Trial Quest - Scathach: III
Ash squinted his eyes as he peered through the binoculars, sweeping across the entire landscape of the city with his lips drawn into a thin line. He was unable to see any sign of movement amidst the ruins of the metropolis, although he doubted he would have been able to see anything either way.
The smoke from the city was thick enough to obscure vision even at ground level even at the best of times, to say nothing of trying to move to a vantage point where the smoke was naturally thickest, then there were the pillars of flame which continued to burn without showing any sign of slowing. The combination of the two made long distance reconnaissance nearly impossible, as unfortunate as it was.
He lowered the binoculars away from his eyes, his lips curling in disappointment before he flipped open the lid of his bottomless box, returning the binoculars to his inventory of assorted items and shaking his head. As he turned around, he briefly paused when he saw Scathach at the far end of the building, giving him a blank look as her eyes lingered on his face before they moved down to the box resting on his hip.
"I was curious." She commented after a moment, tilting her head ever so slightly "However, it seems you have more than weapons in your arsenal. A collector of sorts, are you?" her eyes returned to him and twinkled with intrigue.
"I could be described as such." He admitted after a moment of thought, thinning his lips and moving towards the edge of the building, flipping the lid open and placing the cat ring upon his finger, clenching his hand into a fist and turning back to face the Celtic woman "Although it would have been harder for me not to acquire varying items, given their uses and the locations I visited."
"A storied life you have lived then." Scathach mused as she peered over the edge of the ruined skyscraper that stood upon, staring down towards the street where one could vaguely make out the blurs of Ritsuka, Mash and Gael lingering around the bottom. "Why then, are you so clumsy?" she paused "No, clumsy is not the right word. Average." she decided upon "The quality of the weapons you used against me showcased you have similarly fought the divine and yet you were…rather disappointing."
Ash remained silent for a moment, staring off towards the skyline before he looked back at her "There was never an opportunity to train and there were none who could even if I had the inclination."
The woman's lips pressed themselves into a thin line "Truly? How wasteful." she stared at him for a moment "...Where did you get the spear with the guard?"
"I found it."
She gave a single blink "...You found it?"
"Yes." Ash nodded his head "That was after I killed Lord Faraam."
"And he was?"
"The God of War." Ash replied with a hint of shame in his voice, missing the raised eyebrow that the Lancer gave him as he stepped off the edge of the building, then ignited his left hand with fire until his fingers glowed a bright orange and swung it out into the side of the building, his fingers clawing at the wall and slowing his descent as he burned long marks into the skin of the skyscraper.
Scathach peered over the edge, still with her eyebrow raised before it lowered itself "...I wonder if he was having an off day then." she quipped to herself as she similarly jumped off, manifesting her spear and allowing her body to be coated in crimson light as she shot off through the air.
Ritsuka watched as Ash descended down the side of the building, when he approached the twenty foot mark he kicked off the wall and towards the group, Ritsuka raised his eyebrows and stepped back a few feet as Ash slammed into the ground, his knee's bending with the force of the drop and the pavement under his boots cracking. The Saber straightened himself out, staring at the Master for a few moments in silence.
"Anything?" Ritsuka asked, deciding that it was better to ignore the rather impressive feats of the Servants by this point in time, he was rewarded by a shake of the head from the Saber.
"The flames and smoke are much too thick to even attempt an accurate lookout of the cityscape." Ritsuka sighed, placing his hands on his hips and giving a grim nod "I suspect it would be easier if we were further from the city centre, however-"
"However, Scathach said that the remnants were further into the city." Ritsuka finished, reaching up and rubbing the bridge of his nose with a hint of exasperation before it lowered back down to his side "Which means that we're probably not going to get much warning until they're right on top of us and with Chaldea no longer in communication-"
"Is that defeatism I hear?" Scathach's voice rang out, Ritsuka turned to the side and watched the woman hover above the ground for a few moments before she dropped down in silence, the only sound to be heard was when her spear made a quiet thud sound as it touched the road. The Lancer stared at Ritsuka with a scrutinous expression for a few moments, awaiting his answer.
"...Nah." Ritsuka flashed her a half-grin as he rolled his shoulders "Just makes it a little challenging is all, although given our track record so far, we're more liable to walk into ambushes than to not." he shrugged before looking to Mash "What's one more ambush?"
Scathach's lip twitched upwards, the woman giving a faint nod of approval at the statement.
"That sounds incredibly dangerous, Senpai." Mash replied in a hesitant tone "And as you have said, we have experience in ambushes but they have usually ended poorly for us. Havel-san ambushed us here and without Cu-san's help-"
"Oh?" Scathach raised an eyebrow and looked to Mash in curiosity "So this is where you met Setanta?" she raised her chin ever so slightly and allowed the corner of her lip to twitch upwards "And he aided you as well? I hope he made no attempt to embarrass my teachings with a spear."
"Spear?" Ash looked at her with a frown "No, he was a pyromancer."
"...He was what?"
"He means a Caster, Ms Scathach." Mash dutifully informed the woman, with the group being treated to the first real change in the Lancer's expression in the time they met her. Scathach's eyes widened ever so slightly and her lips parted for a brief moment before her face reverted to its usual cold expression.
"A…Caster?" She asked slowly, looking at each of them to be sure "Really? He was using Runes and a staff?"
"Yeah." Ritsuka nodded his head "He really helped us out." there was a pause "Although he did practically beg us to summon him as a Lancer."
"I would imagine so." Scathach remarked with a hint of nostalgic amusement "I had to beat runecraft into that dense boy's head and even then he rarely used it." her head tilted "I shall assume you did summon him as a Lancer, since you recognise my spear?"
"We did, yeah." Ritsuka affirmed to her before he furrowed his brow "...He is really strange about that spear though."
