Trial Quest - Scathach: IV
Ritsuka didn't need to look over his shoulder to know that they were still being chased by the giant whatever the creature was. He was banking on some manner of demon, failing that a Balrog but he wasn't sure that fictional Servants were a thing.
At least, he hoped they weren't a thing. The last thing he needed to do was to find himself battling against other fictional monsters from books, tv shows and movies.
He knew he was the slowest one here, that much was obvious by everyone having to slow down to keep pace with him. Which was obviously a very bad idea as they continued to sprint through the streets - at very human speed - in a poor attempt to get away from the giant fire demon thing.
"Mash! Carry me!" Ritsuka blurted out, swallowing his dignity and waiting for the Shielder to comply, Mash did so immediately, dropping behind him and lifting him up into her arms in a princess carry and channelling more speed into her legs. The effortless way she carried him and moved at superhuman speeds was rather disconcerting for him but he wasn't going to complain about it now. Especially with his life on the line.
He saw Ash spin on his heel up ahead, the greatsword in his hands glowing before he thrust it over their heads towards the direction of the creature. Ritsuka heard a sound akin to shattering glass soon followed by a rumble. From the blank look on Ash's face as they passed him, Ritsuka could guess that they hadn't actually done much with that attack.
Chancing a glance over Mash's shoulders, he felt himself pale slightly at the sight.
The beast was charging towards them, taking long powerful steps which shook the earth each time they fell, when their feet rose back up they were leaving molten puddles of lava in their wake. The beast leaned down, arm clasping around the top of a burnt out car before raising it up and coiling its arm back.
"Mash! Dodge!" The girl complied without hesitation, ducking to the left as the ruins of the car flew right past them, crashing into the ground and rolling on for dozens of metres before colliding with the front of a building at the T-junction they were coming upon. Ritsuka looked back over Mash's shoulder and saw the creature resume its sprint towards them, charging them down with a certain focus to them.
His eyes scanned the buildings to their left and right, watching as they grew taller and taller before an idea sprung to mind. His eyes widened before they snapped towards the direction of Ash.
"Ash!" He called out to the Saber behind them, the Servant had been occasionally slowing down to fire off a holy projectile at the creature only to watch as it powered through the blow, barely even registering it as an attack at all. The blonde Servant turned towards him as they ran, giving him their full attention "Aim for the buildings! Drop them down on top of it!"
Ash paused before he gave a single nod of the head, looking to one of the ruins on his right, the burnt out remains of an apartment building with the top half nothing more than the skeletal remains of the inner supports. The Saber swung his sword towards them, the blade exploding with brilliant white light as the attack flew through the air and crashed into the building, earning a detonation of dust and debris followed by a heavy groaning sound.
As the beast rounded the corner and charged towards them, Scathach slid to a half and cocked her left arm back, bringing forth another spear summon before she hurled it forwards with all the force of a cannon shell. The spear rocketed through the air as if guided by some unseen force and slammed straight into the face of the creature. The demon stumbled back as the spear buried itself in its right eye, releasing a horrific scream akin to an explosion as it staggered and clasped at the wound.
The building to its right gave a final rumble before the base of it exploded outwards, a wave of dust rolled across the street and flooded past the base of its legs as the building started to topple forwards, disintegrating as it did so. The horned head looked upwards at the noise, raising its arms in front of it as the building fell atop it, the burning form vanished amidst the sea of debris, smoke and flames.
He felt Mash start to slow down, stopping when he rapidly shook his head at her "Don't stop! Keep going!" he looked at the rising cloud where the creature had been. "I doubt dropping a building on it is really going to do us much good. It looked pretty tough and it would be way too easy if we just took it out like that."
As if to prove his words, the cloud of dust suddenly burst into flames, burning rocks being sent hurtling through the air and landing atop the street. From the haze of flames, the beast came tumbling out of it, waving their arms around and dissipating the smoke from their body before they resumed scanning the street, their head halting when they caught sight of them and their throat releasing a deep rumbling growl.
Ritsuka watched as its left hand came back, flames seemingly coalescing around their palm and shrinking smaller and smaller until they became a bright glowing orb in the centre of the hand before they thrust it forwards.
Scathach appeared like a blur, hurling several stones through the air before they halted just behind the group and seemingly floated, runes carved into them glowed brightly before a bright blue field expanded outwards and covered the length of the street, stretching from point to point and supported at regular intervals by a glowing stone.
The hand thrusting forwards halted and a stream of white hot light came bursting from the limb, the beam crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat and slammed into the barrier, the heat must have been intense as Ritsuka noted the ground just beneath the impact point start to liquify and shift into a brighter colouration. The beam seemingly intensified, Ritsuka raising his hand to cover his eyes as the light from the attack grew brighter and brighter until it was shining like a star. Over the roar of the surroundings, he heard the telltale sounds of cracking.
