Holy Nail War

by PsychoJack88

Katashi Honda, a struggling street magician needs a change in his fate. Unknowingly to him, he will become involved in the world of magi and servants, and will have to survive however he must, in unorthodox ways. This is the tale of Honda the Warlock! Feedback welcome.

34. The Embrace

A/n: Hello everyone, Psychojack is back with a whole new exciting chapter of the one and only Fate lemon-action hybrid, the Holy Nail War. A lot of things have been happening since the last chapter, where our hero Honda has now found himself right in the middle of a climactic fight between himself and the undying magus known as Ananta. Meanwhile with the albino magus Idores, new information springs to the surface surrounding Ford, the magus who was meant to stand as the 7th master of the Holy Grail War before his death. It appears that Ford's death has been caused or is linked to the immortal necromancer that Honda now faces. With Mordred and Assassin currently drained and battered from their intensive battle, Honda will have to be able to fend this cursed magus off with the help of his golem Ebony. Will he be able to withstand the awesome might of this unusually powerful and dangerous necromancer? Only one way to find out, let's get to it!

Audible wisps of breezy air could be heard blowing around the two masters of the Holy Grail War. Beyond that there was little ambience. The rain that had originally poured throughout the course of the battle had long stilled. In this case, it was literally.

In response to Ananta's apparent shock at seeing an individual who for all intents and purposes should be dead, the rain droplets paused midair. It was as if the laws of physics swayed itself in his favor.

This was the presence of his near otherworldly prana at work, possessing enough power that even the forces of nature were rendered subject to Ananta's will.

The battlefield remained tarnished as a result of the earlier fight that had taken place here. With Mordred's Noble Phantasm, the ground had ruptured, leaving several rocky pillars that had uprooted as a result of the earthquake-like impact. Deep reaching cracks and holes from Medea's magecraft bombardment dug into the earth, and with the mountainside literally sliced in half, there was a notable amount of damage that decorated this half crumbling battlefield.

Even now, as the two masters of the Holy Grail War stared each other down, bits of sanguine embers decorated the air, highlighting both competitors in gentle swaths of red. The particles swayed gently within the smoke of battle, as a testament to the enduring power Mordred's blade unleashed.

On one side was the legendary necromancer. A cursed being that had shed the chains of his own mortality, possessing the full armada of dark arts unknown to the world of man and magus alike. The bloody skull-faced magus looked at everything and everyone like insects. A sense of superiority oozed from his gazea, looking down upon all in his path. The cursed magus known as Ananta the Undying

On the other side, standing in defiance was the mysterious eighth magus. To all of magi worldwide he is at this point an unknown, a stranger who despite all odds was able to stand toe to toe with powerful magus family heads. A glorified third party who, whether by design or fate, trumped all who opposed him with wit and cunning of the highest caliber only known to the most daring of performers and entertainers. The man was an obscurity, and yet among Fuyuki City residents, he was a local legend. That legend being Honda the Warlock.

From afar, Mordred and Assassin watched on as their master stood face to face with the dreaded skeletal lich. A chill ran through their spines, though not from fear. This was the instinctual sign of an outside presence spreading along the mountainside, with prana so strong that it literally lowered the temperature of the air.

To be more specific, It was the chilling sensation of encroaching death.

'This prana…it's unreal…' Mordred thought to herself. Her breath came out as small wisps of chilled air.

The homunculus heir of Artorias watched on with bated breath. Her emerald eyes honed in on her brave and stalwart master, both out of pride for his near heroic stand, as well as concern for his immediate well being.

'I hope you know what you're doing, Honda. Even though you are pretty skilled for a so-called 'novice master', you're facing a walking powerhouse. One that can even stand against a servant. That freak had me and Assassin on our last legs!' Mordred thought concernedly. Her green eyes fidgeted as her own heart crashed against her ribcage.

It was known to all of the Holy Grail War that to stand against a servant was much akin to suicide. To attempt such an illogical maneuver in any setting would likely result in one's demise. The thing was, with Ananta, this didn't seem to deter him. From what Mordred could gather, Ananta was not only able to seize her attacks with his bare bone hands, but he was also fully capable of shrugging off otherwise fatal blows.

Just the thought of a magus enduring a noble phantasm surviving a noble phantasm head in was an impossible feat. However, true to his name Ananta the Undying, it would appear that the undead summoner was proficient enough to endure that which would obliterate all others.

Despite her being current powerless state, Mordred didn't wish to stand aside. Her place was with her chosen master, however, her prana had run drastically low with her use of Blood Clarent Arthur. Her body, though possessing capabilities that far outpaced any human, was much more frailer as a result of the abnormal summoning of this war, making the use of a Noble Phantasm a risky maneuver at best. This rendered the traitor knight a liability for Honda.

'I want to help more than anything…but I can barely move…and if I did so…I'd be useless to fight! This pisses me off so much! What the hell is it gonna take to kill this boneheaded bastard?' Mordred thought while gritting her teeth in irritation. Her pride and ego as a knight and warrior took a blow, feeling the sting of helplessness as well as the belief that her inability to fight made her faulty as a servant.

Beyond that, the blonde red garbed knight felt her chest tighten. Her own personal feelings spoke another story, one not based on self pride, but of honest concern for someone she cared about.

'This…this sucks!'

Assassin, though she would like to intervene, was more concerned about the nearby Caster. Due to Mordred's attack, Caster was nowhere to be seen, having retreated from the battle to avoid the blast. Being an Assassin class servant, she knew that the servant was nearby and most likely was planning her next move from afar. She needed to consider the possibility of retreating with Mordred in tow, or remaining if Honda was to be flanked by the waiting Caster.

As an Assassin, her duty lied in victory no matter the cost, even if victory required abandoning a master in search of a new one. To abandon a current master in order to survive was something that was fully capable as part of her class as an Assassin. With Honda however, it was different.

Assassin couldn't fathom the idea of abandoning him. The usual cutthroat tactics she would utilize for this very situation were closed off to her. The fact was, she wanted to protect her master. The fact that she even felt concern for her master in such a personal manner frightened her, a rather rare emotion for the otherwise detached Hassan of the Hundred Faces. It went against her training, against the nature she had been molded to be.

Her time with Honda had Assassin realize that buried beneath the coldness of her upbringing, a spark of her humanity still remained. Honda's influence was slowly igniting its growing flame.

Assassin felt this odd sensation of relief, of freedom. From what, even she didn't know.

Unknown to her, it was the freedom of the coldness that her life had weighed on her spirit for so long. A discovery made possible from Honda.

For the moment however, her mind was stricken with concern behind her skull mask.

'Honda…are you sure this is the right choice? To put yourself in the middle of danger is not wise…not with this kind of magus. And to willingly try to protect a servant…it should be us that are here to protect you…' Assassin thought to herself as she gazed past the current smoke, looking at Honda's back. Even now, he stood brave in the face of death, with his shoulder cape boldly flapping against the wind. His spectral golem stood close, at the ready for whatever battle that would take place here, one worthy of one as grand a magus as Honda the Warlock.

The same Honda who stared at Ananta in his blood red orbs. The magician's gaze however, held a look of confusion on his face beneath the cool demeanor that his mask provided. He was currently trying to wrap his head around what Ananta was saying to him earlier.

'Ford?! Who in the hell is Ford?! I think you got the wrong man dude!' Honda's mind echoed as he stood there, with his blizzard coated eyes focused on the large glowing blood red magical pits of the necromancer before him.

Ananta, on the other hand, gazed at the Warlock with a fixated focus. To the blood skulled dark magus, this particular cloaked individual was the greatest threat. Not even the two servants in front of him could sway the focus of the cursed magus. To him, they were nothing but witless distractions, mere rodents compared to the figure that stood before him.

"What form of forbidden magecraft is this?" Ananta asked with a notable hint of curiosity and even bewilderment in his tone.

Honda looked at Ebony who simply shrugged her shoulders in response to Ananta's question, especially from him calling her master by a completely different name. She even looked behind her to see if there was anyone who would match the name Ford Velune.

Seeing that there was no one there, the automaton could only let out a small high pitched hum in response, as if trying to say to Honda 'I am just as lost as you are'.

Mordred raised an eyebrow. "Whose…whose Ford?"

Assassin shook her head in the negative. "I don't know…but he seems to recognize Honda by that name."

'Did I miss something here? He's calling me a different name for Pete's sake! Did he expect someone else? Another master maybe? Unless…don't tell me this guy forgot his lines or something?!' Hondas asked himself, trying to narrow down the possible reason why he was confused with this Ford guy.

"How did you survive, Velune…as memory serves, the last we met was the very moment I saw your demise. At least…that was what I had originally surmised." Ananta asked with an undertone of surprise in his voice. Being an immortal himself, to see a presumably long deceased enemy was something of a miracle to the bloodied skull magus.

