112: Can't be helped

Oda Nobunaga

Benkei's really not that big of a deal, right?

-That thought nearly kills me.

In the first instant of the fight, before I have the chance to fire a single rifle, his punch breaks both of my arms and sends me flying backwards.

My first shots ring out, and he fails to follow up, forced to focus on protecting Euryale. I land on my feet, mind ablaze. With my [Demon King] skill, I shapeshift the bones of my arms back together.

What the heck was that? Since when does Benkei have that level of power?

My [Unifying the Nation by Force] skill, which grants me extra power against foes with high mystery or divinity, and weakens me when fighting those from the modern era - is going full blast. That's normal - even though Benkei lacks divinity, the fact is that I got this skill from burning Buddhist warrior monks alive in the first place. What isn't normal is him being able to deflect my shots with ease, and to deal this much damage with just a punch.

Just what the heck is up with his Spirit Origin right now?

"But hey, Kaison's got to stay next to you and protect you, which means I can just blast you guys from here until you lose - how about you surrender, stop mind controlling the guys, and we can talk this out?" I ask.

"Hm… I don't really think that's my only option," Euryale says, eternal smug grin still on her face.

What cards does she still - oh crap!

"Knock him out, Mash!" I shout.

"By my command Spell- bfah!" Subaru collapses in her arms, and I breathe a sigh of relief as Euryale frowns slightly.

"[Benkei Butsu]."

And then Benkei twirls his spear and splits into eight copies of himself, each armed with a different one of his seven weapons. What?

"Since when could you do thaaaaaAAAAAHHH!" Naturally, I scream as four of them rush me. Who wouldn't scream when charged by four warrior monks? "Not fair, not fair, not fair-!"

I screen out strikes by generating rifle after rifle in his path, even as I wildly blast him with shot after shot. Why aren't they going poof!? Isn't the rule supposed to be that clones go poof when you hit them!? He's got to be cheating!

Desperately, I backpedal, grabbing a matchlock rifle that flies me out of his reach as thirty or so similar guns discharge in my wake.

"[Lord Chaldeas]!" Mash has a more suitable tool to hold back her pack of four angry warrior monks-

"But that just means they're all coming after me!?" I shout as the matchlock carries me further upwards. "Ugh, okay! Show yourself to the three thousand worlds-"

"-[Eighth Implement]!" The sole unarmed Benkei cries, and the gun I'm riding teleports into his hands.

Seriously!? Another Noble Phantasm I've never heard of!?

"-[Three Line-grk!" My Noble Phantasm doesn't fire.

{By my command spell, cancel your Noble Phantasm, Archer,} A voice calls in my mind, and I fail to fire. Even though Subaru is still lying unconscious behind Mash's shield.

However-

"Wahahaha! I knew about this one, Kaison!" I shout with glee, even as I continue to plunge towards the ground, even as the eighth clone lines up his shot.

[Blank Subscription List]. A skill that allows him to (inconsistently) inflict fraudulent command spells upon enemy servants. As far as the Benkei from my original Chaldea went, I remember he mostly used it to suppress Noble Phantasms, so I was pretty sure he'd use it here.

Which is why I used my weaker Noble Phantasm first.

"It can't be helped! Last chance to surrender, Euryale! The deities of the three realms shall all be nothing but ash! I am-!"

"[Eye of the-" The goddess draws her bow, too late. She should have surrendered. Now it can't be helped.

{By my command spell-} Kaison tries once more, but this time, I shrug off the effect. He's not Benkei, after all. He can't consistently recite the [Blank Subscription List].

"-the [Demon King of the Sixth Heaven], Oda Nobunaga!" My reality marble is unleashed, and fire consumes everything.

Blazing hell, the fires that followed me all my life, from warring to state to warring state until they finally consumed even me at Honnouji - are all that can be seen. Gone is the rainstorm, gone is the island shore. All that remains is the burning rubble and blackened bones. As I float in the air above the ruination (Because what kind of loser can't fly in their own reality marble?), I throw back my head in a maniacal laugh.

Mash, Subaru, and Jason were protected by her shield. But as for my enemies, theri demise is guaranteed. These flames gain increased power against those very same targets of my [Unifying the Nation by Force] skill - in other words, a warrior monk like Benkei would be consumed instantly, and a weak Servant with high Divinity like Euryale would have lasted perhaps a second. Neither had even the time to scream.

"Wahahaha! That's what you get, you damn monk! Don't pick a fight with-" I cut my mockery short - because, standing there, amidst the wreckage, body stretched in an unwavering mie pose, is Musashibou Benkei.

Sweat starts to build on my brow as I try to hold my grin in place.

I'm so screwed. I should have figured it out when he started pulling out extra Noble Phantasms that his Chaldea counterpart lacked.

This guy's class container is-

Benkei coughs and awkwardly returns to a normal standing pose. "Ah… could we stop now? I believe Euryale is dead."

Oh, right. I just had to break the charm.

"Wahahaha! I really am a genius!" I laugh.

Natsuki Subaru

My head hurts. Partially because of a growing bruise, and partially because…

This idiot killed the person we came to recruit, dammit!

