knight Lautrec of Carim. Assassin Class Servant...how do you do?"
Dialogue 1
"One for patience are you? Well...I see no hurry...hehehehehehe..."
Dialogue 2
"Hmmm...Not much for offerings...hm? Did I say something? Perhaps you misheard."
Dialogue 3
"Master and Servant...oh dear me. I would say my one true Master is my beloved Fina."
Dialogue 4 (If you have Chosen Undead)
"Well then, another lamb to the slaughter it seems. The poor girl was suffering so intently that I couldn't help but wish to show mercy, you know how it is...hehehehehe."
Dialogue 5 (If you have Cecilia [Fire Keeper])
"Oh? A Fire Keeper. How serendipitous...although perhaps I shall need patience. Her Unkindled seems to watch me intently."
Dialogue 6 (If you have Patches)
"Do you have a Servant called Trusty Patches? Eurgh, I swear, I've never met a man who's rubbed me up the wrong way quite like him. You should be careful, but I'd be more than willing to claim his hide."
Dialogue 7 (If you have Oswald, The Pardoner)
"Oh...one of those Sinful Goddess ones, is it? Well, I won't comment about it. I avoid them best I can. Quite troubling people, really."
Dialogue 8 (If you have Kirk)
"Stealing humanity for another is it? Well...It is not Fina, but it is fair enough. Some truly have more humanity than they know what to do with."
Dialogue 9 (If you have Female Servants)
"Hmmm...I suppose I'd need to pick carefully, Mistress Fina wouldn't want a common offering to her...Hm? Oh, nothing."
Dialogue 10 (If you have Gilles de Rais [Caster])
"Oh? Another like-minded person. Hm? His savagery? That is his devotion in its own right."
Likes
"I love Fina, that is all there is to it. I am Lautrec the Embraced, my armour is a symbol of my devotion to her."
Hates
"Wasteful people, truly. Some have more to give without knowing it. But I'm always there to lend a hand...hahahaha."
Wish for the Holy Grail
"A wish you say? The perfect offering to Fina."
Bond Level 1
"I am Lautrec the Embraced, in helping you, I help my Mistress Fina.
Bond Level 2
"I slay for my Goddess as offering to her to prove my devotion, although I ask you to provide me with more suitable offerings."
Bond Level 3
"The Goddess Fina? Ah, you wish to learn of her as well. She is a caring Goddess indeed, willing to love all of us if we love her ourselves."
Bond Level 4
"I kill those with bountiful humanity as offerings to Fina, for that is what she asked of me to do."
Bond Level 5
"I've heard slander that Fina demands such bloodlust as a way of alleviating boredom, I will hear none of it. You shall see, once I offer her the perfect soul...she'll grant me her love. Just as I do..."
Birthday
"Oh? A birthday is it? Good for you."
During an Event
"Hmm...I wonder what offerings I might find for Fina."
1stAscension
"As expected of you."
2ndAscension
"My thanks once again...now I can get to work."
3rdAscension
"It gets much easier as I am, now I can find the best offering for dear Fina."
4thAscension
"Hmhmhmhmhahahahaha! Let us now find an offering for Fina together."