Ici il y a des dragons Chapter 11
War Against the Dragon Witch
The Dragon Witch's army was already awake as they stared at the Chaldean forces. The dragons and wyverns growled at them while the undead archers aimed their bows at the Chaldeans. Dark Jeanne continued to grin at Jeanne as if to mock her.
"Hello, trash I left behind." She said.
"No, I am a vestige." Jeanne countered. "But most importantly, I'm not you Dragon Witch."
Dark Jeanne raised an eyebrow. "What in the hell are you talking about? You ARE me!"
"It would seem that no matter what I say, I can no longer reach you." Jeanne said with a sigh. The Ruler gripped her flag, and pointed it towards Dark Jeanne. "After this battle is over, I'm going to give you an earful!"
"Wow you sure got her worked up didn't you, palette swap?" Tatsuko asked.
"Silence!" The Dragon Witch shouted. "Behold this horde of dragons."
The Chaldeans and their allies looked around and saw the dragons and wyverns glaring at them intensely as the undead began to ready their crude weapons. Fafnir walked into view, scowling at Siegfried as the Saber gripped his blade for combat.
"We turned this nation into their nest!" Dark Jeanne said. "They will devour everything, and nothing will ever live in France again. Starting with you!"
"You may have the numbers, but they won't be enough for you to claim victory." Artoria said. "What we lack in numbers, we make up for in quality!"
"Such stubborn belief. It makes me want to vomit." Dark Jeanne muttered. She looked at Fafnir, and snapped her fingers.
"Fafnir!"
The dragon looked back at the Dragon Witch as she pointed at the Chaldeans and their allies. "Incinerate that Saint, and her friends."
Fafnir returned its gaze back to them, and growled. The dragon then reared its head back, and spewed forth its flames towards the Chaldeans. Emiya and Mashu instinctively stood front and center, with the lilac haired girl slamming her shield down on the ground, causing Ritsuka and Tatsuko to activate a single Command Spell each to give them an extra boost.
"Rho Aias!"
"Lord Chaldeas!"
Mashus Noble Phantasm surrounded them all before the large pink petals of Emiyas Rho Aias surrounded the energy field. The flames hit the barrier with full force, causing Emiya to grunt at the strain. Tatsuko immediately turned to Siegfried with a knowing look.
"Hey Siegfried, you beat Fafnir before, so can't you just take care of him right now?" She asked. The male Saber stared at her with some slight guilt.
"Sumanai….but unfortunately I don't remember how I beat him last time."
Everyone stared at him in shock as Emiya started to buckle.
"You can't be serious right now." Cú muttered. "How can you not remember?"
Siegfried took a deep breath. "I hate to admit, but Fafnir was much stronger than I am. So when we fought, I just turned my mind off, and fought with all I had. And in the end I stood over his corpse."
Everyone went silent as Rho Aias shattered. Despite the fact that this was Emiya's best defense, the flames were too much for him, and he simply ran out of sufficient energy to keep it up. It was now Mashu's turn to struggle as the dragon's fire slammed into Lord Chaldeas with full force. As that was happening, a unique group of six wyverns approached, circling around them and watching as Mashu struggled against the flames. The three males were of similar appearance with light underbellies, black markings streaming down their backs and parts of their wings, and their tails being bulbous near the end with six spikes on the side of the tail, and one large spike at the end. The only difference was their colors, with one of them being red, the other azure, and the last being silver. The females looked similar to the males, but with few minor differences. One being that their tails had more spikes at the end, along with one on their chins. Their colors also differed with one being green, the other pink, and the other gold.
"Why do those wyverns look different from the rest?" Tatsuko asked in concern.
"That's because they're not run of the mill wyverns." Cú answered. "Those are royal wyverns."
"What are those?" Ritsuka asked.
"Stronger wyverns that are a step below dragons." Artoria answered. "Their colors tell their gender and age. The adolescent males are red, then they become azure when they become young adults, and then they become silver when they fully mature. The females are green when adolescent, then turn to pink when they become young adults, and then gold when they reach maturity."
"Can we beat them?" Tatsuko asked.
"Yes, we can." Artoria answered. "But the problem with that is we have Fafnir to deal with, and the other wyverns alongside the undead."
"Then it would seem the Dragon Witch planned all of this from the beginning." Medusa said.
