A/N: (November 25th)

**BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER**: please take a re-read of Chapter II. I retroactively added a scene (as of 25 Nov 2023) that adds a bit of context for this chapter!

Yo.

Apologies for the slightly late upload this time, too. I did not expect to be that busy Thanksgiving week, but here we are lol

By the way, if you celebrate it, Happy Belated Thanksgiving. And if you Black Friday shopped yesterday…uh…oof. Hope you survived that XD

Not much to say, other than I'm really excited to show this chapter to you all. I just finished it less than an hour ago (out of character for me, I know, i usually write more ahead of time DX) so if there's some grammar errors, forgive me plz. I'll probably fix them as I proofread over the release.

Vlov Arkhangel's out, but it seems a couple of vampiric knights have made themselves known. How will our heroes deal with them, especially so injured?

Let's find out.

No Author's Notes at the bottom this time, so see you next release!


Chapter VII: Black Night Neardark

It was over fifteen-hundred years ago.

On the day of Pentecost, the Knights of the Round Table were given a sign, ordering them to search for an artifact lost to over four hundred years of time: the Holy Grail. It was an inscription upon the Siege Perilous, a seat that would represent the finest of Arthur's knights, second to only himself: the one who would claim the Grail.

It was the seat I was destined for.

On that day, I was ordered by my king to travel east to the Holy Land. Accompanying me was Sir Bors and Sir Percival, as well as a gathering of loyal soldiers hand-picked by the three of us and Arthur.

At the end of the journey, it would only be Bors who returned.

Our journey was arduous and long, spanning thousands of kilometers, across cities and empires. Along the way, disease from being in new, unfamiliar lands claimed more lives than I would like to admit, as well as any number of enemies and beasts that stepped in our way.

We struck them down— but the quest was not kind to any of us.

For at the end of our long adventure, stood a foe that surpassed the Anglo-Saxons. Surpassed the Fisher King. I would even equate him to the monstrous King Vortigern.

He possessed a massive wooden ship that would not exist for another thousand years. At his side was a sword whose power matched that of my father's.

He was a demon born from the Moon. An unholy, rotten vampire.

Before we could deliver the Grail to Heaven, a Dead Apostle Ancestor had made himself known.

The White Knight of Blood.

xXx

And now, fifteen-hundred years later, the two knights stood against one another once more.

The Pure-Hearted of Britain, and the Demon of White.

"Fina-Blood Svelten." Tachie said. "That's his full name. He's the pain in my ass that fought me and my fellow Knights in the Holy Land. Accelerator,"

The dark-clothed knight glanced behind her, noting the First-Ranked's limp arm and scuffed up body. Despite seeming to have his Reflection active, he had still taken considerable damage.

"Can you still fight?"

"I can. Whether or not I can do shit is a different question." He sarcastically replied. "He can get through my barrier, but I can't get through his. Kind of fuckin' ironic, now that I think about it."

Tachie scoffed. "Yeah. I was observing how you and Achilles fought the Gorgon— your ability to accelerate matter is unmatched. Fitting, given your nickname. However…"

The knight grunted as she batted away multiple cannon shots, several in just a second or two with superhuman speeds. Accelerator himself could barely keep up with her movements.

After all, without his Esper powers, he was essentially just an ordinary human. Compared to a Servant in pure base stats, Tachie was by far his superior.

"Fina deals in a different kind of power. It's not exactly of this plane of reality. It's in a realm that only us Ghost Liners, or other supernatural beings can interact with.

It's called Hollow. An Imaginary Element."

There were two types of Imaginary Elements, outside of the Five Great Elements that almost all mages dealt with. Tachie recalled reading as such under the tutelage of a certain silver star.

One was Nothingness. Defined as something that should not exist, yet materializes anyway. No known mage has ever been born with this power, with only a certain Level 5 within the City of Science being able to make this Element their own.

The other was Hollow. The most notable mage of this Element being of the far east: sister to the Average One.

And it was also possessed by the Eighth of the Ancestors.

"What is it?" Accelerator asked. "I can't exactly analyze it if I can't freakin' see it."

Tachie knocked away another cannonball, watching as it skidded and crashed through several trees, turning them into twigs and splinters. "It's…not too different from the Grail Mud of 10/13 and 09/30. If you can figure out the intrinsic differences, you should be able to reflect it. In the meantime—!"

The Grail Knight launched her shield forward, flinging it like a frisbee at the White Ancestor as she grit her teeth, shattering the earth below her as she burst up into the sky after him.

Fina grinned voraciously, meeting her in the middle and slashing forward with his arm. His gloved hands broke at the fingertips, revealing razor-sharp nailed claws.

He smacked her shield harmlessly away, before continuing his dive toward her with a bloodlusted smile.

Gritting her teeth, Tachie jerked her head to the side to evade. A tiny, insignificant wet feeling slid by her cheek as she held out her arm.

'Back to me!'

She felt the resistance of the invisible Hollow that Fina had wrapped his body in. It was an impervious, impenetrable shield that disallowed any ordinary, real material to pass through.

Against any mage who used Five Elements, against any Esper, and against any ordinary person, Fina-Blood Svelten's defenses were simply insurmountable.

Which is why—

"…Guh—!"

—a Knight like herself was a perfect match for him.

In Tachie's hands appeared her round, cross shield— a manifestation of the Round Table itself, coalesced into a Noble Phantasm.

As the Grail Knight, and as the Round's heart and soul, she and the shield were intrinsically entwined.

And in point-blank, the shield slammed into Fina's body, appearing from nowhere and piercing his barrier.

"A-Arrgh…damn…you—!"

He hadn't expected his defenses to be triumphed over so easily. Not to be outdone, and to avoid any further strikes to his body or his ego, the White Knight smashed his elbow into the Grail Knight's back nearly simultaneously.

Tachie gasped as the Dead Apostle's massive strength made itself known, bluntly crashing into her vulnerable spine as she was violently sent careening toward the ground.

Yet all the same, her shield strike blasted Fina into the earth.

Two bursts of brown dust flew into the air, far above the treeline.

The sound of violently fluttering leaves and billowing winds resounded. Accelerator watched as flocks upon flocks of birds took to the skies— fleeing from this clash of supernatural warriors.

He, however, did not have any desire to turn heel. Yet the truth of his situation also could not be ignored.

'…I'm outmatched.'

The First-Ranked of Academy City. The supposed strongest Esper.

He was outmatched.

Tachie and Fina had recovered from their mutual blows effortlessly, and rushed at each other once again.

Watching the female knight fight, flipping through the air and creating dozens shockwave-inducing blows a second, forced the reality of his ineptitude down his throat.

It wasn't a matter of power— it was compatibility. He had the raw strength to compete, but the very makeup of his skillset is what disallowed him to be of any help to her.

'…Dammit…!'

He tightened his fist, same as his gritted teeth. It was a feeling he was only recently acquainted with.

An enemy that knew him and his history. His powers, and the ins and outs of how he applied them.

'…Damn you, Kihara.'

It felt all-too similar to that bastard. They even seemed to have that same arrogant, ruthless grin.

He never would have defeated Amata Kihara if it weren't for Rider. Even the Third-Ranked couldn't do a damn thing against him.

So with that great Greek hero not here, how was he supposed…

To…

'…'

The white-haired Esper fell to his knees.

Meanwhile, Tachie screamed as she somersaulted through the air, driving her shield downward with a hard overhead strike.

