Chapter 166: The Sin Eternal

Ash was consumed with golden lighting within a split second, burning so brightly that he became little more than a shadow in the centre of the stream, golden light reaching up to the sky and splitting the clouds.

"NO!" Ritsuka charged forwards, it was only Mash wrapping an arm around his body that stopped him from going forwards. "Let me go!" he all but pleaded to her, not even looking as he struggled past her grip, not even the strength afforded to him by Caster could let him move past her, "Mash! Please! She's going to-"

"You can't Senpai!" Mash's voice cracked as she held him back, pulling him away as his eyes remained locked onto the sight in front of him. He barely even noticed that her voice was equally horrified. "It's too dangerous!" He still struggled, pulling at her arms to try and force his way past even as she locked both arms around him and pushed back, dragging them both through the snow to the thick of the Servants.

Mordred had to hand it to him, his reaction was faster than her own. Even then all she had managed to do was just jolt in surprise. Her eyes fixed on the display in front of her, the ear splitting screams of pure agony from someone who shared her older brother's face filled her ears. She watched and she listened, but she didn't move from her spot.

She could feel the heat even at this distance, the shield girl had the right idea of keeping her Master away from that because it was on par with a low grade Noble Phantasm. Being directly squarely into the head of the Saber who could not move, because she was forcing him to remain still as she tortured him into death, and like an idiot she couldn't move her legs because the mere thought of doing anything to stop her was rejected from her mind.

Mordred was aware of it, she could feel her body try to fight her as she wanted to push herself forwards but she could do nothing but watch. None of them could do anything but watch. She had called this woman something like her mother…what a fucking joke that was. Not even her mother was that bad. She preyed on his confusion, waited until she got close, then just snapped her jaws shut like the viper she was.

The worst thing was that Mordred had actually believed her. They all heard every word she said, everything she said about how he had friends now or some shit, how sorry she was all and all that. It was all nothing but a big lie so she could fry his damn head. He might have been an asshole, but he sure as hell didn't deserve that. Not when he was an asshole because this bitch messed with his head so much.

When the screams fell silent, it was almost a comfort.

The bitch pulled her hands away from her son, the lightning faded and showcased her results. A blacked body stood up straight, his final expression fixed upon his face, a pained scream. No, not just pain. It was a face that exemplified pure agony, he hadn't even died quickly. Her eyes remained fixed upon it, watching as the body shifted - specks of soot fell down from the limbs - then it was as if someone flicked a switch.

The body lost any structure it had.

Probably a strong gust of wind that did it, either way, the corpse disintegrated into nothing but black ash, scattering across the snow as little more than a spray of remains. He had been an asshole, he had been self-righteous beyond belief. Hell, he even sought to kill them.

But he at least wanted to die like a warrior…

Her eyes darted back to the bitch, her body still felt heavy but her mouth was just fine. Watching as the woman brushed her hands clean and swept off the black soot from her palms as though she'd touched something dirty was the last straw. "You vile fucking bitch!" she all but sneered, the first to break the silence.

The woman hummed and lazily raised her head in their direction, she even had the audacity to look somewhat affronted by the insult. Pursuing her lips and sending a look in her direction that made it clear she disapproved of what she said. Tough luck, because Mordred meant every single word. She could think of a few more words she could give out, but that was just the first thing that came to mind. "What the hell was that!?"

The Goddess raised a curious eyebrow "What was what?" she let the words hang in the air for a second before she made a noise of understanding. She pointed at the dust smear on the ground, she didn't even look at it. "Oh, you mean that? I was taking responsibility for my failures. As I intended to do so."

Mordred blinked once "...You-" she was torn between gaping and just snarling at the sheer hubris on display before her. "You just fucking killed him!" she didn't care he was dead, she cared how he died.

She made a bemused face "He was going to kill us. Did you not hear his declaration? How he intended to end each and every single one of us?" she turned to the group "Quite frankly, I'm rather surprised that you're all looking so shocked. Did you believe that your two groups would battle and then you might have beaten some sense into him without a single loss of life? That you might keep him alive by this battles end?" shaking her head from side to side, she looked somewhat offended. "Do not be so naïve. There was only one way this encounter would go."

Was that what she was running with? How she did that to save lives?

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Mordred sneered "What was all that you were saying to him, all those promises of helping him!?"

"I did help him." She shrugged "Did you not see the turmoil that gripped his mind? How my education was forcing him to turn into a danger to even you? He was even willing to kill me." she pointed to herself, as if that was the real problem here. "I know how deeply his duty controlled him, I was the one who created it for him. Do not be so conceited."

Her bemusement was replaced with arrogant irritation. "You knew him for how long? A few months perhaps? Even less?" Gwynevere straightened herself out, assuming a more dominating posture. "I had his mind for years. I groomed him purely for his duty and it now presented itself as a danger to us. It was my shame to correct." eyes narrowed "I made him what he is. I know, full well, how strong his will could be. When in my service it was a boon…outside of it? You saw how far he was willing to go."

She stepped forwards, sweeping a hand over them "He was willing to kill even his own allies for this duty. So confident in his role that any emotional bond he had was severed." the hand lowered "I did not lie to him once, if you should believe that. I helped him the only way that he could be helped."

"That's not helping him!" The kid Master burst out with shock evident in his voice, there was some real fire there that she could approve of. Heck the guy had been his Servant until just recently and all that. Maybe he would have fought the guy to the death like he wanted, maybe he wouldn't. Either way…that just wasn't right. "You didn't mean a single thing you said about helping him! You just wanted to get close enough to kill him!"

Gwynevere frowned "You're letting your emotions cloud your mind. Do you understand what I am telling you?" she stepped forwards "I convinced him of the importance of duty so perfectly that Gawyn could not get into the flame fast enough. He knew from the very beginning I was making him a sacrifice and he did not question it nor did he look away from it."

Yeah, because this woman was a manipulative swine.

