Author's note: First of all, I must tell you that I have been anxious since... well since the episode where I 'killed' Voban. I had prepared the whole sequence of events, and even if I had been very careful that Voban's 'death' was suspect I was afraid that you would have the impression that his resurrection was an improvisation. Fortunately, you have welcomed the whole reversal of the situation caused by the return of Voban. Ironically, he can thank for his resurrection a power stolen from Inanna... the Campioneverse version of Ishtar.
How Rama knows Shirou's Tracing: You know if you change "Rama" to 'Salvatore Doni', I've already answered that very same question.
As I explained before, unlike the Fateverse where the Magi hide their talents and live in paranoid fear that their rivals will steal their secrets, the magical societies of the Campioneverse willingly exchange information between them. Simply because knowing potential threats increases their chances of survival. This explains why the existence of a completely unknown magic (Tracing) quickly attracted the attention of all the Magical Societies on the planet. I had already explained that it was precisely because Shirou used an unknown magic (based on completely foreign principles like 'Magecraft' and 'Magic Circuits') that had made the inhabitants of Campioneverse understand that Ishtar and Co. came from another universe.
Now, Guinevere is the head of her own Magical Society, so she knows all this. Lancelot knew Shirou's talents before meeting him in the Nevada desert.
Lancelot is basically Lobotomized: I never say that!
Rama speaks: "Feelings and emotions are an unnecessary burden for a weapon... I'm unfortunately well placed to know. Remember, I'm a God of Steel, too. Lancelot... no... Let's call her the White Queen... the White Queen is now free from doubt and hesitation." She is still able to think and speak... simply, as Guinevere said: "Lancelot's humor, her kindness, her sense of honors... everything (All Lancelot's feelings and emotions) was gone."
Shock and Awe
In the Fateverse quartet, Hakuno was the one who left the least impression. She was not a goddess and she can't materialize, in a single thought, a bunch of magic swords capable of hurting a god. Moreover, she was shy; and spoke little and rarely more than a few words.
Few people realized that the Last Master commanded a power that exceeded that of the gods themselves... especially because she did not display it.
In fact, the only thing the observers noted was her extreme concentration and attention to detail.
The actual situation was complicated clearly needing her full attention. And of course, she did not limit herself to observing the flow of the battle, she paid attention to the smallest detail, memorized them, and would never forget them.
Standing in the middle of a translucent energy sphere, the Inheritor of the Moon shared her attention between several virtual windows.
One of these holographic screens showed a couple sitting behind a long table. They were the newscasters of an Italian TV channel.
Behind them, a screen showed images of dry vegetation, then a satellite image showing temperatures recorded in southern Piedmont (more than 50°!).
On the bottom of the screen, a red banner summarized the explanations of the TV presenters: "Temperature canicolari, diversi cattivi evacuati in Piemonte." Text that the Moon Cell translated just below: "Scorching temperatures, several villages evacuated in Piedmont."
Simultaneously, Kishinami followed the fight between Salvatore Doni and Perseus. The god was flying over the battlefield, sitting on the saddle of his pegasus, shooting arrows.
But the Campione held a sword with an arm covered with a layer of silver and he cut in half all the arrows flying towards him!
Suddenly, the Heretical Genius Swordsman raised his weapon and...
Several meteorites crossed the sky, falling into the countryside and instantly digging deep craters.
Hakuno frowned slightly. For anyone - aside from her- the attack would have been seen as meteorites fall. But the Sovereign of the Moon had a physical perception without rival. She had seen that the 'meteorites' were made of swords falling from the cosmos, worn red by the friction of the air. And the movements of the weapons were not erratic... Salvatore Doni remote-controlled the attacks, tracking Perseus.
Despite the swift dodges of his winged horse, the Heretic God ends up being hit... and crashed to the ground.
As the pegasus returned to nothingness, Perseus rose, his face covered in blood and his left arm motionless.
Salvatore Doni leaped to meet his opponent. Their swords collided and... the result was a dazzling swords fight.
Perseus was a god-hero, a legendary swordsman... but he was no match against Campionerverse's strongest swordsman.
