Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 98 of the story! Ready for Summer Event and get the Quick Savior, Skádi Ruler? If so, then good luck for everyone rolling for her as well as the other flavours of valkyries!
With that said, let's go!
DISCLAIMER: All of the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author
With the night having fallen, the chaldeans drove torwards the main gate of the Holy City, having left the town of refugees and merchants alongside the young boy Rushd and his mother. The event in order to enter the Lion King's domain, the Holy Selection, could start at any moment, and the party wouldn't dare miss their opportunity of entering the Holy City. As the vehicle traveled through the last miles of dry land, the enormous royal city became closer, with a sea of refugee tents standing near the tall walls of the main entrance.
"We're arriving." Da Vinci told to everyone, the car slowing down once it reached near the giant camp of refugees, travessing it, resulting on drawing some attention from the people while navigating in the middle.
"So many people here..." Ritsuka murmured, staring at the poor souls who'd stare back at them. They all looked sad, despondent, anxious, tired, miserable. Anticipating in the small territory's of their own tents all by themselves or accompained by a friend or familiar, for the ritual of the Holy Selection to start, in hopes that they could get away from the infernal lifes these recent times had been of running away and surviving from constant danger.
"They all must've came from a long away." Peko replied, also gazing at the huge refugee crowd around them. Many of elderly, children, sick and starved. "This is their only hope to keep on living now."
Sitting on the back of the vehicle, Rushd's mother called Da Vinci to stop driving. "You can stop. This is far enough. Me and Rushd wil be leaving here." She said, grabbing the hand of her son.
Da Vinci nudged her head. "Understood." Stopping the vehicle, she let the mother and son get out of the car, deciding to do the rest of the course on foot.
"Thank you very much for the ride and what you did for us back in town. You really are a group of wonderful people for having made my Rushd feel happy again." The muslim woman thanked the chaldeans once again for their good deeds.
"Appreciate it. Just look out for yourselves now and keep close to each other." Ritsuka replied, warning the duo. "Don't let any suspicious or bad person approach and harm you."
"We will keep that in mind. Thanks for the words." Rushd's mother gave a gentle smile to the group. "May we meet agains soon after inside the Holy City after going through the Holy Selection."
"Hope you guys can make it. I'm looking forward to play ball again." Rushd speaked, also desiring to re-encounter the chaldeans very soon. "Make sure to improve those touches and passes of yours next time, Peko."
"Y-Yeah! I'll surely try!" Peko scratched his head while smiling a bit timidly, thinking Rushd could have spared him of that part.
"Also looking forward to see you soon, Nala." Rushd told to the girl who seemed to be mainly occupied in her own mind before having them shattered by the muslim boy calling her.
"...Likewise, Rushd." Nala responded with a little warm smile.
The group said goodbye to him and his mother before advancing some more meters into the refugee camp.
"I'll see if we can go a bit further." Da Vinci told them.
"I don't think so. There must be guards up ahead preventing the people from reaching to the main gate as of now." Peko responded, seeing that there was a end to the sea of tents.
"Fou, fou."
Feeling his shirt being pulled by Fou's mouth, Ritsuka looked down at the animal. "What is it buddy?" He asked him.
"Fou..." Fou pointed sadly to the back seats of the vehicle, where Mash and Nala were sitting apart from one another, each looking at opposite directions, staying in silence. The two girls had rarely muttered a word or talk ever since they left the town. It was visible that the bond between the two had coldened after what happened in the abrupt end of their ball game. Mash wasn't angered nor furious. Instead, she was saddened by the fact her friend was giving the shielder the cold shoulder for quite some time now, not having the courage to confront her about that. As for Nala herself, no one could figure on what she was thinking, only that she was as calm as Mash, her face being more of melancholy than anything else.
Getting the mood from there, Ritsuka patted Fou. "I know Fou. I too don't like seeing them like that."
"Fou."
"No one does." Peko replied to Ritsuka, also staring at Mash and Nala while speaking in a low tone in order for the two girls to not hear them.
"There's nothing much I can say about it besides that we should give those two some time and space." Da Vinci speaked with Ritsuka and Peko on the front of the car. "It might help clear their heads a bit. Specially Nala." She told them before putting the car into full-stop, seeing a line of knight soldiers some fifty meters ahead. "I guess this is as far as we can go. Hop out of the car everyone."
Getting the orders, Ritsuka stared behind to pass them to Mash and Nala. "Mash. Nala. We have to exit the car."
"Roger that, master." Mash replied, rising from her seat.
"Understood." Nala also responded, moving out from the car.
Now that everybody was out, Da Vinci grabbed the vehicle's device and with a press of the button folded the car into a cube again, storing it in her pocket.
Lifting up his head, Peko gazed at the giant white walls that worked as the Holy City's barrier and protection from outside threats. The towers of the palace in the center being even taller, able to see them behind the walls. "So huge." He commented in awe. The Lion King had to be a true powerful individual to come up with such stupendous architecture and buildings.
"Just like Ozymandias city and his entire desert kingdom, this beauty of a city wasn't met to be here, geographically or temporally." Da Vinci also commented on it. "But quite a good replacer of Jerusalem, visually speaking that is."
"Most probably the main reason why this Singularity is such in a haywire state." Mash speaked, checking the surroundings. "We should know when the Holy Selection is about to start. Could be at any minute now."
"Well said, Mash. We can ask to some of these refugees here. Maybe they'll know." Da Vinci gave the idea.
"Perhaps we could start with that person over there." Peko pointed at a man sitting in his own tent to the right, his back turned to them.
"Sure! Let's go ask him!" Da Vinci replied, with the chaldeans heading to the man's tent.
But as they approached, Ritsuka begun to have the weird feeling he had seen the man before. "Isn't that..."
Da Vinci leaned over, about to call the man's attention. "Excuse us. Can you tells us when-"
However, the man himself seemed to have precipitated, shouting as he turned around. "I-I wasn't doing nothing schemy or nefarious at all sir knig-...eh?" The man had some bandages and dressings on his face, covering the wounds of his face that had signs of having been beaten up. That made it all clear.
"SARUHAN?!"
The entire party exclaimed, perplexed at seeing the merchant they had defeated and kicked out of town previously to be here at the main gate of the Holy City. They'd believe that after that confrontation, they wouldn't see the greedy man's face again or so soon.
"YOU?!" Saruhan also yelled in shock, the people who made him lose his reputation and status among the merchants in town appearing right in front of him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Ritsuka asked to the merchant in not a so friendly tone.
"I could ask the same thing about you!" Saruhan replied in the same tone.
"Because we're here to participate in the Holy Selection!" Nala responded to the merchant. "I think that was pretty obvious from us! Now what is a dumbass like you doing here?"
Sweating a bit, Saruhan looked briefly to the side as he tried to come up with an explanation. "Ermm, you see..." He smiled the moment he thought on something. "I was making sure-"
"You weren't here to plan on stealing and fooling the other refugees, were you?" Peko interrupted him, most likely figuring out Saruhan's motive.
"..." The muslim merchant stood freezed, not uttering a word.
"You were, weren't you?" Ritsuka said, taking Saruhan's silence has confirmation.
"And here I thought you couldn't sink any lower." Da Vinci shamed Saruhan who quickly lost his posture.
"Oh yeah?! Well, I'm sorry that a bunch of stupids appeared out of nowhere and demolished my guild and reputation as a merchant, forcing me to steal from others now!" Saruhan shouted in anger as he remembered his humiliating defeat at the hands of the chaldeans.
