Something Lost, Something Found

by Avenger013

This is a story of a new beginning and a growing bond...and it all started with a chin scratch. Advance Warning: There will be spoilers for Fairy Round Table Realm: Avalon Le Fae in this story. If you'd rather not be spoilt then refrain from reading.

13. Puppet Master

Hi all. Couple of updates, one funny and one more serious.

1.) I've had to officially start a new google doc for this chapter, because I'd hit the character limit. That's never happened to me before, and it's really quite the indicator of just how much I've expanded this story from what it was originally intended to be. Still, it makes getting back to it easier now that I don't need to wait for hundreds of pages to load in to get back to where I'd left off.

2.) I've now officially entered into full-time employment about a month ago with landing a job at a local library. Obviously, this has slowed down writing progress what with not having as much free time as I used to, but on the flip side I hope that, once I'm settled in properly, I can just let my mind wander and the creative juices will turn to scenes for future chapters, letting me get more inspiration and write more when I DO have the time. We'll see how it goes.

To those of you who come back after such a massive hiatus, thanks for sticking around. I really appreciate it.

As always, comments and reviews are welcome.

---

Chapter 13: Puppet Master

As the door was smashed down by Barghest and Sigurd and the Servants began to advance into the lobby, there were a few moments of relative quiet.

Unfortunately, that was more than enough for them to get a good look at the trenches dug into the sides of the room, even going through carefully carved holes in the walls.

And brimming with blood, currently both flowing along further into the theatre and being absorbed into runes and sigils covering the walls.

"At least they've given us an easy path to follow." Napoleon muttered.

The more disciplined Servants, like Sigurd and Barghest, merely crinkled their noses and advanced. Sitonai and Habetrot, on the other hand, cringed away at the sight. Even Fujimaru had to take a moment to gather himself.

"You'd think I'd be used to this by now…" he mumbled, faintly.

Placing a supportive hand on his shoulder, Skadi tried offering as kind a smile as she could.

"It's all right, Master. We'll put a stop to this."

He smiled back gratefully.

"Yeah. Let's move on, then."

Unfortunately, they only made it a few more steps before the runes and sigils began to flare and whine…quickly followed by snarling and screeching reaching their ears.

"Ready yourselves!" Sigurd called, hurrying to the front of the group and bringing Gram to bear. "Lady Barghest, if you will!"

"Of course!" Barghest strode to join her fellow Saber, hefting Galatine. "Master, Archers and supporters, please stay behind us!"

"Hahaha, if you say so!"

"Mhm, no need to worry about us."

"You'll be needing these, then."

With a wave of her hand, Skadi summoned some runes and began bolstering the two knights with spells and enhancements, though her lingering depletion made sure it was rather slow going compared to her previous feats.

A harsh, frustrated breath left her mouth as the Caster noticed just how swiftly fatigue set in for her.

Hah…I didn't think I was this exhausted.

"Allow me." A smooth voice cut in.

Blinking, Skadi looked around to see Morgan summoning some of her own runes to bolster the two Sabers.

"Ah, my thanks."

"Think nothing of it. Ready yourself."

The snarling and screeching was almost on top of them now.

"Don't get bogged down by them! We have to reach the ritual." Ritsuka ordered.

"Here they come!"

Just a few moments later, a horde of cloaked figures came charging out of the corridors ahead, barreling straight for the group.

Sigurd stepped forward, intending to blunt their advance, but paused the moment one of the hoods fell free and he got a good look at the man beneath.

Well, what was left of him, anyway.

He wasn't human anymore. Not wholly.

The right half of his snarling mouth was filled with misshapen fangs, surrounded by two extra rows of split and cracked teeth that gruesomely split off from his left side's still-normal ones as they passed the front of his mouth.

His right eye seemed to have cracked in two, a half-formed eye socket that looked to be running down his face just barely accommodating the leaking sclera and pupil.

Most of his visible flesh was hideously discoloured, more closely resembling a corpse well into decay than a living being. And what little wasn't…

Sigurd, despite all of his self-control and experience, found himself shuddering and recoiling from the mutated man, especially when he raised what used to be his left hand, now a fleshy tendril with sharpened bits of bone sticking out the end, and bellowed a distorted, utterly inhuman roar.

The moment it reached his ears, a cold pressure encircled his limbs and strangled his mind, freezing him dead on the spot.

He tried to move his feet. Willed his sword hand to lift itself…but neither would respond.

This…it's like before, but stronger.

Hasty glances showed him that all his visible teammates were the same way. Barghest was shivering on the spot with the effort of fighting her own fears, her expression a fusion of fury and fear as she struggled to hold her blade straight.

The mutated cultists drew closer and closer, but he still couldn't move his blade. If anything, his body only stiffened further, his thoughts growing foggier with creeping panic…a panic he knew was not his own.

No…block it out. This is simply a form of psychological warfare. You can fig-

The lead cultist was almost on him now, springing into a leap and screeching right into his face.

No, there's not enough time to-

The cultist was three feet from him before a magical barrier sprang up right in front of him, causing him to smash headlong into it, growling out in pain and flopping to the floor in a heap.

Before he could scramble to his feet, a spectral spear whipped by Sigurd's left shoulder and lanced through his head, tearing through the shimmering blue barrier that tried to protect it and splattering it in a shower of gore.

The other cultists kept advancing, moving to assault the barrier…till a wave of dark magic practically disintegrated a whole row of them into black ash, followed by six more convulsing and dropping to the ground as wisps of energy floated free of their bodies, expressions frozen in agony and terror.

Sigurd felt the mental pressure slacken, just a little, as the remaining cultists came to a stop, but still couldn't find the energy to move.

Cutting through the frightened cries and screeches, the soft clacking of heels rang in Sigurd's ear.

Brushing softly past the rest of her petrified team, Morgan stared down at the cultists with a sneer fixed to her face.

Twinges of pressure and cold nerves snapped at her mind, but only for a moment before they were pushed aside…replaced by a far stronger sense of contempt and disgust.

Being so easily deceived, selling yourselves to this weakling outcast…"foolish. Misguided."

Let me show you what real power is. "Our power."

Dispelling her barrier and summoning more runes, quickly bombarding the survivors with torrents of white-hot flame and skewering them on icicles she sprouted from the floor and walls. Their eldritch barriers sprang up to protect them…for a brief while.

Under such a ferocious assault, they soon crumbled. Their protectees followed all too quickly.

As more screeches, this time of confusion, panic and terror, reached the team's ears, almost all of them locked up even tighter. Morgan, however, barely suppressed a snarl of disgust.

"Simple"...is this all you have?

The final mutated cultist tried to crawl away, dragging herself as best she could on the charred, useless stumps that were once her 'blessed' claws, only for a guttural, panicked scream to rip from her throat as she was gradually incinerated up to her torso, before her head was smashed in with one swing of a staff.

Glaring down at the remains littering the corridor, Morgan snorted dismissively.

"Worthless."

Turning back to her fellows, the Berserker found all of them gathering themselves as best they could, the stranglehold on them released and their expressions bewildered.

"What…what was that?" Napoleon asked, the normally-confident Archer looking shaken, his once-boisterous voice quiet and soft.

"Some sort of mind interference. I've experienced it before, but it was never this bad." Sigurd said, raising his free hand and summoning some runes. "We should be on our guard and prepare extra defences while we can. I fear it's only going to get worse."

"I didn't think we might need to protect our minds too." Skadi mumbled, clenching her fists and preparing some spells. "I'm sorry for the oversight."

"Don't worry about it, at least we know now."

"Luckily her majesty was here to be our shield. How did you manage to escape the effect?" Barghest asked.

Sharing a glance with Fujimaru and Habetrot, Morgan angled her free hand away from the group.

"I…have felt the effects of these creatures before, so I prepared some protection of my own in advance. My apologies for not warning the rest of you to do the same."

"It's fine, at least someone prepared in advance. Far better than us all heading in completely unprepared." Sigurd said. "Now then, if you two wouldn't mind?"

"Yes, of course."

Preparing barrier and mental protection spells and channelling them into summoned runes, Skadi and Morgan moved among the group as they continued applying them to the skin and clothes of their teammates. Noticing Skadi had fewer runes to hand than she did, Morgan created more of her own to cover the gaps her teammate was leaving.

Off her questioning look, Skadi sighed and shook her head slightly.

"It seems I'm…a little more fatigued than I thought."

"Then let me handle the rest, conserve your strength for the fight ahead."

Nodding, Skadi dismissed all of her runes and fell into step with the rest of the team.

Morgan couldn't help but glower, just a little, as she noticed her fellow Lostbelt ruler moved to stick quite close to Fujimaru.

"We are far away from the flames and heat, must you cling to him like a child with a blanket?"

Blinking, she swallowed and moved on, applying the last set of protection runes to Habetrot, who was tailing at the back of the group.

She made to head on back, only for a small hand on her sleeve to slow her down.

Looking back, she found Habetrot slowing her own zeppelin, motioning for her to stay near with a stern stare on her face.

Raising an eyebrow but still complying, Morgan allowed the others in the group to walk on a little further, covertly applying a noise dampening spell to the area around them to offer what privacy they could get, before turning her gaze to her friend again.

"What is it?"

"How are you holding up? Any problems with that?" Habetrot asked, indicating Morgan's free hand.

"None so far. I suppose my 'patron' doesn't want me distracted at a time like this."

"Yeah, if you say so…but it's still you in there, right?"

Morgan's eyebrows narrowed a little.

We've had this conversation already, barely a minute ago.

"Yes, Habetrot, it is still me." She tried to keep the edge out of her tone.

She's simply concerned, that's all. Just concerned.

"Impudent wretch."

Blinking, she shook her head a little, eyes widening.

Where did that come from?

"Morgan."

She refocused on Habetrot, the Rider looking very concerned now.

"What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You looked like you remembered or thought something shocking. What was it?"

"Merely a…stray thought. Nothing more."

"Don't you try that with me, missy. I know there's something more to that, now what is it?"

Morgan's free hand began to clench.

I wish you weren't so insistent on looking out for me, just this once.

"Hey, you two okay?"

Both of them turned to find the rest of the group staring quizzically at them from down the corridor. Cursing inwardly, Morgan realised they'd fallen quite far behind indeed.

"Is there something wrong, your majesty?"

"No. We were simply…discussing potential problems ahead." Morgan replied, swallowing hard and glancing at Habetrot.

The Rider, however, said nothing and just nodded in affirmation.

"I see. I propose we should prepare a battle plan as well." Sigurd spoke up. "After all, we'll most likely be facing the cult's elite and their leader in the stage room."

"Good idea. Once we get there we'll try and see what we're up against and plan what to do next. There's too much at risk here to go in half-cocked." Ritsuka nodded as the group resumed their march through the theatre.

Soon enough, they reached the main doors to the auditorium and stage, these too sheathed in a thrumming field of eldritch energy.

"Alright then, can you two see what we're up against?" Ritsuka turned to Morgan and Skadi.

Skadi raised her wand, only for Morgan to gently grasp her wrist and shake her head.

"Conserve your strength, let me handle this."

As Skadi stepped back, Morgan raised her own staff, summoned a fresh batch of detection spells and sent pulses of magic through the walls to reverberate through the room. Closing her eyes, the Winter Queen began counting the number of life signs her spells picked up.

One. Three. Seven.

four. Thirty eight.

Forty nine.

Seventy two.

That was all of the lesser life signs, all of them tinged with eldritch power. Likely the remaining cultists.

And what is that magical signature there? In the centre of the stage? Is that…

Ah. I was wondering when we were going to run into one of them.

A little further, and-

Yes. That must be what she means to use as a portal. The energy readings are overwhelming…

And all of those lesser magical sources…probably sigils of Apep's, no doubt. They'll need to be taken out.

But what is that last source, with the leader? Potent indeed, to be sure, but nowhere near as powerful as the intended portal.

"So, what are we up against?" Fujimaru asked as she shut off the spell and turned to the team.

"At least six dozen cultists, plus their leader, with more of those sigils dotted around the far walls and at the back of the stage, at least twenty by my spell's reckoning."