"Then we need to think of something to get us out of this." Ritsuka said. Mashu grunted once more as she started to buckle under the weight of Fafnir's flames. The Dragon Witch's forces started to surround them now. Chaldeans readied themselves for the fight of their lives as Siegfried, Medusa and Artoria prepared to activate their Noble Phantasms, hoping to take their enemies in one fell swoop.
"FIRE!"
Everyone's eyes widened as they heard cannon fire, and the impact of the cannon ball hitting Fafnir in the eye. Another hit from a cannon ball made the dragon roar in anger and turn its head towards the source of the bombardment. The Chaldeans did the same, and were shocked at what they saw.
Standing upon the hill behind them was the entire French Army, firing their cannons with fierce determination. Standing front and center of the army was General Gilles, with Louis on his right.
"We fight for the survival of France! Fire everything we have!" General Gilles shouted. "Commander Louis, give the order!"
Louis grinned and nodded before turning his attention towards the soldiers aiming the cannons. "You heard the General. Keep firing at that dragon, and give those brave men and women there a path to end this once and for all!"
General Gilles unsheathed his sword, and planted it on the ground. "Do not be afraid! Do not sorrow! And do not falter! If you have human blood, now is the time to die!"
The general then raised his sword high and looked at his soldiers with utmost conviction.
"I will say it again! There is nothing to fear!" General Gilles smiled as he pointed his blade towards Jeanne. "For we have the Saint on our side!"
Jeanne smiled as the entire French Army cheered, and chanted her name. She turned to look at the Dragon Witch, and saw her seething in her anger. Dark Jeanne snapped her fingers, causing all of her forces, barring Fafnir, to charge at the French Army. The Chaldeans knew they didn't stand a chance against the Dragon Witch's army without help, but they also needed to take care of Dark Jeanne. Mata Hari and Mozart looked at each other and nodded. They knew the Masters wouldn't approve of this, but they had no other choice.
"Mata Hari!"
"Requiem for Death!"
The two Masters looked at them in shock as Mata Hari started to dance, and Mozart played the piano once again while conducting his familiars. As that happened, the Dragon Witch's army, which was almost upon the French, looked back at them, and charged towards them instead.
"What are you doing?!" Tatsuko asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Mozart asked. "Mata Hari and I decided to act as live bait."
"Are you crazy?" Ritsuka asked. "There's no way you two can do this!"
"We have no other option." Mata Hari countered. "Besides, with our combined efforts, we should be able to weaken the enemy enough so they can be easy pickings!"
"But that puts you guys in danger too!" Ritsuka shouted.
"Puppy, Mata Hari's right." Liz said. "With them distracting those monsters, the French army can fight them without any worry, so please put your trust in them."
Ritsuka opened his mouth to object, only to stop himself as he watched the French Army deploying their cavalry to fight against the undead warriors. He knew that they would need help with that too, and there was only one way he could think of to get the best possible outcome . The male Master closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and stared at his team.
"Okay, I have a plan then." He said. The black haired teen turned to face Saint George and Kojiro. "Mata Hari and Mozart are going to need protection from those wyverns and dragons. So you two need to keep them off of those two for as long as possible."
The Rider and Assassin nodded. The two Servants charged at the encroaching wyverns and dragons, and started to cut down any that got close to the group. The Male Master then turned to Medusa.
"Medusa, I'm going to need you to help them in that task by harassing the enemy with everything you have, and also helping the French Army's cavalry by taking out those undead."
"It will be done." Medusa brought out her chained weapon, and embedded it into a wyvern as a makeshift reign. The Rider flew off alongside the wyvern, who continued to resist and struggle against her.
Fafnir roared, and slammed its right leg down upon the group. Everyone managed to escape the attack, but the result caused Tatsuko to click her tongue in frustration. She turned to Siegfried with a knowing glance.
"I know you said that you don't remember how you beat him last time, but keep him off Mata Hari and Mozart!"
Siegfried smiled and gave a small nod before turning his attention back to Fafnir.
"I am here, wicked dragon!" He shouted. The Saber raised his blade at Fafnir, causing the dragon to roar. "Once again, you shall taste the twilight. I swear by my righteousness, and by my beliefs."
Blue flames soon surrounded Siegfried as everyone present watched. Everyone covered their eyes for a brief moment until the flames died down, and saw Siegfried, now with a pair of draconic horns on his head, wings on his back, and a tail, pointing his sword at the dragon.
