Chapter 142: The Clash of Wills
Torin's head smacked against the ground, the fist of Kalameet fell a moment later into his chest and pushed the druid further into the crater. The hand came up for a moment before the fist spread wide and shot back down, the sharpened claw like fingers of the dragon punctured the breastplate of the Caster and clenched inwards, folding steel with their powerful grip and hefting the druid upwards.
Kalameet grunted, turning himself sideways and tossing the Servant away from himself. Already moving to catch up with the falling Servant.
Torin hit the ground with a pained grunt, barely there for a second before Kalameet's foot buried itself into his gut and sent the man back into the air accompanied by a booming thud, the Caster soared through the sky without making a noise before striking the ground hard, bouncing and leaving behind a scuff mark in the earth before going airborne once again and then landing face first into the ground.
Bringing the sword in his right hand up, the dragon advanced on the downed man with the clear intention of ending things here and now. In truth, he had wanted to do so for some time but something had always been stopping him. Perhaps it had been the belief that the man would be more open to hearing his own reasoning after fighting him for a few moments.
Kalameet himself had found that speaking after a rather brutal discussion was something that would lead to greater clarity. However, it would appear that such options were not something everyone would benefit from. A shame, he did not want the man to die thinking that Kalameet was still the same destroyer he had been in the past but it was unavoidable at this point.
Once he was done here, he could resume his search for-
"Stop right there, Kalameet!"
Kalameet paused in his actions, commanded by the familiar voice that he had been waiting to hear since the battle commenced. The dragon turned to face them, soon spotting the white haired woman standing in front of the full body armoured individual nearly as tall as himself.
Her expression set into a thin line as her eyes looked between the dragon and Torin on the ground briefly.
"Olga Marie Animusphere…" Kalameet breathed out, his voice now sounding enthused by her presence. "That rain of light upon us. That was you?"
"...Yes."
"...It was beautiful." Kalameet praised openly "I had not thought someone capable of commanding the sky to strike us down but I am not surprised you are able to do such a thing." he continued onwards "Yet the light could not harm me."
Olga's expression didn't change "I know that much."
"Is it just yourself and the Servant behind you?" Kalameet asked, nodding his head to the silent figure behind the smaller woman.
That time, Olga's lip did twitch slightly "Yes." she got out, though sounded somewhat aggrieved by the situation, not that Kalameet could understand why that was. Nor why she sent an annoyed glare at the downed Caster at Kalameet's side for a few seconds longer than he would have thought normal.
Not that it changed much in the end.
"Good." Kalameet exhaled "I was hoping it would be just you and me." he explained as he took a single step forwards, the Servant behind Olga reacted instantly, hunching its body forwards and brandishing the oversized axe in one hand while raising up the circular shield in the other. His eyes meaningfully fell upon the enlarged Servant "...Though, I suppose it would not be a fair contest if it was."
Olga almost wanted to laugh at him, a dragon who could contend with Divine Spirits who was also in possession of a Mystic eye? It still wasn't a fair contest even with her Servant's dragon slaying abilities. Especially considering that its own skill was based on hers with a weapon.
That was to say 'Novice' in the words of Sigurd.
Then again, if the ancient Norse King called her a voice with the blade then that had to count for something. It at least meant that she was being recognised at the very least.
Kalameet was silent for a moment before he grunted once "We should get to fighting now." he declared with an almost even tone of voice, it was almost amusing how casual he was trying to sound. Save for the slight wobble in his tone that made it obvious he was hiding away his excitement at the prospect of fighting.
Olga sighed to herself before shaking her head, then putting on a determined stare aimed at the dragon, her hands going into her pockets and coming out as fists with something grasped in her palms, not that Kalameet was taking notice of it.
The dragon paced away from Torin's prone form all but ignoring the downed Servant as his glowing eyes focused first on Olga, then to the Servant standing behind her. Stahl continued to pivot their body as they tracked the dragons movements, their joints creaking with subtle movements.
Kalameet eventually stopped walking, taking a single step forwards he leaned down low and then kicked off the ground, heading straight towards Olga and Stahl. The Dragon Slayer Armour stepped past the Director and raised their shield to block the obvious swing. The black hooked sword clanged against the surface of the metal disk with an earth shattering crunch.
The very ground beneath their feet cracked with the impact, Olga herself took a single step backwards as her hair jerkily flapped from the blast. The woman narrowed her eyes and issued mental commands to the Servant.
Stahl shoved forwards, pushing the shield back with all their might and taking a powerful step to gain more ground. Kalameet raised his other hand and pressed it into the top of the sword, pushing back against the slightly smaller Servant and holding his ground against the Berserker. The two glared at one another for a few seconds before Kalameet twisted his body and rammed his shoulder into Stahl's guard to force them backwards.
His left hand came away from the top of the sword and clamped down around the rim of the shield, pulling with all his might and spinning as he yanked, Stahl found themselves turning with the Berserker and virtually being dragged along for the ride before they swung their axe down into the ground to anchor themselves.
Kalameet's arm was jerked to a halt, the dragon falling backwards as the limb went taut. With a hefty pull towards himself, Stahl dragged the shield back towards his body while bringing along a stumbling Kalameet, ducking themselves down they thrust the shield towards the legs of the dragon Servant and caused him to trip over it. With a metallic growl, Stahl flipped the dragon over the top of his head.
Grunting, Kalameet struck the ground in a roll before twisting his body and snapping his head up. Watching as Stahl was already charging towards him with the axe pulled back for a downwards strike. The dragon did the only thing he could think of, he swung towards the Servant's weapon with his own, the two blades collided with one another with a heavy crash of metal.
The two fighters recoiled back as the force pushed against one another reverberated through their arms. Both stared at the opposite before they swung again, very little in the way of skill and more a case of brute force being used against one another. The result being very much the same as the first clash, once more the weapons struck the other and the fighters were forced back with a clang of steel.
It mattered little from what position they would strike, the end result was always the same. The axe would meet the sword and then the weapons would rebound off one another with a thunderous crash of metal. Upon the tenth strike, the axe of Stahl shattered the sword in Kalameet's hands and rushed towards the dragon. Kalameet wasted nary a moment in sidestepping the axe and shoving it with his shoulder to redirect it away from him.
Swinging his left arm up, he caught the Berserker in the chin with the crook of his elbow and threw them into the ground. Stahl rolled for several metres before their head snapped back up. Kalameet already in front of them and in the middle of a swing towards the servant.
His fist cracked against a pale yellow barrier before bouncing backwards, the dragon widened his eyes in surprise from the sudden appearance of the shield. "Wha-!?" The Berserker gave no indication that they could perform anything such as this and yet it had somehow been able to-
His eyes darted downwards, staring at three stones on the ground that acted as the anchor for the shield. Then his vision swiftly turned on to the left, he watched Olga lowering her arm slowly - or at normal speed for her but his senses merely made it appear as though it was slow motions - back to her side, her fingers outstretched from having thrown something.
The dragon did the mental calculations in his head and easily deduced it was something that Olga herself had done. That was foolish of him, after all his preaching about seeing her as an equal he still thought of the larger Servant as the greater threat. This wasn't a case of a one on one, it was a two on one battle.
Stahl charged forwards, shattering the pale yellow barrier outwards and slamming the shield into Kalameet's gut. The Berserker staggered back with the blow, only for the Servant to continue the offensive and swing the shield up and crack Kalameet in the lower jaw with the rim of the shield. Stepping forwards, Stahl stamped down on Kalameet's foot and held him in place, the dragon let out a pained gasp and his toes were crunched under boot.
Hunching his body forwards, the pained gasp barely escaped Kalameet before Stahl swung their head forwards and crashed it into the centre of Kalameet's own forehead, the foot still entrenched upon his toes kept the dragon from stumbling away from the Berserker in pain. Raising the shield up, Stahl prepared to thrust it forwards like a spear, only for Kalameet's left arm to shoot out and grasp the edge of the shield in a tight grip.
The dragon snarled for a moment, then his palm exploded in brilliant yellow flames. The shockwave of the explosion knocked Stahl away from the dragon and into a roll backwards. Olga herself threw up her hands in front of her face as the blast front hit her and very nearly swept her off her feet, the biting chill of icy shards striking against her had the woman bite back a hiss of pain.