"That is how perfect my design of him was." She was seriously priding herself on this!? "So dependent on his duty that without it, he believed he was nothing. That there was no value in his being if he did not follow his duty." Gwynevere pointed behind her to the dust. "So when I tell you there was no other way, I speak only the truth. He was fighting to kill you because if he did not, then his life would be worthless. He could not abandon his duty because I made sure he would never accept that." lowering her hand, her tone shifted back to its more composed form, her expression cooling. "I do regret it was necessary, but it was."

No, Mordred knew what she was regretful of.

She knew because she knew that look.

"Don't screw with us!" The snarl burst from her throat easily "You're just pissy that your little toy didn't do what you wanted it to do!" Perhaps it was sheer fury driving at this point, her rage being burned away as fuel that she could feel her body revert back to her own control, but she felt her own draconic core answering to her, crimson light surrounding her body as she pushed herself forwards. Stabbing a finger in the direction of the scumbag. "He wanted to die on his own terms and you didn't even let him have that for himself! I don't know a lot about him but I'm willing to bet you just made him for your own little games!"

Gwynevere turned back to her, raising an eyebrow once more. "You say that as though it is strange. If I go through the effort of having a child, am I not entitled to decide their ultimate fate as their mother? You would not beget a blacksmith for demanding the final say on what becomes of his creation."

"He was no mere creation!" That voice - perhaps the loudest of all - came from the smallest of sources. The diminutive looking girl in the black dress managed to shout even louder than she had. Mordred could admit when someone had a decent pair of lungs and that was a lot of anger in a small package. "He was Mister Ritsuka's friend and that made him something precious! Something you made to live a tragic life and you denied the one thing that might have given him a happy ending!" The accusation was levied at the Goddess who now looked even more unimpressed than before. "You tricked him when he was all alone and needed help!"

She personally didn't even know why she was entertaining this anymore, this nasty little viper just outed her true colours then and there. Was killing this guy the best path forwards? Who knew, but even if it was, dying like that was just flat out disrespectful. Hell, he was practically begging for them to beat him down, he was literally asking for an ass whooping.

And if there was one thing Mordred hated, it was not getting to dish those out to people who deserved them. Right now, this woman deserved one hell of an ass whooping.

"He looked to you for guidance, even with his hatred of you he trusted you enough to expose his vulnerabilities." Ruler spoke next, looking very close to seething at the Goddess. "He came to you in a time of weakness, in a time where he needed help and compassion to finally move him onto a path that would lead him away from his mental prison!" she pointed the standard towards the Goddess "You did not kill him out of some belief of doing him a favour! You killed him because his existence was proof of your flaws! That you could make a mistake! Is it not?"

Gwynevere flattened her features "You're all becoming much too emotionally charged-" she was cut off, a sound of chains rattling echoed through the air as the Goddess eyes widened, her left hand snapped up and to the side as the sudden appearance of a silver chain with a golden tip emerged from a pool of light in the sky, wrapping around her limb and dragging it up. "What the-!?"

Mordred found it cathartic how there was now genuine panic setting in on the face of the Goddess. Pulling away at the chain and finding that she couldn't release herself. She felt a savage grin slowly form on her face, it might have been a little twisted but she couldn't help it. Watching her lose control of the situation was definitely rather amusing, even if the catalyst was something foul.

"I mean wow…" The little blonde boy strode forwards, his expression warped into a disgusted sneer "Truly, I hadn't thought you could be any worse but here we are. You've surprised the King with your…actually, you haven't." he stopped walking then shrugged. "I could pretend to be shocked but I was more or less waiting for you to do something like this. I don't think you understand this but…you really pushed a few of my nerves with how you treated your son there." the boy gave a smile that was all teeth. "And really? I couldn't stand you in the first place."

"This is-" Gwynevere pulled on the chain once more, her features really becoming unsettled now, her head snapping towards them. "He was going to kill every single one of you? What part of that escaped your notice!? How many do you suppose you were going to lose in a straight encounter against him when his strength was growing in size?" her expression shifted into annoyance. "Could you truly afford to take the chance that he would come over to your line of reasoning? Whatever doubt I put into his mind was short-lived because that's how I made him."

She turned herself as best she could with the chain still around her arm "Do you truly believe you understand my own child better than I?" the eyes of the Goddess fell onto Ritsuka "What plan did you truly have for when conflict emerged? Did you not witness the fact he already slaughtered two Servants and injured several more? He would not hesitate to kill you."

"I'm getting tired of this vipers' words." The Archer in the red cape snapped her fingers, the air around her soon becoming filled with dozens of rifles. "Step aside, Master. Even if he had to die. Ash deserved to go out on his own terms."

Mordred wasn't quite sure what the boy would do, but she wasn't his Servant so even if he said to leave her alone, she wasn't contractually obligated to obey him. Whether or not this was an opinion shared by others wasn't something she really cared about, she just wanted to punch that bitch in the face. This place had been one insult to her after the next and she really wanted to vent some aggression on someone. This person made it almost too easy to hate and-

"Sir Mordred." Percivals voice came from behind her, a clear warning in his tone. "Be on guard."

"She's chained up." Mordred answered back, raising her fists and cracking her knuckles in preparation. "What the hell is she gonna do like-"

"Behind her."

Behind? There was nothing behind her but….

Mordred pinched her brows, her eyes falling onto the small mound of soot that was…shifting? It was moving but it wasn't doing so in a way that was consistent with how the wind was blowing. She frowned in confusion, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly towards it with the frown on her face only deepening the longer time went on. The Goddess all but forgotten as she stared at the ash that was now rising upwards as though something was pushing through from beneath it.

"What the…?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, looking around towards Percival and seeing that his own eyes were laser focused on the ash. At least she wasn't seeing things, though that made it all the weirder. Turning back around, watching as the ash rose up for a moment before it fell back down into a slump.

The interval lasted barely a second before it rose up once more, the dust converging inwards and solidifying. Mordred felt her lips part, taking a half step backwards and tensing herself as she watched the shape start to turn vaguely humanoid. An arm reached towards the location where the sword had fallen and wrapped around it, fingers extending from the featureless arm and taking the blade in hand. The ash continued to rise upwards, the shape became more and more distinctive.

