Revision Notes:
9/17/2022 - Minor errors/corrections
Spoiler alert: Future events in FGO's story as well as other Fate franchises will also be referenced and/or hinted.
You have been warned.
Chapter 3 – What Makes A Hero (Human), A Hero (Human)?
The Simulation Room was once again at full blast in one afternoon at Chaldea.
By full blast however, it didn't just mean that it was cranked up to its highest difficulty but also that it was having trouble trying to endure the power output displayed by the Servants utilizing it.
On one side, a mob of monsters was being skewered by different kinds of weapons and on the other; an army of regal sphinxes was having a feast with another horde.
Despite how grotesque the creatures looked, the fact that they were one-sidedly being slaughtered by just two individuals makes it seem like the real monsters are the two hunting them down instead.
That statement is not necessarily wrong.
After all, even amongst Chaldea where numerous Heroic Spirits from different timelines were called upon for the sake of Humanity, these two easily reigned at the top.
Mankind's Oldest Hero. The King of Heroes.
Archer Gilgamesh.
Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh. The God King.
Rider Ozymandias.
In the middle of these two was Humanity's Last Master, Hachiman Hikigaya who has obviously seen better days.
As to why that's the case, well, let's just say that even with the support of Chaldea, using two top-class Servants simultaneously put the same burden on his body like he is running full-sprint on a marathon.
It didn't help that these two were extravagantly using their magic power as if it was a bottomless lake.
"Good work, Archer and Rider," Hachiman remarked while trying his best to maintain his smile despite him becoming a little pale. "But didn't you guys overdo it a little bit?"
"Overdo it?" Gilgamesh raised one of his brows, offended. "That wasn't even a warmup! Hahahahaha!"
"Indeed," Ozymandias concurred from the side. "Are you telling me this is the best that this Simulator can offer? It is wholly insufficient! Hahahahaha!"
Hachiman tried his very best not to breathe out a sigh or let out a single complaint.
While it wasn't much, the act of these two stepping into the Simulation Room on their own was progress in and of itself.
He was also able to confirm with his own two eyes just how powerful these ancient monarchs really are.
Sure enough, they really did have the corresponding bite to match their bark.
I need to somehow convince them how to stop using their magic power so excessively… There's also how they'll cooperate with their fellow Servants… Some basic strategy and formations should also be discussed…
As Hachiman mentally enumerated the things that needed to be dealt with in relation to these two troublesome Servants and estimated how much of a hassle it was going to be in the future, he did what any normal human being would have done in the face of such an arduous ordeal…
"Right, let's call it a day for now," Hachiman announced before promptly leaving the Simulation Room on his own without waiting for the Kings' say in the matter.
…He gave up. At least, for today, all for the sake of his mental health.
Otherwise, if he had to hear those two laugh for even just one second longer then he might actually use a Command Spell to make them shut up.
…
Unless special circumstances are involved (i.e. the previous counselling session), the search for the next Singularity that needed to be corrected is prioritized over anything else.
That was why even though Hachiman Hikigaya is technically in combat, since it was only in the Simulation Room and he was accompanied with one of his most powerful pair of Servants, monitoring his condition became a task that could easily be handled by two people.
As such, the two observers, namely Acting Director of Chaldea Doctor Romani Archaman and Caster Class Servant Leonardo Da Vinci, had more than enough leeway to talk with each other over a cup of tea.
"I've been curious about it for a while but," Romani began after having one little sip from his teacup. "Did you know that Hachiman-kun had the potential to be a Servant Counsellor all this time?"
"Why do you ask?" Da Vinci answered the question by asking one of her own while making a smile with a hard-to-discern nature.
"I just noticed that even though you were also worried about Hachiman-kun's safety during the last counselling session, you seemed to have the most faith out of all of us in the room that he'll somehow pull it off in the end," Romani put a hand to his chin while recalling the strangeness he observed of his counterpart's behavior on that day. "I just found that a little weird. Ah! I don't mean to insult you or anything!" Doctor Roman waved both of his hands to try to clear up any potential misunderstanding.
"Fufufu! It's okay, I know that was not your intention," Da Vinci smiled in a similar manner to the expression immortalized in the Mona Lisa painting. It was a sign that she was truly amused of the Doctor's rare displays of sharpness. Sure enough, there is indeed more than one unpolished gem here in Chaldea. "As much as I would like to say it's because of my genius, it's also not in my nature to take credit for something that I didn't do," Da Vinci drank a mouthful of her tea before continuing. "I've been called by many things in my life but one of my favorite one was being addressed as a Scientist, not just because of how much of an honor that title was back in my time but also because it felt like my mindset was very close to one," the woman with Mona Lisa's face made a melancholic expression. "Given that hint, what do you think was my source of confidence?"
"If it's with the mentality of a scientist then I guess it would be none other than evidence or in this case…" Romani instantly answered before taking a few more seconds to rethink it but even though he felt like what he was about to say next made the most sense, he'd be lying to himself if he said he was absolutely sure of it. "A precedent?"
"Bingo! We have a winner!" Da Vinci announced playfully like a game show host would. "From the first few Servants that he summoned, wasn't there one particular Heroic Spirit that we all thought was equally as dangerous as Gilgamesh but Master was able to tame rather easily?"
"Eh? Was there really one like that?" unfortunately, Doctor Roman's moments of sharpness were very brief. Caster Leonardo Da Vinci had half a mind to sigh before restraining herself in the last moment.
"I'll give you one more clue then," Da Vinci winked. "Next to Mash, he's probably the Servant that he genuinely trusts most."
Doctor Roman's irises bulged in both surprise and shock.
"Ah! You don't mean!"
"Yep! That's right!" she then began to tinker with the Command Room's main computer with nimble fingers. "Since we're both technically free, let's take the opportunity to read through it together then," Da Vinci opened up a file on one of the archives and split the display on the main screen such that they could see both the current events being recorded from the Simulation Room and the report that she mentioned. "Master's first unofficial counselling session."
…
An abnormality was detected in the Fuyuki Singularity, the place where everything began for Humanity's Last Master, Hachiman Hikigaya while in the perspective of the rest of the human race; it was the place where everything ended.
While Hachiman fully expected that they might run into trouble during this operation…
"Eh?"
…He couldn't have possibly imagined encountering it immediately upon arrival.
The moment that the members of Chaldea's exploration team touched the desolate ground, which is one of the trademark features of the Fuyuki Singularity, it caved in and made all of them fall.
"Aaaaaaahhhhhh!"
"Senpai!"
The sudden change of the situation sent the usually more stoic Hachiman at a panic.
On her side, though Mash was much faster in changing her gears, because of her lack in training with aerial movement, she was having trouble moving her body in a manner efficient enough to help her Senpai out.
Luckily, the two did not come to this Singularity on their own.
"Rrrauuughhh!"
"That's..!"
A loud roar echoed out from above.
Looking up, Mash saw a black silhouette rushing in at high speeds towards their general direction.
By impulse, Mash raised her shield above her head but after taking a second look, she was able to determine what its true identity was.
To describe him in the shortest way possible, he was a mass of muscle the likes of which no human could probably ever reach even if they trained during their entire lifetime. He is at least twice the height of an average male and his whole body had a lead-like complexion which made him seem even more inhuman than he already is.
The word herculean was not just coined because of his existence; it was literally derived from his own name.
Berserker Class Servant.
True Name: Heracles.
One of, if not, Greek Mythology's Strongest Hero though with the current class he manifested in, more than half of his usual skillset cannot be utilized.
