Return to Null Chapter 9:
The King's Banquet Part 1
Day 9
The morning sun shimmered on the horizon as Kariya sat down on the park bench. The pain of the insects inside him was less intense right now, allowing him some peace and a moment to collect his thoughts. It had been four days since the burning of the Matou estate, and while thankfully it hadn't reached the news, there was no doubt that Zouken was furious that his workshop was completely destroyed. The man shivered and hissed in discomfort, that old fossil might already know he had a hand in its destruction by telling those newcomers about Sakura's situation, and if that was the case, then what was he waiting for….?
"Well, I wasn't expectin' ya here."
Kariya turned in surprise to see Ritsuka standing right by him. The white haired man looked around and didn't see anyone else. Then again, any Servants he brought would most likely be in Spirit Form.
"So, what're ya doin' here?" Ritsuka asked.
Kariya hissed in discomfort as the teenaged Master sat down next to him. "Believe it or not, Berserker likes coming here in the mornings. I've seen him also staring at some of the flowers with some….gentleness, I think."
Ritsuka looked at the elder Master in slight surprise. Lancelot liked looking at flowers? Why would he….The black haired teen shook his head and shrugged it off. He would have to ask Artoria later if he did this back in her lifetime…..
"Now, what are you doing here?" Kariya asked.
Ritsuka sighed. "I…I had a rough night, and just needed to some air."
"Was it some sort of nightmare?" Kariya asked.
"Not the kind ya want to know…." Ritsuka said.
"Have it your way." Kariya replied. "Have you heard anything about the other Masters?"
"Well we encountered Archer about three days ago." Ritsuka answered. "And we had a run in with Saber and her decoy Master the same night, and the day after."
"How are you still alive?" Kariya asked.
"Well Archer kinda interrupted us and attacked us the first meetin'." Ritsuka answered. "The day after we met durin' the day so we had a bit of a truce."
"Well encountering the same team twice in a few short hours is definitely surprising." Kariya muttered. The white haired Master hissed in pain, causing Ritsuka to stare at him in concern.
"Is there anythin' I can do to help?" Ritsuka asked.
Kariya ignored the boy's question and breathed deeply to get the pain under control. "So do you have a plan for our confrontation with….him?"
"Our esteemed strategist is actually here because he'd like to tell ya in person."
Kariya looked at the boy strangely for a moment before Waver materialized from Spirit Form and stood in front of him. The Caster reached his hand out, and performed a telepathic spell to tell Kariya directly of their plan. The white haired Master widened his good eye in shock as Waver told him everything he needed to know, as soon as the link was severed, Kariya felt an immense sense of dread fill him. Someone else had thrown themselves into the mix, and if he shows up then their entire operation will be compromised. "How are you going to deal with him?"
"Don't worry about that right now." Waver answered. "Just focus on your part in the plan, and everything might go smoothly."
"And if this doesn't go exactly as planned, what happens?" Kariya asked.
"That will have to remain a secret." Waver answered.
Kariya sighed. "Looks like I have no real choice but to agree. Very well, I'll do my part…"
"So, what will ya do during all this?" Ritsuka asked.
"I will find Tokiomi….." Kariya muttered. "And kill him! I'll throttle him for abandoning Sakura, for all he's done….Aoi deserved better than him…"
Ritsuka's eyes widened. "Hold on ya can't do that! If ya kill him, then it won't undo anythin'."
Kariya stared at the boy in irritation and disbelief. "How can you say that? Don't you know what he's done?!"
"Matou-san, please keep your eyes on the prize." Ritsuka said frantically.
Kariya scoffed. "This is a Holy Grail War, boy. If we don't kill him, then he'll kill us!"
"But he might not even BE there!" Ritsuka countered. "It'd be pointless."
"And what if he is?" Kariya asked.
"If he is, then he can watch as we take down Archer." Ritsuka said. "Without him, then Tohsaka loses. Killin' him ain't worth it…."
"Why….why should he walk free?!"
Ritsuka stared at the man in shock for a few moments. He then looked away and sighed. Kariya turned to face the boy and saw something in his eye that made him curious, but also hurt. Ritsuka looked disappointed in him.
"I thought we were similar…." Ritsuka muttered. "We both got out from toxic environments, and we both want to help people who're important to us….But I guess it was foolish of me to think that…."
"Oh spare me that pitiful dribble." Kariya said. "You came from the slums of Shinkaichi right? Well, I know what you truly want. You want those that hurt you and your caretaker, and whoever was kind to you, to suffer for inflicting all the trauma they put you all through."
"Perhaps, but it ain't the same as what ya desire." Ritsuka countered. The black haired teen clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "I wanna tear down that district, root and stem. I want those pigs, and whoever else exploited the few good souls there to be put behind bars, permanently. But I don't want'em dead. I want'em to feel the same kind of helplessness that they put their victims through. But most importantly? I just wanna get the prostitutes, and my mentor outta there. So it ain't the same for what you're aimin' for."
It was at this moment Diarmuid materialized from Spirit Form and raised his hands out of concern. "Gentlemen, please try to calm down."
"I am calm." Ritsuka said.
"I had enough of this." Kariya said. "I will see you all tonight…."
Before Ritsuka could do anything, Kariya stormed off weakly, but with newfound strength. The black haired teen did not try to stop him, and decided to just let things be for now. He could only hope Kariya could come to his senses after thinking things through….
After a moment's pause, Diarmuid looked at Ritsuka with concern and curiosity. "What you told him…about making those criminals suffer in prison. Were you telling the truth?"
