Saber Wars: I
It had started as a simple thing, when all was said and done.
Merely being in the presence of her other self and feeling their strength was the catalyst, furthermore when it was directly brought up as a means of telling which of the two of them was younger. It went without saying, but having it brought up directly was the issue with it.
Maybe it was silly of her to go through all of this simply because of a stray comment that was made, but she could not quite remove it from her mind.
"Ha!"
A cry escaped her lips, bringing the sword down through the false skeleton, it cleaved through with only a single instant of resistance before bone shattered and the body crumbled to dust. She pushed through the fleeting remains, thrusting her sword through the next attacker and pulling it across.
A spin and another slash, it shifted and rose up into an arc and caught yet another skeleton.
In but a few moves, she eradicated the summoned enemies.
It was a certain victory, there was no doubt about it…and yet…
Her eyes returned to the sword in her grasp, bringing it up and looking down at it.
She knew what Caliburn was supposed to be like, while No Excalibur, she had wielded this sword for many years and considered it the weapon she was best suited for. More so than any other blade.
That single instant of resistance was…something she knew should not have happened.
If there was a flaw with the strength of Caliburn, then it was undoubtedly because the fault lied with her.
Drawing her lips thin, Lily removed her gaze from the sword and turned across the length of the field once more. The simulated environment brought about the many enemies that Chaldea had thus far encountered, though she knew that these skeletons were without a doubt, the lowest ranking they had faced.
To have unexpected resistance against enemies of that quality? It was…
Shaking her head, she dismissed the thoughts and focused her mind.
"Please raise the difficulty to level two."
Her words carried out, there was only a short pause before the landscape changed around her, altering its existence until she stood within a town. Though it was not unlike those she had seen during her own time, the craftsmanship of the buildings was a step above.
She wondered what manner of place this had been, but that was not for her to debate now.
A shrill cry split through the air, her eyes snapped upwards as shadows spread across the sky and dove upon her. A single push launched her back, throwing herself into the shade to be granted a better view of her new enemies. The moment her feet touched the ground, she saw them in greater detail.
Thick scaled armour and large leathery wings, bulked torso and menacing eyes.
Wyverns.
A group of three of them, the first one was the closest, a dull reddish tint to its armoured scales as it launched itself forwards. Pushing off the ground with a crack of stone and throwing itself at her. Flames burst forth from the back of its throat.
She sidestepped the orb of fire, lowering her body and skipping forwards.
Another blast of fire surged past her face, she did not allow herself to flinch as she dove forwards and thrust up. Caliburn pierced through the underside of the right wing and pulled upwards. Cleaving through the thin membrane and the joint, the wyvern fell to the ground with a cry.
Twisting on her heel, she pulled her sword back and quickly thrust through its neck to end it before it could recover. Swiftly turning her eyes away from the first of the defeated as the remaining two launched themselves towards her.
A green one and a black one.
The green wyvern crashed into the top of a house, thick claws curved through roof tiles and cemented a hold upon it. The mouth opened wide and unleashed a stream of flames down upon her. Lily was already moving before the attack could land, her instincts warned her a moment later and she quickly threw herself to the right without much else.
It was the right call, another orb of flames crashed into the ground, coming from right behind her.
A swift glance was shot over her shoulder, eyes swinging upwards and quickly catching sight of the black wyvern circling across overhead-
Red clay fell upon her, a surprised gasp escaped from the sudden rain of brickwork, a cloud of dust from the rooftop where the green wyvern had been seated upon. She heard the crash and tumble from within the building, then the wall erupted outwards with an explosion of rubble. She pushed herself into a ready position as the wyvern emerged from the heart of the dust.
Swinging forwards with all her might, she caught the edge of Caliburn into the curved horn of the wyvern, it threw itself like a battering ram into the attack. She clenched her teeth in her jaw, feeling the strength of the attack in her arms, yet did not dare lose any ground to the beast.
Instead, her feet pressed forwards, crunching cobblestone beneath her and pushing right back. A flex of her mana core, strength surged through her body and Caliburn swung forth like a club, the wyvern snapped back the way it had come, launched back into the building and right through it, she watched the body crash through the wall behind and then back out into the street.
Thoughts of pursuit ended when a mass slammed into her left side.
Her hand flew up, finding a hold on whatever had struck her and pushing back. Her eyes followed suit a second later, narrowing as she stared at the darkened wyvern of earlier, her hand wrapped around the base of its neck.
A taloned foot pressed down upon her swordarm and kept it locked there, claws pierced through stone and curled around her wrist with a rather tight grasp. The head thrust for her with jaws open, her free hand climbed up to the neck just behind its jaws and held firm, pushing it away from her and keeping it an arms length.
With a tight frown, she pulled her leg up and pressed against the belly of the wyvern, rolling backwards and pushing it off her.
The pair rolled, prying her grip free of the claw, she brought Caliburn up, straddling the wyvern and holding the sword aloft. Still with her hand around its throat, she forced it into the ground and pulled the sword, tip poised above the head of the beast, then thrust down-
Flames washed across the side of her body, a faint grunt escaped her as she turned away.
Caliburn skated across the scales and into the ground, her eyes caught up with what happened a moment later.
It wasn't a kill shot, she missed.
The wyvern squirmed and thrashed from beneath her, she grunted as the strength of the wild flailing forced her off the top of the beast, rolling onto her side and away from the wyvern, her head pulled up and then her eyes short wide. Swiftly bringing up the flat of her sword in front of her.
The tail of the lizard whipped against her guard, she skated across the ground, dragging grooves with her heels.
Light built up in her sword, the blade glowed a dazzling gold as her eyes moved from the wyvern righting itself on the ground to the green one which pushed above the ruins of the house, diving for her with it's mouth aglow.