At the end of a few seconds of confrontation where parry and thrust succeeded each other so quickly that the human eye would have seen only blur, the Heretic God collapsed on the ground, pierced by the sword of his opponent.
Hakuno looked away from this screen to watch another fight going on simultaneously.
Luo Hao faced the Monkey King and even though the Ruler of the Martial Realm had torn clothes and several bruises, Sun Wukong was enraged.
The monkey-man returned to the attack wielding his golden stick.
But Luo Hao made a side step and come en garde in a strange pose, in profile with her right arm raised above her head like a flamenco dancer; the other was extended obliquely with her hand directed towards the ground.
When Sun Wukong attacked, she suddenly jumped forward, passing inside the deadly arc formed by the movement of the golden stick. Sliding her own arm under his opponent's to deflect his attack.
Simultaneously, the pretty Chinese girl hit Sun Wukong in the face with her fist.
Using her Divine Might of Vajrapani Authority, Luo Hao's fists were now as hard as diamond. The monkey god recoiled, half-stunned, and shook his head screaming in anger.
Nevertheless, he was persistent and returned to the attack.
Luo Hao will prepare for the next round... again, her posture was strange. Her Eminence seemed to greet her adversary, the bust leaning forward, hands clasped, as if in a prayer position.
When Sun Wukong extended his famous stick, she jumped to dodge the attack, fell back next to the Monkey King, then hit the opponent's face with both palms, forcing him to back down. Without slowing down, Luo Hao grabs the monkeyman wrist with one hand as if to look for the pulse... but in fact pressing two secret pressure points. At the same time, she punched him just under the elbow. This ancient technique of the Art of Chinese Dislocations as always was very effective. With his arm paralyzed by the eclectic shock, Sun Wukong dropped his golden stick.
But he instantly kicked her out. Thrown far away, the Chinese Martial Freak managed to mitigate the shock and landed on her feet with the flexibility of a cat. However, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven caught up with his Ruyi Jingu Bang and counterattacked, forcing Luo Hao to leap back to avoid a powerful blow.
The ape-man was now completely furious.
"How can you hurt me?! My body is harder than steel!"
Hakuno nodded in front of the screen. She also wondered. The last attack clearly showed that Her Eminence Luo Hao had used some sort of 'Skill'.
Luo Hao Cuilian wiped the blood flowing from her lip with the back of her hand. Without worrying about the pain of a broken rib, she come en garde in a classic Kun Fu posture, with flexible legs, and bent elbows. She smiled. The monkey god had just realized that she was using a special technique.
In fact, since the beginning the Ruler of Martial Realm used Salvation Shen-Gong, a martial art technique normally used to heal by imposition of hands... except that Luo Hao used a reversed version of this technique invented by the Demon Sects (1). Applied like this, Shen-Gong increased the damage inflicted by her attacks
Despite this, the fight remained undecided. Certainly, the High Priestess of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains dominated the confrontation. She gave more blows than she received... but the Monkey King was much more resistant than Luo Hao and, just like she, he was a master of Martial Art... a master armed with a very heavy magic stick, capable of smashing mountains!
Until then, Her Eminence had avoided receiving a direct blow... But even a Devil King with a Steel Authority could be killed in one blow by a divine weapon of this power.
Her eyes shining with excitement, the Martial Freak leaps forward...
It was the first time in a century that she faced an opponent capable of defeating her.
Hakuno took a quick look at the fight between Hanuman and John Pluto Smith. The American superhero turned into a jaguar and fought a battle of attrition against the second monkey man. Appearing suddenly behind the wind master, Smith attacked and then disappeared before the Heretic God could retaliate.
Simple and effective, Kishinami approved with a chin movement.
The Sovereign of the Moon looked up from her screens to watch the ongoing fights around her.
The knights summoned by Lancelot... no, the White Queen... had almost all been killed by the wolves and undead that the Marquis Voban constantly summoned.
The old Campione - turned into a werewolf- fought the Queen of the Amazons. The ground trembled every time the two opponents collided and the shock waves exploded the parched trees, throwing chips in all directions! Strangely, the fighters were both supported by... little girls using magic! Except that the unnamed doll created by Singing Spellbook (Baphomet's magic book) completely outperformed the magic used by the Witch of Brittany, to the growing frustration of the latter!