Her arms were lowered swiftly, locking onto the cloud of dust and ice that had been kicked up by the powerful explosion. The Director narrowed her eyes slightly as they darted around them, with a mental command she called Stahl back to her side while also sneaking a glance towards Torin, scowling at the pitiful state he was in.
Honestly, it was his own fault for doing something as stupid as that. What did he honestly expect was going to happen? A dragon who could apparently fight the Sigurd on equal footing was not going to be done in by someone who was barely able to fight a regular dragon. This is why she made a plan, if he had followed the plan then he wouldn't be lying face down in the snow like a fool and she wouldn't be having to think of burning up a command spell just to get him back on his feet.
The smoke parted, Kalameet came charging out of the cloud directly towards her. The woman widened her eyes and made to cry out in alarm, watching as the speeding Berserker closed the distance between the two of them in barely a second. Olga's feet hadn't even left the ground in her effort to throw herself back before the fist of the dragon was already a foot from striking her head.
Kalameet's face contorted in pain as the axehead of Stahl buried itself into his side, the Berserker twisting with the impact and growling before a crackling of yellow lighting shot out from the weapon and rushed over his body before exploding outwards. Olga was knocked to the ground while Kalameet was blown away from the impact, twisting his body in the air and landing on the ground feet first, skating along the surface with a growl.
Pulling his right hand back, mustard yellow flames danced around his knuckles for a second before he thrust the arm forwards. A jet of fire leapt out from his hand and rushed towards the Berserker and Olga. Stahl wasted not even a single second in ducking down in front of the Director and raising their shield upwards to cover the woman's body. Not making a single sound as the flames washed over them, the shield held firm in protecting the woman behind them from harm.
'Any Servant nearby, I'm engaging Kalameet.' Olga called out through the mental link. 'HELP ME!'
Despite the call for help, there were very few Servants who actually heard her and none whom could have directly answered the call in the first place. All of them engaged in combat of their own with an opponent.
Brambled vines snaked from the ground, wrapping around the burned leg of Akal as she tried to dance backwards. The plants holding her just long enough for Sigurd's fist to slam into her cheek with a haymaker, her jaw clicked with the strike and flew open, teeth jettisoned out from her lower jaw and flew across the snow, accompanied by a splatter of blood.
The Saber stepped in close, swinging his left hand upwards with a dagger in his grip aimed towards her gut. Akal thrust out her palm, catching the dagger with it even as it burst through the back of her hand and carried the limb upwards towards her chest. Akal's fingers wrapped around Sigurds fist and held him there for a brief second.
Then Brynhildr kicked her in the side of the head with a flying leap, her body shunted by the attack and her hand loosening its grip on the Saber. Sigurd thrust upwards once more and buried the edge of the dagger jutting from the back of her palm directly into her ribs. Despite not feeling any real pain, Akal could tell that was still not a good thing.
Her right hand came up and swung at Sigurd, the ghostly visage of the giant fist emerged from the air around her and raced towards the Saber as a fist. Before it could even touch him, an equally massive hand made of thatch straw burst from a circle carved into the ground and caught the fist in its palm. Akal's movements halted as the phantom pressure from the giant hand exuded itself on her arm.
The woman grit her teeth before Sigurd delivered a savage kick into her side and knocked her backwards. The Saber wrenched the dagger from her body and then reversed his grip with it, his right hand went for a second dagger upon his belt which he promptly detached and held in a similarly reversed grip.
Akal kicked backwards to get some distance on the Saber, then widened her eyes as she saw Brynhildr flying towards her with her spear extending in a thrust. A stone wing burst from her bag, cracking as it formed in the air and then curled around her body like a shield.
The tip of Brynhildr's spear struck the wing and halted all form of momentum, the weapon utterly failing to penetrate the limb, earning a faint blink of surprise from the Lancer before she frowned and swung her body forwards, using the spear as an support. Placing her heels against the wing, she kicked off it and forced the Caster to be shunted away from her while also throwing herself clear.
As she flew through the air, she caught a brief glimpse of Cu Chulainn as he twisted his hands in front of himself and forged lighting runes that hovered in front of him. A split second later, he hurled the runes forwards in a single burst of lightning which struck the outer surface of the pseudo-shield.
A split second later, Akal let out a cry of pain as the ghostly limb shattered into fragments of dust and was blown away from her body, exposing her once more to the outside world just in time for Sigurd to charge straight into her with a shoulder barge. The spikes on his armour goring into her side and keeping her embedded on him for a few moments, he wrapped his left arm around the back of her legs and threw his body downwards, making sure that Akal took the brunt of the impact.
The pair crunched against the snow with a meaty thud, Sigurd rolling over the top of the woman and snapping off the spikes in his shoulder plates inside her chest. The woman hissed to herself as blood now flowed from more wounds littering her body. Sigurd landed in a crouch and swiftly turned around, raising the twin daggers above his head before slamming them down into Akal's opposing shoulders.
The Saber sharply rose up, dragging the Caster with him, then started to spin himself around like a windmill, pulling the Caster along with him as he pair of them rotated at incredible speeds, after a couple of seconds the Saber, stomped his foot down to halt his momentum, his boot cracking the ground under his heel, and then swung the Caster away from his body. The daggers pulled free of her flesh with a squelch and sent her cartwheeling through the sky.
Brynhildr shot forwards, staying close to the ground and passing directly beneath the Caster as she hurtled through the air before shooting past her. Sticking her foot out, Brynhildr slid to a halt and turned about face, bringing her spear back and gripping it with both arms as she narrowed her eyes at the Caster closing in on her, having positioned herself directly in the flight path of the Servant.
With a sharp intake of breath, Brynhildr swung her spear forwards like a bat. The bladed head slammed directly into the gut of the Caster as she approached and bent the Servant over the blade for a split second, then the strength of the swing caught up with the Servant and she was sent rocketing back into the air with a boom. The power of the strike displaced the air around them for a split second before she shot up like an arrow.
Sigurd threw Gram into the air, the blade spinning around as it fell back to earth. His eyes narrowed upon the gradually shrinking dot of the Caster as they flew further and further away. Shifting his position, Sigurd turned side on and angled his body upwards slightly while tracking her movements. His left hand briefly moved to push the rim of his glasses up while his right hand clenched into a fist and his arm coiled back in preparation for a punch.
Extending his left arm out, he clenched that hand into a fist and mentally counted out the distance in his head as well as where the Servant was going to be. As Gram fell back to earth - still spinning - the Saber breathed in once, then held the air in his mouth.
The sword fell in line with his arm.
He exhaled.
Then swung his arm forwards with as much power as he could muster, his knuckles struck the pommel of his sword and his entire body seemed to freeze for a split second. Then the sword short away from him with a sonic boom, there was a brief moment where the sword seemingly struck an invisible barrier before it tore past it, accelerating into the sky as a glowing arrow of light.
Then the shockwave from the punch raced away from the Saber and washed over the two other Servants present.
Sigurd watched the brightness of his sword climb into the sky, his eyes narrowing as he watched it make contact with the Servant and then carrying them away with the new found momentum. Raising his right arm, he opened up his hand and sent out a twitch with his magical energy towards his blade. The glowing light halted in the air for a few seconds before it raced back down to earth, aiming directly for the wielder of the sword.
The Saber's face remained impassive, even as the weapon accelerated towards him at incredible speeds that even a Servant would have found difficult to react to. Sigurd, through all of that, had little reason to be worried. After all, it was his own sword that he was returning back to him.
Added weight onto its blade aside.
His superior vision caught sight of the Servant skewered on the end of the blade, the front of his sword jutting from their gut and their hands grasping at the weapon in an effort to pull themselves free of it. The woman turned her head over her shoulder, her eyes widened ever so slightly as she saw the rapidly approaching ground and the Saber staring up at her.
With a final burst, the sword accelerated once more into the grasp of its master. The moment the grip was in his hand, Sigurd spun the weapon around like the hands on a clock in front of his body before slamming the weapon - and Akal - into the ground in an explosion, debris soared upwards in a mushroom cloud, the blast front washing over the Servants and shattering the magical circles that Cu had crafted around them to weaken Akal's magical energy.