Pulling the sword back, she narrowed her gaze.
A single thrust would be enough.
She stepped forwards and pushed her sword forth, light shot forth from the blade like a spear, at the same instant the wyvern unleashed a stream of flame upon her, but it was much too weak. The light pierced through the cloud of fire with ease and through the owner, engulfing the head with a bright flash of yellow.
She dove across in a roll, the corpse slammed into the ground and rolled behind her, she paid barely any focus to the crashes behind her, instead focusing on the enemy that was before her. Drawing her sword and pushing into the air.
"Hiya!"
Bringing the sword down with a single smooth chop, this time she did not miss.
The blade caught the wyvern right behind it's head, with her core infused in her blow, she pushed through the neck of the wyvern with ease, the blade slammed into the ground and cratered it in an instant, cobblestone crumbled like paper, the edge of the sword passed right the way into the ground.
Watching the headless wyvern slump to the ground, the body faded into particles an instant later.
Pulling the sword from the ground, she held it by her side and stared at the spot where the body was.
Her lips drew thinner as the battle replayed in her mind.
Careless mistakes, that is what she had made.
She knew that her other selves would never have made such simple errors, indeed, there was no way in which she could see the King of Knights struggling against the likes of wyverns. In fact, she knew they would have dealt with all of them in such swift manners that they would have never so much as landed a single hit on her.
That was the version of herself that she could envisage.
Lily lowered her arms, her eyes turned downcast.
There was no denying it now.
When compared to the other Servants across Chaldea, she was weak.
Though this only meant she needed to strengthen herself to be able to stand alongside her peers…although there was no telling how long that would take.
And time was not something upon her side, nor was it on the side of Chaldea.
Her jaw rolled, her head came up and she took in a deep breath.
"Increase to level three."
The landscape shifted once more, grasping Caliburn in two hands, she held it aloft and narrowed her eyes as the next batch of enemies appeared before her.
Some would call it the intuition of a Goddess.
Some others would accuse her of merely searching for something to pass the time.
Perhaps there was an argument to be made for either case, but in this instance, she supposed it leaned heavily towards the former of the two. Though she would not deny the presence of the latter.
"Does that mean you can sense something strange, Gwynevere-san?"
Her thoughts turned to her partner on this small excursion to where her instincts were leading her.
"Strange would be a rather ugly way of describing it, Mash-Senpai." The words rolled from her tongue easily, sparing a glance to the diminutive younger girl and showing her a gentle smile. The effect was as quick as it was noticeable, she allowed her words to settle for a moment before continuing on. "You might describe it as…interesting. Perhaps akin to finding a single budding flower amidst a field of grass."
They blinked at her analogy, but did not look totally confused, rather they furrowed their brows and thought on it.
She let them do that, watching patiently as the girl formed a conclusion of her own.
"It is unusual but not necessarily in a bad way?"
With a nod of the head, she confirmed the young girl's question. "That would be the best way of calling it. I have been struck with a sense of…need. Or rather, the intuition of a God that my assistance is required somewhere. Though I shall not deny I am similarly at odds with that feeling."
Another thoughtful look from Mash, though quickly replaced with conclusion. "Then this means that you think someone in Chaldea might need help?"
"Assistance, or a nudge in the right direction, Mash-senpai."
That was all she could really say on the matter.
Her eyes turned from the girl and straight ahead, falling upon the door to the simulator and then slowing her pace until she stood directly before it. Bringing her hand up and gently laying a finger upon the single button to open it. The warning of the simulator being active was ignored.
She was confident in her capacity to protect herself.
"This is…"
Gwynevere inclined a brow ever so slightly at their surroundings, her eyes shifted left and right as she looked out over the horizon. They stood upon a rather shallow beach, to her right lay a mangrove and to her left was an expansive ocean. The scents were convincing, but she had experience with illusions.
Gwyndolin was better.
"You know of this illusion, Mash-Senpai?"
"Hm? Ah, yes." The girl collected herself quickly, losing the initial surprise and thinning her lips. "This appears to be a replica of the third Singularity. This island would be where we encountered the Goddess Artemis."
Goddess Artemis, was it?
Ah yes, the virgin Goddess of the moon.
…How ironic.
She and Gwyndolin had much in common.
"Was it a particularly difficult battle?"
She waited for a moment for an answer, receiving a low hum from Mash, an air of hesitance.
"I think it was because we all worked together with our allies that it passed swiftly, but I believe that if we had not been with the aid of so many strong Servants, it might have been a tougher battle."
A fair answer, battles could be decided purely by the strength of a single sword arm.
Artorias turned the tide of many conflicts with his mere appearance, sometimes he did not even need to do so much as swing his sword. Yet the same was true of the other Knights. Their presence could inspire the knights to fight harder than they could ever dream of, purely through appearance alone.
Not that Artorias would ever be caught behind the frontlines.
Rather, he was rushing ahead of everyone else.
…That desire of his really was troublesome at times.
A faint rustling caught her ears, her head turned towards the sound but she otherwise remained unmoved.
Even as the front of the woods all but exploded with a cacophony or roars and clashes.
She kept herself still and her eyes fixed upon the battle between the young girl, blonde and bearing similarities to the dark themed knight and rose coloured Emperor…
Along with the cleric and the captain of the Chaldean guard, now that the thought occurred to her.
Rather…bewildering.
Clashes between the blonde girl and the attackers continued.
The unmistakable form of wyverns, she watched with a raised brow but did nothing.
It was a hard fought battle.
Yet there was an air of frustration from the knight as they fought, she could see as much with the swing of their sword.
They clashed claw and steel, a confrontation that lasted until light exploded forth from the blade, not a great deal, but enough to shunt the wyvern away from them. The blonde stepped forwards, unleashing a battle cry as she cleaved the wyvern from shoulder to tail with a swing of the blade.
