There are many great disasters brought onto the world. The hand of Mother Nature takes just as much as it gives. The Earth produces earthquakes, tsunamis, flaming eruptions, and all manner of great catastrophic events. But none are as all encompassing as a storm. Whatever ground a flood could not reach, a tornado could always devastate. Both land and sea could become victim to the strong winds and lighting of a hurricane. And few places in the world could ever escape the sound of thunder.
The skies could birth destruction towards below unlike any other element of the Earth. And that was the power that Altria Lancer Alter possessed, the King of Storms in every sense of the word. Her holy weapon, Rhongomyniad bringing all this power manifest onto the world. And now, she was using that power against a pair of grey wolfs. She was chasing the wild beasts in the forest with her horse as they ran to escape from her wrath. She gutted one after the other as soon as she was able to close the gap between her and the animals. Black clouds formed in the sky above.
A strong wind entered the forest and lighting began to strike at the wolfs from the clouds. One by one they were turned to a crisp, the smell of burned meat filling the air.
Altria and the last two remaining wolfs soon exited the forest and she noted a large mountain as she advanced. It was filled with green on top it's rocky surface, and there was a big cave entrance at the bottom and the two wolfs ran inside it. She had Llamrie come to a stop close to the entrance, not wanting to get so far away from her master. She also sensed a strong presence from inside the cave that made her give pause.
Her intuition was proven right when she heard the sound of squealing from inside the cave, signaling that something had befallen the wolfs. She readied her lance and waited for whatever was inside, as the ground began to rumble. She noticed two large figures in the darkened path, and she finally discovered their identity as they made their way into the light.
It was two chimeras, both of them growling as they made a stop a few feet from her. Their snake tails hissed and the mouth of the lion heads were covered in blood and meat. The Chimeras roared, and Llamrie returned the attempt at intimidation with a scream. A loud sound of thunder was heard as beast and knight stared at each other.
"Hmm. Not afraid, are we?" She dematerialized her helmet, revealing a confident grin. "Good. This can be a proper battle then. Come and meet your ma-"
"Phoebus Catastrophe!"
A giant army of arrows came down on the wild beasts as soon the voice came. The creatures bodie's were riddled with arrows and they fell to the ground, having lost the breath of life. Altria gave a grunt as she eyed the now dead chimeras, disappointed to have her kill stolen. She turned her horse around to face the one responsible for her stolen victory. "That kill was mine to take, Archer."
Thunder came again as the Chaste Huntress, Atalanta walked to stand in front of Altria and her horse. "You took too long playing with your prey, I did us both a favor by ending the threat quickly." The Argonaut hero said with a stoic face, her unkept hair pushed by the strong wind surrounding the forest.
Altria was about to make a rebuttal to that, but stopped as soon as she heard a familiar voice.
"Good! You're both okay." Ritsuka voiced as he exited the forest accompanied by Boudica, Medea, Euryale, and Mash. The young Master and his Servants had come to Greece in the 11th century to collect materials and correct a disturbance. He had sent both Altria and Atalanta to clear the path for the rest of the group. Ritsuka and the rest went to stand with the other two Servants at the entrance of the cave.
Altria relaxed the strength of the wind as her master arrived. The Chaldean looked at the two dead Chimeras for a moment and turned to congratulate their slayers. "Great job clearing the path you two. Hopefully this means things will be easier once we get to our objective." He said, bearing his ever beaming smile.
The Greek Huntress and the Dark Lancer bowed their heads in thanks to their master, the conversation between them now left behind. Atalanta looked to Ritsuka with an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Master. I am pleased to have been able to aid you with my bow."
"I helped quite a bit too Master. Those werewolves took effort to kill, you know? Where is my praise?" Euryale said while clasping her hands beside her face, exaggerating a feeling of hurt. She stood next to Ritsuka as she leaned in close to his face, causing the Chaldean to back away slightly, a look of unease on his face.
"Oh please." Medea began with a dismissive tone, standing between Ritsuka and Mash. "Your arrows barely saw any use in that battle. My magecraft took out far more of those wild beasts than you. If anyone deserves praise here, it's me." She finished while gesturing with her gloved hand to herself confidently, her black hood now down to reveal her face.