"Hey." Mordred called out, then pointed towards the shape "That ain't right."

Heads turned to the rising mound of humanoid shaped ash, though now it looked more like the outline of the Saber once more. Colour seeped into the body, the lines becoming more complete and gaining life once more. The face returned to existence, Gawain's visage stared right back at them all with an expression utterly bereft of emotion.

Atop his head burned a crown of black fire, diamond shaped flames circled around him and hung without any support, flickers of black smoke poured out from underneath his armour.

Green eyes swept over the attempted faces before landing on Gwynevere, the Goddess looked much like a dead woman walking at this point.

"Ash-"

He backhanded her in the gut, Mordred didn't even register her flight, it had simply been a case where she had been stood there in one moment and then vanished in the next, Ash's arm raised where she had been stood and not even looking in the direction where the crash of shattering wood and brick originated from, a hole now present in the front of the house next to them.

Ritsuka took a step forward "Ash-"

He brought his sword up, holding it an arms length from him horizontally. Bringing his left hand up, he placed the flat of his hand against the flat of the sword and then swept it across the blade in a single fluid motion. Black fire followed the sweeping of his hand, the words leaving his mouth without a single emotion in them. "This sword is an embodiment of the eclipse." he leaned forwards, bringing the weapon underneath his left arm. "Present your souls to the haze of flames."

…Well, if she wasn't convinced he was some version of Gawain before, she was now.

"Undebtân-" He stepped forwards, expression twisting into a rather furious snarl. Bringing the sword across his body as the second word was pulled from his lips, the only thing that matched the heat in his words were the flames of his sword. "-Galvatyne!"

Something was wrong in her world, something was terribly wrong. She felt the existence of the land where Quella had been, yet she could not feel Quella anymore. He was just gone, no other spots of her world had fallen silent. She knew exactly where the Chaldeans were and yet there was something else present along with them. Something that was growing stronger and stronger as time went on.

Something that was…

Priscilla felt herself frown as she found the link with her world starting to weaken, it wasn't noticeable at first but there was another presence pushing back at the existence of Ariamis. Not unlike the existence of Quella's domain but this was different, his had been focused on a single point. This was spread across the entirety of Ariamis, the world itself was under attack by something. With the Holy Grail empowering her, she could still maintain dominance but at the rate it was growing, with the force at which she could feel this new presence pushing her back…

It would not be long before Ariamis shattered under the weight. It was why they delayed no longer, she took command as Friede had instructed. Whatever misgivings she had, there was no denying the necessity for it now. If they did nothing then it was a given that they would lose all of Ariamis, the world she had struggled to build would shatter into nothing.

They all marched in step now, her and however many numbers now moved behind her. All those Servants who believed in her cause, they all accompanied her. The Corvian Knights of Friede who remained after the infighting, the corpses provided by Pinwheel and those she herself had called upon. An army marched to defend their world.

Perhaps it should have been inspiring, but she could feel only trepidation in her heart as she continued onwards. Drawing closer and closer to the presence that was starting to dominate her world, perhaps it was telling how far reaching it was getting that she could only pinpoint the general area rather than the single individual. If there was a comparison to be made…she would liken it to Jackie.

But on a scale far and above the likes of the young Assassin. Where she was but a few hundred souls, this contained the souls of countless. Though none were truly active, she could still feel their presence. They moved as a single silent mass in the world, more and more lending their strength to whomever was calling upon it.

Her lips pulled into a tight frown "We close in on our quarry." she announced, Atalanta stiffened at her side and nodded her head, already drawing an arrow to nock in her bow. The rustle of others preparing their own weapons filled the air behind her. She could have counted how many followed her but….she didn't want to. She was afraid of the number who followed her, the less she knew the better. That way she would remain ignorant to how many died due to her actions.

And she knew that some would die, it was inevitable.

"Is there a strategy you wish to follow?" Atalanta's voice asked a moment later, Priscilla found herself hesitating at the question. She didn't know much of warfare - in fact, she knew very little at all - and there was less she could say for this state of affairs. To that, she would defer to another, her eyes moving towards that of Friede and Vilhelm who walked in step with her.

The nun did not even waste a moment to respond "Look for their Master, he shall be the one they prioritise in safeguarding above all else. He remains their link, if the Servants can be distracted with sheer numbers long enough, then the path to the contractor is open and can be exploited." Priscilla fought back a grimace at the way the souls behind her were referred to as a 'distraction'.

Atalanta nodded her head all the same "Understood."

Something pulled at her fur gently, she glanced down to see Jack staring up at her with a rather innocent smile. "Mommy, does this mean we're allowed to cut them?"

…

"...Leave the fighting to the others, Jackie." She spoke after a moment, the fact the girl looked let down was rather heartrending. "Stay close to me, and all will be-"

Her world screamed in protest, the words died on her lips and her head snapped upwards and to the side. Staring at the row of houses directly in front of her. For a split second, it felt as though the world froze.

Then the world roared, the land before her rose into the sky as a wall of black fire ripped through the horizon in a split second, the inferno climbing higher than even the tallest tower in this copy of London, debris was pulled into the sky, the remains of what must have been a dozen homes were carried upwards along with it. Then the shockwave hit, a clap of thunder rushed through the streets before them and upturned the world.

Priscilla felt herself lifted off the ground and carried backwards with the blast, a ringing filled her ears as her vision whited out into a haze of colours and blur. Her back struck the ground with a shock that reverberated through her entire body, feeling as though she had been punched in the gut, wheezing out lungfuls of air as she turned herself over onto her front.

Coughing heavily, she rose her head towards the direction the fire had come from, unable to make out anything specific aside from the falling debris of black fire, the muffled crackle of distant flames and the consuming visage the shadow blaze struck out amidst her world. Then movement caught her eyes, narrowing her gaze as indistinct blurs came rushing out from where the inferno had emerged. She could hardly focus on them at all.