Gwynevere saw the problem already.
The others did as well, as with the blade still lodged into the wyvern's corpse, they pounced upon the girl from either side.
The sword twisted, swept across and the girl spun on her heel and slashed through them in a circular motion. Dispatching both attackers rather quickly, but she had seen the delay with the attack and more than that, the entire affair took much longer than it really needed to. Attacking the centre opponent was always a risky move.
Especially if you could not dispatch them before the ones on your flanks could recover.
It was the end of the battle, perhaps a long one if the winded look on the face of the girl gave her any indication.
It begged the question of how long she had been fighting for.
"Ah, that is Artoria Lily."
Artoria Lily…
…Lily, yes, she could understand that part of the name rather well. The spin she did gave quite the impression.
But that was beside the point, their youth shined brighter than her peers. Rather, it was clear to her that they were very much the age they appeared to be. Perhaps that was why her intuition had brought her here, there was clearly a need for an intervention.
With a smile upon her lips, she turned her focus down towards Mash. "Well then, perhaps we should see if we cannot offer some words of encouragement to Lily for such a battle. She is clearly trying her hardest."
She started moving before Mash could offer words, but there was little need for such speed in the first place. The girl gave her assent in the form of a single yes and then quickly joined step with them. The two of them approached the Saber Servant at a rather idle pace, there was no need to rush in the first place.
It gave her time to watch over everything.
The frustration was apparent.
She had seen such things before, many times before.
There was a simple deduction to be made from watching that battle unfurl.
They wanted to be stronger.
It was not longer before the Saber turned their gaze onto the pair of them, a quick flash of surprise crossed their features. Indicating just how caught up in the battle they had been, a common mistake for those without much experience. Yet she had seen the state of the girls future selves, so it was an odd thing that they were at such a state.
"Forgive me for the sudden intrusion, though I felt it best to approach you after such a battle. It appeared hard fought."
She avoided direct praise.
Lily quickly collected themselves, offering a single confirming nod of the head. "It was difficult, I suppose. Though I would be surprised if Chaldea did not fight such battles, I heard this one was based off a previous encounter."
"Indeed." Mash stepped forwards. "Though we did not fight it all by ourselves at the time, it's actually incredible that you did, Lily-san."
The blonde remained silent, offering a light smile to Mash but saying nothing.
That was indeed something they knew, but there was more to it. Rather, they knew they should have been capable of this much. Yet there was undoubtedly the strain of the battle that caused her such anxiety. It explained the urge with each blow and the dissatisfied expression.
Yes, that was it.
Her older self would not have struggled.
"You stand here victorious and yet it does not quite have the pleasing taste one would expect." Gwynevere slowly spoke, gesturing towards the direction they had come from and where the false wyverns had been felled. "And I do not believe it is because these creatures are without true life."
Lily offered a light wince, then opened her mouth to reply.
"But before all of that, perhaps we should introduce ourselves to one another." Bowing her head lightly, she looked down at the young girl with a gentle expression. "I am Gwynevere, Goddess of Fertility and Bounty."
"Ah, yes. I am Artoria Lily." They responded quickly, a rather picturesque curtsy, if only a little clumsy but that was excusable. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Goddess…It is a rather large surprise to meet so many Divine Spirits, not that I am troubled by it, but I never expected to have the chance."
Was that so?
Ah, yes, she supposed it would be.
"I trust that you and Mash-Senpai know one another well, yes?" She inclined a brow, gesturing down to the lilac haired girl. At the nod of Lily, she drew her hand back. "As I thought. Though it returns to the matter at hand, you seem so dissatisfied that I could not help but find myself curious. Is there some flaw with these opponents you battle?"
A complicated expression came over the face of the Saber.
"I…Would not so much call it a flaw in my opponents, rather, they served their purpose quite well. I am told they are equal in skill and strength to those Chaldea fought in the past…But the flaw is instead…"
"You speak of this so certainly." Not waiting to hear the words, she pressured onwards. Drawing the eyes of the girl. "Yet the certainty with which you speak means that you have pondered this issue for some time."
Lily offered a wry look. "Is this the wisdom of the Gods that I have heard so much about?"
"Oh, I would say this is the wisdom of experience over the matter of the Gods." She smoothly replied to the young girl, glancing at her sword arm. "I suspect any other warrior would have taken notice when you swung your blade. A drive within it to be stronger, perhaps it is that your mind has grown faster than your body?"
"That is…not entirely wrong." With a sigh, they straightened themselves out. "I have tested myself against the common foes that Chaldea has faced thus far and I can say with certainty I can best them. That alone is not the issue, but rather…I believe I am struggling too much with enemies such as these. I gaze around me to the other Servants who fight and then to myself and I fear that I am the one being left behind by them."
She knew this problem well enough, the common issue of those who arrived late to see their peers leaps and bounds ahead of them.
"You…do?"
However, the reaction from Mash was worth bearing note of.
The girl stepped forwards and sounded rather taken aback by the words of Lily, almost as though she herself did not believe what she was truly hearing. "But…you are…why would you feel like that, Lily-san? I admit that Chaldea has some incredible Servants, but you're definitely one of them!"
Mash, a girl with a heart for compliments.
Yet sometimes words of kindness could wound deepest.
"That is…not true, Mash." Lily's forlorn expression was proof of that, though they did look understanding. "I am someone who could have become such a Servant, but at the point I was summoned…I have not reached that stage. I know when I hold Caliburn that even my other self that is slightly scary to look at would probably generate more power…I am indeed Arthur Pendragon…but I am not the King of Knights."
They offered a smile. "I am simply the person they were before they grew up."