Hakuno Kishinami then turned to Shirou...
The young red-haired man was doing a stunning demonstration of his two Chinese Dao saber handling. He ran, bent in half, his red cloak floating behind him. His arms crossed over his chest, both swords resting on his shoulders. Every now and then, he attacked one of Voban's wolves, cutting it in half effortlessly, without even slowing down.
Suddenly, he changed direction, and jumped very high, leaving the trace of his feet on the ground...
Two rays of magical energy crossed where he had stood.
Between heaven and earth, Shirou now holding his Great Black Bow, Traced two arrows at an incredible speed and shot them. Two skeletons dressed in ragged wizards' robes collapsed before crumbling into dust.
Even before he fell to the ground, Emiya Shirou Traced the Married Blades. As if transformed into a whirlwind, he blocked and dodged several attacks by the skeletal knights who had immediately surrounded him. Each blocked hit was followed by a counterattack in a simple, direct, and effective style. Shirou did not waste time thinking or doing 'beautiful fencing'... he just killed his opponents. And he was very effective! Twenty seconds later the last knight collapsed before fraying into particles of prana carried away by the wind.
Another group of knights and wizards headed toward him, Shirou threw Kanshou and Bakuya at them.
The weapons turned upon themselves and crossed the enemy ranks like rotary saws, cutting in two several skeletons...
While the blades came out on the other side of the group of enemies, the Faker Traced another pair of his signature weapons. Magnetized by their doubles, the firsts Kanshou and Bakuya returned like boomerangs, mowing down other opponents. The last survivors came within range... but they only survived for ten more seconds.
Barely out of breath, not having been scratched once, Shirou stopped to look around him... fifty undead were lying on the ground, disintegrating.
Concerned, Ereshkigal turned to Hakuno.
"What do you think of Shirou? He's more powerful, isn't he?"
Kishinami confirmed with a simple nod.
"... he does not use the techniques he learned with Luo Hao."
"Are you sure?"
Again, the Last Master nodded.
"Instinct plus Tracing."
Now familiar with the point form type of speech used by Hakuno, Ishtar nodded, very interested. Shirou fought by instinct. In fact, Lancelot's Insane Rush Authority had set Shirou into 'automatic mode'. He was using only the faculties he could use without thinking. Nevertheless, precisely because using Tracing was instinctive, the Faker was able to fight using Archer's fighting style... by 'reading' Kanshou and Bakuya's memory stored inside the replicas he Traced.
The Mistress of Heaven bent her head to the side while caressing pensively her chin.
"Hum?... Stronger, faster, more enduring, but without technique? Interesting, the last thing is a weakness to exploit... When I think about it, we will actually face the Berserk version of Shirou... It would be fun if... if it wasn't so scary! When all this is over, I solemnly promise that I will continually remind Shirou of this episode, teasing him, until I feel avenged by my present dread. It will take years... "
Teasing Shirou was Ishtar's number one stress reliever.
Hakuno shook her head.
"Shirou, not guilty. White Queen's fault."
Ishtar shrugged her shoulders.
"The Mesopotamian gods are not known for their meekness; in general when ten person annoys us we trigger a flood of biblical proportion!"
Ereshkigal suddenly turned pale and began to shake her sister's shoulder.
"Uh... he... he's headed our way."
Little more reassured than the Queen of the Underworld, Ishtar materialized her spear Dilibat (2).
Fortunately, a huge wolf thrust itself between them and Shirou. The creature that Marquis Voban had just summoned was twice as large as its vulpine brothers. In addition, bright blue lines appeared on its black coat.
Voban's wolves were not ordinary creatures; they were the companions of Apollo Lychaeus, Apollo as the god of wolves. So it was Divine Beasts.
Despite this, the canids that Balkan's King invoked were generally among the weakest of the Divine Beasts.
However, the Marquis could call upon far more dangerous wolves...
The creature facing Shirou was a demigod! (3)
Although facing a very powerful enemy, the kind of adversary that Hercules could very well have faced if the gods had asked him to do a thirteenth job, Shirou showed no sign of fear or even a mere hesitation. On the contrary, his face contracted briefly in an expression of fury.