Honda raised an eyebrow. 'Wait a minute…now that I think about it, Velune is Idores' last name. Maybe he's confused me for this Ford guy. The Holy Nail War agency did sign me up on this whole thing last minute. At the same time it's not like them to get things wrong like this. They've never messed up on anything this far.'

Honda's thoughts began to spiral in his attempt to make sense of this blatant error that the blood skull master made. For a guy with such a title as 'Ananta the Undying', his memory didn't seem so good.

'Then again, it was Stria who had originally set me up with this gig to begin with. But then she was told to do so by Idores, who's footing the bill. So…maybe this thing works like a 'saved game'. I must be taking the role of Ford Velune. Considering his last name…it sounds like this guy might be a relative of Idores.'

Honda's eyes then widened. A look of realization appeared in his vibrant blue eyes.

'Wait…even if that was true, why in the hell would Idores want me in the same sex game as this Ford guy? What if Ford is her ex husband?! Maybe they were sexually incompatible or…maybe this Ford guy preferred more…normal sex as opposed to this kinky roleplay Idores and Stria seem to like so much! That or maybe Ford is the reason why Idores is in this to begin with. There's too many unanswered questions!'

Honda's mind crashed with all the theories and possibilities that his mind could conjure. No one could blame him really, he is still under the assumption that he is within an immersive sex role play, and not in the middle of a battle that could shift the tides of destiny itself.

"You appear as if you are distracted…your mind should be in the now, not in the past. Although, I myself do have many questions. The obvious being how exactly did you survive for so long without me knowing? I saw your end before my own eyes…this is…an impossibility." The cursed magus asked Honda with a demanding tone, one that held little room for patience.

Mordred, overhearing this ordeal raised her eyebrows. "What…what is going on here? These two…know each other?"

Assassin tilted her head in confusion. She had been under the impression that Honda was a well versed mahus with the capability of blood magecraft and the use of his enchanted silver cards. But to hear the cursed magus calling him by a different name, specifically with the last name of Velune, made the dark skinned servant at a loss.

'Honda…is not really his name? Was he using an alias all this time?'

-Flashback: Chapter 6-

Honda's eye twitched. "Never mind. The name's Honda."

The figure looked at him tilting her head again. "As a master of the war, why would you reveal your identity? I am not under your command seal, you put yourself at risk by doing so." She lectured.

Honda smirked. "I got two!" He stuck his tongue out teasingly.

The figure sweatdropped.

"I see, you are using an alias. You're more crafty than I first thought."

-Flashback End-

Assassin's eyes widened.

'Has he been hiding his real identity to that extent. Three aliases. One being Honda, the other being the Warlock as his magus title, and then…Ford Velune. Considering the enemy he is now facing, it is no wonder he saw fit to keep his true identity a secret. If that is the case then that means Honda's true power will be revealed to us.'

The idea of Honda being anymore stronger than she originally surmised made Assassin's blood run cold. Since the first time she had met Honda, the cutthroat servant believed Honda to be a walking powerhouse. Compared to most modern magi, he was a walking typhoon of miracles for his allies and destruction for his enemies. To think he was only holding back after all this time made her shudder at what powerful arcane techniques he had in store for the necromancer.

Meanwhile, with the Warlock himself, Honda was somewhat stumped at coming up with a proper response for this very odd and out of place inquiry made by the talking skull king in front of him. For as long as he can recall since the moment he began playing the Holy Nail War, he had never recalled being known or having heard of anyone going by the name of Ford. To hear this now out of all times, right at what was supposed to be a climatic fight, made Honda confused and also mentally stuck.

'I can't help but feel this nagging feeling as if I'm missing something! Since this whole thing started, I don't remember anyone giving me a specific character to play. In the script I was faxed, the Holy Nail War never once mentioned anything about me playing as someone else. If that is the case then that means all this time I've been messing up in my role! How can I make such an amateur mistake?!' Honda's stressed mind thought within his cranium.

Honda sweatdropped. He could feel the anxious sensation of his stomach dropping at the thought of making such a deep mistake in character. The worst feeling of any performer is acting out of script and ruining an entire performance.

-Flashback: Chapter 2-

"Sooo why did you come and pick me up Mrs...um" A voice can be heard within a limousine currently driving through the streets.

"Oh I am no Mrs., just call me Idores, Idores Velune." A woman spoke….

…"Y-yeah, my bad, so...Idores, why pick me up?" Honda asked, still skeptical of this strange random act of generosity.

The albino Idores smiled, making Honda blush at this sudden attention from this really attractive woman sitting across from him. Her eyes were closed seemingly in kindness.

"In all honesty it's because...I am lonely." she answered blatantly.

-Flashback End-

'Wait…that's gotta be it! Idores…is lonely! Since she is paying for the Holy Nail War, she must be looking for someone to match her and Stria's crazy sexual needs. She said don't call her Mrs., so that must mean there's no real Ford in the picture. Ford Velune must be the name of my character for this! That's it! She wants me to prove myself! To even let me use her last name…that means she…she really digs me! There's no other reason for Idores to take me in! Pervert or no, Idores doesn't seem like someone to take in some rando and sign him up for a war simply because he looks like someone else. That would be…stupid!'

Honda could not have been more wrong in any other moment in the infinite multiverse.

He clenched his right hand as a physical display of his resolve. 'If I really messed up as my assigned character, then that means I don't have a choice here, this Ananta guy is a max level performer. Just look at that badass costume, he looks like a real lich from this distance! Now that's what I call dedication to his craft! He must be expecting a professional for this scripted event, and here I am blowing it like some noob! If that's the case, then I'm gonna have to improvise. My whole rep is on the line here! I must play the act of a long dead, and resurrected Ford Velune, now back with a vengeance! That should be easy for someone like Honda the Warlock!'

-Honda Vision Start-

In front of the warlock's eyes a menu popped open, much akin to a UI that one would normally see in a video game or a mobile app. It displayed a blue tinted text box.

The message read as thus in white font.

[Note: Your decisions up to now have led to this point.]

Before Honda stood Ananta the Undying. He appeared larger in comparison to his true form. In fact he appeared to be the size of a building. The usually emotionally numb and tall undead figure was replaced with a large blood red skull with prominent protrusions that framed his ruby red face. Unlike in reality, large spikes littered the top of his bony scalp, granting him an ominous, near demonic form. Ananta's appearance was that of an Eldritch horror, twisted and mangled. The likes that would only be found in the most gruesome of horror stories. He possessed a forked tongue that seemed to emanate from the deep chasm of his bony blood-colored maw, lined with flesh tearing canines. His cloak, though tattered, appeared to stretch far and wide, like a whirlwind of smoke black wispy tendrils.

[Conflict: An evil threat stands in your path!]

[BOSS FIGHT IMMINENT!]

Honda looked behind him, seeing the innocent cute faces of Assassin and Mordred. As a result of the delusion he was under, they appeared cute, with wide innocent eyes.

Assassin, in a shy voice, beckoned Honda. Her voice came out soft and soothing.

"Be careful Honda. He almost killed some of the other versions of me! *Sniff* I really like those guys, even if they are just clones of me! Every time they get hurt, I get hurt too!"

As for Mordred, she spoke with a smile bearing a prominent fang on the side of her lips, making her appear mischievous.

"That one be askin' for an ass kickin! Even with all my power, the freak survived. Cheater!"

Another text box appeared. The box was tinted blue with its edges wrapped in a silver metallic frame.

[Journal Updated: You are Ford Velune, the eighth Master of the Holy Nail War. After many years believed to be dead, you have returned in search of the answers that have surrounded your unfortunate demise. Your murderer stands before you, seeking to wreak havoc upon the world.]

Ananta's red eyes glowed vehemently as he spoke down to Honda as if he was vermin. His voice was booming and ominous, possessing an exaggeratedly garbled and low pitched manner of speech. It was much akin to a call from the depths of Hell.

[Ananta: "ThERe iS oNly DeaTH FOr YOU, and ONLY dEaTH foR tHoSE WHo folLOw yOU. ThiS AtTacK was ONlY THE BEginnInG. I WILl VeNTuRE uNTiL eVEry rEMaINIng MASTEr hAS BEeN oBbLitTerAtEd And with my VIcToRY i wILL CLaiM ThE coSmos UndEr my wiLl."]

Another text bubble appeared displaying Honda's current mission objective.

[Defeat Ananta the Undying Eldritch. Achieve your victory and show him the power of Ford Velune, reborn as Honda the Warlock! Smite down your enemy with all the might befitting a true mage or be consumed along with your servants!]

[DECIDE YOUR FATE!]