Gwynevere saw such things in them, the potential was beautiful and she saw what such potential yielded. The person who found and trained them surely had a keen eye for such things, she wondered what manner of person they would have been.
Was it mere luck they found her, or was it by design?
Either way, they made the right choice.
But standing before her now was that potential, frozen in the single moment before it was realised.
They were a Servant, a transient being.
But such was the same of all things.
Perhaps they would never reach their potential akin to their older self, but that did not mean that doing nothing was a choice. After all, she would never let such fine material slip through her grasp if she could help it.
"Perhaps that is true, yet if you believed it to be such a futile task as to never realise that strength, you would not be working to better yourself."
Her words brought silence between them, the pair turned on her.
"I believe that despite that understanding you have found, there remains the desire to improve upon one's own self. So long as there is something to learn, then you are never complete, as it were. Indeed, you are not a complete being as the King of Knights…but that shows the manner in which you can grow, and you accept that, do you not?"
Silence, then Lily gave a single determined nod. "I will not deny your words, rather they are true. I am absolutely going to keep trying my hardest until I can offer something of value to my Master. Even if I know I shall never be comparable to my peers, there is no reason that I cannot-"
"-do my absolute best to ensure that I am useful."
The words were completed, but not by Lily, rather, it was Mash that ended them for her.
Lily turned to the girl with wide eyes, it was a single moment of silence that passed between them, yet Gwynevere could see the link form in real time. The shared understanding between the two of them.
"I understand, Lily-san…" Mash stepped forwards, standing before the girl and placing a hand over her own heart. "I myself am an immature Demi-Servant. I know that I am not at all like the other Servants, rather, I know how amazing all of them are. With my own Noble Phantasm not even a true one…those feelings of not being good enough…"
"Mash…That isn't true." Lily sternly defended the girl. "You're an incredible Shielder! I've heard all about how tough you are on the front lines and-"
"And if it had just been me, then Senpai would never have gotten so far." Mash shut them down swiftly, shaking their head from side to side. "I know from the very beginning that it has been the support of other Servants that have allowed me to keep pace with Senpai. Even more so when some…"
She turned her head, gazing across the false ocean.
"...There was a Servant called Sir Oscar in this Singularity." Her words contained a solemn note to them. "I do not know why, but he believed in me until the very end. Yet even when he called himself a weak Servant…He was stronger than I was. He used his own Noble Phantasm on me so that I could be better for Senpai…I know that it was his own wishes to keep us going that kept me in the fight."
"Mash…that is…"
"Therefore, I know how it feels…So I shall do everything I can-no-We will all do whatever we can to train until we can be the very best!"
The girl declared as though someone set a fire beneath her.
Gwynevere pulled her lips into a light smile, watching the passion radiate from the girl with each word. They stepped forwards and extended a hand towards the Saber Servant.
"So then, let us train together! I know that if you are given the opportunity, you will make for an incredible Servant that will almost certainly be one of the front liners for Senpai!"
Lily said nothing in response to the declaration, at least not initially.
Then they stepped forwards and clasped Mash's hand into their own, pulling their own confident smile.
"The same goes for you, Mash! I know that you are definitely the toughest Servant around to have come so far, but if all we need is to train together, then we shall do just that!"
Gwynevere supposed she should say something.
Coughing gently into her fist, the two young ones jolted slightly and then quickly turned towards her, equal looks of embarrassment formed on their faces as they realised quite how far they had been going with these remarks of theirs.
"A-ah, sorry, Gwynevere-san. I forgot that you were there for a moment." Mash apologised.
She only chuckled at the two of them, "Oh, do not say such a thing. Rather, I should be thanking you for letting me see such a splendid sight. The drive you both have to improve is a beautiful thing to behold. It makes me all the more excited to see what you shall become once all is said and done…"
Inclining her head, her smile grew just a touch wider, her eyes shifted onto Lily.
"And it might be forwards of me to say such things, but I have a history of training swordsmen of great renown. If you will excuse the boast, I believe that if it is training for betterment that you seek, then I would be more than willing to provide you with some that these soulless illusions cannot match."
Lily rolled her lips, then stepped forwards.
"If you're willing to help me, then I accept your help."
"Wonderful." Clapping her hands gently, she glanced between the two of them. "I believe that our first order of business should be stepping foot upon real earth and ground. This hollow place is hardly suitable for training, is it? How can one be excited for the future if the land is unchanging?"
Though her words did not quite resonate with Lily, she was not sure the girl understood what she meant, the flicker of understanding passed through the eyes of Mash.
"Gwynevere-san is right, Lily-san! We must strike while the iron is still hot." The girl swiftly turned on her new ally and pressed her fist into her hand. "We should head to Senpai and then request a Rayshift right down for the sake of training…I can only really afford to use my powers during Rayshifts anyway."
"Ah, that makes sense!" Lily nodded along, then paused and turned her head. "But doesn't it seem rather sudden to request a Rayshift when there isn't a need-"
"Senpai will understand that there is a very strong need for this, Lily-san!"
Ritsuka was tired.
It was early in the morning, or really late at night, one of the two.
He wasn't all that sure.
All he was really aware of was something knocking on his door loud enough that they could probably wake the dead-
…Actually, it would probably be best if he didn't say that.
Slipping out of the bed, he moved for the door while rubbing his eyes. Though it did feel as though there was something heavy on his head, or rather like his hair was heavier than usual, if that even made sense to him. Though all things considered, it probably didn't matter all that much.
Pressing the button on the door, he leaned back and squinted as the blurry shapes in front of him shifted and focused into the distinctive figures of Mash, Artoria Lily and Gwynevere.
…The final of which was a bit peculiar.
His eyes lingered on Gwynevere for a moment longer than the others, keeping himself a little wary about her being in the presence of the other two, then directed his attention towards them and looked between them. Before he could even open his mouth, he noticed that their attention was not actually on him.