"Pretty sure you were already used to robbing others way before we even appeared in town." Mash replied, aware of the kind of person Saruhan was.
"And? At least it was way more easy and productive! Now I don't even have men of my own to gather wealth for me! All because of you foreigners!" Saruhan pointed his finger at the party as he vented out his frustrations to them.
"Then think about doing honest work next time without extorting people!" Da Vinci accused him, only serving to fuel more Saruhan's anger.
The ex-merchant was about to take out his sword. "You big-"
Ritsuka didn't hesitated in showing Saruhan his fist. "You want to repeat the experience?"
Holding himself back and thinking for a moment, Saruhan decided to follow Ritsuka's advice and keep the sword sheathed. "Tsk! Whatever...I'm going then! There's nothing of worth to gain from these pathetic refugees anyways." He said, about to walk away, not wanting to get in trouble with the chaldeans again.
"Before that, about the Holy Selection. When does it start exactly?" Da Vinci asked to Saruhan before he could leave.
The ex-merchant looked at her as if she was dumb. "Eh? Why should I even respond to-"
"It wasn't a question." Da Vinci told him coldly, wanting Saruhan to give an answer.
That was enough to send some shivvers down his spine. "Okay okay! I'll tell you! The Holy Selection begins in about five minutes. Once the giant doors of the main gate opens, it will be the signal that the Holy Selection will start. This is all from the mouth of other merchants. From that point onwards I do not know what happens."
"So five minutes from now. Got it." Peko replied, the party having now achieved the information.
"Thanks for telling us." Ritsuka simply said before he and the group turned around and begun to walk away from Saruhan.
"W-Wait! That's all?! No reward? Not even a goodbye or 'have a safe travel'?" Saruhan was indignant with them. "And then you tell me I'm heartless!"
"How about you just piss off before we change our mind?" Nala replied back, having enough of hearing Saruhan talking.
"Grr! I hope whatever you find in the Holy City, it shatters your perception of it being an ideal city!" Saruhan cursed at the chaldeans before finally leaving the refugee camp, grumbling along the way.
"Now that we know of the time left before we enter the Holy City, we might as well recapitulate the chronological events of this Singularity as well as the factions that divide it." Da Vinci told the group as a way to spent the small time remaining before the Holy Selection started.
"How about we also contact doctor Romani and see if he and the staff have found any intel regarding the interior and other areas of the Holy City?" Mash proposed as well.
"Good thought, Mash. Let's check on him and Chaldea." Da Vinci replied, beggining to establish a connection to Romani.
It didn't took much time before his hologram appeared. "Yes? Having problem?"
"Not at all doctor. We've reached now to the main gate of the Holy City, shortly before the Holy Selection begins." Mash responded to him, giving the status of the group's current situation. "And how about the doctor and the staff there in Chaldea? Any development of details about the Holy City? Were you able to scan it?"
"Unfortunately not." Romani gave them the news. "We tried checking of the possibility of having any other entrance or secret passage on the Holy City, but it seems the main gate is the ONLY entrance to the city. That and that the Holy City itself appears to be impossible to analyze it with our mechanisms and programs to see it on the screen. All that we could detect it was a mysterious source of power coming from its center." He told them before looking up to the enormous palace. "Most probably from one of the giant towers that we're seeing."
"Could that source be the Lion King himself or anything connected with him?" Peko pondered.
"We don't have the definitive answer for that. And by the looks of it, only by entering the Holy City we might get it." Romani said to the boy. "Is that all you wanted to hear from me?"
"Basically. Altough we were also about to start summeraizing the timeline of this Singularity and the current factions that occupy it." Da Vinci revealed it to Romani. "So if you wanna stick around to also do the recapitulation..."
"With all pleasure of course!" Romani said happily. "You know I always take notes of the overall scenario of every Singularity you go in. Allow me to start." Romani rested his elbows on the desk of his keyboard, putting both his hands together before lying his chin on top of them. "So initially, Solomon planned for this Singularity to be a war between the crusaders and their enemies for the control of Jerusalem, the Holy Land, with the crusaders coming as the winners thanks to the grail's powers that he bestowed to them. That grail however, would be infected, contaminating the Holy Land into being the residence to one of the Demon Gods."
"But as we were told, Solomon's original plan never came to happen as the crusaders lost the grail by the hands of Ozymandias, the servant they had summoned in order to help them conquest Jerusalem." Da Vinci continue the summary. "The grand pharaoh of the 19th dinasty refused to help realize Solomon's plans and so, ceasing the grail for himself, used it to summon the desert of Egypt and build the capital of his kingdom there. Despite that, it would seem the crusaders were able to take the Holy Land for themselves somehow."
"And it wasn't for too long." Peko speaked up. "Maybe weeks or months after the crusaders had taken Jerusalem, the Lion King appeared in this Singularity alongside his knights, and a war against the crusaders happened. The end result was of the crusaders total annihalation and overall destruction of the Holy Land at the hands of the Lion King, building the Holy City as his own kingdom and replacement to Jerusalem."
"And that looks to be the status quo as of now." Nala said, now the recapitulation arriving to the present day the chaldeans have landed on the Singularity. "The Blight, some kind of cursed disease I suppose, must have appeared sometime before we arrived here, with rumours that is spreading torwards the Holy City ever since. Also, there seems to be no war between Ozymandias and the Lion King's kingdoms."
"True. There is no sign of animosity between the two territories." Ritsuka replied. "They must have made some sort of mutual non-agression pact, as Ozymandias has no interest in the deals of the Lion King and the Lion King himself must perceive the neutrality with the other nation as advantageous for whatever goals he and his own kingdom may have. Yet, in the middle of all of this, like in America, there seems to be a sort of third faction."
"The skull masked assassins we encountered and fought before. The Order of Assassins themselves." Mash talked by last. "We don't know quite well what the motives of the Hassans are, but taking into account they tried to abduct Nitocris and one of them was slained by a knight of the Lion King while fleeing with some refugees, perhaps they act as an opposing force to both kingdoms, opting to not be ruled by neither. That and the fact their bases are somewhere up in the mountains."
"So if this is like in America, should we ally to the assassins?" Peko thought.
"Too soon to tell. We aren't aware of what the Order of Assassins true goal is in here. Neither of the Lion King." Da Vinci replied. "We should first seek an audition with the Lion King and see what his purpose in this Singularity is as well as of this Holy City. After that, we will decide on what to do later."
The moment Da Vinci finished speaking, the sounds of gates begun to open as well as of a fanfare, getting the chaldeans and the entire camp's attention.
"Heed everyone! The doors of the main gate have unlatched! The ritual of the Holy Selection will begun! Those of you who crave for participance, shall be steered by us to the entrance! Beyond the gate, will the Knight of the Sun await you for the ceremony!"
One of the soldier knights at the line announced, commencing the movement of hundreads of refugees to exit their tents and head to the open main gate while calmly being led by the soldier knights.
"Five minutes have passed already?" Peko asked, a bit surprised.
"That's how short they feel." Ritsuka replied.
"Quite the timing!" Romani said, looking to the party. "Make sure to join the group of refugees to enter the Holy City and meet up with the Lion King. Me and the staff will take the chance to try and scan the area again. Good luck guys!"