Stratovarius brought up both his arms to guard, crossing them above his head as the blunt sensation of pure holy steel seared into him.

The earth at his feet cracked, splintered, then shattered with an overwhelming crash as Fina roared in pain and was sent careening backward, just from the force of the blow.

Not wanting to give the vampire any time to gather bearings, the Grail Knight hefted her shield and lunged forward at blinding speed.

There was a specific reason why Tachie was able to damage the Ancestor. Unlike Accelerator, whose pure physical attacks could not hope to get through the otherworldly power of the Hollow, Tachie— and all Servants— were made up of magical energy.

Ghost Liners. Spiritual bodies. Due to having the same transient, higher level of existence as the Imaginary Elements, it allowed Tachie to interact with Fina's full body barrier.

Yet that alone would not be enough to get through his invisible armor. A Dead Apostle Ancestor was a being of a higher existence than most Servants. For a Heroic Spirit to defeat one, they must need a pure counter.

Something holy, or divine…which is exactly what the Grail Knight carried upon her hands.

'Damn this woman…giving me…a hard time…I'm an Ancestor, dammit! A mere Servant can't be giving me this much trouble…

wait—!'

The Around Round Shield came flying in from his flank by a determined Knight of Britain looking to completely slay him.

Galahad, and all of the Knights of the Round were Christian at heart. Between Galahad's cross-shaped shield, and Percival's spear that had once pierced the Son of God's body, it was an ensemble of Knights meant to hunt down monsters like Fina-Blood Svelten.

Even if their raw power gap was large, Tachie made up for it with this crucial detail. It was like dousing the Ancestor over and over buckets of holy water with each strike she made.

She whipped her shield forward, looking to capitalize once again.

And in the space of a heartbeat, Tachie's eyes widened as something sharp and long had made itself known to her nearly faster than she could react to it.

She gasped as her shield was knocked away, opening her guard as Fina pushed off and thrusted something thin and white toward her torso.

"Gah—!"

Its sharpness was nightmarish.

With only a single stroke, the tip of his mighty blade had pierced her armor.

A sharp sting, then the feeling of something cold and hard in her stomach caused the Grail Knight to wheeze as she was forcefully lifted up into the air, skewered by a curved, single-edged blade.

Fina exhaled a satisfied, cloudy breath as his crimson eyes and white smile sent a shiver down her spine.

"…Almost had me there. Making me use more of my tricks…you're more powerful than you let on, girl of Galahad."

Sputtering out a cough of blood, Tachie tried freeing herself by grabbing the blade with her hands, but—

'A-Ahh…!'

She yelped in pain as her fingertips steamed and smoked just from the touch. It was as if what she was, and what the sword was, were diametrically opposite.

Upon inspecting the blade's design closer, Tachie realized what it was— but she couldn't believe it had fallen into the hands of an enemy like Fina.

A flame-like hamon. Tempered, folded steel— not exactly precise and pristine, but rather wild and passionate and fiery.

Only one swordsmith in the world could make such perfectly crafted, yet such cursed and demonic swords.

'A Mura…masa blade…!'

It made sense her defenses didn't work against it. After all, western faith was much less effective against eastern concepts, and vice versa.

Thus, allowing Fina to cut through her armor.

'He must have gotten his hands on one when Muramasa was still…alive…'

After all, the Ancestors have existed for centuries upon centuries, spying and infiltrating humankind all those years.

To borrow powerful weapons from a lower species was apparently not below their methods.

"…You were mildly entertaining. But you have not the heart and soul that Sir Galahad had bested me with. Your body is holding him back. It's sad, really."

With a neutral gaze, he ripped the sword from her abdomen, causing her to limply collapse to the broken dirt.

"Hmph." He lightly kicked at her prone body. "Academy City's Guardian, hm? If this is how weak their guardians are, then I suppose my liege's worries about that city were unfounded."

Ba-bump.

A certain Esper overheard the White Knight's words, which burned into the back of his brain as something in him began to snap.

'…Academy City. So…that's what this fucker is after, huh…?'

Ba-bump.

"Are there any other middling Servant-Humans I have to worry about?" Fina asked the barely moving body below.

Tachie rolled over with her own waning strength. The black suit around her body began to flicker, revealing an ordinary uniform underneath.

Yet her crystal red eyes never lost their luster. Grinning with a bloodied smile up at Fina, she choked out her response.

"…No…but there is…still something you must be wary…of…

…after all…even with all the strength Galahad gave me…I'm not…called…the strongest…"

Fina tilted his head. He had put together what she was implying, but it didn't make sense to him. "You mean Accelerator? I don't want to burst your bubble, but I had him in the palm of my hand the whole…

…time…"

Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

The vampire's eyes widened as a pressure that he hadn't recognized until now began to mount ahead of him.

Turning away from the collapsed Grail Knight, Fina locked eyes toward—

"ibhfKILLwq"

Accelerator's mind subconsciously replayed the silver-haired nun's song over and over. Consciously, he was only focused on one thing.

His cracking self-restraint shattered like glass.

His inner dam broke, and something impossibly dark, dark, and darker forcefully pulled itself from his back.

Funnels of pure, unfiltered blackness and rage sprouted forth. The air curled and blew in his direction, swirling around him as if the planet had recognized his feat of strength.

His mouth spoke— warbling out words unknown to this world as the Esper slowly yet surely came up to his feet.

'…If you think…you can destroy that city…and get your filthy hands on the kid, then…I'll…!'

His body lurched over. His arms swung limply.

Yet his head was peered up— his eyes almost glowing as they set their sights on the thing he needed to—

'…kill you.'

xXx

"…What is…?"

Fina-Blood Svelten blinked in genuine astonishment.

He had been alive for thousands of years. Humans to him were fleeting creatures akin to livestock. There was rarely a time where such creatures could impress him, let alone take him aback.

Yet now, in this moment, the human before him had accomplished such. The pure energy growing from him was intolerably massive for a mortal.

It was on the level of greater Spirits. Enough to rival Heroes of the Throne.

Enough to rival the Dead Apos—

'No. He can't be— he can't be that strong.'

He took an arrogant step forward. The Grail Knight was of no more interest to him.

Now he was going to strike down this black angel, and—

— 'Huh?'

Something massive crashed into his body. One second, he was standing, watching his prey.

The next, pure darkness had hit him with the force of a comet, breaking his invisible barrier with little effort as he was lifted off his feet and slammed into the earth.

'…Huh?'

He was so stunned by the strike that he could barely register it.

Only when the pressure faded from his chest did he finally realize what had happened to him.

'I was just…pushed back…by…'

He grit his teeth. It wasn't supposed to go this way.

Jerking back up to his feet, he shrugged off the blunt-force trauma to his body, letting his Cursed Regeneration do its work as he re-evaluated his predicament.

The attack had created a meters-wide crater, of which he had been buried into the center. At the lip of the hole stood his target:

A swaying, half-conscious creature, with twin spirals of black whipping and whirring behind him like tornadoes. They didn't look too dissimilar to the wings he made before, except these were…

'What's coming out of them…that's not Telesma…is it…? No, it feels different, but…'

They chaotically twisted and turned, breaking the surrounding trees into splinters and shredding the leaves into crumbs as their owner slowly lifted up his hand.

Fina instinctively tensed his body in reaction.

A pressure. A great, inviolable pressure just made itself known upon his shoulders, and was forcing him down to the ground.

"Ghhh…aghhh…!"

'He's accelerating the effects of gravity on me…without having to directly touch me…!'