-Honda Vision End-

Honda's back straightened as he stood with a valiant stand. Both his arms were outstretched as if he was calling upon the moon as its rays shone from behind him. It peaked through the clouds and followed him as he stepped forward, ready to confront this 'unkillable' foe. His eyes, coated in sapphire, pierced into Ananta's cursed red orbs.

Ananta felt an odd sensation through his being. The atmosphere had changed with the focused gaze sent his way. It was a look that reminded Ananta of the one magus who ever held a chance against him before his transformation.

Ebony floated behind Honda as he spoke with fire in his voice. The golem narrowed her eyes towards Ananta, ready for battle.

"Your immortality is nothing compared to the unknown knowledge that I have uncovered. All the voids I've traversed, all the mysteries I have discovered in my time away in the deep trenches of the abyss have granted me the archives that would sway entire dimensions. Realities, the likes of which you will never witness with your cursed frame. I will show you the nature of the magics and lost arts that I have been branded with upon my return. Once again we will do battle, and once again I will bury you where you stand, demented one!"

Ananta tilted his head in confusion.

"Your memory deludes you Velune. I was never defeated in our last battle…it was you who had met your end. Although…I did lose quite a bit in the process of that fight. I remember how I bled for months, agonizing with the many ailments your horrid magecraft imbued me with, but it was thanks to you that I prospered, having multiplied in strength in response to your actions. It is ironic that I grew in a vastly shorter time due to my battle with you than from decades studying in the Clocktower. Not even the flow of time can reach me now. The forces of the infinite worlds that govern all existence hold no dominion over me. I am among the immortals now. There are no forces that can bring me to kneel." Ananta bragged, raising his left skeletal hand, while flexing his bony fingers. It was clear that the changes Ananta endured from his last battle with Ford was part of the reason behind his current appearance.

Honda's cape flowed as he unveiled the multiple gravity defying strings of phantom wire, displaying his deck of silver cards that he would use as his weapons

"What good would immortality do for you here? What stands before you is the avatar of your long delayed judgment, Blood Skull! My will alone has been drenched in Fate's hellfire and reforged by the hammers of my own spirit. Your magecraft has granted you strength but no clarity or clairvoyance. You do not face a practitioner of the pitiful arts of this 'modern' age of glorified illusionists, you step into the unknown scriptures of the Void itself. You live as a fallacy of being. A mockery of existence. I will be sure to send you to the Void as you have me, only then will you know of true power that would topple the gods of old!"

'The Void? What exactly are you talking about Velune? Is that some place you ventured to after your death? Was this the reason behind your resurrection? What did you find there? Unless…no that is not it. It is unlikely.' Ananta thought to himself, although a rising irritation was kindled within his corroded soul, one that sought to bring the resurrected Velune to his knees.

Mordred and Assassin stared on with wide eyes. The way Honda spoke, the way he carried himself, there could be no other explanation. The fact that he is powerful despite being a novice, the fact that he could stand against a near godlike magus, only now does it make sense to the two servants.

Honda the Warlock was in fact a revenant. A being that had died and somehow returned, reborn. How exactly was currently unknown to the two servants. A feat such as this has never been possible in all magical arts. The attempt at cheating death itself, was one that left the soul scarred and the mind abandoned or horribly forgotten. But their master was the only one to have achieved something deemed impossible.

And here he stands, now using this second chance at life with the sole goal of besting an immortal. An impossible job, but for an equally impossible magus, it appeared possible that Honda may reign victorious.

'Honda…you're so…badass!' Mordred blushed as she looked on with shaking pupils, transfixed on this now revealed past between Ananta and Honda. She couldn't help but look on with a fanged smile, like a kid watching a brave hero fight an epic battle. Her hot headed nature made her view her master in a glorious light. Unfortunately for the traitor knight she had yet to understand that she was tricked by Honda's passionately delivered improvisation.

It was a clash of opposing forces as opposed to magi that the two servants were witnessing. A husk that donned immortality like a raiment, and a mortal man who outmaneuvered death itself, returning fully intact. An unkillable malevolent being against an untamable hurricane of godly wit.

"The tides of destiny have brought us here, Ananta. The very fabric of reality has marked this very moment in the annals of history."

Honda, as he flexed his muscles, Ebony flared her strength, with indigo trails of prana wrapping around Honda in a gentle cocoon of prana, unknowingly shielding him from the chilling and corrosive properties of the necromancer before him. To Ananta and the servants bearing witness however, this was Honda flaring his own prana reserves, making for an intimidating site, as if his true power was pouring out in a blanket of aural flares.

WHOO

The wind began blowing around all in attendance, sending large swaths of dust away from Honda's person in a spiraling motion.

"There is no need to downplay what is already known. Fate turns its back on your pitiful existence!" The Warlock criticized Ananta.

He poured his powerful vocal cords into one statement that sent ice down the undead magus' spine, and made his insides squirm.

"Your long awaited purgatory begins!"

All was quiet as Ananta gazed at Honda with a stunned expression. A silence had captured the air as Honda spoke to him with a notable fire in his voice. There was power in his voice, a solemn vow that made even the immortal Ananta uneasy.

'To die and return is an impossible feat. Even a Velune cannot pull something like this. And yet Ford was able to do just that. He has no qualms of a second death…even now, you show no fear…no concept of self preservation…' Ananta thought to himself as he clenched his sanguine crusted bone hands.

'I wouldn't expect any less from you, Ford Velune…'

CRICKLE

CRACKLE

Small red bone sheddings broke off as Ananta clenched his left fist. He gripped it with such strength that he fractured his hand before it regenerated. The bits that were fractured regenerated, undoing the damage he incurred on himself.

"It would seem that in your haste attempt to dispose of me you have made the most erroneous of errors. You should have made sure that I was dead. And here I am once more. Ford Velune stands once again!" Honda made up on the spot, now brandishing the name of Ford Velune for the sake of the immersive roleplay. The show must go on, and as an entertainer at heart he will not let the other roleplayers have their experiences sullied by his own negligence.

'It's working! I think he's liking the setup! He's practically shaking with glee at my acting chops!' Honda thought with pride in himself for apparently making the red skulled master quiver in place, not knowing he was placing seeds of subconscious doubt in Ananta.

The dark arts practitioner replied.

"Indeed…I do not know exactly how you survived, I will be sure to rectify that mistake. It is no wonder that everything up till now about the servants of the war has been altered somehow. My temporary mistake seems to have come back to bite me. That Spectral Golem you have tamed is a testament to your meddling with the war. An impossible feat in itself, yet you somehow claimed it all the same. The fact that it follows you is a testament to your perversion of the forces of our world. Your return has disrupted the very balance of the Holy Grail War-"

"Holy Nail War!" Honda corrected while Ananta was in the middle of his speech, forgoing his Warlock persona. Ananta didn't seem to notice or care, carrying on without pause.

"Nonetheless, you being alive makes no difference now. I have already shed my own mortal limits. I was able to achieve what even you could not…a body that never ceases, that will never know defeat. I will send you and that abomination back to this 'Void' you both came from. Come, let me show you the results of my ascension…"

Honda turned back to Assassin. He nodded towards her, using his right hand in a shoo like manner, sending her a non vocal sign.

'Don't worry ladies I got you!' Honda thought inwardly. He was grinning giddily under his mask. To Assassin and Mordred, the mask made Honda appear serious and commanding in his glowing blue gaze.

Assassin picked up this as a signal to flee. She began sprinting away with Mordred latched onto her back. The red garbed knight protested.

"What are you doing?! Honda is out there, we can't just leave him!"

The shadowy servant responded. "There is no fear to worry, Honda has long thought ahead for this very moment. If we are to survive we must be out of his way so that he can do battle against Ananta!"

Mordred looked back towards Honda with a concerned look on her face. She couldn't shrug off this feeling that leaving Honda on his own was an ill thought maneuver.

"I don't care if he's confident enough to stand up to that freak, I want to make sure he's safe, he's my master too!"

Assassin explained. "His Spectral Golem is with him at the moment. He will have all the power he needs in order to combat the lich. As we are now we can only do one thing. And that's regrouping with the others at the tower."

"What for? If that bonehead can't even die what would be the point of regrouping?" Mordred raised an eyebrow as she looked back towards Honda's form, growing smaller as Assassin sprinted away.

"Deacon's Tower is a reservoir of generations worth of prana right? Which means…"

Assassin had a small smile on her face as determination poured from her eyes beneath her mask.

"We can use it as a weapon!"

-With Ananta-

Ananta's eyes glowed as he looked at the retreat of the Assassin. Her attempt to flee was copied by the other incarnations of Assassin. Those that were fit to fight were quick enough to gather the injured who had sustained significant damage during the fight before.

'Ford intends to do this alone. What kind of plan do you have in mind, Ford. Knowing a magus of your caliber, you must have conjured some form of countermeasure to stand against me as I am now. A futile attempt of resistance, and yet…'

Ananta's red eyes widened in realization.