Not that it was probably going to help her at this point, there were very few Servants who would be able to take punishment like that. Especially dragon Servants being stabbed with Gram of all things and then bodied by Sigurd.
Sigurd yanked the sword back, the swiftness of the movement and the power behind the slash parted the clouds in a moment. Sweeping them aside and exposing the mess beneath his feet.
Akal lay on her back, facing skywards with her chest a ruined mess, her abdomen was carved inwards and blood splattered behind her body, colouring the snow a bright crimson as more and more flowed from the woman onto the ground. The woman opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, only to give a wet cough and cause more blood to be ejected from her mouth like a geyser.
The woman lay there, her eyes flickering towards the Saber for a brief moment before they dulled.
Swallowing back the blood, she closed her eyes. "...This is a first…" She spoke quietly, her voice unchanged from her crippling injuries. "...I want to stick around until the end of the story…"
Sigurd twisted the sword in his hands, reversing his grip on the weapon and holding it pointed towards Akal's head. His left hand placed upon the pommel of the weapon. "That is the manner of all humans. They wish to live until they see their dreams completed."
"Hmmm." Akal hummed in response, more blood leaking from her mouth and down her cheeks "Then again…I suppose not everyone gets a choice when they are removed from the tale, do they?"
"Some do." Sigurd offered with a shrug, lowering the sword until the tip of the weapon touched the Caster's skin. "Most do not."
"...A shame." Akal sighed. "Did you?"
Sigurd was silent for a moment before he thinned his lips "In life? I did not." he admitted to himself "Though as a Servant?" his eyes flashed towards Brynhildr and his features softened. He saw the way in which Cu rolled his eyes and made a face at the duo. "I believe I have come as close to obtaining my desire as I shall ever get."
Brynhildr flushed before coughing into her hand.
Akal raised an eyebrow at him, then looked to Brynhildr before making an expression of understanding. "That's nice. I suppose I'm the same." She muttered, then leaned her head back into the snow. "I think Kalameet will be satisfied either way…Though perhaps I got a little more invested in it than him." a wry smile worked its way onto her lips. "I wanted to see my children all grown up."
"As do all mothers. That is natural."
Akal hummed once "Before I die. How do you see me?" she tilted her head, looking up at the Saber and opening her eyes once more. "I'm curious. I know how Kalameet saw me, but how did the humans see us?" she paused for a moment "I believe the phrase is 'One Kingdom's hero is another Kingdom's villain?'
"It was not a case of villainy." Sigurd shook his head "Merely a conflict of interests. While there are those who will decry you and your kindred as savage monsters the world is better without-"
"Quite the flatterer." Akal jested with a twitch of her lip, Sigurd snorted at that.
"I have been told as much by my wife." He admitted with a nod of the head "But as for myself? I cannot say I hate you. I can oppose you for what your people did to mine, but I cannot hate you for the act of invading another's land and taking it over." he chuckled "If I hated you for that, I would have to hate my own people as well."
"Hmmm." Akal hummed once "...Alright then." she exhaled "...I'm ready."
With a single nod of his head, Sigurd thrust the sword down.
Cu exhaled, watching as the motes of light drifted away from the Servant. "Tough lass, eh?" he shook his head before he steeled his expression. "Alright, Master just sent out a call for help so I'd say-"
He turned as he spoke, then cut himself off as he watched a wyvern land on the ground in front of him. Although there was one noticeable difference about this wyvern, that being the presence of upper arms. Which were also gripping a large axe in their clawed fingers.
The dark scaled beast glared hatefully at them as their eyes looked to where Akal was already fading away.
"Mo…ther…" The beast croaked out in a guttural hissing language. The eyes of it then darted towards the group once more. "Mo…ther…"
"...What in the shit?" Cu blinked, taking a single step back "Oi, oi, oi-!"
Another of the lizards dropped down in front of them, this one wielding a longsword in its right hand.
Then another, and another, and another.
By the end of it, eight of the armed wyverns - in both senses of the word - stood before the group all hissing and growling with clear anger and rage. Sigurd grimaced as he brandished Gram once more.
"To think they were already capable of speech." He muttered out as his eyes narrowed "She did not exaggerate the will of her leader. He truly did seek to replace humanity in this era." he exhaled "We must not let a single one escape."
"No kidding." Cu grunted, twirling his staff and cracking his neck "No sense in leaving a job half finished, eh?"
Brynhildr didn't make a comment, her spear glistening with light as she lowered it towards the group.
Ledo darted from side to side as he charged towards the dragon, no longer laughing as he remained solely focused on the beast in front of him. So complete was his focus that he did not even so much as notice the wyverns armed with weapons rushing towards him and swinging.
He ran them over, barreling into them at full speed and sending them flying over his body as he did so. The knight paid no heed to anything except his target. As was directed by his Madness Enhancement, until it was destroyed or gone from his sight he would let nothing stand in his way or distract him.
The dragon surged forwards, its powerful jaws opening wide in a move to try and snap up the knight in a single bite. It would have likely succeeded had Ledo not twisted his hammer sideways at the last moment to keep the dragon's jaws from closing around him. The knight dangled from the pole of his weapon as the dragon raised its head into the air still at an angle.
With an angered snarl, it soon started to shake the knight from side to side in an effort to remove him from the hammer. Ledo, however, maintained his grip on the weapon with a vice-like grip. Not loosening his hold for even a moment lest he be flung into the distance.
All while the dragon was busy swinging the knight around like a doll, Alsanna was busy contending herself with battling the Dracons who had arrived shortly after. Their numbers were reasonably small when compared with the wyverns, around five, but they made up for it with superior speed and similarly improved endurance.
Even those that Ledo had run down had gotten back up a moment later with nary a scratch on their body. The snarling lizards charged towards the shadow cat as it glared back at them. Its fanged maw opened up before it let loose a burst of magical energy from its throat, the crystalline shards rushed towards the attackers and swept over them.
Three of the five leapt skywards into the air in order to avoid being caught by the attack. The other two were caught up in the breath. The closest Dracon was shredded by the directed blasts of magical energy against its scales, the second one threw up its arms in a blocking motion and managed to avoid dying in favour of simply having its right arm mangled.
With a mental command accompanied by a wave of her hand, she grew large spikes from the icy tundra towards the injured Dracon as the breath faded away, the frozen spears shot upwards like arrows directly into the chest of the wounded beast and lifted its corpse into the air like an ornament.
The woman's eyes flickered to the side. Then narrowed upon the Dracon rushing down towards her with a spear in its hands.
Her eyes flashed, though it shamed her to use it she could still call upon her true nature as a fragment of fear. She had tapped into that ability unconsciously in the past whenever she would speak, however focusing it on someone was an entirely different matter. In that split second, the Dracon's mind was flooded with horrific thoughts about what would occur if it got closer.
The beast's wings locked up and its eyes bulged as its heart - quite literally - stopped beating. Alsanna watched the beast drop down to the earth like a rock, crashing into the snow and sliding along the ground for a few metres before halting, not having realised she had truly scared the beast to death. Though with their experiences so little, the Dracon had never truly experienced the emotion known as fear and thus had no true way to counter it.
Her eyes turned upon the remaining Dracons as Lud growled beneath her, the shadow cat stalking forwards with its crimson red eyes darting from Dracon to Dracon. Lowering their body down slightly, the tiger let out a crackled growl before it pounced skywards at the remaining pair.
As Lud rushed past the pair of them, Ledo was still being violently swung around in the maw of the dragon desperately trying to shape him free. After a few moments longer and clearly at its wits end, the beast snarled and allowed the back of its throat to glow. Ledo merely smirked.
"Waiting for that!" He called out, this time swinging around on the pole as though it was a monkey bar and releasing his grip at the height of his swipe. Or rather, he released his grip with one hand and twisted the hammer with the other. The knight pried the weapon from the jaw of the dragon as it snapped shut in surprise, smoke billowing out from the gaps between its upper and lower jaw. The golden eye of the dragon narrowed onto the knight as it watched him jump towards its face.
Ledo grinned behind his helmet as he swung his arm around and snagged his hand along the scaled ridge above the eye of the dragon. Then pulled himself up with his left hand while swinging up his right knee, slamming his armoured leg directly into the remaining eye of the dragon and causing it to recoil back and snarl. Violently shaking its head from side to side in an effort to try itself free of the knight.