"Thanks doctor! See ya soon." Ritsuka replied as Romani's hologram dissapeared. "Let's go everyone!" He said to the entire group, with them joining in the bigger group of refugees that were being escorted by the soldier knights throughout the wide open hallways that ended in the open main gate.
Da Vinci took some looks at the soldier knights by their side. "Hmm, their levels of mana energy are quite strong. Not equal to a servant but still high."
"They do have the appearence." Nala commented, also gazing at the soldier knights.
Entering by the main gate, the chaldeans and refugee group climbed a tall staircase that gave access to another area, this one already inside the Holy City.
"What's this?" Ritsuka asked as he and the others found themselves in a huge octogonal arena of white and black clean marble in the ground and white wall bricks defining its limits. Ahead of them, there was a small towers with an opening to the arena in its bottom and a balcony above on the first floor.
The soldier knights didn't advanced more, signaling the refugee group to stop walking, having been well distributed across the large arena. That didn't stopped some whispers and mutters of uncertainty and tenseness, as they were all wondering what would happen now.
"Why did they gathered all this much people in one place?" Peko questioned, looking around.
"Hmm...I can't see him." Mash speaked, looking to trying to find someone.
"Who Mash?" Ritsuka asked the shielder.
"Lucius." She replied. "He said he was also attending the Holy Selection. But so far I haven't seen him yet. I wonder if he's also here with us."
"With this many people around I think it will be a bit hard to spot him." Ritsuka replied.
"Salutations, constestors of the Holy Selection!"
"Hm?"
"Eh?"
Coming from the other path to the arena on the opposite end, a well-built blonde haired knight appeared. "Fear and dread no longer, for the wait hath ended."
In a surprise, the nightsky was suddenly gone, swapped by the daylight of the sun, as if the day itself had went back in time to midday, resulting in everybody's bewilderment.
"H-How?! It was night seconds ago!" Nala exclaimed.
"Fou?! Fou fou!" Even Fou was in awe.
"What type of magic is able to do this?" Da Vinci pondered before thinking better on her question. "No. What type of Heroic Spirit can do this?"
Fate Grand Order OST- Lion's Throne
"The sun is a blessing that only shines upon the righteous. And so, the rays of this immaculate star grace on me. Such glory could only be crafted by the excellence that is His Majesty, who bestowed me its power of making shade nights transform into brightful days as a gift! Therefore, the sun's judgement is the Lion King's judgement, and I, Knight Sir Gawain of the Round Table, shall conduct my king's discernment on this Holy Selection." Gawain proclaimed with a noble but prideful voice, presenting himself while transmiting the sensation of his gift, Lion King's might, to everyone in the arena.
"G-Gawain? Knight Sir Gawain of the Round Table?" Mash said in shock, as if her whole body had shaken to the core.
"Then this ability of turning nights into days...was the Lion King who made it." Peko said, still in awe of such power.
"And he gave it to that knight as a gift? He created such wild phenomenon to simply give it to one of his knights?" Nala was befuddled. "If so, what is the other things the Lion King can do that have him simply dismiss this power?"
"But a knight of the mythical Round Table here? How is it possible?" Ritsuka made another question. The entire group itself was trying to think straight despite the overwhelming feat they just witnessed of Gawain.
Da Vinci on her own part was starting to worry on another problem. This entire situation was taking a turn she didn't like it. "Sun's judgement? Lion King's judgement? Only shines upon the righteous? What is this Holy Selection even abou-"
"Some sort of acceptance ritual I suppose. Or maybe a tribute?"
"Do not enter...Holy City is...a beauty with ugliness inside...Avoid...if you desire to live..."
"Oh no!" Da Vinci's hearbeat went faster as her eyes widened, coming to the realization of the true nature this 'Holy Selection'. "Everyone! We have to exit this place! Now!" She told to the rest of the group, hugely concerned.
"W-Why? What's wrong Da Vinci?" Peko asked, this being a rare time where he and the others would see Da Vinci visibly agitated.
She in return tried to warn them. "This arena! All of this people here! The Holy Selection is-"
"And now, I hereby present thee, the lord and ruler of the regal Holy City of Camelot: His Majesty, The Lion King!" Gawain exclaimed, with a figure appearing on the balcony above him. A king wearing his prestigious silver chest plate armour and bracers with some blue designs, the rest of the body being covered by a royal blue dress with yellow borders. The king wore a long white cape on his back and a ferocious silver helmet covering the face, having the characteristics that resembled a lion's face with a white mane.
As per Gawain's words, it was him. The powerful ruler of the Holy City that crushed the crusaders and Jerusalem: The Lion King.
"It's him!" Peko exclaimed.
"O forlorn travelers from afar, I behest of thy heed."
"So that's the Lion King. He seems...intimidating." Ritsuka speaked, sweating a bit. However, amidst the tension his mind begun to connect some dots. "Wait. If this Holy City is Camelot, and there's even a knight of the Round Table here, wouldn't that mean the Lion King is-"
"This Camelot is a garden solely for the unalloyed. Only those whomst souls are free of sin may pass." The Lion King speaked, having the sound of a feminine voice. "The sunlight only blesses the virtuous. For its the light that casts away the shadows, revealing those of pure heart."
"This voice...Haven't we heard it somewhere?" Nala asked to the group, the voice of the Lion King sounding familiar.
"Yeah. It doesn't feel like the first time." Ritsuka responded.
"By now, the answer is obvious then." Da Vinci speaked, her mind reaching on the true identity behind the Lion King.
"But...all of this...Camelot in here...how?" Mash didn't seemed well, the soul in her body feeling uneasy. "You aren't okay with this either, aren't you?"
"The paradise shall be untainted of impurity. And so will the chosen ones that the light will rain down on the Holy Selection." Not moving a muscle, the Lion King continued to speak as the sun begun to send a few rays torwards the arena, more specifically amidst the refugees.
Five lights touched the ground, each one shinning over the few selected ones among the large refugee group.
"These light of the sun. That's how someone is chosened." Ritsuka looked around trying to see ones that were blessed by the sunlight. Looking to the left, he spotted the duo of Rushd and his mother in the distance.
"Mom?" Rushd gave a muddled stare to his mother, seeing that one of the lights had shinned upon her, while he himself did not had the same grace.
"Oh, Rush..." The mother gave him a saddened look as well as one of small terror, comprehending that she most likely she would be the only one of the two to be allowed to enter the Holy City.
"Rushd's mom has been selected while Rushd himself didn't." Mash commented, watching them alongside Ritsuka.
"Peko, you..."
"You as well..."
Turning around, Ritsuka and Mash had a unexpected surprise as they saw that both Peko and Nala had the sunrays shine upon them.
"FOU?!"
"You two were selected!?" Da Vinci asked, perplexed.
"But how?" Peko looked confused, seeing the light shinning his own body. "I don't even know why."
"What does it even mean? What will happen to the rest of you then?" Nala asked, worried with her friends since they did not had the sun's blessing like she and Peko did.
"These are the chaste souls who shall be welcomed to my kingdom. I salute thee for such devotion. A new benevolent world is guaranteed. As for the rest whose sun did not embraced..." The Lion King turned around, his voice becoming even colder and serious. "Are stenched demons, rottened to the core. Camelot hath no place for sinful souls such as thou." He says, walking away but not before giving an order to Gawain. "Collect the five chosen."
