Illya yelped as she was flung high and far by the shockwave of the arrow and chain meeting. Her fingers running through her hair before being splayed out wide, wires snapping out and wrapping around nearby, thick, trees and letting her safely slow herself to a halt and land. Never had she been more glad for her older body than now, thanks to the increased levels of endurance and strength that came with it.
Though that stuck up little Einzbern was probably expecting her to be just as weak and fragile as she had been while living in the castle. Idiot.
'And who the hell does he think he is? Using Berserker to attack my Archer?' The girl growled mentally, crouching down as another burst of wind from the Servant's fight echoed through the park.
Two chains were thrown off course by arrows from Heracles, flinging wide and swiping through the trees around the two legendary fighters. Bark and wood exploded in cacophonous bursts of noise and terrifying shrapnel amidst the roar of anger from Berserker, the figure crouching slightly and clutching their face with one of their hands.
'Now. Where is their Master? Don't tell me he set Berserker on us and then ran away? Oh, who am I kidding. He's designed to think like a Magus.' Illya scowled, her red eyes trailing over the park around her while wires stealthily cut off any kind of attack from outside her range of vision.
Say what you will about Illya and her excitable nature. But she was the one and only blood child of the Magus Killer, lessons that he taught her tended to stick and they stuck with gruesome results.
But now she had to deal with finding where that arrogant Homunculi ran off to while also making sure that everyone else found out about Berserker. Because whoever they were, their presence matched Archer at the best of times and that was dangerous because that meant that at a minimum this figure could face Heracles at full strength.
And if she couldn't recognize them or their skills then that meant only one thing. They were old. The good thing about Bounded Fields and how Magi, at least typical ones, used them was that signals from a cellphone often weren't even considered let alone blocked.
And so, as quickly as she could, Illya took her phone out of her pocket and had rapidly tapped Shirou's number into it.
"Illya?"
"Onii-chan! Berserkers here at the park!" She had to almost scream to be heard over the sounds of fighting, but she made it work.
"Shit, no wonder there's so much prana being thrown around there. Saber shouldn't be long."
"Also, Onii-chan there's Einzbern Homunculi after you!" Illya had to get it in quick otherwise she knew that it wouldn't be said.
Either she would forget to tell him, or he'd hang up the call. But regardless, the end result turned out the same and she'd much rather her brother knew about the assassins heading for him.
"Is there…You just worry yourself with Berserker. I'll let the others know." And then Shirou hung up the phone, not really one to keep a conversation going if he didn't have to.
And Illya could definitely imagine Archer and Berserker fighting as something more important than being distracted on a phone call. Her attention turned back to the fight with a small gulp as she started to prepare more wires for whatever reason she may need.
XXXxxxXXX
Heracles ducked and twirled underneath another spear-tipped chain swung out at his neck, placing a hand on the ground and lifting his body up high in a single arm handstand to avoid a stabbing thrust. Twisting his hips and swinging his legs to generate momentum and throwing himself away from six chains that converged on his location all at once. The legendary hero of Greece flipped in the air and landed into a perfect crouch, an arrow leaving his bow the second he stopped sliding.
The ground cracked and the air compressed under the force and speed that he sent the arrow flying. Though such a quick singular shot clearly wouldn't be enough to do it, since Berserker cracked their head to the side and let the arrow whiz harmlessly by. The projectile did no damage to the Servant save for a few hairs that it struck while going past.
As quick as lightning three more arrows were notched and shot. Two curving inwards from the left and right and one heading straight towards the antlered Servant. The wind seemed to curve and funnel after the projectiles from their sheer speed before they struck. The two curving arrows struck the ground in earth-shattering explosions of dust and the third tearing clean through the tens of trees before shooting off into the afternoon sky.
'They dodged all three of them!?' Heracles awed in his mind, though outwardly his appearance was stone cold. 'Projectiles will take a lot more effort and work. Perhaps staggering them in melee is my best bet.'
And with his half-baked plan sorted. Heracles waited for the next volley of simply aimed yet dangerously fast chains to come at him. The golden shine was the only warning he had to twist to the side and avoid the chain aimed at his chest. His left hand reached out and grabbed the chain before he pulled with all his might, cracking the ground beneath his feet from the sheer force and speed of the action.
And as Berserker flew towards him with all the surprise of a rabid elk, Heracles let his bow fade away into motes of prana. The hulking Servant took a single step forward, curled his fist, and struck Berserker in the chest with every ounce of divine power locked away inside his muscles.
The ground shook and ruptured. The winds gathered, swirled, and howled. Nearby trees snapped like twigs and the very air turned to dust and raining grass. The previously battle-torn park turned into an ongoing apocalypse with the all-out attack performed by the mythical Son of Zeus.
"You…strong." Heracles's fist unraveled as he tried to pull his hand out of Berserker's chest as fast as he could.
Rusted golden chains exploded out of Berserker's body wrapping Heracles in seemingly unbreakable bonds as the clothe-covered Servant leaned inwards, Heracles' arm still firmly in their chest cavity.
"ARCHER!" Saber hit the ground from her mighty leap and took off in an explosion of wind and prana.