"Fafnir, I hereby challenge you!"
The Saber unfurled his wings, and flew at Fafnir. The dragon roared as Siegfried swung his blade, and cut into the dragon's side.
Ritsuka and Tatsuko looked at the remaining group members and nodded. Now they could fight the Dragon Witch, and-
"And where do you think all of you are going?"
The group turned their heads and saw Carmilla and Vlad walking towards them, or more specifically, Mata Hari and Mozart.
"Unfortunately for you all, our Master wants those two gone as soon as possible." Vlad said. Emiya, Cú and Liz immediately readied their weapons and stared down the two Servants.
"Cú and I will handle Vlad." Emiya said.
"Yeah, we've got unfinished business with that guy." Cú said.
"And I'll handle Carmilla." Liz answered. "You guys go on ahead, and take out the Dragon Witch!"
The remaining Chaldeans nodded. Emiya looked back towards Artoria and grinned. "Take care of them will you?"
Artoria smiled, and nodded back. "I swear on my sword Excalibur."
And with that, the Chaldeans, Kiyohime and Jeanne made their attempt to run towards the castle. While that was happening, Dark Jeanne raised an eyebrow at what she just heard the blonde Saber said. She swore on Excalibur, but why would she-
A sinister grin formed on the lips of the Dragon Witch. "So, King Arthur is a woman, eh? Gilles!"
The Caster smiled as he walked to his Master's side. "How may I be of service?"
"Send out the attack dog." Dark Jeanne answered.
Gilles raised an eyebrow. "But isn't Fafnir already out there?"
Dark Jeanne smirked. "No, the other one. I have a little…housewarming gift for the King of Knights."
"You know what? This is starting to become annoying." Medea said as she blocked another one of Atalante's arrows.
While she did this to buy her comrades some time, the Caster never expected for the fight to last this long, or for her enemy to be as persistent and as wild as she ended up being. Atalante didn't give them a single moment of rest and, because of the Madness Enhancement, she was easily able to power through the pain that the attacks of her enemies caused. Not even getting a fireball to the face, which burned part of it, was able to slow her down even a bit.
Her agility only made things worse, as she was able to move around them with ease and dodge most hits while also attacking with her own arrows, always keeping herself out of range and doing quick evasive maneuvers whenever Heracles managed to get any closer.
With a mighty roar, Heracles slammed the ground in front of him, lifting huge chunks of the earth which he then threw against Atalante. Berserk Archer blocked this using her arrows, but this was merely a distraction to allow Medea to catch her off guard and try to finish her off with a huge fireball, but the Berserk Archer managed to leap out of the way before it could hit her.
Berserk Archer landed on top of a rock as she stared down both of her opponents, who were wounded and tired.
"Heracles, be careful, she's a lot stronger than I expected." Medea said as she prepared more spells to fight. The Berserker simply looked at her and nodded.
"Kill…" she whispered as her bow and arrows began to shine. "This is… My offering to… The Twin Gods…"
Medea and Heracles watched as she raised her bow to the sky and fired a single shining arrow, and then…
"Phoebus Catastrophe!"
A rain of arrows appeared and fell towards them. Medea barely had time to cover herself with a magic shield, and thus took a bit of damage, but Heracles took the entire attack head on.
"You idiot…" Medea said as she watched him kneeling on the ground, his body covered in Atalante's arrows. The Berserk Archer looked at him and, in her madness, thought that he was already dead, only to be shocked when his body started to shine a burning red. "You allowed yourself to get hit like that… I'll never understand this you, Heracles."
The Indomitable Heracles, with a red glow covering his body, tightly held his weapon, and jumped against Atalante. She quickly reacted and fired a volley of arrows, yet they simply bounced off the enraged Berserker.
As soon as he got close enough, Heracles unleashed his fury in one devastating attack.
Nine Lives.
What felt like 100 strikes happened in just a second, Berserk Archer didn't even have a chance to react to it. Just as he was about to end, Berserker grabbed his weapon, and plunged it straight through the Berserk Archer's stomach, piercing her from side to side. His rage finally disappeared, he simply took his weapon and slowly walked away, as Medea got closer to their old friend.
"Medea…Is….is that you?" Atalante asked weakly.
"It is." The Caster answered. "I'm sorry it had to end like this."
Atalante shook her head. "No, this is fine. This is definitely fine…."