"The barrier will not hold for long." Scathach's voice was - somehow - calm amidst the sea of chaos "I would recommend you keep moving." she turned away and sprinted off like a blur, the others swiftly behind her as the cracking sound echoed throughout the streets. After a few moments, the sound was replaced by a noise akin to the shattering of glass as the barrier broke, the creature came charging through a moment later.
Sliding to a halt, its head swung left and right as it looked for signs of its prey. When it found none, it threw back its head, releasing a roar like an industrial furnace.
"Alright…so…" Ritsuka looked out of the window of the small building they were hiding inside of. Hiding being used in the loosest possible term as what was actually going on was strategizing. At least that was the excuse that Ritsuka would have gone with if anyone ever asked him. "Does anyone have a plan to deal with Durin's bane outside?"
"Who?" Ash squinted at him in bemusement, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly.
Ritsuka released a long and weary sigh "I should just stop making references around anyone. No one ever gets them and I look like an idiot." he muttered to himself before shaking his head and throwing a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the distant roars "Do we have a plan to deal with the fire demon thing? Dropping a building on it barely slowed it down."
"Scathach was able to throw a spear into its eye." Ash remarked, pointing at the woman in question "So we know it can be injured." a pause "We are now also aware it is capable of ranged attacks, given its nature as some manner of divine entity I am also confident it might be susceptible to the abyssal flames in my arsenal."
Ritsuka opened his mouth to reply before he paused, closing it again and nodding his head "Would flames even work against something that is on fire?"
"They worked against the Old Demon King and the Demon Princes." Ash stated with certainty "Given the strong feeling of power from whatever manner of creature that was, we can assume it works along the same principle."
"Okay so weird black flames made of people is an option, so is throwing spears at its face." Ritsuka raised his fingers as they listed off the plan "I'd recommend getting close for the former though. Less chance of them dodging or intercepting them…" he paused "It threw a car at us."
"It did, yes." Mash nodded her head, furrowing her brows. "So whatever the Divine Spirit is, they have clear intelligence but seem incredibly aggressive." She looked at Ritsuka and said, "I would suggest the Servant is a Berserker, Senpai."
"So would I." Ritsuka affirmed to her, then looked back at Ash "Your sword, was it able to deal damage to them?"
"I did not spend enough time looking to notice." Ash admitted with a slight frown "That being said, I saw the attack strike the skin of the creature. Whether it has some form of protection or is simply absurdly durable is not something I can answer, considering it did not seem to register my attack beyond irritation." the Saber ducked his head as the group heard a roar followed by a the crashing sound of a building being destroyed "And I would suggest we hurry, I believe it to be searching for us."
"Naturally." Scathach responded in a calm tone, the woman casually leaning against a wall with her eyes closed "It has decided to mark us as its prey in the same way we have done, attempting to turn us from hunters into the hunted." her eyes snapped open and her lip twitched upwards "We need only remind this creature of its place."
"Cool quote, still need a plan." Ritsuka replied with a strained smile, turning to Gael "Ash says you're old, right?"
Gael nodded once.
"Have you ever fought anything like this?"
"The Demons of Izalith burned hotter and stood as tall in some cases." Gael responded with an affirmative, "Fighting them will require strength and skill." he paused "The joints around the knees and ankles are a priority. Keep it low to the ground and in a position where it cannot use its superior strength." another pause "Rapid movements to ensure it does not focus on one target, keep its attention moving from individual to individual."
"And that works?"
Gael remained silent for a half second "...It kept us alive against the Demons a little longer than usual."
Ritsuka's face indicated that wasn't the response he was hoping for, eventually slumping his shoulders and shaking his head "Alright then. Aim for the knees and bring them to the ground." he muttered, cupping his chin and nodding his head "A solid plan." he turned to Scathach "Think you should be able to keep its attention?" he paused "You probably can, can't you?"
"Of course." Scathach replied as if it was a simple fact of life, stepping away from the wall "I'm sure I could deal with this creature myself if needs be."
"I think we've had enough solo-acts for the moment." Ritsuka replied with a wave of the hand "I'd rather have faith in a big team than faith in just one person." he paused "No offence."
"No." Scathach shook her head "You are a Master of many warriors, it would be natural for you to trust in the strength of all those who fight under you." she paused "But individual faith can mean much more than the team as a whole."
"Alright then." Ritsuka coughed into his hand, turning to Ash "So you can throw some black fire at its knees to try and hurt while we ground it." he paused "Watch out for heat though, that thing looked like it was liquifying the road with every single step and that's just by walking. To be honest, I'd rather not see what else it can do but be ready just in case."
"Understood." Ash nodded his head, a rumbling sound echoed out around them, shaking the very room they were in and causing dust to fall down upon them. The group directed their attention upwards towards the ceiling before they directed their attention to the window, watching as the building at the far end of the street exploded outwards, the giant beast barging through the building as if it utterly failed to register its existence.