"Well….yeah." Ritsuka answered calmly. "Why wouldn't I want that?"
"I was merely curious." Diarmuid replied. "I'm not trying to judge you."
"But I will." Waver said. "You have no right to call Kariya out on this."
"I think he does." Diarmuid countered. "What Ritsuka wants is simply to permanently incarcerate the criminals of his district, and make them face justice. What Kariya wants is to kill this Lord Tokiomi. They are not the same."
Waver pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled sharply. "This is getting us nowhere. Let's just discuss this later and get ready for tonight."
Ritsuka shrugged and got up from the bench and stared at Waver coldly. "If YOU lived the life I had, then you'd feel the same way I do. So let's just leave it at that and just get out of here."
Waver could only watch in surprise as Ritsuka walked away silently. The Caster sighed and took out a cigar, lighting it calmly as Diarmuid walked alongside Ritsuka. Waver looked at the boy again and thought about what he just said. If Ritsuka told him that, then maybe the kid had a point, albeit in a flawed way. Regardless, Waver realized that he should have kept his mouth shut….
A strong gust of wind hit the Caster, surprising him. Waver turned to see the wind rustling the leaves on the ground as if it were a great beast. With one last puff of smoke, Waver then walked away with a great weight bearing down upon him.
Something big was going to happen tonight, but he just couldn't figure out what….
The night air was tense as the main team walked silently towards the Einzbern Castle. Waver felt great unease as they inched closer and closer towards the estate, and recalled what happened the last time he was here. He knew that the plan could go awry, but he hoped that it wouldn't. He continued to hope that they didn't have to do Plan B. It was during this moment that everyone noticed Kariya standing, or rather being supported, by a tree near the estate.
"Took you long enough." He said coldly.
"Are ya gonna see reason?" Ritsuka asked.
Kariya groaned in annoyance. "How are you even a Mage? No will to kill, and no stomach for doing the dirty work."
"Okay if that's how ya wanna play it, then let me ask ya this." Ritsuka said in irritation. "Is killin' Tokiomi solely about makin' him pay for what happened with Sakura? Or are ya just jealous?"
"Senpai, please try to calm down…" Mashu said in concern.
"Ritsuka, you're getting out of line!" Waver shouted.
"He's talkin' about killin' somebody when it ain't necessary!" Ritsuka countered.
"Gentlemen, if you would PLEASE cease this senseless bickering, we have a job to do." Diarmuid said sternly.
Ritsuka took a look at everyone and noted their gazes. The black haired teen took a deep breath and sighed. "Sorry, guys. I shouldn't have said that…"
"Now that that's out of the way, let's drop the bloody subject and get to work." Waver said. As the Caster, Cú and Kariya left to quietly approach the estate, Mashu and Diarmuid stayed put alongside Ritsuka.
"If it makes you feel better, I truly hope you can convince Mr. Matou to stand down." Mashu said reassuringly.
"Thanks Mashu." Ritsuka said. He then turned to Diarmuid with an awkward smile. "Thanks for speaking up when you did. I don't think I would have been able to keep my head together after that…"
"Think nothing of it." Diarmuid said calmly. "You have a good heart, Ritsuka, but you also seem to be quite hot headed."
"Yeah…let's just say that I've had difficulties expressing myself until meeting everyone…." Ritsuka said. "So now I'm now having to learn how to keep things under moderation…"
The three of them cut off their conversation and tried to catch up to the others. As they made their way towards the check point, they saw Irisviel and the younger Waver standing next to Saber and Rider respectively, but no sign of Tokiomi. As soon as they saw the rest of their team, Waver held a hand up and pointed at Gilgamesh talking alongside Rider and Saber. Ritsuka saw the look in the Archer's eyes and scowled. He already knew they were here, and he scowled right back at them. Gilgamesh calmed down and took a deep breath.
"You look bored, Archer." Rider said as he took a swig of wine.
"Indeed I was for a moment." Gilgamesh replied. "Now, what was your wish for the Grail, Saber?"
"My wish…" muttered Saber, ruefully gazing at her reflection in the wine, "Yes, I suppose it is as good a time as any to reveal it."
Saber stood up, her poise and eyes befitting the regality of a king, to address Rider and Archer, along with their Masters. Irisviel leaned forward, her red eyes alert as she recalled how curious she was as to Saber's wish on the Grail.
"I pulled the sword from the stone, and became Britain's king. I did my utmost in that role, but my kingdom still came to an end, and my people ultimately suffered because I was not good enough. Therefore, I wish to reverse my decision and permit someone else to pull Caliburn from the stone. As the last duty I can perform for my country, I will do my best to find a superior replacement." explained Saber, goblet in hand.
"Hehe!" giggled Gilgamesh, "Hahahahaha!"
The golden Archer continued to laugh, as if possessed by a mad spirit. It was a cruel laughter that brought a look of scorn on Saber's face; she had not agreed to attend to be mocked by the golden Archer. After several seconds, Gilgamesh relented and turned towards Rider.
"Did you hear that, Rider? Saber wishes to UNDO her status as king? Hahahahaha!" said Gilgamesh.
"I do not see what is so funny, Archer!" spat Saber, her eyes as sharp as her blade.
"I agree with Archer, Saber." interjected Rider, standing up to emphasize his own stature, "You say you wish to sacrifice yourself to better your country? Is that not in reverse?! A true king takes from their country; he is the greediest, he is the greatest, he is the one that the country follows. Giving up your own desires for those of your people is not the act of a true king, but merely a slave that is yoked by the common people. As far as I can see, YOU are no true king! Just a little girl playing pretend!"