His blood-red eyes which are perpetually clouded with anger are a clear manifestation of the fact that he is summoned as a Berserker.
That being said, one can never go wrong with the strength of a Great Hero…
…Especially if he is your ally.
Following his instincts, Heracles tucked both of his arms to his side and dove head-first like a bird of prey swooping down its target.
This act was done in order to minimize his air resistance and increase his descent speed as high as possible.
With that, he rushed right towards where Hachiman and Mash were falling… Not.
Instead, he crashed right towards the wall.
It might seem like he missed on initial glance but this was actually his aim the entire time.
After all, if he approached either Hachiman or Mash with his earlier falling speed, he was most likely going to injure them because of his momentum hence; he hit the wall and used all of his limbs to slow down his descent by sliding on it.
When he felt like he slowed down enough, he positioned his body such that he could use the wall as a foothold before performing a leap.
This time around, he jumped straight towards Mash as she was the closest to his current position.
After he got the purple-haired girl on one of his shoulders, Heracles crashed on the opposite wall from where he initially jumped off.
"Thanks, Berserker!" Mash shouted in appreciation. "Now please go to Senpai as well!"
"Rrrauuughhh!"
Mimicking his movements from earlier, Heracles took flight once more and this time, he grabbed his Master who was still screaming from the top of his lungs before once again, crashing on the wall on the other side.
"Wah!" Hachiman was initially surprised after someone broke his fall but after finding out that it was his very own Servant, he breathed out a sigh of relief. "It was you, Berserker! I'm saved!"
"Rrrauuughhh!"
Another roar came out of Heracles' mouth.
It was nothing more than the howl of a beast but to Hachiman who learned from a young age that communication was more than just the words you actually say, he could vaguely pick apart what this Berserker Servant of his really wanted to convey with his roar.
Not yet!
Hachiman decided to follow his intuition and confirm their current situation.
Though the rate at which they were falling has indeed slowed down, it didn't change the fact that they were still… Well, falling.
How long was this going to last?
No, that was not the most urgent question that he should ask himself at the moment.
It's supposed to be…
How long were they going to last?
Or more specifically, how long was Heracles going to last?
Despite him being one of the greatest Heroes from Greek Mythology, by no means did it mean that his stamina is limitless.
A brief check on Heracles' current condition was enough for Hachiman to understand what he could do as this Heroic Spirit's Master.
"First Aid."
Though he is nothing more than a rookie compared to other Mages, even he could cast Magecraft with the assistance of Mystic Codes such as the standard uniform issued to all members from Chaldea.
Light from restorative Magecraft diffused from Hachiman towards Heracles' body with its main focus being on the limbs that supported the three of them so far.
"Grrrr!"
After the rushed treatment was finished, another groan escaped from Heracles' mouth.
What he wanted to say was obvious given what just occurred.
Thank you.
"Don't mention it, big guy," Hachiman patted one of Berserker's arms. "It's the least I can do."
While that spell helped, Hachiman was not naïve enough to think that everything was going to be smooth-sailing from hereon out.
That was nothing more than a drop on the ocean much like how small they were compared to the bottomless pit that they were lured into.
Since he couldn't see anything at the bottom no matter how hard he looked, Hachiman inadvertently found himself looking upwards instead.
When he did, he managed to notice a long object that was following their fall. Though its height was still a couple meters above them, after squinting his eyes, he was able identify what it really was.
"Berserker, use that!"
Heracles moved both Hachiman and Mash to his shoulders before using his legs to leap once again following his Master's brand-new instruction.
"Rrrauuughhh!"
Hachiman didn't know why but for some reason, he was able to discern the meaning of this cry immediately.
Understood.
The item the Great Hero of Greece was told to retrieve was none other than his gray greatsword which he accidentally discarded in favor of focusing on his rescue efforts.
After Berserker was able to grab it, he stabbed the sword on the wall and used it as some sort of anchor to slow down the trio's fall.
Seconds that felt like hours passed by during which Hachiman devoted all of his focus towards staring downwards and checking what lay on the bottom… Assuming there is one in the first place.
The most classic scenario would either be a large monster like a dragon waiting at the end or the floor could just be ridden with spikes or a pit of poison.
For all they know, the entire hole is the mouth of a gigantic beast and they were heading straight towards its stomach.
Regardless of what really lies at the end though, Hachiman wanted to see it with his eyes as soon as possible so they could respond accordingly.
To his surprise (and mild disappointment) what was on the very end was nothing more than just regular ground.
Even after waiting for a couple of seconds, none of the things he was worried about was anywhere near them, for the time being, at least.
If he had to mention something that was noteworthy around him then it was the thing that looked like a completely normal cave passage situated a couple of meters in front of them…
As if!
He didn't need to be a Magus to sense how ominous the vibes that place was giving off.
In any case, what he needed to do first and foremost was to gather information and just when he thought about contacting Chaldea…
"Hachiman-kun, can you hear me?!" the panicked voice of Doctor Archaman echoed from the comms.
"Loud and clear, Doctor," Hachiman couldn't hide the sense of relief he felt when he saw the unreliable yet trustworthy Acting Head of Chaldea. "If it's not too much trouble, can you give me a report of our current situation?"
Shortly after Hachiman's inquiry however, all the audio he could receive from the other side suddenly turned into static.
".e..car.f.l!...t's..a..tr.p…y..L.v!..H..ry..an….sc.p.!..M..ste.…e..ry…re!"
"Doctor Roman? Doctor Roman, do you hear me? Please respond," Hachiman kept repeatedly contacting the headquarters before communication from the other side became completely lost. "Don't screw with me! Hey! Doctor Roman! Da Vinci-san! Anyone!"
While Hachiman kept shouting on the comms, a faint glimmer could be spotted right around the area where the cave entrance was located.
Given how desolate this Singularity was supposed to be, that kind of thing could only be possible if…
"Senpai, watch out!" Mash leaped in front of her Master and raised her shield in order to try to receive the incoming attack. "Urk!" she groaned after the attack made contact with her shield. It appeared to have been a magical projectile of some sorts. Though the resistance she felt is indeed heavy, it was nowhere near close to breaking through her defenses. "Haaaaaa!" gritting her teeth she managed to deflect the attack and render it useless.
As soon as she successfully blocked that attack…
"Grraauuuughhh!"
In the next second a large object zoomed past by Mash. This time however, it did not come from the Shielder's front but her back.
It was none other than the sword that Heracles has been using.
The sword was now planted squarely right on the area where the torso of a human being should be on.
Naturally, given Heracles' power, it was more than enough to obliterate it.
By the time Hachiman was alerted to what was going on, it was already too late…
Luckily, both of his Servants reacted swiftly and got him covered, with Mash focused on defense and Heracles on counterattacking.
"Mash! Are you okay?!" Hachiman worriedly asked.
"I'm fine, Senpai. This much is nothing," Mash reassured her Master.
Those were not just empty words but a logical fact.
This was the shield that blocked the Noble Phantasm of the King of Knights after all.
"Thank goodness. Sorry for letting my guard down like that."
"Rrrauuughhh!"
"Ah, right. Good work Ber… No, that's not what you mean, huh?"
When Hachiman noticed that Heracles was continuously growling and glaring at the cave passage in front of them, he understood that Berserker wasn't asking for attention like a young puppy but was instead warning its Master about an incoming threat like a guard dog would.
More are coming!