"Ugh, I get that it was a tough situation, but…!" I mutter.

"This was my fault," Benkei… or Kaison, I guess, says, head lowered in apology. "I ought to have been chanting sutras as we approached, but I took my resistance for granted."

"It can't be helped, I'd make the same mistake with a spirit origin like yours," Nobunaga says, flopping down next to me on this makeshift bed. Naturally, they put me here when I was knocked out earlier.

Speaking of which, we're currently searching Euryale's (poorly made) shelter for anything useful… "Wait, hang on, aren't we just acting like common looters at this point!? Also, don't just lie down right next to me in the same damn bed, that's-!"

Nobbu laughs, tossing an arm around my shoulder. "Wahaha! Don't be so shy, Subaru! I haven't even unleashed my [Naked Cape] attack yet, you won't survive if just this gets you flustered!"

"Your what!?"

"...Nobunaga, please behave appropriately." Mash says with a sigh.

"On that note, can we take this seriously in general? You did just kill a possible ally." I mutter. "I get that your hand was kind of forced, but…"

Not to mention, Jason is curled up over there looking like he wants to die again!

"I'm the worst. I'm the worst. I'm the worst." He mutters under his breath over and over again. I understand why - because he promised Asterios that he'd help her.

I could save her. I could. But Alter Ego's dead-eyed smile flashes through my mind, and my heart hardens.

"There's not really any 'kind of' about it," Nobunaga says with a sigh. "In other words… hey, Kaison, what's the deal with you?"

The monk bows his head slightly. "Indeed, I am Hitachibou Kaison, a different companion to lord Yoshitsune. The true Benkei stayed by his side until the end, while I shamefully fled. And as if that sin were not enough - I who spread tales of Benkei's bravery, have found myself summoned in his place." He gives a wry chuckle. "…I suppose you could call it stolen valor."

"I knew that already, idiot," The Archer says. "I meant - when were you planning on telling us you were the Grand Lancer?"

"...I am not," He says, his head bowing further. "...It's indeed true, Musashibou Benkei was chosen to be summoned as Grand Lancer. However - as I said, I am Hitachibou Kaison. And… to my eternal shame, my unintentional theft of his true name has ruined even this. I was summoned in his place - the "False" Grand Lancer."

…What? What does that-?

"Oh, I get it," Nobbu says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "So how much weaker are you than the True Grand Lancer, then? Do you know how you're supposed to get him to show up?"

"I have… no more than half his strength. But I've got no idea whether he will even-" Benkei starts.

"Nah, usually there's some way for it to happen," The Archer continues. "We just need to figure it out!"

"Seriously, you even know about ridiculous edge cases like this!?" I shout.

"Hm? Yeah, we knew about True and False Servants since Fuyuki. Haven't you guys met Kojiro?"

"...No, we never met Sasaki Kojiro." Mash says with a sigh.

"Wait, really!? How'd you get through Orleans then?" What does that have to do with anything!?

Compendium Update (Musashibou Benkei, Oda Nobunaga)

The Following are not Original Noble Phantasms, but rather Noble Phantasms from side material that do not appear in Fate/Grand Order. They are reproduced here for the convenience of the reader.

Musashibou Benkei:

Benkei's extra Noble Phantasms are largely left incomplete in Fate/Complete Material 4. No Secondary title is given, nor rank, nor type - in summary, only their function and name are given.

Benkei Butsu

Slicing the space about him with a long blade, the servant manifests multiple replicas of Benkei, equivalent in attributes to his base level of strength - and capable of walling off the original from an opponent's attack. A single deployment of the Noble Phantasm creates one to seven replicas at random, and the results cannot be determined by the servant. The Servant's own attributes are temporarily boosted by a function of the number of replicas that remain manifest and undestroyed.

Eighth Implement

An opponent's Noble Phantasm may be temporarily claimed as the 8th of the Servant's Seven Implements, and manipulated with some proficiency even if its usage is unfamiliar. A weapon claimed in this manner will be returned to the opponent of its origin after a certain number of turns, but may be launched as a projectile to deal damage upon return. Rather than owing to some inability on the Servant's part to permanently maintain an eighth implement, he opts to relinquish an implement upon satisfaction of his curiosity in its use.

Oda Nobunaga:

Papiyas, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven

Rank: E-EX

Type: Anti-Divine

Range: -

Maximum number of targets: -

The "true Noble Phantasm" of Demon King Oda Nobunaga, known as the destroyer of Shinto and Buddhism. Based on the burning of Mount Hiei and the other brutal deeds she had performed in life, it is a Reality Marble that makes her into a being that "holds absolute power against those with Divinity and Mystery." Upon its activation, it renders her nude as a visual effect, and the world, acting as the "accumulation of the fear and reverence that the people held for Nobunaga after death", materializes a scorching hell. Like her Unifying the Nation by Force Skill, it is something that displays great power against those with high Divinity and Mystery, making it difficult for such Servants to even continue existing while in the space, and displays little power against those with low Divinity and Mystery, making the landscape "a tad hot" to them.