The knight was making a swing with the warhammer, the Saint was making a thrust with the standard. He countered, raising the back of his hand and stopping the first strike with ease, his body did not even buckle under the weight of the blow. He pushed backwards, the weapon was parried upwards.

He swung his sword down with his right hand, angling the thrust of the Saint towards the snow rather than himself. Left hand swung back around, slamming into the chin of the knight and taking their feet off the ground, he turned his body and raised his left leg, his shin collided with the Saint like a hammer, her eyes bulged and her breath escaped as a dull wheeze before she vanished into the distance, striking the snow and kicking up a haze of white with her impact.

Don't focus on their names.

Don't acknowledge their individuality.

They are enemies.

To acknowledge them is to invite weakness once more. Show no vulnerabilities, not even to yourself.

These were the thoughts that moved through his kind, he would not be deceived again. The Goddess was the pressing threat closest to him, she was dealt with first. If she even survived the blow, her ribs were smashed and she would be in no position to move at all any time soon.

He lost sight of the Demon in the confusion.

Shielder had protected them all with her Noble Phantasm, he had followed through with the attack, they retreated. He had to push on, he could not fail in his duty now.

The human was somewhere, he needed to narrow them down. There were multiple targets that he needed to deal with first and foremost.

Identify them and discern the weak links and the strong ones, they need to be dealt with first and foremost. He needed to reduce the total number of fighters against him.

The Pontiff, they have but one arm. Where had they gone? His head tracked down the fighters in front of him, he hadn't seen where they had all disappeared off to, so it was possible that they had-

His senses warned him of danger. He turned, his left hand moved up and caught the burning sword of the Caster. The Pontiff froze on the spot, unable to push the sword any further, he pulled forwards, unfortunately the Caster released the blade at the last second and jumped back, only just avoiding his slash aimed to disembowel him. Ash could manage, though.

Tossing the Profaned Greatsword to the side, he turned his body and jumped off the ground, ramming his shoulder into the Caster and channelling magical energy into his body as he did so, then expelling it at the point of impact. Mana flared through his body, being released as an explosion of dark, Caster was blasted back from his body with a pained grunt, his left side being torn open further and crashing through the burning ruins of the homes.

Ash felt his magic resistance activate a moment later, turning himself to the source and seeing the second Caster unleashing a barrage of spells onto him. He did not recognise them but they were not penetrating his defences. A skeleton emerged from purpose smoke in front of him, soon followed by a dozen more. He knew the design of them well enough. They approached him as swiftly as they could with all manner of weapons.

He swung his sword, there was a flash of black flames and the skeletons ceased to exist in the next moment. His eyes locked onto the second Caster, he prepared the spell to counter her. He would need to add more magical energy this time to accommodate for her defences-

The Lancer approached, the priority was shifted to this Servant. He was not alone, Saber accompanied him. The Saber that he wished to terminate, this was the moment he had been waiting for-

No emotional investment in this duty. They could prey upon his emotions.

Saber was now armed with some weapon he had not seen before, a longsword decent make but otherwise relatively harmless. He did not know where she got the weapon, unless it was from the blonde Archer. He had fired many weapons at him, so Saber must have got one from there.

She spoke.

He ignored whatever she said, mana channelled across his in flickers of dark to mimic the crimson surges of Saber. Ash stepped forwards and swung down between the pair of them, unleashing more black flames from his sword, both Saber and Lancer parted to avoid the inferno. Ash kept them in his line of fight at all times. Stepping forwards, he followed after the trail of fire and focused on Saber first, sweeping his sword towards her neck and finding it blocked. He reversed course and swung at Lancer as the spear was thrust at him, blocking the attack easily. Putting all his strength into the blow, Lancer staggered with the attack with a grunt of surprise.

He brought the sword back around, raising it up and swinging down at an angle towards Saber. She raised her sword and blocked the attack, Ash frowned at the toughness of the blade that now fought against him. He had struck it more than hard enough, Saber's knees buckled-

Lancer returned, he switched targets to the newfound attack and attacked him. Keeping a close eye on his movements as he fought, then stepped forwards and swung forwards. Lancer ducked his blow, Ash made to reposition himself until Saber slashed the side of his head with the sword. Half his vision went dark, unable to see anything on his right side.

Attention was focused on Saber once more, she ducked after he swung at her head and then jumped back when he thrust down towards her. She made it barely half a step back before she moved again, swinging the sword towards him with a snarl accompanied by her crimson magical light flowing through her body. He raised the flat of his blade, blocking the strike and then shoving back once more.

His left arm snaked forwards, grabbing the white spear before it could skewer his extended limb. Ash pulled his right arm back around, swinging towards the head of the Lancer, who ducked down just before the blade could meet its target. Slicing through nothing but empty air. Pain lanced through his back, his armour tore itself open at the front, Ash looked down to see the tips of a dozen or so weapons poking through the front of his body.

The spear in his hand glowed, his hand burned even through his gauntlets. He released it on instinct and drew the limb back. His right arm came back around-

Saber cleaved through it at the elbow, the sword empowered by the red lightning tore through the limb rather than cutting it cleanly. Ash felt little more than a muted loss of his limb when Saber reversed her movement and thrust the sword upwards towards his chest. His left hand came up, the sword pierced through his palm before it stopped, he tightened the remaining hand into a fist and grasped the blade of the sword lodged in his limb.

Pulling the sword to the side, he dragged it back at the same time he swung his head forwards. The spear interjected itself directly into his path at eye height, Ash ended up headbutting the blade of the Lancer's weapon at full force, the spear effortlessly cutting through his face and into his remaining eye. The pain that followed was agonising as his world went black, he screamed in pain as the spear was yanked to the side, dragging his head along with it as the cut deepend along the front of his head.

The sword was pulled from his hand as something struck his gut, a feeling like a foot, and he staggered backwards from it. Force struck his chest and moved upwards, a sword cutting through his armour and along the front of his skin, the sensation of it parting was barely registered by it was enough.

His body was crippled.