Despite being the Eighth-Ranked Ancestor, he felt his legs begin to tremble from the overwhelming force of the First-Ranked Esper.

Because right now, the One-Way Road has just unleashed a new clearance. An awakening, to rival that of the strongest heroes.

Fina fell onto one knee. Upon the realization that a human had forced him to kneel, he couldn't help but growl as the gravity around him pushed ever harder.

The tree foliage around him had long since become pancakes against the packed dirt. The only thing still jutting from the ground was himself.

'…Fine.'

He took a breath of resignation. "…You win, Accelerator. No more fuckin' around, I guess."

Something began to pulse out from his own back, opposite of his single-shouldered cape.

Throwing his arm out, it became clear what it was. Feathers of white burst into existence, taking the shape of a great eagle's wing with the brightness of the blue moon.

Fina-Blood Svelten hopped to his feet without an issue. He hadn't dispersed the great gravity beaming down upon him— rather, it no longer seemed to concern him.

Even in his half-conscious, bloodlusted state, the First-Ranked took notice of this change, and tensed his wings as he prepared to charge.

The vampire's red eyes tightened. "…Only my fellow Ancestors have ever pushed me this far. But…it's over now.

I was going to let you go. But you see, this form sucks the sanity out of me…"

'…Ever since Strout clipped my other wing long ago.'

He looked to his right side, and noted the lack of a second wing.

"So I'm going to need a bit of a snack. You're the perfect candidate."

He took a small step, then lunged at the black angel.

And with a wrathful sneer, Accelerator broke the earth at his feet as he whipped a massive punch toward the one-winged vampire.

Their fists collided with a thunderous clap.

Dark and Light tested their strength with quaking fury, as a city-flattening shockwave tremored through the very earth.

xXx

Rizo-Waal Strout was one of the oldest Dead Apostles to ever exist. In fact, he was one of three; and with the other two being the King and the First, he really did stand out in a unique way.

Being so ancient meant that he had seen countless years of civilization, conflict, and strife pass before his eyes. The life of a human was meager; tiny. Even the lives of other Dead Apostles were paltry to him.

He was a knight of shadows; a warrior hidden in the history books. Present, yet forgotten. Powerful, yet overlooked.

He did not stand out. He refrained from making himself known to the wider world, for thousands upon thousands of years.

For the seldom times he did…

'…This happens.'

The Black Knight Strout opened his eyes to pure, unmitigated carnage.

Black flames littered the already eviscerated earth, in all directions for hundreds of meters. They sucked the mana out of the atmosphere, destroying any and all lifeforce it touched.

And amongst the obliterated rubble?

Blood.

Blood, viscera. Untethered organs, ripped and torn clothes and skin.

That is what spread across the land. Stinking, repulsive, red and pink human remains.

Dozens by the number, mostly from poor Amakusan souls who had gotten too close to the Black Knight's power.

They did not fear him— and that cost them. For the most dangerous warriors were always the ones with the most experience.

And for Strout, he spared absolutely no expense.

He stepped forward, his metal boot chinking quietly with each pace as he observed the litter amongst him.

This was always the outcome of whomever challenged him. Even the White Knight did not dare cross swords with the Knight of Neardark.

Behind him stood millions of lost lives. Of humans. Of fellow Dead Apostles.

Of gods.

Now, he would add even more to the number. However, there was one he was hoping hadn't been completely caught in his matter-rending attack.

"…Ah."

Several meters away, he spotted his objective. He was lying nearly lifeless atop piles of broken cobblestone.

His clothes had been mangled into shreds, leaving only the essentials covered and revealing gashes and bruises and blood spewing from multiple areas.

His stomach. His arm, his thigh, the side of his face— all cut open and pouring a thick vermillion.

His arms had been blown off from his shoulders, same as his right leg, leaving gaping fountains that pooled around his body.

His eyes were only open from shock. Consciousness was not something that Touma Kamijou had, at the moment.

Yet despite all that damage, his heart continued to beat. Rizo's extra-sharp ears could hear as such.

'Good. The objective is still intact.'

As long as he ensured the boy's safe passage to his liege with the same method he had transported Vlov Arkhangel, then this mission would be a success.

"…Stop…right there."

A feminine voice gave him pause. He was genuinely surprised there was any still-standing life after what he had just done.

Pivoting his head, he caught the sight of a certain lilac-haired young woman, dressed in all-black from foot to neck. Her face seemed cut and slightly bruised, but nothing particularly major.

"Oh?" He turned to face her, yet displayed no effort to approach her. Even if she had somehow survived, the difference in power between the two was simply insurmountable. "I suppose the mastery of the Hollow you possess allowed you to live on…Sakura Matou."

"It's Sakura Tohsaka now, Ancestor." She hardened herself, lifting her arm and commanding tendrils to sprout from her dress and prepare to slash forward. "…And even if it kills me…I'll have to answer for what you and your allies have done here."

She gestured around to the death and destruction around the two of them. In one fell swoop, dozens of human lives had been snuffed out.

"…Like how you have not answered for your own crimes. Am I wrong in my assumption, Sakura Matou?"

The younger daughter of Tokiomi bit her lip.

He cut into a place where he really shouldn't have.

"…I told you…it's Tohsaka now…"

The Black Knight marched forward, slowly and methodically as with every word he spoke. "One mere name change…does not change the sins you have wrought. My liege has informed me…of the crimes you have dealt upon this world.

Twenty-thousand human lives. The destruction of much of the city of science…becoming one with a Beast of Humanity.

Tell me…Sakura Matou…are you really one…to act as a hero before us?"

The black dress fluttered with inhuman flame.

"SHUT UP—!"

Sakura Matou's eyes lustered with rage as she wrathfully closed her fist.

The tendrils went flying. Faster than she had ever fired before, at speeds that could track even Servants down.

Rin Tohsaka was an exceptional mage. Any practitioner of the Five Elements would be.

Yet right behind her, wielding the power of the Imaginary, was her very own blood…

…and the final daughter of a lost Great Family.

The arms pierced forward, shattering soundspeed as they flung at the Black Knight.

And yet.

"…Wha—?"

Sakura's anger swiftly evaporated as the truth of Strout's powers became abundantly clear to her.

Her attacks reached their destination…but no damage could be seen anywhere on the vampire's body.

They certainly made contact. Their needle-sharp points, that could rip apart humans and Servants alike, had cut through his armor and drove at the Ancestor's skin.

Yet they did not pierce through.

Not even the molecules of his body had been breached in the slightest.

"H-How are…?"

"You must not be used to your attacks being ineffective…considering it could cut through any other material in existence. Such is the power of Hollow.

However, Matou…I am someone who could never be harmed by something as paltry as this."

He continued his march. Sakura willed any desperate determination left in her body to launch more and more at him.

Dozens of black lances cut through the air, slashing and piercing into his arms, torso, legs— anything she could think of.

Nothing. Nothing worked. Sakura wasn't even sure if he felt the attacks, let alone was actually harmed by them. Not even his clothing was penetrated, let alone his skin

'Why…can't I…?'

Her vision began to blur from something salty and wet coating her cheeks.

She took a hissful breath in, holding back a choke of emotion as her denial cracked and cracked and cracked and—

"You must feel powerless. Sakura Matou."

—Shattered.

His tree trunk of an arm gripped its hand around her neck, lifting and dangling her in the air.

Her instinctual fight-or-flight response kicked in. A black whip lassoed around Strout's neck, squeezing as hard as it could.