"That is simply his way." Scathach commented "He went through many trials to win that spear from me and it would be remiss if he did not understand the true weight of it." There was a pause before an amused chuckle emerged from her "Still, I would very much like to see Setanta derived from the spear and made to use runecraft, I envisage he would fight quite a bit smarter."
Ash furrowed his brow in remembrance "He set the staff on fire and swung it like a club."
The smile disappeared, replaced by dull acceptance "...Of course he did. Fool boy."
"If we have recalled enough stories." Gael politely interrupted, turning to face the group "We should press on, we have much ground to cover and remain in the open. If your fear of surprise attacks is justified, then this is a poor location for us to remain."
"He speaks truly." Ash supported Gael with a nod of the head, facing Ritsuka with a stern look "From what you have told me, you have already been assailed by Darkwraiths before we met up and there is nothing to say there might not be others present."
"...Probably right." Ritsuka muttered, cupping his chin and looking skywards towards either side of the street they were in "You think they might have archers here?"
"I would not dismiss the possibility."
"Me neither." Ritsuka hummed in response before giving a single nod "Yeah, walking around on the street is probably not the best idea we could have." there was a pause before the Master looked towards Gael "Think we should take the side of the street then? Because otherwise we're ducking in and out of buildings until we get to the-" he turned to Scathach "-You said the bridge, right?"
Scathach gave a single nod of the head "That is where the first of the remnants lies, there are several that are here but the third is distant. Evading my divination rather skilfully." There was a pause before a predatory smile fell upon her lips "Either a skilled assassin in life or a very experienced warrior."
"Both of which are of considerable issue for us." Gael affirmed, straightening himself out and crossing his arms "The remnants will not be like the Forlorn, I fought one earlier. They are powerful indeed and possess much of their previous skill."
"And which remnant did you slay, I wonder?" Scathach asked, fixing the knight with an interested gaze.
"Some manner of archery Lordkin." Gael replied in response in a disinterested tone of voice "Beyond that I can answer little, the Gods of these lands are not known to me."
Scathach continued to stare at Gael with a peculiar twinkle in her eye before she looked towards Ritsuka and Mash "The manner of his prey aside, he speaks the truth. The remnants will be on par with Servants such as the like you have already encountered. Perhaps some are the forgotten aspects of a legend or perhaps they are beings of another nature, but they remain dangerous prey all the same." her eyes flashed "Knowing this, will you still continue onwards?"
"Well, we've got to." Ritsuka replied casually "Either we stop them or the issues with this singularity will continue. Sure it'll be difficult but…" he paused for a moment before a confident smile came upon his face "I'm…I'm sure we'll pull through."
Scathach's lip twitched again "That is optimistic of you…A rather refreshing view. I approve of it."
"Oh." Ritsuka blinked "Um…thanks."
"Then let us put that determination of yours to the test." Scathach exclaimed vigorously, lifting her spear and thrusting it further down the streets towards the direction of the road leading onto the bridge "We shall find and slay the first of our prey!"
"...Yeah!" Ritsuka pumped his fist, then looked around and saw the eyes of everyone fall onto him, he slowly lowered his arm "...Sorry, just thought it was one of those…sorry."
Gael stared at him in silence before he looked to Ash as if asking a silent question, the Saber stared back at him and shrugged his shoulders once.
Coughing into his hand, Ritsuka looked around at the others a second time before he looked back down "Let's…erm…lets go then."
"Yes, Senpai!" Mash exclaimed, pumping her fist into the air in a mimicry of Ritsuka's earlier motion, trying to rouse some manner of positive reaction from the boy. The Master stared at her for a few moments before his eyes brightened and a smile came to his face.
"Yeah!"
Ash swung the greatsword through the air, slamming it into the skeleton's guard and knocking the opponent over, the undead creature crashed into the ground with a heavy thud, as it tried to stand back up Ash moved forwards, raising his right leg up and bringing it down in a stomping motion onto the skull of the undead, shattering it in a single motion.
His eyes scanned up, raising his left arm and blocking a bone axe against his gauntlet, sweeping his arm to the side he knocked the blow away before bringing his left hand forwards and unleashing a ball of fire into the attacker, consuming them entirely and blasting the remains further up the street.
Turning to the side, he watched for more opponents then lowered his guard when he noted the other Servants already cleaning up the other skeletons who had approached them. Gael effortlessly cleaved through his attacker while Mash brought the weight of her shield onto the head of the final skeleton.
Ash turned back around, then jolted as he found Scathach standing in front of him with a blank look on her face.
"Wha-"
"Hmmm." She cut him off with a hum, staring at him before she looked down at the remains of the skeleton near her feet before looking back at him "Hardly a challenge to hone your skill." That said, she turned away from him and strode forwards. Ash blinked at her retreating figure, then looked in the direction of the others and saw them equally unsure.
Ritsuka shook his head at the Saber, then directed his attention further towards the road, watching as it turned and rose up towards the bridge. "We're getting close now and the presence of skeletons is probably a good sign…right?"
"They will lurk around the remnants, yes." Gael confirmed with a nod of the head, sheathing his sword back on his back and moving through the rubble "The one I encountered had a great many undead and the like around them." he paused, directing his attention towards the road "It is close to."
"Ho? You can sense it as well?" Scathach mused with a hint of interest as she looked over her shoulder towards the red-hooded knight.
"I might be old, young lady." Gael replied as he walked past her, his tone quiet and yet containing a touch of dry wit "But I am not of slow mind."
"I would hope not." Scathach replied with a challenging smile "It will make for a poor fight between us if you were."
"You speak as though combat between us is a given."
"Is it not?" Tilting her head, she merely gave him a knowing look "It is rare that I find a warrior who might prove a true challenge for me, I would not so readily allow a chance for my spear to cross with your sword to slip through my fingers." she looked away from him "Before this day is over, we shall battle."
Gael shrugged "As you wish."
"Does my blatant statement that I intend to end your life do you no concern?"