He Traced a pair of swords and threw them at the wolf, then a second pair, and finally a third. He threw them one after the other, before catching those who came back to him, a little like a juggler.
The wolf groaned with anger and pain jumping from one side to the other to avoid the doubles of Kanshou and Bakuya who were twirling around.
The Married blades formed a steel cage that swirled around the wolf, cutting, cutting again, and inflicting multiple wounds on the demigod trapped in the center of their vortex. Nevertheless, the C-Rank Noble Phantasms could only scratch it. The wolf demigod's fur was like thick armor.
Suddenly, the divine canine uttered a powerful howl generating a sound wave that shook all those present. The Twin Blades were thrown away and planted in the ground.
The giant wolf turned to Shirou and growled before leaping.
But the redhead dodged the attack although the claws laced a piece of his red coat.
Holding Kanshou and Bakuya in his hands, the Faker uttered his first words since the beginning of the fight.
"Trace On!"
Holding the crossed swords before him, the weapons deformed and spread as metal scales began to grow on the black or white metal of the twin swords, lengthening to become like metal feathers.
When the wolf attacked again, Shirou blocked the attack with Kanshou and Bankuya Overedge. Then he jumped aside and the wolf screamed as a long tear opened in its fur from its neck to its tail. Furious, the giant wolf turned around but its paw only made a hole in the ground. Shirou had jumped over its back.
The redhead had just landed when the two longswords severed one of the wolf's legs.
Screaming in pain the demigod limped in pursuit of the redhead.
Despite its handicap, the huge wolf managed to strike Emiya with a paw. But the young man seemed hardly affected. Certainly, he was thrown at a distance and staggered for a moment, even kneeling on the ground. However, this moment of weakness was brief. Shirou got up just in time to dodge another attack and... fell on the wolf's back!
The next moment, Shirou beheaded the demigod with a scissor-like double-sword stroke!
Ishtar had looked at the whole scene with visible anxiety.
"I think this fight is going to be harder than expected..."
But before Shirou could attack Ishtar (because he was aiming at her) Hakuno intervened.
"Attention! Step aside!"
The warning preceded the arrival of a 'projectile' that crossed the battlefield and made a shock wave like a small sonic boom in the Italian countryside.
At the end of a trench dug into the ground by his sword, used as a brake, Rama stood up.
Despite the shock, the King of the End was unhurt. His clothes were not even torn... To tell the truth, he seemed more annoyed than anything else... a bit like a man who had just been bitten by a mosquito.
The 'mosquitoes' were just coming back.
Flying above the ground, haloed with blue light, Liliana Kranjčar held David's Bow in her hands. She fired several arrows... capable of piercing any defense. At least if the arrows touched.
Because, in quick movements of the arm, Rama blocked each shot with his sword blade.
Already two other attackers arrived on the battlefield. Armed with Cuore di Leone, infused with the Golgatha spell, Erica Blandelli attacked the King Who Rule at the End of Time, while Ena Seishuuin emerged from behind, armed with the sword Nanatsusaya no Tachi.
The three members of Godou's 'harem' were seasoned fighters despite their young age; they had powerful weapons that their magic had made even more dangerous. Before attacking Rama, Goudou had used on the girls the Youth Authority... which - basically- had given them the strength, endurance, and reflexes of a Campione.
Despite everything they had thrown in the battle, they still were unworthy of the wrath of the Strongest Steel, they were not adversaries, just annoying insects.
There was like an explosion and... two geysers of earth opened about ten meters away. In one of the craters, Erica gasped, her eyes glassy, and in the other Ena tried to get up looking at Rama with hatred.
The latter looked back without passion.
"You seem to hate me. But I never met you."
"I am a descendant of Sita, the Princess with Crystal Eyes..."
The Strongest Steel shrugged.
"I admit that it is a legitimate reason to hate me. Nevertheless, you do not have the strength to take revenge. I suggest you leave the fight to others... I'm talking about you, despicable Godslayers."
He turned to the men who were coming. Black Prince Alec - an accomplished wizard- floated above the ground, supporting Godou Kusanagi.
The two Campiones exchanged a brief glance, and then Alexander Gascoigne nodded.