The red-haired Rider's jabs were punctuated by a crackle of lightning in the sky; Waver couldn't determine if that was an intentional flair by Rider, or simply coincidence. However, Saber remained resolute.
"Was that supposed to phase me, Rider?" asked Saber, acid dripping from her words, "Tell me, why should I care for the approval of a tyrant like yourself? For all your conquests and splendor, your kingdom fell like refuse after your death. You could not forge a true country, simply shackle others to yourself so that they may drown when you did. A king serves their country, and you did nothing for yours except delude them through a shallow show of force."
The older Waver, and the Chaldeans stared at Saber in absolute shock. She just tore down Rider's verbal assault like a lion does to its pray. The blonde King of Knights stood like a mountain, completely unfazed by the cruel jeers from her peers. Gilgamesh had stopped laughing, and began grinning with a glint of intrigue.
"Is that your definition of a king, Saber? It might have been worth appearing in this time to find interesting distractions like yourself. Well, continue to amuse me, Rider and Saber, and I might consider rewarding you two. Competent jesters are a very rare commodity, and I have yet to find even one to add to my collection." explained Gilgamesh, continuing his perspective as one who stood apart from others. "Now, I have started to tire of this, we have some uninvited mongrels, oh yes, I know you are all there! Did you really believe you could escape my notice?!"
The team slowly came from out of their hiding place, not even showing any signs of emotion. The two other Masters and Saber stared at them in surprise.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Saber asked.
"Saber, do not misunderstand us." Diarmuid said. "We are on the same side."
"Oh? Now this I would like to hear." Rider said with an amused grin.
"For starters," The older Waver said. "We always knew Archer would see us coming. But as for the two of you, we have no reason to fight. We have things to tell you, after we deal with Archer."
"And where is that silver haired mongrel from before?" Gilgamesh asked.
"He's dealing with another interloper." The older Waver answered.
Irisviel's eyes widened in realization. The white haired woman could only hope that Saber would trust them after hearing that. A chill soon ran up her spine, sensing something was wrong. She turned around and saw a glint of metal in the bushes. Before she could react, a knife was thrown from the bush, Saber leapt to her side and deflected the weapon before it could even get close.
"And with that everything is in place…." Ritsuka muttered. Everyone watched as a lone figure came out of the bushes, wearing a skull like mask.
"Assassin?! I thought they were already destroyed!" Young Waver said.
"Oho! It seems that this might become a battle royale!" Rider cheered.
"Hey Matou, time to get things rolling!" Cú said in excitement. "Things are finally in place."
Kariya groaned and beckoned Berserker to his side. The maddened warrior leapt to his side in an instant, glaring at Saber. The blonde Servant stared at them in shock, and confusion. Why wasn't he…
"I used a Command Spell on him so he won't attack you." Kariya said in labored breaths.
Gilgamesh scowled in irritation. "You dare bring this abomination into my presence?!"
"What's wrong goldie?" Cú asked mockingly. "You pissed because someone else can use your so-called treasures?"
"Be silent you mangy mutt!" Gilgamesh shouted. "You, mongrel, throw your dog a bone to stop his whinging!"
"Well I just so happen to have a bone." Ritsuka said. "BUT it's too busy wanting to pick a fight with you."
Gilgamesh stared at the young Master in absolute shock for the briefest moment before recomposing himself. The golden Archer chuckled softly, forced yet with authority, before devolving into a small laughing fit from amusement. "You have some nerve mongrel. I will make sure you have a nice, clean death."
"Oh enough blabbing!" Kariya shouted. "Berserker, attack him!"
Berserker howled and lunged at Gilgamesh as if a man possessed. The Archer scowled at the attacking Servant, and activated Gate of Babylon to keep him at a distance.
"Thanks for that." Ritsuka said. "I was gettin' tired of talkin' anyway."
"Just focus on the fight at hand." Kariya replied. As he said those words, Assassin snapped her fingers, and ten shadowy figures took form all around the garden. They soon jumped into battle, aiming for the younger Waver and Irisviel respectively.
"Mashu, go help Saber in protecting Irisviel." Ritsuka said.
"No, stay right here." Waver said. "Saber will be more than enough to protect her. Mashu needs to be here to protect the rest of you."
"And what are you going to do?" Ritsuka asked.
"I'll handle Assassin." Waver said. "I'll try to detain her, and make sure we have one Servant from getting themselves killed."
"Good luck!" Mashu said as she joined Cú and Diarmuid in aiding Berserker against Gilgamesh. Waver gave Rituska a small nod and left to attack the main Assassin body.
Mashu leapt into the front of the party opposing the golden Archer, shield raised as she braced herself against the swords half-sprung in their vault.
"Everyone, please stay behind me!" exclaimed Mashu, preparing Lord Chaldeas internally.
"Oh, so the meat puppet believes she can withstand the assault of my treasures? Does this arrogance belong to you, or to the unsightly- no, I will not speak of such things at this time." said Gilgamesh, cold red eyes focusing on the Demi-Servant in front of him, "Three and a half mongrels should serve as adequate warmup for these treasures!"
The first attack was almost too fast for Mashu's eyes to perceive, like a bolt of divine thunder that was simply too fast for Mashu to attempt to track with her eyes alone. The light struck Mashu's shield, the force transferring into her arms and almost bowling the Shielder over. The worst of the effects, the sweltering heat that liquidated the ground beneath, was mitigated and the group were unaffected.