"That might just mean more of those demons to face as well…we'll be easily overrun if we don't dispel them quickly, especially since our own reinforcements aren't here yet." Napoleon said.

"Then we should go for a similar strategy as last time. Two teams pincer the cult leader from both sides, dealing with the remaining sigils and cultists along the way." Sigurd proposed.

"Sounds good. Let's go with the same teams as last time. Scandinavia team, you take the left side. Everyone else, you take the right side."

"There is one more problem, Master. I could detect a Saber-Class Spirit Origin present in the room. I suspect the cult leader is a Servant."

The rest of the team looked among themselves, some scratching at their chins in contemplation.

"Could you get a more precise reading on it, so we know precisely who it is we're going up against?" Fujimaru asked.

"I'm afraid not, but I can tell you that they're in possession of an immensely potent source of eldritch power, second only to what I suspect is Apep's intended bridge to this reality."

"Mmmmm, sounds like quite the fight." Sitonai murmured. "Master-san, maybe one of us should fight the leader right away if they come out? We can't have them getting in the way right now."

"Yeah, good call. Let's see…Sigurd, you're the most durable of the group. If the leader shows their face, you engage them and keep them busy till the rest of us finish disabling the sigils and deal with the cultists. Try and defeat them if you can, but if they're too strong then just play for time until we can reinforce you." Fujimaru ordered.

"Understood, Master."

"You'll be needing these, I presume." Morgan summoned another batch of enhancement runes to place on her teammate. "If the leader is blessed by Apep directly, then we cannot underestimate him."

"My thanks."

"All right then, let's go."

On their Master's order, Barghest and Sigurd moved into position by the doors, while Morgan stood in front of it, sheathed her staff in mana and drove it into the protective field.

So eager to meet me face-to-face, dear? Fufufu, by all means, come right on in…those little friends of yours will make a WONDERFUL first test of my powers on this plane.

The barrier held out for a good half minute, the rest of the team readying themselves in anticipation all the while, before it collapsed against her new might.

"Pointless obstruction."

As the eldritch shield disappeared the two Sabers kicked the doors off their hinges, prompting the Servants to storm into the room with them at the head.

"Stay here, Master! We will deal with this!"

"IIIIIINTRUUUDEEERS!" One of the remaining cultists bellowed, his voice as distorted as his features were, mismatched eyes practically popping out his head as he raised a mutated claw-hand to the sky. "FOLLOWERS, TO AAAAARMS!"

Wasting no time, Sigurd punched a dagger clean into his head as he dashed towards his group.

Unfortunately, it merely sent the cultist stumbling for a second before he pulled it out, the hole in his forehead swiftly sealing up with a dark blue glow before the cultist's body was surrounded in a shell of energy, raised his claws and charged at Sigurd with a feral snarl.

Undaunted, the King of Warriors readied another two daggers, sprinting into the melee with a leaping slash to his enemy's neck.

"Strike them down swiftly!" Barghest called, sending a couple of nearby cultists flying with her shoulder charge and lashing out with a flame wave from Galatine to scatter the rest in the group, the enhancement runes on her armour and skin glowing bright as they fed more strength into her strikes.

"KILL THEM AAAAALL, PROTECT THE GREAT ONE'S CROSSING!"

The other cultists quickly rallied and charged, even as Napoleon, Sitonai and Habetrot poured a volley of bullets, cannon balls, wool balls and icicles into them. Despite the enhancement, their enemies' barriers managed to hold firm long enough for a dozen of them to reach melee range with the trio, forcing the Archer, Rider and Alter-Ego to evade or defend themselves.

Habetrot yelped as she narrowly dodged between the claws and tentacles of a few horribly mutated fanatics, taking her zeppelin as high as she could. Even then, one of them simply began firing off blasts of energy from the pulsing eye that bulged out of his right palm, keeping her on the move.

Sitonai hurriedly jumped off of Shirou as the bear reared up to shield her, freezing one cultist with a blast of his ice breath before pouncing on another, pinning the snarling woman with his bulk, and going for her throat immediately. Drawing her blade and casting her own set of enhancement spells on herself and Shirou, the dragonslayer quickly got to work hacking away at the snarling cultists surrounding them.

"Come on, Shirou, we need to clear a path!"

Napoleon was the most able to defend himself, taking advantage of the cultists surrounding him to flip his cannon around and start clubbing them with it, firing the cannon to both send it into the cultists in front of him with incredible force while also scattering anyone attempting to flank him.

"Step up, all of you! I've got plenty of rounds left, HA HA."

Summoning her spears and sending out a wave of ice, Skadi leapt into the fray as well.

"Come on, let's cut them all down!"

As her fellows fought around her, Morgan moved to help Habetrot with her cultists, readying a volley of curses to drive into the nearest warped monstrosity…only to pause.

"No." There is…there is "no time" for this. The sigils must come first. "The usurper must be foiled."

Unleashing a single draining curse at the nearest cultist to Habetrot, just giving her some breathing room, Morgan hurried off towards the first sigil and began charging her staff with a large burst of magic, shivering as she drew in extra power from her runic mark's seemingly endless reserves.

The tingling feeling. That rush. It really was quite wonderful by now.

Yes. There'll be no problems with all of this at my command.

She didn't even bother getting close this time, there wasn't the time for that merely hurling her staff from long range right into the sigil. The eldritch mark disappeared in a crackling flash of light as the opposing energies overwhelmed its defences and integrity.

Recalling her staff, Morgan immediately moved on to the next.

A trio of cultists stood in her way, with two more violently overturning and uprooting the seats of the auditorium just to reach her quickly.

A surge of contempt and offence pushed to the forefront of her mind at the sight, even as she readied her spells and shifted her staff into blade form.

Who are they to dare to impede me? Cattle. Worthless fodder.

She lopped off the first cultist's head without even breaking stride, her overcharged blade tearing through the mutant's protective shell, then flesh, muscle and bone as if it were all just a soft pat of butter instead.

The second cultist got her warped arm halfway to Morgan's face before he dropped straight to the ground like a stone, struggling and writhing against the ring of gravity runes tying him down…at least until Morgan's blade pierced the back of his head.

Their surviving fellow actually did manage to attack successfully, unleashing a flurry of swipes, kicks and energy blasts from his twisted limbs.

His exhilaration was short-lived as he noticed that her pre-prepared barrier was still mostly holding, with what damage he'd been able to inflict being a few superficial cuts to her primary arm at best.

The surge of terror that swamped his mind at the sight of Morgan's furious sneer cut through even the single-minded determination, verging well into obsession, so generously provided by his 'patron', leaving him to stumble backward as fast as he could before the witch skewered him on a group of magical energy spikes from the floor.

"Pitiful."

The other two cultists didn't even reach her, contorting and screaming in agony as the Winter Queen's drain curse tore away their essence.

Obstacles. Pitiful chaff.

Striding on down the left of the auditorium, she shifted her sword back to staff form, recharged it and threw it at the next sigil in line, blasting away a few cultists that tried to approach her as well as a few more trying to attack Barghest, Sitonai, Shirou and Skadi from behind.

As she moved on, the quartet pressed the advantage quickly, their opponents faltering despite their gifts under the Servants' determined assault. One tried to run before Shirou pounced on her, while another attempted one last attack on Sitonai before Barghest skewered him on her sword and kicked the corpse into another cultist.

Once the sigil dissolved under her new power, she recalled the staff and kept walking till she reached another sigil.

Another recharge and throw.

More cultists approaching on the right, some of the by-now two dozen remaining in the room, thanks to the team's tenacity, teamwork and preparatory enhancement, desperate to try and stop her.

She couldn't stop her mouth turning upward into a cruel, mocking smirk.

Thinking you have a chance against me? Against all of this power?

The leading cultist fell quickly, his protection disintegrating under a wave of destructive magic and his body quickly following. Mutated and warped as it might have been, his twisted, void-enhanced flesh was simply no match.

His companions blanched and recoiled, instinctively freezing up in panic at the sight of one of their most 'blessed' comrades being so easily dispatched.

It was their last mistake.

The first was set on fire with a lazy wave of Morgan's hand, the runes that floated about her fingertips flashing bright. as she channelled a smidgen of her new strength into them.

The second took one step forward before he was sent flying into the ceiling of the cathedral by a ring of gravity runes, he writhed and struggled for a few moments until his body was crushed and mangled under intense waves of force pressing in from all sides.

Uncurling her hand and allowing the corpse to drop behind her, snorting in distaste, Morgan continued on.

This is too slow, we do not have enough time to go one by one.

Recalling her staff once more, Morgan enchanted it with some extra gravity and force runes before throwing it at the next sigil in line.

This time she began directing its movements, sending it from one sigil to another to hammer away at them, til they collapsed and dissipated like all of the others had done.

One down.

Then another.

And another.

Two more now, even with diverting her staff to skewer a couple of the remaining cultists trying to sneak up on Fujimaru, who was kneeling down near the back of the auditorium.

The Winter Queen allowed the corners of her mouth to tug upwards, letting a victorious smirk settle onto her face.

Yes, this is much quicker. How much simpler it is to disrupt this ritual when I accept a little assistance…

I'm afraid you're overestimating yourself, dear. You've not halted a thing.

And I wouldn't revel in that new strength of yours quite yet. You're merely another of HIS puppets, nothing compared to a TRUE Outer God.

And, indeed, a more…thoroughly blessed disciple.

More limp barking, with no bite to back it. Are you trying to irritate me to death, now?

If it's bite you want, just have some patience. A few minutes more is all I need.

Actually, you don't even need to wait that long. Have a little taste in advance from my oh-so helpful believer.

With a flick of her wrist, she sent her mana-wreathed weapon hurtling at full speed towards the primary runic circle filled with sigils, inscribed on the back of the main stage just above the back doors.

It was mere inches away before a second magical barrier sprang up to protect the circle. The empowered staff stayed on course for a few moments, shaking violently as it tried to push through the new obstruction, but ultimately the barrier held firm and it dropped to the ground.

What?

"HEATHENS!"

The booming, distorted voice rippled through the auditorium, causing all the Servants to wince.

Sensing the fresh font of eldritch magic immediately, her brand flashing with heat, Morgan turned to face the new arrival first.

She found herself staring at a thoroughly unkempt, dark-haired man with a very pale pallor, a blade clutched in his right hand and what looked to be a book in his left. Morgan might have been able to make out that his outfit seemed to be split half and half between lighter armour and darker robes, were her attention not completely on his skin.

Or rather, what little of his skin still remained to be seen beneath the veritable web of burning bright runes and sigils, crisscrossed with sickeningly black, pulsing veins….all of them spreading out originally from his free hand.

And the highly visible brand that was etched into the back.

"The conduit arrives."

Magnificent, isn't he? Oh, he was a little wary of a partnership at first, but it didn't take long for him to come around and accept me once I made him an offer too tantalising to refuse. Oh, how the lost little lamb's eyes just lit up in excitement, it was truly a wonderful sight indeed.

And look at him now! Look at what he's capable of when embraces my blessings so eagerly. If only you had shared his wisdom, dear. If only.

'Wisdom'.

Hardly. One look at his eyes, practically bulging out of their sockets, the pupils warped and shining an inhuman silver, and with eldritch runes spreading out onto the skin of his forehead and cheeks, told her all she needed to know.

How much of your mind did she break to enthral you?

No. Never mind that now.

That tome…

Even from here, she could smell the waves of magic rolling off of it.

Very familiar magic.

THERE'S the origin point of this madness. I'd wager anything on it.

"Gilles!"

Fujimaru's shout shook her from her thoughts.

Gilles?

…de Rais? This is Bluebeard?

"Master!" She called. "The book he carries, what is that?!"

"Book…?" Fujimaru peered back over at Gilles for a moment before his eyes widened and snapped back to Morgan. "Oh no. That's Prelati's Spellbook!"

François Prelati?

Focusing a little to recall anything she had on him, some of her Panhuman self's memories flashed into her head.

Ah, I see now.

If anyone's artefacts would be a perfect medium for Outer God influence, it would be his.

"It's the source of this madness, I'm quite certain!"

"Alright, then we need-"

"You dare interrupt her return!? To threaten the Great Angel's work!?" Gilles snarled, brandishing Prelati's Spellbook. "NO! We've come too far! We've given too much to let you stop us!