"It shall be done, Your Majesty." Gawain bowed down in a knightly manner to the balcony as the steps of the Lion King got further, having abandoned the arena. Now with the command given, the Sun Knight got up and begun to walk torwards the refugee group alongside the soldier knights, surrounding them.
"O-Oi! And what about the rest of us? What do we do?"
One of the refugees at the front asked, anxious as Gawain approached him.
"Clearly there must be something for us as well r-right? You'll escort us out the same way you escorted us in?"
The refugee asked, not getting a single word from Gawain who now stood in front of him. A tall and muscular knight in silence, the hair covering his eyes.
"B-But that doesn't mean we can't try the Holy Selection again, does it? W-We can wait on our tents again for the next one tomorrow. Or in a week or in the next time it happens!"
"Do not worry about that. That problem is no longer a thing." Gawain smiled gently to the refugee.
"Oh! R-Really-urgh!"
Giving no warning, Gawain immediatly took out his sword and slain the refugee with hit, the lifeless body hitting the ground as the blood stained a bit on the knight's face. Everyone else, including the chaldeans, went speechless for some seconds.
"Get the selected souls and dispose of the others." Gawain said to the group of soldier knights who in no time begun to swing their swords, beggining the genocide on refugees who went in full despair, screaming and running away, having no place to escape as the door to which they entered to the arena was closed.
"This is what the Holy Selection was really about! A slaughter to those deemed unworthy to enter the Holy City!" Da Vinci exclaimed, finally telling the others the Holy Selection's true nature.
"This is horrible! They are killing the refugees as if they were animals!" Peko said, perturbed at the killings happening around them. It didn't took much for the arena to soon become red with the spilled blood of the refugees.
Nala wouldn't dare to just watch it. "And to hell if we're going to do nothing for a second time and let all these people die! We need to put these knights down!"
"I'm with you!" Ritsuka closed his fists. "This time we won't let it be the same! We need to create an exit and escape with as many refugees as we can!"
"Understood, master!" Mash replied, summoning her shield. She looked to be upset and sad at the same time. "To think the knights of the Round Table would do such attrocities...it's unforgivable!"
As all of the chaos was happening, a soldier knight was trying to escort Rushd's mother to the Holy City has she was one of the pure souls that were selected. However, the woman wouldn't dare to accompany him, no matter how much the knight tried, unwilling to abandon her son.
"Please, understand that the Holy City welcomes you! As one blessed by the sun you shall be its resident!"
"I don't want to! Not without my son going as well!" The woman begged as she tried to remain hugged to Rushd while the strong soldier's grip attempted to pull her away from the son.
"M-Mom! Please don't go!" Rushd cried out as he also tried to maintain his grasp on his mother.
The soldier knight was starting to lose patience.
"Sorry but sinful souls don't have right to enter the Holy City! The lady has to abandon him!"
"No! I won't! I can't abandon my son!" The mother yelled, not giving in to the soldier's request.
Seeing that she was making his task harder, the soldier knight would not compromise the mission and angrily shoved the mother away, finally breaking the two apart.
"Foolish mountain people! Follow orders when they are told to you!"
He yelled, rising his sword agains the defenseless Rushd, about to slain the boy who couldn't move away due to sheer terror.
"NOOOO!" With the maternal instincts kicking in, the mother put herself in front of her child, shielding him from the blow.
In the exact instant, the entire Chaldea team appeared, with Ritsuka jumping in to take Rushd out of the way, Da Vinci doing the same with the mother, while Mash, Peko and Nala all attacked the soldier knight, quickly killing him.
"Rushd! Are you okay?" Ritsuka asked to the muslim boy in his arms, seeing him slowly opening his eyes.
"Hgn...You..." Rushds muttered weakly before recovering up from the fall.
"It's good to see you again!" Peko told him, he and Nala approaching Rushd with relieved smiles on their faces.
"Don't worry!" Nala told him. "We're gonna take you and your mother out of he-"
"Dammit."
Looking behind, they saw Da Vinci holding the bleeding and unconscious mother in her arms. "We were too late for her..." Da Vinci lamented, lying down the corpse in the ground, a clear sword wound in her back.
As they all stared in disbilief, Rushd felt the entire world around him crumble in that moment. "M-Mom..? Mom?" Tears appeared on his eyes and he runned torwards his dead mother, not wanting to accept what he was seeing. "Mom! Wake up! Mom! Please open your eyes! Open your eyes mom! Please!" Rushd begun to cry abudantly, sobbing close to the chest of the person that was once his mother, holding tightly her lifeless hand. "Mom! Mom! Mom!"
Peko went and tried to comfort Rushd, only to be shoved away by the crying boy himself. And Peko honestly couldn't blame him. Seeing Rushd losing is mother in such a tragic way after they thought they had finally escaped from all the terrors on the outside wastelands. Looking at how hurt he was feeling for the lose of a person that meant so much to him. A mother, now gone and never to be able to be replaced. All of that made Peko feel that Rushd's pain was also his. That and a certain surge of anger in him, his hand closing tightly into a fist.
"Are people who do this...even human?" Nala said, furious as well.
Despite the tragedy, Ritsuka knew now it wasn't the time to mourn. He tried to talk with Rushd. "I'm sorry. We should-"
"It could have been avoided. It would spare the trouble." Gawain speaked, approaching them all of a sudden. "No one should be traumatized over this."
"Say that to your soldiers!" Peko shouted at Gawain. "How is your king able to say that his kingdom isn't a place for sinners when you yourselves are killing innocent people without remorse!"
"It is never that simple. The world my king craves for requires doing such acts. We can't risk a single tainted soul to inhabit the Holy City and blotch it." Gawain explained, not seeming exactly happy at what he and his men were doing but also not meaning he was displeased by it. Just a loyal knight following orders.
"I don't care whatever crazy plan the Lion King has that justifies this! It doesn't have one!" Nala replied to Gawain, not wanting to hear any excuses.
"You two were also selected by the graceful light of the sun, were you not?" Gawain kindly reached out his hand for the twins. "Then come with me and become citizens of Camelot. You'll get to understand our point of view that way."
"Only under one condition if so!" Nala replied.
"That you cease this slaughter and allows our friends to enter the Holy City as well." Peko demanded it to Gawain if he wanted both of them to follow the knight. "That and an audition with your king."
Hearing that, Gawain just gave them a friendly smile as he chuckled a bit. "Sorry. Taking in impure souls would be against the king's orders. And I just can't defy my liége's commands. So please, don't be mad and by the contrary, accept the fact that such request cannot be allowed."
"Then we ain't entering!" Nala responded fiercely to Gawain's politness.
"You'll have to beat us for that!" Peko added, defiant as well as the rest of the group stood with him and his sister, about to face the knight of the Round Table.
Gawain then stopped smilling, looking rather dissapointed. "I see. I should be expecting no less. Since we cannot resolve this problem diplomaticaly..." The knight moved his sword, wielding it firmly. "I'll let Galatine do the talking from here. Your way."
"Da Vinci! Maintain Rushd safe and try to find a way out of here!" Ritsuka told to the italian inventor. "We'll handle Gawain!"
"Got it! But be careful with him!" Da Vinci replied, gazing at the knight. "You don't need to defeat Gawain! Only stall him for long enough!" Giving that advice, Da Vinci immediatly grabbed the crying Rushd and pulled him out of there, letting the rest confront the Knight of the Sun.
"Charge!" Ritsuka yelled, giving the first orders of the battle to his companions as they all went torwards Gawain.