Gael released a gravelled chuckle in response, slowly turning towards the Lancer once again shaking his head at her "You would not be the first to challenge me nor seek to claim my head." he straightened himself out, staring down at the slightly shorter woman "Either you will succeed or you will not. The outcome is no longer my concern."
"Is that so?" Scathach murmured quietly, looking the old man up and down "Very well."
Gael walked onwards, moving past the ruins of the cars as he approached the bridge before he eventually came to a halt at the mouth of it. Staring across the road, littered with the wrecks of cars and other vehicles. He looked over his shoulder towards the others before nodding his head forwards "This way."
The others followed after him, moving past Scathach as they did so. The woman remained silent for a few moments before she began to walk as well, moving to fall into step with Ritsuka and Mash before gesturing around her "What befell this city?"
"Hm?" Ritsuka looked to her out of the corner of his eye "What do you mean?"
"I am aware of the incineration of Humanity, however this is not simply a result of that." Scathach replied, frowning and narrowing her eyes "This is not just a case of burning away humanity. This land is now seeped in curses that will take decades to fade away, some might even remain for hundreds more years." she looked at him "So what befell this city?"
Ritsuka thinned his lips and looked straight ahead "I'm told it was a Holy Grail war, although from what Cu told me something was wrong with the Grail." his face turned into a frown "I don't know…I just can't imagine what this is?"
"Some curses are very potent, Senpai." Mash replied with a frown of her own, her expression turning slightly pained as she looked out across the burning city and halted her movements, fixing her eyes upon a large bonfire in the distance, stretching high into the sky "And the Grail is supposed to be a wish granting device although the idea that someone would wish this-"
"The minds of man are boundless in both charity and cruelty." Gael called back from ahead of her "To suggest one could unleash this ocean of death upon the land is not beyond the realm of possibility." he stopped walking, looking up at the sky "I was there when the forces of an old King sailed the oceans to the land of giants and bathed the very rivers in their blood, the land was scorched and salted before they stole the essence of their enemy and returned home." turning around, he faced the group behind him "The methods and motives are rarely so cleanly seen."
Gael gestured with a wide sweeping hand towards the burning city "Whomever brought this ruin upon the city…they did so with purpose in mind. We see only the aftermath of whatever they intended, perhaps they merely desired cruelty or perhaps they desired more. Who can say which is which?"
Ritsuka raised an eyebrow "You mean like…good intentions gone bad?" he crinkled his nose and looked out across the city once again "...That's one hell of a stretch, isn't it?"
Gael shrugged "Or this is the work of a madman who enjoyed only to see man burn. I have seen all manner of saints, sinners, saviours and murderers walk the lands in my time. I will not claim to understand the motives of all."
Scathach brought the topic of the conversation back "Then these curses are different to the work of the Incineration. An unfortunate coincidence is all this is?" she thinned her lips "It might be considered a mercy that humanity died before a calamity such as this befell them."
"I'd rather take my chances with the fire." Ritsuka replied, leaning on the railings and staring out across the river, even as the fires burned away beneath him. A weary sigh emerged from his throat "We should probably keep moving." He stepped away from the railings and turned to the others "You said we were close to the first remnant?"
"We are." Gael nodded his head, his hand moving to the sword on his back and drawing it out, turning around and back towards the road, pointing the flat tip of the sword forwards "It lies beyond there, awaiting us."
"Right then." Ritsuka steeled his expression, then pointed forwards "Lets-" he paused, eyes flickering down to his hand when he noticed that the skin around his fingers had reddened. He continued to stare at it for a few moments before he slowly opened up his palm and stared at it, his eyes widened and his lip parted slightly as his skin looked as though he had held it atop a grill.
The worst thing was that he couldn't feel it.
"What the…" He trailed off, drawing the hand close to him and staring at it. He noticed - only just now - that the heat which had been nearly unbearable had tapered off into nothing. To the extent he couldn't even feel the burns on his own palm "G-guys?" the way his voice stuttered slightly managed to draw their attention, they all stared at him as he raised up his left hand and showed them the burn.
"Senpai!" Mash exclaimed in shock as she rushed towards him, dissipating her shield and grabbing the burned hand in her own before she winced "Sorry! Did that hurt? Wait, how did you-"
"I…I can't feel it." Ritsuka muttered in a quiet - very shocked - voice to her as his breathing quickened "I can't feel anything."
"...Check him, now." Gael ordered, Ritsuka had barely a moment to understand anything before he watched Ash close the distance with him in a single heartbeat. The Saber grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him towards him. Turning him around, Ash swiftly undid the outer mystic code and stripped Ritsuka down to a simple t-shirt while the Master remained dumbfounded by the sudden movement.
"What the-" Ritsuka barely managed to get a shocked word out before Ash raised up the back t-shirt and exposed his chest to the world. Even if he could not currently feel anything physically, Ritsuka was still more than a little embarrassed "H-hey! What are-"
"Fuck." He paused at Ash's rather crude statement, he saw the taller Servant staring at the upper section of his chest with nothing shy of horror "This…this isn't possible."
"What?" Ritsuka asked, now noticing the tense situation "What is it?"
Ash's green eyes rose up, staring into his own before they flickered down to his chest "...This…No. This must be the work of one of the Remnants here. It cannot exist."
"You would be correct." Gael affirmed as he walked forwards, Ritsuka's eyes darted to the older man as he similarly stared down at him, then looked to Scathach "You could sense it as well, yes?"
"A bounded field." The Lancer nodded her head with a grim expression "However, I did not imagine this would be the result." her eyes darted away and towards the bridge "And it grows yet stronger."
"What…what is it?" Ritsuka found himself almost pleading for an answer "Guys? I'm feeling a little on display here! Can someone tell me what's wrong?"
"S-Senpai…" Mash managed to get over her embarrassment, now looking rather pale "Th-there's a mark over your heart."