No, that wasn't quite true.
They were looking at him, but not at his eyes.
Rather, they were looking at something that seemed to be on…his…head.
A stray thought entered his mind, reaching up he placed his hand atop his head and quickly noticed that it was much softer than usual. Also his hair typically didn't make an annoyed groaning sound when he touched it either. His features flattened, then he cupped his hand around the mass as gently as he could before pulling it off.
Lowering it down, and with it the gazes of the three at his door.
Fou was flopped out in his palm, tossing over and all but lounging like a King, giving no indication that they had moved at all from the top of his head. Rather, he was a bit shocked they had maintained their grip on his head all while he had been getting up.
That was a little weird.
With the small animal cupped in his hand, he gave a single sniff and raised his eyes to the others.
Best to just act like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"I'm a bit surprised to see all of you here this early."
Mash opened her mouth to speak, an initial look of determination on her face was swiftly washed away with confusion. Her brows furrowed and her single visible eye shone with confusion. "Early, Senpai? But it's nine in the morning…"
…It was what?
"...Huh? No, that can't be right…my alarm should have…" Bringing up a single finger to the group, he turned around and walked back across towards his bed. Or specifically to the bedside table where his alarm clock resided, though he quickly noticed something that he had missed earlier.
That being the small not of paper laying atop the alarm clock.
"Ritsuka, I thought you could do with a lie today because you looked really at peace, Gwyndolin."
That guy, honestly.
He couldn't even be mad, he did feel a bit more well rested than usual.
"I see you have managed to awaken a doting nature about Gwyndolin, how intriguing. I wasn't aware that he held such feelings."
The innocuous comment from Gwynevere brought a light grunt from him, with a shrug of his shoulders, he set the note back down and turned about. Walking towards the door.
Thankful he was dressed in a shirt and shorts.
Always helped given how often people came to his door.
"Yes, well, Gwyndolin has a lot of things that are surprising." Was what he replied with, he could have made a comment about it but kept himself back. There was no reason to avoid being civil. His eyes darted to the Goddess briefly and then to the others. "Okay so my oversleeping aside, is there something the matter?"
Mash swiftly brought the determination back into her gaze. "Senpai, we need to immediately Rayshift!"
Ritsuka jerked backwards, almost dropping Fou.
Immediately Rayshift!?
"Is it another Singularity!? Please tell me I didn't oversleep through-"
"Ah, no, no, no! It's not a Singularity, Senpai!" The roles were reversed rather swiftly, he felt his own panic fade while Mashs' visibly rose, combined with the clear guilt on her expression as she lowered her waving arms. "I didn't mean to phrase it like that. What I meant to say was that I would like to request we go on a Rayshift as soon as possible."
Oh, so that was what she meant.
That was a bit of a relief that he hadn't slept through something really important, though his mind now turned to the idea of what could be so important for her to request a Rayshift like this all of a sudden.
"Are we low on supplies or something?"
Mash quickly shook her head. "No, Senpai. Siegward was very thorough with the last invoice and we have enough supplies to last through the end of the month. This is more in regards to training for myself and Lily-san."
Training?
His brows slowly pinched. "Is there something wrong with the simulator?"
A light click of the tongue, almost sounding amused, his gaze turned to the tallest of the trio and the slightly rebuking gaze she was directing towards him. Gwynevere shook her head from side to side. "You cannot truly expect an individual to make progress of worth in such a lifeless environment, can you?"
The other Servants seemed to manage without complaints, but it wasn't that he was against the idea.
"I'm just asking because we're probably going to be asked why we suddenly need to go down for a Rayshift when the simulator still works." He argued back rather evenly. "I'm not sure how willing the Director would be to accept the reasoning in lines of 'it's not real'."
None of them looked as though they had been put off at all.
Rather, Mash looked even more determined than before.
"This is a matter of utmost importance, Senpai. For the sake of training to be better Servants, it is imperative that we head down to a micro-singularity."
He'd never heard Mash argue so passionately for something before.
A little caught off guard, he leaned back and stared at her, then shifted his gaze towards Lily and saw the equally determined expression on her face. Not long in waiting, she stepped forwards and pointed towards Mash.
"I concur, it is of vital importance that myself and Mash have the best opportunity to train as hard as we can, until we can train no longer!"
Nevermind Mash being passionate, he felt like he was getting jumped by an advert for a gym or something.
"...Alright then."
Really, he wasn't sure what was even going on, but if they felt this strongly about it, then it was only natural that he do his best to see their request through. His eyes turned upwards towards the Goddess and lingered upon her, then rolled his jaw. "I don't suppose you're following them for the sake of rigorous training either, are you?"
Gwynevere offered a faint smile, as though amused by his words, "No. Merely that I am lending my aid where I might for those with such bountiful potential. It would be a waste if not cultivated, would you not agree?"
…Seriously?
He kept his expression utterly blank.
"...Cultivated." His words were flat. "By you."
Gwynevere raised a brow. "Whom else would I speak of?"
He was just picturing her last known effort to cultivate someone.
"...You'll forgive me if I'm not eager to-"
"Senpai." The words of Mash brought his eyes to the girl, she stepped forwards and dropped her voice into a low whisper. "It was Gwynevere-san who noticed something was the matter with Lily-san. I think she does genuinely want to help."
Ritsuka met the single visible eye for a few moments, it kept an unwavering gaze upon him.
Really, if she spoke that confidently, then he would take her word for it.
Turning back to Gwynevere, he offered a light hum. "Alright then, if Mash trusts you then I will do the same." It went without saying that it was mostly because of Mash that he was letting it go this far, he was trying to keep an open mind about letting her be here, but this was a big step forward.