Her Mana-burst augmented speed was truly a marvel to behold. And against a 2nd or 3rd rate Servant would have easily been enough. But Berserker was far from such paltry ranks.
"But…no…..Gil…" Berserker lurched forward with razor-sharp teeth, sinking them into Heracles' neck like it was made of wet paper as five chains burst out of his chest, and then straight out of Heracles' back.
"ARCHER!" Saber swung her sword with everything she had, missing Berserker as they released Heracles and ripped themselves off his fist, leaping back twenty meters with a featherlight tap of the ground.
And like the mighty Goliath before young David, Heracles toppled to the ground. Looking for all the world as if he had just been murdered and was about to shatter into prana at any moment.
'Four lives….Berserker took four lives in a single instant. That bastard!' Illya scowled internally, her rage emanating across her mental link with Heracles.
"Berserker. You're far too dangerous." Saber hissed, narrowing her eyes and levelling her invisible blade on the Servant before rocketing forward.
And then a heavy, crushing, presence reigned over the two standing Servants. One that both of them knew, but neither knew how it was still present.
'Heracles….How could he survive such an attack?' Saber thought, her blade flashing out and knocking a chain off course, twirling through the air with a deft turn of her wrists and slashing down Berserker's ribs.
A horrible screeching sound echoed through the park as a chain blocked the invisible sword, seemingly on pure instinct. Though without the chain given proper anchoring, it was just another way for Artoria to score a proper hit.
"Don't touch it, Saber!" But the shout was too late, the woman's fingers curled around the chain and the chain curled back, wrapping around her palm, wrist, and forearm in an instant.
"Nine-" Heracles pulled four arrows from thin air and notched them all at once.
Saber narrowed her eyes and leaned back while turning ever so slightly. She raised a foot and kicked Berserker square in the chest as they tried to gouge her eyes out. The chains around her arm snapped like reinforced iron as the psychotic Servant flew high into the air. Heracles's aim following them instinctually despite his shock.
"-LIVES!" The four arrows went flying, all at different angles, four more being let loose a fraction of a second later.
And as they flew more and more followed them, the sky filled with a hundred projectiles falling in the wrong direction. An absolutely unavoidable number of arrows even for someone as fast as Berserker, and with their psyche as shattered as it was given their Class-Container, they could never hope to deflect or block all of them either. It was a truly deadly attack, born of the killing of a nearly impossible-to-slay creature.
Something only the Hero known as Heracles could have created.
And then they struck, tearing into and through the Servant again and again. Knocking chains off course and rending flesh from bone. Juggling Berserker higher and higher into the air.
And as it did, it gave Saber and Archer just the briefest moment of reprieve.
"I'm not going to ask how you're alive. Just what do I need to know?"
"Creates chains. Fast, deadly, but simple patterns. I thought they were unbreakable, but you disproved that. Speed and strength are equal if not greater to mine."
"It felt like shattering reinforced iron to me when I broke them."
"A trick then. Do you have any unusual attributes?" Heracles questioned, his mind already churning through their brief battle so far for any clues.
"Draconic." Artoria replied quickly, her gaze kept on the green-haired Servant as they started to fall from the sky, the deluge of arrows finally over.
"Hm. And I have Divinity. Either it's weak to Draconic attributes or strengthened against the Divine." Heracles decided, getting a short hum from Saber.
"Well, let's test in a moment."
"Yes, I can feel them too. Perfect timing."
Berserker struck the ground, exploding outwards in a splatter of…clay? Coating the grass of the shattered park in the soft brown material right as Scathach and Rider appeared, both of them snapping to a halt beside their allies.
"This privacy barrier is pretty powerful stuff. All this for Berserker?" Scathach asked with her gaze squarely on the clay coating the ground.
The edges of the clay began to roll back towards the center, picking up speed the more of it that it collected.
"The Einzbern wanted to have a discussion with Master. When she didn't acquiesce, this is the result." Heracles answered, firing an arrow into the clay and doing nothing but making it detour around the obstacle.
"How do we deal with a creature of clay?" Saber muttered, knowing that out of everyone here, she'd definitely struggle the most to deal damage without revealing her blade to the world.
"We harden it." And with a swipe of her hand, a rune of pure heat hovered in the air before Scathach, firing a blast of fire directly at the forming Berserker.
And then with a roar of pure anger, the fire was thrown back and into the air. Revealing the form of Berserker as they glowered at the now four enemies it had to deal with.
Their skin had gone from the slight tan they had before to a colour much more closely resembling the clay that apparently made them up. Small lines of yellow-ish green were now present on their form and their stature stood taller and wider than before.
Needless to say, they looked far less 'human' now than they did a moment ago. And the blank look of anger they were getting only further proved that.
"Whatever is happening, it's sapping its intelligence from them." Rider noted, reaching up for her blindfold. "What is everyone's Magic Resistance?"
"A." The answer was unanimous, and also perfect for Rider.
"Try not to look me in the eyes."
"Once that privacy barrier shatters, we're going to have to move locations." Scathach added, all four of them leaping away as Berserker launched themselves forward and slammed a fist down onto the ground, rocking the entire park with their new strength.