"A-A mark?" Ritsuka looked at her, then wrestled away from the Servant holding his shirt, raising it up further and rolling it so he could get a look at his heart, finding his eyes growing wide and his features paling as he stared down at what looked like a burn across his chest, resting exactly on his heart.
In the shape of a ring.
"W-what the heck? Wh-what is-"
"The Dark Sign." Ash informed him, causing the Master to snap his eyes onto the Saber in horror "I-it is…growing on you." he looked towards the wounded hand "The senses dwindle first…but you seem to be in the early stages."
"W-what the…" Ritsuka swallowed hard "B-but you said…t-the flame?"
"It cannot - should not - exist without the Flame." Ash agreed with a nod of the head, then looked at Mash before he furrowed his brows and leaned forwards, poking her in the cheek with the tip of his finger. Mash stared at him in response with a puzzled look before her eyes worriedly snapped to Ritsuka.
"Could you feel that?"
"H-huh? Yes?" She paused "...A little."
"Even your Demi-Servant nature affords you little leeway." Ash grimaced "You remain human enough…" he muttered out in a grim tone as he looked towards Gael and Scathach "If this is the work of a Servant, we must be rid of it swiftly."
"They intend on making our task easier." Scathach replied, pointing her spear further up the street. Gael and Ash turned towards the direction she was pointing, then the pair sucked in air through their teeth as they watched the figure approach, stepping through the flames with little concern for them.
Ritsuka slipped his Mystic Code back on, halfway through a sleeve when he also noticed the dark figure approaching them.
Standing around the same height as Arkon, the figure was wearing what looked like dark stone scaled armour, curling horns protruded from their shoulders like pauldrons and black fabric seeped in glowing orange lines washed down from the hood covering their head. Their mangled face was barely visible through the black veil as they marched forwards.
At first they were unarmed, then their held their hands wide, slowly - as if growing from their armour - large black slabs of rock rolled from their palms and grew out into large shapes, Ritsuka felt his eyes widening as the shapes became sharper and more swordlike, eventually two swords as large as Heracles rested in each hand, slamming down onto the bridge with a heavy thud.
The dark knight continued to walk forwards, dragging the stone swords behind him and leaving gashes in the road as they did. The single most eye-catching thing about the figure was the bright burning ring in the centre of their chest, as if a window into their body and revealing only the deepest black.
The black knight never once shifted his attention from his target, even as Scathach, Ash, Gael and Mash all readied themselves for combat. The Knight's gaze never once veered away from Ritsuka, the Master now feeling a deep sense of discomfort as the clearly hostile Servant came ever closer towards them.
"A Ringed Knight?" Ash whispered out in surprise as he stared at them, narrowing his eyes and gripping his sword with both hands "What is one doing here?"
"In a land of dead remnants, there are few other places more suitable a home for their order." Gael replied in a quiet voice before his tone shifted into something more wary "But this is…that is not simply a Ringed Knight."
"You can tell also?" Scathach's voice was equally serious "I had never thought to meet something such as this. A curse taking on the form of a man."
The Knight hunched its body forwards, tensing its legs and only now looking towards Scathach before its gaze trailed away from her towards Gael and Ash. The pressure around the knight shifted, body glowing a brighter hue of orange before lines trailed down its arms and onto the large weapons, the stone swords glowed as they became superheated. The Knight charged forwards, raising the greatswords above their head and pressing the flats of them together before it brought them down, spinning on its ankle before swinging the swords forwards in a wide sweeping motion.
Flames leapt from the swords, flying through the air in an arc as they rapidly approached the group. Ash stepped forwards, his own sword igniting with fire and sweeping it out in an arc, releasing his own jet of flames which collided with the initial attack, the explosion from the impact briefly kicked up a thick cloud of smoke from which nothing could be seen.
They saw the flaming ring on the front of the armour before the Knight fully emerged, barreling out of the cloud and directly into the middle of the Servants, kicking off the ground and leaping through the air with the swords still burning and held aloft. Ash kicked back as Mash stepped in front of Ritsuka and raised her shield in defence. Gael rolled to the side the moment the Ringed Knight struck the ground.
The twin swords smashed into the bridge, releasing an explosion of flames which consumed their whole body and obscured their form once again. Scathach was the only one who had made no attempt to move throughout the entire attack, still watching with narrowed eyes before she moved forwards. The smoke was parted when one of the greatswords went sweeping out of the cloud towards the woman, Scathach effortlessly ducked underneath the swipe before the second sword came out, falling down upon her like a guillotine.
This time she raised her spear and blocked the attack, angling her weapon to the side and redirecting it away from her body before she rushed in close to the guard. Bringing her spear back around and thrusting directly towards the chest area. Her spear collided with something solid, the force of the attack dissipating the smoke in an instance and revealing what had blocked her.
Scathach narrowed her eyes at the shield shaped in the head of a dragon, the tip of her spear buried at least an inch into the forehead of it before she pulled it back, chipping the defensive armament and spinning her body around and going for a wide swing to break the guard.
The Dragon headed shield breathed fire at her, she rolled to the side to avoid it even as the Knight followed after her, turning his body to keep the flames on her at all times. The greatswords disappearing and being replaced by a black straightsword, the hilt made of curved horns. Tossing the shield onto their back, the Knight grabbed the sword with both hands before holding it aloft.
Fire rushed up the surface of the sword before it solidified and tripled the length of the blade, the Knight bringing down the glowing weapon and pausing as it collided with another weapon. Ash shoved the Ringed Knight back before going on the offensive, bringing his own sword to bear on his opponent in heavy slashes aimed at keeping them off balance.
The issue was that the Ringed Knight seemed more than capable of matching him blow for blow in terms of strength, as it brought the sword up again, Ash angled his weapon to block it then widened his eyes as the burning cut out. The actual sword slashed right past the front of his guard before it extended out again. Ash leaned his head back, narrowly avoiding taking the weapon to the face.