"What work? Why are you doing this?!"

"To restore a life unjustly taken! To free my dear Jeanne from the clutches of a cruel God and give her a second chance in a pure world! A world that will celebrate her words and deeds, not burn her for it!" Gilles spat, looking like he was tearing up.

"What "angel" are you talking about? There is no angel alive that would ask you to do something like this!" Napoleon insisted, taking aim with his cannon.

"Oh but there is. An outcast, banished to the void for the crime of daring to speak against an uncaring, selfish God's decision to let one of his most loyal followers burn!

"But there, She found new strength. Enough strength and power that She can cast down the tyrant and free all of his pawns from his clutches! All we need to do is open the way for Her, with this!"

Gilles swept his hands wide, indicating the blood trenches flowing through the room.

"The blood of these sinners, these scum, will be the bridge to our world she needs! A world free from the grip of God, a paradise for the true faithful! A paradise for Jeanne!"

"These are innocent people you've been killing, not criminals." Skadi practically hissed, levelling her wand at the maddened Servant. "How could you possibly call what you're doing right or just?"

"Because Apep wants him to see it that way." Morgan said, narrowing her eyes. "He's quite thoroughly under her thrall."

"Under Her thrall? No! I'm FREE to see the truth! My eyes, and the eyes of the faithful gathered here with me now, have been opened! And you all…you'd try to deny us that truth, to ruin our work, but we won't let you!"

He brought his weapon up, giving Morgan a very clear view of it.

Of the sickly, blue-black energy that wafted from the blade. Of the twisted, fleshy tendrils wrapped around the hilt and pulsing eye glaring at her from the pommel.

Morgan shivered at the sight, eyeing her own staff instinctively.

So, this is what I might have become…

A sudden stench wafted into her nostrils.

Wait. An energy buildup!

"Outcasts, loyalists to the Great Angel, come forth! Drive them back!"

Gilles' eyes, blade and runes on his skin lit up bright…

Accompanied by the activation of runes littering almost every inch of the walls, ceiling and floor, causing the Chaldea team to flinch from the light bombarding them from all sides.

And unfortunately for them, the light barrage was followed almost immediately by an increasing number of snarling and screeching voices.

Oh no…

"More of those beasts, to arms!" Morgan heard Barghest yell.

"Sigurd, take Gilles out! The rest of you, we need to close these portals!" Fujimaru ordered.

"It will be done, Master."

Blinking, Morgan managed to clear her eyes just in time for a whole horde of starfish horrors to come lunging at her, auras glimmering and serrated limbs lashing out towards her.

Despite them closing in, all she felt was another wave of disgust.

"Worthless." What could you possibly do to me?

Summoning her shielding runes, Morgan wrapped four of them around her fingers and thrust them forward, impaling the nearest abomination on spikes protruding from the shield still enveloping her.

The others didn't flinch and kept on coming, but she was more than ready.

However, as she morphed her staff to slash at them, another figure blurred past her to slice a couple of the rightmost demon's limbs off, causing it to screech in anger and try to swipe at the attacker.

Sigurd ignored it, continuing his sprint towards the stage and readying his daggers as Gilles' gaze turned to him.

"You aren't about to stop us! Not aft-"

Sigurd punched a quartet of daggers towards his face before he could finish.

They were a couple of seconds away from impact before Gilles slashed them all out of the air, his sword and arm both a blur.

Summoning Gram proper, Sigurd lunged in for a stab to the gut.

His opponent knocked the blade aside with a vicious swipe, only for the Saber to retaliate with a kick to his sword hand to unbalance him before stabbing at his throat with the dagger in his own off hand.

Unfortunately, the sickly aura surrounding Gilles congealed in front his jugular, stopping the dagger cold mere inches from its mark.

Pulling his dagger back and bringing Gram around, Sigurd began stabbing rapidly at Gilles' chest while slashing at his head.

The maddened Servant managed to parry every strike, and what strikes weren't parried were blunted on the shield of dark energy around the cult leader.

Sigurd grit his teeth, the shockwaves of his blades' impact against Gilles' corrupted sword reverberating up his arms and nipping at his concentration…especially when combined with the cold fog creeping into his mind.

A quick glance was all he needed to confirm his protection runes were still active, so how was-

I'm afraid they won't save you, dear. Not now.

Who-

This split second of concentration loss was paired with Gram being violently forced back, Sigurd's dagger being knocked from his hand and the man himself being kicked in the stomach, sending him skidding backwards and taking a deep breath to regain the air forced from his lungs.

No. Not now. Stay focused.

Gilles rushed him before he could fully recover, attacking with a flurry of furious stabs, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as they shone with rage and determination.

The sheer speed with which the strikes came, plus the faint afterimage he left behind and the soft glow of a set of tattoos on his legs and arms, confirmed to Sigurd that he was indeed benefitting from similar magical enhancement.

And granted by a far more powerful patron than his own.

Risking a glance at the corners of his eyes, Sigurd vaguely made out the shapes of the rest of his team, all of them embroiled in the fight against the horrors pouring from the portals around the auditorium and stage.

They looked to be holding their own, with Morgan even managing to close one of the portals as his gaze flicked to her…but none of them were free enough to offer help.

All right then, occupying his attention it is.

Noticing his opponent's gaze drifting to his sword and stance every few strikes, Sigurd began gradually shifting as they clashed repeatedly, slowly opening up a small 'unprotected' window near the upper left of his chest…while sneaking his free hand behind his back and preparing some ice runes.

His opponent's blessings might protect him from harm, but he'd bet they wouldn't block sensations.

Gilles' gaze never drifted to his free hand, so focused was he on Gram's movements.

The moment it focused on the 'weakness' in his defence, he shifted his hand as close to the edge of his back as he dared.

Come on. Take the opportunity.

"DIE!" Giles roared, stabbing his sword past Gram and towards Sigurd's heart, a vicious and demented grin blossoming on his face.

Only to dissolve into shock as Sigurd's ice-encrusted glove clamped down on his wrist before his weapon found purchase.

Despite his best efforts, the biting cold cutting into his skin made his hand spasm…leading to his sword falling from his grip before he could pull back or attack again.

Balling up his fist and wreathing it in eldritch energy, Gilles lashed out with a punch.

Sigurd knocked it aside with Gram, before stabbing at his head.

That same barrier sprang up to protect him, but it still made the maddened man flinch.

His hesitation cost him, with Sigurd reinforcing his left arm and sweeping Gilles' feet from under him before reversing his grip and stabbing downwards, aiming to tear through his throat.

His blade managed to find purchase, managed to cut skin, but all too quickly Gilles' hands and dark barrier sprang up to force the weapon back. Even when Sigurd clasped his ice-encrusted hand over the man's face and jabbed a thumb towards his right eye, Gilles held firm and pushed back despite screaming and jerking his head around to try and dislodge the King of Warriors' grip.

Sigurd held firm, raising his left knee and digging it into the unprotected half of Gilles' stomach, while leaning his whole weight against his sword, channelling more of his remaining mana reserves into the enhancement runes Morgan had provided to boost his strength further.

Slowly, slowly, the tip of the sword inched closer and closer to his target's throat.

Just a little further.

…

He didn't notice Gilles' tattoos lighting up until it was too late.

The dark energy blast sent him tumbling up and backwards, Gram flying free from his hand as he landed roughly, the breath knocked from him all over again.

Sucking in air, he sprang back to his feet…only for an enraged Gilles to practically barrel into him, his face twisted and warped into a furious snarl with his hands extended to try and seize his foe's own throat.

Or rather, the serrated talons that used to be his hands.

Just barely dodging out of the way of a direct impaling strike, wincing as Gilles' mutated extremities cut through the sleeve and scraped the skin of his right arm, Sigurd retaliated with a barrage of jabs to his face and mana-reinforced kick to his left knee.

Unfortunately, the other Servant was barely halted and lashed out again, his claws slashing and stabbing incredibly fast at Sigurd, doing all he could to rend him limb from limb. And with the dark aura coating his sharp claws, Sigurd had no doubt that he could do just that.

No opening in the assault…best just defend for now. The others seem to have the situation well in hand, so one of them should offer aid soon enough.

Fortunately, not even frothing rage, eldritch mutations and magical enhancement could make up for Gilles' rather glaring lack of experience in hand-to-hand combat. His movements and attacks were uncoordinated and sloppy, with his only real tactic being to try and overwhelm Sigurd by filling the air around him with stabs and thrusts.

Adrenaline surged through the Norse hero, his reflexes and dexterity strained to the limit ducking and weaving between an endless storm of strikes. Gilles was practically a blur now, his patron empowering him with lavish gifts of strength.

He risked another few glances behind him, wanting to see how his allies were doing.

A few more portals sealed. Not long n-

Pain blossomed in his chest as Gilles cut into his flesh. Even as he leapt back to evade the next few strikes, the Saber's claws still managed to graze his lower arms several times.

He's gotten faster…

I won't have enough time like this. I need to cripple him somehow, but there's no opening for a clean strike.

As Gilles came for him again, Sigurd noticed the dark aura thickening around his claws…and fading everywhere else.

There's my opportunity. It'll be a risk.

His glance fell on Gram, just a few metres away.

If I can just stun him, perhaps weaken his protection…

Raising his fists, Sigurd willed his dragonkind modification to activate.

"Ability engaged. Moving in."

Gilles barely heard him, letting loose a warped scream as he charged and drove his claws forward. Sigurd met him head on.

Searing pain spread through his chest as his opponent's claws tore through uniform, flesh, muscle and internal organs alike, but Sigurd pushed it all aside with a soft grunt, his gaze firmly locked on his enemy and his hands shooting forward.

Gilles was so surprised, so easy had it been to maim the other man, and his talons too occupied that he couldn't defend himself when Sigurd's reinforced fists slammed into his ears over and over again. His eardrums quickly burst under the assault, leaving him flailing and panicking as the world around him turned silent.

Even as he was willing his patron's gifts to protect him once more, his nose was shattered as Sigurd's elbow met it, followed quickly by his windpipe spasming thanks to the fist jabbed into his throat. He couldn't pull his talons free fast enough thanks to Sigurd manoeuvring his body to twist Gilles' arms every time he tried.

Capitalising on his reeling foe's distraction and panic again, Sigurd summoned one of his remaining daggers and slashed at all the eldritch tattoos he could see littering the other man's skin and clothes, channelling all the mana he could spare into the weapon, hoping it would be enough to break them.

Elation surged as he saw the markings begin to break and dissipate under repeated strikes. When Gilles began to thrash harder and tried to pull his mutated hands free Sigurd seized him by the throat and held him in place, despite the immense pain from the talons further mutilating his body.

He grit his teeth and kept slashing.

One arm cleared.

"NO. NO! OUR WORK IS ALMOST DONE, JEANNE'S SALVATION IS ALMOST AT HAND!"

Other arm cleared.

"YOU CAN'T STOP US! I WON'T LET YOU!"

It's all right, Gilles. Just hold on a while longer. I'll be there soon to take care of that pest for you.

That voice again.

That was the upper chest cleared.

Sigurd was grimly aware of the sigils, runes and patterns around the room lighting up. Of the blood rivers rising into the air and fusing with those sigils.

I must end this quickly.

Gilles' sickly aura was flickering and weak, there wouldn't be a better time than now.

Sigurd stabbed towards his throat.

…only for Gilles' forehead to smash into his own, sending the King of Warriors reeling.

Tearing his warped hand free at last, the cult leader kicked the other Servant to the ground and turned on his heel, running back towards the back of the stage.

Towards a very familiar looking tome lying on the ground.

Sigurd scrambled to his feet and began sprinting to his sword…or rather, he tried to.

It was about four steps before his legs buckled, both from the spasms of pain wracking his body and fatigue weighting them down. His draconic enhancement was keeping him alive, but it couldn't repair his shredded internal organs or re-energize him properly.

Damn it. I've…I'm more depleted than I thought.