"Where can we go!?" Saber called over the sound of cracking earth and swirling wind, launching herself forward at the same time as Rider.
"Everyone, ask your Masters!" Rider jumped up high, catching Berserker's attention and meeting them eye to eye, instantly making their body lock up in surprise even if only the smallest portions of them turned to the grey stone of petrification.
But before they could attack the Gorgon Queen, Saber struck from behind. Her blade sliced in and out of Berserker's back three times before she leaped back to avoid the blurred backhand of the large Servant. A gout of flame struck it once more and got far better results this time, even if it seemed about as effective as the momentary petrification had been.
From Berserker's left and right, Scathach and Rider both closed in. Medusa covered her eyes with both of her forearms. The clay monstrosities eyes darted between both of them before throwing their hands out. Chains burst out of the ground at its feet and headed right toward them.
Unfortunately for him, neither lady was easy to catch. Especially with chains of all things. The both of them overshot his side and ground their feet into the earth to grind to a halt, a wide small on Scathach's face and a stern expression on Medusa's. Said servant moving her arms as she went around the front of Berserker, creating more small flakes of petrification over its body as their eyes met. Both of their weapons flashed out in afterimages from the sheer speed that they struck at. Clay flew in the air before transforming into chains that struck out at both women, screams of air and explosions of dust could be heard once they struck the ground.
With an agility that Scathach didn't have prior she deflected and danced her way out of the impact zones, her Instinct and Clairvoyance skills on full display. The Queen moving with a speed and grace that was unnatural even amongst the monsters and warriors that stood in the currently private park.
Meanwhile, Medusa was simply using her own knowledge of chains and how they tended to move and be utilized to avoid them. Skipping back and basically trading places with Artoria as she tore forward, deflecting the chains heading towards the Gorgon Queen with clangs of metal that dented the ground beneath her feet.
"Try to avoid being caught by any of the chains. For some reason when I was caught by them, I was able to break them. But Archer couldn't break them at all." Saber warned Rider without looking back.
"Got it. Do we have a location to lure Berserker into?" Rider responded, raising her daggers in a mildly defensive position as Archer struck Berserker with a heavy hammer fist, Lancer blocking and deflecting any chain heading for him.
"Not as of yet." Saber responded, levelling her blade in preparation to run back into melee with the clay monster that was Berserker.
'Master, do you have any ideas for where we can lure Berserker? The Bounded Field around the park won't last long.'
'Only thing that's popping into my head is the Einzbern Estate, that's where we went with Enhance- Wow they really need to keep up maintenance on their weaponry. Insulting really.'
'…Are you fighting someone right now Master?' Artoria spoke over the link while launching herself forward with Mana Burst, Excalibur deflecting three chains with only the lightning-quick screech of metal on metal to prove any contact had even been made.
'Fighting is a strong word. They've come at me with 3rd rate weaponry and honestly, this just feels like a physical tongue-lashing.'
'Master, who are you fighting?'
"Master suggests the Einzbern Estate!" Heracles called out, ducking low and reverse-rolling across the dirt to avoid three chains that tried to stab him from above.
A single golden chain lashed out right as he was rising back to his feet, beginning to curl around his arm. And in a moment of pure panic, he summoned an arrow into his free hand and jammed it between his arm and the chain. Using the split second of free space it created before being crushed by the chain to whip his arm out of the ensnaring weapon and launch himself fifty meters backward.
'Just some Einzbern. Honestly, Sella and Liz are more dangerous than any of these ones individually. You just focus on your fight Saber.'
'Of course. But if you're in danger do not hesitate to summon me.' Saber hissed strongly over their connection.
The only response she got was a small snort before he spoke.
'I don't think that's going to be necessary. But if something else comes along, sure.'
XXXxxxXXX
With Shirou, moments earlier
Shirou looked off in the direction that Saber had shot off towards, a blank look on his face as he wondered how bad that situation was going to be. Berserker was highly suspected of being a monster of a servant on the level of Heracles, Scathach, or Artoria. And given it was summoned by the Einzbern the chance was definitely higher than zero.
'Wonder what kind of weapon they'll have.' Shirou thought to himself, beginning to walk through one of the side streets that lead to his home.
Today was one of the rare days Sakura, Rin, and/or Luvia didn't walk home with him. Before this whole Berserker business, they were probably just dealing with school things peacefully. But now that it had happened, he had no doubt that Sakura would rush straight towards him.
'Though speaking of…' He quickly called up the three girls to inform them of the situation.
"Stay safe Senpai, I'll be there soon." Sakura told him hurriedly; the sound of wind being heard over her side of the call.
"I'll meet you at my house then. I need to grab my hammer if we're going to be- I'll call you back, Sakura."
"Senpai?" The worry in her voice was evident for him to hear, but unfortunately, he had to hang up without another word.
Soundlessly he pocketed his phone, turning a bored gaze up at the figures closing in on him over the rooftops and street.
"Isn't this meant to be some kind of secret? What happened to hiding all of this stuff?" An O-Katana crackled to existence in his hand and was held in a loose defensive stance.