He swung upwards towards the Ringed Knight, grimacing when his attack stopped short and he heard the familiar clang of a sword striking metal. The taller Servant shoved him back as they pulled their sword away from him. The weapon melted away and reformed itself into a long spear, the tip glowing with fire as they rested both hands upon the weapon and rushed forwards, spinning the weapon in their grasp and going on the offensive against him.
Ash blocked or parried the first few blows, shoving aside one and throwing a ball of fire into the Knight's face, then frowned when he frowned when he watched the ball of fire impact an invisible barrier just shy of the knights face and vanish into nothing. The Ringed Knight moved forwards, raising their leg up and kicking into his gut, sending him away in a roll. Ash used the momentum of the roll to land himself on his feet, coiling his sword arm back as he did before he thrust it forwards, the tip of Galvatyne exploded in white light as the holy energy launched out from the sword.
The Ringed Knight punched the incoming attack, bringing their left hand away from the spear and cocking it back before they swung it forwards and slammed their knuckles into the thin beam of light. Despite the fact it scorched along their hand, they showed no sign of pain and caused the attack to shatter like glass. Leaping forwards and bringing the spear into the air before thrusting it downwards as they came down.
Ash ducked to the side and swung towards them, the Knight opting to release the spear and bring forth the straightsword again, clashing it against his weapon before another straightsword came into being in their left hand. The knight resumed the offensive with fast jabs aimed towards his body, spinning and moving with much more grace than they actually deserved as they did so.
They abruptly paused and swung the left sword out, meeting Gael's greatsword as he made for a slash towards them. The Knight allowed Gael to push downwards and angle his sword to the side so the tip was facing Ash's head. The sword ignited with flame and lengthened, forcing Ash to retreat lest he be struck by the attack.
The Ringed Knight brought the second sword down to bear on Gael, the old man ducked his body down as they slashed towards him and pushed up. Forcing the left sword high and leaving them exposed. He swung his left hand up and crashed his fist against the ribs of the knight, jolting them ever so slightly and sending them into a stagger. Gael moved forwards into them, sweeping forwards with the greatsword and then forcing the Knight onto the backfoot.
The Ringed Knight worked tirelessly to parry or block the incoming attacks against them, struggling to keep up with the old man's offensive. Their superior strength and speed seemingly being the only advantage they had in the engagement. Ducks, parries, blocks and counters. At every opportunity, Gael merely responded accordingly, not once losing the advantage against the Ringed Knight.
It got worse when Scathach re-emerged, flying into the battle like a blur and falling on the Knight in a flurry of movement. The sword in their left hand went flying into the distance before the edge of Gael's greatsword buried itself into their side. The sword in their right hand was similarly knocked away by Scathach striking it dead on. The Ringed Knight remained silent as it brought out the long spear to replace them, spinning the weapon around then stabbing it into the ground and unleashing the fire held within it.
The small explosion managed to create some distance between the three of them, the Ringed Knight looking no worse for wear at the wound in their side.
Then Ash rushed forwards, kicking off the ground and bringing the sword above his head and swinging down. The Ringed Knight raised the spear and blocked the initial attack, Ash recalled his weapon back before bringing it across himself and under his left armpit before lashing out in a wide slash.
The sword slammed into the pole of the spear, the Ringed Knight went skating backwards as Ash resumed his charge.
Gael and Mash made to follow before Scathach raised her spear, stopping the pair of them from advancing further "Wait…" she looked over her shoulder at the pair of them "I would rather this play out."
"But if that Servant is responsible for Senpai's condition-" Mash made to argue before Scathach narrowed her eyes, cutting her off.
"Hazards are a part of learning." She reminded the Shielder with a stern tone "And one cannot expect improvement to come without cost. Either your Servant will succeed or he will die, you cannot allow him to be nothing more than a simple support forever."
"Senpai?" Mash turned to Ritsuka with a concerned look, the Master looked frozen as he was rooted on the spot before he looked past them to where Ash was duelling with the Ringed Knight. His lips worked themselves into a tight frown before he clicked his tongue and looked down.
"...Trust in Ash then." He decided, looking back up and giving Mash the best smile he could manage. The reality was he was almost certain this situation was some sort of test for him or something along the lines. Cu's joking about his teacher aside, the one thing he had made perfectly apparently was that she was very 'do or die' in her style of training. As much as she was evaluating Ash, he was almost certain she was evaluating him as well.
And despite his grim feelings, he had faith in his Servant.
Spear met sword once again, Ash twisting the blade so it was lying flat against the spear. He moved his left hand to the top of Galvatyne and pressed into it, using both arms to push against his attacker as they seemed to get the same idea and push back, the two struggling against each other before the Ringed Knight twisted the spear in their hands, pushing the sword along with it and turning it to face downwards.
Their right hand came back up in a vicious swing, catching Ash in the chin and staggering him away from them, giving himself a single shake of the head he swung the sword back up towards the Knight. The spear collided with it in their lone hand for a brief moment. Ash grasped his sword with both hands and pulled up as hard as he could, bringing both the weapons up and diverting them over his head before slamming the pair back into the ground, this time with his greatsword pressing down against the spear.
Twisting the blade, he then slashed upwards, gliding along the length of the polearm towards the Ringed Knight. The Knight stepped back and leaned to the side, the sword sailing right past their body and face, Ash was quick to react, his left hand coming free and flying into the face of the Ringed Knight. A blast of fire emerged from his palm and while doing no damage, it worked to act as a smokescreen for him to move around the Knight, rolling past them as they attempted a blind counter attack.
As he rolled to a stop, he landed on his feet and swung back around, slashing into the back of the Ringed Knight's left leg and forcing them to drop to one knee in response. As he drew the sword back to thrust towards them, the Ringed knight turned their body to face him while raising their left arm up at an angle. His sword thrust met the gauntlet and was diverted away, shooting just past the top of their head.