The Gorgon sister gave a pout at that, but quickly formed a smirk. She stood straight and put a hand back pointing to herself. "Well, unlike you Medea, I am a goddess. That alone warrants worship of some sort. At least I actually have to use my hands to shoot, rather than hide behind spells like you do, hag."
Medea looked clearly irritated at the Archer's comment, but before she could give her complaint, Boudica interjected.
"That's enough. Don't prattle in front of Master like this while we're still on the mission. We're Heroic Spirits. It's proper that we serve our master, with or without praise." The Celtic Rider was wearing her crown and her white cape, her red hair now long and loose. The Queen of Victory would always be in the form of her third ascension when serving her master on the battlefield.
The Greek goddess and Witch of Colchis gave each other a displeasing look of contempt, before pointing their attention towards Ritsuka. The Chaldean stood straight once Euryale was no longer close.
Medea gave a frown as she spoke first. "I'm... sorry if my boasting gave trouble, Master."
"I... apologize as well."
Ritsuka formed a smile on his face as he looked towards Euryale. He put his hand on her head and stroked the Gorgon sister's hair. She gave him a look of surprise as he did. "It's fine. I'm sorry if I made you both feel unappreciated. Believe me, I appreciate all the help you give me. I can never thank you all enough."
The goddess returned a smile and a tint of red appeared on her cheeks as the young master retracted his arm. Euryale had started her little play to get some attention and she got something more special from it. Medea looked pleased from his words as well. "Well, that's more than enough praise. Thank you, Master."
"Anytime." All the Servants looked content with the results. Ritsuka turned to look towards Altria. "Altria, could you clear up the sky for us?"
"Of course, Master." The Lancer pointed her spear to the sky and the black clouds quickly dispersed, giving way to a bright blue sky. Everyone began to feel the Sun's warmth as it did.
"Thanks Altria. Hopefully that storm was able to discourage anyone nearby from coming into the the forest." Ritsuka said while he covered his face as he looked to the sky.
"I hope no children were nearby to experience that storm." Atalanta voiced with a hint of concern.
The group put their attention elsewhere as Romani Archaman's holographic projection appeared before them. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about Atalanta, this place is rather remote. That storm was making contacting you rather challenging, so it's good that it's gone now."
"I'll take your word for it, Doctor."
"Are we on the right track, Dr. Roman?" Mash asked as she stepped closer to the projection.
"Yes. Your objective should be deep inside that cave entrance, but I'm sad to inform that our scanners aren't able to pick up just how many enemies are inside. What I can tell you though, is that there is a big mass of energy inside, so I advise caution going in."
"Hm. I don't like going in with such a lack of insight." Atalanta voiced.
"Whatever it is that awaits us in the darkness, we will destroy it." Altria said.
Boudica gave a smile at that. "I like your optimism, Lancer. I'm certain we can beat whatever is inside as well."
The Chaldean director smiled, assured by the group's confidence. "I'm glad to hear that. We'll probably lose contact once you're deep inside the cave, so Chaldea won't be able to assist you for now. But, I have faith you'll do just fine without it till then."
"Thanks Dr. Roman. I hope to see you soon." Ritsuka said as he grasped the air with his fist. He was more than prepared to continue the mission.
"Haha. Same here. Good luck to you all." The Doctor's holographic projection disappeared as he finished.
Ritsuka walked just short of entering the cave and turned around to address his team. "Alright everyone, let's go!"
"Right!" Everyone gave their confirmations and began their venture into the darkness along with him.
The Servants formed a perimeter around their Master as they walked the path inside the cave. The physical fighters: Altria Alter, Boudica and Mash were at the front, and the more ranged fighters: Medea, Atalanta, and Euryale walked behind their master. Medea formed several bright yellow spheres to light the path for the group.
Wet clay began to stick to his boots as the Chaldean walked the cave fill floor. Ritsuka had decided to wear his Chaldea uniform for this small expedition. Their time here was meant to be short after all. The path was wide enough not to cause the group discomfort and tall enough to allow Altria to ride atop with Llamrie.
"This cavern runs quite deep and this passage is unusually wide." Atalanta mused.
Medea walked to be next to Ritsuka's right side. "Ritsuka, do you remember what I taught you about imbuing light into an object?" The Caster asked with a serious expression, bearing the look of a teacher that she always had whenever she would teach her master magecraft.