Nala swinged her sword to his right, having the Knight of the Sun parry it easily before clashing Galatine against her sword again, shoving Nala away. Gawain had good movements, noticing Peko's quick approach to him, blocking the three light bullets headed torwards him and proceeding to counter Peko's slash, kicking the boy in the stomach to also move him away.
"As chosened candidates, it isn't my intention to kill both of you. We've already lost one pure soul. I'm holding myself so that we don't lose other two." Gawain explained to the twins who were getting up from the ground. "Picking up a fight that can be avoided is the epitome of witless."
"And watch hundreds being killed?!" Mash exclaimed behind Gawain, jumping on him and about to slash the knight in the back. The knight however turned around, blocking the attack in time. "Has your dignity dissapeard?!" Mash said, her shield pressing against the blade of Gawain's Galatine.
"Hmmgh! And why do you look so sad?" Gawain replied, seeing a visible consternation on Mash's face. "I can tell by the strenght you are hesitating!" He exclaimed, beggining to have the upper hand. "That there's something troubling you!"
"Gnhg!" Mash's foot slipped a bit on the ground, about to lose the clash against the Knight of the Sun.
"What's exactly troubling you, maiden of the shield? Why are you afraid of unleashing all your power in a mortal fight?" Gawain applied more strenght on his sword, overpowering Mash and her shield. "What is all that pity in your face?" He shouted, breaking Mash's defense, the shielder falling to the ground. But before Gawain could take the chance to attack her, Peko and Nala went back to the fight, trying to flank the knight.
"Back off!" Peko yelled, his sword bumping into Gawain's as he moved his other arm and pointed his finger at his head, firing a light bullet that passed an inch away from Gawain's forhead, taking out some strains of hair instead. Having dodged it, Gawain fastly punched Peko in the stomach, sending the boy to the ground. He then changed his attention to Nala without a second thought, parrying the hit of her sword and then using his other arm to tank the wave of kicks she delivered on him. At the last kick, Gawain grabbed Nala's foot and crashed her into a wall. Despite the agression, Gawain was restraining himself to not be more brutal and ending up killing the two kids as that would hinder his king's plans. Instead, if he knocked both of them out, it would be great.
"C'mon guys! We have to keep going!" Ritsuka said, using a Command Spell to not only heal his teammates but also strenghten them up.
"Yah!" Mash charged at Gawain, swinging her shield at him a couple of times, with Gawain either dodging or blocking them.
"Luminary Route!"
From the left, Peko fired a more powerful light bullet that killed some knight soldiers in his way before redirecting it at Gawain, the knight tilting his head at the precise moment, avoiding the trajectory of the bullet and in the next second stopping another hit from Mash. Nala stepped quickly into his right, about to slash Gawain's legs, thinking she had found an opening.
"Precise Stroke!"
But Gawain proved to be very skilled once again, dodgerolling in time to avoid the great slash from Nala's sword and proceeding to attck her with Galatine. "Nice try!"
"Air Step!"
Nala swiftly dodged Gawain's sword, the two beggining to trade blows onto each other, avoiding and blocking each one of them. However, Gawain ended up being the one managing to land a hit on his enemy, Galatine having made a superficial cut on Nala's torso. It didn't took long for Peko and Mash to come to her aid, with all three now ganging up on the knight of the Round Table. But even with that, Gawain looked unstoppable, almost invincible, able to handle his three enemies at the same time, coordinating well their attacks with his blocks and dodges even if surrounded.
Ritsuka was watching it in dismay. "Impossible...Even Cú Alter had difficulties fighting all three of them at the same time! How's he's doing it like it's so natural to him?"
"I confess, you fight very skillfully." Gawain commented on the trio's efforts. "Alas you still won't attain victory. Because..." Suddenly turning around to face Mash, Gawain managed to break her defense with a single slash, cutting Mash in the shoulder, knocking her away. "As long as the rightful sun shines on me..." He then went after Peko, deflecting his light bullet and quickly kick him in the head. "I'll be blessed with its incredible power." Gawain concluded, charging torwards Nala, clashing with her before overpowering her and sending the girl crashing onto the other side of the arena.
"For as long as I serve the Lion King, I shall never fail my duty as a knight." Gawain stucked Galatine on the ground, seeing all of his enemies down.
"Kristallblume!"
Dispersing the smoke and dust from the zone where she crashed, Nala appeared before Gawain in her princess armour attire, having activated her ascension.
"Let's see if you'll keep talking now!" Nala said, wenting all in to defeat Gawain.
The knight on his part looked curious. "Oh. So you weren't giving you all as well? That's amusing." He said with a smile, picking back his Galatine. "Show me what you're capable of in that royal armour!"
"Go get him Nala!" Ritsuka exclaimed. He had hopes that in her ascension state, Nala would be able to defeat Gawain. "This might be enough to secure the situation!"
Dashing on the arena, Nala graciously speed up against the soldier knights that charged torwards her to contain the girl, slashing all of them down without effort. She then advanced torwards Gawain, jumping up high in the sky, getting in front of the sunlight before descending torwards the knight with her bright sword, the two weapons getting into a violent clash.
"Gghrr!" Ritsuka tried to maintain his balance against the impact as it made the walls of the arena almost collapse, cracking its stone.
"Fouuu!"
"Fujimaru! Are you guys there!?" The hologram of Doctor Romani appeared in front of the master of humanity.
"Not the best time!" Ritsuka replied, trying to protect his own face.
"I know! But listen! About the Lion King's identity!" Romani said.
"I think it's pretty clear on who he really is by now!" Ritsuka replied back, speaking loud for the doctor to hear.
"Yes! The Lion King is the mythical king Arthur Pendragon, with the Holy City being his new Camelot! And it seems to be identical with the two past versions we've met of the king so far!"
"The ones on Singularity F and London?" Ritsuka recalled of the two other versions of King Arthur they had met in their joruney so far.
"Yes! So its actually Artoria Pendragon, with this version also having its own different characteristics from the other two despite the shared identity!" Romani explained.
"I see!" Ritsuka said. "Did you noticed anything el-"
"Aaah!"
Catching his attention, Ritsuka saw Nala landing with her armour on the ground, looking to have lost the clash against Gawain. As she got her face up from the ground, Ritsuka noticed she was bleeding. But there was something odd about it. Despite steel bleeding red, there were small traces of another colour from the girl's lost blood that glowed bright. "Is that...blue blood?"
Panting a bit, Gawain had to put a lot of strenght to win the clash against the powered up Nala, even resulting in some blood to come out of his mouth. "Not bad...Not bad at all. You had me concerned for a moment there."
"And...I still got a lot more from where that came from!" Nala replied, getting fully up, also panting a bit. Even with the ascension of her overall senses, power and skills, Gawain was still an hard opponent for Nala. The armour only helped to level up the things a bit. The two went to fight and trade blows onto each other again, this time the fight looking more balanced and fierce, with Nala having some possible chances of winning but also with Gawain not backing down by any means. The knight could tell he was now fighting an opponent next to his level.
Peko and Mash tried to barge in and help.
"Don't forget about us!" Peko exclaimed, trying to attack Gawain. But the boy didn't even had the chance before being hit by the swing of Gawain's arm, backing him away. Mash also attempted to step in, only to see Gawain stop her shield with his bare hand, having a brutal strenght to push it off alongside Mash while his other arm with Galatine tried to stop an attack from Nala.