"Give me a moment and then we'll head to the command room. The Director will probably need to be convinced."
And that was something that he was sure was going to be difficult.
"Very well, assemble your team as quickly as possible. I will be down there to join you shortly as well."
Or perhaps not?
What?
The Director said nothing, not even looking at him, as she loomed over the console and all but ignored the stares around her. Eventually bringing her head up and turning about, frowning at the expressions and looking towards him. "What are you standing there with that gobsmacked face for? You look like a buffoon."
"U-uhh…wha-you…you said yes?"
They raised a brow, clearly asking for an elaboration.
"No, I mean you…I'm happy you said yet but I was expecting a bit more push back."
Silence stretched between them, then the Director gave a light sigh. "If it is for the sake of training, a short excursion can be excused. Besides, it removes the dangers of the Rayshifting equipment experiencing unexpected errors like spontaneous emergence in the air…Furthermore, any micro-Singularity we solve is one that we no longer need worry about."
He supposed that was true, but he was expecting some sort of argument about all of it.
More than that, there was something else.
"Okay, but what about you coming down with us?"
The Director folded her arms and raised a brow. "Why is that troubling you? Are you accusing me of being-"
"No, just…" Ritsuka brought his hands up, covering his face and then sighing into his palms. Dragging them down and giving a strained smile. "I mean…I thought you would have said we could just do this in the Simulator or that you would have remained behind to assess our progress."
A nod of the head. "Indeed, those are sensible arguments. Though you are ignoring a single flaw."
He was?
"I am?"
"Yes." She stepped forwards, levelling him with the flattest stare possible. "The capacity for your short excursions to quickly spiral out of control."
Ah.
"Oh." He simply replied, then cringed. "Ooooh."
The flat stare continued. "Yes. Oh. Though they are not common, they happen enough for me to consider it a regular occurrence. Either you are cursed with unfortunate luck or we are ill-prepared. Whatever the case, even Micro-Singularities such as these will be approached with a degree of caution. As such, I will be deciding to accompany you on this specific venture."
Ritsuka stared at her, then turned towards Romani.
The man just gave a helpless shrug of his shoulders. "Do not look at me, Fujimaru-kun. I was expecting her to say no as well."
The woman twitched, then sent a sharp look towards the man. "Is the expectation around here that I will simply shoot down every suggestion that is brought to me?"
Ritsuka wouldn't say that.
Just that she seemed very…meticulous about doing things.
"Besides…If it is for the purpose of training, then it is beneficial for Mash to gather more field experience. Though she has already gathered much, there is little harm in acquiring more against living foes…And I myself could likely do with greater experience of commanding in the field."
The Director thought that?
He was a bit shocked, if he was being honest.
But he wasn't going to complain all that much.
"Okay then, I'll see you down there."
"Good." The Director nodded her head. "Myself and Marie will be along shortly."
He blinked. "Just Marie?"
"Yes, she is the one most in need of riding horseback as a lancer." The Director responded as though it was the most obvious point in the world.
Well.
Alright then.
Perhaps it would have been better for him to explain at the time who was coming down with him along with Mash and Lily, but it slipped his mind.
He didn't see it being too big of a problem.
At least until he got to the coffins and found another individual already present, crouched over one of them and staring down at it with a rather intense gaze.
"Ash?"
The Avenger turned their head, humming as they did so and broke contact with the Coffin, as far as Ritsuka knew it was one of the ones that currently housed members of Team A, though quite why Ash was looming over them was anyone's guess.
"Oh, Ritsuka." With the simple greeting, they rose up from their crouched position and then paused, casting their eyes away from him and to those currently behind him. He watched their expression warily, fully aware that things could shift at any moment.
Indeed, he caught the exact instant that the Avenger made eye contact with Gwynevere.
It did not last long before they turned their gaze back onto him. "Are you preparing to head somewhere?"
He nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, just on a training mission. The Director will be down shortly to accompany us as well…" trailing off, he turned his gaze to where the blonde had been looking and raised a brow at them, glancing between the two different locations for a couple of seconds before speaking again. "What were you doing?"
"...Nothing important." They replied after a moment of silence, their face betrayed nothing. "I was just curious about them, I suppose…who was housed in that coffin?"
He had no idea.
"Ah, I believe that was Ophelia-san." Mash supplied as she joined him, already moving to her own prepared coffin. The girl slowed her pace as she glanced to the spot with a slightly hesitant look, then towards the Avenger. "Why do you ask, Ash-san?"
"Ophelia…" They muttered, glancing at it and for the briefest of seconds, he saw a hint of confusion over their expression. Though it did not last long before it evened out into nothing once again. Their blank gaze turned back to him. "No reason. Still, a training mission is it? I shall accompany you then."
Ritsuka blinked, then brought his hands up. "Ah, you don't need to-"
Ash was already walking towards him, without an ounce of emotion in their features. "I believe it would be best that I did so. Besides, if it is the matter of training, I can provide combatants for you to battle against. There is little concern in the matter…And I believe that further training with this 'Reality Marble' of mine would be best to understand the full extent of its abilities in an environment that is safer."
When they put it like that, he could not really argue.
However, that wasn't the issue.
Sparing a glance over his shoulder, he gazed briefly to Gwynevere and then darted his attention back towards Ash. Moving forwards and dropping his voice into a whisper. "That isn't really-"
"Are you under the impression that it would be best for me to hide away and skulk whenever Mother's shadow darkens my gaze?"
He winced, both at their tone and at their words. "That wasn't…I just don't want you to be in a position where you are uncomfortable-"
"My comfort matters little when placed against your safety." They cut him short, looking down with slightly narrowed eyes. Though they were not so much narrowed at him as they were at something else. "Rather, I would feel more at ease if you were in my line of sight to begin with."