Throwing their head back, they released another roar before the fires around their body intensified and exploded outwards, unleashing a river of lava from beneath their feet, the burning tsunami rolling down the pavement and causing more fires as it did so.
Ritsuka blinked once at the display "...I didn't know it could do that."
"Neither did I, Senpai." Mash supported with a nod of the head before her eyes became thick with worry "But with all that lava at its feet, how will we get close enough to fight it?"
"The lava is definitely a problem." Ritsuka muttered out, cupping his chin and nodding his head before sighing "We'll have to think on our feet then." he rolled his neck, cracking it in the process before punching his fist into his palm "Alright…lets go slay us a Balrog."
"You seem rather chipper about this situation." Gael remarked with a hint of curiosity in his voice, drawing the Master's attention to the old man "Are you one who enjoys the hunting of powerful foes?"
"I'm pretty neutral on it, all things considered." Ritsuka replied with a shrug, looking back at the street as the beast continued to stomp around, sweeping its arm through buildings and sending debris hurtling through the air "...This is just one of those things." he paused "I'm actually trying to psyche myself up here so I'm not panicking."
"Is it working?"
"Not as well as I'd like."
"Only a fool rushes into battle without caution in their body." Gael responded with a sage tone as he walked past the boy to the door "That you feel hesitation at facing such a foe, means you are no fool. That is something to relish in."
"...Ah, well…That's alright then." Ritsuka coughed in response, managing the best smile he possibly could under the conditions before reaching his hands up and slapping his cheeks twice "Right then! Operation Khazad-dûm is away!"
He got blank looks in response.
"...Nevermind." He grumbled to himself, he knew for a fact that anyone who watched Lord of the Rings or had read any of the books would have found his references funny. He could at least maintain some form of morale on the imagined laughter. The humouring smile that Mash was giving him would do for now and truth be told, it wasn't that bad.
The beast stomped forwards, just the singular thought of destruction permeated through its mind. Finding those who had dared to cross its sight and then turning them into ash. The beast took a sniff from the air which sounded like a car engine, turning its head left and right in an attempt to track down anything.
The scent of fire and smoke was thick in the air, making it nearly impossible to find individual smells within the city. But it could sense them, they were nearby. Nothing could be done to cloak their magical signature and they were expending mana just by existing. It knew it was closing in on them.
Pausing, the beast turned right, for a moment its eyes detected a trace of movement in the corners of its vision. Their entire body soon shifted to bring itself to face that direction, scanning the roofs of the buildings to little effect before it took a huff of annoyance and turned back around.
It paused.
Staring down at the girl with the cross-shield now standing in the centre of the street, the young human standing directly behind her. Seemingly unconcerned with the river of magma flowing towards them, melting away at the streets as it did so. The beast's jaws slowly parted, unveiling the rows of blackened coal like teeth, lifting its leg out of the burning river with a squelch as it did so before taking steps towards them.
The pair made no effort to avoid the beast's gaze, not even an effort to move.
What little sanity remained in the mind was screaming that this was some manner of trap, however the madness soon shadowed over that hint of common sense. Declaring that the prey were simply in awe of its visage and rendered utterly helpless in the face of such might. The right foot landed atop a parked car and crunched it inwards, metal screaming and hissing as it turned to molten steel beneath the Servant's feet.
A flash of light came from the left hand side, the beast barely managed to turn in that direction before a crimson blur crashed against the side of their head, causing them to stumble with the blow, reaching out a hand to steady themselves and finding purchase against the ruins of a building, stone cracked as the hand clenched downwards and fingers easily punctured through the roof.
The head snapped up to the direction of the crimson light, watching as the woman with the red spear flew through the air away from them. Rage flooded their mind, shoving off the building and charging in the direction of the one who had dared to hurt it.
Something impacted the back of its knee, causing it to pause and let out a deep groan in response as it turned around and stared at the small slash in the back of the limb, the cut briefly glowed before it faded away. The beast raised its head, seeing an elderly figure in steel armour and a red hood bring their arm back once again before hurling it forwards.
A white disk flew from their hands and spun through the air before impacting the front of their knee, leaving barely a scratch in it but it was still enough to cause a pinch of pain to run through their body. They hissed in response, throwing their body towards the old man and bringing their left arm up and swinging it towards him in a sweeping motion.
The Red hooded Servant turned on his heel and jumped down into an alley as the arm crashed into the top of the building, punching through it with ease before it was pulled back and sent large chunks of brick and mortar hurtling through the sky and onto the street below. The beast let loose another roar, bringing its right hand back and clenching it into a fist before swinging it downwards through the top of the building. The limb punctured through the roof, the building offering up all the resistance of wet paper as the limb exploded with fire.