Ash figured it was easier to start from scratch than bother with healing spells.

Pyromancy flooded his left hand and he swung upwards into his own chin, placing the flat of his palm against it and then unleashing the full force of the attack. The pain lasted barely any time at all before it was replaced by a cold numbness that washed over his whole body. A sense of being away from everything filled him, the familiar embrace of death.

He pulled against the sensation, feeling the reformation of himself around him. Much faster this time.

Ash was back, his sight returned and his right arm back where it was supposed to be. His eyes snapped open, darting between the two in front of himself and then racing forwards, Galvatyne fell back into his hand as he swung up, black fire consumed his vision as he released a burst from the sword. The weapon vanished a moment later, returning it to the box and calling forth another.

Turning on his heel, he performed a full spin as he grasped the next weapon to answer his call. The sword spear of the War God came to his hands, gripped in both hands he swung it across and unleashed the divine power from the weapon. The crescent blade of golden light split the flames apart and rushed towards the Servants. Saber and Lancer blocked the attack but were forced back in the strike.

He pulled the spear back, aiming towards Lancer and hurling the weapon forwards while calling for his box once more. Lancer parried the spear upwards, a grunt left his lips as he was forced to back away a step, the throwing being driven into the polearm like a nail before being sent skywards with a shove and a grunt. The braided hair whip came to Ash's hand next, he swung it forwards and extended it. Wrapping the burning whip around the right arm of Lancer and pulling forwards.

Lancer stumbled forwards, Ash brought his left arm back and swung towards his head-

Saber struck him in the side with her sword, the steel bit into his just long enough to cause a distraction. Mana swirled through his body, then released in an explosion that sent the two of them skating away from him once more, yet the line remained on Lancer. He turned once again and pulled, Lancer was lifted into the air and spun around.

Ash gleamed for the next target, then swung down. Lancer crashed into the top of Ruler as she tried to flank around him, the collision kicking up an explosion of snow and debris. He dismissed the whip and turned, Artorias greatsword came to his right hand and he swung downwards, sword met shield and the blow very nearly sent Mash-Shielder to her knees. He could feel her pushing back against him, a futile struggle.

Dragging his sword across, his left hand reached out and wrapped its fingers around the surface of the shield, finding purchase in the patterned front of the aegis. He pulled, dragging the shield and its wielder to the left side and exposing the girl behind it. Surprise and panic flashed through her face, he had already drawn the greatsword back and was poised to thrust it forwards.

…

He swung, the hilt of the weapon struck her in the face and she staggered backwards from the impact. Ash stepped forwards and brought his leg up, then slammed his boot into her chest and launched her away with a small boom; she vanished in a haze of debris when she struck the ground.

Ash turned again, angling the greatsword down and channelling magical energy through it once more. It was getting much easier to battle like this, the swiftness of his movements and the strength he could call upon were becoming more familiar to him. The presence of the Saber returned again, he continued the flash upwards as she met it with an empowered strike aimed down.

She blocked the attack, her face straining with effort and then brought up her right hand and curled her fingers inwards. A fist coated in red lighting struck the front of his head, knuckles driven into his cheek just below his right eye. He stared back at the Saber as the pair remained frozen in their last actions. He continued his push after a moment longer, power flooding his limbs and swinging high, blasting the sword from the hand of Saber and cleaving the sword through her breastplate.

He figured that would be more than enough to-

She grabbed his wrist and then raised her leg upwards, driving her boot into his knee and then kicking off his body and into the air. He stumbled back as she propelled herself with an explosion of red light, the magical energy burning across his body as he felt his expression twist in faint discomfort at the fact his knee was now bent out of shape. His head snapped upwards as Saber reached the sword in the air and grabbed it with both hands.

Saber turned in the air, looking down at him and flashing a grin. Her white teeth were stained with blood but she looked as though she did not care in the least. Her body glowed red once more as she vanished, rocketing towards him and swinging the sword over her head at his body. He brought his sword up to-

Pain flared through his chest, the spear of Lancer burst through his back as the man appeared in front of him and thrust forwards. He opened his mouth to scream, no sound escaped him save for a faint wheezing noise as he forced a step back, grabbing at the spear's shaft with his left hand. Lancer wrenched it free and kicked him in the gut.

Saber was upon him a moment later, he rose his head just in time to see the sword fall. He felt the blade strike his neck and cleave through it, skin and flesh parted and then bone shattered. Ash was granted the brief sight of Saber slamming the pommel of her sword into his headless body and driving it away. He felt the numbness spread over him, his vision darkened and then the sensation of reconstruction filled him.

He was back in front of the pair once more.

"That's just fucking cheating." Saber complained loudly, he gave her words little thought beyond acknowledging its existence. She raised the sword up, spitting out a wad of blood and then flashing her body with crimson light once more, the smile faded into a strained grimace as her eyes roamed him.

Lancer twirled the spear in his hands and narrowed his eyes.

Ash glanced at him first.

The greater threat of the two.

Thunder filled the air, he felt his back riddled with small points of pressure that multiplied as more cracks rang in his ears. Gunshots.

Nobuna-Archer.

Her name was Archer.

His left hand burned, he slammed it down, pillars of fire reached for the skies in the next moment. Cries of alarm from Saber and Lancer filled his ears, he had distracted them for a time but he needed to be sure. He jumped backwards and waved his left hand across, rivers of black flames leapt from his fingers in the general direction of the duo.

Satisfied, he turned to the direction of Archer and narrowed his eyes as he brought his sword up-

"Not so fast dead man!"

Saber's voice drowned out any noise, he turned back to her as she swung down at his head. Crashing into his guard and then swinging with heavy strikes, each one empowered by whatever strength she had left. Ash stepped backwards and swung his own greatsword at her, the memories of Artorias were more than enough to fill in the blanks, but even Gawyn's memories of combat were useful. He knew what he was doing now, there was true technique to his movements.