'Deacon's Tower! It's practically a stockpile of power. With Deacon dead, Ford must have kept it stored somehow…'

"Caster!" Ananta echoed to his servant, who immediately floated in the direction of the two servants.

Caster floated above the servants, already readying a few skeletal Dragon Tooth Warriors to pursue the escaping servants. If they make contact with the rest of the army at the tower, then this whole battle will be in vain. Immortal or no, Caster herself knew that even Ananta would not be able to resist for long without being bound in some manner. Immortals cannot be killed but could be contained. Considering the tactics of this Warlock thus far, she'd be foolish to ignore the possibility that he had already prepared for this fight long beforehand.

'I have to keep them grounded enough to use my dagger. With their command seals, we can have some form of gain without the need to remain here. As far as we're concerned, this battle is already lost. Rule Breaker will be the only thing that could keep the servants out of the way of victory. But my prana is not at full power. I'll need to keep my distance and use the trees for cover as I go.'

The blue haired witch was in pursuit of the squad of retreating Assassins, with her summons in tow.

With Caster out of the way, Ananta's power surged.

"Ford Velune, let us begin…"

A pitch black miasma with streaks of blood red swirled around the edges of his cloak, making the surrounding environment dye a tinge of red with how vibrant his power was. The rain that had stopped in midair was literally blown away from the epicenter of Ananta, sprinkling on Honda as they blew, and dampening his outfit.

RUMBLE

'Oh shit! This is so cool! It's like I'm in a shounen manga! Hell yeah!'

Nearby, a tree had collapsed on top of a random flying squirrel, flattening the poor animal in a violent explosion. Under his mask, Honda was grinning ear to ear as he admired what he thought were super realistic special effect teams hard at work.

'Kick ass!' Honda boomed in his mind as he watched on, waiting for Ananta to fully charge. He had also wanted to see what kind of magic spell he would use. After all, if he's a scripted boss or master, then Honda needed to know his attack patterns.

"Os Cuniculum!" Ananta echoed. (A/n: Means 'bone burrow' in Latin.)

Ananta's left hand clenched, causing a large number of bone protrusions to pop out of the ground beneath Honda.

RUMBLE

BOOM

CRACKLE

The cartilage embedded protrusions punctured through the ground, coated in red runes that decorated their smooth surface as they reached their peak. They were about the size of two men pointed towards the Moon, surrounding Honda in a clockwise manner.

SHHHHHHH

The runes on the side of the surface of the bone protrusions, glowed with a violent red. As they glowed an audible hum echoed from inside the bone protrusions, making for an ominous chorus.

"Sanguis Laqueus! (A/n: Means Blood Snare in Latin)" Ananta roared as he released the tension of his left hand. Upon doing so, the runic surfaces of the bone protrusions he had conjured dissipated, whereas the tips of the bone protrusions glowed and unleashed large thick beams that tracked Honda, smack dead in the center.

BAMPH

The light was so intense that Honda had to cover his eyes due to the intensity of the vibrant blood red rays. They fired like cannons, with enough power to ripple his clothes with the incoming shockwave. The air surrounding the summoned bone cannons rippled with the inferno-like that emanated from the blasts.

"Ebony!" Honda called upon his stalwart golem, who upon hearing her master, swayed her hands with indigo particles emanating from her slender fingertips. The beams, upon coming within Honda's reach, made contact with something. It was hard, large, and sturdy enough to withstand the impact as well as the heat of the prana induced rays.

Upon the smoke clearing away, Ananta the Undying was able to see for himself the results of his attack.

Before him stood Honda relatively unscathed with his cloak flowing against the wind, like a shard of wispy shadow, defying gravity with gentle sways.

However, that was not what Ananta was really focusing on. What really caught his attention was the fact that the indigo rune engraved automaton that stood with him, had conjured large ebony engraved shields. They were flat and oddly shaped like durable plate shields, bearing lightning accented decal that cast a royal purple glow from their frames. Specks of prana sparked through the cracks of the thick plates. There were six that surrounded Honda, spinning with a steady pace as they literally blocked off the volley of the prana beams that fired from all directions. They were originally some of Honda's silver cards, modified into much larger and empowered for defense as opposed to offense. Each time the shields were struck, the decal would glow, making prominent, reverbing gongs with each intercepted bolt.

GONG

GONG

GONG

They were large enough to literally protect Honda from the rays of Ananta's 'Sanguis Laqueus' ('Blood Snare').

Honda smirked underneath his mask, he was liking what he was experiencing so far. This was like a hard rank boss in a video game, where one slip up could be the difference between winning and losing. A formidable challenge for an equally driven contender.

'Man this guy is fast with his spells! I didn't have time to even think. I better make sure to time my dodges if I want to 'survive' this one!'

From behind his back, Honda raised his right hand towards Ebony, lifting a thumbs up.

He whispered. "Thank you Ebony! I didn't even know you had that move." Causing her to let an audible grumble in response to the praise. She appeared to be bashful, averting her gaze from Honda as if to shyly say 'it was no big deal'.

-Honda Vision Start-

A purple tinted text box appeared in front of Honda. In bold gold font it read as thus:

[New Ability Unlocked! Ebony has unlocked Black Aegis! Use it to turn your cards into large shield walls to protect yourself from powerful blasts!]

-Honda Vision End-

"Your reaction time is just as fast as before, sorcerer. I see that your time away has not dulled your skills. Although…I don't recognize this defense. True to your word, it would seem that you've been harnessing new magecraft." Ananta analyzed, with his black and red prana oozed from the surface of his bony body.

CRICKLE

CRACKLE

SHATTER

Ananta was caught off guard upon seeing the bone protrusions that he had summoned earlier had literally been sliced in half dangling for shifting and collapsing against the ground in a messy pile of bone shrapnel and ash.

Honda flashed his remaining unaltered silver cards, gleaming against the light portrayed from the Moon, casting a near blade like sheen. Without Ananta knowing, Honda had sliced the protrusions and had used his prana empowered deck of cards to slice the bone protrusions in a circular motion, using the phantom wire that kept the cards strapped together. It was a fast split second counter that cleanly sliced the pillars in two. The bone protrusions fell onto the now ruined ground.

"No…you're even faster than before…" Ananta whispered to himself. He took note that with Ebony nearby, Ford appeared to be able to utilize defense and offense simultaneously.

'I must remember that I'm facing an actual Spectral Golem. I need to be cautious here. It's been said that they are natural weavers of prana. Shepherds of the deceased and enforcers of balance when need be. To see one in person, and seeing it serve a magus is shocking to say the least.'

Honda on the other hand was ecstatic. He was feeling immersed with this particular baddie.

"You'll soon discover that there are many unspoken spells at my disposal, Ananta. Death taught me many things…and tonight it will be your teacher!" Honda said, with a glow in his frosty glowing blue orbs, staring down Ananta despite the cursed magus' position on the high ground.

With the realization that his foe would be more of a challenge than he originally expected, large smoke wisps appeared from Ananta's garments, curling and twirling like drills.

VRVRVRVRVRVR

An ominous sound emanated from the pitch black smoke drills. They were sizzling the air around them, distorting it with frictional heat.

"You think those cheap dark drills can skewer me!" Honda said challengingly, lifting his silver performing cards up. With the fire wool tied to his cards, spreading fire against their surface, Honda immediately leaped upwards. Ebony used her hands to aid Honda with the somersault he intended to pull off, acting as a makeshift trampoline.

BOOST

Honda practically soared into the air as a result of Ebony's prana empowered boost. A trail of purple prana particles followed him as he went, spreading prominent embers across the field, making the performer look like a dancing purple flame as he blurred through the air.

'A melee attack? Does he intend to face me head on? This is rather…unlike him…' Ananta thought to himself. The cursed magus shrugged his concerns away. Ford Velune appeared to have also changed his manner of attack.

'No matter. If he wishes to leap towards his death then so be it!'

With a simple flick of bony wrist, the cursed magus unleashed the wispy smoke tendrils towards his intended target. All of them went like a volley of bullets.

"Finis Caligo! (A/n: Means 'End Mist' in Latin!)

Since Honda was mid-air, there would be no real way to avoid the fast impaling airstrike.

VRVRVRVRVRVRVR

The pitch black smoke tendrils spun with friction, appearing as if they were drills as they sped towards Honda. The air distorted with the amount of heat the friction of the drills generated.

"Your cursed magic won't hold me down Ananta!"

Honda spun his cards around in a 360 motion.

"DRAGON DECK!" Honda bellowed as he slashed apart the smoke tendrils. He practically danced mid-air as he swung his prana empowered cards at the tendrils that sought to skewer him. His natural trained athleticism enabled him to deftly swing about midair.