All the other fights had stopped, and the allies and enemies of 'King Arthur' watched the confrontation, literally hypnotized. This was, of course, also the case for Hakuno Kishinami, and she was the only one to have seen the sign of connivance between the two Campiones.
As Godou walked towards the King of the End, drawing his attention, Alec traced something on the floor before extending his jacket over the magic pentacle and hiding it from the eye.
Hakuno knew the two Campiones well enough, how they thought, what their Authorities were, to understand their plan.
And it was well thought out...
In fact, their plan was likely to work.
Before Japan's Devil King could attack, a third Campione joined them.
Lord Salvatore Doni seemed very happy.
"Ah, my friend Godou... Perseus is defeated."
He cut the air with the sword he was holding in his hand, listening to the whistling of the air crossed by the blade.
"And I won a new Authority!"
Goudou nodded recognizing Perseus' sword.
"All right, but wait with Alec... for now I'm on my own. But we'll need your help right after."
Doni seemed surprised, but the Italian finally nodded. Stretching like a cat, he moved away resting his new sword on his shoulder.
"If that's what you want, va bene."
The Italian Devil King was the only one of his peers still fresh and ready, having not faced an opponent who could defeat him (4). But he was curious to see what his 'friend' Godou was preparing. Since their first meeting, the Japanese surprised him again and again.
Whistling, with a big smile on his face, the carefree Italian waved at Alec, who greeted him with a rather rude expression. Few people could stand Doni...
Godou Kusanagi had briefly faced Rama with his girlfriends and it didn't go very well. Even using Susanoo's sword (The steel that breaks a thousand blades!) he was unable to hurt Rama. Even his strongest attack had only sent him away...
On the contrary, Godou had been slightly wounded.
But the situation excited him, especially since he had a plan.
Rubbing his aching jaw, Godou began to recite an incantation.
"Every sinner shall tremble before my power. Now is the time that I obtain the toughness of ten mountains, the strength of a hundred rivers, and the power of a thousand camels! Upon my mighty self, I shall bear the symbol of the raging camel!"
In the strange space where the representations of Verethragna's Ten Incarnations took place, the secondary medallions began to turn around the central medallion (the representation of Goudou himself) and the Camel took the upper position.
Running at full speed Godou suddenly stopped two meters from Rama who raised his sword to protect himself and... the next moment the Japanese Campione fell behind the King of The End and gave him a powerful kick.
With incredibly quick reflexes, Rama managed to turn around and block the attack. But the Camel gave explosive kicks to Godou.
The detonation was not strong enough to hurt the Strongest Steel but the irritation he felt only grew as his opponent jumped around him attacking and attacking again.
Judging that Rama was 'cooked to perfection'; Goudou leaped at a distance... as if by chance right next to Alec and Doni!
Seeing this three hated Campiones gathered to smile at his humiliation, Rama exploded with rage.
Simultaneously...
Black Prince Alec was preparing to intervene when Hakuno's 'voice' resonated in his mind.
[Start your spell at my signal! ]
Gascoigne frowned slightly but nodded... so Kishinami had seen clearly in their plan! The Britain Campione wasn't really surprised; she was certainly the best strategist on the battlefield. And her sense of timing was second to none. It was lucky she was on their side.
[Now!]
Alexander Gascoigne extended his hand forward and the magic circle lit up under his feet.
"Hear me, daughters of the endless night, daughters of the earth and shadow. Fighting evil with evil, repaying crime with crime, shedding blood for blood, knocking out a tooth for a tooth, thus vengeance begins. By the blood of the slain mother, tragic death denies all future attempts at filial piety! Megaera the demon, Tisiphone the avenger, Alecto the relentless, retrieve the curse and execute vengeance!"
Rama raised the Divine Sword of Salvation to heaven while shouting:
"Divine Light of Salvation!"
The result was not long in coming. A beam of unbearable clarity descended from the sky, everything was bathed in a luminosity of platinum color... the ray would have hit the three Campiones gathered around the pentacle traced by Alec.
Except that the English Godslayer was under the protection of the Erinyes... any attack the aiming was turned against the perpetrator... at full power!
Just before touching the trio of Devil King, the ray bowed and changed direction.