He traded blows with Saber, she ducked under his slash and thrust into his side. He frowned and batted the sword away once it pierced armour. She turned with the momentum of the parry and spun herself right back around, slashing towards his neck. He turned the sword in his hand to aim downwards and blocked the slash, then pulled upwards and over his head, dragging Saber's sword with him.

Ash brought up his right arm and curved it, thrusting his elbow towards the face of the Saber. She sidestepped the attack and slashed up across his breastplate the moment he turned his sword. Locking her own against the underside of his weapon that now was held across his body, using that as a base the flipped it around so the blades were face to face then drove her weapon forwards.

Steel screamed as she drove the weapon through his ribs and pulled to the side, splattering the snow with blood. He felt very little, but understood a touch more. His mind worked overtime as he examined her movements, she kicked towards his leg- he raised his foot upwards and she instead struck snow. He stomped down on the side of her ankle. Saber snarled, he turned and shoved his hand into her side, pushing her away from him.

The Lordkin was right there with a dozen portals the moment she was out of his field of vision.

The weapons fell upon him before he could even react, he did not know what they were but he knew they were weapons of good make. His body pierced well over a dozen of them with many more still flying towards him. His movements started to feel stiff, he lost his left arm when an axe larger than his head cleaved the limb off at the shoulder and sent it flying away. Something struck his right side, his vision blackened and a weight was now on his head pulling him forwards. His left eye swung towards the sight of a golden shaft protruding from the front of his face.

Pain wracked across his whole body to a point where he would call it unbearable, he dropped down when a hammer struck his knee and shattered it completely. Unable to keep his balance and then forced further into the ground when more weapons flew into him, the Lordkin did not even seem to care, the moment a weapon struck and pierced him it vanished in gold light and then another took its place. The sound of crashing dirt and screaming metal was all he could hear, flashes of light racing through the growing chaotic haze straight towards him.

How many times had he died by this point?

The familiar numbness had spread across his body multiple times by now but he could feel each time he reformed he would be dead within seconds from the continued barrage. But deep down, he knew it was only his physical body that was being destroyed in these attacks. His soul…his soul remained undamaged. They were not strong enough to break his soul.

As long as his soul remained intact, as long as his mind remained focused.

These deaths, this pain…

They were nothing compared to the threat of losing.

Besides…he would not die to a Lordkin.

Only to…

Power flared through his body once more, a hammer struck the top of his head and he felt his skull cave with the impact. All he needed was a single opening. He called to the box, a split second later a dozen shields dropped down in front of him, covering his body like a shell and blocking the attacks, though several weapons still burst through the defence and struck his body, the barrage of weapons ripped into his defence.

But he had been granted time enough.

Mana flared through his body once more, drawing deep from the reserve of energy in his body and then flexing outwards. It was as though he pulled a cord tight and then released it back, the energy rushed out from his body and shattered his own shell but the shockwave continued onwards, the swords that were launched towards him were blasted back, the ground was pulled apart beneath him and sent great swathes of dirt catapulting into the air.

He was on his feet a second later, searching for the next target.

No, the Lordkin came first.

He drew from his bottomless box, the broad sword of the Dark Wraiths answered him, the black sword comfortably fell into his grip as he sprinted forwards out of the cloud of dust. He leapt into the open, eyes seeking out the golden haired child and finding them swiftly. He swung the sword down towards them, red eyes of the boy narrowed and he felt his body lock up a second later, being pulled backwards as something wrapped around his arms and waist.

He snapped his head to the display, chains now fell from the sky, emerging from the same portals he had witnessed earlier and kept him in place. He narrowed his eyes at them, swinging his hand around and wrapping his fingers around the chains. He could feel something about them, as though they were divinely made but not quite like Titanite. He likened it to the transposed weapons he owned.

But they were still made with divine hands.

Black fire rushed through his fingertips and against the links, he pulled down a second later and ripped them apart, melting them at the joints where his hands connected and swinging the limb forwards. He briefly caught a glimpse of surprise and fury flooding across the face of the young Lordkin but he dismissed it instantly, unleashing a burst of black fire from the palm of his hand towards him while he flexed his mana once more.

Dark raced across his body, poisoning the divine chains and loosening their hold just enough for him to rip them free of himself. He stepped forward and thrust through the back inferno to where the boy should have been, feeling a sudden resistance and the shockwave of his thrust parting the flames to reveal a series of shields directly in front of him.

The Dark sword was dismissed and replaced with a Ledo's Warhammer, he drew the weapon back and then swung it forwards. The impact churned the ground beneath them but left all else virtually untouched, the shields remained strong. With a frown he drew the weapon back once more and flooded his body with magical energy, then drove it into the hammer itself. It hummed with black light before it swung once more.

The shields vanished before the hammer met them, he frowned as he found the expected resistance gone and was thrown into overextending.

But that wasn't the only thing he noticed.

Where there had been a boy before, there was now a man with golden plate armour covering him from shoulder to toe, around his waist was a strip of red cloth that descended down to his ankles. His expression set in a deep scowl and eyes burning with fury. He imagined the boy and this man were related, but he didn't have much of a chance to contemplate it before a blinding light filled his vision and he found himself rocketing backwards from a dozen impacts to his body. His eyes briefly noticed a vast array of weapons buried in his armour but had little time to contemplate this as he spun through the air.

Only to find more weapons striking him and continuing his flight, he struck something that put upon only a millionth of a second worth of resistance before it gave way and the light vanished, launched into a house with a crackle of wood. Yet the barrage had not stopped, weapons ripped through the building as they continued to strike him, his body being torn apart at the joints and forced to repair itself at ever increasing speeds.

He counted how often he was dying now.

It had passed thirty times within the last ten seconds.

He pulled forth once more.

The twin spears came to his call, his arms moving as blurs as he rose up and started to spin them, his reactions grew faster and faster the longer he fought. He didn't know how, but he was starting to-no, he was seeing the pattern in the seemingly random attacks. Or perhaps he knew where they were coming from beforehand, either way, he was gaining progress once more as he advanced.