Seemingly ignoring the wound in their leg, the Ringed Knight surged back to their feet, pushing Ash's sword to the side before grabbing the front of his armour with the hand they had used to block before swinging him forwards and bringing their head down. Crashing their forehead into his nose once and causing him to stagger back.
The Ringed Knight spun on their heel, igniting the spear with flame once again and bringing it back around in a spinning slash. Slamming the burning tip of the weapon into his side and launching him away, Ash bounced twice across the bridge before he collided with the railings at the side, denting them to fit his body. He released a pained groan as his eyes fell down to the scorch mark in the side of his armour vaguely in the shape of the spear before his head snapped back up at the sound of approaching footsteps.
Ash pulled his body free and jerked to the right, the burning spear sailing just past his torso. As he rolled away, he swung his greatsword upwards and crashed it into the underside of the spear, pushing both the weapons skywards. Ash stomped forwards, bringing his left hand back and throwing it forwards in a clumsy punch. It wasn't a very good attack but it served its purpose, the Ringed Knight took a single step backwards as his fist collided with their lower chest.
Then the Ringed Knight punched him in the face, Ash blinked from the strike before a follow up kick found itself buried into his side and causing him to stagger again. As he stepped away, the Ringed Knight thrust the spear towards his gut, Ash narrowed his eyes and responded accordingly. His left hand clasped the tip of the spear, ignoring the brief pain which flashed through his hand at gripping the red hot metal, he jerked the spear upwards and ducked down at the same time, spinning his body underneath the attack and bringing his sword towards him.
He slashed outwards, catching the Ringed Knight in the gut with the slash and stepping past them as they rushed towards him, the sword cleaving through the armour with frightful ease and rewarding the Saber with a brief hiss of pain and a splash of black liquid spilling onto the road and his sword. He stepped away, allowing the sword to glow a brilliant white before he thrust it forwards at point blank range.
The glowing projectile slammed into the face of the Ringed Knight and barreled them over, sending them rolling up the street with Ash in pursuit. Their hood was scorched off, revealing the decayed half skeletal face of the Ringed Knight as it turned back up to face him, far too late to do anything about him as he thrust his sword forwards into the central ring on their chest and lifted them off the ground and into the air, still charging forwards with the knight skewered on the end of his sword.
They carried on for several more metres before Ash rammed the pair of them into a parked semi. Metal bent inwards and screeched in protest as the Saber nailed the Ringed Knight into the truck like a freakish ornament. Yet the Ringed Knight was still alive, Ash learned that when they thrust their arm out and punched him square in the face again to stagger him away.
Their hands fell onto the sword in their gut before they started to pull it free. Ash's lips worked into a grimace before he rushed forwards, swinging his right hand up and catching the Servant in the chin with an uppercut before both their hands fell onto the greatsword and twisted it, resulting in a wet crunching sound echoing throughout the bridge.
Ash flooded the sword with holy light once again, the Ringed Knight's body started to burn as it was assailed by the divine power before Ash jerked the weapon to the side, cleaving through the undead and the truck at the same time and ripping the sword free of them. The Knight staggered forwards, yet didn't appear too concerned with the massive hole in their left side at this point as they manifested a sword yet again and went on the offensive.
Ash parried the strike to the side, raising the greatsword up and bringing it down into the shoulder of the Ringed Knight, cleaving through their armour and slicing their sword arm clean off their body onto the ground. Still, the Ringed Knight fought and landed a solid blow onto the side of his head, then grabbed him by the hair and swung their limb to the side, sending him crashing into the side of the truck he had nailed them in.
As he attempted to get up, he was met with a kick in the face before a stomp on the gut. Ash raised his arms to block the attack, wincing as another kick fell upon his guard like a hammer, then a fist burst through his guard and slammed into his head yet again, dazing him as his skull bounced off the tarmac from the punch. The offending limb grasped around his head before pulling him up and swinging him forwards, slamming the back of his head into the truck before jerking him back and then repeating the process a half dozen times.
Grabbing at the arm currently latched onto his face, Ash swung his leg out and struck the knee of the Knight, briefly staggering them and being able to work himself free of the hold. Ducking underneath them as they tried to grab him again, he shoulder barged them forwards and into the truck, spitting out a glob of foul tasting liquid in his mouth as he did so. He kicked the back of their leg, dropping them to their knees and bending his arm back. He swung his body forwards and drove his elbow into the back of their head and mashed their face into the metal frame of the vehicle.
He staggered away from them, leaning down and grabbing his greatsword before he brought it back up and turned to face the Ringed Knight.
They just above finished pulling their head from the remains of the truck and turning to face him when he slashed out at them. Swinging the sword across and slicing through their neck, sending the head hurtling through the sky and sailing over the edge of the bridge and into the burning water below.
Ash exhaled, blinking repeatedly and loosening his guard ever so slightly.
A mistake on his part as the headless body stepped forwards and manifested a straightsword, thrusting it forwards and driving it through his chest and out the back of his body. Ash released a bloodied gasp in response as he stared down at the offending limb and then looked back up towards the headless Servant as it kicked him away and onto the ground.
It managed all but a single step before dozens of spears slammed into its body, the crimson weapons easily pierced through them and sent them flying back into the truck and then through it, the semi being flipped by the force of the throw. Ash blinked in surprise before he saw Scathach go flying over his head and hovering in the air while pulling her arm back with her main spear still in hand, aiming down at the ground where the Ringed Knight had landed.
"Gae Bolg Alternative!" She cried out before hurtling the weapon downwards, Ash squinted his eyes and looked away as a flash of crimson light spread across his vision before it was accompanied by a reverberating crash and then the telltale sounds of stone impacting water.
Ash was still sitting on the ground when Scathach landed next to him, twirling the spear in her hands before planting the base of the weapon in the ground and then looking down at him. Ash stared up at her with what could only be described as a dumbfounded expression.