Kicking off the head, Ledo launched himself directly above the dragon and into the sky, extending his hammer out with his hand and lowering his left hand onto it. Dropping back down, the knight bent his knees as he slammed into the top of the dragon's skull with enough power to force it's head down. "Never tried this with dragon scales before." Ledo stated as he pressed the flat of the hammer onto the section where he had originally struck the dragon.
"But, oh well!" With a sharp intake of breath, he channelled magical energy into the hammer and activated its effect. The cracked sections of scale were suddenly and rather violently pulled towards the metal. The dragon roared as its scales around its forehead peeled away to reveal the soft flesh underneath, bit by bit, the size of the hammer grew and the brown scales clung to the surface of the weapon as though they were welded onto it.
"A bit ironic, but this is my Call to Stone!" Ledo exhaled, pulling the hammer up with an audible grunt and raising it above his head. "I'll take a page from my friend's book and kill a dragon with a part of its own body!" With a cry of exertion, he swung the hammer down with as much power as he could muster directly into the top of its skull. The bone resisted for a fleeting moment and then gave way, the skull caved inwards with the pressure the knight placed upon it.
The crunch of bone and the cracking of scales filled the air before the cries of the dragon fell silent. The beast's single eye rolled upwards as dark blood dripped down from the ocular organ and down its cheek.
"Whoah!" Ledo called out in surprise, stumbling slightly as the dragon started to teeter over, the knight kicking off the caved skull was the final nail in the coffin to send the body of the dragon crashing down to earth onto its side. Ledo struck the ground with a crunch, rolling along for several metres before slowing himself to a halt. "That was something else!" he exclaimed out in his merry tone of voice.
Then looked around in surprise when he noticed the shards of ice, the dead Dracons and the shadow cat with the final of the beasts impaled on its teeth. Alsanna looked down on the Silver Knight somewhat imperiously.
"...What happened here?" Ledo asked in complete confusion, reaching up and scratching the side of his helmet somewhat awkwardly.
Nero jumped backwards, the woman's face awash with effort as she continued to backpedal away from the Lancer. Artoria matched her every step of the way without allowing the Saber a moment to even recover, the initial advantage had since been lost and now the Lancer was thoroughly controlling the duel.
Each swing of the lance had enough force to stagger the Emperor of Roses, something she knew as she focused more on redirecting the attacks rather than taking them head on. She had little doubt that the Lancer was using the dragon core that her other version had. In truth, Nero considered this far more terrifying than the duel in Rome, if only because one wrong step would likely cost her entire head.
The Lancer stepped forwards, thrusting the spear with a single joust and striking the flat of Nero's sword. The weapon caught the attack for a brief second before the lance erupted with magical energy. Nero found her sword blasted from her palms and sent sailing through the air. The Emperor widened her eyes in alarm as her eyes fell upon the spear already being pulled back for another thrust towards her.
The darkened axe of Erik slammed into the side of Artoria's head, glancing over her helmet and causing her thrust to miss Nero completely. The Berserker snarled as he bodily shoved the Lancer to the side, causing her to stumble over her feet in an effort to correct herself. Nero took the opportunity to scamper away, already rushing in the direction that her sword had flown off towards.
Artoria turned her body on the Berserker as he lashed out with his axe once more in wild swings. The Lancer frowned behind her helm as the next blow felt a touch more powerful than the last. As the weapons clashed once more, her eyes tracked the axehead as it was pulled back in preparation for another swing.
The red veins which spread across the weapon seemed to pulsate rapidly, almost as if the axe itself was alive. Drawing in the blood that stained the weapon to fuel it further. It would appear that the more the Servant killed, the more powerful they would become or perhaps the stronger their weapon was. A mild distinction but one barely worth noting.
Drawing the lance across her body, Artoria swung the weapon out in a wide arc directly into the guard of the Berserker. The man raised up his axe and braced his body to catch her attack. At the last moment before impact, she activated her draconic core, the lance positively exploded with crimson light before it smashed into the Berserker like a jet engine. Blasting through his guard and sending the weapon flying from his grasp.
Artoria stomped forwards, lowering her body and swinging her left hand at full force directly into the kidney of her opponent. Erik's face contorted with the strike, the man coughed out in pain and stumbled back as the Lancer withdrew her fist back, the bruise already forming on his bare skin.
Bringing her left hand up, she then swung it out in a backhanded motion and cracked it against the cheek of the Berserker, spinning him around and into a stumble. The Berserker snarled and swung back around, bringing his arm across in a backhanded motion of his own aiming for the head of the Lancer. Artoria switched hands, freeing her right arm from it's grip of the spear and raising it up in a blocking motion.
Erik's arm collided with Artoria's bracer with a clang, the woman remained unmoved from the attack as she stared back at the Berserker. With a grunt, she forcefully parried the attack to the side, stepping in close and then swinging her right arm in an uppercut. Her armoured knuckles rammed into Erik's chin, snapping his head back and sending a jet of mana skywards as a result.
As the Berserker stumbled back, Artoria readied her spear and thrust forwards, puncturing straight through the front of his knee and out the back, the Berserker let out a cry of pain as he grasped at the weapon.
Artoria gave a dismissive grunt as she ripped the weapon out, tearing the leg apart and dropping the Berserker down to the floor. Landing roughly on his side, Erik groaned as he pressed his hands over the mangled remains of his left leg, trying in some may to keep the limb in one piece rather than the two it was threatening to become.
The Lancer pulled back the spear without an ounce of hesitation and thrust it towards the Berserker's head to finish him off.
A sword crashed into her spear, slowing it to a halt. The Lancer stared down at the long dark greatsword and then towards the Servant in question. The blue Saber stared back at her, clearly struggling against her effort to finish off his ally. "No further, dark knight!"
The man called out, flexing his muscles and swinging the sword upwards to get her to take several steps backwards. The knight moved to position himself in between the two of them. "You shall have to contend with me first."
"Given the ease at which I dealt with your allies, you should think more readily of whether those words hold any true weight." Artoria curtly remarked in a dismissive tone of voice "However…I sense a touch of divinity upon you. That sword you wield is also not one forged by human hands." she raised up the spear "This lance is the same."
The knight shifted his stance, Artoria watched as he seemingly favoured his left side as a right handed swordsman would. It made him either ambidextrous - like many skilled swordsmen were - or he was left handed. Something she would deduce handily after a few strikes.
The two servants stared at one another for a few moments, then rushed forwards. The knight swung up from the left side directly towards the guard of the Lancer. Something that earned a raised eyebrow from her as she moved to catch him. Then he kicked off the ground and flipped forwards, twisting his body through the air as if in a roll and bringing the greatsword above his head as he did so.
Swinging down, Artoria turned the lance at the last moment to catch the falling slash from the knight as he reached her. His body bouncing back as the sword recoiled away from her swing, his armoured boots hit the sword with a crunch before he was darting forwards once more. Slashing down into the snow and kicking up a small blizzard directly into her face.
She banished it away with a simple flex of her mana, exposing the knight as well as the thrust he was in the middle of working himself into. He thrust forwards at the same time she did, both weapons grazed against one another and were directed away from the intended target. Gordin's sword went high, glancing just over the top of Artoria's right shoulder.
Artoria's spear was directed downwards, Gordin swerving his body to the side and avoiding being run through by the spear. He turned his body fully, kicking away from the Lancer and shoving her from him to get some more distance. Artoria's mana flexed around her, unleashing a burst from her body in the form of a twirling dark cloud which sent Gordin rocketing away from her and into a roll.
The knight turned his body, twisting himself around and slinging his left arm forwards. The greatsword flew from his grip and spun in the air as it rocketed towards the Lancer. Artoria sidestepped the sword with practised ease as it shot past the woman. Gordin rushed towards her, sweeping his right hand through the snow and hurling it upwards.
Chanting under his breath, the snow hovered for a moment before it rushed towards the Lancer, both on the ground and in the air as a trail of spikes. The ice rushed towards the Servant and had them stare down at it. With her seemingly distracted, Gordin called out with his hand and prompted his sword to cease its spin and return to his grasp, the return voyage aimed at striking the Lancer at least.