The O-Katana itself sat with the blade at about 89 cm and a dark, malevolent feeling rolling off of it. Its Sori (Curvature) rather small and its Mune (Back) a dark purple which transitioned into a deep red at its Hamon (Temper Line).
As they sped straight up the street towards him, Shirou twirled his blade and let the large axe, reminiscent of Liz's, swing cleanly through the air beside him without hitting a single thing. The wind rustled from the speed of the strike. In a blur of motion, he grabbed the wrist of the Einzbern Homunculi, as he recognized them, with his free hand and wrenched them to the side. Letting them take the heavy sword blow to the shoulder and ribs instead of him.
Quickly he dropped the now injured Einzbern and took a good two steps back, clashing blades with the third of his would-be assassins and quickly curving his blade around to let their weight work against them. The Einzbern lurched forward, off balance from the sudden lack of pushback, and letting the Muramasa heir cleave straight through them in a single swing.
The sheer brilliance of the craftsmanship behind the blade within Shirou's hand certainly helped in making the task appear as easy as it did. But there was absolutely something to be said for the unnatural speed and strength that he moved with. Demonstrated a moment later as he smoothly transitioned from bisecting the Homunculi to bracing the Mune of his blade against his free forearm with the hilt above his head. The reinforced guard positioned perfectly so that the lunging thrust from the fourth assassin would hit his blade just millimeters to the left of the sharpened edge. The angles of both blades throwing the thrust in the gap between Shirou's head and shoulder. The hand gripping the hilt of his blade clenching it tighter before he ripped the blade straight up. The edge going clean through the assassin's clavicle and skull, making them topple to the ground limply as he circled around them to avoid having the corpse collapse against him.
Hearing the sound of the second assassin closing back in he swung out, the strength of his blow throwing the assassin far back where it seemed like the last of their companions stood beside them. Having apparently learned that fighting him singlehandedly wasn't going to go well.
'Master-'
XXXxxxXXX
Current time, Shirou
Shirou had to fight the urge to yawn as he fought off the last three assassins. Not even feeling the need to use his blade's ability on such disappointing opponents.
Of course, he definitely could. But honestly, it wouldn't decrease the amount of time it would take him to kill them, so he saw no reason.
'Dammit, why couldn't I have had Kuro-chan on me? This would have at least served a purpose then.' Shirou grouched, hopping languidly over a swing at his ankles and leaning back to avoid a sword slash by fractions of a millimeter.
"Target elim-" Swinging his blade out, he caught the Homunculi mid-sentence and cleaved the creations skull from the jaw-joint and up from the rest of their body, letting them topple to the ground.
"An illusion?" He heard one of the Homunculi question suspiciously, only getting a tired sigh from the teen.
"Why does everyone think that?" Without a single word, two blades appeared and fired off with the sound of cracking air, gouging holes in both Homunculi before they could do anything else.
'Now, let's get going to the house.' Shirou decided, letting the O-katana in his hand shatter, only to be replaced by another blade.
This one was unique, not in that it sat at a rather regular blade length of 70cm with a bit more of a Sori than his previous blade, but rather in the fact that it seemed to be smoldering even while he held it casually in his grip. The blade itself seemed to be in a constant state of being pseudo-super-heated which led to thin streams of black smoke wafting off the blade at all times.
"Rin would kill me if I just left you all here. So, I guess this'll work." Shirou deadpanned, lifting his new blade into a half-hearted swinging stance, the metal of the blade beginning to glow brighter and candle flames beginning to flicker off the Mune.
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Berserker and co.
"Archer!" Scathach reverse-rolled through the thick woods surrounding Fuyuki to avoid the multitude of chains swung overhead.
Evidently, Berserker had given up on trying to catch her in their chains and had instead just decided that bisection was their best bet.
She couldn't blame them for coming to that conclusion, but it was still awfully rude of them to try and take her out by bisection of all things. They should know that piercing and shredding were their best bet at killing her before she could retaliate.
From far behind her, four arrows arced high into the sky before twirling back towards the ground and striking around Berserker. An angry growl was heard over the cracking of the ground and groaning of the trees.
'Master. How far are we from this Einzbern Estate?' Heracles questioned, firing off two arrows on a corkscrew flight path.
Immediately following this, the ground cracked under the force of two more of his shots. Trying to use the sound and danger they possessed to hide the two curved shots in their approach.
'I'm not super sure since I can't follow the fight. But it'll probably take you guys another ten minutes to get there. Can you hold out that long?' Illyasviel responded, her voice deadly serious.
Though given the situation he really couldn't blame her. This Berserker was an absolute monster to be able to keep up with the four of them.
Sure, other than the one kill shot they'd gotten on Heracles they hadn't managed to do more than give minor scratches and bruises to the four Servants. But with the line-up that they were fighting, simply being able to fight the four of them at once and not instantly die was truly a terrifying feat.
'I believe we can do that. The angrier they get the more power they accumulate but the simpler their attacks become. The only issue is avoiding their attacks at this stage.' As Heracles relayed this, he fired one more arrow, deadlocking a thicker-than-normal chain that tried to skewer Saber after she got a particularly deep cut in on the Servant.