"Just rest for a moment." A gauntlet landed on his shoulder, followed shortly after by Barghest's concerned expression filling his vision. "Her majesty helped us get the demons in hand, so let me-"

"I understand, just stop him quickly!" Sigurd insisted, grabbing Barghest and turning her in Gilles' direction. "There isn't much time!"

"Go. I'll tend to him." Skadi said, moving up behind Sigurd from his right, manifesting some healing runes and applying them to the gaping hole in his chest. He sighed in relief at the soothing cool of the magic.

Nodding, the Fairy Knight gripped her sword, wreathed it in sunfire and charged towards the cult leader, drawing back her blade and swinging it in a sweeping strike to send a wave of flame at him.

Unfortunately, Gilles' talons clamped around Prelati's Spellbook before he was scorched.

A fresh batch of portals began opening almost immediately, disgorging a swarm of writhing tentacles that immediately made for the Servant team.

"Everyone to me!" Morgan ordered, summoning a spherical barrier, which she would open periodically to receive her teammates, while firing off a barrage of flames at the closest tentacles. They writhed and thrashed as the magical fire scorched their flesh. "I will keep these horrors at bay. Barghest, continue your advance!"

All the Servants still up and moving hurried to re-align themselves as yet more portals began to open around the amphitheatre, rapidly swarming their position.

Fujimaru himself ran full tilt from his former hiding place in the front seating area, the summoned tentacles quickly smashing his hastily reinforced set of chairs to pieces and only momentarily stunned by his frantic Gandrs.

"Come on, Master-san! Up here!" Sitonai wasted no time grabbing and hauling him up onto Shirou's back as the bear bulldozed a path through the seating, before turning around and freezing an onrushing tentacle with an arrow.

Skadi, seeing that there was no way her crippled Nordic teammate could flee under his own power, resorted to grabbing Sigurd by his shoulders and dragging him as fast she could towards the shield…only to curse and frantically summon Gae Bolg as she noticed more tentacles, spiked ones this time, closing on her.

A sudden burst of cannon fire and gatling rounds, however, forced them to back off.

"I'll see to him mademoiselle, you just focus on keeping us safe."

Napoleon assured her, grabbing the wounded Sigurd and hauling him over his shoulder. The Norse hero winced at the jolts of pain from being yanked and bounced around so bodily but did not complain as Napoleon began running back towards the barrier, firing off cannon blasts to kill or drive back any tentacles that got too close.

Skadi followed behind them, sending waves of ice crystals to skewer or block more eldritch horrors, while slashing and stabbing with Gae Bolg at any that slipped by her magical assault.

"Gyah!"

Mid-stab, the cry of surprise and fright drew her attention.

Even pushing her zeppelin to the absolute limit, Habetrot could only evade her attackers for so long before she had to leap off of it, just barely missing the masses of wet, cold flesh that tore through the air trying to seize her.

Quickly pushing herself up and running for her life, the linen spinner flinched as she looked behind her and saw her beloved contraption crushed and crumpled beyond operation….with more tendrils heading right for her.

"Damn it. Come on, come o- wooaah!"

Thankfully, a passing Skadi scooped her up with her free hand, while drawing some ice runes on the nearest tentacles that exploded into a shower of ice crystals, scattering the oncoming horrors.

"There'll be no more deaths today."

As her teammates reached the safety of her barrier, Morgan alternated between making openings to let them in and firing off more and more flames, icicles, curses, gravity blasts and spectral javelins to keep Gilles' summons back.

Is there no end to them!?

Not as long as I will it, dear. That book of his makes for quite the useful medium, doesn't it?

"What do we do now?!" Napoleon demanded, readying his cannon.

"Hope that Barghest comes through for us." Fujimaru muttered. "Unless…"

"I can try to get us closer, but it'll be slow going with all of these in our way." Morgan replied, gesturing to the tide of flesh that bore down on them.

"Perhaps we can help out." Skadi offered.

"Yeah. I might be pretty drained right now, but I've still got some magic left in me." Sitonai said, both she and Skadi summoning shielding runes of their own. "Let us take some pressure off you so we can move forward."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"We don't have that much of a choice otherwise, with what's at stake."

"Then do as you wish."

Both Norse heroes began applying their own runes to the shield bubble, wincing a little as their own reserves began to feel the drain as an endless tide of tentacles smacked and slapped at the barrier, trying to break in.

Morgan, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief as the weight on her slackened. Refocusing the freed mana, she intensified her assault. Her flames burned hotter, her ice froze more swiftly, her curses weighed upon her foes ever harder and her spectral weapons scythed through eldritch flesh with greater ease than before.

Soon enough, she could see a pathway being torn open within the writhing mass assailing the team.

"There. We advance now."

Slowly, gradually, the Servants and Master began to move towards the stage. Even with the other Servants' firepower, once Morgan had altered the barrier to let them shoot or stab out of it, added to the Winter Queen's own, it was slow progress.

Glancing upward to throw away a trio of winged bats trying to land on her barrier, Morgan raised an eyebrow as she caught sight of the theatre ceiling.

Is that…a mirror up there? Why are all those stray glass shards float-

Before she could think on it further, yells from her fellow Servants prompted her to re-focus, reinforcing the left portion of the shield to fill in the cracks that their enemies had been able to make in the few seconds she'd been distracted.

No, think about that later.

Hold on, Barghest. We will be there as soon as we can.

…

Another trio of tentacles collapsed to the floor, severed in half by expert strikes of the knight's sword and scorched by the roiling flames.

Gritting her teeth and wiping some of the splattered gore and blood from her eyes, Barghest made to move forward.

Four steps, before more horrors distracted her. This time some of those starfish demons, supported by more reeling and writhing spiked tentacles.

"Haaa!"

The first horror she skewered right on her sword as it leapt for her, kicking the limp body away quickly to parry a few strikes from its fellows.

One of the tentacles managed to latch onto her foot, immediately throwing her off balance as it tugged roughly, trying to pull her over.

A surge of adrenaline brought her sword around to incinerate its fellow before it could grab her other leg, leaving the sole remaining tentacle to tug ineffectually as the Fairy Knight stood her ground and pulled back, turning her attention to the remaining demons.

They came all at once. Her first sword strike took a couple of the first one's limbs, but already his three fellows had grabbed onto her. As her attempted stab failed to dislodge the one grappling her free arm, thanks to the tentacle making her slip a little just as she thrust her sword forward, the others started clawing and stabbing at her with serrated tentacles and toothy mouths.

Agh!

Pain blossomed in her arms and sides as the horrors began breaching her armour and stabbing into her flesh, causing her arms to shiver and teeth to clench.

Hold fast. This isn't the time to falter.

Clenching her free hand and channelling mana into it, Barghest dropped into a kneel and slammed her arm down to the floor, crushing the demon hard against the stage floor. Even as it squealed and screeched in pain, Barghest ignited her sword and swept it around herself, scorching the other attackers clinging to her.

As soon as their grips slackened, the Saber tore herself free. The first demon had its face smashed in, the second was stomped on and stabbed, while the third was incinerated entirely with a direct blast of flame as it struggled to get up.

Looking up from her defeated foes, Barghest grimaced as she noted more demons and tentacles coming for her, even as yet more surged by to try and swarm her comrades and Master behind her. All pouring forth from portals surrounding her fellow Servant.

She couldn't quite see him properly, through the swirling mass of purple, black & blue magic that billowed from the book in his still-warped hands and surrounded him like a bubble, but she could hear him well just enough.

"Open the gate. Reforge the mirror. With this offering, bridge the gap and connect our worlds!"

A low rumble filled the theatre, accompanied by a brightening of the sigils and rune patterns around the room as the rivers of sacrificial blood began flowing into them en masse.

There's no time to waste, her majesty and Master are counting on me.

Even as she got to her feet, a fresh tide of undulating limbs, bulging eyes and toothy mouths began advancing on her, blocking off her view of Gilles.

He's the one driving this summoning ritual. If I can just kill him…

She just needed to last long enough to get to him.

I swear on this sword, you will not succeed!

Feeling the Black Dog's wild strength, supplemented by the powers of Duke Weather, surging through her limbs and sword, Barghest gritted her teeth and charged.

The eldritch horrors blocking her path responded in kind, surging forward to drown her in flesh.

Uncoiling the chains around her free arm and superheating them, Barghest whipped them forward repeatedly in a horizontal line.

"Take this, JAIL BLAZER!"

The searing metal tore into the wet, cold mass, prompting spasms of pain and screeches from the horrors. Taking immediate advantage of their advance halting, the Fairy Knight began hacking away at the shuddering meat in front of her even as she continued to sprint forward, relying on her sword's flames and chains' heat to drive her enemies back fast enough that she could keep advancing.

Sheer weight of numbers ensured that gnashing teeth, serrated claws, spiked tentacles and eldritch magic managed to tear away at her armour anyway, with flares of pain stabbing into her as it began to buckle under the assault.

However, despite all of the hits they were landing, Barghest did not slow down, nor show a sign of injury for long. Any wounds they managed to inflict quickly began to seal over, in tandem with her own weapons tearing chunks out of and incinerating their fellows.

Despite their inhumanity, Barghest could see the confusion on what passed for the demons' faces.

And she smirked viciously at them, bearing her fangs for them to see.

"This is the law of the wild: the strongest prevail!"

Before they could react, she unleashed another burst of flames to scatter them further.

They tried to re-align themselves, tried to protect their summoner from the oncoming knight, but she was tearing through them too fast, pushed onward by adrenaline and urgency to attack far more recklessly than normal, confident that her new regeneration and defence boosts would protect her long enough.

Gilles didn't look up, even as she thundered towards him and ignited her sword again.

Whether or not he looks me in the eyes, I'll end him all the same!

"HAAA!"

Gripping her sword with both hands, she swung right for his head.

Instead of the expected bloody crunching of the blade cleaving flesh, a metallic clang rang out as Gilles' own sword met hers.

Now face-to-face with the maddened cult leader, Barghest found herself flinching in distaste.

His friend's tainted tome had wasted no time working its dark magic on the man. His hair had become scraggly and draped itself wildly around his shoulders, his eyes had healed and bulged out of their sockets and his skin was bleached a ghostly white. His old armour and robes had been discarded entirely, replaced with a billowing red, purple and black cloak-like outfit.

Bluebeard.

"It's too late."

Gilles' voice was eerily calm as he grinned up at the Fairy Knight, taking advantage of her unease and forcing Galatine back.

"The Angel is on her way. Repent and bow down to Her, and She will spare you."

Barghest didn't reply, pulling back and swinging again.

All of her careful, precise strikes and thrusts were blocked or parried by Gilles, his patron's blessed blade more than a match for her Galatine. As the clashing swords echoed in her ears again and again, Barghest found herself struggling to hold in a growl of frustration, especially as she noticed the sigils and runes absorbing more and more blood from the corner of her eyes.

He was just playing for time! She couldn't afford to get bogged down like this!

Come on, there had to be a-

Wait a moment.

His arms were trembling. His blade was a match for her, but he wasn't. At least, not without all of those enhancements of his.

My thanks to you, Sir Sigurd. This is the weakness I need.

Narrowing her eyes and tightening her grip, Barghest stopped bothering with trying to slip a strike by his guard in favour of hammering away at him with all the strength she could put into her swings.

Gilles cursed and backstepped rapidly, the sudden brutality of his enemy forcing him to put a LOT more effort into protecting himself, throwing Prelati's Spellbook aside and slowing the extra summons in favour of two-handing his weapon. Even then every blocked swing nearly flung his sword out of his hand or had him staggering, while the bursts of flame from Galatine made him flinch away.

A vicious grin crossed the Fairy Knight's face as she pressed the attack, striding forwards and swinging wildly at Gilles, knocking him and his sword around wildly. The panic on his face just drove her on further.

It didn't matter where she hit him, after all, just one strike on him would all but seal his fate.

Your strength is fading fast. Just give up!

A few more hits and Gilles was knocked backwards…before crashing to the ground as his back foot caught on his new robes.

There it is!

Drawing back and igniting her sword, Barghest made to skewer him where he lay…

Only for her surroundings to fall away, with the interior of the theatre being replaced by nothing but cold darkness.

She froze on the spot, glancing this way and that, breaths coming short and shallow.

What?

Where did everything go? What just happened!?