As he spun around, the fire wool ignited, lighting the air around Honda in white hot flame. Making contact with the smoke tendrils caused them to singe, spreading white embers and dissipating upon contact with the enflamed deck.

'Wait…that white flame…he's using Phoenix Fire Wool. And with Phantom Wire to guide his strikes…no wonder my smoke can not touch it. A wool made from an immortal essence with an incorporeal anchor makes a proper counter to my spell. But why apply throwaway alchemic compounds in combat? What about his magecraft? Where are the spells befitting a Velune?' Ananta thought to himself.

'He must be storing as much of his prana as possible for whatever plan he has in mind to contend with me. He did drain himself of his prana the last time we fought. There is no denying this, he is bidding for time. I must end this here. Retreat is futile.'

Ananta would end his war with the Velune magus here. His red eyes flared with an ominous intent.

Honda's 'Dragon Deck' made contact with Ananta's pitch black 'End Mist', sending smoke and white embers across the battlefield in an explosive impact that sent both combatants back. Ananta skidded across the ground while Honda flew into the air whilst using his phantom wire like a lasso to anchor him to the ground.

-Elsewhere-

Away from the mountains, nearest to Deacon's Tower, several figures could be seen gazing upon the distorted air in the distance. The presence of such a murderous energy source made all of the non-human entities concerned, looking at the nearby mountains with a look of fear.

The homunculi of the tower who stood at the walls could only surmise as to what exactly awaited at the mountainside. Other homunculi were currently in the process of clearing skeletal stragglers who had been caught at the walls, limping and dragging themselves in a last ditch effort to escape a losing battle. The emboldened red eyed security guards personally saw to obliterating the bone walkers in a shower of fractured joints and cartilage. Though fatigued from battle they were victorious in subduing the great threat, littering the battlefield with scores of bones and the carcass of the Jade Basilisk.

As for Stria, who was with Atalanta, the chauffeur widened her red eyes. Her spine tingled, as if something sought to end her life at this very moment, despite there not being anyone in sight. It was as if death incarnate approached, echoing a silent vow of doom that even an artificial being such as her could contemplate.

Despite this however, the albino couldn't help but think in concern about one person in particular.

Gripping her prana rifle in hand, the recently titled Lady of the tower whispered.

"Honda…"

With a fire in her breast, Stria turned her gaze towards the source of this invasive presence, beyond the wall towards the mountain. Her eyes narrowed with focus. She took one step and then another, headed straight towards the ominous presence in the distance, towards the shockwave that erupted from Honda and Ananta's grand battle.

Atalanta gripped her slender bicep, stopping her in place with a firm grip.

"What are you doing?! Honda said for us to stay here until the battle is over." Atalanta said to the red eyed albino who looked back at the red glowing mountainside. Even now the wind blew the dead trees with high velocity, sending twigs away from whatever monstrosity awaited them. The feline servant wouldn't allow Stria to simply leave, vulnerable to whatever threats lingered there.

Stria's red eyes held a fire inside. Staring at Atalanta with conviction. Stria replied.

"Honda is in there…I refuse to leave him there alone.a I want to be there by his side. I refuse to allow Honda's death to happen just as it did for my Lady." Stria said as she walked off, leaving the fatigued cat girl confused.

"You mean, you've seen something like this happen before?" Atalanta said with confusion before sighing, giving up the pointless argument. If Honda was at risk of dying as Stria mentioned, then Atalanta wouldn't ignore her duty. Despite her seemingly uncaring demeanor, Atalanta couldn't deny that a small part of her was concerned for her master. As lecherous and cunning as Honda could be, he did not seem to be a cruel man.

She gripped her bow and arrow, making sure to use what energy she had left to ensure the victory they sought.

'I haven't even known Honda for long and yet he's already pushed me to the brink! That idiot of a man…and yet he's my master and I will do my duty as best as I can to fulfill my wish.'

Atalanta's mind flashbacked to the things Honda had done to her in the master bedroom, making her face flush in embarrassment. Her rear still tingled from the passionate thrusts her master inflicted on her.

The fact that her lower garments had grown slightly wet with a prolonged heat made Atalanta concerned with her own motivations for fighting in Honda's name. Her motivation being more primal in nature, though the chaste servant would not understand this yet.

'Oh Artemis forgive me! Out of all times to think of such things! Why now?'

Stria navigated her way downwards the tower steps, past the large halls and onto the courtyard. As she passed by, homunculi could be seen gathering the wounded from the battle, hurrying in their duties. Others bowed to Stria in respect to the Lady of the Warlock. Stria didn't pay attention to this. Her attention was to someone more important than a title.

As Stria locked and loaded her prana rifle, the albino thought to herself.

'I already know what happened to Idores, and how the loss of Ford always plagued her mind. I already had to see its effects on Idores myself…that crippling regret that changed her. I refuse to allow it to happen again, especially now when I have the capability to do something about it! I won't lose someone who is important to me!' Stria thought aloud. It was an odd sensation that rose to her chest, a fury that she wanted to unleash on Ananta whose energy surged from afar. With the look of a huntress in her red eyes, Stria signaled a group of security homunculi at the courtyard before the tower gates.

"Your master Honda the Warlock needs you! Will you ignore his plea now?" Stria asked the security homunculi before their red eyes glowed before they immediately raised their prana guns, letting out a rallying cry in response to the leadership of their newly elected Lady. In the eyes of the homunculi in attendance, Honda's leadership for this grand battle had more than earned their respect and eternal loyalty. Theirs was an inferno of fury to those who would endanger their lord and chosen hero.

Stria was still unsure as to exactly how to help. To defeat an immortal was something of an impossible goal. How would she go about defeating something that could not be killed?

That was when it hit her. Looking at the tower gates, she noticed that the prana-imbued defenses still held after the large-scale battle. The Tower still hummed with prana.

'The only one who would know how to utilize the Tower would be not other than its former owner. I need Deacon for this!'

Stria informed the nearest homunculus maid to lead her to Deacon's room, where he had been placed for recovery. Stria had a plan. An improvised one but one that might save Honda. The irony was that Honda's decision to spare Deacon was the very decision that might just save him.

Saber, at the front lines, among the many other incarnations of Assassin, dragged her sword in the direction of the prana she felt from afar. An Assassin incarnation stopped her. It was a female incarnation with purple hair that reached her neck in a shoulder-length haircut.

"Wait, Saber. You're currently in no shape to battle. Do you intend on doing battle as you are?" The incarnation asked.

Saber grit her teeth in response. "I can't just stand around and do nothing! I'm a servant of the Holy Grail War and my place is with my master! He faces a necromancer, and this sword will be the one thing that may bring the beast to submission."

The Assassin tilted her head. "I'll call the others. We'll need as many hands as we can gather for this one."

Saber nodded before finding herself literally scooped up by another Assassin incarnation, one with notably bulkier muscles. Saber comically blinked twice with large eyes at being manhandled. Carried over his right shoulder, the bulky Assassin began sprinting with the knight in tow, prompting the other Assassins at the tower to follow, heading straight to battle.

The homunculi at the walls were already gathering what preparations they could.

The two maids Miki and Niki were already setting their air balloon with more prana bombs for what came next.

-Elsewhere-

In the nearby forest, two figures could be seen walking and brushing past the many twigs and dead bushes in order to escape the muddy pit they had found themselves in.

One of them was a woman literally caked in ivory skin, now marred with streaks of mud and scratches from her earlier scuffle. It was Idores. She was brushing past many dead bushes that pricked her skin.

Specifically, the Velune family head went straight towards the ominous energy that she had picked up. This was obviously a sign that Ananta was in the midst of deadly combat. She recognized it well enough to know that Ananta was serious.

'Just like before…when he fought Ford…I didn't think Honda would be able to hold his own for this long. Still…that idiot! He should have stayed at the wall where it's safe!'

Behind her, Silva Busujima followed the homunculus. The poisonmancer was battered and beaten from both the sexual escapade with Honda, as well as the physical beating she took from Idores. Her left eye was tinted black from the icy solid blow Idores dishes out to her during their car fight. The redheaded magus followed after the homunculus, though really because she assumed she was cursed and thus forced to follow. A focused stare was plastered on her face, a stony gaze that reflected her internal thoughts.

"All this time I always thought that it was your family who had taken my mother. All this time wasted, when the person responsible for my pain and that of my house lingered about, unbroken." Silva echoed as her multi-shaded eyes glowed with vengeance. Her rage towards Honda was nothing compared her current disgust and fury towards Ananta. This new development of Idores' loved one and her own mother both being slain by Ananta made the Busujima filled with untempered vengeance.

Idores replied. "Ananta the Undying had taken so many people over the years. God knows how many lives he's taken."