A moment before being touched, Rama opened his eyes wide in surprise.
Words would hardly describe the cataclysm that suddenly ravaged the region. A real wall of flame crossed the battlefield, and blackened a large area of land, while a shockwave collapsed homes and even hills. Several hundred meters from the epicenter of the earthquake, there was only one leveled area, with nothing left.
None of Voban's ghosts, nor his wolves, nor the knights of the White Queen had survived.
Even as Ereshkigal took refuge inside the energy shield that protected Hakuno and planted a barrier of her red spears outside the globe to disperse some of the destructive force, she felt the shock.
Outside, all the trees were lying on the ground, and burning...
The Queen of Kur turned to her adorable little squirrel.
"Rama was at the epicenter of the cataclysm, He can't have come out intact!"
But Hakuno shook her head, showing a screen.
Although his clothes were burned and damaged, the King of the End stood in the center of the crater on a kind of pedestal supporting a portion of intact soil. He had received only a few matches.
"He can survive multiple Ecalibur's blasts at full power. Athena said so."
Ereshkigal appeared for a moment stunned then her face pale.
"Excalibur wasn't at full power?"
Hakuno shook her head.
"No, it was not."
Ishtar, who was descending to the ground, having dodged the attack by taking refuge at altitude, had heard the end of the conversation.
"Rama is not our problem... at least in the immediate future. Where is Shirou? In all this confusion, I lost sight of him!"
Kishinami approved and looked at the many windows that appeared inside her shield.
For a brief moment,she seemed to panic.
The next moment, she jumped and turned to the goddesses.
"Beware!"
When The White Queen took control of Shirou, she exacerbated all his emotions and feelings... when one thought about it, it was quite paradoxical since she no longer felt any emotion.
Although he was more or less at the service of the White Queen, the Faker only acted under the effect of sudden impulses. There was nothing reasoned in his actions.
Before arriving in Italy, he had consciously set aside the anger he felt thinking of Ishtar. Because it was useless...
But under the influence of the White Queen, his anger had reappeared, greatly amplified... Now his target was the Mesopotamian goddess of love. Even though he didn't understand why, he wanted to kill her, it was an obsession.
Thanks to the Strengthening Magecraft, Shirou had amplified his vision to the maximum. He could literally see through curtains of smoke standing on the battlefield and he discovered his target almost at the other end of the battlefield.
A grin deformed his face.
"I am the bone of my sword
Steel is my body and fire is my blood
I have created over a thousand blades"
Shirou Emiya stood on top of the crater formed by the explosion. An incredible power gathered in a red flame that danced over his open hand.
The red energy condensed into a sword whose blade resembled a sort of corkscrew. Taking it, the redhead placed it on the rope and stretched his great black bow. But strangely, surprisingly, as he pulled the string... the sword began to transform. The blade becomes thinner, taking a more aerodynamic form, and turning into a kind of arrow.
Around the redhead, a sort of blue vapor rose from the ground, as he concentrated his power inside the arrow he had just created. The latter was glowing red, this flame becoming stronger and stronger.
Shirou suddenly opened his eyes:
"Caladbolg!"
He released the string of his bow and a red comet took flight at supersonic speed above the battlefield. The shock wave of the sword-arrow departure lifted the ashes around Shirou sending them flying away and snapping his red coat.
The target?
Ishtar. Precisely, the hearth of the Queen of Venus.
And never before had Shirou missed a target.
(1) In the Murim (the world of Korean martial arts), there are two major currents of thought. The Orthodox Sects are the 'Goods Guys'. The Demon Sects are the 'Bad Guys'.
(2) So far I have written 'DiDibat'... but most Assyriologists write this term with an 'l'... I was wrong, but I have an excuse. Sumerian has been a dead language for 3,000 years, no one knows for sure how to pronounce this language.
(3) In the hierarchy of the Divine Beasts, this wolf is in the same rank (perhaps even above) as the Boar (Godou's Authority).
(4) I take this opportunity to remind you that Perseus, but also Sun Wukong, was recently killed. So they did not extract themselves from their legends by the effect of their own will. They were invoked by Rama as 'Subordinates Gods'. So they do not have their full power.