On a side note, when he threw his sword earlier what he said was:
Take this!
Just as Berserker warned, multiple black silhouettes appeared from the cave.
They appeared humanoid however there was no uniformity with either their stances or the weapons they wielded. They had swords, spears, axes, bows, daggers and even staves, you name it, they have it.
It was a myriad of different armaments.
Normally, it would've been difficult to figure out what kind of enemy they are given their vague appearance but because of the fact that this is the Fuyuki Singularity, there was only one possible answer.
"Shadow Servants, huh."
In this Singularity, it was what happens to a defeated Servant in the Holy Grail War.
This however begs one question.
Why would these guys manifest in this manner if the Order in this Singularity has already been restored?
Hachiman kept that thought on the back of his head for now.
There were more urgent matters that he needed to deal with.
"They all seem to be coming out of that cave, Senpai," Mash noted while getting into a combat stance.
"Which could only mean that's the place giving off the abnormal signal that Chaldea detected, huh," Hachiman sighed. "I really didn't want for us to go in that direction though but given our circumstances, I suppose we don't have much of a choice."
"Do you think this explains why you couldn't bring more Servants with us, Senpai?"
"Probably," he scratched his head and sighed. "It's most likely a trap though."
Due to the apparent instability of the Singularity because of the detected abnormality, the number of Servants that Hachiman could safely bring along with him apart from Mash was only one.
Taking that into consideration, Hachiman chose the Heroic Spirit who is most adept as a solo unit.
As the one who overcame Twelve Labors each being equivalent to a legendary feat mostly on his own, there was no better candidate from their current roster aside from Heracles.
"No other choice, we're breaking through you two!" Hachiman jumped to the back and let his two Servants take the front. "Mash, grab the attention of those serving as the vanguard! Berserker, leap through enemy lines and obliterate their backline!"
"Roger!"
"Rrrauuughhh!"
In this scenario, Heracles' cry could only be translated in one manner.
Roger!
Following their battle plan, Mash dashed forward and met the advance of one of the Shadow Servants presumed to be a Lancer because it was wielding a spear, stopping it on its tracks.
Heracles mirrored her initial actions but before he could make contact with a Shadow Servant thought to be a Saber…
"Rrrauuughhh!"
He leapt and in one instant, he was right next to the Servants who were supposed to be the rearguard. His landing even managed to crush one of them.
At that timing…
"Instant Enhancement!"
…Hachiman further boosted Heracles' offensive power by utilizing the second Magecraft encoded into his Mystic Code.
It was a spell that temporarily augmented the amount of magic power that a Servant can effectively utilize for a short period of time. In other words, its effect was very similar to being supercharged with an energy drink.
With a rampaging Berserker on their rear and an immovable Shielder in front of them, it didn't even take five minutes before the entire battle was settled.
"Good work, you two," Hachiman's dead yet calculating eyes locked on to the cave entrance that those Shadow Servants came out of. "Now then, let's go ahead and check what's waiting for us inside, shall we?"
…
A party of three adventurers explores a dungeon together after they accepted a quest from the Guild. That was perhaps the best way to describe their current situation though Hachiman would be the first to admit how unbalanced their team was, under normal circumstances. They had two frontliners and both of them were rather skewed towards either attack or defense with Heracles on the former and Mash on the latter. As the Master, Hachiman was of course delegated on the support role.
That being said, it was actually the perfect team composition in an environment such as this cave.
Perhaps it was a blessing-in-disguise that they didn't bring either an Archer or Caster Class Servant as their attacks might end up in an accidental cave-in. Let's not even get started on how helpful they were going to be when they fell earlier. Despite appearances, Heracles was actually adept at holding his strength back enough that it wouldn't inadvertently bury the three of them alive.
Try as Hachiman might to describe their current situation in a more lighthearted manner…
"Haaaaaaa!"
"Rrrauuughhh!"
…The truth couldn't be farther from reality.
Though the cave was rather straightforward and did not contain much twists and turns…
It was however flooded with Shadow Servants, making their advance extremely slow as they were constantly in battle.
"Take those Casters down, Berserker!" Hachiman commanded as he took cover to be away from the attack range of the other Shadow Servants.
"Rrrauuughhh!"
Heracles roared before mowing down the enemies that tried to restrain him. After a series of quick and decisive movements, Berserker was now in front of the Caster Servants that were continuously casting some sort of spell to empower the other Shadow Servants.
All it took was one swipe from the Greek demigod to end them all however.
Following the Casters' defeat, the rest of the enemies weakened significantly afterwards.
Unfortunately, the timing was just one second too slow.
"Mash, behind you!"
Having entrusted the task of dealing with the enemy's rearguard to Heracles, Hachiman could now entirely direct his focus on Mash's fight.
Due to all the battles they've fought so far, it couldn't be helped that fatigue was kicking in to the three of them. In actual fact, they've been fighting continuously for around three days and three nights but because they were stuck underground with no way to contact Chaldea, they weren't able to notice this fact.
This proved fatal in this encounter as none of them were able to notice that an Assassin Class Shadow Servant was able to get behind Mash.
An ominous shadow dwelled on the dagger held by the Assassin. This attack is none other than the equivalent to a normal Servant's Noble Phantasm.
Though it might be weaker in principle, it also wasn't something that you can easily shrug off.
Hearing her Master's warning, Mash instinctively tried to dodge but…
"Eh?"
*crash*
Her legs suddenly became like jelly and were unable to support her body, making her fall flat on the ground.
"Mash!" Hachiman screamed in worry.
Before the Shadow Servant's dagger made contact with Mash however…
"Emergency Evade!"
Hachiman Hikigaya used the last spell imprinted on the Chaldea Mystic Code.
It is an application of Displacement Magecraft wherein it shifts a portion of space around the target allowing for the caster to move said target as if it was teleporting. The rate of consumption of magic power is proportional to the target as well as the distance in which they are moved to.
Because the target was just Mash and Hachiman only needed to move her away just enough to cause the dagger to miss, excessive magic power consumption wasn't much of a concern.
Through this, Hachiman was able to make Mash dodge the attack.
After doing so, he immediately broke into a run and began to check the condition of his kouhai.
Though Hachiman had his back turned to the Assassin Shadow Servant who was aiming for Mash, he didn't look the least bit worried. After all…
"Rrrauuughhh!"
…Heracles was there to cover him.
"Mash? Are you alright?" he asked while letting his magic power coalesce into green light. "First Aid!"
Despite using a good chunk of his magic power, the healing spell was barely taking any effect.
Even a rookie magus like Hachiman could tell that Mash's abnormal condition was brought upon not just from fatigue or injury.
In fact, only one occasion comes to his mind.
It was that one attack from an Archer Class Shadow Servant (presumed-to-be) that Mash blocked for him when they just dropped down after Rayshifting.
"Sen..? Pai..?" the purple-haired kouhai tried to open both of her eyes and asked.
"Feel free to close your eyes and have a nap, Mash. We'll take care of the rest," Hachiman adopted a more relaxed expression as he tried to reassure his first Servant.
"Understood," despite the apparent pain she was feeling, the loyal Shielder still forced herself to smile. "Sorry but I'll be troubling you a little bit, Senpai."
She closed her eyes after leaving those words. Her Master only decided to respond to her after he confirmed she was asleep.
"You've got it completely wrong you kind-hearted kouhai," Hachiman grumbled in self-loathing. "I'm the one that should apologize for being such a useless Master."