Silva asked. "You intend to go to battle with Ananta? If rumors are true, he is immortal. Do you even have a plan? We can't kill him so the best thing would be to seal him."

Idores paused in place. She sighed in recollection of the fact that Ananta would not be killed by normal means. "No…but…there's someone there…who I need to watch out for. I must go to him."

Silva raised an eyebrow. "You mean the same bastard who cursed us? Honda the Warlock?"

Idores blinked stupidly. A rare fracture in the calm collected Velune head. "Cursed?"

Silva continued as she walked. Silva scoffed as of it was obvious. "Do I have to say it? You know…with sex! He did it with me earlier in the mud pit after beating me with high school wrestling moves! Sick bastard….it's the only reason I haven't left yet. Knowing how slave curses go, if he dies, then I die. In a way I suppose it's only fair I save his neck for sparing me. Perhaps he'll let me go if I play nice. It beats any other alternative available to me."

Idores blushed as she stared at Silva with a stunned look.

'That's what this bitch thinks happened?'

"I know, you are just as caught up in this as I am. But I recall he only wanted one of us."

Idores sweatdropped. "One of us?"

Silva let out a small laugh. "Cute. I meant as in the woman he wants for his needs. That's the only reason he's cursed us. In exchange for our lives, we offer our bodies as payment."

Idores' face blushed. She coughed into her right hand.

'If I tell her the truth now she'll be sure to leave…I'm gonna need her help…'

Idores couldn't help but look at the large swell of Silva's breasts. For some reason the idea of Honda being alone with Silva brought irritation to Idores, making her clench her fists. Each sway Silva made caused her mammaries to bounce. Even as a homunculus, Idores had to admit, this bombshell was stacked.

-Idores Vision-

Idores and Silva stood side by side in a beauty pageant-like stadium. A swell of audience members consisting of the Deacon Homunculi cheered and clapped. Saber and the other servants had also appeared as audience members, clapping with a notable look of envy and sneers at the Velune head.

A narrator could be heard as Idores looked around with a self assured smile.

"And with only two contestants left, the judgment is left to Honda for the winner of this pageant."

Idores gulped upon hearing the narrator, seeing an oddly taller and imposing cloaked Honda flow near her. He spoke bluntly.

"Obviously it's whoever got the biggest jugs!" Honda said plainly with a perverted grin.

A large red 'X' appeared next to Idores, whilst a large green checkmark appeared next to Silva. Despite Idores being bountiful enough, she was only three centimeters shy of melon-based victory.

DING

DING

DING

The narrator announced.

"And it looks like we have a winner. Silva Busujima wins the pageant!"

Silva smirked towards Idores with an evil glint in her blue and green shaded eyes.

"Looks like I won this round, washboard!" Silva said with two fangs sticking out as she spoke. She laughed maniacally at Idores, displaying a forked tongue as Honda placed his hands on her boobs from behind her.

"You won the grand prize baby! Now give Papa some sugar!"

The audience was ecstatic as Silva was pronounced the winner of the beauty pageant, and getting fondled by Honda without a care in the world, making Idores fume with explosive jealousy.

"W-washboard!" Idores squeaked with tears threatening to drop from the corners of her eyes.

-Idores Vision End-

Idores stared at Silva's entire body with an unreadable expression.

'I could at least use her as a good human meat shield.' Idores thought with bitterness. Her mind made up, Idores chose to lie.

"He won't mind…he's…done this before…" Idores said while avoiding meeting the poisonmancer's eyes. She doesn't know how Honda improvises on the spot. She could barely keep a straight face with her own attempt at deceit. Though she prided herself on deceiving Honda, that was merely because he was already attracted to her. In this case, she was dealing with a literal poisonmancer, and a woman whose body made her feel insecure.

Silva's eyes widened. "Huh?! What do you mean by that?! There's more?! How many?!"

Idores waved off her questions. "Forget about all that, let's just go save Honda."

Silva continued with frustration in her voice. "As if two wasn't enough now you're telling me there are others?! I didn't know I was expected to have to share a man like some lowly concubine! How does one man satisfy that many anyway?!"

Idores stared with a deadpanned expression on her face. She whispered to herself.

"You took the words out of my mouth…" Idores said while dragging her heels. She really didn't want to divulge anymore than she already had. This whole alliance with Silva was strained at best, however it would be necessary if they are to defeat Ananta. It was without a doubt the most difficult thing Idores had to do, to work with an enemy to help someone she intended on using for the Holy Grail. Now however, she was becoming too close with Honda's affairs.

'You owe me big time you fool! Don't you dare die before we get there!' Idores mentally chastised Honda as she walked onward, heading closer to the mountainside where the immortal and magician faced off.

-Back to Honda-

BOOM

SIZZLE

Ananta had to dodge a spinning card strike made by Honda that literally exploded in rampaging white flames near his position. Though he was an immortal, the undead magus couldn't risk the possibility of being lassoed by the phantom wire.

"Stubborn as always, Velune…even now you still seek victory where there is none to be had."

SHING

The phantom wire wrapped cards carved against Ananta, sending him impacting against some wayward debris.

CRACKLE

CRICKLE

Ananta rose from the impact on the hard boulders. The bits of dust and pebbles magically floated off his person and back onto the ground. He was left unmarked.

Honda, who spun around midair, landed on the ground. He rose up from his knees as he met his frost blue eyes with Ananta.

"Too long have you roamed free without the chains of mortality anchoring you down Ananta. There are many who now lie dead as a result of your madness and I will be the one man who will finally bring you to heel." Honda said in a convincingly threatening tone.

Ananta let out a small half hearted exhale of a chuckle.

"For one who was once known as the Lord of Spells, you underestimate your opponent far too much. Just as before when you underestimated me, your own arrogance is the very reason why I bested you. Now it seems that you would repeat history."

'Oooh! The Lord of Spells, I like that! That's pretty neat for a character background.' Honda thought to himself, not knowing that Ford was in actuality a real person.

Honda tilted his head towards Ananta. His voice echoed as he spoke.

"That would be the case…if I didn't have a spectral golem, fully at my disposal! Ebony!"

Ananta looked to where the golem originally was, seeing the automaton fire off a bullet speed bolt towards his person.

BOOM

A spray of indigo tinted bombardment struck Ananta's arm as he moved to avoid the spectral golem. The flames of the speedy prana bolt has singed his blood red bony arms.

'This…this is…pain…I can feel the flames…' Ananta thought to himself in surprise. His blood tinted smoky prana smothered the indigo flames off of his arms, leaving a notable amount of smoke at the area where he took the brunt of the apparent damage.

"An immortal in name alone…you may be exempt from the progress of age but not from pain…and certainly not from your long delayed despair…" Honda admonished as Ananta landed a few feet away from Honda. His cape flowed as he spoke, giving him a dramatic flair. Honda clenched his fist with the phantom wire wrapped around his hands, ready to continue this intensive roleplaying fight.

"I see…you seek to break the spirit…not the body. You've surmised that my body still holds lingering echoes of the mortality I had shed away for this form. You remain just as studious as you were before. Despite this, I still remain unkillable." Ananta acknowledged. A thick wispy red aura begins oozing off of Ananta's body.

"You merely prolong that which is obvious to the both of us."

BAMPH

Ananta's body shot out a large red tinted shockwave spread outward from Ananta's body. The ground uprooted and cracked by the overwhelming burst of energy. The sudden shockwave blew Honda away from him, sending him into the air.

'Crap! Can't get too close without him sending me away like a ragdoll!' Honda analyzed. He had to admit that the last attack felt a little dangerous. It was a testament to the amount of effort the special effects team put into this whole thing. His torso ached from the hard impact.

'Even for a roleplay, I gotta say that shockwave hit kinda hard. Then again, no pain no gain! That's what's needed in order to win this!'

Before the naive Honda could land and potentially break a leg, Ebony propelled herself forward like a jet to catch Honda in a bridal carry. She flew to keep a distance away from Ananta's corrosive energy, which shattered the ground and sent smoke up into the air.

"My hero! Mwah!" Honda said offhandedly as he lifted his mask and placed a smooch on Ebony's left cheek, thankful for the save.

Ebony's glowing indigo eyes widened largely as the automaton registered the sudden display of affection. She turned to Honda with a faint hum emanating from her. It came out higher pitched than usual. Her curvaceous stone-carved body was fidgeting. If Honda didn't know any better, he would say she was stammering.

RUMBLE

CRACKLE

The ground began shaking as Ananta's power surged with his conscious control. The top part of his robes on his body that covered Ananta blew away as a result of being literally singed by the prana pouring from his body.

Honda stared with an impressed gaze as Ananta stepped into view. Without the top of his robes, Ananta's upper body was completely revealed. From what Honda could see, the cursed magus possessed no muscularity that displayed his humanity. Caked in the color of blood, the sanguine skeletal man stood before Honda. The rags of his robes covered his lower body in shredded tatters.