He thinned his lips, then nodded his head.
"Alright then. If you say so. Just don't push yourself, alright?"
"There is no point if I am not pushing myself." They responded quickly, folding their arms and turning their gaze from him.
The Rayshift went without incident, no visible signs of bugs or anything of the sort.
And he did not manifest hundreds of feet in the air, which was always a bonus.
"It seems as though this particular arrival is without concern." The voice of the Director came out somewhat clipped, he saw her shooting a rather pointed look in the vague location of Gwynevere before her eyes returned to gaze at him. Showing a small level of discontent about the whole thing.
He supposed that was expected.
"Yes, no skydiving today." He chuckled back to her, said chuckle quickly fading away into nothing the longer she stared at him with a dead eyed gaze. He rolled his lips and looked down towards the ground, it was only a moment before he turned to Mash. "Alright, it's your show Mash. So you and Lily can train how you want."
Mash blinked at him, looking somewhat surprised for a moment by his words, though her expression quickly brightened and she gave a single nod of the head. "Yes, Senpai!" she turned to Lily and moved forwards. "Come on, Lily-san! Let's see what Gwynevere-san has in mind."
With that done, the two of them moved off to the Goddess who was a few feet away from them and otherwise doing little more than standing around.
"I would have appreciated a warning that you were taking her."
He blew air out from between his lips. "I mean, I guess, but it was more or less Mash and Lily that talked me into it. From the way it sounds, it was originally Mash's idea to come out here in the first place."
Olga made a small noise. "That is how it appears, I am far from inclined to believe that the Goddess played no part of it…And how can you stand there and let them speak on such close terms with one another? Especially with Kyrielight."
A light tut came from the side, Marie stepped forwards and rested a hand delicately on the shoulder of the Director. "That's being overly paranoid, Olga. You're allowed to be concerned, but if you can't trust them with the little things like this, then trusting them with the lives of others is going to be impossible."
"She shouldn't be trusted at all." Olga muttered out with a grim tone, making a face as though she had sucked a lemon. "She's only even here because she does not want to die."
"Yeah, but none of us want to die." Ritsuka pointed out, it was a half-hearted defence of the Goddess and one that barely came out of him. But it felt like a weak point to argue against trusting her with. "She's done bits and pieces to help out and she at least helps when asked to…Mash asked me to have a little faith so I'll do that."
Olga turned and looked at him, her expression all but screamed incredulity at his words.
What was he really supposed to say to all of that in the first place, he found it unsettling as well but it wasn't like he could foster a genuine working relationship with the Goddess in any meaningful way if he followed her steps like a vulture and hounded her every single time she engaged into a conversation.
Whatever was the case here, both Lily and Mash seemed to consider Gwynevere someone who could help them for whatever reason.
If their efforts proved genuine, he would have little problems with it.
"Are you going to say anything?"
The words of the Director shifted focus, now pointed towards another individual.
Ritsuka turned his head, Ash was already moving away from them and up a small hill to a tree. The Servant paused, sensing the question, then turned their head and looked over their right shoulder.
They gazed down for a half second, before speaking slowly. "My opinion regarding her cannot be trusted. I am biased in both directions."
He winced, they turned back around and climbed back to the top of the hill and into the shade of the tree. Leaning against the trunk and folding their arms together, looking down and doing nothing else.
Half an hour he had been watching them.
Half an hour they trained.
If that is what they called it, but then again, they could afford to have their training taken lightly. He knew that his Mother had done something to the sword and shield of Lily and Mash respectively, given that the pair of them looked to be putting a great deal more effort into their swings and thrusts.
Shifting the weights to make them heavier, was it?
He was familiar with it, he had gone through something similar.
And then there she was, standing at the side and watching over them with a loving smile.
He swiftly turned his head from the sight and towards the others, Marie and Olga practising something. Rather, he was surprised to see Olga practising the art of swinging an axe back and forth, though he knew it was in relation to passing the memories of combat to Stahl, it was still something he had not expected her to do.
…She seemed focused on it at any rate.
"Do you think I should work out as well for the sake of solidarity?"
"You can do as you wish."
"It just feels a bit guilty, they're all working hard while I'm sitting here under a tree in the shade."
Ash glanced down at them, it was only for a moment and then brought his eyes back up. "...Do you want to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow?"
Ritsuka slowly turned their eyes up to meet his, blinking several times before they tilted their head. "I…I don't know. I'm not sure when I would get the chance to use it but if you're willing to teach me then yeah, that sounds alright actually."
Standing up, the boy turned around to face him with a smile on their face. "Sure. It's good for arm strength or something, isn't it? I'm sure that Arash would be pretty happy about me trying to compete with him as well…then again, I don't think I'd be nearly as good."
Ash just shrugged, reaching towards his bottomless box and drawing forth a shortbow with a pouch of arrows, handing them to the boy and stepping to the side. Folding his arms once done and watching them.
"Nock the arrow."
"I've never done this before."
"..."
"...Okay, I'll probably get this wrong but alright." Ritsuka muttered, sliding the arrow into the string and then drawing it back. He saw the faintest hint of strain on their expression as they did so, but it wasn't as bad as he was thinking it could have been. Then again, the shortbow was meant for rapid use, so it wasn't drawn as tightly as others.
But he saw the problem quickly.
"Your feet are wrong."
Ritsuka blinked, then turned to him.
Ash swiftly took that arrow from the boy and then pointed down. "You're standing sideways and cutting off your strength. You need to lean this foot forwards-" he pressed his boot against their left foot and dragged it forwards slightly. "-and turn it side on. Stomp down hard, like an anchor."
Ritsuka glanced at it for a moment, then did as they were told.
It was not the greatest, admittedly, but it was a start. Better than before.