Immediately, she would have crushed a Heroic Spirit's windpipe.

But yet again, Strout demonstrated absolutely no reaction whatsoever. It may as well have just been the wind blowing gently against him.

"…Good. For a monster such as yourself, such an emotion is well-deserved. You must feel at least a fraction of what you have wrought."

He began pressing down. Despite only letting a fraction of a fraction of his strength in his fingers, it was enough for the human mage to choke and gasp for air.

Despite her artificial body, it was made in such a way that was nearly indistinguishable from a human. Thus, just like any other person, Sakura had the necessity of breathing.

A fatal flaw that vampires did not possess.

Her feet kicked vainly. Her tendrils slashed at Strout more and more, yet not a single one could get through his invincible skin.

"Please…st…stop…"

She choked out her words, yet they would fall on ears that had already resolved on her fate ever since he had heard of her horrible atrocities.

"…You did not stop when they begged you to. Therefore, I will follow suit in your actions.

I will show you the consequences of your sins, Sakura Matou."

He pressed his hand ever so slightly harder. For Sakura, however, it was an unfathomable pain that pressed down on her windpipes and threatened to crush them.

"Guh…ahhh…ghhhhh…!"

Her kicking and convulsing became more violent. Darkness in the corner of her eyes began to blur into sight.

Her suit of dark Hollow gave absolutely everything it had to set her free, but even all of its power did nothing to the Black Knight.

Her struggle was worthless. Her fight was pointless.

Yet that paled in comparison to the words he was speaking.

'Yeah…I…'

Her legs slowed. Her arms began to limp at her sides.

'I don't…deserve to…

live…'

Killing that many people, for no reason at all.

Being chosen over someone innocent.

Put into a new body that she didn't even ask for.

Why was she still alive? Why did she even want to keep living?

'Senpai is…gone…'

Her eyes wavered. Her legs stopped moving.

'…I'm a…murderer…heheh…he's…right…

why did I even try…to keep…living…'

"Don't let his dream die for nothing, Sakura."

You've lost what you wanted. You can't live with Shirou anymore. You've irreparably changed countless people's lives.

But…you still have something."

'What?

What could I possibly still have?

I killed Senpai. I killed Shirai. I hurt Misaka and Saten and so many others.

I don't…what could a criminal, a murderer, a monster like me even hope to still…?'

"…He gave his all, so I could be here. I carry his will, and his will is to save you.

You still have a home to come back to.

Let's not waste it, Sakura."

Her eyes burst open, bloodshot yet with a desperately crackling flame of life fighting against the impending darkness and cold billowing around it.

"Even if you hate me…this ribbon…you've kept it, all this time.

We both made mistakes, Sakura. So I hope that you can make that choice…to try and make it right."

Looking deadeye into the Black Knight's eyes, the second daughter of the Tohsaka forcefully inhaled as little air as she could, and shouted at the top of her asphyxiating lungs—!

"Help…me…!"

xXx

His eyes were open, yet he could see nothing.

He still had his mouth, yet couldn't scream.

Touma Kamijou could tell— much of his body had been completely blown away, turned to red rain that was probably splattered onto the earth around him.

The attack was much too fast, much too powerful for him to even begin to evade. It was a completely unavoidable strike, made to tear apart all forms of matter— especially, as it seemed, human life.

He stood no chance. Even Imagine Breaker couldn't guard him from such an overwhelming force that likely even surpassed the light of Saber's Excalibur.

So here he was. A chunk of meat lying against a rock.

He couldn't feel anything. His nerves were probably so destroyed that it looped back to him just being numb. His brain was probably in shock, functioning only at the last seconds of his life.

'Guess…this…is…'

He tried closing his eyes. He couldn't even do that.

He should be dead. From the fact that he couldn't feel any of his limbs, he should be beyond even that.

And yet.

Yet…for some reason, his heart still beat, pumping blood that just spewed from his dozens of gashes and holes. He must have looked something akin to red swiss cheese.

A dark, but true thought. For some reason, the image of him being slaughtered cheese gave him comfort.

'…how…it…all…'

If he could smile, he would.

Now out of contentment, but out of regret.

He couldn't say goodbye to his family. He couldn't apologize to Misaka or Saten, let alone see them again.

He couldn't visit Emiya and Illya's grave. He couldn't finish this mission Tsuchimikado gave him. Hell, he couldn't even tell Rin how he…

He…

"Help…me…!"

'…huh?'

He heard a voice that didn't sound like himself. His ears must still be working, if ever barely.

It was so distant, that feminine voice. His weakening brain barely put together that it must have been Sakura.

'She's…asking…for…but…I…

Don't…have…'

Ba-bump.

'No. I have something.

Just like…before…

you…will not…stop me…'

"From saving her."

He found the power to speak again as his now-working eyes viewed a crimson red light burst out from his body with a malevolent shine.

Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.

It enshrouded him. Filling every wound, forcing his blood back inside his body, fusing his limbs to his torso and forcing his organs to work once more. Steam and heat billowed immensely at the transformation taking upon Touma Kamijou's whole self.

He lifted up into the air. Something organic, yet inhuman wrapped around himself as it began to be covered in metallic scales.

A pair of wings sprouted from his back.

His bloodied eyes, now seeing the world before him in nothing but red, locked onto its target.

Several meters away, stood a Knight of Black, who threw Sakura aside like a bag of trash and turned his attention over to the new foe.

"Oh ho?"

The Knight's face was neutral as before, but Touma could spot a sliver of miniscule interest at the corner of his lips.

Not that he gave a shit anymore.

"So this is your true form…yes…I was told of this as well…a dragon in the modern day."

Touma's flaming eyes glinted.

He didn't have the patience to speak with this bastard anymore.

At their feet strewn about many littered corpses.

A barely alive Sakura Matou lay limply nearby Strout's dark frame.

So to salvage what remained, the last dragon let out a vengeful scream—

—and drove its furious talons into the Black Knight, sending them soaring through the horizons.

xXx

Rin Tohsaka opened her eyes to the sound of a giant, mechanized roar.

It jolted her awake with a burst of adrenaline. Instinctively she fully sat up, only to groan from lingering pain and rub her head in annoyance at her own weakness.

'Where am…I…? More importantly, what was that sou—?'

She peered up. The skies were as dark as they were before— though she couldn't help but notice small, glowing pink shards of energy in front of her that disappeared as soon as she noticed them.

Before she could question what they were, Rin yelped as the blazing roar resounded once again. A cry of what sounded to her like rage and grief, all mixed into a single screech.

It didn't take her very long to put together the cause of what it could be. After all, she had been dangerously close to such a creature that could make that sound only a short few weeks ago.

"Kami…jou…kun…"

Gulping down the internal pain, she rolled over onto her knees…

…only to bear witness to the carnage splayed about around her.

"Oh my…God…what…happened?"

Bodies. Unrecognizable, red bodies lifelessly lay upon the tattered floors of a razed city.

A city-wide crime scene lay before her eyes. Viscera, organs, and red liquid dripped onto ash and dirt.

And for some reason…she was the only one unharmed.

Looking at herself, aside from minor injuries and tears into her clothing, she was unharmed. Whatever had attacked them…had somehow not affected herself.

"…I'm…"

She struggled onto her feet. The internal injuries she sustained after unleashing her Starstream Rainbow were mostly gone— probably from the late Amakusan's healing spells.

"…I'm sorry."