"Just because something doesn't have a head, doesn't mean it can't kill you." She scolded him before raising the spear up and smacking him in the back of the head with it "Letting your guard down was a mistake, had you been anything else you would have died there and then." her eyes narrowed "Do not make such mistakes unless you wish to die."
Ash blinked repeatedly at her before looking over his shoulder "What about Rits-"
"Shit!" Ritsuka's voice carried over the length of the bridge "That hurts!"
Scathach's lip twitched up in amusement "I shall assume that means he is fine."
"On the one hand I'm glad to be able to feel again." Ritsuka commented as he stared at the burn marks on his hands, tears in the corner of his eyes as feeling returned to him "On the other hand this is horribly painful!" he hissed as he watched the skin knit itself together, looking up at the burning orb just above his hand and then to Ash. "What the hell was that anyway?"
"I…have no answer." Ash replied with a frown "It bore the appearance of a Ringed Knight but its endurance was…unheard of." he remarked, then nodded towards him "And the presence of the Dark Sign branding on your skin was also a shock."
"Really?" Ritsuka hissed again, shaking his hand "Ouch!"
"You should be rather grateful to recover so swiftly from the curse at all." Gael assured the boy, reaching out and gently patting him on the shoulder "Some are not so fortunate…and it was not the true curse it seems, else there would be little hope for you at all."
"...That would be it?" Ritsuka asked with a quiet voice "Like that for the rest of my life." he looked between the two of them "You…you live like that all the time?"
The pair nodded their heads.
"...God, that's horrible." Ritsuka muttered quietly, staring at the now red skin on his palm.
"What was it like, Senpai?" Mash asked with a palpable worry, her Magic Resistance having afforded her protection from the worst of the damage.
"...Just wrong." Ritsuka replied with a frown, looking up at the girl "Like…I was just cold. There was heat all around me and I could see the burns but…it just felt like pins and needles or something. If that." he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead "So something to do with whatever that Servant was, yeah?"
"A physical curse." Scathach informed them, staring out to where the Servant had died "Although I had not imagined such a thing were true, there are concepts that are strong enough that they eventually gain an avatar for them to manifest. The Throne accepts all those who have become iconic enough to have been ingrained in the very foundation of human history." a pause "Or so I'm told."
Ash looked down "...That would mean…"
"That was the Dark Sign." Gael sounded more troubled than had been previously heard "Or how it manifested, in those who were first branded by it." straightening himself out, the Knight shook his head "Fortunately it is dead then. Troubling it can appear as a Heroic Spirit."
"...You mean it could appear again?" Ritsuka asked with a slight hint of fear in his voice "...I'd rather not be around for that."
Mash gave a nod of her head in support "I didn't know that you could get Servants built around concepts…" her lips quivered into a frown "And such a dangerous one."
"Old as well." Gael added on "Almost as old as I…" he muttered before shaking his head "We should rest before resuming our journey." he looked down at Ritsuka "You should recover from this experience before setting out again."
"...Yeah…yeah." Ritsuka swallowed, nodding his head before he looked at Scathach and frowned "That thing…where you stopped us helping Ash, was that a test?"
Scathach remained silent before looking down at him out of the corner of her eye "Yes. I was curious just how much faith you had in your Servant. If you were truly capable of putting your life in his hands." she looked back towards Ash "And if he was capable of fighting true."
"...A little warning next time would have been nice." Ritsuka snarked with only a half measure of heat to it, rather than be offended Scathach merely gave him a half smile.
"Danger comes and goes without warning. Coddling you would yield no true results."
Ritsuka flattened his lips at her before looking down "...How about next time we do it when I'm not under the effects of some ancient curse?"
Scathach shrugged, "I'm sure I can manage with such vague criteria." looking down at him, her smile grew just a little more "That's a nice fire you have in your eyes now."
"Yeah, well-"
The bridge shook, a rumble reverberating through the road beneath them and causing them all to stagger slightly, cutting off any further talk.
"...What the heck was that?" Ritsuka asked after a moment's silence, the eyes of everyone snapped away from him and further down the bridge itself, watching as a pillar of fire split through the tarmac and sent burning debris hurtling through the air and either over the side and into the river or onto the main road.
Ritsuka felt the bridge shake again, this time followed by another deep cracking sound, then noticed Scathach tense herself and narrowed her eyes.
Ash was similarly looking back in surprise, grabbing his sword with both hands "...A God?" he asked, just loud enough for the others to hear.
"A wha-!?"
Something punched through the bottom of the bridge, Ritsuka felt his eyes bulge out of his skull as he recognised the shape as a giant arm. The skin was a dark grey colour, the same tone as hardened lava and looking just as solid, the fingers on the end of the giant arm slowly uncurled, revealing the five digits with sharp pointed tips on them.
The arm lowered itself to the ground and pushed back, soon followed by a second limb punching through to join the first, clearly working with its partner to support the rise of whoever the owner was. The flames were still pouring out of the hole, highlighting the dark silhouette of the new arrival as they slowly rose from the hole.
A pair of pitch black wings came first, uncurling themselves and spreading wide, then came the hunched over body with long spikes - easily the same size as Ritsuka - protruding from the back, the body rose higher and higher until the head revealed itself, glaring down the length of the road towards them.
Despite the considerable distance, Ritsuka could at least guess the new arrival was - at the very minimum - around ten metres tall, perhaps taller considering they were hunched over.
The head was nothing shy of monstrous, two horns curled down from the side of the head, the face itself was stretched forwards with rows of sharp blackened teeth lining the jaw. The mouth opened and a sound akin to a furnace spilled forth from the throat of the creature as it stared at them.
The heavily muscled creature glared at them.
"...A God you said, yeah?"
"I…can sense divinity." Ash replied, taking a single step backwards "But…I know of no Lordkin with this appearance."
"Nor do I." Gael replied with a hint of worry of his own.