'Alright, keep kiting them there. We'll meet you with Caster and Assassin.'
'All of the Masters need to stay away. This kind of combat is too much for you all.' Heracles immediately denied her, throwing his head to the side to avoid a chain that shot out of the ground and firing an arrow at it as he backpedaled rapidly.
Not that it would change too much, honestly. Distance really wasn't much of a worry when it came to him.
'It's not like we're going to try to join in! But if we need to help you then we need to be able to see the fight to do so! Also, Onii-chan and Sakura are already on their way there.' Illya, the little traitor, revealed with a mischievous tone of voice.
"Saber! Rider! Your Masters are on their way to the Einzbern Estate!" Heracles called out, wanting to make sure that neither of them was caught unaware.
"Of course, he is. Master is stubborn." Artoria responded with a deadpan gaze, launching herself forward in a burst of prana and using the seemingly inherent tension of the chains as footholds to make her way to Berserker's side.
With a speed that whipped the wind up around them into cutting scythes that tore through the ground and trees, the disguised Excalibur sliced clean through their arm twice and through about three ribs. The blonde Servant reappeared forty meters back in a crack of wind as Berserker roared and spun 180 degrees to try and knock her head clean off with its fist.
"They're only getting stronger as they become more monstrous." Scathach commented idly, blasting the Servant with another gout of brilliant orange flames.
"They're too strong. They have to be old, well-known, or both." Saber huffed, taking a mere moment to reorient and prepare herself for further combat.
"It'd have to be old. They have some form of Divinity, and I still can't figure it out."
"It's like standing across from him whenever it releases its presence on us." Saber commented, her eyes narrowed as the form of the King of Heroes appeared in her mind.
"'Him'?" Scathach parroted, only to have to deflect two chains with one of her spears.
"Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes."
"An old entity. I see. We need to keep moving, let's go."
XXXxxxXXX
Meanwhile, Shirou and Sakura
"We just crossed over into Asakusa Ward." Sakura spoke into the phone held up at her ear, her free arm clutching Shirou's waist tightly.
"You two are making great time. We'll meet you there. Only need a few more things before Caster can teleport us." Rin responded, evidently in a hurry.
"Is this all the treasury you have, Miss Gorilla!?"
"Grrr! Shut up! Not all of us need to throw a million jewels to finish one fight!" Rin snapped, her voice growing a bit distant.
Evidently, she'd turned away from her phone to snap at Luvia. Who Sakura had no doubt been brought to the Tohsaka residence so that they could both arrive together and at the same time.
As much as it must be burning Rin at the moment to let Luvia snoop around and use her, admittedly smaller than comfortable, collection of gemstones.
The wheels of Shirou's motorcycle squealed as they suddenly went at a 50-degree angle around a corner. The teen revved the engine right as they started to straighten out and began to roar down the street at a seemingly ever-accelerating velocity once more.
"OW! Shirou is having far too much fun on that bike." Rin grouched, the squeal of the tyres making a painful sound over their phones.
"Senpai is just going as fast as possible. You can't blame him."
"You're an enabler, Sakura." The Tohsaka heiress deadpanned.
"Bump." Shirou warned Sakura before the two of them hit a solid second of airtime.
"Alright, Miss Gorilla! I'm ready to head out. Should I come back tomorrow to pick you up once you're done?"
"Sakura we'll meet you there. Don't let Shirou do something stupid." And then the call was hung up, getting a small giggle from Sakura as she stowed her phone away and wrapped her other arm around Shirou's midsection.
"Rin says not to do anything dumb, Senpai."
"What's the saying again? 'It's only dumb if it doesn't work'?" And then he revved the engine once more and with glowing green lines that spread from his hands and across the bike, they rocketed forward.
XXXxxxXXX
Rin and Luvia
"Alright, since you haven't been in a situation like this before. I'll handle the defense if it's necessary once we arrive." Rin spoke, tucking the last of her gems away in one of two small pouches tied to her thighs.
"My my, what a presumptuous assessment to make, Miss Gorilla. And what makes you think that you can handle our defense better than I could?"
"Unless it's a specific Magecraft, I won't freeze up." Rin shut Luvia down, her voice and expression were deadly serious as she turned to Morgan. "Caster, we're ready."
"Finally." Semiramis rolled her eyes, stepping over. "You two have been fighting so long that your boyfriend and his maid have nearly gotten there already."
"Assassin." Morgan cut in, her gaze practically drilling into Semiramis'.
"Yes, I'm aware." Semiramis smiled coyly, placing a hand out to her side as the space they inhabited suddenly shifted.
Luvia suddenly clenched her hands and gulped at the feeling that weighed down on her the moment that they appeared at the Einzbern Estate.
Because, sitting there on a throne placed in front of the large, open, doors of the Einzbern Castle, was King Gilgamesh himself. One leg crossed over the other and his cheek rested on a fist propped up by his elbow on the arm of the throne. His golden armour adorned his form. The seemingly paralyzed bodies of just short of a dozen Homunculi surrounded him.
"Ah, and it's the head of the Tohsaka that arrives first. Not exactly unexpected but certainly interesting." Gilgamesh commented lightly, getting an expression halfway between put-off and pouting from said young woman.