The right spear in his hand shattered in half from the attack of an axe, he replaced it instantly with a superior weapon. The dragon slayer spear of Ornstein, he advanced with only that weapon and continued the movements. His eyes cycling from weapon to weapon as he continued the advance, his arms shuddered and trembled with each strike they endured but he was gaining ground. His mind's eye could see the attacks, his instincts warned him of when they would strike next.

Angling the spear, the latest weapon was parried upwards through the roof of the building and shining light down upon him. It was the last the building could take, the structure collapsed and the roof fell upon him. At the last moment, he twisted the spear in his hands and drew it backward, ignoring the thuds against his body as the barrage started to land once more. He poured every bit of power into his arm and then swung it forwards.

It was far too much for his body to endure, the throw of the spear disintegrated the limb in its entirety, but the spear was thrown and moved faster than he ever believed possible towards the head of the Lordkin. They twisted themselves at the last second, but still a touch too slow as he scored a hit on the man, slashing his cheek open with the attack just as his vision was blotted out by the falling debris.

Chaos overcame him once more, the falling out was torn asunder into less than dust as the storm of weapons intensified well beyond what it had been before. He died a dozen more times before even glimpsing the sky now full of golden ripples of light, stretching high into the sky, even rivalling the walls of Lothric.

A powerful display to be sure…

But he could see through it now.

His mind caught up with the attacks, he knew what needed to be done. They were doing nothing more than throwing weapons towards him, he had gleaned the truth earlier but now he was certain. Randomly flinging whatever weapon they could towards him and hoping that some of them landed, he could hear the impacts around him and see the devastation. Some of the weapons had only been in his general direction but nowhere near him.

He needed a weapon that could withstand anything that was thrown at him.

Gundyr's unbreakable halberd fell to his palm and then his body moved.

Letting his mind take over and moving where he felt the greatest warning, the burst from the debris and held his ground, the halberd in his grasp turned to little more than a blur that looked as though it was appearing in three places at once. It might as well have been from all the weapons being hurled towards him, yet for every one he parried there were three more to take its place. He moved, the weapons followed and left behind a trail of destruction, but he did not mind it.

Continually spinning the halberd in his grasp as he sent more of the flashes of light flying from him, even his increased speed could not account for all of them. His shoulder jerked as a spear ran him through, but that was it. Every weapon that struck him was ignored, so long as he remained moving then he would not be caught in the cycle of death and resurrection.

A shadow fell over him, his eyes turned skywards as a sword the length of a mountain emerged above his head. The dark blade hovered in the sky for a moment. A weapon of such great strength that it could not be wielded by even the largest giant he ever laid eyes on. The tip of the weapon was not pointed like a regular sword, instead the tip was bulbous with sharp points on either side.

The mountain sword dropped down, as though whatever force holding it up was no longer there. It fell head first towards him, there was no force behind it but when it was as large as that, when it had such a height on them to gain momentum. Any notion of forcing it down with effort would be little more than redundant effort. The size of the weapon alone would decimate this location when it fell, he would survive it though. Even if his body was smashed, he would survive.

He could feel the presence of the others behind him, they did not have his endurance nor his resurrection. Ash spared a glance over his shoulder, such a fleeting thing to be sure how many were actually present in his line of sight. He paid for his glance with a spear through the lung but opted to focus on them.

There were only a few, there were some he could not see like Ruler and the outrider knight.

Then there were the Casters, the woman and the Pontiff could not be seen either but the small one with the appearance of a girl stood next to his old summoner.

…Ritsuka wasn't looking at the falling sword.

He was looking at him.

His eyes moved past the summoner towards Nobuna-Archer.

Red eyes stared back.

…

"I consider myself your friend. I lived a petty rat, but would rather not die as one."

…

…He wasn't going to let them die at the hands of a Lordkin, not like this.

Ash turned back, twisting the halberd in his hands and dismissing it entirely. His eyes fell onto the falling sword, bringing his arms up he raised his hands to the weapon and narrowed his eyes. Calling upon every single ounce, every iota, of strength that was available to him and gathering it all, nothing was dismissed.

The sword crashed through the roofs of the houses as it fell, descending towards him point fist.

His hands caught the blade, his body screamed in protest, bones cracked, his balance wavered, but he did not loosen his hold. He pulled, where this strength came from, he did not know but he would not lose it now. Instead, he gripped it tight and pulled with all his might, he pulled with strength he did not have and lifted. The falling sword slowed its descent, the angle of its drop slowing to a crawl.

All the while, his eyes remained locked onto it.

If he failed now, the sword would drop and there was no telling if Ritsuka and the others would die. If they were to die, it would be by his hands. Not by the hands of another or anyone else. Just his.

He was the one who had to do it.

…Or Ritsuka had to kill him.

Whichever came first.

Quelan ignored all the ruinous sounds from behind him, the thunderous crashes and the raging explosions. All he focused on was moving towards the location where his cousin had been slammed.

Fortunately they had all fought in the opposite direction to where Gwynevere had been flung, that meant that she should have been safe enough. He didn't know what was truly going on, though that was more on the side of why everyone had been angry with Gwynevere. If this Gawyn was her son, then it made sense that she would be the authority on his decisions.

He couldn't imagine anyone else taking responsibility for his actions except for his mother. Quelan figured that's what parenting was all about. Making sure that the child was raised properly and lived up to expectations. That was why he always tried his hardest whenever the opportunity arose, because he was a son of Izalith.

He was a child of the greatest magic caster the world had ever seen. So it made sense that he would also be skilled.

If Gawyn didn't live up to his expectations and was now making an effort to try and kill them, didn't it make sense they would respond in kind? He was making it fairly obvious that he was an enemy, didn't anyone understand that? Then again, he was talking about humans after all. They didn't often make sensible decisions at the best of times, it was why mother said Anor Londo was so important.

Without them, the world wouldn't be the great place that it was.

Quelan fought back an internal sigh, then paused as he heard another crash from over his shoulder. The air on the back of his neck stood on end, but he did not dare look behind himself. There was something very wrong with whatever Gawyn was, he didn't know what Cousin Gwynevere did with him but she was right to be worried. Trying to beat him quickly looked to have been their best bet but that was no longer possible.