Seeing him open, Nala sprinted at Gawain at almost lightning speed, ready to deliver a clean cut on his chest.
"Ggh!" Gawain, by pure instinct, tried to turn around and get in time to block the attack with his Galatine.
"Got you!" But that's exactly what Nala expected, taking a sudden step to the left, quickly moving behind the knight's back in a blink of an eye.
"Wha-" Being tricked, Gawain attempted to turn around when he felt a huge slash hit his shoulder, slashing a piece of his armour and the wall behind him, making a deep cut. "Aaaghr!" The knight immediatly fell to one knee, putting a hand on his wounded shoulder, seeing how serious it was. "If I hadn't the my gift activated right now...my whole shoulder could have been..." Looking up, Gawain stared at Nala on her royal armour. "This girl and her group...are they the ones the prophecy told about?"
"We're not done yet!" Nala exclaimed, gazing at the temporarily stunned Gawain, charging her blade for another powerful slash. "This one will end-egh?!" Feeling her heartbeats coming to a sudden slowdown, her whole body begun to weaken, the enhalted senses and skills going away, with the armour faiding. The time limit of her ascension had been reached. "N-No...Not now..." Nala said, trying to maintain conscious and visual contact on Gawain. "Just...a little more..." She said before falling on the ground, her armour having gone away, her previous attire returning.
"Crap! Nala's run out of mana energy!" Romani exclaimed, seeing the unconscious girl on the ground.
"Right at the worst time possible!" Ritsuka added. If Nala's ascension had been able to go for at least a few more seconds, not only they would have handled Gawain but also much likely defeated him. A lose for the girl simply due to the time having run out for her.
"Fujimaru!" Romani shouted, warning Ritsuka of something.
"Eh?" Looking up, Ritsuka saw the tall figure of Gawain standing in front of him, his sword in hands, ready for the kill.
"Your friend fought well. I myself will tell her that after I'm done with the rest of you!" Gawain exclaimed, descending his sword to slash Ritsuka down.
"!" Having nothing that could be done to save himself, Ritsuka instinctively put his arms in front of himself, waiting for the fatal blow.
"Stop!" Yet, it wasn't over for the master of humanity as Peko stepped right in front of Gawain, blocking Galatine with his own sword, protecting Ritsuka.
"Peko!" Ritsuka exclaimed in reaction to see his friend coming for the save.
"Gghgr! R-Run Ritsuka!" Peko told him, his energy and strenght beggining to shatter against the mighty power that was Gawain. "I can't...hold back for much longer!"
Seeing his friend in trouble, Ritsuka tried to aid him. "Pek-"
And Peko's defense was destroyed, Gawain's Galatine slashing the boy in the chest, blood exiting from the wound. Ritsuka couldn't even process it right, his eyes slowly seeing Peko's body losing balance, the hand letting the sword go. In instinct, Ritsuka begun to move, trying to catch his friend from behind. But he wasn't able to. Instead, Peko's body crashed onto Ritsuka, making the master of humanity fall to the ground as Peko's wounded body itself landed some meters away into the ground, leaving a line of blood behind.
"FOOOU!"
Weakly, Ritsuka lifted his head, noticing the body of his friend some meters away from him, moveless. "P-Peko...?" Ritsuka tried to reach out to him, getting his own hand up from the ground.
"It was his choice." Gawain speaked, now standing above Ritsuka, lifting his sword to stab Ritsuka on the heart.
"Master!" Mash yelled, being too far to save Ritsuka from Gawain's second attempt to kill him while picking up Nala's unconscious body.
Yet, Ritsuka's luck didn't end there, as another person appeared to save him from certain death.
"Switch On: Airgetlám!"
Out of nowhere, another knight appeared, using the blade that was his silver steel arm to protect Ritsuka's from Gawain's sword.
"Lucius?!" Ritsuka exclaimed, seeing he was here after all, having appeared to save him.
"I knew you'd be here!" Mash said in huge relief for seeing him to the rescue, approaching him and Ritsuka while carrying Nala.
"Why did you show up just now!?" Romani asked, wondering why didn'y Lucius helped them earlier against Gawain.
"He was helping me fending off the soldier knights from the refugees! We saved as many as we could!" Da Vinci explained, approaching them from behind and pointing to a small group of refugees near to a hole in the walls. "We have a way to escape now!"
Meanwhile, Gawain was struggling to get the upperhand against Lucius. "But...who even are y-?!" Looking well into the other knight's face, Gawain gasped as he couldn't believe on who the man he was fighting was. "You came all the way here to side against our king, being his most loyal knight above all else, Bedivere?!"
Taking advantage of the momentary shock from Gawain, Lucius, actually named Bedivere, overpower Gawain's sword with Airgetlám and used his other arm to punch Gawain in the stomach, sending him crashing against a wall of the arena.
"Bedivere? That's your actual name?" Romani asked, the party now getting the revelation of Bedivere's true identity.
"I knew you couldn't be Lucius! You're a knight of the Round Table instead!" Da Vinci added.
"Let's save that conversation for another time! We should get out of here first!" Bedivere responded, urging them to leave the Holy City with the refugees while they still could.
"Right! We can't waste any time!" Da Vinci replied.
But Ritsuka knew there was still one left. "Wait! I still need to pick up Peko!" He told them. But in that moment, some of the damaged walls of the arena crumbled, the wreckage falling near the place where Peko's body was. "No!" He yelled, about to head there to retrieve his friend from the debris.
"This way! Knight Sir Gawain has been hurt!"
"Reinforcements! The remaining refugees are trying to escape!"
"Don't let any of those putrid souls run away with life!"
From the other access to the arena, a large new group of soldier knights was arriving to assist Gawain.
"Dammit!" Ritsuka cursed. The situation to recover Peko was getting difficult.
"We have to go!" Bedivere told immediatly to Ritsuka.
"What?!" Mash exclaimed in shock, not imagining herself to leave a friend behind.
"Are you out of your mind?" Ritsuka told to the knight, not daring to abandon Peko.
"I know he's your friend and means a lot to you! But Gawain will be back up in no time soon and the reinforcements are already arriving! Staying here would mean the death to all these refugees and possibly our own as well!" Bedivere justified.
"But- Da Vinci! Doctor!" Ritsuka looked to both the italian inventor and Romani, hopping that they would take his side.
"I-" As Da Vinci tired to give her short opinion on it, the reinforcements stepped into the arena.
"There they are! After them!"
"Shit! They're already here!" Da Vinci cursed.
"We can't think too much about it! We have to go! Now!" Bedivere said to the chaldeans.
Ritsuka however tried to persist. "But Peko-"
"We will come back later for him!" Romani shouted. "Fujimaru, Mash! I hate saying this! I really do! But right now, your priority is escaping the Holy City! If you don't, then this is the end for all of you and humanity included!"
"We-We..." Closing her eyes in pain, this being an hard decision she would surely regret, Mash hold Nala closer to her as she decided on what to do. "Forgive me!" "We have to go, master!" Mash yelled, immediatly grabbing Ritsuka's hand and pulling him to follow her.
"Mash?!" Ritsuka reacted in shock as he, the whole party and refugee group all runned through the big hole in the walls of the arena, escaping it to the outside and leaving the Holy City, entering the vast wasteland, the blessing sun of Gawain dissapearing and the night slowly returning.