Artoria glanced down at the ice, then snorted once at the obvious distraction. She stamped her foot down onto the ground just before the ice could reach her and flexed her mana once more, unleashing a pulse which shattered the spell and sent fragments of the frozen attack flying back the way they had come.
"Clever." Artoria remarked in a toneless voice as she turned and swung upwards, parrying the flying greatsword away from her and back into the sky. Gordin widened his eyes and stepped backwards as she turned back to face him and launched herself forwards. "Clever won't beat me."
The greatsword slammed into Gordin's hands and naught but a second later it was already clashing with the spear of Artoria. The woman shoving the Saber back and then forcing him down, Gordin grit his teeth behind his helmet as he found his knee's creaking with the more force being applied to his guard. His right hand pressed against the other end of the sword to try and grant himself more strength.
In response, Artoria slowly raised her right hand at an insultingly slow pace. The gauntlet pressed down against the cone head of the spear as the woman applied more pressure to the push. The grinding of the weapons against one another only intensified further as Artoria pushed down with renewed vigour, Gordin fighting back the strain in his arms that demanded he surrender to the woman. Stepping forwards and leaning down, Artoria pushed onto the Saber. Gordin's legs gave out from underneath him and forced him to drop down onto his knees. The Saber straining against the Servant, the dragon shaped helmet glaring down at him.
With another grunt, Artoria shoved the Saber onto his back. Gordin groaned as he braced the sword with both hands, still fighting to keep the Lancer from fully pinning him to the ground.
"Ha!" Artoria didn't so much as turn her head in the direction of the cry, she'd sensed the return of the blonde Saber for a few moments already, aside from already suspecting the woman would try and return as well. Though she had little reason to be concerned about the Saber.
Not even taking her eyes off Gordin, she expelled magical energy from her body with a single pulse, Gordin was pushed further into the ground as a result of the attack and released a pained grunt. Artoria briefly stepped back and swung her spear upwards, colliding with the crimson sword of the Saber for a moment and then batting her aside with almost fightful ease. The blonde woman twisted it in the air before landing back onto the ground and shot forwards without a moment of hesitation, spinning her body around in a corkscrew as she returned to build up power in the slash.
With her final spin, she swung over the top of her head and down towards the Lancer. Artoria raised the side of her spear, blocking the attack and shifting her body slightly. Then raised up her right foot and stomped down hard onto Gordin's gut as the Saber looked as though he was going to make a move. The knight coughed out in pain as his armour made a groaning sound from the sudden attack.
Nero jolted in surprise, her eyes flashing to the downed Saber for a swift moment.
It was all Artoria needed, shoving the lance forwards she directed the sword to the side and then stepped in close. Driving the butt of the spear into Nero's gut with a meaty thud, the Emperor coughed out a lungful of air from the strike, soon followed by Artoria slamming her armoured shoulder into the side of her head. Nero stumbled backwards, the spear being swept back across in a single powerful motion and battering the sword to the opposite side, breaking whatever guard she might have put up.
The right arm of Artoria was thrown forwards in a lightning fast jab directly into her gut and staggering her backwards once more. Nero coughed out, breathing in and out to try and resume her flow of magical energy. Not that Artoria allowed her a single moment of recovery, or Gordin for that matter.
Spinning on her heel, Artoria lashed out with her left leg and kicked the floored Saber in the side of the head with a hefty clang. The Saber's head snapped to the side and rolled over with the strike. Turning once more, Artoria stomped towards Nero as she brought her sword up, breathing heavily in and out and her face twitching with pain. Her slight waver on her leg proof that she was still feeling the effects of the repeated gut punches.
The Emperor let out a cry as she stepped forwards, sweeping her sword towards the Lancer. Artoria responded in kind, the two weapons flashing through the air as the Servants clashed once more. This time, however, Artoria did not even attempt to humour Nero's attempts. Forcing the Emperor back with each swing of the lance, making full use of the ample supply of magical energy she was receiving from her Master.
Each swing of the spear released an explosion, Nero being sent staggering with more and more burn marks accumulating on the Saber.
A galloping sound reached her ears, her head twitched to the side for a moment before she dismissed it.
"My hand…bind my foes…take my flesh and my bones, fashion the prison to hold the wolf of the ends." She paused at the influx of magical energy, with a final swing she sent Nero skywards as she whirled around to see the Saber bringing his sword down onto his right hand. With a single motion, the Saber cleaved through his forearm and dropped the severed limb to the ground.
Gordin let out a cry of pain, soon shifting into a hiss as he swung his stump around madly and spread as much blood over the snow as he could. "Arm of Chains!"
The blood glowed for a brief moment, then snaked towards the Lancer, the severed arm spasmed and rippled as the fingers bent and cracked before they shot forwards. The digits elongating and twisting until they formed long tendrils of light, racing towards the Lancer and wrapping around her limbs.
Artoria widened her eyes as she felt the grip of the tendrils harden considerably, her right arm now unable to move as the blood started to form similar looking vines of light and raced towards her legs. The Lancer responded quickly "Such trickery will not hold me!" she announced, bringing up her spear with her left hand and shooting it forwards.
The beam of light struck Gordin in the chest and sent him ragdolling away, her left arm snapped to the side as the chains of light caught hold of the limp and dragged her slightly. Her armour creaked as it was pulled to the side, more and more of the blood splatters glowed a brilliant white before they shot towards her, their forms solidifying and clanging as they formed the distinct shape of chains.
Artoria growled as she pulled at them, finding little in the way of purchase even as she used all her strength to do so. With an irate snarl, she sucked in the magical energy around her, activating her dragon core and preparing for a single burst of mana to shatter her prison. As if sensing her intent, the chains tightened their hold considerably to the point her armour was starting to creak in protest of the vice-like grip.
Another chain fell around her neck, pulling her backwards and trying to draw her to the ground. Artoria twisted her body, bracing herself and fighting back against the movements. It wouldn't be long before someone got back up and then she would be immobile. An easy victim for them, she would have to break free before that-
A loud neigh caught her ears, she had barely a moment to notice the roar of hoof beats against the ground before her body was rammed into by a stampeding crystalline horse. The chains around her came loose with the impact as she was sent spinning through the air, Rhongomyniad dropping from her grip and falling to the floor. The Lancer turned to face her attacker only to see the mount bereft of its rider.
The horse glowed for a moment before it purposefully shattered, the explosion of the summon sending Artoria flipping through the air once more before she crashed into the snow with a heavy thud. The Lancer was quick to shoot back to her feet, clambering up and whirling her head around to see where her attacker was. Already recalling her spear back to her via their link.
"His name was Tarkus." She heard the voice behind her as barely a whisper, the voice bereft of emotions. Artoria whirled around, already swinging her right fist towards the speaker before her body halted its movements with a jerk.
Blood splattered onto the snow and her armour cracked.
She stared down at her attacker, the left side of their face caked with dried blood and their eyelid firmly clenched shut. The white hair which had once been pristinely cared for was carelessly draped over the Servant's shoulders as a tangled mess, parts fused together with the blood stains on her cheeks.
Only their right eye was visible as it looked back at her. Not an ounce of rage in the sapphire blue orb, simply resolution.
Artoria's head trailed downwards, her expression hidden behind her helmet as she stared at the long black greatsword pierced right through her chest and into her heart. It was probably more a case of luck on the part of her killer than skill. She recognised this sword as having belonged to the black knight earlier, judging by the way the weapon was already fading away into golden motes of light, he was dead already.
Her head rose once more, staring at the Servant in silence as she waited for her to speak again.
"And my name…Is Marie Antoinette." The Rider declared, stepping away from Artoria with a slight stagger, showing just how much she had been relying on the greatsword to keep herself upright. "Queen of France."
Artoria stared back silently, then released a single huff.
"Is that so?" Her voice did not waver, even as she felt blood rising in the back of her throat. "To think I would be killed by someone such as yourself." she commented, staggering back slightly and looking down as the greatsword vanished completely, blood already dripping out of the open wound in her chest and down the front of her armour.
Artoria's lip twitched upwards, not that the French Queen would have noticed it.
"A decent effort for a Queen who saw no combat." She complimented honestly, looking back to the Monarch and offering a single nod of the head. "You earned this victory."