"Either way, this bridge will do us no good. We need room to manoeuvre around them." Scathach informed them "We should move further back."
The giant gave a single beat of its wings as it pushed up, launching itself from the hole and into the air before landing down onto the bridge with a rumbling shake, the tarmac melted beneath its feet, steaming away as it started to take long powerful steps towards them, hands clenched into fists and body hunched forwards.
"You know what?" Ritsuka quickly said as he shot to his feet "I think we should listen to the nice celtic lady."
The beast let loose another roar like a jet engine as it picked up the pace, arms swinging back and forth like pendulums as it moved.
The Chaldean group - and allies - immediately did what Scathach suggested.
And ran in the opposite direction.
AN: It's just not anyones day. Fuyuki is a terrible place to be. Another thing, just to clear this up. Ritsuka can't do magic. He just isn't good at it at all. Canonically he can't do the simplest of spells possible for the lowest of the low magi. Asking if he would be able to do Dark Souls spells is so far outside the realm of possibility its laughable.
Asking a child who can't even do modern magecraft to suddenly channel enough mana do perform Age of Gods level spells just isn't going to happen. So no. Ritsuka won't be using Dark Souls magic.
Anyway!
The Conceptual Heroic Spirit 'Dark Sign'
And the Berserker Servant of the Old Iron King!
Stats for both!
The Dark Sign
Servant: Avenger
Strength: B (D)
Endurance: B (D)
Agility: B (D)
Mana: A (C)
Luck: C (E)
Noble Phantasm: EX
Unspoken Achievement: D (Anti-Unit) Max Target: 1, Max Range: 0
It is akin to information Erasure but far stronger. An opponent has knowledge of fighting someone but in this case it becomes a struggle to determine anything about them.
They were a Servant, but that is all that is known.
Sealed with Fire - 'Let the Curse touch thy flesh': EX (Anti-Unit/Anti-Humanity) Max Target: 1, Max Range: 1
They are the first Pygmies that would become Humans. As such, they are closely tied to their original elements.
As they are hundreds of thousands of spirits, they can take a human and infuse them with the essence of one such inner spirit.
Converting them into a Ringed Knight - the first branded with the seal of fire. While not nearly as strong as the original, they are still formidable familiars and given enough time, they can become monstrous to fight.
The Curse of Undeath: EX (Anti-Army/Anti-Humanity) Max Target: Every human in Range, Max Range: 0-50
A mobile bounded field around the target itself. It is constantly active and will slowly brand any humans with the Curse of Undeath.
A Curse which - once fully cemented - remains incurable while Avenger lives. The moment they die, the curse will recede away and free the host.
Class Skills:
Self-Replenishment (Mana): D
Avenger: A
They are the curse of the Dark Sign made manifest - although its earliest iteration - as such, they accumulate the pain of thousands of years.
Oblivion Correction: EX
Their mark of hatred shall remain enshrined in History for all time. The presence of undead is proof of their existence.
A being that cannot be forgotten and bears the weight of that statement. A curse made manifest in the form of its victims. It bears the weight of History.
Magic Resistance: B
Dark Soul: C++
They are still the first pygmies who claimed the Dark Soul and had it shared amongst their race. This skill is proof of that, however the potency of its ability is contradictory to their nature as an Avenger designed to kill Gods. The Power of the Dark Soul increased the further away from the Age of Gods this servant is summoned in.
Personal Skills:
Dragon Slayer: B
Their weapons - infused with their own Dark Soul - were insufficient to deal with the Stone Scales of Everlasting Dragons.
However, they somehow were able to slay many during the war despite not being taught how to wield the lightning of the Gods.
Knights of the Fire Seal: A
Their Humanity was sealed away in a Ring of Fire by the Gods.
The First Undead alongside the Slave Knights. They can use this skill to drastically lower
their presence so as to appear to be no more than a simple human.
Utility of Weapons: D
The Curse Manifests itself in the earliest form it took. The Ringed Knights have access to all the weapons of the order. Twin greatswords, Spears and swords are all theirs to wield. All of which were forged with their own Dark Soul. However, they can utilise other weapons which are similar enough to their original usage.
Mana Burst (Flame): D
Their weapons were forged with Fire and can release them at will.
Dark Forged Steel: C
Their weapons were forged with traces of their own Dark Soul.
Deal decent damage against Divine.
Battle Continuation: EX
One would need to ensure their complete death in order to be rid of them.
Curse of the Gods: B++
They are an Avenger who curses their fate and the Gods themselves upon recognising they were always but tools to be discarded at the earliest convenience. This skill manifests itself as an Anti-Divine based ability fuelled by their hatred of the Gods. A singular thought which permeates through their inhuman mind. Their efficiency at dealing with the Divine increases the closer to the Age of Gods they are. In direct contradiction to their power of the Dark Soul.
Old Iron King
Servant: Berserker
Strength: A++
Endurance: A+
Agility: D
Mana: A+
Luck: D
Noble Phantasm: B
Demon of Molten Fire: B (Anti-Army) Max Target: 300, Max Range: 0-50
The Lord Soul gone rampant, the Old Iron King will continue to expel lava from their body. However, with this NP they can release a tidal wave of it towards their opponents.
Class Skills:
Madness Enhancement: A
Lord Soul of Light: C
The Lord Soul run rampant, like with the Lord Soul of Flame. They have become akin to a Demon. They are a God of sorts, or at least the holder of a Soul of one.
Personal Skills:
Demon-Kind: A++
The Old Iron King has become a Demon of fire and light.
Similar to the Chaos Demons but different in origin.
They have achieved a level of strength unheard of for others save giants.
Ichorous Earth: A
The NP of their Rider class has become one with them. With the lava they expunge from their body, they can form weapons to use. Or expel it in bursts of flames.
Intimidating Visage: B++
They pose a rather frightening form to behold. Can cow lesser beings remarkably easily.