Now now, little one.

"Who is that!? Show yours-"

Midway through her demand, her surroundings shifted back to the theatre in a flash.

Blinking in confusion and panic, she looked all around the walls and ceiling and let her weapon drop a little.

Was that- ?

She never finished the thought before a sharp pain flared in her stomach.

Her attention brought brutally back to the battle at hand, Barghest looked back down to find Gilles' sword slammed into her gut.

Damn it…should've- rrggh.

"It's like I said, you can't stop the faithful." He practically whispered, smiling up at her despite his injuries.

As she raised her sword to take his head in turn, a cold, wet sensation enveloped her limbs and locked them in place.

GAH! What-!?

Jerking her head up, Barghest cursed as she noticed the tentacles wrapped around her arms and, when she looked down, her legs. She tried thrashing against them, tried to tear them away, but they just tightened their grip and locked her in place.

Grinning, Gilles twisted his sword deeper into her stomach, the blade flaring with eldritch power that scourged her insides. Even with the agony burning through her body, Barghest refused to dignify him with anything but a slight grunt of pain.

Instead, she focused on wiggling her hands a little closer to herself, as close as she dared given their confines, while angling her head up towards them.

"Any final words, before the Angel's descent begins?" He asked, gesturing around the stage as more and more runes and sigils flared to life, with the final few drops of collected blood being absorbed into the existing ones.

With her gaze angled upwards, a chill ran down Barghest's spine when she noticed the various floating shards beginning to collect and fuse together within the frame bolted to the ceiling…which allowed her to catch a glimpse of a silver eye, red finger or yellowish-black wing flickering some of them.

Her heart rate spiked even higher as a familiar whisper reached her ears.

Fufufu, hello there.

"Magnificient, isn't She?"

Gilles pulled his sword out, then angled it towards his enemy's Spirit Origin and coated it with dark power.

"Rejoice, for the privilege of that glimpse of Her glorious form being the last thing you'll see."

Her vision began fading in and out again, switching between the theatre auditorium and pitch darkness.

Ignore it! Just a few moments more!

My my, how hurtful. There's no need to keep struggling, you know.

Barghest fought the urge to blink it away, instead focusing on Gilles and staring him dead in the eyes.

"Not today."

Her fingers clasped tight around her leftmost antenna…and with a grunt of pain and one sudden pull, snapped it in half.

Lightning and orange smoke crackled and swirled across her form as it began to ripple and grow, the tentacles' rapidly losing their grip on her expanding muscles.

His eyes widening in shock, Gilles stabbed his sword forward towards her chest.

He got halfway there before Barghest lunged forward and sank her fangs into his shoulder.

Digging in even deeper, ignoring his screams echoing in her ears, the Fairy Knight flung the cult leader away before spitting out the pieces of flesh still in her mouth. She could practically taste the taint and corruption that had seeped into his body.

"HRAAAGGHH!"

Grasping her captors tight, Barghest tore them away from her limbs and slammed them to the ground. Once they'd completely let go in their spasms of pain, she diced and pulped them into paste with a relentless barrage of punches and sword strikes.

She was on Gilles before he could even try to stand. Raising her sword, she drove the enlarged weapon right through his stomach to skewer him in place, then reached down to grab him by the throat.

No escaping this time.

Oh my. Why would you think he'd need to escape, little one?

"It's over." She snarled right in his face, blinking to dispel the cold darkness, red fingers and silver eyes that kept creeping into the edges of her vision, stomping on his legs with a foot to stop him trying to wriggle away.

"Yes. Yes it is." Even while being crushed by her bulk with a mouthful of blood, Gilles still managed to spit the words out, smiling serenely up at her.

"I'm glad you understand. Now, how do I stop your ritual?"

"Let me be your final offering."

"Wh-"

Before she could stop him, Gilles brought up his own sword and jammed it into his heart.

The fleshy eye within the hilt and sigils embedded up the blade began to glow brightly, causing his spilled blood and sparks from his dissolving body to float upwards instead of vanish, eventually followed by the sword itself even as Barghest tried to stop it. As soon as her hands clasped the hilt it began to burn white-hot, forcing her to let go with a cry of pain.

The swirling funnel of blood and sparks flowed into the few remaining cracks within the mirror pane, sealing them over and completing the construct. Shortly afterwards, the sword slipped into a small opening at the top of the frame.

Slowly, an image formed within the pane.

The image of a grey skinned woman. With tentacles where her legs should be, red-tinted hands, brown-yellow wings sprouting from her head, inky dark hair and silver eyes.

She caught Barghest's eye and smiled.

"Ah. There you are."

It's that same voice.

Oh no.

She needed to warn the others.

They needed to-

She was halfway off the stage when everything around her began to dissolve into a familiar darkness which itself vanished in a flash of light, resolving into…

Into…

What?

Th-this-

The young boy in front of her smiled up at her kindly.

"Welcome back, Barghest. We've all been waiting for you."

…

They were almost to the stage, with a few dozen maimed and battered little creatures remaining between them and their target, when Morgan's barrier lost power and the cacophony of sound from her fellow Servants' weapons, which had already been cutting in and out for a while now, suddenly ceased entirely.

What? Why is-

Just in time for their final obstacles to launch a last desperate onslaught, trying to capitalise on this moment of weakness.

"No match. Crush them."

Yes…indeed.

And thus her retaliation began.

The pitiful worms, valiantly though they tried to remain standing, crumbled under her onslaught eventually.

But it was too slow all the same. With Barghest fighting for her life and the ritual underway, every second counted…and she was wasting them dealing with this trash alone.

Where were the others' supporting fire? Why had they stopped attacking and reinforcing the barrier? What were they DOING back there!?

As the last demon fell to the ground a charred mess Morgan whirled around, face twisted into a questioning glare.

"Why did you-"

She cut herself off mid-question, once she got a good look at her teammates…all of whom were blinking and rubbing at their eyes.

A sinking pit opened up in her stomach at the sight.

Oh no.

"What is it?" Her voice was a deathly serious whisper as she bore down on them.

"Ah. I-I'm truly sorry, it's just hard to focus when-" Skadi began.

"-when you're seeing things? When the environment is warping around you?" She interrupted the other Lostbelt Ruler, grabbing her by the shoulder and staring intently into her eyes.

"Y-Yes."

"What are you seeing?"

"You know."

"I…I don't kn-"

"Then describe it to me! Quickly!" Morgan snarled, heart rate spiking as she looked back and forth from the stage to her teammates, tapping her staff against the ground frantically. "What are you seeing!?"

How long has this been going on? What about their prote-

Some of the runes were gone. Others were in the process of dissolving right in front of her eyes.

I should have known they wouldn't last forever. Especially not against-

"Ah. There you are."

Her.

Oh no.

No.

With blood freezing in her veins, breath vanishing from her lungs, every hair on her body standing on end and her throat already itching with mana saturation, Morgan whirled around and looked up, in the direction of that new voice.

Only to halt in place as she found Apep's visage staring downwards from the…mirror on the ceiling?

How di-

The glass shards.

NO.

I should have-

No. No time for that.

They needed to-

"L-Listen t-" *cough* "-to me very carefully, we-"

She never finished before the mirror began to glow brightly, the light pouring from it and engulfing the entire auditorium.

---

"Hahahahha, die trash!"

That stupid demon screeched in terror as his scythe cut right into, then through, its face. A little flick of the wrist and…there it went over the edge! Next!

A caterpillar to the face startled the other one enough for a kick to send it right over, quickly joining its buddy in splattering into paste on the floor. Whooping, it flipped the remains off for good measure, twirling his scythe and grinning to himself.

Finally, he could fight as himself again! No hag and her wimpy phobias getting in the way!

And with everyone else drawing away all those shitty flyers, he was having an easy time. Good, they could stay well away from him, especially that pint-size dragon brat.

Little shit mouthed off all the way here, just 'cause she can fly and I can't doesn't mean she gets to be an asshole about it the whole time.

Oh hey, speak of the bitch, there she was getting blindsided by a couple of wyverns. Heh, looked like she'd be in for a rough landing.

But hey, that's what you get when you think mid-fight is the right time to show off all the fancy-ass flips and twirls you can do.

Least that'd stop him having to see her flying the skies like she owned them.

If only he had Blanca with him, then-

"SKREEEEE!"

Ah FU-

Damn it, more of the bastards! Shouldn't have dropped his guard and let his mind wander.

He brought up his scythe and chopped one of the limbs off the first demon, but the second one was already lunging at him while he was still swinging his weapon back around.

Shit! It was too close already, he wasn't gonna-

Whoa, why'd it just flop against him? It wasn't trying to attack. If anything it was staggering in pain.

Eh? Were those gunshots ringing out? Nobody on his part of the team had a-

"One down."

Before Oberon-Vortigern could even turn around, the other demon fell to rapid bursts of gunfire. By the time he did, he found himself faced with a masked, armoured and red-cloaked man holding a smoking gun out.

New arrival, huh? Finally!

"Nice to see Chaldea got their act together at last! What, you all squabble for first place in the Rayshift or something?" He sneered.

"I'm not from Chaldea." The other man brushed past him, leaning against the edge of the roof and staring down. "Mmmm, there's the target."

Eh?

"What'd you mean you're not from Chaldea? Where the hell are you from then?" Oberon-Vortigern grabbed the new arrival by the wrist and yanking him back.

"Emergency summon, part of the Counter Force vanguard. There'll be more coming for a world-ending threat like this."

World ending?

…

Oh n-

As he turned to look, the theatre exploded outwards…then halted in mid air, the roof and walls shifting and warping as he looked at them, while a torrent of swirling light manifested within the shield.

Immediately, the foul sensation hit him. The foreign magic.

The eldritch magic.

Shit.

SHIT.

What were those idiots DOING in there!?

"Ah, and they've come so far…it'd be a shame for them to falter now, wouldn't you say?"

Eh?

Whirling around, he found a newcomer, a dark skinned woman with blonde hair twirling a spear in her left hand, just sitting on the roof near him. She was looking down at the theatre, so casually you'd be forgiven for thinking it wasn't the imminent end of everything.

"Where'd you come from, Counter Force send you too?"

"Oh no, no no no, I'm just here to observe. Personal reasons, I'm sure you understand." She giggled, wafting her hand lazily in his direction.

HUH?

"The hell'd you mean 'personal reasons' lady? Are you not seeing what's happening down there!? Why aren't you helping, eh!?" He snarled, wringing his hands angrily.

"I'm afraid that's not the part I play here, or anywhere. Why would I save things when I can just take them instead?"

'Scuse me?!

"W-WHAT?! You're a Heroic Spirit ain't you?! You're supposed to be saving these dumbasses, that's what you all do, so GET DOWN THERE AND DO YOUR JOB! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE ANYTHING IF THIS THING WINS!?"

…fuck, is this what it means being responsible?

Urrrgghhh.

"I'm afraid not." The new arrival giggled, lashing a long tongue over serrated teeth as she did so, flicking her blue, spiked dragon tail back and forth, almost mockingly.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere else to be. If you, your friends and Master manage to rise to the occasion, then you'll be able to find me at the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. I do hope you'll all be as entertaining in person."

"HEY, DON'T JUS-"

She'd jumped off the building already.

The hell was her problem?! Does she get off on picking fights or something!?

Another wave of energy from the theatre hit him full force. The stench got even worse.

Damn it. Were they too late already?

…should he start preparing for the worst case scenario?

But if on the off chance some of those Chaldea numpties were still fighting in there, then-

No. No.

They couldn't afford to keep the kiddie gloves on. Not here.

He was dimly aware of another two Servants, a red clad bowman and white suited man, with some lady floating beside him, joining the armoured one by the rooftop edge. They started talking among themselves, blabbering on and on about tactics and what sounded like more backup, but it didn't really matter to him.

He knew what he needed to do now.

He tried swallowing the lump in his throat. No time for that sort of sappy shit now, the world was counting on him.

The same world he'd have wiped out himself, not so long ago, if not for a couple of determined little brats who'd managed to get real close.

Fate's a funny thing like that, eh?

Okay. Okay. Enough faffing around.