Ritsuka firmed his lips as he looked at her. "I think so. It was one of your first lessons if I remember correctly."
"Do you have something small that you can use? I wish for you to take this chance to practice, now that we are in the darkness."
Ritsuka searched one of his pockets and took out a green pen. Medea eyed his hand for a moment in curiosity before she returned to her quick lesson. "Good. Do you remember how to light it?"
"I infuse the object with my mana and alter the object's composition to create the light, right?"
"Your memory holds well, great. Demonstrate."
Medea looked as Ritsuka raised his hand and closed his eyes. He did what he had learned, he poured magical energy into the pen and a few moments later, the pen began to shine. Ritsuka opened his eyes as soon as he felt the light on his pupils and smiled. His task was a success.
Medea gave a smile of her own, satisfied with the conclusion of this lesson. "Excellent. You are certainly still inexperienced as a mage, but you have progressed wonderfully."
"Heh. Well, I had a few good teachers. Especially you."
It was a slow process, but Medea had become very pleased with her tutelage of the young master. Teaching him had slowly become a joy in her new life at Chaldea. He was a good soul, and one she was proud to fight for.
Ritsuka's eyes widened as he felt Euryale hug his left arm. "Look how talented you've become, Master! Soon you'll be able to do all kinds of tricks to entertain me and Stheno with." The Gorgon sister's intimate attack caused Ritsuka to stop his concentration and the pen's light disappeared.
Medea gave a heavy sigh as she furrowed her brow. "My, you're such a bother." Ritsuka gave an awkward laugh as she spoke.
"Hah! Nonsense. I bring nothing but delight." The Greek goddess said as she tightened her hold on her master's arm. The Chaldean found her presence rather comforting, so he didn't ask her to leg go. He would let her be playful for now.
Boudica and Mash smiled as they peeked behind their backs while watching the interaction. It was never a dull day in Chaldea.
The group soon returned their attention forward, as they felt a strong presence beyond. The path they walked began to widen and expand as they continued their approach. The appearance of stalagmites began to be noticed in the ceiling.
Medea pulled back her hood as she felt drops of water begin to fall on her face. "We're close to our destination."
Ritsuka looked up towards the ceiling, viewing the formations of rock and limestone. The young master was unfamiliar with the insides of a cavern and was intrigued by the experience so far. Although, the smell was an unwelcome surprise.
"Stay close to me, Master. You will be safe with me." Euryale said in a soft tone.
"Haha. Thanks, Euryale. I know I can count on you and the others." Ritsuka said with a smile as he looked down at the Archer.
The group soon spotted a rocky hill and a large edge to its left. The group stopped half a dozen feet as they noticed there was nowhere else to go, with no other paths left to walk towards to.
Everyone scanned the large space as Ritsuka lifted his head towards the hill. "Does this mean we have to climb or...?" Silence filled the Chaldean's mouth as he felt the ground begin to rumble.
Euryale let go of her master and quickly positioned herself along with the rest of the Servants around him. They stood ready and waiting as a few moments later, a growl echoed around them. They all soon turned their attention up the hill as they heard stomping from above. A White Chimera came into view as it stood close to the edge of the hill and stared down at the small party of heroes. It's lion head gave a loud roar causing the ceiling to shake.
"Looks like this one and the other two chimeras were part of a pack." Altria Alter said as she rematerialized her helmet and readied her lance.
The group then heard the sound of hissing as they saw the faint figure of an Orochi come from beneath the edge next to the hill. It's black and white snake body came into full view, towering over them as it's 3 heads stared down at them, and two of it's heads gave a shriek. Everyone's attention was drawn again as they saw the walls around them begin to shake and dozens of large rocky figures pulled themselves from the stoned surface, revealing themselves to be Golems. The stone creatures soon surrounded the group and the tension began to build inside some of them.
"Looks like hoping this would be easy was just wishful thinking." Ritsuka voiced as he observed the foes surrounding them.
"Is this some kind of ambush?" Mash questioned with slight fear in her voice. She held her shield loosely, unsure of where they might be attacked from first.
"Are these beasts coordinating somehow?" Atalanta spoke as she aimed her bow and arrow, switching between targets to prevent a surprise. She had not lost her cool, but she and the rest of the team were finding the situation unsettling.