The building detonated, flames lashing out from it and sending burning hot shrapnel hurtling through the air with no discernible trajectory to them as they fell to the ground. Sweeping the arm forwards as they turned their body, the beast ripped through the entire front of the building, sending more chunks of debris raining down upon the street as it stomped forwards, looming around the side of the alley and glaring at the empty state of it before they snarled.
A flash of pain sparked in their left wing, the limb instinctively contracted inwards as a result before the pain subsided. Spinning around, their head flinched as another burning white light struck the side of their cheek, shattering like glass and leaving a faint glowing mark upon their blackened skin for a few seconds before fading away.
Glowing eyes locked onto the figure stood at the opposite end of the street, sword pointed towards them and glowing bright white once again as they charged up another projectile before it was aimed downwards. Light rocketed from the sword and through the air in the shape of a crystalline spear before it slammed into its kneecap and splashed over it, once again leaving a bright burning mark and a faint hiss of skin burning before it faded away into a deep red mark on the body.
The large horned head slowly turned down to the mark on the limb before raising its head once again, hunching their body forwards they charged towards the Saber, bounding towards him in several powerful steps and raising both their arms above their head, their hands clenched into fists and flames rushing up their skin towards their fingers and whirled around them. Their arms swung down like a hammer, just before impact, Ash hurled his left hand forwards and threw a large ball of black flames directly into the face of the beast.
The black fire collided with their jaw, the Abyssal pyromancy instantly rushing over their face and combating against the divine nature, Ash hurled himself off the building, leaping towards the next one as the arms whirled down, crashing into the structure and destroying it before they flew back to clasp at their burning face, a pained growl emanate from the creature as it stumbled away from the collapsing building and swayed on its feet as its hands desperately tried to put out the flames.
Pain flashed through the back of their legs when something impacted them, causing them to stumble forwards through the ruins of the building.
Scathach watched with a dispassionate gaze as the creature staggered into the ruins of the structure. Half a dozen of her spears were buried in the back of its legs, no doubt hampering its movement ever so slightly. Both of its arms raised up, shoving against the building and staggering back, swinging its entire body around and instantly locking onto her.
The right side of its face was a mess, sections of its jaw had been scorched the darkest of blacks which stood out even with its charcoal coloured skin, the beast - rather than charge her - opted to raise its right hand before it thrust the limb downwards into the river of lava at its feet. The Lancer narrowed her eyes at the movement and tensed herself for a sudden movement, preparing in case the creature hurled the lava towards her.
Instead, the hand slowly raised from the burning liquid, clenched around into a fist and sweeping the limb high into the sky. The lava in its grasp snaked through the air before it solidified in its grasp, hardening into a weapon akin to a sword. However, rather than a traditional sword, it looked more akin to a shard of jagged metal with a handle. Taking a single step forwards, the beast let out a roar as it swung the limb downwards and brought the sword down towards her.
Scathach kicked off the ground and vanished in a blur of movement seconds before the sword sliced through the spot where she had been standing. The beast snapped its head, scanning the street for movement before once again locking onto Mash and Ritsuka at the far end. Snarling, it pulled the sword back and spun towards them. Charging down towards the pair as they turned around, Mash took Ritsuka into her arms and ran away.
The sword in the beast's arms melted, slowly shifting its shape to become more like a spear before it pulled the weapon back. Its eyes narrowed as it tensed itself before making to hurl the weapon forwards.
Gael leapt from the nearby building, reaching towards the leftmost horn and grabbing it, bringing his full weight to bear on the appendage and causing the head to swinging downwards as a result, jerking the body to the side and causing the spear to leave the Servant's hand at an awkward angle, and hurtle over the heads of the retreating pair.
Swinging his body upwards, Gael released the horn and passed just in front of the face of the Berserker, slashing his sword downwards and cutting through the left eye as he passed. Berserker released a howl of rage, stumbling back and clasping the wound as molten liquid poured down its face and dripped into the river at their feet.
Landing atop the building at the end of the street, Gael rolled before spinning around and throwing another disk of light towards the Berserker, not sticking around long enough to see if it hit before he had already resumed a run away from them, leaping from the building and back onto street level.
The jaw opened up on Berserker, a stream of fire came pouring forth from the maw and incinerated the building Gael had been standing on, still ongoing as it turned its head and soon bathed the street in the tsunami of flames in an attempt to catch anyone with the attack. The jaw snapped shut, the flames soon diminishing and the Berserker narrowed their eyes at the lack of bodies.
Berserker charged forwards, head swinging left and right as they attempted to find any sign of movement. They could still sense Servants nearby, but it couldn't determine their location with absolute certainty.
Ash watched the back of the retreating Servant with his lips set into a thin line, breaking into a sprint he leapt from rooftop to rooftop as he approached the creature, tensing his sword arm before he threw himself from the roof of the closet building once he was in range and aimed for the rather large back.