"And who might you be?" Morgan questioned, stepping ahead of Luvia and Rin with a narrowed gaze.
"You haven't told them of me, Tohsaka? I'd feel insulted if I wasn't aware of your rivalry with the young woman beside you." Gilgamesh turned his gaze on Luvia, making her stiffen up imperceptibly.
At least, imperceptibly to anyone else.
"Greetings, Sir. Luviagelita Edelfelt, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Luvia greeted him properly with a nod of her head and a curtsy, getting the barest crack of a grin from Gilgamesh.
"See? Now why couldn't you show me that much respect, Tohsaka?" He teased the twin-tailed teen, getting a bright blush from her as she fought not to explode like she so desperately wanted to.
"Because, King Gilgamesh-" Rin started, looking for all the world a controlled and poised Magus instead of the ball of emotions and anxiety that she currently was. "-our first meeting was rather tense and when I tried you mocked me for sounding like my father."
The dry look he got at the end of her explanation only got another grin from him as he tapped a finger against his bottom chin.
"Yes, yes, I suppose it was and I did. Did I ever apologize for that?"
"No, King Gilgamesh." Rin droned, ignoring the look that she was getting from Luvia.
"Well then, there must have been a reason for that. No reason to go against my past judgement now." He closed his eyes and shrugged.
And in response, predictably, Rin's fists clenched and shook, and her eyebrow began to twitch upwards. The girl gritted her teeth tightly to avoid an outburst that would no doubt ruin whatever image she was trying to upkeep.
"I apologise but are you truly Gilgamesh?" Luvia asked, having heard stories from Shirou but still unable to believe she was standing before such a figure.
"I am. You've heard of me through my Smith, I suppose?"
"That's correct." Luvia nodded.
"So, you're my predecessor, hm?" Semiramis cut in, getting a deep sigh from Rin and an amused grin from Gilgamesh.
Not the grin of someone that had heard something deliberately funny. But one closer to the kind of smile an adult gave a child when they said something they couldn't quite comprehend.
"The predecessor of every entity within the Throne of Heroes, actually. Though if you're speaking of Sumer, I suppose you're half correct. You get one point." He smiled, as if receiving a point was a genuine reward from the King of Heroes.
"Excuse me?" Semiramis, on the other hand, wasn't quite as thrilled to have received her singular point.
"Oh relax, Semiramis. Winding yourself up now has no purpose. I'm just waiting for my Smith and Enkidu now." He waved off her annoyance easily, though there was a strange tightness to his mirth, as if it was slightly forced.
"Enkidu!?" Both Rin and Luvia shouted at once, their shock shattering any kind of cool demeanor or composure they might have been trying to project.
"Yes. Berserker. My first friend." Gilgamesh spoke before his attention turned to the distance.
"The Servant of that Einzbern mongrel."
'Huh. Haven't heard him call anyone that in a while…' Rin thought idly, turning her head as she heard the sound of a motorcycle.
A herald of Shirou's arrival.
"That must be Sherou!" Luvia called out, a grin slipping onto her features without any conscious thought, something which got a thoughtful hum from Morgan as she stared at her Master.
And slowing to a halt much further down the path leading up to the castle, both Shirou and Sakura rushed over. The swordsmith in his full battle attire and Sakura dressed in something that looked far more casual than battle worthy. A long purple skirt that went to about mid-shin and white sandals that had at the most an inch of heel. Her top half robed in a long-sleeved white top with golden trimming. The briefest shine of metal hitting Rin's eyes around Sakura's wrists, instantly let her know that Shirou had done something to her outfit at some point in time.
"Gil, you knew we were coming?" Shirou questioned as he walked up, his lone eye trailing over the girls and their Servants before looking at the paralyzed Einzbern curiously.
"Of course, I did. This is where the most important battle of this Holy Grail War is to take place. And with Berserker as Enkidu, I refused to sit on the sidelines."
"You just want to fight him again." Shirou accused without any heat, rolling his eye.
"How very astute." Gilgamesh sarcastically praised him. "And after I was so nice as to not reduce the castle to ash and kept them alive for that blade of yours."
"Oh! So it was for that reason, I was sort of wondering." Shirou nodded his head, drawing his blade and systematically piercing the heart of each and every Homunculi in the vicinity.
"Sherou? Why was that necessary?"
"Oh! Have I not told you about the ability of Kuro-chan? Basically it requires me to kill living creatures with it to-"
BBOOOOOOMMMMMM!
The ground quaked all around them. And if not for the surging prana and the feeling of death in the air, the teenagers might have thought it to be one of the many natural earthquakes in Japan.
But it wasn't. The shaking of the ground and dust rising high into the air was only a warning of what was to come. A sigh of disappointment left Gil's mouth as he stood up and began to lackadaisically walk in the direction of the rising dust.
"King Gilgamesh?" Sakura questioned, standing to the side and slightly behind Shirou as if shadowing him.
"I had hoped that at least some of his humanity would be retained as a Berserker. At least then I could enjoy this properly. But it seems like I'll have to face the Enkidu that the Gods had always wanted me to face. The puppet, weapon, with no reason and no humanity." Gilgamesh sighed once more as he came to a halt, tilting his head upwards towards the sky.