Everyone then looked in surprise as they saw a large figure phase from the floor behind them. The phantom spirit that had appeared now hovered above them with its skeletal body now in full display. The ghastly spirit then screeched towards the group of Servants, causing movement within the ceiling once again.
Ritsuka looked on as his face looked grim. "A ghost. Why did it have to be a ghost!?"
"Master!" Medea yelled to get his attention back in the moment.
"Right! Sorry." Ritsuka shook his head and gave the Servants the serious look of the commander he was meant to be, burying the fear inside him for now. "Boudica, use your Noble Phantasm to give us a boost."
"Right. Chariot-"
As Boudica used her Noble Phantasm to strengthen the group, Ritsuka went to address the rest of the Servants. "Euryale, I want you to drive the Orochi towards you and then charm it so you can use it's venom to stun and finish the Chimera."
"A fight between snakes, eh? Fufufu, as you wish Master."
"Altria, once Boudica is done, I want you two to deal with the Golems surrounding us."
"It will be done, Master."
"Mash and Atalanta, I want you to distract the Chimera to buy Euryale time to do her charm."
"You got it, Master!"
"By your will, Master."
"Medea, take care of the ghost. You're the best one for the job."
"You can count on me, Master."
"Remember, this cave looks rather unstable, so don't conduct any attacks that may worsen its condition. Let's do this!"
Everyone gave a nod and with that, they went to complete their respective tasks. Boudica finished her Noble phantasm, now ready to bring victory onto the battlefield. Medea concealed Ritsuka's presence with her magic in order for him to observe the battle as safely as possible.
Euryale ran to the side as she aimed her bow and shot her heart-shaped arrows at the large snake. "Come this way my scaly friend~" her arrows managed to pierce its hard skin. The Orochi's snake heads hissed as it went to chase the small Greek goddess.
Atalanta jumped up the hill and shot her arrows at the White Chimera to get its attention and Mash followed soon after. The Chimera growled with rage as it felt the arrows pierce its fur covered skin and ran to strike at the servants with its claws in retaliation. Mash blocked its attacks with her shield and Atalanta dodged when it came to her, both striking at the beast where they could.
Altria Alter charged towards the golems and managed to stick her lance through one of them. She pushed and it's body caught onto two other golems and the rocky creatures then crashed hard on a wall. As life escaped the stoned creatures, Altria turned her attention towards the rest of her enemies. Boudica went strike at one of them with her sword and shield.
As the dark Lancer and the Queen of Victory continued their assault. Medea hovered towards the ghastly spirit in front of her. "Let's make this quick, shall we?" The Caster extended her hand and cast a string of lasers to hit the dammed spirit, causing it to shriek in pain. Medea gave an endless assault of those lasers to eventually cause the ghost to whither and move on.
Ritsuka observed all of this go on and then returned his attention towards Euryale's battle. He saw her come to a stop and dematerialize her bow, waiting for her opponent with a devilish smile on her face. The Orochi caught up and swung its large tail to crush the small Archer. She jumped out of the way as it's tail struck the ground, and landed on top of its back. She then ran up behind one it's heads and lowered herself to touch the side of its face. "Feel the love of your goddess." She used her charm skill on the large snake and it became stunned in response. After a moment, the snake heads slowly slumped to the ground and it's eyes looked up at Euryale with a deep fondness.
"Wonderful~" Delighted to see that her charm had done its work perfectly, Euryale sat straight on the back of the snake's head. "Now, let's put you to use. Unto the hill."
The Orochi did as she commanded and slithered up towards the hill. Once at the top, Euryale saw Mash and Atalanta continuing to conduct their battle with the White Chimera. The goddess pointed towards it. "Go! Restrain the beast." She leaped off the Orochi and watched as it dashed towards the other wild beast. It tackled the White Chimera and wrapped its tail around the mythical hybrid's body. Then, it went to sink it's fangs on the Chimera, one head at the base of the neck and the other two bit at the torso, injecting its toxic venom as it did.
All three heads of the Chimera screamed in pain as it was pinned to the ground by the snake. The goat and snake head tried to bit the snake away but the venom was already doing its work.
The three heroic spirits at the scene gathered together as they observed the clash of monsters. "Good work, Euryale!" Mash said happily, congratulating the goddess.
Euryale put her hands on her waist, posing triumphantly. "Why thank you, Mash. My work was absolutely flawless."