She walked over to one of the bloodied bodies. She couldn't make out their face from all of the blood and grime, but the shape of their cadaver was somewhat male.

"And…thank you for saving me. I'll…I'll keep going for your sake. For everyone's sake."

The crimson mage took a deep breath in.

'Stash it away.'

With a light slap on her cheek, her grief was put away to be opened at a more appropriate time. Now, she had a job to do. She had to go back.

'Kamijou…Sakura…I hope you're still…'

Not wanting to waste a second more, she grit her foot forward and sprinted back into the battlefield.

Passing her vision laid many dismembered Amakusa Christian members, some lifelessly staring up into the desolate night sky.

'Whichever Ancestor did this…I can't let them get away with it.'

"…Eh?"

Jutting up from the crumbling rubble, a tiny black humanoid shadow popped up, raising its thin arms like it was trying to get her attention.

"You're—!"

She rushed over to it. Since it was the being that made up Sakura's dress, there must have been a good reason why it had separated from her.

'He probably left to go find me…'

"Take me to her, little guy."

It appears to nod at her, then plops back down into a circular puddle and begins moving in the other direction. Rin followed suit— though she could barely keep pace with its small and swift stature. 'He's probably panicking, then…Sakura, you better be—!'

She yelped and stopped her sudden fall with her hand as the cry of a phantasmal flew overhead.

A massive, yet slender body rushed from above, holding a certain Black Knights in its claws as they dragged its victim through tons upon tons of city ruins.

The crashing concrete, shattered wood and thunderous shockwaves shuddered through the soles of her feet, but she kept going forward, following that miniature shadow.

Kamijou could hold off whoever he was fighting for now; possibly even beat them. For now, she had to…

"Saku…"

And laying motionless in the dust less than ten meters away, fallen inside a shallow ravine, was a certain, nearly lifeless lilac flower.

"Sakura!"

She broke into a full sprint. Her normal clothes were mostly untouched; though it was mainly entirely due to the protection her shadow gave her. Instead, Rin could see her neck and throat had been mangled and swollen and crushed— to the point where it could be fatal.

Without wasting another second, the older Tohsaka scrambled to her side and reached into her pocket. 'How many do I…? Okay, still got a small handful.'

She produced a crystal green emerald and held it up to her sister.

"…Lebenskraft."

The gem shattered, spreading its aura-like magical energy across her neck, slowly rejuvenating the wound back to somewhat normal levels.

If Sakura was dead, it wouldn't have worked. There was no magecraft in the world that could revive who had already parted.

Knowing this, Rin sighed in relief, and picked up the healing mage, cradling her upper body in her arms. "Thank…goodness…"

The battle going on around her drowned away. For now, all that mattered was that the last of her family was safe in her hands.

"…Nee…san…"

A raspy, quiet voice hushed in her chest. Rin patted her head, mustering up a gentle demeanor despite the stress and chaos happening around them. "It's okay, Sakura. I'm here. I'm…"

She bit her lip. She was winded a bit as is; how was she supposed to get Sakura and herself out of here, safely?

With all of the Amakusa gone, the only ones still left on the battlefield would be herself, Sakura, and Kamijou. She had to bank on Kamijou's…dragon being able to hold off their new enemy, whoever it was, but even then, assuming she got Sakura somewhere safe, she'd have to return and somehow rescue Kamijou as well.

'We're not out of the woods. In fact, we couldn't be any deeper in it than right now.'

She lifted her head, keeping her hold on Sakura tender as the reverberating booms and uproarious shrieks of draconic rage echoed through the remnants of Avignon.

"He sounds even angrier than he was when fighting Angra Mainyu…" Rin muttered. "…Is he going to be okay…?"

'Will…any of us make it out of here okay?'

She grit her teeth. That was a stupid question.

Of course they would…but not if she didn't try.

"Alright Sakura, I'm getting on my feet. I'm…too weak to carry you fully, so I hope that you're okay with walking with me."

The lilac mage weakly nodded. Firmly, Rin wrapped Sakura's arm around her and pushed up to her feet, stumbling under the extra weight as she pushed one foot forward at a time.

The rumblings from the not-so distant battle grew even larger. The small gash in the earth they found themselves in was the only thing blocking them from the dragon and the vampire's view as their battle seemed to drag on even further.

"Mainyu didn't last this long…what is that Ancestor made of…?"

She took another few steps. However, that was already almost too much for her.

Her adrenaline only took her so far. She simply didn't have the physical strength right now to carry a whole other person.

She debated on using magecraft to enhance her body, but releasing a magical energy signal with a dangerous enemy that close to her could be fatal.

Rin had to walk normally. Their pace was far too slow to really gain any distance, however.

"Damn…" She cursed. 'I can't leave her behind. But all the same, I…'

"I won't be able…to get us out of here, either…"

"Allow me, then."

Rin nearly jolted at the barely familiar voice, but her shoulders finally relaxed for the first time in a while upon seeing him.

Though…

"Acqua of the Back…wait, but you're—!"

Calling the Saint worse for wear would be an understatement. His shirt had been torn clean off his body, revealing a muscular, wide frame with a shallow but deep red cut horizontally across his chest. One eye was shut, blood streaming down from the side of his face…yet his stern expression remained unphased.

"I haven't been dealt a blow like that…since my duels with the United Kingdom's Knight Leader…" He admitted. "Yet even so…I will deliver your sister to safety, if you allow me to."

"You're not gonna fight, Acqua?"

The Saint of Gabriel shook his head. "…These battles have crippled me. Possibly even permanently…so I likely would only get in the way. To an extent, I could say the same about you, but…"

He extended his arm. "You want to save her. So I'll do my best to make sure your wish is fulfilled."

Rin stepped forward, but still remained hesitant. Terra of the Left was their enemy; Acqua, who was allied with him, should be the same, but…

'He's been nothing but helpful to us since we met him. Even if briefly, we fought side-by-side. And he…'

She looked into his brown pupils. There wasn't a hint of malicious intent anywhere.

"…Okay. Can I trust her with you, Acqua of the Back?"

"As a former Knight of England…consider that a promise of chivalry."

Finally relenting, Rin pat Sakura on her head, slowly giving her over to the hulking Saint. "…He'll keep you safe, Sakura. Okay? I'll come get you later."

All her sister could muster was a weak nod as she let him into Acqua's arms, who even in his state could easily lift her up into a bridal-style position.

As soon as she was settled, both she and Acqua noticed a small black sludge pop into existence on Sakura's arm, popping up and waving its arm at Acqua.

"Well hello there." Acqua blinked, mildly surprised at its existence. It did not respond.

"It's saying thank you." Rin smiled. "For saving her. And me."

Acqua nodded in understanding, then turned his attention beyond the decimated town. "…I'll get Sakura as far from Avignon as possible. You should as well, Rin Tohsaka."

"I'll try." She agreed, yet looked beyond the crevice toward the sounds of a raging, roaring dragon. "…But Kamijou-kun is still here, fighting as hard as he can. I can't leave until he's safe, too."

Acqua closed his eyes, accepting her decision and turning on his heels. "I see. Then godspeed to both of you."

He bent his legs then burst into the air, shuddering the ground as he cleared several dozen meters in a single jump.

Even if the Ancestor had noticed him, the fact that Kamijou was still in the throes with him meant that they'd likely never catch him.

'Good. Now all that's left is…!'

She immediately broke into a run once more. Getting out into the open and looking up into the air, the magus instantly put her arms in front of her face as a grey meteor crashed upon the crumbling city.