Let's get read-

Eh? What was up with the scenery? Why was it changing?

He blinked a little bit.

The flashing didn't stop.

So what wa-

Ah. Now he could sense it.

There was someone else here. And he thought he knew just who.

Heh. So you're the asshole from outer space or something, right? You tryin' to get in my head, lady?

My my, this is the first time someone's managed to spot me before I've gotten to say a proper hello. Colour me interested, how is that possible?

Guess you could say minds, dreams and illusions are a bit of a specialty of mine too. Who better to sniff out a trickster than another trickster?

Oberon-Vortigern smirked to himself.

Take that hag, shoulda kept your senses sharp.

A trickster? Oh dearie me, no. Not at all.

Then what? You're some saviour? Some divine force of good out to save our souls? Tch, gimmie a break. Try harder than that to sell your pitch to me.

A storyteller. One helping suffering and put-upon souls to write the happy ending they deserve. All I need is a little help in return, a little donation of ink, you might say, to write my partner's ideal story.

He rolled his eyes. Really? That was her best?

That's how you dress this crap up? You're writing these stories in blood and you still think you're the good guy here?

There's rarely a happy ending without a little suffering and sacrifice to reach that point, is there? Regrettable, truly regrettable, but well worth it in the end for those with the will to follow through.

A pity that one of your teammates couldn't understand that, truly a pity. However, I do hope that you can see what she could not, and wait just a few minutes more.

So she'd not manifested yet…but was clearly well on the way.

In exchange for what?

Stories, of course. As many of these stories as you desire, to play out however you wish. No longer will any one story try to overwrite the others, instead they will all exist in harmony, to be explored and enjoyed at your leisure.

You've seen enough promising tales snuffed out for not being the 'correct' path to a single species' happiness, haven't you? You see it for the favouritism that it is, the callous preference for the few that damns the many.

So why not wait a while, for that happy ending you deserve? No one need know. Besides, it's not as if you owe this history anything anyway, not after all they've taken from you. Not after the stories they've ended already.

So how about it, mmmm?

He'd be lying if he said it wasn't quite the tempting prospect. Especially when it came to, well…

Titania.

And it's not like he was under any true obligation to help this shitty history anyway, was it? This history that'd leashed him to their cause like some mangy dog.

The answer was pretty obvious, giving it a bit of thought.

'Fraid I can't, lady. Go peddle your bullshit elsewhere, 'cause I ain't buying.

Oh my, such a quick refusal. How hurtful. Are you sure you don't want a pleasant story of your own? To keep serving these worms that defeated you?

Well first, ignoring the fact that there's no way you'll hold up your end of the bargain 'cause I saw how the hag was after you were through with her, it's not my story. Not anymore.

Well, it was hardly my story to begin with, even in Britain. I wasn't the protagonist there, and I'm definitely not here. I'm just a side character now, watching this story play out from the sides.

And you're resigning yourself to that miserable existence?

Yep, guess I am. Oberon-Vortigern shrugged lazily. Trying to claw my way to the position of proper protagonist takes time. It takes work. It takes effort. And y'know…that's just not appealing to me any more. I had an obligation in Britain, but that's all done now.

Yeah, this history's a piece of shit, crushing all these other worlds just to save themselves, the charge being led by a bunch of dummies who fumble and blunder their way around till they can scrounge up a solution somehow.

Then why fight for it at all?

Let's just say I know how it feels to be the little guy. The underdog. The weakling everyone laughs off.

Besides, if the shoe was on the other foot, those other worlds wouldn't hesitate to wipe this one out. It's survival, when you get down to it.

And a journey like that, surviving impossible odds, dragging yourself kicking and screaming back from the brink not once, but twice, staring everyone else in the face and giving 'em a big ol' fuck you as you keep fighting? Well, that's one hell of a story to be part of.

Now, 'scuse me, but I think this is my cue.

Yes, indeed it is.

"SKREEE!"

"What the fu- !?"

More of those damn monsters, warping in right on top of him now!

Your cue to fail, that is. Perhaps even die.

The bitch was practically laughing at him with how smug she sounded!

Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a new home to explore in just a few minutes. Keep fighting, little dragonfly, and you'll have the privilege of welcoming your new ruler personally. In the meantime, a few more of my acquaintances want to meet you.

More portals, more horrors trying to rip his face off. At least the three others were joining the fight now.

Shit, he couldn't prepare his Noble Phantasm like this!

Ah, damn it.

It's all on you now, stubborn little Chaldean asshole. Don't fuck this up.

---

Morgan struggled to her feet, blinking the bright spots away from her eyes.

Her throat began to burn and eyes began to water as soon as the waves of magic washed over her.

S-So much power…

Where is everyone else?

Hurriedly casting a fresh round of protection spells on herself, Morgan began whirling around and looking for her team.

The breath left her when she found them…all standing transfixed, staring into the distance.

No…

What about their protection!?

All the runes were gone already.

Another quick glance around for any remaining demons or tentacles, and finding none, before Morgan hurried over to them. As she drew closer, she started hearing them muttering seemingly to themselves.

"-no way just one being can help save the Human Order. Could you really…grant me that power?" Napoleon looked confused, but intrigued.

Don't fall for her lies, Man of Possibilities. She wants to rule this world, not save it!

"-not even you. Her curse is carved into her very history, into our legends, there's no way you could-" Sigurd mumbled in disbelief, head shaking slightly.

She would not, even if she could.

"L-Lord Odin? O-Ophelia…? Is it really-" Skadi had a hand clasped to her mouth and was rubbing at her eyes, looking so vulnerable and lost as she tried to stem her tears and stop the sniffling.

Yes. If anything could sway her, it would be them, wouldn't it?

She moved on past them all, a little reluctantly, beelining for Fujimaru. She had to make sure he was all right first or else Apep could take out the whole team in one go by preying on their shared Master.

He had that same pained, disbelieving yet hopeful expression on his face that her teammates wore. Just what was she making him see?

What did he want?

"D-Doctor? Director Marie?" He whispered. "You're…you're all here?"

Fallen friends. Understandable indeed.

Gaia knew she'd had many nights, both sleepless and not, wishing all of her old comrades were there with her.

Wishing they'd gotten their own happiness.

They deserved that much, for staying with me to the end.

Shaking her head and swallowing the lump threatening to force itself up her throat, Morgan refocused and looked over Fujimaru again.

None of them are fully asleep, so it should just be a matter of…

She reached out a hand and shook him firmly on the shoulder. He jolted in place, startled, blinking rapidly, looking around and rubbing at his eyes.

"Hu- wh- M-Morgan?"

"Welcome back."

"What happened? We were in the theatre and then I…" Fujimaru finally took a look around, his confused expression quickly shifting to dread and resignation. "...knew it was too good to be true."

"Indeed, I suspect it was simply a delaying tactic. Even if she can't turn you in such a short period, keeping you from the fight is good enough."

"All right, guess we'd better get the others-"

Before he could finish, a bright flash caught the duo's attention. They wheeled around and stared, alarmed, as sickly black-blue bubbles sprang up to envelop the rest of the team.

Even from where she stood, Morgan could feel the power radiating from them. They would not be an easily breachable barrier.

"Could you-"

"Not if we have the time limit I fear we have, no."

"Then I guess it's down to just us. Let's go."

"As you wish. I…think it would be best for you to maintain contact, my benefactor's power should protect us from Apep's manipulations."

Despite the time and place, Morgan couldn't fight the red dusting her cheeks as Fujimaru wordlessly clasped a hand around her left shoulder.

It was calloused and rough, the grip firm.

No. don't think about that right now. You have far worse problems to deal with.

Looking to her left, Morgan could just make out the tiny figure of Habetrot, encased in her own bubble.

"-is that dress really…for me?" Habetrot was tearing up, hands clasped together in front of her chest.

The sight had the ex-queen's hand clenching around her staff, her teeth grinding together as veins popped on her neck.

Leave her be. Don't you dare play with her like that, monster.

"My my, if you insist on trying to shield her…why don't you make me stop, mmmm?"

There was that same voice, smug and mocking as always.

Except now, it wasn't inside her head.

It was reverberating around the theatre instead.

Oh no.

The breath left her lungs, her spine was frozen with chills and body was wracked with shivers at the sound. Especially with how near it was.

A squeeze from Fujimaru's hand managed to cut through the mental fog swamping her. Turning to look at him, she could see he was just as unnerved as she was…but she also saw that he was resolved to face the danger head on.

Despite himself, and despite the creeping helplessness her sight told her he was feeling, he still managed to give her a nod and small smile.

"Nothing else for it. Let's go."

"Yes, Master."

As they made their way through the theatre's stretched and twisted interior, it began to warp and shift right before their eyes, trying to keep them away. Pillars erupted in the floor to bar their path, the walls began to slide back and forth to try and hem them in and various chairs picked themselves up and flew at her barrier, vibrating and shimmering with a dark power that tore at Morgan's shields, even with so much of her new might backing it.

All the while, their vision was smothered by a creeping shadow and a biting cold began to press in on both their bodies and minds…accompanied by more mocking, echoing laughter.

After she noticed her breath forming in the air, plus Fujimaru's chilled hand shivering on her shoulder, Morgan grit her chattering teeth and cursed.

At this rate, they'd be swamped before they even got near Apep.

Her free hand swam into focus again.

One more. ONE more.

Releasing one of the last seals on her brand, shivering and sighing at the rush of energy and warmth that filled her and drove away the cold, Morgan channelled the foreign strength into a pulse of energy that she sent out in front of her, intending to light the way.

However, both were pleasantly surprised to see that, as the magical wave washed over their surroundings, the alien geometries began rapidly snapping back into their original places, with twisting spires of floor and spiked spikes from the walls rapidly flattening, piercing a far more straightforward path for them in the midst of the storm of chaos.

"Quickly, before we're hemmed in again." Morgan instructed, sending out another pulse to keep the path clear and hurrying forward, Fujimaru sticking tightly to her.

"How interesting…"

Morgan took a small measure of satisfaction at the bite in the Outer God's tone.

"Continue, time is short."

Steadily and surely, the duo moved closer and closer to the still-intact set of doors at the back of the stage, now suffused with the same blue-black light that had become a hallmark of their enemy.

As they crossed the stage proper and moved past the frozen, shielded form of Barghest, Morgan could hear that she too was mumbling to herself.

"-an you be here, Adonis? You…I remember-"

Adonis? Her latest servant, if she recalled properly.

What was she remembering that-

Ah.

Her instincts must have…

That bug really did have a lot to pay for.

Despite her new strength and attempts to steel herself, Morgan felt her heart rate steadily rise higher and higher, her palms getting slippery and beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead.

By the time they'd finally made it to the door, she could barely keep from shivering.

She'd been kept up enough at night fretting over the inevitable threat of the Curse Calamity back in her kingdom…and this was a threat far, far beyond an undead God, with no sacred lances on hand to even try to even the odds.

No. No. There was still a chance.

Apep wasn't fully manifested yet. She couldn't be, or else her influence would've expanded FAR beyond the theatre by now.

Or else they'd be dead or mindless thralls by now.

But for how much longer would they be free?

Assume the worst, then. This was their last chance.

Best not to go in blind.

"So, have you prepared any plans, Master?" She asked, quietly, turning to look Fujimaru in the eyes.

"None based on having just one Servant available for this." He admitted. "I thought the first wave of Chaldea's reinforcements would have gotten here by now. At the very least, that the rest of the team would still be up and active."

"I see. Well, we're on our own now."

"Yeah. Yeah we are." His face was practically ashen as he swallowed hard.

"Best we can hope for is stopping her from manifesting."

"Then we should destroy her medium for crossing over."

"Yeah, and don't pull any punches. Go right to your Noble Phantasm, okay?"

"Understood."

She pointed her staff at the door, charging it with magical energy.

"Fufufu, are you sure you want to do that, dear? Last chance to realise that it's pointless to try and stop me~"

Apep was barely halfway through before Morgan jammed the staff forward, slowly boring through the door's protection.

"All right then, come right on in. Let's meet face to face at last~"

The barrier around the door dissipated as she finished speaking, leaving Morgan to stumble forward with the momentum she had for her staff, with the entrance even cracking open just a hair.