"Incoming!"
The three servants ducked as they saw the body of the large ghost crash next to the two beasts in play. Medea came down from above to join the other three as they stood back up and stared at the Caster.
"Goodness Medea, what are you doing?" Atalanta demanded as she looked intently at the Witch of Colchis.
The Caster gave a playful smile. "I did warn you beforehand. The ghost is more durable than I thought. Besides, this way we can get rid of these three all at once." Medea outstretched both her hands and formed a field of energy around the ghost and the two wild beasts. The phantom spirit tried to claw itself out of the field as it recovered, but before it could make any further attempts, Medea snapped her fingers, engulfing the inside of the field in a blazing blue fire. The final screams of death came as the group observed their enemies be torched. Medea retracted her hands back inside her cloak, once she saw that the wild beast and ghost had burned away.
Atalanta observed the scorched ground as she stood next to her. "Your magic is truly impressive, Caster."
"Your skill with the bow is nothing to scoff at either, Archer."
The two then joined Euryale and Mash and watched the rest of the battle below. They noticed the large amount of rock pills on the floor as they saw that most of the golems had now been taken care off by Boudica and Altria Alter.
Sensing their near defeat, the golems turned away from the battle. The Rider and Lancer looked on, confused as they saw the remaining golems stop in front of the rocky wall at the other side. The golems then began to pound the wall, causing the space they were in to quake. The roof of the cavern shaking continuously as the golems continued to assault the stone wall.
Ritsuka's concealment stopped working and he stood in the middle of the room as he looked up and saw bits of rock begin to fall. "...!" He quickly walked back a few steps as he saw a stalagmite fall to the floor a few feet from him.
"They're trying to bury us here alive!" Boudica shouted as she raised her shield up her head.
"Everyone, we need to get out of here. Now!" Ritsuka shouted loudly as more of the ceiling began to fall. All the Servants at the hill jumped down and made their way towards him.
"Master!"
Ritsuka turned to the side as he saw Altria Alter stop next to him on her horse. "Grab my hand." She commanded as she stretched out her arm towards him. He complied, and she raised him effortlessly to land on the horse's back behind her. "Grab on to me tight."
"Okay." He pressed on her back, feeling her armor as he wrapped his arms tightly around her stomach.
"Hyah!" With that, Llamrie groaned as it ran to the exit as fast as possible. It was an uncomfortable terrain to run on for the horse. The rest of the Servants followed close behind. Leaving the golems to their chosen fate as the cavern continued to collapse.
Ritsuka wasn't able to view much as he held onto Altria, but his eyes looked upwards as the group continued their advance to the outside. Stalagmites fell to the ground as some of the group had to dodge some of the debris and Mash held her shield over her head along with Boudica.
As the shaking intensified, a large boulder fell in front of Llamrie, causing the horse to raise its front hooves as it screamed. Altria attempted to regain control of Llamrie and calm the horse down, as Medea cleared the boulder out of the way with her telekinetic magic. Ritsuka's body leaned slightly back as they were in their new position, and in that moment, a rock the size of a fist hit his head hard as it fell. The Chaldean began to feel numb, causing him to loosen his grip on Altria and his body fell to the ground.
As the horse landed back on all fours, Altria turned around as she noticed Ritsuka no longer held onto her. "Master?" Her eyes widened behind her helmet as she saw his body slumped on the ground. "Master!" She quickly dismounted from Llamrie and rushed to him.
The rest of the Servants turned around as they cleared the path forward and their faces were filled with dread as they saw Ritsuka's motionless body on the floor. "Master!" As they screamed out in unison, they ran back towards him.
Altria lowered herself on top of Ritsuka and moved the hair covering his face with her hand, noting that he was unconscious. She looked as blood was flowing down his forehead and an unusual concern began to fill her. "Master..." She felt rocks continue to fall on her armor. Not knowing how else to help, she covered his body with her own to protect him. Altria heard his slow breath as she stayed there unmoving, feeling the hits of falling debris on her armor.
"Senpai!" Mash and the rest of the servants knelt beside their master and Altria. Seeing the dire situation they were in, Medea got up and projected a protective field around them all. All the light around them soon faded, as the ruble continued to pile on top of them. All anyone could see now, was total darkness.