Debris and dust flew past her face, yet the foggy clouds were cleared by the aggressive flapping of draconic wings.

The dragon grasped the Black Knight in its talons, lifting and slamming the vampire into the earth over, and over, and over. With every slam, the tremors in the earth grew more voracious; a sign that the person within the metallic scales could no longer hold back their self control.

"Kami…jou…"

Yet at the same time, looking upon the downed Ancestor…

'…He…doesn't look hurt.'

He was knocked down, for sure, but lack of blood spilling from his body implied the dragon's sharp claws failed to make him bleed.

Besides his closed eyes, he showed not a single sign of discomfort. It was almost like…he was letting Kamijou slam him into the ground.

It wasn't just her that noticed this, however— the dragon must have, too.

Red hot steam billowed from the dragon's slender nose as the red lines on its body sharply increased in intensity.

For some reason, Rin saw its head turn— facing her, as it began to lift up into the air— this time, without holding the vampire in its claws.

'Is he…?'

The dragon hissed louder. Rin couldn't understand, but somehow the message came across clear.

She swiveled around— and ran the opposite direction. Only then did she hear Kamijou take off into the skies at speeds and accelerations impossible for physics to control.

'He's going to turn this entire place into glass…I need to…!'

"Es ist groß. Es ist klein! Vox, Gott Es Atlas!"

She took in a breath as she lifted the load of gravity itself on her own body— decreasing her weight, and pumped magical energy into the circuits in her legs.

With a grunt, she burst into the air, clearing the tallest ruins by several meters. Turning her head, she spotted a metallic beast above open its second, massive maw.

A fiery inferno boiled and burned underneath, pointing straight down toward where she originally stood.

She trusted Kamijou to control and concentrate the attack in as single of a point as possible. Just to be safe, though, she reached into her pocket and threw a gem in front of her body, forming a human-sized ovular crystal shield in mid-air.

'For everyone you killed.'

The primordial dragon widened its mouth, letting a great lance protrude from its body embroiled in infernal fire.

'For everyone Vlov killed.'

He was at his wit's end. These creatures…these monsters could be allowed to live no longer.

They killed his friends. They slaughtered more than the Beast of Retribution had, in much less time. They destroyed an entire town like it was nothing but an afterthought.

They killed this entire town for a message?

'Give me a break. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of people dying on my watch. I was just watching them…having normal lives…not even a day ago. And they…and they just ripped it away!

Vampires…Dead Apostles…they're a plague upon this world. I need to kill them. All of them. ALL OF THEM—!'

"Jaw of the Dragon King, open."

At that moment, as the building flames engorged within his stomach, a passing memory whispered in his ears.

"You will be a part of Retribution too, Kamijou."

'…I don't care.'

The last dragon placed its finger on the all-piercing, primordial lance.

"I am the last dragon to open the boundary.

O breath of flame, O wings of iron,

Beat in my chest forevermore.

Hollow…Heart…AL—!"

The great lance came falling.

An ultimate strike of twilight fire ripped the remnants of Avignon, erupting with a burst of burning shockwaves.

His power rumbled through the planet, sending tremors across the entire country of France and beyond as the energy meant to pierce a hole to the beyond crashed utterly and completely into the vampire's body.

Rin Tohsaka yelped as the waves crashed into her barrier, causing them to crack as she descended toward the earth, landing as light as a feather yet shuddering as the quaking of his attack never relented.

It was just as bright as the attack he used to fell Angra Mainyu— possibly even brighter.

All of it, everything— to kill that Ancestor of darkness.

The blinding second sun took several moments to fade. Only when it did, did Rin feel safe lowering her guard and inspecting the damage.

At the heart of Avignon was now a gaping crater.

Thanks to the heat of the blast completely vaporizing most of the free roaming dust, Rin could mostly see the collateral of such a massive attack.

For starters— there was the crater.

Kamijou's Hollow Heart had ripped the town's center asunder, creating a massive bowl of smooth bedrock the diameter of a whole stadium.

The Palais des Papes sat barely standing at the edge, crumbling its centuries-long architecture into the crater.

And at the very center of the earth-scarring blast, was…

'A hole?'

Four or five meters wide. Nearly perfectly circular.

Boring deep into the earth, was a hole that Rin couldn't see the bottom of. It was like Kamijou's attack had drilled straight toward the earth's core.

'…Wait.'

She blinked. She remembered hearing a lecture that Lord El-Melloi II had given a handful of years ago.

'A dragon…who had the power to bore a hole through the Earth…is he…?

No, that can't be. That dragon's been gone since before the age of King Arthur…what am I even thinking?'

She peered up, hearing the jet-like sounds of Kamijou's dragon descend toward the Earth.

The red lines scorching across its body had faded by a great amount, as if it had unleashed most of its power just for that attack.

It seemed to be surveying the area— making sure no bloodsucker had withstood such an earthbreaking attack.

Another thing Rin had noted was the fact that he wasn't completely exhausted and immediately collapsed, like the first time he had used it. 'It's like he's…adapting to it?'

The red dragon floated down nearby the circular trench.

"…Not enough."

And that would prove to be its ultimate mistake.

Rin Tohsaka gasped as the dragon's snake-like, metal head whipped backward— then the sound of an iron-crushing blow burst past her ears.

"Wha—?!"

In a single strike, the dragon collapsed onto the bedrock…

…to a completely unharmed, unbothered Dead Apostle Ancestor.

"…How…Wh…at…?"

Rin reached out her hand, trying to grasp at the distant Kamijou as she witnessed the Dead Apostle smash its foot into the dragon's belly, bending and denting its metal frame.

"Not enough. I thought you would be, but…not enough."

Another tremoring smash. This time, chunks of metal and sparks went flying as the beast's belly was starting to cave in.

In an almost animalistic desperation, the dragon quickly turned around and attempted a take off to the skies.

It was able to ignore the laws of inertia, capable of breaking mach speed in an instant—

"Stay down."

But like any flying creature, it could not soar without its wings.

This fact, the Dead Apostle seemed to know awfully too well.

The black bloodsucker gripped onto its left wing, and pulled with effort that almost seemed too easy. With little resistance, Rin watched as the metallic limb ripped off, with metal and oil-like blood spewing wildly as the beast cried and roared in pain.

The Ancestor threw the wing to the side, like tossing a useless piece of trash.

"The most interesting enemy I have fought in centuries…yet you're merely paltry. I'm…disappointed, considering what I was told about Imagine Breaker. It seems you aren't even close to realizing its true strength."

He grabbed the other wing, and tore it off even easier than the last. "I haven't even used a quarter of my strength…nor could you harm me…it's a shame, Touma Kamijou.

I have no idea what my liege wants from you. But I suppose…"

He widened his eyes by just a degree as he drove his arm down into the dragon's upper back.

It shattered the metal into sand. Blood and black viscera from the defeated dragon gushed like a geyser as the vampire appeared to grip his fingers around something solid inside.

He pulled out his prize.

Rin Tohsaka fell to her knees as the unconscious, limp, nude body of Touma Kamijou hung by the neck from the invincible Ancestor.

"…that I will fulfill the request she had given to me."

…That was it.

The Dead had won on that night.

The City of Popes had fallen. The Mage of Raphael had been executed. The Saint of Gabriel had been routed.

The Dragon's wings had been clipped, without the Sixth Ancestor needing to even draw their sword.

Their reward: the Imagine Breaker.

Who remained…a young crimson mage, much too far out of her depth.