"I wanted to see you again after all this time, and seeing you in this state breaks my heart." Medea continued. "That's why I'm going to pray that you and I can meet again in better conditions."
"I hope so as well." Atalante said calmly. She looked at Heracles and sighed. "You really don't know when to stay down, do you, you big meat head?"
Heracles did not respond, causing Atalante to sigh again. The Archer turned to Medea with a calm expression. "So what now?"
"Now? We have to finish what we started here." Medea answered. "Once…..you're gone….. The only worthwhile pieces that the Dragon Witch will have left are Vlad, Carmilla and Fafnir."
Atalante shook her head. "No…she has two more…."
Medea's eyes widened. "What?"
"It is as I said." Atalante answered. "She has ….two more on her side that she can send out. A Caster, who never leaves her side. But he's not the one to worry about…it's the Berserker. He's on a whole different level."
"Who is he?" Medea asked. "Please, any information you have could help my mission."
"It's…it's…." Atalante coughed up blood at a rapid pace. Medea immediately knelt down and took the green haired Archer's hand into her own with concern.
"Atalante, please stay with me here." Medea whispered. "I need to know his name."
Atalante shook her head. "It's…..too late…..I don't…..have much time to tell you….."
"I see…." Medea gently tightened her grip on Atalante's hand. "Is there something you wish for me to do?"
Atalante nodded. "Win."
The Caster nodded. The two women looked at each other somberly as the Archer began to cough up more blood, croaking in pain. They knew what had to be done, and Medea was the best person for the job. Atalante gave her a small nod. Medea took a deep breath, and tried to keep herself composed for what was about to come. Summoning a single ice shard, Medea slowly, and with trembling hands, pierced Atalante's Spirit Core. Atalante did not flinch, instead she smiled and exhaled silently as she gently squeezed Medea's hand to comfort the Caster.
"Thank… You."
Medea shed a single tear. "Goodbye, Atalante."
The green haired Archer closed her eyes, and disappeared into golden dust, finally free of the madness that overwhelmed her.
Heracles put a hand on the blue haired woman's shoulder as if to comfort her. Medea then wiped the tear from her face, and looked at the Berserker.
"Thank you for your help Heracles." She said. The larger Servant simply nodded as he released his hand from her shoulder. "Alright, enough mourning for now. We need to catch up to the others. If what Atalante told us is accurate, the others are going to be in a lot of danger."
Heracles nodded, and picked up Medea, who did not bother to protest. The Caster decided to heal the Berserker first as he ran with her in his arms as they made their way towards the Dragon Witch's layer. The blue haired woman couldn't help but shake the feeling that things were about to go wrong.
The Chaldeans and the remaining allied Servants continued to run through the battlefield, destroying as many undead in their way as they could. The French Cavalry helping them out was a blessing in that regard, with the human soldiers being able to handle the undead warriors from the safety of their horses, it also meant that they would have a clear shot at the castle.
That is, if there weren't so many of them.
"Okay, just how many skeletons does this woman need?!" Tatsuko shouted. "Seriously they just keep coming!"
"I agree." Ritsuka replied. "At this rate the French cavalry's going to get overrun!"
Kiyohime looked at the two Masters before surveying the battle. Ritsuka was right, even though the French cavalry had the advantage for now, they and their horses will tire out eventually, while the skeletons would keep on fighting. This would soon become a battle of attrition, something that the French Army could not win, unless…..
A smile formed across her lips, alongside a small giggle. She could indeed do that, and perhaps it could lead to Anchin praising her.
"Anchin, I have an idea to get rid of the pesky skeletons in our way!"
Ritsuka looked back at the Berserker with a curious gaze. "I'm all ears."
"I can simply use my Noble Phantasm to burn them away."
Everyone looked at her in slight shock.
"Wait, you can do that?" Tatsuko asked.
"Yes." Kiyohime answered.
"Then why didn't you use that earlier?" Artoria asked.
Kiyohime's eyes widened in realization. She could have solved so many of their current problems if she DID use it.
"I…..have no idea why." She answered. "But that doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that I can do it now, and in doing that we have a path to the castle without these undead getting in our way."
Ritsuka and Tatsuko looked at each other and nodded. If it meant that they wouldn't have to tire themselves out before facing the Dragon Witch. Ritsuka turned back to Kiyohime and nodded.