"Hoho, so it would appear that shield is the genuine article. I will be sure to take it for myself once I have emerged victorious!" followed up Gilgamesh as a dozen more halos of lights with devastatingly powerful treasures emerged behind him.
"ANSUZ!" yelled Cu as he launched a fireball the size of a small vehicle at Gilgamesh before the blades could fire.
Simultaneously, Diarmuid leapt forward like a deer, crossing the distance in a single step as he thrusted his red spear beneath the golden Servant. It was a two pronged attack, too fast and too far apart for Gilgamesh to utterly crush simultaneously without sullying his bearing.
"Hmph!" grunted Gilgamesh, the sound of his tongue clicking behind his teeth as he reached into the portal nearest to him and drew out a treasure.
It was a sword long forgotten to mortal eyes, and simply unsheathing it cast a demonic light that blinded all who gazed upon it. The harsh metal struck Diarmuid's red lance, causing the demonic light to ebb away as it was pierced by the red spear. The metal held firm, but the power within was being forced out. The fireball was also aiming for Gilgamesh, but was deflected by another treasure ripping through it with intense force.
Berserker growled as he saw the opportunity and grabbed the sword that had been fired. It was a sword made out of hewn stone with black markings on the flat of the blade and hilt. As soon as Berserker had taken hold of the blade, it began to darken as red lines spread from Berserker's hand and down the hilt. With possession of the blade, Berserker attacked Gilgamesh off side as he was busy with Diarmuid.
"Same tricks again, mongrel?!" yelled Gilgamesh as he pulled another sword from his portal.
Diarmuid immediately recognized the sword and moved to intercept it with the Dearg, but could not withdraw his spear fast enough.
Berserker crashed into the short yellow sword with the stone sword while delivering a howl filled with rage. With his strength and skill, along with the sword in his hands, victory should be assured. However, the yellow sword did not budge, and Berserker was almost thrown aside from the recoil as his stone sword could not push back the yellow sword.
"Beagalltach!" Diarmuid grimaced in frustration at the sight of the yellow sword he once wielded in life, the yellow sword that the golden Archer had now deigned to use against him and his allies.
"Do not besmirch my treasures by referring to them by such lowly names, mongrel. For however reliable and beloved your sword must be to one such as you, mine is the genuine article and of far superior quality." said Gil, voice mocking and cruel as he charged the demonic sword in his right hand.
Both Servants had been outplayed and were in the strike range of Merodrach, which was now almost fully charged with prana. A single strike from the demonic sword would be more than sufficient to utterly annihilate both Servants at once. Before the swing could be completed, however, another red spear came bursting from behind with a mystical glow radiating from base to tip, drastically increasing the power of the spear, just enough to push the golden Servant back.
"Runes, always practical for tough spots!" said Cu as the sigils surrounding his spear faded.
Berserker was silent, but warily kept his focus on the golden Servant, eyes braced entirely in battle beneath the dark helmet.
"I apologize; though it is indeed not MY sword, I still feel sullied for permitting that tyrant to wield a familiar blade against my allies." said Diarmuid, the sight of the yellow sword prickling his pride as a knight.
"No, I am sorry, I should have been able to defend for longer!" cried Mashu, leaping to join the other 3 Servants.
"Don't feel bad, girl. Those attacks of his are just too devastating, quick, and numerous to defend with a stationary shield." assured Cu, quickly applying more runes to his limbs to boost his speed as much as possible.
"Besides, your shield gave us an opening to attack the golden tyrant. Be proud of your work against such an opponent." added Diarmuid, weighing whether it was the proper time to bring out the Buidhe.
"Ga…" muttered Berserker, offering a singular sound that could be interpreted as speech.
"Th-thank you all!" said Mashu, her inner strength invigorated, "I can deploy a more powerful shield, Lord Chaldeas, for a bit. I am not sure if it will hold against him for long, but…"
Blood. Mashu could taste blood on the tip of her tongue. It was the sensation of death a minute before one was struck, a sensation that was foreign for the Servant of the Shield. Gilgamesh had opened more portals BEHIND the group, planning to skewer them all in a flurry from an angle Mash could not guard against.
Diarmuid and Cu, their skills honed by living through such devastating barrages, gracefully dodged and parried their way out of danger, reacting to the same taste of blood in their mouths that they knew so well. Berserker also felt the sensation of death approaching him, even through the haze of madness that stripped most of his higher functions. However, he ignored every instinct to fight back, and instead rushed to the neophyte girl, scooping her up in his arms to shelter her from the worst of the attack.
The group scattered and reconvened, mostly unharmed. Berserker's black armor was torn apart in certain sections with blood gushing out of the hold and gashes in his frame, his award for protecting Mashu from the golden Archer's sudden attack. Thankfully, none of the attacks had affected his spiritual core, and the blood was beginning to stop its flow.
"Hahahah! Well, the motley pack of mongrels continues to survive? I will commend you for providing entertainment after my drink. How long can you last, I wonder?" said Gilgamesh, his voice booming in cruel arrogance as he produced more portals.
As that was happening, Kariya panted heavily, clutching his arm in pain. Ritsuka tried to use a healing spell on the white haired man to ease his discomfort, which the man accepted with a grunt of approval. "You know, you're not as weak as you say you are."
"Please don't speak right now." Ritsuka said calmly. "If ya do, then you're only gonna make the pain worse."
"Spoken like a doctor would." Kariya snarked. The white haired man looked at the castle to take his mind off the pain, noting its immaculate architecture. Whoever built this was definitely a top notch….