His upper body oozed a smoky ruby red aura that acted like the embers of a dying fire. The back of his scalp however appeared to be literally on fire, igniting in the color of blood. The temples and forehead of Ananta's skull, now revealed a row of small spike protrusions. The inside of his ribcage contained meaty tendrils that pulsed and swerved as he walked.

'Woah. That's one freaky transformation. His head is on fire! This guy must have grinded some S tier level gear he's got. If I win, I better get some of that loot too!' Honda thought to himself as Ananta approached.

"Now do you see the ever growing reaches of my ascension? Like a permanent wellspring that never ends…that never sleeps. An enduring body, one that will with the Holy Grail in hand-"

"Holy Nail!" Honda corrected Ananta, who continued without caring as to what his enemy had to say.

"-will allow me to travel through whatever trials await there."

Honda raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Trials?" The magician asked.

"Indeed. Trials. The one thing magi never think about in regards to the Holy Grail is the cost behind every wish. For magi around the world there is only one reason to obtain the Holy Grail. It is to reach Akasha."

"Akasha?" Honda asked, clearly lost in regards to this new concept.

"You know exactly what I'm referring to. The Root, Velune. What every magus strives to reach. A place beyond the world of men, the very "force" that exists at the top of all theories on dimensions. It is the location of the Akashic Records, the Swirl of the Root, which is the source of all events and phenomena in the universe. The Root stores and archives information of all possibilities and events, past, present, and future of our world. It is the very same place from where all souls , including those of the heroic servants who follow you, are recorded on the Throne of Heroes . Servants originate from there and then return upon their death."

'Now I know why entering the Holy Nail War is so expensive. Besides the whole kinky sex involved, everyone is fighting for a chance to get this Root? Which is all knowledge of the universe according to the lore. But since this is real life I'm guessing it's a grand prize not even the players could resist. I wonder what is it? Money? A vacation? A house? A gift card? A new car?...Women? There's already plenty of that. Unless…Akasha is a woman? I know I'm onto something!' Honda thought, trying to understand what the grand prize of the Holy Nail War was.

"But I know that once I make my way to the Root, I will need a means of ensuring my return. All magi who have reached the Root are said to never return."

'Called it! I knew there was some cost to wishing for all the knowledge of the universe. I guess obtaining all knowledge means relinquishing your place in the universe in order to get it. Talk about irony.' Honda analyzed, crossing his arms in front of him as he listened.

"This form you see now was a result of the dark ritual I did to my own body to prevent my disappearance when I obtain the Grail. Despite its appearance it makes a perfect anchor for my continued place in this world."

Honda replied. He had to act his part as an old rival after all.

"You call that mangled abomination perfect Ananta. You may be proud of this pitiful husk you've outfitted yourself with, but the Root would deny you for daring to usurp its purpose."

Ananta let out a small chuckle. "Not usurp, but outwit perhaps. The ritual for this body I possess now was intense…I had to commit myself to a temporary state of undying, using a magecraft in my family that could only be used once. It's known as The Red Feast. To complete it, I had to cannibalize my own flesh, while I was still alive and conscious enough to feel the pain. A pain only a few could undergo during that small window of immortality. Each bite made me closer to immortality, each one more painful than the last. Eventually before I knew it, there was no more pain…only the validation that I had succeeded where none have."

Honda instinctually gulped in avid revulsion. He instinctually cringed at the thought of any man eating himself and being aware enough to feel the entire process.

'Thank God this is only a roleplay. Otherwise I'd say this guy is all kinds of fucked up. If he ate everything then that means he ate his own…' Honda thought before looking down at his crotch.

'Never in a thousand years…' Honda sighed in relief before paying rapt attention to Ananta. He mumbled to himself.

"If I'm gonna beat this guy I'm gonna need the grimoire for this one."

Honda flicked his cape as he spoke with flair befitting a grand wizard.

"You partook on the Red Feast? A ritual born of the desperate and decrepit if you ask me." The Warlock insulted Ananta causing the red skulled magus to grit his jugular.

Honda continued.

"To forgo your humanity, and this is the half-witted form you've chosen. Very well…let me show you, you, who claims to have mastered the dark magicks. See what the Void and its boundless archives have instilled upon me."

Honda whipped out Mara Malga's black grimoire, flicking through the pages in a swift motion.

"A grimoire…" Ananta mumbled before Honda clapped the book shut.

Honda's blue eyes glowed brightly with the moonlight rays blaring behind him.

"Ebony! I call upon you! Page 13!"

Ebony turned towards Honda with a startled expression.

Honda roared. "Become my raiment for this battle! Embrace me, servant of the Unknown!"

Ebony flowed slowly towards Honda as if in a trance. Ananta stared on as the spectral golem slipped down Honda's mask.

Ananta fired off large red cannon from his left hand, with the intent of intervening in whatever it was Honda intended to use.

GONG

Honda flicked a card upwards. On reflex it transformed into a Black Aegis shield, blocking the red ray from piercing Honda and Ebony.

Honda smirked under his mask before noticing Ebony's left hand graze his shoulder gently. She was trying to keep him in place. Her weight pressed him onto the ground in a sitting position. Ebony's toned stony body pressed against his in an almost sensual manner.

Honda raised an eyebrow, trying to focus on the fight.

"Huh? Ebony! What are you-"

Ebony, the spectral golem, placed her lips onto Honda's. Her large purple eyes closed as the sentient summon graced his lips with her own. Honda's eyes widened as he felt the smoothest and warm lips he had ever tasted. It was odd that his stalwart companion would caress his lips in such a manner. It was also odd that a being made of hard rock could feel so soft and comparable to another human.

'Yo! I could have kissed her this whole time?!' Honda thought with a blushing face.

"What is this? He's controlling the Golem…with a grimoire?" Ananta murmured to himself.

SMOOCH

Ebony disconnected her lips from Honda. She had an oddly lingering gaze, with two small tints of electrical discharges on her cheeks that acted as her own equivalent of a blush.

"Honda…" A faint whisper emanated from the pitch black lips of the Spectral Golem before she dissipated into a thick miasma of indigo swirls of energy. They dispersed in a gentle manner, before immediately flowing through the stunned Honda's exposed mouth.

"What possessed you to do that?! To carry out a prana exchange with a Spectral Golem of all things is akin to signing your own death warrant." Ananta criticized his enemy. Even for a lich, he knew more than anyone that the stories of spectral golems made them something to be feared.

Honda licked his lips as he slipped back on his mask. The miasma from Ebony's disappearance made Honda's face obscure to Ananta's vision. This prevented the necromancer from seeing Honda's true face.

Honda improvised his lines, still reeling from the kiss of Ebony. He smacked his lips as he engraved the taste of Ebony's moist, warm and succulent lips to memory.

"I'm showing you…the full armament of my power!" Honda said. He flicked his cape back as he entered a dramatic pose, waiting for the spell to activate. His eyes navigated around to see if there was any change in the environment like before.

That was when he felt a small jolt deep inside his lungs.

COUGH

WHEEZE

The Warlock gagged for breath as his veins felt like burning. His chest clenched tightly, as if needles were piercing the center of his torso.

'Holy shit! What the hell just happened to me?! Am I having a heart attack?!' Honda thought in alarm. He raised his hand in a strained time out gesture.

"Time out! Time out!" Honda rasped before reaching for his back pocket. He turned around and whipped out a cell phone and dialed 119. (A/n: this is the Japanese equivalent of 911)

From Ananta's point of view, he couldn't see what Honda was doing. His cape blocked his front to the point her could only surmise that Ford Velune is simply reeling from infusing himself with the spectral golem.

"Even for one such as you that was perhaps the most foolish tactic you could use. You may have somehow miraculously tamed a spectral golem, but to fuse with one…you must have lost your mind. Spectral golems have never been studied in all records of magus history. They are said to be shepherds of souls, but they are also known as the bringers of devastation on a cosmic scale. You toy with that which was not meant to be tampered with, Velune. It's practically suicide…now look at you." Ananta chastised as Honda heaved for breath.

"Hello?" Honda's cell phone answered. It was an emergency dispatch representative.

"Help…I think I'm dying over here…someone…*cough*." Honda asked as he dropped his phone and collapsed onto his knees.

"Someone is killing you? Sir, we'll be right there! We're tracking you right now! Whatever you do, don't die before we get there!" The dispatch informed Honda as he heaved and gasped for breath.

BA DUMP

BA DUMP

Honda felt the veins of his body flare. He clenched his eyes tightly as he heaved for breath.

'Shit! The only thing I had to eat were those Kendy's burgers Miki made for me…don't tell me that I'm dying because of eating three of those suckers at once!'