More and more the ground began to shake. The feeling of Mana coalescing and approaching set basically everyone on edge. Meanwhile, staring at the sky that continued to darken with thickening clouds, Gilgamesh only cracked a sardonic smile. His eyes trained on the sky as if he could actually see something within the roiling clouds.
"Somehow. Someway. I blame you, Ishtar, for this."
The hulking clay figure, no longer resembling a human in the slightest, burst out of the tree line with a speed that threw everyone for a loop. They stood at a solid three and a half meters tall not including the giant branches winding out of their head. Almost pseudo-tribal green markings were the only other thing to break up the monotonous yellow-ish brown clay that made up their form as they rushed towards Gilgamesh.
In a bright golden glow, an axe found its way into Gilgamesh's hand, his arm curling up around his head with the weapon held in a vice grip. The first Hero took only a singular step forward before his arm whipped out and the axe within his grip slammed into the club that Enkidu currently called a fist.
The ground beneath them cracked and cratered. Shattering into boulders large enough to even break through parts of the Einzbern walls as the burst of wind from their impact threw everything away except the largest of boulders. Sakura pressed herself in close to Shirou to avoid being thrown away herself as Shirou weathered the gale storm winds shattering the ground with next to no difficulty.
But of course, despite the power of Gilgamesh. Despite the fact that Gilgamesh had struck out with everything that his B-rank strength could give him. It was unfortunately nothing when compared to the absolutely monstrous power, currently only possibly through Transfiguration {A}, of A++-rank strength.
And in a burst of power that finally threw Shirou, Sakura, both gem-users, and their Servants high into the air, Enkidu flexed their arm and broke the earth beneath their feet. Throwing Gilgamesh, luckily, through the hole that had been broken into the Einzbern castle and out the other side so fast that his body itself created a sonic boom. The golden king slowed himself rapidly to a halt mid-air with one of his many treasures, this specific one allowing him to essentially levitate at will.
"What monstrous strength. What did you give up for that Enkidu? Your luck perhaps? Or maybe your Mana?" Gilgamesh asked, landing on the ground with a soft clink of metal.
After a moment of silence, he clicked his tongue as he raised his axe once more.
"It's boring to have a fight with you when you can't even enjoy it as I do, Enkidu." Portals opened behind him, his treasury spewing forth weapons on a scale not seen since the battle with Altrouge Brunestud.
The clay making up Enkidu exploded out behind them as weaponry of all shapes and sizes tore through them. The onslaught continued even as the clay that made it up continued to reform Enkidu. And failing that, began to take mud and clay from the very ground beneath its feet.
"You have the memories of your life, Enkidu. I know you do. Your memories of Shamhat and Uruk! Of our fight and our bond! Of the humanity that you gained in the face of the Gods! This is what Ishtar wanted for you, are you just going to fight mindlessly and let her win like that?!" Gilgamesh shouted over the roar of his weaponry and their continual impacts against the earth, three blades coming out to defend him against the supersonic chains that sprouted from the earth to impale him.
Hundreds of chains burst from the earth, forming a wall that kept Gilgamesh's armory off of Enkidu just long enough that it could finish reforming in peace. The clay puppet roared primally and stirred the winds even further. Yet to Gilgamesh it seemed to not phase him in the slightest, his pupils dilating and his grin widening.
"You always were stubborn, but this is worse than it ever was in life. I'm not quite sure I like it! As King of Heroes, I so declare! This shall be the next chapter! 'The Rebirth Of Humanity'!"
Enkidu launched themselves forward, appearing before Gilgamesh in an instant with their fist raised. Their form towering over Gilgamesh in every physical way. Yet Gilgamesh did nothing but smile with a confidence bordering on egotistical but not quite crossing.
For he had sworn. And he now understood that once a King makes a promise to themselves, but more importantly their people, they had to do their utmost to see it to fruition.
XXXxxxXXX
Side Story: Thoughts of those close
"Lord El Melloi II." Waver, had he been a younger and less experienced man, might have once frozen up at the stern sounding voice of Lorelei Bathomeloi.
But he was not a younger, less experienced man. So in the face of her stern voice from behind, he merely turned around and gave her a respectful nod of his head.
"Lady Barthomeloi."
"Why are you looking away from your apprentice?" The woman asked, walking forward with her arms under her bust and looking down at the small room filled with the classroom of the man standing at her side.
"Believe it or not, but Gray can handle Flat, at least in a physical sense." Waver responded, taking another breath in of his cigar.
"Yes. I've heard tell of her extraordinary physical abilities." Lorelei hummed, though Waver could tell that she was saying so only because she wanted something from him.
"So, if i may ask, what brings you here today, Lady Barthomeloi?"
"You are a companion, a close one, of Shirou Muramasa. Are you not?"
"Ah, heh, of course." He cracked a smile and breathed out a thin cloud of smoke. "Yes, I am. Lady Barthomeloi."
"What is your opinion of him?"