Reversing the sword in his hands as he flew through the air, he thrust it forwards and buried the weapon half-way into the upper shoulder of the Berserker, earning a grunt of pain in response as he pushed up against the weapon and grasped ahold of one of the man spikes jutting from the pack as levy. Pulling himself upwards, he ripped the sword free of the body and climbed further up the body as the large arms moved around to try and grab him, ducking down he managed to avoid the right hand sweeping over his head before he took notice of the rightmost wing. Narrowing his eyes, he brought his sword up before slashing down into it. The blade cut into the skin, causing burning blood to leak out from the wound and the limb in question to swing violently.
Huge gusts of wind were propelled forth from the beating of the powerful wings, the fanning of the literal flames caused yet more debris to roll down the street as Ash continued to hack away at the limb in question. Bringing the sword up a final time, he slashed down with as much force as he could, cutting through the limb and causing it to fall clumsily to the ground, splashing into the lava and earning a pained scream from the Berserker.
Ash rushed up the back further, aiming towards the head and already bringing his sword above in preparation to stab down before he staggered on his feet as the Berserker threw their body to the side, causing him to roll along the broad shoulder and over the front of the body, his left hand flying out and grasping around the left horn and causing him to dangle precariously from it.
It was only because the Berserker was now blind in its left side that managed to stop them from immediately locating Ash, however the weight now clinging onto the left side of their head was not easily missed. Ash's eyes turned downwards as he watched a large hand moving towards him with the clear intention of grabbing him. Swinging his body forwards, Ash thrust the greatsword into the wounded eye, a snarl barely managed to rip free of the throat of the Berserker before Ash ignited the blade with holy light.
The side of Berserker's head exploded, the flash of light launching the Saber away from the creature and tumbling clumsily through the air before crashing through the wall of a nearby apartment block and into one of the spare rooms. Berserker staggered away, screaming with such force as to displace the very air around their body as they clutched their wounded face, the side of their head now torn asunder and leaking orange ichor as if it were a faucet.
As they staggered backwards, clutching at their face and crying out in agony they were left utterly unprepared for Scathach flying into the back of their right leg at breakneck speeds, her body wrapped in a crimson energy with her spear pointed out in front of her. The woman slammed into - and through - the knee, punching a hole through the limb and causing the Berserker to spin around and fall downwards as she rocketed through the air without even slowing down.
Berserker's hands fell away from their face and clasped at the ground, falling onto all fours as their leg was rendered utterly useless in the surprise attack from the Lancer. Struggling even to move the limb let alone make an effort to stand up again. As their hands pushed against the ground, they attempted to raise their head up and noticed the crimson light streaking through the air before it did an about turn and hurtled back towards them like a comet.
Growling, Berserker started to gather magical energy into their own body in preparation to use their Noble Phantasm and flood the entire street with lava. Before they could even attempt to do so however, they felt another sharp pain strike their left shoulder which earned a wince from them. Their head snapped up and saw Ash standing in the hole he had made when he entered the building.
Cocking his arm back he then catapulted another ball of black flames through the air towards the Berserker before pointing his sword towards them and firing off another spear of divine light into them, shifting their aim to target the wounded parts of their face and causing Berserker to raise their hand in an attempt to block them.
Scathach punched through Berserker once again, this time smashing in the remaining wing at the join and shearing it clean off the body and sending it flying through the air before it crashed into a nearby building, what looked to be an old restaurant. Berserker let out a deeply pained noise in response as they swung their arm into the lava once again before sweeping it out.
Not even bothering to shape the burning mass into any discernible weapon and merely used it in its base form. Burning globs of liquid were sent flying through the air like a shotgun blast in the vague direction of Ash, the Saber in question spinning on his heel and sprinting away from the hole and further into the building as the largest of the projectiles impacted against the side of the building and burned a hole through it.
Scathach slammed into their shoulder a moment later, a large groove being ripped from their body as she passed through them and sending them staggering backwards, falling onto their back with a pained groan. Anger built up within them as they resumed their efforts in charging their Noble Phantasm.
"Senpai!" Mash alerted Ritsuka, setting him down and raising her shield in front of the pair of them "I detect the enemy Servant building up a considerable amount of magical energy, I believe they are about to deploy a Noble Phantasm."
Ritsuka reached out, resting a hand on her shoulder to steady her. Silently giving him her orders and his faith in her abilities. Closing his eyes, he sent a mental command to Ash to alert Gael and Scathach to withdraw to behind Mash in the event that the Noble Phantasm was explosive.
Ash gave an affirmation over the mental link a moment later, soon followed by his shout on the wind. Ritsuka was able to catch sight of the Saber jumping out of the top of an apartment building and then sliding down its side, using his greatsword as a way of slowing his descent by stabbing into the side of the building before he kicked off it and launched himself towards them like a missile.
Scathach landed by their side in silence, soon followed by Gael sliding to a halt next to them and resting his greatsword on his shoulder.