Ritsuka's legs didn't stopped running altough he wanted to. It was all so quick yet slow at the same time. The master of humanity only had a single second to turn his head around to stare one last time at the bloodied and destroyed arena, the vision of the soldier knights chasing them, yelling with their weapons in the air. Gawain slowly getting back up on his feet. The wreckage. The one Peko was stuck into. His teammate. His friend. Left behind. And the leader was unable to do anything, powerless to save him. All that Ritsuka could do was let a single tear fly away from his eye as he passed through the exit.
"Ggnha...So that's how you decide to show up, Bedivere." Gawain said to himself, having seen all of the reinforcement knights chase the fugutives through the wall in the hole, leaving the Knight of the Sun behind in the now empty arena. "A knight of your qualities...how can that even be possible?" Gawain lamented, taking a good look at the chaotic state the arena was left in. He sighed. "This was a disaster. His Majesty will certainly punish me for this. I'll have to report this failure."
"Your Majesty has already been notified of this error." Someone else talked, stepping into the arena. "The fugitives are now another knight's duty to care about."
"A-Agravain?" Gawain said a bit in surprise to see the austere knight and Lion King's second in command here.
"What a harrowing display that was, Gawain. Letting such a considerable amount of refugees to flee." Agravain scolded the other knight despite the calm demeanor, looking at Gawain's wounds. "It would seem even the best of knights tend to falter."
"I'm sorry, Sir Agravain." Gawain lowered himself in shame, apologizing for his tremendous blunder. "I shall fulfill whatever punishment our lord has in store for me. Of five pure souls, only two became citizens of the Holy City."
"Hmm..." Agravain however, wasn't so sure of that statement, turning his head around to gaze at some debris meters away from them. In the middle, he spotted the body of the boy. "Three actually."
"Peko...I..."
"Master! Focus please!" Mash snapped Ritsuka out of his own thoughts, the two being at the rear back of the fleeing refugee group as Da Vinci led them on the front, now being the one carrying Nala.
"Mash?" Ritsuka moved his head to see the soldier knights that were chasing them on their horses from behind.
"We have to finish off those soldiers if we want to stop being persued!" Bedivere speaked, slashing down one of the incoming soldiers and his horse with his sword. "Lend me your strenght, please!"
"We will!" Mash replied, summoning her shield to knock down other enemy. "Won't we, master?" She called for Ritsuka again.
"I..." Recollecting his thoughts, he gave some slaps to his own face. "Right! We're still in danger! I can't keep worrying with Peko for now! I'm still needed here!" Getting himself back together, Ritsuka stepped up, joining Mash and Bedivere to fend off against the remaining soldier knights. "Until everyone here is safe! Ready to fight some more, Mash!"
"Copy that!" Mash replied back to him, now all the three fighting the last soldier knights that were chasing them down. A quick fight, ending with Bedivere killing the final enemy.
"Done. This was the last of them." Bedivere said, lifting up his head and seeing Camelot now in the distance. "We must be out of danger this far."
Seeing that it was over, the trio walked in front of the refugee group to reunite with Da Vinci.
"No one at our tail?" Da Vinci asked the trio, holding the unconscious Nala in her hands.
"Not anymore." Ritsuka responded, moving his gaze to Nala. "How about her?"
"I doubt she will awake now. It will probably take some hours for Nala to wake up and her mana energy to be fully restored." Da Vinci replied, giving a sorrowful glance at the girl. "I can't even imagine the pain she'll have when waking up and see her brother is not here."
"Yes. It will make Nala worried sick. But it's a thing we can't hide from her..." Ritsuka replied, knowing that it would be hard to tell Nala what happened to Peko once she'd recover.
"Is Peko...dead?" Rushd talked, also feeling down. He had already lost his mother. Losing his recent made friend would be another low blow for him.
"He's not. Don't worry about that, Rushd." Mash comforted him. "Peko's strong and able to look out for himself. He'll be fine."
"I think the same." Ritsuka replied, wanting to believe Peko would be alright. "We have to trust in that until we came with something to save him."
"That will be difficult." Bedivere told them. "The Holy City, Camelot, seems to be a stronghold impossible to force our way in. For now, we should walk a few more miles until we get a place to rest and collect our thoughts."
"Agreed." Da Vinci replied, staring at a hill half a mile away from the group. "I believe that after we get over that hill, we will be out of reach from the Lion King's territory."
As they were talking about on what to do next, a loud neigh of a hourse echoed on the area.
"Hm? What was that?" Ritsuka asked.
Soon after, the hologram of doctor Romani appeared, worried. "Don't rest now! It seems our problems aren't over yet!"
"What is it now?" Da Vinci replied, holding herself to not let out a swear.
"I detected an Heroic Spirit signal! It's coming quickly to your way alongside smaller signals!" Romani informed them.
"Who is it? Another knight?" Mash questioned.
"Halt right there, fleeing transgressors! This is where your escape ends!"
From the top of the hill, more to the right, a knight appeared riding his horse, accompanied by a brigade of soldier knights. The man had short purple hair, purple eyes and an entire purple armour set with golden lines and dots. He looked to be a professional and veteran knight, experient and talented on his duty. Another physical ideal of a mature knight.
"I, Knight Sir Lancelot, shall put an end to this brief persecution!" The knight announced from the top of his lungs, introducing himself as Lancelot.
"Lancelot?!"
"He's also here?!"
Both Bedivere and Mash exclaimed in surprise at the same time, seeing that another knight of the Round Table had appeared to hinder their efforts to escape from the Lion King's domain.
"The Knight of the Lake no less! One of King Arthur's best!" Romani exclaimed. "There's simply no time to take a breather in here!?"
"We'll also have to fight him?" Ritsuka said, knowing that the entire group was beggining to get exhausted from fighting by now.
From the top of the hill, Lancelot observed his enemies. "And just when I was returning to the Holy City, I get a report of the catastrophe that was today's Holy Selection. What a luck I have! Now the job of cleaning others messes is attributed to me..." Lancelot frowned. "That way, I'll never find who and where is that imposter!"
"Is everything alright, sir?" One of his soldiers asked.
"Yes. I'm fine. Nothing to be concerned about." Lancelot replied, giving a smile to his soldier before returning his gaze to the group below. "Let's get this over with so that I can deliver my reports to the king and Agravain."
"Oi, Mash. Can you go for another fight?" Ritsuka asked her.
"I think I can, master." Mash replied, turning around to look at Bedivere. "What about you Bediv-"
"Gghg!" Bedivere felt a sudden sharp pain on his silver steel arm, as if the nerves screamed. "Bad. I think it won't handle another usage if it's done right now!" He stated, showing that Airgetlám needed some cooldown.
That turn the things worse. Mash probably couldn't go for another long fight against a servant, Bedivere couldn't use Airgetlám for now and Nala was still unconscious. Ritsuka went to stare at Da Vinci. "Hey, what do we do Da Vin-"
"Here. Take her." Da Vinci replied, giving Nala to Ritsuka.
"Eh?" The master of humanity looked at her confused.
"I know what to do. I have a plan." Da Vinci smiled as she showed him the cube of their vehicle, taking some steps before putting it into the ground and transforming it back into the car.
"W-What are you doing, Da Vinci?" Ritsuka asked her as he saw the italian inventor about to enter the vehicle.
Lancelot meanwhile caught sight of it. "Hm? Some type of wagon?"