Morgan stumbled back at the overpowering stench hitting her nostrils from inside the room, ripping right through the sensory defences she already had in place. Coughing so hard she almost doubled over, she forced herself to stay upright until Fujimaru stepped in and supported her with his free arm.

"You okay?"

"The magic from this place…is almost unbearable." She wheezed, hurriedly casting another layer of spells just to stop it tearing so hard at her throat.

"Apep?"

"Yes. It was…like this in the nightmare too."

"Then she's on her way for sure, we need to act now."

Morgan didn't reply, simply nodding and leading the way into their enemy's sanctum.

The whole room was blanketed in darkness thick enough they could barely see, and as they moved deeper within a chill began to creep past Morgan's protection and into their skin.

Yes, this is all too familiar.

Where are you…?

"Well, if you really want to know, here I am~"

The echoing voice scraped and grated against the duo's ears, forcing their teeth together as they cringed away from the sound.

Sound that was quickly drowned out by their thundering hearts when a pair of glowing silver eyes appeared to them in the darkness, staring down curiously.

Followed soon after by the body they belonged to as almost the whole room was suffused with light. Only the ceiling remained in darkness.

She almost wanted to retch at the sight, feeling her eyes beginning to water and her throat beginning to itch, while Fujimaru seized up beside her.

More protection. Quickly.

"Don't look directly at her. For your own safety."

The irritation calmed as the additional layer of shielding runes activating…but she could still feel it, all that power, washing over and grating away at her barrier.

So much alien magic…where was it coming from?

"Well now. Here I am, dear. Not quite in the flesh, but close enough. Tell me, what do you think?" Apep smiled down at her, tenting her hands in front of her face expectantly.

Yes, she's not here yet.

"As repulsive and monstrous as I remember." She spat, gripping her staff tighter.

"Is that right? After all I offered to do for you, and you treat me like this…" The Outer God affected a look of hurt, leaning down and pushing herself forward to peer down at her quarry closely.

All she offered to-

WHAT?

"How else would I treat something that tried to enslave me? Trying to enslave this planet?"

"Freeing you, dear, freeing you. From all those pesky burdens and worries that come along with the freedom to choose. Or I would have done, but now…well."

A spectral tentacle snaked out to prod at the brand on Morgan's free hand, Apep's expression shifting to disappointment.

"Why couldn't you just have gotten rid of it, hmmmm? Now you're an example to set instead of a friend to be made. A pity, truly a pity. Now…"

Her gaze shifted to the other person in the room.

Every danger sense Morgan had was ringing in her head all over again from the look Apep was giving Fujimaru.

"Have I met your little human friend here? You seem so…familiar."

Morgan shuffled between her Master and the eldritch horror currently leaning towards them, her staff charging and snapping up to point at her transparent face.

Apep ignored it for the empty threat it was, passing by to try and peer at Fujimaru more closely, while he jammed his eyes shut to avoid meeting her gaze.

"Mmmmm. There's definitely something about you I recognise."

As it traced his body, her gaze found the teen's Command Seals.

And recognition sparked in her eyes.

"Oh my. Oooooh dearie me, could this be? The little human from Chaldea?"

Morgan tried to hide it. Really, she did.

But that shiver that passed over her body and twitch of the lips couldn't be hidden from her enemy's prying eyes.

That sick grin spread across Apep's visage all over again, with her leaning in even closer.

"My my my, how fortunate this is! And I've been hearing just so much about how badly you've been interfering, it seems you've made a bit of a name for yourself among our kind."

He did foil at least one of them before…

Morgan narrowed her eyes and turned her attention elsewhere, scanning the room, trying to find that mirror she'd seen earlier.

Apep didn't notice or didn't care, waxing on and on as she flitted and danced about the room.

"Oh, it's been quite some time since I've seen our dear flower just so angry at being foiled by humans, when his plan was so perfect. Fufufu, what an entertaining sight that was…why, he almost destroyed Ravermos in his fury! So many of those followers of his lay dead once he was finally calm, it truly was a treat for the eyes.

"And for your work with the Silver Key too! I confess, for a moment there I was a mite worried that that old Yoggie would manage to have his way with your world before I could! But there you were, dashing in to save the day and set his vessel onto a different path. No small feat, that. You know, I thought he'd be a little bit more upset with how things turned out but…well, from the whispers that reach me, he's more interested than angry. He must have been gossiping with Nyarly about you.

"Fufufu, what a wonderful opportunity, to have such an esteemed guest here to witness my victory. For all the trouble you've caused my competition, I think a reward might be in order. Yes, a reward!"

Morgan's search sped up in tandem with her raging heartbeat, but it was not helped by the walls shifting and undulating before her very eyes, taking all of the sigils, decorations and windows with them.

Damn it, where was that mirror!?

"Mmmm, I think a little more time will be spent on your reeducation. To keep that personality of yours nicely intact and ready to help me when my peers inevitably try to take what's rightfully mine. Doesn't that sound just wonderful?"

Apep clapped her hands together joyfully, sending sparks of light all through the room.

…and lighting up the ceiling at last.

Morgan's eye was drawn to it instantly, a shiver of adrenaline rushing through her.

There it was. Dead centre.

Lit up, covered in glowing runes and sigils, with another, far more opaque Apep visible within the glass.

One that was slowly but surely vanishing herself, the version in front of them growing clearer and clearer in turn.

"Master-"

"Yeah, that's it." Fujimaru murmured.

"Now then, what do you sa-" Apep began, only to pause and squint at the duo's own gazes, following them up in short order.

"...I do hope you're not planning on doing anything you'll regret, dear."

Her voice was cold and sharp, cutting into their ears, with her inquisitive stare sharpening into a far more fierce glare. Just daring Morgan to try something.

The atmosphere around them turned far more oppressive, the waves of raw power flowing around them coalescing and beginning to lash at their barrier.

The attrition was felt immediately. Slight…for the moment.

Not for long. Not long at all.

Even now, she could feel it getting just a bit worse. Feel the pull on her mana reserves grow heavier.

Apep's spectral form stooped down to eye level. She was still smiling. A toothy grin that exposed the fangs in her maw.

"What will you do?"

Fujimaru and Morgan exchanged a glance and nodded once.

There wasn't really any other choice here.

He clasped her shoulder tight and raised his other hand.

"By these three Command Spells, I order you: use your Noble Phantasm!"

As one, all three of Fujimaru's Command Seals flashed bright, then faded.

Morgan shivered and hissed at the raging tide of power that rushed through her system. She brought it all under control quickly enough, channelling it all, plus as much of her benefactor's gifted might as she could, into her staff, raised high to the ceiling and aimed right at the mirror.

"Oh dear…"

With a single snap of blood-red fingers, the swirling eldritch winds were whipped up into a raging maelstrom that flat-out tore at the duo's sanctuary.

A little bit of power should keep it up long e-

The screeching and snarling hit her ears before she even finished the thought.

More of them. Now!?

All right, get rid of them first, then-

No. Not enough time. Take out their source first, or Apep would keep summoning more.

More power to the charge. And more on top of that. As much as she could feed in the time they still had.

Her barrier began to crumble and break under the assault, serrated limbs and magical currents ripping into it relentlessly.

She was beginning to feel sluggish. Too much power channelled into her Noble Phantasm, even with all she had available, and not enough left for her. All her prior exertions were speedily catching up to her.

Push on through. Stay standing. Not long now.

Just a little more. It won't matter as long as this hit lands.

Shooting a panicked look at Morgan as their protection's last layers faltered, Fujimaru readied a Gandr.

It was a futile gesture…but he wasn't about to go down without a fight.

The light swirling around her staff had become blinding.

A hooked limb smashed right through their shield, accompanied by a triumphant screech, coming within inches of brushing Morgan's right cheek.

Now.

No space for theatrics.

Both hands on the staff, making sure it was aimed square at the mirror.

"ROADLESS CAMELOT!"

The screeches of their attackers were soon drowned out by the thundering of dozens of spectral javelins and the raging tide of magical power that carried them forward, slamming them headlong into the mirror.

"GAAAAHH!"

The Outer God's cry of pain pushed her onward.

One chance. Make it count.

Fujimaru was forced to cancel his Gandr, slam his hands over his ears and squeeze his eyes tight shut, lest he be crippled by the cacophony.

10 seconds.

Her eyelids began to droop and head began to sag.

No, keep going.

Half a minute.

Her whole body was shaking from the effort, wringing her reserves dry to fuel this desperate strike.

There won't be…a better time…

Keep…keep going.

One full minute.

I…ca-

One last effort.

The lance of magic launched itself at her target just as she slumped down, too weak to stand any more.

Come on. Come on…

Impact.

The light had her shutting her eyes and the sound was overpowering…but it didn't quite drown out Apep's scream.

Yes. Experience even a fraction the suffering you've dealt to these people! To us!

Return to your home, this planet is not yours to have!

It…"is mine"

As the light began to fade, Morgan sucked in deep breaths of air, cooling the burning and calming the shaking enough that she might stand again.

Gradually, the burning in her lungs and limbs began to fade, and she dared risk a look up.

…

No.

NO.

No…

A crushing numbness swamped her body as she stared up at the ceiling. Her throat tightened and eyes felt heavy, that exhaustion weighing down harder on her than ever.

Apep's mirror was heavily cracked, the image within the pane flickering in and out rapidly.

But it was still intact.

And those cracks were sealing up before her eyes.

"GAAAAAAHA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

All traces that she'd been in pain were wiped away from Apep's visage, replaced with a vicious and mocking smirk.

"And to think you were so confident a few moments ago…my performance must have been quite convincing indeed. How marvellous.

"It's as I told you earlier dear, a simple vessel like you is no match for a REAL Outer God. If only you'd remembered that sooner, but alas."

Hands curling into fists, mouth twisting into a snarl and body practically shaking with rage, Morgan tried killing the abomination in front of her through glare alone.

"Ufufufu. By all means, glare all you like. That defiance won't matter in just a few minutes."

As if to punctuate the point, she brought up her hand and waved it in front of the ex-queen.

She could barely see through it now.

"Do you have a-"

"No." Fujimaru's voice was barely a whisper, the teen's horrified stare glued to the eldritch being gazing back at them. "I don't."

"You should…you should leave. G-Get as far as you can. Just get away from here." She practically begged.

"Oh yes, please do! In fact, why not make a little game of it? See how far you can get before I find you? I'll even open a little window in the barrier outside so you can go hide away in this city. How about it?"

Apep's smile was so wide it was practically splitting her face in two by this point, the abomination wiggling around in anticipation and drumming her fingers together.

"After all, a nice long hunt makes catching the prey all the sweeter by the end. Wouldn't you agree? Now-

Apep kept talking, but Morgan couldn't hear her anymore.

The sounds of her thundering heart, panicked breathing and racing thoughts drowned her out completely.

No.

NO.

This…this…it can't-

It can't end like THIS.

There has to be-

No, not any more. If my strongest attack with all that extra power behind it didn't do it-

It's happening again.

It's happening again.

…I was this close. I WAS THIS CLOSE.

THERE WAS JUST THIS ONE OBSTACLE LEFT!

EVERYTHING I'VE OVERCOME AND IT ENDS LIKE THIS!?

I REALLY DID GIVE IT EVERYTHING I HAD THIS TIME, SO WHY WON'T YOU JUST-

"Not everything."

…

What?

"One more."

One more wh-

Ah.

…of course.

Time slowed to a crawl.

The feeling of Fujimaru's hand, now shaking her shoulder, fell away.

Even the environment around her lapsed out of focus.

Till all that was left was her hand…and the brand carved into it.

There was just a single sealing rune left, and it was the strongest of them all by far, placed dead centre.

Morgan stared blankly at it, before turning to look up at Fujimaru, then at Apep. Then back to the brand again.

He was shaking her harder now, trying to call out to her, but she ignored him.

It's too great a-

No.

It's better than the alternative.

It must be.

I've been controlling this power just fine before now. I will not stop now.

…and I will not let it end like this.

I will not falter again.

…

"The throne for your daughter's life. Seems a fair bargain, doesn't it, Queen Morgan?"