Out of Lorelei's vision, but unlikely out of her extraordinary senses he estimated, Waver narrowed his eyes a little.
"Do not look at me like that, Waver Velvet."
"Ah, yes. Apologies, Lady Barthomeloi." Waver coughed into his fist for a moment. "May I ask..why?"
"No."
"I see…Well Shirou is…peculiar. He can be very narrow minded when forging is the topic and has a strong opinion and self-assuredness. But he can be kind and understanding at the same time."
"I see, and his Magecraft potential?"
"You have access to his mission reports, do you not, Lady Barthomeloi?"
"I do. But reports seldom make up an entire Magi's repertoire. Now what of his potential?"
"His potential as a Magi is limited outside a very small scope. But when it comes to anything forge or combat related?" Waver turned to look down at his class, watching Gray send Flat flying across the room and into a wall after no doubt another comment about Shirou or Luvia.
"Inside that scope, Shirou Muramasa's potential has no equal."
XXXxxxXXX
Sup motherfuckers how are we all doing this lovely fine day?
I personally am very much enjoying having no university work and enjoying FF16 and finally watching Hunter x Hunter. Its been on my watch list for like 4-5 years but i've only just gotten around to watching it.
But anyways! How was the chapter? Good? Great? Terrible? Personally i'm quite happy with it but next chapter is personally one of my favourite chapters of the entire fic. Tied with maybe only chapter 21 for my personal favourite. Not quite as long as that monstrosity of a chapter though XD
Also on a side note, i really hope i didn't mess this up. But i've been trying to use They/Them for Enkidu this and next chap as like a fun little nod towards them being able to be male or female as they wish. This has no bearing on anything its just a fun tidbit for you all xP
I don't have much else to say other than that so i'll get going now and see you all in the comments!
discord code: ctMzhq3
REVIEW REPLIES:
Chapter 27:
MEleeSmasher: Who knows? Me, that's who.
Mufalan: Thank you!
God of crossovers: Yes, they did.
NotSpecialDude: I'm glad you like everything that i managed to fit into the chapter and yeah, Morgan's plan was pretty multifaceted. I haven't even gotten to explore all the facets of it as well, it's great x3
Draegoon: Because Angry Mango + Rainbow Serpent scale go brrtrtttttttt
King of Uruk: I've put a lot of work into my portrayal of Gil so i'm glad you enjoy him.
superpierce: Thank you!
0lcra: I'm rather proud of it myself. Also Scathach doesn't have Divinity, just so you know.
BlindAsABat95: Honestly it's practically guaranteed at this rate.
BJJPanda: I'm happy to hear that.
sawtooth44: Look that's like 95% of the Nasuverse you really can't blame them too much.
kgtab: Admit defeat you coward.
The embodiment of Weirdness: Look high INT and low WIS is the name of the Einzbern game.
AvianFowl: Its genuinely amusing how many people pegged Enkidu appearing even as far back as like chapter 15.
Pop Manga 1945: Yeah i really don't like that kind of mind control either, that's just…eugh. I think that mind control to make an ally fight other allies is a good usage of the ability but to rape them is just wrong and bad. And as for Gil sustaining himself, yes its something in his treasury.
AnimeFan13579: Illya has a ridiculously sadistic sense of humour when you get past the sparkles and magical girl shenanigans and its always fun to write her snap from one extreme to the other. And yes, Gil is not a happy chappy.
Adro-Sama: Genuinely what i've been thinking the whole time i've had to write them.
Zukafew119: Hello once again and just so you know, your comment about the next chapter being a pain in the butt to review in time made me laugh quite hard because i knew how short it was XD And i'm glad you enjoyed the fight between Scathach and Shirou, and its aftermath, so much. I really enjoyed writing it.
Anniversary Chapter:
Curt-X 47: He studied in the Kakashi Hatake school of picking up chicks.
AnimeFan13579: FUCK
Raventus Dracoria: Hopefully you continue to enjoy the fic!
Captainunknown: I'm sorry but i do not have the necessary medical license to inject unknown chemicals into your bloodstream. Please get a prescription from your nearest doctor first.
sickboy398: Punt the smol child, got it.
AngelicWisdom: That's the plan!
AvianFowl: I'm glad to see that you enjoyed them so much. This was really just a last minute "Oh fuck just write something" to reach the anniversary deadline XD But that doesn't mean that the side stories are any less important
oranos200712: That was an omake, meaning it was a non-canon drabble.
nanox876: He has not told me this information either.
Raging Drake: Good to know
Zukafew119: I cannot believe that you timestamped the goddamn chapter. But it was actually on time in my own timezone so that's all that matters to me. And the arguments (dramatic and not actually hateful) in my discord between me and my lore guy are fucking legendary. I once posted an extended paragraph written in nothing but 'Yee Olde Fancy Speak' specifically to mess with him. And i'm happy to hear that you share the opinion on the side stories that a couple other people have shared as well, it makes me happy to know that you guys enjoy my omakes and side stories so much. See you next month!
REVIEW REPLIES OVER
And now its time for me to disappear into the aether while i wait for a new, FUNCTIONING, desk chair to arrive and see what fickle wishes/whims my muse will hold me to next month.