Ash struck the road shoulder first, cracking the street with his momentum and falling into a rather textbook roll which caused him to spin around and plant his greatsword in the ground to slow himself while also cutting a line through the tarmac. Coming to a halt right next to Ritsuka in a crouched position with his body facing the direction of the Berserker, soon ripping his sword from the ground and standing up.
Ritsuka was still staring at him with squinted eyes "...Did you practice that or something?"
"Most of my landings are fatal."
"...Of course they are." Ritsuka sighed to himself, shaking his head and turning back to look at Mash "Go for it Mash."
"Lord-!" Mash raised the cross-shield above her head, giving a powerful cry "-Chaldeas!" she slammed the shield into the ground, an ethereal blue wall exploded out from the front of the shield and stretched across the front of the group, protecting them from whatever would meet them harm.
Seemingly coming in the nick of time as the Berserker's body exploded, a veritable tsunami of lava around three metres high came rushing out of the beasts body and rolling towards them, spilling through the buildings and causing Ritsuka to hiss in response to the extreme heat that was rushing towards them.
Mash grit her teeth, already tensing herself for the impact.
The lava crashed into Lord Chaldeas, buffeting against the sudden blockade and slowly beginning to pile high. Mash could already feel sweat building up on her brow as the temperature suddenly skyrocketed, even without being under the immediate effects of being swamped in lava there was still the extreme heat that it produced.
Gael meanwhile narrowed his eyes behind his hood as he watched the level of the lava climb higher and higher.
"We will soon be overrun." He grimly informed the group, watching as the lava was already finding purchase in the buildings to the left and right of them and beginning to spill through "We will be encircled soon enough."
Ritsuka's eyes darted left and right in response, his lips working into a grim line as he wiped his sleeve over his forehead. "We need to take out Berserker quickly then and cut off this flow of lava." he clenched his left hand and looked down at his fist before he turned to Ash "Can you activate your Noble Phantasm?" he asked, looking pointedly at the sword.
Ash pursed his lips "I would be left on considerably low magical energy afterwards, but yes."
"A command seal then." Rituska raised his hand towards Ash "By the power of my command seal. Ash, use Galvatyne at its strongest and destroy Berserker."
The seal flashed, Ash instantly felt power swarming into his body as a result before he gave a nod of the head "If it is your command, I will reduce Berserker to dust." That said, he turned on his heel and rocketed away from the shield and towards the nearest building, climbing up and charging further towards the Berserker, ignoring the rising temperatures as he did so.
"Using a command seal…" Scathach mused with a tilt of the head "Risky, given how precious they are."
Ritsuka shrugged "Way I see it, we need something powerful enough that can take out Berserker through all of that magma exploding from their body." he gestured towards Scathach "When you used your Noble Phantasm it only took out a small part of a bridge." he paused "That and we don't have a contract so any magical energy you used isn't going to get replaced."
"Ho?" Scathach gave him a faint smile "So you were showing concern for me were you? How thoughtful."
Ritsuka flushed "W-well that's just common sense to keep your allies around!"
"I'm sure my being a 'pretty lady' has nothing to do with it."
"You heard that!?"
"Is now really the time for this?" Gael asked, looking at the pair of them before giving a shake of the head and a scoff of what could only be described as exasperation "You youngsters sure pick your moments."
Ash slid to a halt atop the ruins of the apartment building he had been launched into, he could feel the building itself start to shake as the heat of the Noble Phantasm was beginning to eat away at the supports at the base. Feeling the Command Seal rushing through his body, Ash raised Galvatyne in front of him and swept his hand across the flat of the blade, coating it in a bright light before he twisted his body and angled it so the weapon would thrust downwards.
His eyes narrowed as he aimed for Berserker, hobbling on all fours and continually unleashing more lava from their body seemingly without end.
"This sword is a reflection of a cursed fate." Ash intoned as the blade glowed brighter and brighter, Berserker clearly noticed the growing power as their head soon moved to turn in his direction, their lone eye narrowed at him as they then raised their left hand towards him and started to gather their own magical energy into their palm. "Let this light reduce all who suffer to dust and be scattered into the winds!"
The heat around Berserker's palm exploded outwards in a concentrated beam at the same time Ash thrust the greatsword forwards.
"Undebtân Galvatyne!" Light burst forth from the weapon, purest of white and rushed down in the direction of the Berserker in a straight line. The two beams of light crashed into each other and seemingly stalemated for a few moments before the Noble Phantasm of Ash proved far superior and punched straight through the beam all the way to the source.
The divine light crashed into Berserker, striking the palm of the hand and shredding it into nonexistence before it carried on further into the Servant themselves and struck them dead in the centre of the chest at an angle before punching a hole through their body. Berserker let out a final gasping roar as glowing white cracks spread across their body originating from the point of impact. The light intensified further, all but consuming the Berserker before it exploded outwards in a ball of divine powers, this time it did consume the whole of Berserker's form and spread across the nearby lava and buildings.