Marie didn't respond to her, merely continued to pant in and out as she fixed her single eye on the Lancer.
Artoria did not once waver in her posture, even as the golden motes started to float from her body. The Lancer died on her feet.
Kalameet swung forwards, slamming his fist into Stahl's head and throwing the Berserker into a backwards roll. Several bursts of red light struck the side of his body, or would have had his magic resistance not intercepted them first. Though it was a distraction enough to bring the dragon's attention onto his attacker.
He was greeted by the sight of Olga springing parallel to him, her arm outstretched with another flash of light building up at the tips of her fingers. Even without doing any damage to him, she could still provide something that could occupy his attention.
Kalameet took a single step forwards before he paused his movements.
"...Artoria and Akal are dead." He bluntly commented with a voice devoid of emotion "I see." he exhaled "I can only hope they were able to slay others in turn." shaking his head, he looked towards Olga and raised his right hand towards her.
He let out a sharp gasp as he staggered forwards, his crimson red eye flashed towards the blue sword jutting out the front of his shoulder before he stumbled backwards as it was pulled free of his body.
Both Olga and Kalameet turned their heads in the direction of the weapon, jubilation in Olga's case as she saw the approaching shape of Sigurd, Cu and Brynhildr.
Kalameet stood firm, not appearing cowed by the appearance of the additional Servants in the least. "Dragon slayer." Was the simple greeting that Kalameet offered Sigurd.
"Kalameet." Sigurd nodded back, his tone curt but still respectful.
A beat.
Then Kalameet flashed a black sword into existence and dropped it from his left hand, his body twisting sideways and throwing his right arm forwards. Sigurd widened his eyes as he recognised the stance the dragon had taken on. Difficult not to, given that it was his own. The moment Kalameet's fist hit the pommel of the sword, Sigurd's feet were already carrying him into a roll.
The sword rocketed past Sigurd like a missile, shooting off into the distance as another sword was flashed into the dragon's hands. His right hand was slung forwards, unleashing a wave of fire from his palm that scattered the Servants in all different directions to avoid being caught in it.
Cu rolled forwards, throwing up a combination of his own runes to counter the dragon. Kalameet didn't so much as flinch as the darts of fire splashed along his armoured skin, the dragon more focused on charging down Sigurd and Brynhildr.
He paused at the last moment, turning around and raising up his sword in a guard as Stahl's axe slammed into it. The Berserker swung his body forwards as he dragged both weapons down, thrusting the face of the shield into Kalameet and jostling him with the shove. Kalameet snarled back in response, hunching his body forwards and spreading his wings out.
With a single powerful wingbeat akin to a crack of thunder, Kalameet's shoulder barged Stahl back the way he had come and this time forced the Berserker into a stumble. Sweeping his left arm out, the dragon parried the shield to the side and threw open a gap in the Berserker's guard, his right hand came up and crashed into the armoured chin of Stahl, their left hand already being thrown forwards.
Brynhildr threw her spear into the dragon's back, Kalameet let out a grunt as he twitched with the blow, the movement long enough for Stahl to sweep their shield forwards and slam it into the side of Kalameet's right leg and bring his body down onto one knee. Stahl swung up from the opposite side, the back of the greataxe moving towards his head.
Kalameet lashed out, clamping his hand around the pole of the Berserker and halting him. With a roar, the dragon surged to his feet while pulling the golem around with him, lifting Stahl off the ground and slinging him around and into the air, hurling the Berserker towards Olga and the others.
Cu darted forwards, wrapping his arm around the waist of the Director and launching the pair of them to safety as the Berserker crashed into the ground where they had been standing.
Brynhildr jumped onto Kalameet's back, her hands wrapping around her spear once more and twisting it, eliciting a pained grunt from the dragon before he swung his elbow back, catching the Lancer in the side with the attack and punting her away from him, his vision whited out as Sigurd lept up and swung his arm down into the side of his face.
The punch sent Kalameet into a stumble as the Saber rushed forwards once more, bringing forth Gram and thrusting it into the leg of the dragon. Kalameet snarled in pain, swinging his hand forth and towards the head of the Saber, the blow missed as Sigurd ducked down underneath it and rolled back, freeing his sword from the dragon and shooting to his feet before tossing the weapon up and punching it towards the dragon like an arrow.
"Guh-!" Gram struck him in the gut, piercing through his body and out the back. This time, when Sigurd recalled the sword, Kalameet clamped his right hand around the weapon - ignoring the lancing pain that went through his hand as the sword sliced into his flesh - and stopped it before it could be pulled back. Bringing his leg up, he stomped down and unleashed a wave of fire around the impact point.
Sigurd made to jump back to avoid the flames, Kalameet's mystic eye flashed once and his body locked up. The wall of fire slammed into him, with a hiss the Saber was bodily slammed into the ground by the attack as the mustard yellow fire washed over his body.
Kalameet had no chance to take advantage of this, however, as his head snapped to the side and his arm came away from Gram. Brynhildr dropped down in front of him and swung up, slicing into his collarbone with her spear and jolting him backwards. Twirling the spear, she then thrust it forwards into his chest before unleashing a burst of violet flames into his wound.
With a hiss, Kalameet swung his left arm forwards in a fist, the woman leaned back just enough that his knuckles passed just in front of the tip of her nose before overshooting. The woman pried the spear from his gut and shot backwards with a quick step, sweeping her hand upwards and carving a line of symbols into the air.
Kalameet looked down, seeing the same set of symbols on his chest flash brilliantly before they exploded in a mixture of lightning, fire and ice. The dragon was blasted back with the combination, shards of his scales sent flying away from his body and the feeling of pain now more present than ever.
In spite of all of that-
"Hahahahaha! This is the greatest fight of my life!"
He had no complaints.
Both his hands swung forwards, his palms struck one another with a clap like a cannon, the remnants of flame and ice still clinging to his body were banished with the immediate shockwave. Even the Servants themselves had to take a single step backwards with the force of the clap.
Bringing his arms back to his side, Kalameet cast a glance over those in front of him and cracked a savage grin.
Looking around, the dragon then noticed the additional Servants making their way towards him, those who had been present in other locations as well.
It was very quickly turning into a considerably disadvantageous situation for him, not that he so much as showed an ounce of care for it. With a mighty roar, Kalameet threw his head back while thrusting his arms out at his side, his muscles tensed while magical energy swirled around him in a golden hue. The vortex stretched upwards before the dragon hunched himself forwards and fell into a sprint.
Rocketing across the battlefield in the direction of Olga while pulling his fist backwards. Even as he slung it forwards, he could see the armoured Servant moving to intercept him, its shield arm extending forwards to catch the blow before it could reach their Master. Cu himself was in the process of throwing the Director behind himself and moving to bring up his staff.
So Kalameet did the unexpected, he stomped down just shy of the trio and then kicked backwards, shooting away like a rocket. The dumbfounded expressions on Olga and Cu were imprinted into the dragon's memories as he twisted his head around to the Servant he had sensed sneaking up on him. Sure enough, he found himself staring up at the face of the pouncing shadow tiger.
Slamming his shoulder into its lower jaw with an explosion of brilliant yellow flames, the large beast was shunted to the side, its upper sabre tooth being blasted from its jaw and into a fall. Alsanna on its back was bucked off, letting out a sharp gasp as she fell down and noticed that she was now in line of sight with the black dragon.
His left hand flashed as the obsidian sword was crafted in his palm, the dragon already mid swing when its form was completed, the arc of the attack poised to split the Caster in half.
"Not so fast!" His sword was shattered into shrapnel, the hammer which had struck them continued on its path unabated and cracked against his lower jaw with a deafening thud that had Kalameet's ears ring. He stumbled backwards, already trying to right his balance when he noticed himself falling towards the singed form of Sigurd, the Saber swung his left arm forwards and struck Kalameet's opposing cheek, sending him falling back the way he had came.
Thrusting a foot out, Kalameet stopped himself only to have Brynhildr land a two footed tackle on the back of his head, he jerked with the movement, Ledo was in front of him with a flash of movement once more. Dragging the hammer across the ground and kicking up a tsunami of debris as he roared, swinging the weapon upwards and smashing it straight into the larger Berserker's face.