"We'll just work on drawing the string…else Boudica will become annoyed if you become injured. As will Olga."
Ritsuka offered a light smile but said nothing, understanding the problem.
"Draw back."
They did that-
"Pull your elbow up, so that it aligns with your jaw, angle the bow slightly to accomplish this."
He watched, humming along. "One above, two below."
Their fingers adjusted.
"Loose."
The string snapped forwards with a light whoosh.
Ritsuka blinked, then turned to Ash. "How was that?"
"...Good enough. Though the idea is to make sure you understand the feel of the string and working out how far you can draw back reliably. Push with your front arm at the same time you pull with your back. Repeat this several more times, then you will get an arrow."
"This is oddly relaxing."
Was it?
He had never found that to be the case, though this was the first time he had done something like this without having to worry about a large monster or undead knight running him down because he was too slow on the draw. Perhaps that was the difference between them, but that was neither here nor there.
…Relaxing, was it?
…Well, Ritsuka looked to be enjoying themselves at least and they had not yet even loosened a single arrow.
"Here." He handed them a single arrow from the pouch. "Lock it in place, three feathers with one pointed away from the boy to avoid catching it. Draw, aim and then loose."
"Feel like we could do with a target." Ritsuka chuckled lightly as they nocked the arrow in place.
"Focus on firing the arrow before you worry about aiming it."
It was training, that much she knew.
The purpose was clear in her heart.
To swing the weighted sword - Caliburn that was far heavier than she ever recalled it being - so many times until she could swing the blade as if it weighed nothing at all. For that reason she was grateful for the training and knew it would pay off. Though she was a Servant and her natural strength would never change, it was the mentality.
Growing accustomed to the weight of something.
Perhaps there might have even been a mental factor to it all, casting aside her doubts and swinging her sword without worries into whether it would be swung true or not.
Yet all she could think upon was the support she was receiving.
It was a cynical thing, really.
But it was there.
All of this help just so she could walk shoulder to shoulder with the others, going so far just for her.
She should be grateful to them for all of this assistance, but the doubts did not leave her mind. Rather, she understood from the very beginning what her existence was. It was not as though she was the authentic version, rather she was born of the 'what if' during her training period.
A mixture of her life while in training and also what she would have been like in the eyes of those of Britain.
When she looked upon it such as that, she could feel more doubts flood her being.
Was she this weak because she was a phantom existence…or was she a phantom existence because she was this weak?
Whatever the case might have been, she was unsure whether this doubt would ever be removed, yet the thought of bringing disappointment to the face of Mash after they had expressed their own concerned felt as though it would be a betrayal of them. Which meant that for the sake of their alliance, she would push through.
Her only hope was that these doubts would eventually be removed.
"One thousand." She declared swinging her sword a final time and lowering her arms.
Turning her attention towards the silent Goddess as they watched on, their eyes were similar to those of Merlin, she found. They watched on with a sense of knowing, as if they were aware of something that you yourself were not. Though they at least lacked the eerie teasing of Merlin when it came to that sort of thing.
Their hand moved up and cupped their chin, watching her without making a single noise.
"How fair your arms, young one?"
"They're still good to go."
Nodding their head, they gently clapped their hands together. "Then it seems as though the two of you would be best off putting that to further use. In such a way that you can benefit at the same time. Lily, if you could practise striking Mash's shield while she blocks, does that sound acceptable to the two of you?"
Lily blinked, then glanced at Mash who just stopped her own swinging of her shield, turning towards her and blinking once, then to Gwynevere.
"Worry not, I shall be there in the event either of you becomes injured, though I doubt it will come to such things."
She had heard how skilled the Goddess was at healing, she raised her hand. "Will Caliburn still be heavy?"
"Naturally. Though this shall be further weighted." They turned to her and waved their hand slightly, instantly she had to clasp the sword with both hands and pull upon more of her magical energy to hold the weapon aloft.
"You will swing to catch out Mash and she will swing to block you. It is a matter of taking advantage of openings between the two of you. Do your best." They smiled lightly and stepped backwards.
A brief pause, they clapped their hands together with a golden circle shining beneath them, and the next moment she felt an aura sweep across her. A sense of strength, flexing her hands opened and closed and turning to the Goddess as they unclasped their hands.
"Just think of it as additional protection in the event of any accidents."
Lily nodded her head, then turned to Mash with only a single moment of hesitance. "Are you ready, Mash?"
"Yes, come at me, Lily-san!"
When faced with such determination, she could hardly turn them down, could she?
Especially when they were wielding that shield.
She took a single step forwards-
A crack of thunder roared above her head, her eyes snapped up and she managed to catch herself before falling over. Her gaze turned to the sky, then widened as she watched a fall of fire streak through the clear blue expanse above their heads, a trail of black smoke fell from behind the burning orb.
It then did something a meteor wasn't supposed to do.
It turned in the air, twisting and then seemingly spiralling downwards closer and closer towards them.
Lily blinked and straightened herself out, raising a brow at the rather odd sight.
Most of all when the flames abruptly vanished from the meteor and revealed a shining silver body behind it, pointed like an arrow with wings jutting from either side of the shape, barely able to make out the blue and yellow 'X' pattern across the front out it and the bulbous glass dome mounted on the side.
It was the most funnily designed meteor she had ever seen in her life.
More so when it's descent slowed down to a rather impressive extent, though it still ended up crashing into the ground a good hundred metres from them, carving a groove through the dirt and forming a crater with the nose of the meteor stuck inside.
Her head tilted.
She couldn't sense any radiation or toxic chemicals, so really, she thought this was a good thing.
"What in the bloody hell is that!?"
The voice of the white haired Master carried through the initial silence following the crash.
Perhaps this was a touch more alarming than she thought?