She had defeated one Ancestor. One. One that had already been weakened, and not without help, and not without nearly killing herself.

Trying the same against this one would be pointless. Kamijou had already delivered a blow far beyond what she could do, and it still did nothing.

"…I'm sorry."

She gripped the gravel at her knees as she watched Kamijou be lifted higher by the untouchable enemy.

"I'm sorry…Index…Sakura…every…one…"

The mage hit her head to the ground. Her forehead started to feel wet, but she didn't care.

Her eyes were wet too, after all.

'…I'm a failure. I failed. This town, our allies, everyone…everyone is…is…'

She choked out a sob.

It really was over.

"…No."

"…Huh?"

A voice that wasn't her own spoke in her mind.

"Look up, Tohsaka-san."

She jerked her head up.

And gasped as a silver blade fired from the opposite end of the crater, flying not toward the vampire, but at—

"K-Kamijou-kun?!"

The silver key sword stabbed into his stomach.

Yet, the force of such a quick strike knocked him clean out of the Dead Apostle's hands.

"Now, Tohsaka-san! Get him back!"

Realizing that was her one, and only opportunity, Rin Tohsaka jumped to her feet and ran through any and every possible spell she had in her decade of training across two countries.

'…Right, I have one!'

Biting her lip to choke back her lingering emotions, she held out her arm

"Der sechsfache Stern! Vogelkäfig der bindet! Shließung!

Lock, chains of darkness!"

From her palm fired a twin pair of pure black chain-links.

They were quick in velocity, yet Rin noticed that the vampire had already recovered from the surprise of his objective being thrown away, and began rushed toward the pinned body of Kamijou.

She had to get to it first, but the speed of her spell simply wasn't fast enough.

'I'm not gonna—!'

Her prayers were answered in less than a second.

Silver keys by the dozen landed in front of the vampire, providing a thin, weak, yet present wall that slowed his progression just enough. Gritting her teeth, Rin watched as her chains did their job, and coiled around the boy's body tightly.

'Return!'

She pulled her arm back. On command, the chains reverted back into her palm. The key dislodged from the earth, and he jerked backwards toward her.

The Ancestor reached out their arm.

Their fingertips grazed right by Kamijou's toes as Rin pulled him away. Not to be outdone, the Black Knight turned his attention not toward his objective…

…but her, directly.

Rin's legs shuddered at the sight of his sharp red eyes gleaming onto her. Now that they were directly facing each other, who he was began to click in her head.

'He's the man who we met on the streets…'

She and Kamijou had been that close to a monster of this level before. Now, he was aiming to take him— and since she was in the way, likely do away with her without a second thought.

He had easily torn apart Kamijou's dragon. If he got to her, she wouldn't last any more than a few instants.

The vampire jumped at her, in a perfect straight line as they reached out with their clawed hand.

Despite Kamijou almost being in her arms, he was gaining on them, and fast.

"Set."

But a savior, not too far away, made sure that his contact would never come to pass.

Because within her right hand, was a power she had taken from the Dead Apostle's very own kin.

"Idea Blood Number 22, Petastructure.

Heaven's Kingdom is Invulnerable.

Let thy Walls stand eternal."

A silver barrier made itself known between the red magus and the Dead Apostle.

It was cuboidal in shape, nearly large enough to fit the entirety of the crater inside of it.

Taken from the Twenty-Second Ancestor, it was a perfect isolation-type Bounded Field— capable of containing Dead Apostles all the way up to Rank IX.

It was one of two of the Seventh Burial Agent's strongest spells— repurposed from the Hemonomic Principle to be a weapon for humanity.

She held Be'ze's sword, which she used to attempt to behead the King of Daemons.

Now, wielding Petastructure's kingdom, she would create a wall nearly as impenetrable as the white towers of the British utopia.

"Gothic Fort: Chromclay Cathedral!"

The silver barrier permeated into proper existence.

The last thing Rin saw was the vampire's great hand reaching dangerously close to her, before the wall completely shut off his pursuit of her.

She fell backward as Touma Kamijou fell into her arms, but held him tightly as she rolled over and gently set him face-up on the ground.

Before focusing on anything else around her, Rin produced another one of her gems, internally using her Lebenskraft to shatter its energy into his stab wound.

"…Hahhhh…"

Relief fell upon her once again. She was alive. Somehow.

More importantly, the boy laying the ground was as well. Touching his neck and holding her hand over his mouth, his heart was beating and his lungs were breathing.

She heard someone hop down not too far from her, causing her to turn and flinch— but her concerns were unfounded.

It was someone that they had parted with from what felt like eons ago.

"C-Ciel!" She exclaimed.

The Burial Agent tiredly waved at her. Her combat uniform was in tatters— her blue tunic had been ripped at the stomach, completely revealing her midriff, and her hair looked more wild than usual, but she still gave a serious yet comforting smile.

"…H-Hey there, Tohsaka-san. Glad you listened to my instructions."

"Yeah…I had a feeling that was you. I'm glad you're okay…though I never really doubted too much that you were."

"Mhm…I…can't exactly say the same about the rest of the town, though. We survived, but…"

Her eyes lowered into a melancholy gaze. "…Very little of the city did, I bet. Who else did we lose?"

Both of them gazed at the silvery wall, nearly perfectly encompassing the crater in the earth.

"…Itsuwa. We haven't found a body, but at this point, I don't know if we ever will."

"…I see."

"Not to mention…" Rin bit her lip again. The compartmentalized thoughts were starting to come out. "…Most of the Amakusa Christians. Index and Tsuchimikado should have evacuated the city, so they should be fine. I gave Sakura to Acqua of the Back so she could get away safe."

"You trusted him?"

"…Vampires are our common enemy, so at the very least we trust each other in that regard."

Giving a nod of understanding, Ciel offered to carry Kamijou herself, but Rin adamantly refused.

"I feel…responsible for this. At least, him getting hurt, so…I should hold onto him."

Ciel chuckled. "Don't be silly, Tohsaka-san. You're tired, I can tell. Allow me."

Relenting once more, she let the Burial Agent lift the nude boy up and over her shoulder.

"Ciel…how are you able to laugh at a time like this?" Rin asked. "I-It's not a bad thing, but…"

The ocean-haired Executor responded with a thousand-yard stare, off deep into the walls of the Chromclay Cathedral; the vampire's current prison. "I'm…used to tragedy like this. Of pain. At some point I just learned to grin and bear it. Besides— the thing that most people need at times of sadness is relief; and a smile helps a lot with that."

Rin nodded. She couldn't argue with that.

"Besides, I don't think you could handle carrying him anyway."

"Because I'm tired?"

"No, because he's…" She gestured up and down at his exposed skin. "And you're…"

Rin blinked. Ciel shook her head. "Nevermind, wrong time. In any case…"

They both looked back to the gigantic cuboidal jail that Ciel had created for the Dead Apostle.

Looking about, Rin took notice of several Crimson Black Keys, stabbed like crosses in the ground and orbiting the great walls. "Yeah…how were you able to seal him? None of Kamijou-kun's attacks really did anything, and he was able to kill Angra Mainyu…"

Ciel produced a coat out of thin air, wrapping Kamijou's extremities with it as she explained, "…It's because of his powers. That's Rizo-Waal Strout: the Sixth-Ranked Dead Apostle Ancestor.