"Do it."
Kiyohime smiled. "Okay, then we need to stop here so I can prepare."
Everyone did as she asked, forcing them to defend her from the skeletons charging at them. Mashu slammed her shield into one skeleton that got close to Ritsuka and Tatsuko. Jeanne twirled her flag and shattered two skeletons that got near Kiyohime, while Artoria sliced at three more skeletons. Kiyohime closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Watch over me! As of now, I'll eliminate the liar."
Blue flames surrounded her, causing Ritsuka and Tatsuko to shield their eyes as the heat surrounded them, until the flames died down, revealing a beautiful, giant white snake.
"Samadhi Through Transforming Flames!"
Kiyohime reared her head back, and spewed forth her flames against the undead soldiers. Pillars of flames shot forth, incinerating the skeletons surrounding them and those closest to the French calvary.
"Holy shit Kiyohime, that was incredible!" Tatsuko shouted.
"Yes, that was very helpful." Mashu said with a smile. "Thank you."
"Oh it was nothing." Kiyohime answered.
"Say, Kiyohime, can you target your flames at just the undead?" Ritsuka asked.
"Oh of course!" The Berserker answered. "Would you like a demonstration?"
"Yes please." Ritsuka answered.
Kiyohime summoned forth more flames to strike at the skeletons, snaking their way to them and ignoring the French calvary. The Masters watched in awe as while the horses were spooked, none of the flames touched them, or their riders. Ritsuka looked back at Kiyohime and smiled.
"Good work Kiyohime." He said. "Now I have one small request, but I know you're not going to like it."
"Oh silly Anchin, I will do anything you ask, as long as you are truthful." Kiyohime answered.
Ritsuka nodded slowly. While he didn't really approve of being referred to as that name, he had to ignore that for now in order to focus on the task at hand.
"I need you to stay here and help the French cavalry deal with the undead."
Kiyohime's eyes widened. "What?! But won't you need my help against the Dragon Witch?"
"I don't like it either." He answered. "But the French Army is going to need all the help they can get."
"But they already have so many of our group protecting them." Kiyohime countered.
"That may be so, but Ritsuka's right." Jeanne replied. "There's just too many for everyone to handle right now."
"But-"
"Kiyohime, please help them." Mashu requested. "They will need you more."
Kiyohime looked around and saw the battle play out before her. She saw Medusa killing scores of skeletons and wyverns with her daggers and turning some to stone. Kojiro and Saint George were working together to take down five royal wyverns. She saw the three Servants continue to fight, but they were still not enough to stem the tide. The Berserker felt Ritsuka put a hand on her scaly hide with a gentle gaze.
"With you out here helping them, it will set my mind at ease knowing that everyone here has you looking out for them." He said.
Kiyohime looked at him with a reluctant gaze. She didn't want to part with Anchin, but she knew he had a point. The people here would be needing her help, and if he was asking her, then there was no need to refuse.
"Okay, I will do as you ask." Kiyohime said. "But please do be careful, I don't want to regret this decision."
Ritsuka smiled and nodded. "Thanks Kiyohime. I promise we'll come back alive."
The Chaldean Trio, Jeanne and Artoria turned to leave, when Kiyohime gasped in horror. "Oh Anchin, I almost forgot! I have a question for you!"
Ritsuka turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure now's the time for that?"
Kiyohime nodded. "It won't take much of your time, I promise."
"Senpai, I think you should answer her." Mashu replied. "It is only fair to do so after asking her to stay behind like this…."
Ritsuka nodded at the Shielder and returned his gaze back to Kiyohime. "Okay, what would you like to ask me?"
Kiyohime blushed a bit, but took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Did you…..like my transformation?"
Ritsuka smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it was really amazing to see it!"
Kiyohime smiled. "Thank you Anchin. Now please, finish this."
Ritsuka nodded. "Will do."
The black haired Master turned to the others with a knowing glance. "Okay guys, let's make a run for it."
The Chaldean trio and the two remaining Servants ran as fast as they could while Kiyohime burned any skeletons chasing them, creating walls of fire surrounding them. Sweat poured into the two Masters' eyes, but they had to bear the heat for only a few minutes longer. They were getting closer and closer to the castle now, making the five of them sigh in relief.
"Oh thank god, we're almost there!" Tatsuko said. "Now all we need to do is-"
Screams of terror silenced everyone.