"I had predicted way before entering this Singularity that we could have some setback. With that in mind, I didn't designed this vehicle to be, well, just a vehicle, if you know what I mean." Da Vinci replied, taking the driver's seat and pressing a peculair dispositive.
"What are you talking abou-..." Baffled, Mash watched the vehicle transform into some kind of renaissance-style helicopter, having some magical weapons attached to it and features that resembled one of Da Vinci's most famous works.
"Say hello to my most recent work: Modello Di Battaglia: Ornitottero!" Da Vinci presented it to them.
"Amazing! You can use it to fend off against Lancelot!" Ritsuka exclaimed.
"Yes. But I'll need you to run away as I charge at him and his brigade." Da Vinci told them.
"Hm? Why?" Mash asked her.
Assassin's Creed II OST- Home in Florence
"This thing was also designed to be a suicide bomb." Da Vinci revealed, making both Ritsuka and Mash's hearts freeze. "There is no auto pilot which means I have to use it manually. The moment I clash with Lancelot, the trigger of a magical bomb inside the fuel deposit will go off and the vehicle will explode."
"Then you're thinking about sacrificing yourself to get us far from here?" Bedivere asked her.
"I do." Da Vinci replied with a cheerful smile.
"The hell do you have in your head, Leonardo?!" Romani exclaimed, being totally against the idea. "You can't do that now! We need you here! You're half of the brain here in Chaldea! You may even be a second one! Do not do this!"
"Peko's already not here! We can't afford losing another member now!" Ritsuka told her, imploring. "Think about it, Da Vinci!"
"I did. And I will still do it." Da Vinci replied, keeping her smile despite looking at them a bit sadly. "Honestly, I'm glad that Peko is not present to see this nor Nala is awaken. I can't imagine how much they would beg like you. At least they'll be spare of that pain."
"That won't make it any better, Da Vinci-san! You're presence to us in this Singularity is to fundamental to go to waste! As a leader and companion!" Mash told her, trying to change her mind. "We can find another way!"
"Sorry. I already picked this one. Nothing can change it." Da Vinci told her.
"Leonardo..." Romani said, doing his best to not start crying.
"Heads up you! They may no longer have me but they'll still have you, the director of Chaldea." Da Vinci consoled him. "Cheer up! You're more important alive than me, Roman."
Romani bite his inferior lip. "But I...I can't bare to see you go..." He was very attached to Da Vinci.
"Please, don't give in to your emotions at this moment, even if they hurt." Da Vinci told them, looking at the group of refugees behind. "These people need someone to lead them to a safe place. People that can remain calmed and focus. If you start crying and panic, they'll too panic." She said, looking at Ritsuka. "They need someone like you, Fujimaru."
"Da Vinci..." Ritsuka murmured.
"Don't be sad. Every hello must have a goodbye. That's how things are. When Nala wakes up, be sure to tell her everything that happened. Don't sugarcoat it even if its painful. By now you are already used to be in hard times. Make sure you'll surpass this one too and make her see that. Go ahead to the mountains and find the Order of Assassins. They are the only ones left that may help you throughout the Singularity." Da Vinci instructed where Ritsuka and the party should head next, being her last instruction to them. "Heh, got it, Fujimaru?"
Reluctant but coming to terms, Ritsuka nodded his head while holding Nala close to him. "Yes! I understood!"
Da Vinci smiled warmly. "And you Mash?"
"...Y-Yes!" Mash replied, even if her throat hurted to say it. She didn't want Da Vinci to go as she didn't wanted to abandon Peko. Yet, there was no other way.
"Be strong. All of you, bambini." Da Vinci gave her farewell to them before looking to Bedivere. "Can I entrust you to help them?"
"I'll do my very best, madam." Bedivere responded, promising to help the chaldeans.
"That's all I wanted to hear. I'm set then." With no more wait, Da Vinci begun to move the combat helicopter away, torwards Lancelot and his men.
"DA VINCI!" Mash still tried to call out for her.
Now it was Ritsuka's turn to make the shielder come along. "She's giving us a chance Mash! Let's go!" He exclaimed, the two, Bedivere, the unconscious Nala and all of the small refugee group heading to the other side of the hill while Da Vinci headed where Lancelot and his soldiers were.
"Ah! It really feels like a nice day to fly!" Da Vinci said happily, remembering of always testing out her inventions back during her first life in Italy, having reached to a level of geniality that very few could. Her intelectual capacity being on a level of its own.
"Eh? That thing is heading here?" Lancelot questioned, seeing Da Vinci approaching him as the rest runned away. "An interesting mechanic being you have there. However, you're wrong if you think I'll let such thing to slow me down!" He exclaimed, taking out his sword, shinning a pale blue of a lake. "If it's a duel, I shall give you a brisk one!"
Da Vinci increased the speed, about to nose dive into the clash with Lancelot, planning to take him out and his entire brigade with the bomb. "An artist always need to have a grand send-off!"
"Aaah!" Getting closer, Lancelot was about to swing his sword at the helicopter, the blade about to make contact with it.
Seeing the blue light of Lancelot's sword glowing brighter as she approached him, Da Vinci smiled peacefully and closed her eyes. "Truly, what a beautiful journey."
In Chaldea, a single tear fell from Romani's face. "Goodbye, my friend."
The huge explosion went off in the distance, the party did not dared to stop or even look back, knowing that this would be invalidating their friend's sacrifice, promising to themsellves that they would only stop running until their legs and of the refugees couldn't anymore. This night was an heavy blow for them, having to say farwell to an incredible person and companion that was with them since the very beggining. And now, all that remained of the great Leonardo Da Vinci, were the broken pieces of her brilliant invention, scattered in the wind.
To be continued...
And that was it for chapter 98!
Just losses and blows for Chaldea this chapter. But I mean, of course they would lose, like, did these idiots thought they could win against Gawain without Euryale? Completely noob moves if I'm being honest. Now, with jokes aside, it's Gawain, the dude who's known for having turned FGO, a game where you could just level up your servants and throw whatever at the bosses, to actually having to think well on the teams built and upgrade a lot of other things. Long story short: Chaldea couldn't pass past Gawain.
Peko is not dead, don't worry, just taking a nap while the knights and Artoria make sure to find him the nicest and most comfy room in the castle for our adorable precious boy. Da Vinci on the other hand...yeah.
But anyways, that's all I wanted to say, and see you next time on chapter 99! Peace!
P.S:
Peko (dressed nicely as a waiter): And like that, things in life have improved!
Melusine (approaching Peko while in a waitress custom): It suits you well Peko.
Peko: Thanks Melu. I appreciate you have convinced your queen to work for her.
Melusine (Giggles): No need to thank me silly! That's what I'm here for! Anyways, High Queen Morgan's party is about to start. Enjoy your first day at work here.
Peko (Sees Melusine walking away): Sure will! (notices a small spider on the other side of the window, entering the party room) Hmm, should I kill it...Nah. I guess there's no harm in letting it in. Hop onto the party my arachnid friend!
Two Hours Later
Peko (In the stairs, watching Morgan sitted refinedly on her throne while drinking a glass of wine): So far so good! And being Queen Morgan herself, I wonder how big my salary will be!
Morgan (Boredly drinking from her cup while watching the party): If my sister isn't here to passive-aggressively mock her, what even is the purpose of this party? (Notices something small touching her hand) Hm? Is that...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Peko (immediatly gets worried): Could it be that...the wine is poisoned?!