Kariya's eye widened in shock as he saw movement through one of the windows. The white haired man's blood began to boil and seethe. He gritted his teeth, snarling and growling in fury. Without uttering a word, the man suddenly started running towards the door leading inside the castle, shocking Ritsuka to the point of confusion as he lost sight of the man as he went inside. How was he….
"Shit!"
Ritsuka bolted after him, leaving the elder Waver stupefied as he continued to fight Assassin's main body. "What in the bloody hell are you doing?!"
"Matou is going to make a big mistake!" Ritsuka shouted. "I have to stop him before it's too late!"
The black haired Caster looked at the windows again and widened his eyes. "Dammit…okay, you go after him, and I'll take care of everything here until you get back!"
Ritsuka did not even reply to the Caster, and instead looked at Irisviel as she fired glass blades made of magecraft at the shades made from Assassin. The Homunculus then caught Ritsuka's gaze and stared at him in confusion.
"What are you doing?" Irisviel called out.
"I'm so sorry for what I'm about to do!" Ritsuka shouted.
"What are you-"
CRASH!
Irisviel widened her eyes in shock as Ritsuka jumped and broke through one of the windows closest to the garden's door. "Hey! That's expensive!"
Ritsuka peaked his head from the corner and stared at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry! I promise we'll fix the damages when the fight's over!"
Before she could say anything more, Ritsuka ran away inside the castle, leaving her in a daze.
"You might have another unexpected guest!" The older waver said. The Caster fired multiple waves of wind and light at Assassin, keeping her pinned. "I have you now!"
With a flick of his wrist, the Caster conjured a restraining barrier in the shape of a cube, trapping Assassin within. "Now I can help take down Archer."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that!"
The older Waver's eyes widened as he felt a chill down his spine. He turned back and dodged a strike aimed for his head, rolling out of the way as a spear nearly skewered him. As he got up his heart sank at his assailant. Rider stood before him with a frown. "With all these friends of yours greeting us, you just made things too easy and boring now."
The older Waver's eyes remained wide and slightly surprised for a moment, before relaxing his face and sighed. "I suspected that you would do this, even though I wished you would have seen reason…."
"Hey now, it's your fault for stacking the deck in your favor." Rider countered. "Now you just have to face the consequences."
"Wait Rider!" Young Waver said. "I think we should at least hear them out first!"
Rider shook his head with a smirk. "Sorry, but I'm not really feeling like it."
"You really shouldn't bother trying to change his mind at this point." The older Waver said. "You can't sway him when he's this fired up, so you might as well sit back and watch."
"Well don't go thinking you'll be getting all the glory here."
The three of them turned to see Saber walking towards the Caster, standing by his side and raised her weapon at Rider. "Lady Irisviel told me to join their side of the battle, so as of right now, I'm the one in charge here. So back me up."
"Well you're in a much fouler mood than usual." The older Waver said.
"Oh shut up and get ready to bloody fight already." Saber said in annoyance.
Rider grinned and raised his sword. "Well before we do, I just have to say one thing to our guest here."
"And what would that be?" The older Waver asked.
"I really don't like you."
Time froze for the Caster. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief as those words rang through his ears. In the briefest of moments, all he could think about was why he would say that to him. Why was he so insistent on this? Why was…
The Caster then saw the grin remaining on Rider's face, causing the black haired man to slowly turn his frown upside down, chuckling with mirth. "Oh I see. So that's how it is."
"Indeed it is." Rider said.
The older Waver grinned and brought out his fan, a magic circle formed beneath his feet. As he readied himself, he allowed himself to glance where Irisviel was supposed to be standing, only to see that she was gone from the battlefield. After a moment of wondering where she went, he pushed it to the back of his mind. There was only one place she could have gone. But right now he had to focus on the fight ahead.
"I don't think I need to tell you this, but you should try and stay back so you can also focus on keeping Assassin in that little prison." Saber said.
The Caster chuckled. "You are a real slave driver, you know that?"
A crackle of lightning rang in their ears, and saw Rider readying himself for battle. "Now this is what I'm talking about! Let us clash and see who truly is worthy among us!"
Without uttering another word, Saber and Rider dashed towards each other, their swords raised to strike. The older Waver shot forth a spell to try and slow down their opponent, but Rider cut through like butter and clashed blades with Saber.
Wind was blowing hard from the east, thought the sniper as he felt his coat billow in the gust. He was at least appreciative that this form was much more sensitive to such sensations, so an anemometer was unnecessary. The wind would divert his path by at least 1.1 degrees; absolutely miniscule at close range, but a rather different scenario was present.
"There…a bit…" muttered the white-haired assassin as he repositioned his rifle a fraction of a centimeter to compensate for the wind.
His hands were absolutely perfect for the job, not a single tremor or twitch would disrupt his shot, so as long as he kept in mind his settings, the bullet would strike its target…the white haired homunculus, Irisiviel Von Einzbern.
POW
The bullet fired, barely making a sound thanks to the subsonic ammunition used for stealth missions. In 2.44 seconds, Irisviel would be dead…
Nothing happened, however. The white haired woman was completely unharmed and continuing to support Sabert in the free for all battle down below.
"That's quite dirty of you," said an unknown voice from behind Kirtisugu
The assassin spun around, submachine gun already drawn and pointed at the unknown Servant. He possessed twin swords, Chinese style, with the left one possessing a minor hairline fracture that'd be imperceptible to anybody else but a Servant.
While his guns, being part of his Saint Graph, were imbued with Mystery and thus capable of harming a Servant, the assassin noted the oddity. Cleary, those swords couldn't have been the red Servant's Noble Phantasm; a proper Noble Phantasm would not have taken even that minute damage from the bullet. Was the red Servant an oddity?