His legs struck something solid as he fell back, catching on whatever it was and losing his balance completely. His arms waved from side to side in an almost comical fashion as he was tripped up, turning his body and sticking out his hand in an effort to catch himself before he fell.
It was a thick root jutting from the earth positioned directly behind his heels that had caught him out. The Caster was already in the middle of their followup attack. The large bronze axehead of Torin's weapon struck Kalameet in the shoulder, a shuddering tremor coursed through his entire body the the weapon quaked, then Torin slung himself forwards and rammed the dragon at an angle, rolling Kalameet onto his back.
Even as he fell, Kalameet was not going to allow more strikes to be landed on him. His palms flashed with brilliant yellow flames, indiscriminately unleashing an inferno from his limbs in whatever direction he happened to be facing as he fell, the cries of alarm were more than enough to convince him that it was working.
His wings spread wide from his black, sweeping outwards in a single powerful motion that fanned the flames further, propelling them from his body and in an outwards direction. He beat them downwards, shooting his body back to his feet and whirling around to see which enemy happened to be closest.
Stahl struck him with a backhanded swing of his shield, the face of the metal disk cracked against his scales and sent shards of his armoured body shooting off into the distance. Kalameet responded instantly, swinging his arm forwards and slamming his fist into Stahl's chest, the Golem taking a single step backwards.
A blizzard washed over the dragon, snuffing out his flames and causing him to raise his arms as thin shards of razor sharp ice rushed over his body, the dragon blocked off his face as his eyes were subject to the offensive measure.
Sigurd charged in, sliding down and sweeping his legs into Kalameet's ankles. Stahl rushed forwards and shoulder barged the dragon into a roll. Kalameet beat his wings once more to gain height in a jump, launching himself into the air and turning his body to survey the battlefield as he fell back down.
His feet hit the snow, his legs bent and his body hunched forwards.
"It seems my efforts so far haven't come close to defeating you yet, Olga," Kalameet grinned savagely as his left arm burst into flames. "However, I still have more than I can unveil to fight against you with!"
His boast was accompanied by the formation of another sword in his hands, revering the grip on the weapon.
The Chaldeans readied themselves, even as the dragon prepared for his next offensive, more and more Servants were gradually making their way towards the battlefield.
The distant form of Nero being followed by the now one armed Gordin moved with great speeds towards the battlefield. Kalameet spared them barely a glance before he refocused on the Master.
"No matter how many of your allies arrive, I will always fight to match them!" Kalameet roared, the sword ignited with yellow flames as his mystic eye started to glow.
"To think the Servant still has this much power." Romani's voice came through the communicator with a tinge of panic to it. "Director, his Saint Graph output is rising even higher, these readings for magical energy are on par with a Divine Spirit at this point!"
"He did say he was going to try his hardest." Da Vinci commented from behind the doctor, the man made a noise.
"You're a biassed source at this point."
Olga tuned them out as she focused in on Kalameet, her mental commands flowing through into Stahl as the mana visibly surrounded the dragon with a golden hue of light, his body glowing amidst the dark backdrop of the night sky.
"Here I come, Olga!" Kalameet roared out, taking a single step forwards and bringing the sword up "This is where we find out the victor once and for all!"
And then drove the sword through his own chest.
Olga recoiled in surprise, the Servants similarly appeared dumbstruck by his actions.
However, none was more surprised than Kalameet himself.
The dragon looked down at the sword in his chest somewhat dumbly, his left hand clenched around the handle. "...Eh?" Kalameet made a small noise of confusion, then his eyes bulged as he vomited out a mouthful of dark coloured blood onto the snow, wavering on his feet and stumbling back. "Wha-"
His left hand came away from the sword, pulling it from his chest and spilling more blood onto the ground. The dragon stumbled forward with the act, then dropped down onto his knees, his right hand reaching out to catch him before he fell into the snow.
"Wha-what did you do!?" Olga cried out in a mixture of shock and outrage "Why on earth would you do that!?"
"I-I-" Kalameet attempted to speak, only to spit more blood out in the process, gurgling his words.
"No good." Romani's voice came through the communicator "His Spirit Core has been shattered. He just…" the man sputtered his words, completely unsure of how he could explain what happened. "He just killed himself! He's can't recover from this, even with the Holy Grail that is-"
"Not in its possession."
The calm voice echoed through the winds, the nature of the words were eerie. As if they had been spoken directly into one's ear, not a trace of background noise to be found anywhere. It was as if the planet was silenced the moment the words had been uttered.
Then - just behind Kalameet - a figure stood. His armour a dark grey steel, a black cloak over his left side and his head staring back at the Chaldeans. His eyes glowed a brilliant white. His right hand had a fading crimson light, the tell tale marks of a command seals activation.
The red haired youth, fair looking features and looking no older than Fujimaru, stalked around the side of the dragon, ignoring his existence entirely as he came to a stop a short distance from the Chaldeans.
The white eyes of the Servant flickered from person to person, then fell upon Olga. She shivered and took an instinctive step backwards when the glowing orbs locked onto her body. The red haired figure smiled slightly, then raised his right hand in greeting "Congratulations on passing this test, Olga Marie Animusphere."
Olga did a double take "W-what did you say?"
"A test or perhaps a trial, would be more appropriate wording, was put in place for you. You have passed." The red head nodded once again "Congratulations."
"Stop saying that!" Olga snapped, her eyes flickered to Kalameet still on his hands and knees and then to the redhead in rapid succession. She raised a shaky finger, pointing it at the man "You-was he your Servant or something?"
The boy cast a dismissive glance down at Kalameet for a moment, meeting the crimson red eyes and curling his lip down. "No. It was merely the instrument summoned by the Lord Father to act as your obstacle." His gaze returned to Olga "The trial has been passed, it's purpose had been served so the dragon didn't need to live anymore."
Olga fell silent, staring at the boy with complete incomprehension "You…you summoned him to this era?"
"The Lord Father summoned it. I acted as an anchor in his stead." The boy corrected "I was charged with observing your journey. It was necessary to judge your value, therefore a suitable obstacle was selected." he gestured to Kalameet "However, its actions in the form of the Kingdom were outside the Lord Father's designs."
The expression of the boy warped in pure disgust "I would have ordered it's death days ago, but it served to make them a more vicious attack dog, thus it would ultimately add to the trial. Therefore it was ignored."
Olga held up her hands "Wait…wait…You…" she pointed at Kalameet "You summoned him…for me?" then pointed to herself. The words came out as little more than a whisper, the single nod of the person in front of her hammered that truth deep into her.
"Yes. To act as your opponent. The initial design was to present you with an insurmountable obstacle and see whether or not you had the will to overcome it." A cordial smile came upon the boy's face "I am pleased to see that you did. The Lord Father never makes mistakes when he deems the value of a person, unlike another."
"...You…" Kalameet coughed out, glaring up at the boy "Wha…my…" with a grunt of effort, the dragon snarled as he pushed himself back to his feet, staggering about as he struggled to remain upright. The movements only causing more blood to pour forth from the open wound in his chest and dribble down his chin. The dragon took a single shambling step towards the boy "Y-you..."
"One moment." The boy raised a single finger towards the Chaldeas, then reached for his hip and drew forth a sword that looked very much like coiled steel, the corkscrew shaped weapon was pointed towards Kalameet for a split second before it flashed white. A pulse of light rocketed from the sword, slamming into the dragon and shredding his right side instantly, his arm blasted from his body and his ribs caved as he was ragdolled away.
The boy frowned, then sheathed the coiled sword once more, turning his attention upon the stunned Chaldeans. "My apologies. I had thought it would die after the Command was given."
The brutal display at put the Servants on edge instantly, all manner of weapons levelled to the boy or spells ready to be primed. In the face of this overwhelming display of force, he remained unmoved.
Even as both Nero and Gordin slid to a halt behind the ground, the blonde woman gaping openly as she stared at the dying dragon and then to the individual who had done so with a single wave of their sword. Her eyes narrowed instantly as she moved to Olga's side "Master, what is the situation?"
When she got no response, she frowned and glanced further along the line "What happened?"
"That is Kalameet's Master." Torin revealed, his voice toneless as he stared at the boy apprehensibly. "He summoned the dragon to this era..." his voice then dropped into a growl "Then ordered his death by his own hand..."