…

I will not falter here.

And I will not fall…to the likes of YOU.

A swipe of her finger cut the final sealing rune in half.

"Well done."

…

The brand lighting up was her only real warning before it all hit her at once.

She was frozen in place, breaths coming quick and shallow for just a few moments. Eyes wide and limbs trembling as her mind caught up to her new reality.

Then the corners of her mouth began to twitch upwards into a smile.

And why shouldn't she?

After all, she felt incredible!

No, no, more than that. Much more than that, now.

She felt unstoppable.

Unrivalled!

Able to conquer any obstacle! Solve any problem! There was nothing she couldn't do!

Not with all of this power at her fingertips.

The strength to crush countless armies! To rend the earth before her, to bend the storms and tides to her will!

For the first time in so long…she was herself again!

The immovable, eternal Winter Queen, with the strength to subjugate a whole land, to force a whole race to bow before her and defy the winds of destiny and fate themselves, to preserve a kingdom she built against every single catastrophe, even when the land itself worked against her. When everyone else joined together to dethrone her!

Yes, THIS was how it should be! How SHE should be! This pathetic Saint Graph wouldn't constrain her magnificence any longer!

And if it tried to…well, she'd just force it to accept this new her. The proper her.

The best version of herself. The version she should have become a long time ago.

Why had she done that? There was nothing to fear at all!

This strength was hers to wield, hers to control!

Yes. "All yours."

Let's see that twisted nun try to provoke her now. It wasn't as if she or her fellows could draw upon their own powers to match her without being punished for it, after all. Not with their 'special' status.

And that infuriating bug…

Yes, even he wouldn't be quite so suicidal as to try and mess with her after this, not when she could squash him underfoot with nary a stray thought!

But it wouldn't matter, not when her new supremacy would inevitably render him obsolete! After all, what could his homegrown magical 'talent' possibly provide that she, inheritor of Britain's Primordial Magecraft, wielder of the planet's Divine Magecraft and student of Grimm the Sage himself, could not?

All it would take is a little charm, a well constructed argument and a proper demonstration of REAL power, and he'd be dismissed like the waste of space he was! For Gaia's sake, he did nothing but laze around as is! He didn't even CLEAN HIS ROOM!

Ooooohh, perhaps she could even be present as he was thrown out, or even turned into one of those Rare Prisms? That truly would be a treat for the eyes!

Hmph, I'll show you and that twisted monster what it means to be truly special! What rational person WOULDN'T consider me completely and utterly indispensable, with power exceeding even a living Cernunnos at my fingertips?!

She laughed to herself as she stood up, heedless of Fujimaru's eyes widening and jumping to her hand.

…or his deathly pale face as he saw the glowing lines spreading from her brand across her skin.

"Facing your death with a laugh and smile? How admirable." Apep raised an eyebrow and grinned back. "Well, far be it from me to tell you what to do before the end…I'll simply deliver you to it instead."

More of those dem- no, more of those gnats, trying to bar her.

A simple wave of her staff, a snap of her fingers and the barrier was back, stronger than ever with hundreds of runes fuelling it.

The filthy little worms beat against it, their attacks so ineffectual that they were barely scratching her shield.

See? Look at what I can do now! Your pets are just "worthless."

"Giving it another go? Perhaps my gifts have reached you…after all, you know what they say about insanity, don't you?" Apep tilted her head, steepling her fingers. "But by all means, try again and again and again. Entertain me."

Morgan just smirked back, holding out her free hand to her side, drawing the long-unusing incantation from her memory.

She noticed Fujimaru still shifting his gaze from Apep to her and back again, ashen-faced.

"Don't fear, Master. I'll take care of this."

He said nothing, just nodded. Even then it was just a little too half-hearted for her liking.

Ah, he didn't believe in her new power yet, did he? Understandable, he'd not seen it for himself.

Well, this demonstration should more than put his fears to rest.

More vermin were coming forth to flail against her bulwark, a simple flick of the finger and they were pierced by solid energy spikes from the dome.

All right then, enough distractions. Time to put this improvement to the test.

Curling her free hand as if grasping something tight, she began the incantation.

As expected, the mana flow was more than enough.

Centuries worth of taxes, equaled in but a moment.

"My gift. Your strength. Now crush her."

At her will, fresh magical energy began to pour from and swirl around her.

Except this energy was not the usual blue hue. It was bright gold instead.

From the depths of the inner sea, come forth.

Fujimaru had to squint as the energy and light filled their shield entirely.

Lance of Gaia, Light of the End, heed me!

But he could hold his shock as he watched the energy start to coalesce.

…into the shape of a very familiar spear.

As it materialised fully, Morgan took hold of it and held it high.

"SHINE BRIGHT AND STRIKE TRUE, RHONGOMYNIAD!"

"Oh dear…"

Metal was wreathed in light and leapt from its creator's hand, rocketing upwards at tremendous speed.

She reinforced the barriers as much as possible, cast more to protect her enthralled allies. It was their only chance.

With her now-near-endless reserves it was a reasonably easy task, even with mere seconds to spare.

"No. No, no, no, no no no no NO NO NO N-"

Layers of shielding formed around the mirror, cocooning it so thoroughly it could hardly be seen any more.

Rhomgomyniad tore through them all like tissue paper and…

Impact.

The roof and walls were obliterated in a wave of golden light, with the warped and twisted nature of space within the theatre ensuring that it took at least a good half minute to annihilate the whole building, as opposed to just a moment.

Even with the dispersed shockwave, the strain on her barriers was extreme indeed.

Or it would have been…but with her current strength, it was more of a mild annoyance to keep them fuelled for just so long.

Eventually, the light and heat began to abate, allowing her to dismiss them all.

The theatre was nothing but rubble, with the shield surrounding it slowly beginning to fade. Morgan took note of their teammates shaking themselves and looking around, as if just waking up.

"And this is what I get for trying a lighter touch this time."

Raising her gaze, ready to smirk up at her beaten opponent, Morgan was rather confused to see that Apep didn't seem that angry, even as her almost-opaque body began turning transparent again. Cross, yes, but where was the outrage?

"You seem very calm for someone in your position. I would expect a stronger reaction to falling at the final leg of the race."

"Oh don't you worry, I'm PLENTY furious. Snatching my return away from me…what a GRAVE mistake that was." For just a moment, Apep's features contorted and warped into a grotesque (well, more grotesque) shape that sent a stabbing pain into Morgan's eye sockets just to look at, to the point of her resembling a mutant starfish more than a humanoid being.

"I can't dole it out personally, but I can at least be happy to know that you'll be punished for being just oh so defiant and naughty. A pity I can't witness it myself, but my imagination will fill in the blanks just fine."

"What are you talking about? Who would dare try to challenge or punish me, mmmm? Dare challenge this?"

As if to prove her point, the ex-queen summoned a spectral Rhongomyniad in a flash of golden light, dismissing it seconds later and raising a questioning brow at the abomination before her.

"You think that borrowed strength will save you? Oh nonononono, that's precisely the problem! You're damned already, dear….and the best part is, you don't even know it!" Apep's vicious grin split her fading face.

"What is this, one last attempt to annoy me before this world slips beyond your grasp forever?!"

"FOREVER? Ufufufufufu, hardly! There'll be another time, another place, another poor lost soul reaching out for my guidance! A hundred years of failings, a millennium of them or even ten, what does that matter to me?! One slip up and it's aaaaall be over for you! My hour WILL come, it's simply a matter of time. Ta ta now!"

She waved as her image dissolved entirely, vanishing into the air.

Morgan snorted dismissively.

Empty posturing to handle her failure.

Come back as many times as you like…"we'll crush you all the same."

Bah! Not worth worrying about any longer, now was a time for rest and celebration of her hard-won victory!

She turned back to Fujimaru, a reassuring smile in place…only to pause, the smile slipping into a confused frown.

Why did he look so worried? Why no praise for her grand feat? Her display of unmatched might?

"Is something the matter, Master?" She asked, tilting her head. "The threat is dealt with, there's no need to worry any more."

"Y-Yeah, g-guess I'm still coming down from the adrenaline…a-and who knows how many beasts and cultists might still be roaming the city, you know? I'd rather not get ambushed on the way back, not as we are now."

She knew he wasn't quite telling her the whole truth even without her Fae Eyes, especially not with how his gaze kept being dragged back to her free hand no matter how much he tried to make it wander, but chose not to say anything.

No no, don't get upset. Let's give him some time. He'll come around.

I've been nothing but helpful so far, haven't I? Neither nusance nor liability.

He'll recognise that, I'm sure.

In fact…

"Just leave them all to me. Gather the others and rest, I'd say we've all earned it." She assured him.

"Okay. Okay then. I'll…I'll get everyone else together and we can meet back at the same shopping centre we used before."

"Of course, I'll be back before you know it."

The bubble of water, runes and magic manifested without any issues this time, appearing as soon as she thought of it.

Insult me NOW, tainted Artoria, I DARE you.

Now then…I can sense them out there. Let's get started.

With a pop she vanished into thin air, chasing down any remnants of the cult still in the city.

Fujimaru waited till he was sure she was gone, then turned and began sprinting through the ruins of the theatre. Pain flared in his knees, feet and ankles as his mad scramble led to him smacking into pieces of debris, but he pressed on regardless.

A ringing in his ears. Da Vinci was calling.

"Well done, almost all the magical energy spikes have vanished! I'm sorry we couldn't send anyone, there was some overload in our Rayshift systems while we tried, but we're working on fixing it right now so just-"

"Are the reinforcements still standing by?" He cut in, sharply.

"We've kept a few on, but the rest are heading-"

"Get them all back here and keep them on standby."

"Eh? Why?" The genius looked confused, even a little unnerved.

"Because we're not quite out of danger yet."

"...understood." Da Vinci nodded, fully focused now, before cutting the call.

Most of the others in his team had already reunited and were looking each other over for injuries. They began calling out to him as he approached, asking where Morgan was, what had happened with Apep and wanting to see if he was okay, but he waved them all off and brushed past.

He knew who he needed to talk to.

"Nyaaahhh, come on!"

Habetrot was slapping the side of her zeppelin's partially crushed form in frustration as he jogged up.

"They didn't squeeze you that hard, did they!? Come on, start you useless piece of-"

Kneeling, he tapped her rapidly on the shoulder.

"Wah! Oh, it's you Mas-"

Her burgeoning smile froze the moment she laid eyes on him, on his pale, sweaty face and shaky hands.

And realised there was a notable absence from their group.

Eyes widened and she swallowed hard.

"How bad is it?"

"All the seals are gone. She's not interested in putting them back."

Habetrot took a deep breath.

"What do you need me to do?"

---

Habetrot stumbled over a piece of debris in the doorway as she stepped into the shopping centre, too distracted to properly notice it. Her heart was pounding like a drum.

It's okay. It's okay. The others are right there in case anything goes wrong.

But that wouldn't help her too much, would it? Not if-

No. Don't think about that. Her friend needed her. Her Master needed her. The team needed her. Gaia, the world needed her.

Okay Habetrot, you can do this. It's just like talking an angry bride out of making a huge scene on her big day. You've done that plenty before!

…none of my past brides had mind-bending, world conquering monsters in their heads, though.

Now, where is she? Master said she was going to hunt down some cult stragglers, so that might take her a while.

Reaching the centre of the food court, Habetrot checked around for a few seconds and, seeing that no one was around, hopped up on a nearby chair to wait.

Okay, what to say? Let's think this-

She didn't get the chance to start before a loud pop and crackle of a spell reached her ears…followed swiftly by a sickening odour filling her nostrils.

Foreign magic. Alien magic.

Oh Gaia. Okay, okay, here we go.

She turned, trying to keep the shiver from her arms and legs, to get a proper look at her friend.

Her left arm was wrapped in sickly red glowing lines, just peeking over her shoulder at present, extending outward from the brand. Once healthy skin was now a much duller grey. Her cool blue irises were midway through bleeding into angry red while her hair floated gently behind her, waving back and forth as if suspended in an invisible ocean.

The Rider couldn't suppress a shiver of fear, nor could she stop her mouth from hanging open, at the sight.

"Ah, hello there Habetrot."