Well…if anyone had the chance, he was sure that his cousin would be able to do so. Even if she didn't, it was the responsibility of a Lord to account for their mistakes so Gwynevere still had to do something to help with the current situation.

He coughed, bringing his hand towards his mouth and grimacing at the familiar burn that was starting to build up in the back of his throat. Quelan pulled his hand away, staring at the faintly glowing orange liquid in his palm, turning it to the side he watched it dribble from between his fingers and into the snow below, hissing and steaming as it dripped. His eyes scanned along his forearm, watching as splotches of reddened skin grey in size.

A frown came upon his face, but it was not born of irritation or fear. Quelan didn't have the patience or the effort to be afraid of this and getting annoyed with it would be pointless. He was resigned to this, the mere fact he had been granted the opportunity to be free of the pain - if only for a little while - was more than enough for him. It had been the greatest gift of all and he truly needed to find a way to pay back Percival.

Shaking his head, Quelan briefly set those thoughts aside. For right now, they needed to work on trying to survive. That meant getting everyone on their side, regardless of whatever problems they had with one another. That made sense to him. If everyone was in danger, then everyone should work together to get out of danger.

Moving through the snow, he drew closer and closer to the house that Gwynevere had been struck into, he grimaced at the memory. He heard something break in that punch but he knew that Gwynevere would probably recover herself by now. Still, that wasn't to say that she needed to be alone.

As he came upon the hole in the wall, he was greeted by a golden light that soothed his body. Staring into the room and finding it a ruin, the table was shattered and the chairs were ruined splinters on the floor, the single story house had virtually been turned inside out. Yet, in the centre of it all, Gwynevere stood tall and firm as though nothing had happened.

The light slowly fading from her as whatever healing Miracle she performed undid the damage, Quelan was relieved to see that, letting out a short sigh of relief.

Gwynevere snapped her head to him, then her features softened. "Quelan, I'm relieved to see that you're still alright. I heard the commotion after I was sent here…" she trailed off, her expression hardening and shaking her head from side to side. "Though, I am rather glad you came at the moment you did, any sooner and you might have seen me in a touch…embarrassing situation."

Though she offered a smile, Quelan could tell she didn't really mean it.

"Everyone else is fighting right now." He explained, stepping through the hole and coughing under his breath as the burn started to become more pronounced, a brief wisp of burning caught ears, he looked down and pulled his foot to the side to see a faint black marking burned into the floor where he had been standing.

It was much too soon.

He stepped backwards into the snow, letting that cool him down and returning his attention to his cousin. "We need your help-"

Gwynevere shook her head from side to side. "I do not believe my help would be welcome anymore." she lamented, closing her eyes. "Perhaps I acted much too hastily, I should have spent more time explaining the danger he posed but…that is my own error."

"No!" Quelan snapped at her, she opened her eyes and looked at him with surprise. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that everyone else is…" he shook his head from side to side "I don't get it, but I think you did the right thing. You always do the right thing."

"Your confidence is truly inspiring but…" She exhaled "I should have seen the strength of their bonds. They could not see the danger he posed and, indeed, the threat he still displays." her hand came up before he could say anything else. "Do not blame them for that, such loyalty between them all is truly beautiful but…it blinded them to danger. Ash is their friend, I was but a stranger to them. I overstepped my bounds with those who did not understand the complete picture."

Quelan grit his teeth, furiously shaking his head from side to side. Guinevere was blaming herself for doing the right thing because the others didn't understand it, he didn't even know why they cared about unkindled in the first place. They hadn't shown to care about him in the slightest, he didn't even think they called him his name once.

With an exhale, he stopped shaking his head "You…you said you wanted to make this right? Then you can still do that, Cousin." he urged her, she tilted her head in continued surprise at him but he continued on. "I know you can make it right somehow. You said that you were the one who made him what he is if only by mistake but…but mother always said that taking responsibility was the purpose of all the Gods."

Gwynevere remained silent for a few moments, then slowly nodded her head up and down "I know you to be right but I do not believe there is anything I have the power left to do." extending her hands, she glanced down at them with a saddened smile. "I am not like my older brother, I have not the strength for such a physical battle and I doubt I would get the chance to approach him once more. I am afraid my chance to make things right has been and gone."

Her eyes rose up and looked dead into his own. "I am afraid, as I am now, I would be little more than a burden."

He bit his lower lip.

A burden she called herself? She wasn't a burden. She had never been a burden on anyone, all Gwynevere ever wanted to do was her best. She always tried to do the best, that was what he knew about her. His cousin.

She meant well and she had the chance to set things right but she couldn't because of how weak she was…

If that was the case…

"I can help."

Gwynevere gave him a small smile "You do not need to push yourself for my sake, Quelan. You have done more than enough."

No, that wasn't true. He hadn't done anything. All he had done was follow everyone around and force them to take care of him. She wasn't the burden, he was. He had always been a burden from beginning to end. Not just here and now, but for his own family.

Quelan wouldn't let that slide. It wouldn't remain. If he could help her in some way, in any way, then that would be more than enough for him. Just so she had the chance that she needed in order to make things right. More than that, just so he could stop being a burden and provide some meaningful assistance for once.

"My Noble Phantasm." He blurted out quickly "I can give you the chance to get to him and set things right. I can do that." staring up into her eyes, he watched as her expression gradually cooled out, the sadness slowly leaving from her features and replaced with a mask. The words hung in the air for what felt like hours, even if he hated that Noble Phantasm…

If it could be used for some good, if he could pay everyone back for all he put them through…

"Oh Quelan." Gwynevere's voice was little more than a whisper, her eyes glowing a touch brighter than usual but nothing else of note. "You truly are an extraordinarily young one. Aren't you?" slowly nodded her head up and down, she gave a smile that sent his heart a flutter. "Then you can go forth with my blessing…know that I shall make full use of the chance you have granted me."