Without a word, the assassin opened fire, a hail of bullets spewing forth from the barrel of his gun to force the red Servant into defending.
"Time Accel…" whispered the assassin as he spun around in accelerated time to refocus on shooting down the white-haired homunculus.
Gone. When did she escape?!
"You should try talking to her instead of watching from afar." mocked the red Servant as he crossed the distance between the two with black sword drawn.
The assassin was silent, but Emiya could feel his unseen eyes bore into his form as he leapt back with his Calico drawn again. Kiritsugu fired the SMG at rapid fire, trying to keep the Archer at a distance so he could flee to a better vantage point. Emiya was forced to dodge the hail of bullets before conjuring his bow and Hrunting to try and keep his target from getting too far. After taking aim at Kiritsugu's fleeing form, he let loose his projectile. Kiritsugu felt a sharp pain hit his shoulder, and saw Hrunting sticking out from it. The white haired man found a piece of cover not too far from him, and dived behind it to pull out the sword. After a bit of hissing in pain and leverage, Hrunting was pulled from his shoulder, and took a look at his wound to check the situation. The assassin sighed in annoyance as while he would be able to heal, his means of taking his target out from a distance had been neutralized.
"You should give up now."
Kiritsugu looked up and saw Emiya standing before him, his swords still at the ready.
"Why are you so fixated on stopping me?" He asked.
"First things first." Emiya said. "Why are you hunting Irisviel down? What is your goal?"
"Because she needs to die." Kiritsugu answered.
"But why her specifically?" Emiya asked. "Irisviel is a decoy."
"She's still my target." Kiritsugu answered.
"But what's the point?" Emiya asked. "Killing her won't get rid of Saber. So whoever gave you your information clearly didn't do their homework."
"How are you certain?" Kiritsugu asked.
"Because you were the true Master of Saber in my timeline." Emiya answered. "But since you're trying to kill Irisviel, that means someone else has to be the actual Master."
"I see…So it would seem you know me from a different timeline." Kiritsugu said in a monotone voice.
"I do.. My name is Shirou. Emiya Shirou. I am your adopted son."
Kiritsugu shrugged. "Why should I care?"
"I don't need you to care." Emiya said. "I just need to find out why Irisviel needs to die."
"Because she has to." Kiritsugu answered.
"But I just told you that she isn't the target!" Emiya said.
"But she is." Kiritsugu countered. "You should understand why, given who we both should be working for."
Emiya raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You know exactly who I am talking about."
Emiya's eyes widened. The pieces were finally falling into place. Saber's intense protectiveness over Irisviel…..Irisviel's colder and commanding personality….
It all made sense now.
(Meanwhile)
Ritsuka ran as fast as he could within the walls of the Einzbern estate. He couldn't believe that Kariya could run so fast in his condition that he managed to shake Ritsuka off, but the boy was determined to find him. The sound of shouting stopped him in his tracks, and he turned left towards the source, that was where he had to be!
As soon as he reached the source, Ritsuka's eyes widened. Kariya collapsed on the floor, still conscious, but unable to move with a man wearing a nice red suit standing over him, his cane slammed to the ground in grandiose fashion.
This had to be Tokiomi Tohsaka…..
"I am disappointed, Matou." The black haired man said.
Kariya clenched his teeth and growled as he slowly got back up. "Don't worry, you'll be more than disappointed when I'm done with you."
The white haired Master conjured a swarm of insects to attack the Tohsaka patriarch, but Tokiomi simply conjured forth a stream of fire from his cane, incinerating the bugs, and sweeped Kariya off his feet in one fluid motion. Kariya was no longer able to get back up now, and Ritsuka knew it. The only way to get them out of this situation was to interfere himself.
As Tokiomi prepared a wave of flames to finish off Kariya, Ritsuka opened his bag of water, and with a wave of his hand, shot it like a whip to counter the flames. Tokiomi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Of all the times to stop me, it just had to be when I was this close!"
Ritsuka clapped his hands together, making the water rise from the ground and turned it into shards of ice bringing them close, and threw them at Tokiomi. The red suited Master saw the young boy and dodged some of the shards, and melted the others with a surprised face. That face soon turned to a scowl and a fierce glare.
"Why are you here?!" He asked in irritation.
"Stoppin' ya from killin' Matou-San, that's what!" Ritsuka answered. The teen clapped his hands again, bringing out more water from his bag, separating them like bullets, and shot them towards Tokiomi. The aristocrat dodged by reflex, and shot a stream of fire at Ritsuka. The young boy widened his eyes and dove under the flames, trying to reach Kariya to help him. Tokiomi shot another bolt of flames at Ritsuka, preventing him from reaching the white haired Master, forcing Ritsuka to roll out of the way.
"I do not know why one of your kind is here," Tokiomi said. "But I'll be sure to get to the bottom of this!"
"Whaddya mean by that?" Ritsuka asked.
"As if I would grace a lowborn street rat like yourself with an answer."
"Sheesh, this is why I hate my accent…." Ritsuka muttered. The young teen analyzed the ground and saw that he had a puddle of water that formed a line right at Tokiomi. With a little grin, Ritsuka clapped his hands, and slammed them to the ground, forming spikes of ice to push Tokiomi back. While Tokiomi was preoccupied keeping the ice trail off him, Ritsuka took a look at the inside of his palms and breathed a sigh of relief. The circles he drew on them were still in pristine condition. Given that he didn't have a glove Mystic Code like his mentor, he had to improvise like she taught him to, and he was grateful he paid attention to that lesson.