Since things were only going to get more dangerous here, Hachiman concluded that he needed to move the unconscious Mash in a safer position.
After he positioned her body such that he could carry her with both of his arms in a princess carry, he cast one glance at the remaining Shadow Servants and gave an order to his only active Heroic Spirit at the moment.
"Heracles, please clean them up."
"Grraauuuughhh!"
Try as he might to hide it, Hachiman Hikigaya was pissed.
As if responding to his Master's anger, Heracles chose to use one of his personal skills.
Valor. It was a skill whose main purpose is to neutralize any kind of mental interference. With Heracles being under Madness Enhancement because of his manifestation as a Berserker, this effect of the skill is rendered null. It does however get to retain its side benefit which is a boost to his overall close combat capabilities.
Though it might seem like Hachiman's fighting force was cut to half, by no means did it mean that their overall combat power was low.
After all, fighting on his own was more like how Heracles actually was in his legends.
In fact, you could even say that he was stronger this way.
…
After Heracles wiped out the last of those Shadow Servants, the trio was finally able to rest.
It was the first time they were able to sit in this manner ever since they got inside the cave.
As they navigated deeper and deeper into the cavern, they encountered more and more Shadow Servants.
Furthermore, they were so numerous that it felt like when you defeated one of them, another two would take its place.
Because of that, they've only been fighting nonstop all this time.
As a human, it was a given that Hachiman's stamina is not that high but even a demigod like Heracles had his own limits, even though it might be absurdly high that didn't mean it was infinite.
Though the reason behind this lull in the Shadow Servants was indeed a mystery, Hachiman wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth especially because Mash was still unconscious.
For the time being, he set her flat on the ground and put up a makeshift bonfire to keep her body as well as his own warm.
Without Hachiman giving him any special instructions, Heracles already began patrolling around their vicinity to check for any enemies.
"First Aid."
Hachiman applied the healing Magecraft on Mash once again only to end up with the same vain result as earlier.
Every second that passed by, she was only getting weaker and weaker. It even reached the point where she unconsciously dematerialized her own shield. The only explanation for this phenomenon is that her magic power is somehow leaking. Even if the Master supplied her with more energy, so long as said leak wasn't plugged, it wouldn't do anything but delay the inevitable. That act would be tantamount to adding air to a tire which already has a hole.
A part of him wanted to use the rest of his meager magic power to try and heal her but decided against it in the end.
Despite having made up his mind however, the Monster of Logic and Monster of Self-Consciousness within him both began to present one argument after another to sway his judgment, with the latter going first.
Trading off our only other combat resource which is his magic power for the small chance to revive another personnel is not a worth exchange.
What makes you think you would have any use in the next fight in the first place? Wouldn't Mash's shield be much more useful?
The Monster of Logic shot back with words layered with vitriol. It was a picture perfect reflection of how much he hated his own incompetence that his Servant had to suffer because of his own carelessness.
Regardless, this didn't stop the Monster of Self-Consciousness from arguing back.
Instant Enhancement and Emergency Evade could turn the tide of battle depending on the timing at which they are cast with the former allowing us to potentially blitz our opponent before they can get their Noble Phantasm off while the latter could give us a defensive option in the case that we can't execute a proper rush.
Heh, isn't the Great Greek Hero capable of doing either of those on his own already?
The Monster of Self-Consciousness was unable to come up with a retort from that statement, allowing the Monster of Logic to keep going.
Aren't you getting too carried away with your importance here?
The Monster of Self-Consciousness, no, Hachiman Hikigaya understood exactly what those words implied.
The reason all these Servants are willing to fight for him…
The reason why all the staff at Chaldea support him…
He wasn't blind or arrogant enough to think that the one being mentioned in all these cases referred to his self.
The individual known as Hachiman Hikigaya has no value inherently.
It just so happened that he was the only one to survive among the other Master candidates thus, the burden of the world and the survival of a race is suddenly thrust on the shoulders of an upstart magus such as him.
With that, he became Humanity's Last Master.
For someone like him who so greatly despised the concept of working to end up taking on the most difficult job in the history of mankind, he couldn't help but think that it is some kind of cruel joke.
"Grraauuuughhh!"
A loud bellow snapped Hachiman out of his reverie.
Though it was a familiar cry, Hachiman made sure to visually inspect if the source of the sound really was the same guy he was thinking of. He already got punished for being careless once, he can't afford to be negligent again.
Thankfully, his fears were misplaced.
When he saw the huge figure of Heracles approaching him, he let out a sigh of relief.
I have returned.
Was the most probable interpretation of Berserker's cry.
"Welcome back, Berserker. Please get some rest for now."
"Grr!"
Heracles followed his Master's order and sat at a distance not too close to make him uncomfortable but not too far that it will be difficult to come to his rescue if there was an emergency.
Hachiman found himself staring at the figure of the Great Hero of Greece who has now descended into madness after manifesting into the Berserker Class.
Needless to say, there were a couple of Berserkers in Chaldea and though some of them are capable of speech, most of them are similar to Heracles here in that they could only say grunts and roars at best.
That being said, it didn't mean that communication was impossible to be established between them.
Take Heracles here for example. After fighting with him for some time now, Hachiman could instinctively understand a good portion of what Heracles wanted to say.
Hachiman was also able to note some inconsistencies with this crazed warrior that exchanged his sanity for more power.
Despite being in a state of madness, Heracles seemed to be well-versed in small-scale tactics.
During their numerous fights against the Shadow Servants, Hachiman noted Heracles' target priority, attack patterns and strength application.
Though rough, there were still vestiges of insight hidden beneath them all.
One of the requirements to be summoned as a Berserker Class is to have committed at least one act of insanity in their lifetime.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Heracles has indeed done plenty during his time though some episodes were caused by other external factors, that fact cannot be denied.
But that was not everything about Heracles' life.
Following that tragedy, he also accomplished several great feats as a Hero and even earned enough achievements to earn a seat amongst the Gods.
Perhaps, with the exception of one particular Goddess who continues to curse him because of his lineage, everyone at that time already thought that he has done enough as repentance for the atrocities that he committed, but what did Heracles himself think?
Sure enough, even the most ancient of legends still have stories left untold.
"Hey, Berserker," in a most uncharacteristic fashion, Hachiman Hikigaya decided to break the silence. "Are you really berserk?"
The lifeless orbs of one Hachiman Hikigaya stared directly at the rage-filled bloodshot eyes of Heracles.
A normal human being would have probably fainted after locking eyes with Berserker for even one second in fear of being killed. Hachiman was no different, he was tempted to collapse right then and there but he resisted the urge to do so. It was not like he wasn't afraid of dying either, in his case, dying was more like a form of liberation from his task of saving the world, so you could even say that he didn't mind it too much.
Furthermore, Hachiman Hikigaya was just curious. He wanted to try and understand the thoughts of the Great Hero in front of him and he had no idea when he'll get a chance like this again so he decided to capitalize on it…
Even if it meant putting his life at risk. If he couldn't put his trust on the only guy who is capable of getting him out of this predicament then who else is he going to put his faith on?
As such, despite all the alarm bells ringing on his head telling him not to do so, Hachiman continued to stare at the eyes of the Heroic Spirit who could be likened to that of a wild beast.
In the midst of all that anger, Hachiman could detect the vaguest traces of Heracles' rationality buried deep within.
After identifying that, the cynical Master was able to somewhat understand Heracles' intentions just a little bit.
When a contract is formed between a Servant and a Master, the latter gets to view the memories of the former as dreams or something very much akin to hallucinations.