A sickening crunch could be heard, sending shivers up their spines. Artoria and the others turned around and listened as the screaming became louder and louder. They looked at each other in slight confusion and uncertainty as the screaming grew shriller and shriller until….
The screaming suddenly stopped.
No one said a word, instead they all merely stared at where the screams came from. Despite that, they all knew one thing:
SOMETHING was out there, and it wasn't friendly.
"Somebody! Help!"
Everyone saw two soldiers frantically running towards them with fear and shock in their eyes. Artoria narrowed her eyes to get a closer look at them and her eyes widened at what she saw.
They were caked in blood.
"He's killed almost the entirety of our squad! He isn't human! He's a mons-"
SCHLICK.
Everyone stood in shock as a sword came out of the head of one soldier, the blade having stabbed him through his mouth. The blade slowly retracted as the man fell to the ground dead. No one saw the person who killed him, but they immediately knew it was bad news. The other soldier kept running towards the Chaldeans, but they saw a blur move behind him. Not a second later, a flurry of strikes came from behind, slicing the man into pieces as a fountain of blood erupted from his corpse.
Everyone could only stare in shock and horror at what they witnessed. A lone figure stood before them, his appearance was like a malevolent wraith. His black armor was caked in blood. His blackened sword was held in his right hand, and the eye slits of his helmet glowed a malevolent red hue. Jeanne could only stare at the figure, unsure of what to make of him. Artoria, on the other hand, stared at the man in horror. She knew exactly who it was, and it broke her heart.
"No…Lancelot….."
The rest of the group stared at Artoria with horrified expressions as she muttered those words.
Lancelot stood there for what seemed like an eternity, only for him to rear his head back and roar as if he was a demon from hell. He lurched forward, and lunged at the blonde Saber, his howling could be heard throughout the entire battlefield.
"ARRRRRTHUUUUUUURRRRRRR!"
OC: Holy shit that was fucking insane!
CV: Berserker Lancelot is in the building ladies and gentlemen!
OC: And proceeded to destroy it with his guns and fighter jet.
CV: That's just how he does things, don't be too harsh on the boy.
OC: Fair enough, but either way, this has been perhaps the most action packed chapter we have EVER done and I absolutely love it!
CV: Most action packed and probably the most epic!
OC: Definitely one of the most epic, in fact for two of these epic moments, I had some music play in the background because the song choices were ones I felt were TOO appropriate for the mood.
CV: Really? Please say which ones.
OC: Well the moment when Gilles ordered the first cannon volley on Fafnir, and for almost the rest of the scene afterwards, I was listening to "Rising Up" from the video game Tales of Zestiria. That moment in Orleans in the game, and in writing this scene made me remember that one moment in Zestiria where the main character was trying to stop a war between two nations, only for a large dragon to manifest, forcing the main character to deal with that, but also caused BOTH ARMIES in putting aside their differences, work together by firing cannons at the damned thing to help the main protagonist get a shot to take it down. Then there's also the fact that when writing this particular scene we saw Ritsuka and Tatsuko, well, RISING UP (Pun totally intended) to the occasion, becoming leaders and telling their Servants to help the French Army by going off of their strengths, and picking the right people for the job.
The second song I listened to was during the writing of Lancelot's introduction. This particular scene was inspired by the manga Berserk, where Guts first used the Berserker Armor for the first time. It was only fitting that I listen to "Ash Crow" when writing that scene, and holy shit it fit so fucking well. So for our readers, I urge you to do the same, and listen to those songs during those particular scenes. You won't regret it.
CV: Not gonna lie, imagining the last scene in my head reminded me of when you're just casually walking in a Soulsborn game and all of the sudden you see a healthbar appear and the boss music starts and you're just like "What the fuck!" and then you get murdered.
OC: Funny you should mention that because Dark Souls was ALSO inspired by Berserk, so DOUBLE WHAMMY!
CV: Ey, we got another one! By the way, when does the Malenia SSR Saber Servant come to FGO?
OC: LMAO! I would totally roll for that! But enough about that for a moment, instead, let's confirm something for our eagle eyed readers regarding some…..designs for the wyverns.
CV: Do you think anyone catched onto them?
OC: Maybe, maybe not. But I'm pretty sure we should just inform them anyway because we have a nice little surprise for them as well.
CV: Want to do it or should I?