A shining light caused Ritsuka to look up and gasp. A fireball was hurled at him, forcing him to clap his hands and form a small wall of ice to try and stop it. Unfortunately, the flames broke through his weak wall, knocking the boy down on the ground.
"I must admit, you have some potential." Tokiomi said smugly. "But you are far too weak to be called a true Magus."
Kariya snarled and slowly got up. Ritsuka turned to him in concern and got in between the two men.
"Stand down Matou-San, ya need to get outta here!"
"Not until I deal with him!" Kariya shouted. The white haired Master conjured forth a swarm of insects from his body, commanding them to swarm over the Tohsaka patriarch.
"I must admit, your resilience is commendable." Tokiomi said. "But it's futile."
With a wave of his cane and a small chant, a whip of flames incinerated the insects, and knocked Kariya onto his knees. Ritsuka ran to his side after firing Gandr to keep Tokiomi occupied. "Ya gotta get outta here!"
"Until Tohsaka pays for what he has done, I will not leave!" Kariya shouted. The white haired man charged at the Tohsaka patriarch with Ritsuka chasing behind him to try and stop him. Kariya noticed the boy's attempt, and summoned a swarm of insects to keep him in place. Ritsuka clicked his tongue and brought more water out from his bag, using it like a whip to try and cut through the bugs.
Kariya raised his hands to attack Tokiomi, who simply smirked at the shell of a man, not even moving from where he stood. Kariya's roar grew softer and softer as everything went fuzzy, and the room started to grow dark. Pain shot through his body like a hot iron in that moment, the last thing he saw in that moment was the room turning sideways, and the floor hitting his head. Ritsuka gasped in horror at the sight. He was trying so hard to prevent this, but in the end he could not prevent it from happening.
Kariya was now unconscious.
Ritsuka clicked his tongue in concern, and shot a huge orb of water and ice at Tokiomi to keep the man away from Kariya. Tokiomi frowned and leapt out of the way, giving Ritsuka enough time to reach the white haired Master, forming a telepathic link to the other Servants.
"Guys, we got bad news! Matou-San is unconscious!"
"Yeah, we kind of figured!" Cú responded. "Lancelot just went absolutely crazy, and is attacking Saber right now!"
"Do not worry about that." Waver replied. "We still have a chance to win. The plan will be successful. Ritsuka, all you need to do is get Matou out of there."
"Easier said than done." Ritsuka answered. "I have a very smug Tohsaka to deal with, and I don't think I'll be able to shake him off."
"Damn! Ritsuka, you have to find a way out of there now!"
Before Ritsuka could react, a stream of flames shot towards him. The young Master gritted his teeth and conjured another wall of ice, this time slightly tougher, to protect him and Kariya from the attack. Unfortunately, the wall was still too weak, shattering almost on impact, the flames hit Ritsuka, knocking him back. The young boy recovered almost instantly, and saw Tokiomi smirking at him. "Keep trying, and you might actually hit me."
Ritsuka clapped his hands together and summoned several spikes of ice from the water on the ground into his hands. The young Master threw them rapidly at Tokiomi, trying to keep him away, but the Tohsaka slammed his cane on the ground, conjuring multiple flaming streams to bat the shards away. Ritsuka tried to use this time to grab Kariya and run, but Tokiomi stopped him with a blast of fire. Ritsuka tried to use the water from the floor to smack Tokiomi away, but the Tohsaka patriarch countered him by using the flames around him to bat Ritsuka into one of the walls. The young boy grunted as the air left his lungs, but he slowly got back up to try and fire Gandr again at Tokiomi. The Tohsaka simply countered him with a protection spell, and used his cane to fire another bolt of magecraft at Ritsuka, hitting the boy square in the chest. The young boy slumped to the ground, groaning in discomfort. Ritsuka tried to get up, but Tokiomi was upon him in an instant, roughly grabbing Ritsuka by his hair, and pulled him up with a harsh yank. Tokiomi raised his cane to Ritsuka's face, the flames coming from it caused the young teen to realize that the man intended to burn his face off.
"Once I am done with you, I will figure out why you are here." Tokiomi said. "I will kill Matou, and your little group will fall."
"You will do no such thing."
Ritsuka's and Tokiomi's eyes widened in shock as they heard that voice. The Tohsaka felt the hairs on his neck stand on edge, letting go of the boy and leaping back as glass swords shot out like bullets. Tokiomi stared in shock at the new arrival while Ritsuka fell to his hands and knees trying to get his bearings. The sound of footsteps caught his attention, and when he raised his head, the young teen widened his eyes as he saw his savior.
It was none other than Irisviel.
The white haired woman saw the boy and reached her hand out with a smile. "Sorry for my late arrival."
"Lady Einzbern, why are you helping that cheating boy?" Tokiomi asked. "He broke into your home, attacked you and our Servants, and is trying to-"
"This 'cheater' saved my life twice now." Irisviel said sternly. "Yes, he broke into my estate, and my window, but he and his team have shown me respect, apologized for their intrusion."
Irisviel turned to Ritsuka with a smile and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. I know Saber won't trust you yet, but I want to repay the favor, so I'll listen to what you and your friends have to say when everything is under control."
"Thanks. Hopefully we can talk about it while I help fix that window." Ritsuka said bashfully.
Irisviel giggled. "Go get your companion and run. I'll take it from here."
"Are you sure?" Ritsuka asked.
Irisviel nodded. "Our Servants are fighting their own battles, so it wouldn't be fair if only I wasn't taking part."