Having contracted with many Servants, Hachiman did not know which Heroic Spirit's memory he will be treated to seeing. Because of this unplanned escapade however, the most recent ones have been solely about Heracles' memories.
While his adventures and heroic deeds were indeed a thrill to watch, nothing was as emotion-evoking as the scene where Heracles' frenzied state was released and he saw his hands be stained with his own family's blood.
The grief would be enough to send any normal person into the pits of despair and perhaps even awaken the urge to join their family in the afterlife…
That's right, any normal person.
Heracles however is a Hero.
As the heavens decreed, he was bound for much greater things in life rather than dying or breaking down in despair at that moment.
The Gods instead guided Heracles onto the path of atonement.
From there on, Heracles would then be pitted up with one impossible challenge after another and would even reach a level befitting of the title Great Hero.
But…
Whether he had to triumph over Twelve Great Labors or a Hundred, nothing he did could ever bring back the family he himself killed off.
He was the one person who couldn't forgive himself for what he's done.
Aside from taking blame for the sins that you didn't commit, there was nothing more disgusting in this world than receiving praise that you felt you didn't deserve.
In other words, the essence of Berserker Heracles' madness was none other than self-loathing.
Perhaps until now, he is still grieving for his late family and because the only way he could feel those emotions more properly is to be drunk in madness, he didn't mind being summoned in the Berserker Class.
After all from his perspective, it was much better than being completely rational even after killing one's own kin.
The best way to overcome pain is to lack the capacity to feel it.
In that case, Heracles' wish for the Holy Grail is most likely…
Hachiman shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts. For now, there was something else more important for him to say to his Servant.
"What am I saying? Of course you are," Hachiman smiled melancholically. "You're free to treat what I'll say next as me just thinking out loud," he approached the Mad Heroic Spirit and patted his shoulder which was as large as Hachiman's own head; there was neither fear nor hesitation on his steps. "It's fine if you can't find it in you to forgive yourself but always remember," Hachiman turned around and dropped a couple of words to Heracles before walking back to the incapacitated Shielder. "Even heroes have the right to cry."
At their respective cores, what was even the difference between a regular human like Hachiman Hikigaya and a Hero like Heracles?
Was there even one in the first place?
In that case, if a Hero like Heracles has the right to cry like an ordinary person then it follows that Hachiman Hikigaya, a regular human might also have what it takes to do great deeds like a Hero could.
The Monsters of Logic and Self-Consciousness that dwelled on his head finally came into an agreement.
His Logic states that it was impossible for a cynical and pessimistic person like him to accomplish this grand mission of saving humanity.
His Self-Consciousness reasoned that he was the only one who could perform such a task given the lack of other Master candidates.
In that case, there was only one thing left for him to do.
Just like how Heracles preferred to be a crazy Berserker so he can face his sins properly, Hachiman Hikigaya must embody what it truly means to be Humanity's Last Master.
The will to never give up until the very end…
The innate disposition to believe in a better tomorrow…
The courage to face off against threats obviously beyond your power…
He must inscribe such emotions into his head in order to prevent himself from wavering against any hardship he will encounter in the future.
With that in mind, the first thing that he needed to do was to get back to Chaldea in one piece.
Or at the very least…
His gaze fell on the unconscious figure of Mash Kyrielight.
…He would make sure to send this girl back home.
If he can't do at least that much then he will be a failure not just as her Master but as her Senpai as well.
Having made up his mind, Hachiman leaned towards his exhausted kouhai and positioned her right on top of his back.
In doing so, he was treated to a rather soft sensation but given the direness of their situation, Hachiman filtered out such impure thoughts.
Though neither Heracles nor him were in peak condition, he couldn't afford to delay things any further as for each passing moment, Mash's condition worsened and worsened.
"Let's go, Berserker," he cast his gaze not just towards what was waiting for them on the other side of the cave but to the future as well.
As Humanity's Last Master, as much as possible, he can't afford for things to end here.
…
With Heracles leading the front and Hachiman trailing close behind while carrying Mash on his back, the trio continued to move forward.
As they progressed, Hachiman noticed that the path was getting narrower and narrower in great contrast to the spacious chambers earlier where small-scale skirmishes were even possible.
The change in terrain had its pros and cons.
The main advantage would be the difficulty in which the enemies can utilize their numbers in such a limited space.
After all, it was hard to imagine a Shadow Servant who could compete with Heracles in a direct battle.
The disadvantage here would be if they were surrounded on both sides.
No matter how strong Heracles is, it was impossible for him to be in two places at the same time.
Luckily, such fears from Hachiman weren't answered as they were able to reach the exit of the tunnel without any enemy encounters whatsoever.
After countless fights, an anticlimactic conclusion awaited the trio as at the end of the dungeon they explored there was neither treasure nor enemy boss.
With that, they went home with all smiles on their faces as they learned that an adventure is not about the destination but the journey.
The real treasures were the friends, bonds and memories that they made along the way…
At least, that's what Hachiman Hikigaya hoped.
As crappy and overused those sequence of events are, at least it involved minimal danger.
He'd take literally anything over what was in front of him right now.
After exiting the tunnel, they were able to somehow get themselves back to the surface.
While that was all fine and dandy, the problem was the figure that seemed to have been waiting for their arrival all this time.
In the middle of this barren and empty wasteland, with nary a living thing aside from them on sight, there stood the figure of a lone Shadow Servant.
However, differing from the ones that they've fought through to get here, this Servant's identity could easily be recognized.
After all, who could ever forget the look of that ever-imposing Holy Sword that was now corrupted down to its very roots?
Artoria Alter.
The Servant who desired to resume the Holy Grail War in this Singularity.
She was also the first obstacle that he had to overcome in this Grand Order.
Given the obscene amounts of magic power emanating from her body, there was no doubt in Hachiman's mind that this was the source of the abnormal readings that Chaldea detected.
As proof, even though Hachiman and crew were not stuck several meters underground anymore, he could still not contact Chaldea no matter how many times he tried.
Given his current physical condition and his apparent lack of resources, it was obvious that this was going to be the hardest battle of his life.
Regardless, what he had to do next didn't change.
After making sure that Mash and himself were in a safe area with a lot of cover, he proceeded to give his orders to Berserker.
There was an enemy in front of him. If he wanted to progress forward then defeating her was his only option.
"Grraauuuughhh!"
It helped that Heracles himself was very motivated too.
"Victory goes to the one who strikes first. Take her down, Berserker!"
"Gaaaaaaaaahhh!"
Heracles leapt from his initial position and in the next second, he was already a few meters directly above Altria Alter.
*crash*
The way things looked at initial glance, you'd think that singular blow would be the decider but as the dust settled shortly after, it became obvious that that wasn't the case.
Despite Heracles' innate weight and strength combined with the momentum of his diving attack, the Black Saber was able to easily stand her ground.
Instinct. The ability to instantly identify the best personal course of action through feeling.
On top of Saber Alter's already absurd Noble Phantasm, she just had to have access to one of the more troublesome combat skills.
In a fight to the death, a mere second could decide the difference between victory and defeat. This skill is a tool that allows her to askew the odds towards the former.
Sure enough, even corrupted, the King of Knights is a difficult opponent.
No, perhaps exactly because she became corrupted that the difficulty in fighting her has increased.
To stop Heracles' attack earlier, Saber Alter enveloped herself with her magic power and used that as some sort of barrier to repel a good portion of Berserker's force, enough that she could block it by positioning her sword in a horizontal manner.