The ongoing wave of light called the lava to roll away and shredded through any of the nearby structures as it destroyed the Servant. The light died down and faded from the greatsword, Ash stumbled slightly as he felt the building give way. A single jolt went through the structure before it released a deep rumbling sound and began to fall inwards.
Ash kicked off the building and leapt through the air, passing over the river of lava left over from the Berserker and crossing the street before landing atop another building and falling into a far less graceful roll. Utterly failing to stick the landing and hitting the ground face first and bouncing twice before coming to a halt.
He lifted his head off the ground, shaking it twice before stumbling to his feet and staring at the slight trail of destruction he had left in his landing in the form of cracked bricks and small valley in the roof. Ash's lips drew themselves into thin lines. It would appear he would still need to work on the landing part when it came to jumping from things.
Turning his head further down the main street, he could see that the tide of lava had managed to stem itself, however what remained was still ongoing when it came to such things. Shifting his body, he turned fully in that direction and leapt from the building onto the one closest to him. He could tell that his magical reserves were low but not nearly as low as they would have been had it not been for the command seal.
That much he was thankful for.
As he closed in on the location of the others, he was able to get a clearer look at the group, still huddled behind Mash's shield as the lava was settled in front of them. A moment later, Ash watched as a series of runes manifested in the air before they exploded outwards and fell upon the lava. Causing it to hiss as ice cold winds rushed over them and started to solidify it.
Ash slid to a halt atop the nearest building, a brief wince passed through his body and he raised his hand to shield his face as some of the stray winds struck his body, he could feel the surface of his armour and skin around his face start to harden as a thin layer of ice formed atop him. His hand clenched, shattering the ice as he jumped out of the small blizzard and through the air back towards the others.
His knee's bent as he impacted the ground, the road cracked beneath his feet before he straightened himself out, facing the group in front of him before he nodded at Ritsuka "Enemy Servant has been destroyed."
"We saw." Ritsuka nodded back before raising his hand and giving a thumbs up "Nice work, Ash!"
Ash stared at him blankly, giving a single blink before he gave another nod of affirmation.
"Yes, yes…" Scathach waved her hand, dismissing the formation of runes that had appeared in front of Mash's shield "You can cut off your Noble Phantasm now, girl." she informed the Shielder, Mash gave a breath of relief as the light cut out and she stumbled backwards, staring at the bizarre piece of modern art in the form of the frozen waves of lava.
The Shielder was still staring at them in surprise before she turned to the Lancer "Is that really the power of Runes?" she asked with wide eyes before tilting her head "But the Director's runes aren't that good."
"Ho?" Scathach looked at Mash with a twinkle in her eye "So modern mages still remember the art of runes?" she wondered before she dismissed "However, the two are obviously not comparable. The strength of primordial runes are beyond whatever a modern magus might craft." giving a wave of her hand in the direction of the frozen lava, she shook her head "Something as simple as a sub-zero blizzard is child's play."
Ritsuka blinked at her before he gave her a mystified expression "Child's play she says?" he muttered aloud, looking towards Ash and Gael "You ever-"
"Nothing on that scale." Ash shook his head before he pursed his lips "Although Sulyvahn crafted sorceries that could generate blasts of cold, that talent passed to Vordt - as I'm sure you remember - who could breath blizzards."
Gael - meanwhile - was staring at the location the runes had been, tilting his head in a curious manner before he turned to the Lancer in question "I was not aware the language of Demons could be used as such."
That managed to earn Scathach's attention, the woman turning to Gael and raising an intrigued eyebrow "Language of Demons you say?" she mulled the words over "So in your world it was the Demons who found this language as opposed to the Gods."
"The Gods and Demons are of the same kin, more like cousins." Gael replied with a shake of the head "Both emerged from the Flame, one more malformed than the other. Children of the Lord of Life's power gone mad." he shrugged "They had their own language and culture, not that they interacted with other Lordkin and humans beyond battle."
Ash furrowed his brows in thought before nodding his head "A curious development, regardless."
"Alright, so…" Ritsuka coughed into his hands before smiling "Balrog is dead and that just leaves one more Remnant, right?" he looked to Scathach to confirm the statement, the Lancer nodded her head in response.
"Quite so." Scathach affirmed to him "One final remnant remains, and then the spirits moving into this cursed city will lose their anchors and be unable to remain." she paused, looking around the three of them for a moment longer before her face slowly stretched into a smile. "On another note…You all did a very good job."
She walked towards Mash, looking her up and down with a smile still on her face. "That stalwart defence of yours was impressive to behold, standing firm against the power of a fallen God." her free hand reached forwards and rested itself atop the young girl's head "There, there."
"O-oh, you're patting my head?" Mash blinked in confusion, although she didn't make an effort to free herself from the Lancer's grasp. Once she was done fluffing Mash's head, she then turned her attention onto Ritsuka and strode towards him with ease, her hand already outstretched in his direction.