OC: How about you start, then I follow up?
CV: Sounds good. They're based on a certain King of the Sky…
OC: That's right folks, the royal wyverns are Rathalos and Rathian, along with two of their subspecies, just with different names.
CV: That's right folks, we're getting Monster Hunter up in this bitch!
OC: Yep, and it was all Cosmic Vlad's idea. You see, we are both fans of the series (World is easily one of my favorite games), and a couple of months ago while we were still writing the early parts of Chronicles, he asked if we could add some monsters from Monster Hunter, and I was totally on board with it. And so we talked about which ones we would bring in, and to this day we're still coming up with ideas!
CV: Exactly. For instance, we had the idea to have the Diablos show up in a future Singularity (bonus points if you can guess which one) alongside its female variant, the Black Diablos.
OC: That's a rather dangerous (and horny) combination. But there are also many more that will show up, but we will them leave as a surprise so as to give you all a chance to figure out who will show up.
CV: And don't worry, we'll also bring some of the BEEEEEEEEEEEEEG bois to the fic as well.
OC: Yeah we are. Oh speaking of big, I can't hold it in anymore, but I HAVE to gush over the fight in scene 2. . AWESOME!
CV: Glad you liked it buddy.
OC: For those of you who don't know, we both write the fight scenes together mostly, essentially one of us would do one part, and the other one would do another part if the other isn't available. But this fight scene? Nope! It was ALL Vlad. I had to step away for a moment, and asked him to go nuts, and when I came back, I saw the first couple of paragraphs and I was like "HOLY SHIT!" I just couldn't get back on and break his flow, so I decided he should write that entire fight scene, and he did Heracles justice there. I wrote the aftermath of the fight, but he stole the show on this one.
CV: Although I'm not particularly good at writing regularly, I think I'm at my best when it comes to writing fight scenes, as long as I don't drag them out too much. Probably a side effect of consuming too many AMVs during the quarantine.
OC: Unfortunately for us, some of the fights here might have to drag on in order to show just how powerful both the Chaldean Servants are, and the opposition. But some fights like this are definitely a perfect example of a fight being perfectly paced. Both sides got hurt, but in the end, Medea and Heracles defeated their old comrade.
CV: The scene where Heracles activated his Guts was probably one of my favorite scenes to write in any story I've done so far. I did need to ask if I could give Heracles his Indomitable skill instead of just the Battle Continuation one he regularly has, but it passed and I was able to go full force with what I had in mind.
OC: To be perfectly fair when you first asked me to do that I was a little confused because I had no idea about it, but when you explained it to me I was immediately on board because it was too good not to use. Though speaking on that, I just realized this chapter also had the most Noble Phantasms activated in any one chapter. Kinda weird, but it also feels right for some reason. Though I think the most flashy and intriguing was Kiyohime's Noble Phantasm.
CV: The scene felt like a really good showcase of Kiyohime's abilities as well as her personality I'd say.
OC: Yeah, especially considering it was ME who wrote it. We DID make a promise to our readers that we would be unbiased towards her, and I aim to keep that promise.
CV: As long as you don't call her a blue haired mana prism.
OC:...I can't make promises on that, but I will promise that I will be as neutral when writing her. My Madness Enhancement EX for my hatred for yanderes (barring a couple because of reasons) cannot be deactivated.
CV: I respect that. I have my own characters that I'm going to dislike once it comes time to write them.
OC: Yeah, we're both making sacrifices here…but enough of the sadness train on that front. For readers who noticed Gilles calling Louis "Commander", there's a perfectly good reason why we decided to have him be called that now. You see, when Louis told General Gilles everything he learned and confirmed his suspicions, Gilles immediately promoted him for not only relaying such important information which improved morale for the entire army, and restoring their faith in Jeanne, but also because he survived his first encounter with Chaldea (and telling Gilles they are definitely the good guys), survived the attack on the fort, and dragged his one legged brother through the wyvern and dragon torn lands of Orleans to return to his family in Thiers. Dude has more than EARNED that promotion.
CV: Actually true, now let's just hope he doesn't get eaten by a wyvern or anything.
OC: Well, the future's not set in stone. Who knows? The guy might be more resilient than you give him credit for.
CV: Good point, let's wait to see how his story unfolds next week.
OC: That's all for this chapter. Please stay tuned next week for perhaps one of the most chaotic chapters in Chronicles!