"..!"
With an upward slash, she then forced Heracles to get some distance away from her.
At the exact instant that Berserker's feet landed on the ground, Saber Alter herself rushed at him and performed five consecutive blows.
Thankfully, the demigod Hero hailing from Greece was no pushover himself.
"Grraauuuughhh!"
"..!"
He was able to parry each blow and even managed to push his enemy back.
Heracles tried to apply more pressure by stepping in to close the distance however…
"..!"
Burst Air.
An attack that releases a burst of condensed energy in varying sizes. It is an application of one of her signature skills, Mana Burst, which allows her to instantaneously release her magical energy similar to that of a jet propulsion thus, greatly enhancing her parameters for a short amount of time. When using Burst Air, the surge of power is diverted into one attack thereby condensing one short moment into one single instant.
Artoria Alter performed an overhead slash and a trail of black energy was launched forward.
With Berserker rushing forward as fast as he could and the speed at which the Burst Air moved, evasion was impossible.
Normally, at least.
"Grraauuuughhh!"
Mind's Eye (Fake). A danger avoidance ability based on intuition or sixth sense though unlike the true variant which can be acquired through an accumulation of experience, the fake one is derived from naturally having a keen sense of danger like that of a beast.
Heracles twisted his upper body to the left, bringing his legs along with him due to his forward momentum. That slight correction of his trajectory made Saber Alter's attack miss as the shape of her Burst Air traced her slash which was done in a straight vertical line. Had she opted to slash horizontally or diagonally, it would have made it more difficult for Berserker to dodge.
"Gaaaaaaaaahhh!"
Now that Heracles was a little closer to her, Artoria Alter could not use the same move from earlier to repel him anymore. Once again, Berserker rushed forward and his arm was already raised to attack Saber the instant he got close.
That move proved to be a mistake however.
"..!"
"Grr!"
With Heracles having raised his hand already, he forsook the option to defend himself which let Black Saber land an attacks right at his torso as guided by her Instinct.
The attack was a slash that cut from Berserker's left shoulder diagonally down to the right side of his stomach, or at least it was supposed to be…
"..?"
"Rrrrauuughhh!"
Heracles chose to use his vacant left hand to stop the sword himself and even gripped it with his fingers to immobilize Saber Alter.
With his raw strength being so much higher than that of Artoria Alter, it was physically impossible for her to remove her sword from Heracles' grasp.
While the Corrupted King of Knights was occupied with pulling out her weapon…
"Grrroouuugggghhhhh!"
…Berserker's counterattack began.
He started it with a headbutt. After that, Berserker mercilessly threw one punch after another in a speed the naked eye couldn't catch.
Though Saber Alter could match Heracles in a swordfight, she stood no chance against the Greek demigod in hand-to-hand combat like this.
"..!"
In the midst of her beatdown, the Black Saber was able to recover enough to raise her sword to try and defend herself but once she did…
"Rrragh!"
Heracles attacked her using his knee then proceeded to smash her to the ground using both hands.
The pummeling continued after that with each of Heracles' blows powerful enough to obliterate a second-rate Servant.
Despite all the damage that she should've accumulated, Artoria Alter showed no sign of being close to defeat.
"..!"
"Grrrr!"
Artoria Alter used Burst Air once again, this time, launching it radially outwards forcing Heracles to step back. As this was an attack with the Corrupted King of Knights' condensed magic power, there was a chance that Berserker was going to get defeated then and there if he got hit.
Following that maneuver, Saber Alter leapt a few steps back and regained her distance away from Heracles' effective attack range.
But it wasn't like that was an issue as both Heracles and his Master had more than enough juice in the tank to execute the earlier maneuvers they made for a couple of more times.
Before Heracles could make his next move however, a change occurred in Saber Alter.
With herself as the center, a dozen tendrils of magic power extended. These tendrils each curled over and enlarged before finally transforming into a form that Hachiman has been so well-acquainted with in these past couple of hours.
The Shadow Servants.
"So you were the source of all these guys too, huh?" Hachiman unconsciously took on a combat stance and looked at all sides to check if any spawned close to him as he still needed to protect the unconscious Mash. "I guess that does make sense since you have so much magical energy anyways."
"..!"
In the next second, the mana density of these newly summoned Shadow Servants then increased.
Charisma. The natural talent or charm to command or unify an army. It's a skill that increases the abilities of allies in battle proportional to the user's proficiency.
"You're walling up, huh?" Hachiman grit his teeth in frustration. "Doesn't matter. We're breaking through, Berserker!"
"Grraauuuughhh!"
With Heracles' Valor boosting not just his strength in swordsmanship but also all other forms of close quarters combat, he is able to swiftly deal with all the Shadow Servants in a myriad of ways besides relying on his sword.
Nevertheless, Hachiman didn't let his guard down.
It was obvious that the minions were nothing more than a distraction.
After all, he knew that even though Charisma is a powerful skill that boosted all allies, as this Artoria forsook her image of an ideal King, it is not as powerful as the one from her original form.
Add to the fact that if Artoria Alter had the option of summoning minions, then why would she decide to generate only a dozen? If she created a hundred and decided to overwhelm Heracles with sheer numbers then even the Great Hero of Greece would have some trouble taking them all on.
The answer to Hachiman's doubts became apparent a few seconds later.
She was saving her energy for something big. Extremely big.
"..."
An abnormal amount of black magic power coalesced around Artoria Alter.
Countless curses and grudges from all the corners of the planet dwelled on that sword.
The amount was so dense that you could not only see its physical form but you could also hear the howls of resentment themselves.
"Berserker, no matter what, don't let that thing hit you!"
"Grraauuuughhh!"
Heracles rushed forward even faster than earlier while slashing through the Shadow Servants as if he was swatting flies.
Despite all his efforts however, Saber Alter's swing came first.
"…!"
Excalibur Morgan.
Artoria Alter's Noble Phantasm. Despite being corrupted, the fact that it is the strongest Holy Sword doesn't change. Because of this, the power to save the world now became the power to destroy it instead. There is no inconsistency with this logic. In the end, power is power and its purpose is determined by how its wielder decides to use it.
The darkness unleashed by Excalibur Morgan destroyed everything on its path further ravaging the already desolate Fuyuki Singularity.
Amidst the requiem sang by the innumerable curses and screams…
"Gaaaaaaaaahhh!"
…Heracles' warcy overpowered it all.
With his Mind's Eye (Fake), Berserker knew that he couldn't stop the Black Saber's attack from landing first so he instinctively approached her in a more diagonal manner. This adjustment was enough to not receive a direct hit from the invoked Noble Phantasm.
Once again, Heracles dashed to close the distance between him and Artoria Alter but as if learning from her mistake earlier, Saber Alter changed the grip of her sword and then began to move it horizontally.
Excalibur Morgan followed the movement of her hands and it slowly but surely approached the rushing Heracles.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Hachiman panicked before getting down on the ground and using his own body to shield the unconscious Mash.
The coverage of Saber Alter's attack widened because of that maneuver.
The amount of power she utilized was evident in the destruction she wrought.
The area that got hit by her Noble Phantasm was gouged out as if a giant several meters tall scooped it up with a spoon.
Thankfully, Saber Alter did not aim at the spot where both Hachiman and Mash hid otherwise the two of them would've been reduced to smithereens themselves.
That didn't mean Hachiman was completely unscathed though.