Ritsuka watched the palm approach the top of his head with a raised eyebrow, unsure of whether or not the Lancer was being serious. Not least of all because Scathach only had around three centimetres of height on him. The moment her hand fell atop his head and began to lightly fluff it, he managed to understand that she was being serious.
"Good boy." She praised "Your commands were suitable for a Master and you showed considerable determination, this much is necessary when you fight all manner of foes."
"E-erm, t-thanks." Ritsuka managed to sutter a reply, wincing at the manner in which his voice came out. Although the light blush on his face seemed to further amuse the woman before she walked past him, giving Ash a blank look as he stared back at her.
"...Good enough." She gave a curt nod of the head in his direction.
Ash - meanwhile - was staring at her with a mystified expression before he looked past her towards Mash and Ritsuka. He stared at the two in silence before he looked back at Scathach "Why did you touch their heads?"
Scathach blinked at him once, tilting her head "Have you never heard of the simple concept of praise before?"
"I understand what praise is." Ash replied back with a frown "But what does that have to do with touching someone's head?"
"A head pat?" Ritsuka turned to Ash, raising an eyebrow at the Saber before he gave a thoughtful hum "It's…basically you give someone a head pat to show they've done a good job."
"I see." Ash nodded his head, seemingly understanding the suggestion and slotting it away in his mind for future reference. He knew little about social norms but he figured it might be of import to at least learn of them so as to not be confused in the future. Whether or not he used them was of no real consequence to him. The truth was that he wasn't likely to use them but he figured it might be important when dealing with people in the future so as not to be left baffled by them.
Turning away from the woman, Ash rested the greatsword on his shoulder and looked around the street in silence for a few moments before he grunted and marched forwards "We should search out the final remnant."
Gael hummed in response, nodding his head in Ash's direction before turning to Ritsuka "This final remnant will be different from the others. It has evaded me since my summoning. I knew the general direction of the first two but the third has left behind only destruction in its wake."
Ritsuka blinked at Gael "Wait, seriously?"
Ash turned towards the red hooded servant "What manner of damage has it left behind?"
"Fire." Gael responded with a grunt, his bearded face turning towards the Master "What manner of foe they are is not something I know. Yet if they are here, then they are another who did not meet a determined end."
"Another fragment of undeath which managed to evade the end." Ash muttered, furrowing his brows and rubbing his chin before shaking his head and turning to Scathach "Do you have some location for us?"
"Forget about rushing off right now." Ritsuka shook his head and nodded towards Ash "What about you? Even with a Command seal you still used up a lot of magical energy to take out Durin's Ba-" he cut himself off, grimacing and shaking his head "Berserker." he sighed "Taking out Berserker so can you actually fight well at the moment?"
Ash remained silent for a few moments before he opened his mouth again.
"Keep in mind that if we fight and you aren't at one-hundred percent, you might end up dead." Ritsuka replied with narrowed eyes "And I will be very displeased."
He closed his mouth, his eyes flickered to the side for a few moments before he looked back towards the Master "...No. I am relatively low on magical energy. I can cast a few more pyromancies but that would be the extent of my powers. I am unable to use Galvatyne's full power."
Ritsuka gave a grim nod of the head "I thought as much." he muttered "So we're going to have to take a brief rest around here, probably atop a Leyline." he turned to Mash "...Any ideas?"
"There is one further ahead, Senpai." Mash informed Ritsuka with a nod "We should be able to make camp there while we think of a way to find the final remnant."
Scathach remained silent as the group discussed their plans, her eyes drifting towards Ash and noticing that he was similarly staring at her. The pair remained silent for a few moments before the Lancer decided to speak "Are you truly so enraptured by my beauty?"
Ash stared at her for a moment longer, then tilted his head "I have no way of answering that question." he admitted truthfully, then turned away from her and seemingly paused, staring at something in the far distance and squinting.
Scathach turned towards the direction he was staring, then raised her eyebrow when she saw nothing "Did you spy something?" she asked him.
"...No." Ash shook his head "For a moment I believed I did but I was mistaken." he waved his hand and looked towards Mash and Ritsuka "They appear to have located something." he grunted, walking in their direction "We should make haste."
"Yes." Scathach nodded her head "I suppose I shall also use this as a chance to drill some skill into that head of yours." she remarked, looking him up and down and muttering to herself "Focuses on power rather than speed, brute force…"
Ash felt some strange phantom emotion pass through him as Scathach continued to mutter behind him. For some strange reason, there was an odd sense of foreboding about her.
He turned to look over his shoulder one final time and frowned.
For a brief moment, he could have sworn he had spotted a crow.
AN: Final chapter of Scathach is up next!
Poor Ritsuka, no one ever gets the references. Except Gwyndolin. Gwyndolin would have gotten them. Would he have laughed?
Who knows?