Nero did a double take, her bewilderment shared by Gordin as the knight whirled on the red head "But then...You just slew him?"
The boy nodded once more, then looked at Torin with an odd expression "I admit myself to be somewhat puzzled by your aggression..." he hummed for a moment, then snapped his fingers in understanding. "Ah, this is a similar instance with Caeneus is it not? You wished to slay the dragon with your own hands." for his part, the boy's expression shifted somewhat guiltily "I apologise for denying you that, it was merely that the end result was a given at this point in time so further bloodshed was little more than pandering to the beasts-" he jerked his head to Kalameet's body "-disgusting sense of worth."
Torin bristled but remained silent, his eyes darted to Kalameet for a moment as the dragon was hacking and coughing, blood pouring from the gaping wound on his body as his head stared in the direction of the Caster. He might have hated the dragon, but to die in this sordid way?
"You…" Olga stared at Kalameet with wide eyes, then looked to the boy "You used him…?"
The red head looked back to Olga and nodded once more "I did. However, you phrase it with such an odd emotion as though my actions were wrong. it was inhuman, it's values were inhuman and it was an enemy to humanity. In serving the the Lord Father, it was granted a goal that would benefit humanity by raising the spirit of a worthy-"
"Stop that!" She snapped back, silencing the boy "Stop saying that! Enough of this test nonsense or this drivel about the 'Lord Father', just stop talking about it!" her voice dropped into a snarl the longer she spoke. "Just shut up! Who are you!?"
"...Hmmm." The red head frowned lightly "I am a subject of the Lord Father. I had a name before I was blessed but such a thing does not matter anymore. I am a child of-"
"No." Sigurd's voice came out curt and clipped "You are more than that…" he shifted his posture "I see the soul grafted onto that body. Stringing them around like a puppet, you speak of this 'Lord Father' as though he is not present…but he is, aren't you?"
"The lenses of wisdom are not to be underestimated, I see. Sigurd." The boy responded with a tilt of the head. "It is true, the Lord Father lives within me, his soul embraces my mind and soothes my body. He is indeed here as of this moment, though I am nothing more than a messenger."
He paused for a moment "Though if it would make you more comfortable, you might address this body as Arleno. That was his name from when he was lesser than I." turning his head skywards, he frowned slightly "Perhaps we shall not have the chance to speak further."
"Wh-"
The ground shook for a moment, a deep rumbling akin to an earthquake were it not for the fact that every single one of Olga's instincts was screaming at her.
"He has foolishly awoken the scourge." Arleno bluntly commented, then turned his attention towards Olga once more. "However, the Lord Father offers you this prize for your success and he awaits the time when you might speak in person. He has marked you as one of the blessed." his lips pulled into a gentle smile "A great honour." the cloak on his left side came away, unveiling the familiar shape of the Holy Grail in his hand. With an almost casual toss, the person flung the golden chalice towards them.
The moment he did so, he vanished as though he had never been there in the first place.
The Grail thudded into the snow and sat there for a moment.
Olga broke into a sprint, already moving towards the downed body of Kalameet as the dragon stared up at the sky. Sliding to a halt next to him, she opened her mouth to speak but found no words on the tip of her tongue, after seconds of staring slack jawed at the dragon, she clamped her mouth shut with an audible click.
"My dream…never mattered…" Kalameet whispered out as he stared skywards. "My ideals, my struggles…all of it…just a test…for you…"
"...I didn't know." Olga replied back, not knowing what else she could say.
"I gathered as much…" Kalameet choked out, his body flickering between transparency. "You do not seem…the type…" he twisted his head to the Director "...Is Vinci there?"
The screen flashed up, Romani ranting about something in the background while Da Vinci's face took up the screen. "Yeah…" The woman spoke through, looking down at him.
"Yourself."
"Excuse me?"
"You painted…yourself." Kalameet croaked out, watching as the woman stared at him in silence for a moment, then a gentle smile came upon her lips. "Was I…right?"
"Yes." Da Vinci nodded once "I painted a portrait of this face."
"Heh…" Another bubble of blood burst in his mouth "...Kill me."
Olga blinked, not registering the words for a few moments before they settled like lead in her mind. "What?"
"I do not want to die…to him…" His eyes looked up at the Director "So…kill me. I can accept it...if you are the one who..."
The woman stared down at him for a moment, then pulled her lips into a thin line. "Alright." She declared in a steeled tone of voice, stepping to one side and allowing Stahl to take her place next to the dragon. The greataxe in his hands slowly rising upwards above the Golems head.
Kalameet closed his eyes, letting his head fall back onto the snow almost gently as if he was taking a quick rest. "Do you think I could have won?"
"...Maybe."
"...That's good." Kalameet exhaled "I don't. How do you beat someone…who can command the sky to their will?"
Olga's lip quivered slightly before it tightened itself, she shouldn't really be feeling anything more than satisfaction at the idea of defeating a threat to human history such as this. Yet the victory tasted like ash in her mouth.
The axe fell.
Olga jolted at the thudding sound and the cracking of bone, though she did not look away. Her eyes remained locked onto the body of the Berserker as he started to fade away into golden motes of light, barely paying attention to all the other noises that were currently ongoing behind her. Eyes still locked onto the diminishing silhouette of the Servant.
She didn't understand half of what was being said to her.
No, that wasn't true. She understood it perfectly, this entire thing had been a set up from the very beginning. Someone watching her specifically put all this together as some sort of trial for her to perform in. She spent the entire Singularity dancing to someone else's strings. This era was never in any real danger from the get go, it had all been about watching her.
The only real thing about this had been the ambition of Kalameet, his desires were genuine and they weren't even the intention of his Master. His goal had been impossible in every sense of the word, his fate had already been decided.
And the moment he no longer held value, he was tossed aside by the summoner as if they were nothing more than trash.
Olga didn't know how to feel about that, she didn't even know what she was supposed to feel about it. Everything of the last few minutes had gone from being incredibly simple to exceedingly complicated and she didn't know where to begin with any of it.
"-mergency Rayshift back here!" Romani's voice echoed out, snapping the woman from her musings as his voice was frantic at this point. "Director, we've confirmed retrieval of the Grail but you have to get back here now! The interference around London is gone and Fujimaru-kun is-"
"Confirmed summoning of Lancelot, Scathach and Cu Chulainn to London!" A voice behind Romani called out in alarm, klaxon alarms blared out "Readings consistent with-the output has jumped once more! Saint Graph Output incre-No! The quantity of Saint Graphs is increasing!? Two-thousand, five-thousand, seven-what!? We just exceeded ten-thousand and still climbing!" The voice which belonged to Kerry cried out in shuddering terror "The readings are-Noble Phantasm activation confirmed! Incoming space-time quake!"
"What?" Romani cried out in alarm, Olga barely registered the words before she felt the earth shudder around her once more, much like what had occurred last time. "What does-what about the Container?"
"It keeps cycling through every class we have!" Meuniere called out in alarm "It's not there long enough to-Confirmed Summoning of Arash to London!"
"What-?" Olga muttered out, turning her head to look at the communicator. "What is-"
"No time to talk!" Romani quickly exclaimed "We're retrieving you right now! We're trying to establish contact with Fujimaru-kun but it's-" he cut himself off, rapidly shaking his head "You can worry about that when you get back! Activating Rayshift!"
Olga's hands were already glowing before the doctor had even finished speaking, the woman staring down at her palms in surprise before she looked back to the Servants around her, all of whom looked as stunned as she did at the torrent of words that had flowed out of the screen.
Brynhildr found herself staring at her glistening hands in alarm, then turned her focus on Sigurd in horror "Sigurd!? I am-"
"Worry not, Brynhildr!" The Saber spoke to her as her form turned more transparent "As sure as the Sun rises every morning, my love for you will guide my way to your side!"
Olga ignored the sappy display, still watching as the Servants she had similarly contracted in the Singularity itself were being pulled along with her, Romani probably doing so accidentally or whatever was the case. Either way, she didn't have a chance to contemplate it.
"What-" She - along with the Servants she contracted - vanished in a haze of golden light, not even granted the chance to get a final word in.
AN: We're done.
Off to London!
Back to regular uploads.