Several pieces of debris that were sent flying from the Black Saber's attack caused the barricade that they've been hiding on to shatter.
By the end of it all, Hachiman was riddled with cuts and blisters as well as some bumps here and there but considering the scale of Artoria Alter's attack, you can basically say that he's fine.
Just at the very edge of the devastation that Excalibur Morgan caused, a lone figure moved.
"Rrrauuughhh!"
Its identity was none other than the Berserker Servant Heracles himself.
At the very last instant, just before Hachiman himself decided to get down, he used at least half of his remaining magic power and casted Emergency Evade to displace Heracles a few more centimeters forward.
Though the area covered by Excalibur Morgan widened when Saber Alter swung her sword horizontally, it was still limited by how much she could move her weapon from where she stood. Furthermore, because she performed such a maneuver at the last spurt of her Noble Phantasm, the actual power of the secondary horizontal slash was far weaker compared to the initial downward swing.
Because of these two factors combined, Heracles managed to survive albeit barely.
His entire left arm and a good portion of the left side of his upper body may have disintegrated but even injuries of this level was not enough to impede his movements.
Battle Continuation. The ability to keep fighting even after receiving deadly injuries. A representation of the user's will to never give up and their strength when facing predicaments.
As the Hero who went through Twelve Labors normally not possible by any man, something at the level of annihilating just half of his body was nowhere near enough to make him back down from a fight.
"..?"
Having used most of her mana from that attack earlier, Artoria Alter could not respond to Heracles anymore even if she saw his attack coming.
In other words, this was the best opening that they could get in order to defeat her and Hachiman Hikigaya was not going to just let this rare opportunity go.
"Taaaaake her doooown, Berserkeeeeer! Instant Enhancement!"
"Rrragggh!"
Nine Lives.
It is a Noble Phantasm that can best be described as a finishing move.
It is a technique that exterminates the opponent no matter how many times it resurrects. It is derived from his slaying of the Lernean Hydra using a bow and arrows but he can incorporate it into any weapon by drawing out the maximum power of said weapon.
With his greatsword in hand, Heracles performed a series of powerful attacks fast enough as if they were overlapping together.
If he was summoned in any of his other compatible classes aside from Berserker, then perhaps each blow would be aimed at every single weak spot of an enemy like the heart, throat and brain but because that was not the case, this Noble Phantasm just looked like a frenzied rush.
In this case however, it was fine as Saber Alter was nothing more than an entity composed entirely of mana.
So long as Heracles reduced her to a state where she would find it difficult to heal herself then whatever he's doing can be considered to be effective.
"Grrrrrauuugghhoooouuugghhhhrrrrr!"
*crash*
At the end of what seemed like an endless barrage of hits, Heracles raised his greatsword up high and slammed it to the ground like you would with a hammer, bringing along Artoria Alter's body down with it.
A huge dust cloud covered the battlefield for a few seconds.
In order to properly ascertain the result of the fight, Hachiman got out of his hiding place while carrying Mash on his back and moved towards where Heracles was supposed to be.
If there are indeed stray enemies in this Singularity then without a doubt, the safest place in this area was to be next to his Servant.
"Rrrauuughhh!"
The sheer intensity of that cry dispersed the mist that shrouded the conclusion of the fight between the Corrupted King of Knights and the Great Greek Hero.
What Hachiman saw after the dust cleared was the figure of the one-armed Heracles who was still standing strong with his two legs despite the level of injuries he possessed.
On the other hand, the powerless body of the Corrupted King of Knights lay on the ground, completely torn to shreds after it received the full brunt of Heracles' Noble Phantasm.
Did we get her?
Even if his mouth was ripped open, Hachiman Hikigaya refused to say such a flag-raising statement.
Unfortunately, whether he said the line or not, it doesn't change anything.
If the enemy wasn't dead, then it's not dead.
Because Heracles was unable to use both of his hands while executing his Noble Phantasm, the power was severely weakened thus preventing him from completely defeating the Black Saber then and there.
*screech*
The shadow which was the last remains of Artoria Alter screamed eerily, like a living being on its death throes.
"You're joking…" Hachiman couldn't believe what was happening in front of his eyes.
Its lower body squirmed and similar to what the Black Saber did earlier, multiple tendrils composed of energy extended from it though the scale this time was not just a dozen but rather, at least a hundred.
Following this event, Shadow Servants began to manifest one-by-one and slowly approached the trio from Chaldea.
Seeing the sheer number was enough to make Hachiman dizzy.
The fear, the fatigue and the hopelessness combined made the urge to just pass out all the more tempting. It didn't help that he was also suffering from a shortage of magic power after employing his last two spells in the fight with Saber Alter earlier.
"Ah, no good, I don't think I can keep my consciousness any longer…"
Before he could fall down however, he was supported by the Servant beside him.
"Rrrauuughhh!"
The meaning of that cry was clear to Hachiman's ears despite the fact that he could barely keep himself conscious anymore.
It's okay. I am here.
Hachiman smiled wryly.
He really was a failure of a Master if he had to have a Berserker Class Servant reassure him in this manner.
Well, not like he didn't know that already anyways.
I leave the rest to you.
I'm counting on you.
None of these phrases seemed like the ideal order he could give to this Heroic Spirit of his who was like a loyal guard dog that was ready to lay down its life for its Master.
Wait, dog?
He suddenly recalled a memory earlier in his life, before he had to go through all this nonsense about Humanity being reduced to extinction.
At that time, saving that girl's dog really sealed his fate of being alone for a good portion of his high school life.
Now that his life is on the line, he can't help but mock his younger self a little.
After all, being surrounded in all sides with monsters like these was what it truly means when somebody says your fate is sealed.
Well, if he was going down anyway then he might as well make his enemies work for it.
Just like an actual Protagonist, he will not give up until the end.
As that newfound determination of his ignited, the perfect words he was looking for naturally appeared on his head and he found himself saying them out loud unconsciously.
"Get them, Berserker!"
…
It was often said that when you were near death, your life flashed before your eyes.
Since what he saw was just one particular vivid memory however, Hachiman judged that everything was still fine on his end.
If there's one thing he didn't need to do now, then it was unnecessarily raising his own death flag.
In fact, he knew exactly why such a memory was shown to him now.
The grief he felt at this moment was very similar to the dread he endured when that girl took an attack that was meant for him at that day.
The shield that stood unscathed was a firm reminder of how much faith that one girl had on this Senpai of hers.
If that was the case, he couldn't just go and give up now.
Just like how she endured the enemy's Noble Phantasm without wavering, he too needed to burn out his entire existence to confront the greatest enemy in front of him and claim victory.
Too much has been lost already.
His right arm was numb and the numerous cuts on his body made him lose way too much blood. The mild concussion on his head was making him feel dizzy as well. Adrenaline was basically the only thing that was keeping him from collapsing at the moment and the act of standing up in and of itself already hurts like hell…
But compared to what that girl had to give up…
This much was nothing.
In front of Hachiman was a tall and muscular figure whose skin was mostly gold while red lines ran across its entire body as if they were tattoos. Antler-like protrusions extended from his head with its ends being similar to that of leaves. The head not only lacked eyes but it was completely devoid of a face. In its chest was a large red core that looked to be its eye. Though it lacked a mouth, its voice was clear for everyone present in this Grand Temple of Time to hear.
"Be gone, human!" it roared. "We 72 Demon Gods shall grind you to dust!"
This was Goetia. Beast I. The King of the Demon Gods.