While the Twenty-Seven aren't necessarily ranked in strength, the top ten are considered to have abilities that require higher-level Mystery in order to surpass that makes them particularly unkillable. One exists across multiple worldlines, another has his life force spread across more than six-hundred beings…

…Meanwhile, Rizo-Waal Strout has a Curse of Time."

"Curse of Time?" Rin asked. "I thought all Dead Apostles had that? Their ability to heal their bodies by turning back localized time on their wounds…"

Ciel clicked her tongue. "Strout goes much further than that. Time…is stopped for him. He's a being that exists outside of the time stream. It's also why he's been able to exist for thousands of years, and is the third-oldest Dead Apostle in existence."

Rin's eyes widened as she slowly began to put it together. "Time is stopped…so of course. Of course nothing can affect him, since physical things can't affect something that's completely stopped…"

"Exactly. He's, quite literally, an immovable object. He cannot be harmed, and since his body is also time-locked, he does not have any thirst for blood, either, so he never goes mad with bloodlust.

In all senses of the word, he is invincible. The Black side of the Two Knights, whom the White possesses an ability that makes him a nigh-unstoppable force."

"There's…two of them…?"

The prospect of the Black Knight's ally appearing at any moment sent a shudder down Tohsaka's spine.

"I don't sense him anywhere close, so don't worry." Ciel assured. "If he was here, he would have shown up by now. And fortunately for us, I had the one thing he was unable to counter…being imprisoned."

"Yeah." Rin nodded. "If you can't beat him, trap him. It was a good idea…glad it worked out."

Steadily climbing to her feet, Rin checked her pocket to see if her phone was still working.

'Of course not.'

"We'll have to head back on foot…see if Tsuchimikado and Index made it out okay. After that, we'll find Sakura, too."

Ciel hefted Kamijou gently over her shoulder again as she began her march. "Sounds good to me. I'll contact the Church and see if they can get a more permanent prison for Rizo…it's not very often that we're able to seal an Ancestor in the top ten."

They began their long trek. Rin passively listened to Ciel pressing buttons and talking to what was likely Holy Church officials on the other end while the two of them hobbled through kilometers of…lifelessness.

Because of the massive, city-spanning attacks of the Dead Apostles, as well as Kamijou himself, much of the buildings had been completely flattened.

The lower-ranking Apostles were the first wave. The Vlov's flames. Then Vlov's ice.

After that, it was Rizo's blast, which probably erased any remnants of the living.

Ninety-nine percent of Avignon was…gone. Just like that.

'…I'm sorry.'

Rin couldn't help but mouth those words internally. Rarely has there ever been death and destruction on this large of a scale in modern history.

She was at the epicenter. Strangely, she was still alive, along with a select few of her allies.

'…I'm sorry. I'm sorry.'

She didn't know who she was apologizing to. Herself, maybe. Possibly even the thousands of souls that were watching her right now.

Their goal was to stop Avignon's destruction. Instead, they got a flattened town…and a defeated Dead Apostle that they couldn't even completely kill.

Even though she, Kamijou and the others were still alive, the one fact remained true:

The Dead were victorious today.

"…!

Rin tensed as she felt a presence spike into existence behind her.

"Tohsaka-san, MOVE—!"

She gasped as she felt the hard shove of Ciel knock her sideways, landing her on her side.

Skidding to a halt, she quickly turned to look at what the Burial Agent had made her evade.

Ciel reacted first. "W-Wait…No…how…?!"

Rin grit her teeth. She felt like she said that a lot, nowadays.

But now, it was even worse.

A purple, gashing flame had blasted out between the two of them. It was thin enough to be avoidable, but the heat was still concerningly hot.

Ciel planted a handful of Black Keys on the ground to disperse the fire nearby them, but it was like putting a band-aid on an amputation.

For the Chromclay Cathedral was beginning to fall.

A sharp, violet light line bifurcated the cube.

Then a heartbeat later, a massive burst of light blinded the two heroines.

The great bounded field that was Ciel's stolen Idea Blood shattered from its pure might. Through wincing eyes and blocking arms, Rin saw that a huge, building-sized violent gash appeared in its side, breaking open its prisoners to freedom.

"He destroyed Chromclay's Idea Blood like it was…nothing…"

She gasped as she realized her blunder. "…That's why. He has the…"

She rushed over to Rin and grabbed her arm, forcing her to her feet. "We don't have time. I have to get you two out of there, and then I'll—!"

"And then you'll what, Burial Agent?"

They both petrified as that deep, deafening, booming voice resounded from the flaming gash in Ciel's failed prison.

Turning around, both of them spotted him.

The Black Knight Strout.

In his hand was a burning violet greatsword of primordial fury, with a swirl of black, purple and deep crimson emitting from its double-edged blade.

Rin couldn't take her eyes off of his weapon. The pressure, and pure energy coming off of its blade was enormous.

'It's…as strong as Saber's Noble Phantasm…'

Yet instead of a pure, hopeful shine, it was the inhuman darkness of a vampiric monster.

"Using our own kin's powers against us…I will ensure you will pay us back in blood for that, Burial Agent. After I take Touma Kamijou."

Ciel grit her teeth. Without anywhere to run, she quickly handed off Kamijou to Tohsaka. "Change of plans— get out of here. As fast as your legs can allow…and I'll buy time."

Rin grimaced as she took the full weight of Kamijou's body, but managed to stay upright. "Will you be alright?"

Once again, Ciel gave a saddened smile. "Of course. I can fight as long as I need…you just need to ensure he's safe. For me, okay?"

"Okay. I trust you, Ciel."

She empowered her legs with a viridescent shine of mana, then broke into a run behind the Executor.

Ciel took a deep breath as she opened her palm and summoned her Seventh Holy Scripture into her hands. A massive grey metal whip sword appeared as she slowly began her march toward Strout.

'My chances of winning are…'

She looked at the fiery blade he carried.

'…Not high.

Even so…I have to make a stand here. One-hundred thousand lives have been lost today…and I'll be damned to hell even more than I am if I let two more go to waste."

Glancing behind her and assuring Tohsaka was out of sight, she readied her Blood Loss, the name of the form her Seventh Scripture took.

In response, the Sixth-Ranked Ancestor pulled back his blade of crimson…

"Tear her asunder, O True Demon."

…and fired it forward.

"Neardark."

xXx

Upon a tall hill, overlooking the fallen City of Popes.

A young woman leaned under a tree, watching as the giant cube that had just appeared from nowhere began to dissipate underneath a purple fire.

Her eyes narrowed.

'Mm. That confirms it.'

She pushed off the tree and began her walk toward the town. She banked on being neutral— letting the humans of this area take care of things for her, but…

'Ah well…seems like they can't. I hoped they would…humanity should be better than this…letting vampires get the better of them.

After all, this is a worldline where Heroic Spirits and Ancestors exist in one place…also that weird city inside Japan.

All things considered…they should have had mettle to take care of them, but…ah well.'

Sighing and flipping her bobcut blonde hair, the woman broke into a gentle jog. Even now, even after the town had been utterly flattened, and only a small handful of humans remained, she was still hesitant on truly getting involved.

'…But I guess the Knights being here confirms that that idiot is sticking her nose where she shouldn't. Guess someone should teach her a lesson.'

Her scarlet eyes gleamed as her civilian clothing began to shapeshift into a much more formal, flattering yet short blue and white dress.

Staring up at the blue, glassy moon, she gave a sigh of quiet relent.

"Guess it's your lucky day, Imagine Breaker.

I'm gettin' involved, after all."


Next Chapter: "Crown of Blue Glass" (November 30th)