"I will end this quick Velune, as I did before…"

Honda turned around as he met face to face with the blood red skull of Ananta. On close inspection, Honda couldn't help but notice that Ananta possessed blood red eyes, practically made of gemstone rubies.

"All roads lead here, back with you on the ground by your own missteps…" Ananta mocked Honda as he collapsed on his knees.

"I said time out man! Just gimme a sec! *Cough*" Honda heaved for breath as he landed on his knees in front of the blood painted skeleton.

"No matter…the die is cast…" Ananta said as he flared his ungodly aura. The shift and turn of his corroded energy, sent the tatters of his cloak billowing in the wind.

Before Honda stood the full figure of Ananta the Undying as he attempted to skewer him with meaty tendrils that stemmed from the core of his ribcage. They possessed spiky talons at the ends of the extensively long tendrils. Power practically crackled at their tips, distorting the air with unfathomable heat.

SHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH

CRKRKRKRKRKRKRKRK

Honda raised his eyebrows in response. 'Holy shit, what kind of move is this!'

WHOO

The tendrils Ananta possessed thrust forward with a surge of wispy red prana. Before Honda could blink they were closing in on his head. He clenched his eyes tight on reflex.

-Honda Vision Start-

(A/N: Fate Zero Ost- The Dream Fades Before Dawn)

Honda awaited the end, or at least the game over he had incurred with his apparent loss.

"Is it over?" Honda said with his eyes clenched tightly. After several seconds, his left eye cracked open.

"Hello? Ananta? Didn't I lose the game?" Honda asked before realizing he was within a wide expanse of white light. He couldn't see the battlefield any longer.

"Huh? Am I in the game over screen?" Honda asked, his cocie echoing within the large abyss of white.

He turned around a few times, hoping to find someone.

"Come forward…" A voice ranged in his eardrums, prompting Honda to snap his neck as he turned around.

In front of Honda stood a tall silhouette. The silhouette's back was turned towards Honda, making their identity unknown.

"Oh hey there, I was hoping you'd know where the exit is! I'm guessing you're part of the staff, you see I think I lost the match. Do you know where the way out is?" Honda asked. The figure remained unresponsive.

"It looks like someone has wandered far from home…" The voice spoke. It was masculine, possessing a calm warm tone. It was a baritone voice, the voice of a grown man.

Before Honda could respond, he felt something brush up against his side.

It was a child, a young boy to be specific. His face was obscure, but the child appeared to be dressed in a white shirt and a pair of shorts. It must be summer attire. All was bathed in bright light, save for these two unknown shadowy figures. The silhouette was an imposing sight, standing tall with posture befitting a king. He was even taller than Honda was.

"Uh, why is a kid here? I know it's roleplaying but I hope this ain't going where I think it is!" Honda said in clear concern.

" Tell me…what is your purpose?" The silhouette asked.

Honda blinked as he heard this strange question.

"You're asking me?" Honda asked the silhouette before looking towards the child next to him. He couldn't make the face of the child, but he was able to discern that the child was speaking.

The boy moved his lips, but no words came out. Honda stepped closer to the figure, trying to understand where he was.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Honda asked in concern, since the obscure shadow-covered boy didn't make a single sound.

"It's okay not to know yet…you'll figure it out as you go…it takes time to discover who we wish to be and even more to traverse the roads we choose." The figure said before he turned around. The figure possessed a dark cape that flowed heroically as he moved. Each step the figure made echoed in this abyss of light that surrounded him.

CLICK

CLACK

"Technically you aren't supposed to be here…why did you come here? I recognize you…from downtown Fuyuki." The figure asked the boy with his back turned.

Honda's eyes blinked twice. He gulped.

"I wanted to…see another trick please!" A childlike voice emanated from his lips. It was as if he was on autopilot. He didn't know why he answered. He blinked in confusion as his words weren't his own.

The figure let out a small laugh. He turned towards Honda's direction. Honda looked to find the boy, but he was gone. Honda turned back towards the tall figure, only to find himself face to face. The silhouette stared right at him.

Honda couldn't see the face of this stranger, however, he was able to notice two magnificent royal purple eyes. The body of the figure who spoke to him in an otherworldly hum was caked in shadow that contrasted against the light of the background. His eyes pierced Honda, as if they held every answer and at the same time held mystery that none could unravel.

"Wrong child. These are no conjurings of cheap tricks. What I hold are beliefs…passed down through the eons, all to reach this single moment."

Honda took a step back from the figure who noticed him. Honda was nervous at the gaze of the otherworldly purple eyes.

CLICK

CLACK

The echoey steps made by his shoes rang in Honda's ears as the purple eyed figure stepped towards him.

"You fear the unknown? That is alright…I too was afraid…just as you were…"

The figure stepped forward towards Honda. Honda felt small in his presence. Literally the more he stepped back the smaller Honda noticed his size becoming, halting at about half the figures' height.

The figure kneeled down with an outstretched left hand that gently grazed Honda's head. A gentle caress made its way atop his black locks. Honda blinked in confusion.

"Don't you wish to see what the world has to offer? You need only take a single step…and the rest comes naturally…"

Honda blinked twice. His voice was stuck in his throat. He didn't know why, but he took a step forward and reached his left hand towards the figure, who gently grasped his left hand with own.

"Allow me to introduce you to the scriptures…of the Ancients!"

He was surprised when Ebony appeared from behind the purple eyed figure and flew smack dead towards Honda. Her hands reached out as if to embrace him in a hug.

He felt the warm embrace, and yet Honda's vision blackened.

"The first step…is to believe!"

"Hey! That's my line!" Honda screamed.

-Honda Vision End-

SHING

Ananta's tendrils were sliced apart as they went towards Honda. The cards that he usually used sliced him apart with a velocity yet unknown to Ananta.

"Ah!" Ananta gasped as the pain inflicted was more prominent than before. He looked at the igniting blue flames that steamed against his left skeletal bicep. Using his corrosive prana he was able to shed the infernal flames off as he backed away instinctually.

He looked at Honda, and was startled by what he saw.

There, Honda the Warlock stood. The usual raiment was different. Before, his raiment consisted of a black and red vest with a shoulder cape that was large enough to cover his body. Now he was imbued with a shadowed garb with blue tinted glowing decal. Thin lightning shaped arcs decorated his clothed limbs, also shrouded in midnight black, contrasting with the vivid almost neon lightning arcs. Even Honda's specially designed mask, an ornate mask that covered his entire face except for his eyes, was now as if carved from the smoothest ebony. His eyes were glowing the shade of neon sapphires, with blue glowing decals that stemmed from his eyes and spread outward throughout his mask in an regal ornate design. His cape emanated blue prana infused flames as they billowed against the wind, defying gravity and wandering in its own gravitational field. His jet black hair was now as white as the purest of suns, with bits of azure streaks stemming from the tips of his gravity defying mane

With a sway of his left wrist, Honda's cards sped back towards him. They practically defied gravity, and we're connected by the fire wool and phantom wire, now both alight with white hot flame. Some of the cards spun around Honda in a ring. All 52 cards of his deck slowly rotated around Honda in rows of eight, forming a dome of silver around him.

Honda was currently floating with his two feet off the ground, with arms outstretched as he stared down Ananta.

'I feel so…light headed. And yet…so refreshed. Like I'm dreaming…What was that just now? I feel as if I'm walking in air.' Honda thought as he glanced at his changed outfit. He didn't notice that he was practically flying.

'A transformation? They got transformations in this?! Who dressed me up so quickly?' Honda's thoughts roared in his cranium as excitement flowed through his newly minted 'form'. Flexing his hands, Honda was surprised to know that each flick of his finger sent out navy blue particles with each sway of his digits.

'Woah…this is epic!' Honda thought in his mind. It was an odd sensation that he felt, as if all the world was within his reach and yet despite this, the horizon held infinite possibilities. The lights of the moon and stars glared beyond the storm clouds. It was as if every star awakened, and was witnessing the wellspring of the renewed eighth magus.

'Ebony is not here…but then again…she technically went inside me with that special effect just now.'

"Behold…my truest form unleashed…" Honda spoke with a booming voice. He felt ecstatic. His vision was sharp, his movements smooth and possessed tempered strength he didn't think possible. Every breath filled him with rejuvenation. His muscles, all felt invigorated. He felt invincible.

Ananta surged his strength as Honda's sapphire aura flowed from his body like a flood.

"Pray for a swift end to your cursed existence…as you face…"

Ananta's ruby red eyes widened in apparent shock. His bony hands twitched with the one thing he didn't think he would ever feel.

The mortal sensation of fear.

"The Grand Warlock."

CHAPTER END

(A/n: Whew! Quite a chapter this time around. I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Remember to leave a comment, favorite or follow, send some love and show your support. Until next time readers on Holy Nail War!)