Ritsuka raised an eyebrow at the comment in confusion until he saw her raise her hand, making him gasp. Three red marks permeated her right hand, pulsating with power. The young boy felt time slow to a halt as he watched those seals with disbelief, and a sudden realization. There was no decoy here…..
Irisviel was a Master.
"Why are you still here? Get him and find a safe place to heal him." Irisviel said. "I'll buy some time."
Ritsuka nodded and dashed towards Kariya, but Tokiomi was there to try and stop him with a stream of fire. "As if I'd let you get away!"
Irisviel sharpened her eyes and shot two glass like blades at the Tohsaka Master, forcing him to redirect his attack to defend against hers. This gave Ritsuka enough time to lift, albeit with some incredible difficulty, Kariya into his arms, and ran away from the battle. As soon as Irisviel felt that they were out of Tokiomi's reach, the woman stepped forward more, her eyes steely and cold as she glared at Tokiomi.
"You are a real hypocrite, you know that." Irisviel said. "You call that boy an intruder, but YOU also snuck into MY home, and if my suspicions are correct, YOU helped smuggle Assassin to try and kill me and Rider's Master. So I have this to say. YOU are the unwelcome guest here, Tohsaka."
Irisviel conjured more glass blades, aiming them at Tokiomi.
"You're in MY house now. And I'm going to show you the door."
OC: Well well well! Irisviel coming in to save the day like a boss and being a classy gal! She must have practiced that line constantly for something like this.
Y: I imagine she'd have bounced it with Saber.
OC: She probably did. Now normally we would be going through commentary for each scene, but unfortunately we will have to make it more brief as we both have a very long week ahead of us, and need some rest to keep us healthy, so we will have to skip scene one, and focus on scene two. So for scene two, the big thing we had to cover was the banquet itself, and how the others saw Saber's dream. We all know how it went down in the anime, however, I had seen quite a bit of criticism regarding how Iskander and Gilgamesh treated Saber in that moment, and also Yatsu's own opinion on it, so we decided to change it from her just taking the verbal lashing, to actually fighting back and showing her fangs to Rider for his own failings. That scene and the fight with Gilgamesh was written completely by Yatsu, and he did an absolutely stellar job in my opinion.
Y: Thank, I appreciate it. It's fun to see Gilgamesh fight with a bit more nuance than 'lol die mongrels'.
OC: That is also true. And he did have a lot of tact and wisdom in how he fought the others. And his banter with Ritsuka made me chuckle a bit. Now as for Adult Waver's reaction to Rider attacking him will come as a shock, but it was something I thought would be a little better for our overworked Caster because he KNEW Rider well. So he'd have to take into account that Rider would probably oppose the Chaldeans and fight them instead of working with them. In the game it felt kinda weird how he wouldn't take that into account despite the fact he knew what kind of person he was. However, we kept the reaction of Rider saying he doesn't like him, and simply had that part happen here instead of later just to give the ending of this arc a more interesting conclusion.
Y: Well, Rider is the type who wants to enjoy the process, hence his stated wish on the Grail being Incarnation rather than outright wishing for the world to be conquered under him. So, it'd make sense he'd oppose Waver there.
OC: Exactly. It was very silly in the game for Adult Waver to not take that into account, so we decided to make him have that as a possible scenario and plan accordingly. Now as for scene three, once again, the fight between Kiritsugu and Emiya was made by Yatsu, as he's a better expert on firearms, so it felt right to let him to take the lead there. And for the fight with Tokiomi, we wanted to show that while we made Ritsuka a better Mage than in canon, he's still going to get his butt kicked. Tokiomi might be an average magus, and Ritsuka slightly below average, but that is more than enough for Tokiomi to have the edge. But Ritsuka did hold himself pretty well.
Y: Still find it highly amusing that Kiritsugu's rifle is a WA2000; did he get that before or after working with the Einzberns cuz that is a pricey gun to buy and maintain. And yeah, Mage vs Mage fights are actually kinda rare in this franchise. Even then, they cycle through the same dozen or so tricks, which kinda hurts the 'the more people know how to do the Magecraft the weaker it is, spiel', but that's another headache. Well, regardless, it was pretty nice.
OC: Yeah one of the issues with Magecraft I have noticed in the franchise is a "tell don't show" mentality. But I'd like to see more spells used because it's almost always talk talk talk! That gets boring. But as for Ritsuka himself, he really showed some ingenious creativity by drawing the magic circles on his hands for some quick spellcasting. Waver would definitely approve of how Hannah taught him adaptability and critical thinking there. However poor Tokiomi, he is so boring he put Kariya to sleep. But aside from that, the big moment of Irisviel coming in to save Ritsuka was kind of adorable.
Y: There's not that many battles where Magi show much creativity, sad to say. Kayneth's mercury was neat, but it didn't last long cuz Kiritsugu's Origin Bullets. Hrmm, I think Mahoyo has a few more, but it revolves a lot on Alice (a Witch) and Aoko (a Sorcerer) so a lot of how that applies to more common Magi is…up in the air. Well, there's also Touko, but she does everything.
OC: True, and as for Irisviel, she came in like a badass and saved Ritsuka's bacon, and she did it with class. So as everyone probably figured out, this chapter ended on a cliffhanger, and thats because after talking with Yatsu about it, we felt that making this a two parter would be much wiser to flesh things out. And with that we are out of time, thank you all for reading this chapter of Chaldean Chronicles. Please stay tuned for the second part of the King's Banquet when we get to it. OwenChaser and Yatsu, signing off.
Y: Bye bye
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