As an Evil of Humanity, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't stop himself from shaking in fear.
It was like the helplessness a prey felt when it was cornered by its natural predator.
Try as he might to grit his teeth and clench his knuckles, Hachiman still found several parts of his body unconsciously trembling.
That came to an end however when he felt a powerful presence behind him, brandishing a stone-like greatsword, no, a golden axe.
In the end, as all the other Servants were too occupied with dealing with the Demon God Pillars, aside from Mash, the number of Servants he could bring with him to the center of the temple ultimately came down to one.
Faced with such a tough decision, he ended up going for the ol' reliable choice.
"Rrraahhhhhhh…"
The Immortal Hero of Greece, Heracles sent a cry to the heavens not only to grieve but also to vow for vengeance.
After all, if he was to be defeated now then those sacrifices will well and truly be in vain.
As a side note, in order to make sure Jason won't whine too much for the act of bringing Heracles here, Hachiman let a certain King of Knights, Red Archer, Blue Lancer and Purple Rider come to the Argonauts' side instead.
In order to combat the primeval fear he could feel when face-to-face with the imposing manifestation of Goetia, Hachiman needed a drive within him that can overcome that despair.
Or in Hachiman Hikigaya's words, something petty.
For the first time since they've made this Master-Servant contract together, Hachiman Hikigaya genuinely felt that he and Heracles were completely in sync.
That's right…
It was none other than rage.
Pure, unadulterated anger.
This was not a fight for the sake of Humanity anymore.
This was just nothing more than…
A battle for revenge.
"Rrrauuughhh!"
Ignoring all the warning signs his body sent his way, Hachiman Hikigaya, Humanity's Last Master dared himself to smile in response to his enemy's threat.
At this moment, there was only one thing left for him to say.
"Get him, Berserker!"
Author's Note:
Heracles as the Last Man Standing in a party composition equipped with his Bond 10 CE...
I couldn't count how many times I've been saved by this tried and tested strategy.
I wonder who among us have done the exact same.
Regardless, you're all free to consider this chapter non-canon as much as you like, I just felt like writing it as a tribute to that Great Greek Hero.
Also, though I am mentioning at which point in the canon timeline these counselling sessions occur, that doesn't mean that I'll continue writing them in chronological order. Depending on which set of Servants I want to write about, we could have a flashback of sorts like this one or we just time-skip to the more recent Lostbelts for no reason. So yeah, it all depends.
As I've mentioned in the previous chapter, I've decided to release another update to this series after doing a back-to-back update to Platonic 2 just recently. With this, the two series are now even so unless special circumstances occur, Platonic 2 readers can expect an update in the following days to come.
As always, if you ever have any suggestions on which Servant/s you want to be featured next, feel free to write them on your review, I'll be sure to take that into consideration for the coming chapters.
Now with that out of the way, time to get on to the reviews from the previous chapter.
memoryofvirtual: I don't think I'll do something like that especially with the case of Meltryllis because she's a Sakuraface. That would mean the rest of the Sakura Five would become the Yukino Five then? As entertaining as that idea sounds, it also carries with it a lot of hassle so I'm sorry but it's not gonna happen unfortuantely.
IsekaiFanBoi: Thank you. Well, who can blame him really? He's just used up his courage while facing off against Gilgamesh and Ozymandias, he didn't have any more to spare against Scathach too.
kratos1991: Wow you've suggested a lot of juicy stuff. Let me quickly run through each suggestion as best as I can. Jack the ripper is an interesting concept but just making them have this pseudo-sibling relationship does not feel like its enough to write a moving chapter in and of itself, for now, maybe I'll wait for the addition of the other Jack the ripper. The Camelot guys will have their place soon but I just felt like it was too cliche to write about them next just because the current timeline is after the Camelot Singularity. Morgan's inclusion will probably have to be a little later though. Oh you bet an Achilles and Penthesilea bit will be coming soon, I just need to add in something a bit more different than Penth just going ballistic. As for Edison, Tesla and Helena, well, Helena already serves as a neutral party in this case already so this is a bit difficult. I'll set that aside for now. Eh, not much is there to be said about Jason and Medea really as I think most of us would side with the latter. Siegfried and Kriemhild will definitely be an interesting write but I need to read through the fan translations a couple of times first so that I don't misinterpret anything. As for Brynhild and Sigurd, I already know what to write about these, the only question is when I'll insert it since Sigurd only appears at the Lostbelt part already. As for your question in the end, well, this chapter should be an answer in and of itself. Though Hachiman's dynamic with the Servants who are his clients is the main appeal of this fic, I'm pretty sure that kind of thing will get old soon. As such, I'm trying my hand at giving you guys something different as soon as now. Hopefully it turned out well.
atommyt: It will probably be a while before we get to the Lostbelts. As for the Camelot guys, Llike I said in my response above, I didn't want to be too predictable so I didn't want to write about them just yet. They will definitely have their time to shine though.
XXxxxadisxxxXX: Thanks. I hope you read through this one too.
dayandroz: Thank you.
Raijinmaru: Your support is very much appreciated. Sorry for the wait.
Arthur Proto: While I do admit that I may have messed up a little with regards to Ozymandias' character, I wouldn't go so far as to say he's carefree and friendlier to. At higher Bond Level maybe but this is still Level 0 Bond Ozymandias so that's not the case. In my opinion, I don't think Hachiman will dislike Arthur Proto that much. He doesn't really hate the Picture Perfect Riajuu thing of Hayama back in Sobu, what he hated was his fakeness. As Arthur is a Genuine Prince Charming, I don't think Hachiman will come to hate him.
DeMightyLubu: Wow, I didn't expect such a positive response. What can I really say but thank you very much? Such praise really motivates me to write more. I hope I can continue to meet such high expectations.
ENDDRAGON369: Well, now that I've reached chapter 3, then I guess we're safe? Hahahaha.
A Reverse Weeb: Ah, I see. A fellow Scathach enjoyer. Cheers. Anyways, don't think about the cliffhanger too much. It's fine, don't worry about it. It won't hurt you. I promise. As for the the Sherlock and Moriarty session, that's really a challenging request especially considering that those two are way smarter than him in more ways than one but yeah, I'll definitely write about them soon especially because those two are such key characters. As for your second request... Well, that kind of thing might happen much sooner than what you're expecting. Oh, did I hit you with another cliffhanger? Too bad. Hahahaha.
Anon-kun: I'm glad you enjoyed it though I won't always portray Hachiman in that kind of manner, I'll try my best not to disappoint.
The Black Kraven: It has always been one of my wishes to see those three reunite so I'm glad I was able to write it in a way that it resonated with other people too.
PersonaNinja Lux: Yep, I can't wait for that to happen myself although I probably won't be writing about them any time too soon.
Saif Omar: Unfortunately, since I've gotten to writing, the amount of time I have to read the works of others have significantly decreased. It is what it is. What can you do? I guess one factor is also that I've only really taken the time to read from this site only so that might be why I missed such a fic. In any case, regarding your suggestion, yeah, I'll think about it. But aside from murder, it's really hard what both Gilgamesh will really do once they see each other.
Thank you all for these reviews. Your input is very much appreciated.
To everyone else who takes the time to read this fic, a huge thank you to all of you as well.
That's it for this chapter.
I hope we meet again in the next one or in another story of mine.
Reviews, follows and faves are all very much appreciated.
Until next time...
May everyone's good wishes and realities intersect.
Morii Hikikko