9/7/23 Edit: Fixed grammar mistakes and restructured sentences to make them more cohesive.
~X~
~ ? – Fuyuki City – Emiya Residence ~
[You have slept for 2 hours. HP and MP restored by 25%.]
HP: 1510/3100 [Regen: 6.2/min]
MP: 6984/6984 [Regen: 13.96/min]
Stamina: 80% [Regen: 2%/min]
Flaw Acquired
[Weakened Body]
Due to your intense fight a short time ago and your injuries, your body has been severely overworked. You'll need proper rest to get rid of this debuff.
- Maximum stamina has been reduced by 20%.
- Stamina depletes 10% faster.
- STR, END, and DEX are reduced by 10%.
.
"Uggghhh," I do not want to get up.
Even though my stamina is full, my body feels incredibly sore. It does not want to move. I'm mentally exhausted as well. This Flaw sucks.
I tried moving, but it was tough. I noticed I was in my underwear, and my arms and torso were wrapped in bandages. My head was lying on a pillow, and I had a comforter covering me. I guess Saber got these after I fell asleep.
"Yuki, are you awake?" I heard Saber ask from my side.
Facing her, Saber is sitting in a seiza, a respectable distance away. She doesn't have her armor equipped.
"How long was I asleep?" I asked tiredness still in my voice.
"About two hours," she replied. "I have also located a new set of clothes for you and placed them on the table."
Ugh, I sat up for a couple of minutes because moving was a pain. I slowly got up and walked to the table to see the clothes. It was Shirou's outfit from the UBW anime. It was jeans, a blue and white long-sleeve t-shirt, and a black and white jersey zip-up. So I put them on and was a bit surprised. The clothes actually fit pretty well. The length is fine, they're a little loose but easily manageable.
I was feeling hungry, so I took a seat at the table and took out some onigiri from my inventory that I made before I came to Fuyuki.
[Plain Onigiri (Yuki-Style)]
A simple onigiri made of rice and seaweed. Thanks to Yuki's high cooking level, this simple food tastes divine despite the lack of other flavorings.
- Restore 380 HP.
- Increase STR by 8.
Unfortunately, stats gained from food are only temporary, they only last until midnight. Also, they do not stack. If I eat multiple food items, then I only have the temp stat gains from the last thing I ate. Still, some temp stats are better than none at all. Especially with the current situation I'm in.
From the corner of my eye, I can see Saber staring at the food, and… there's a bit of drool coming from her mouth… I sweatdropped at her expression.
"Do you want some?" I asked her, holding out an onigiri.
Saber seemed to have forgotten her stoicism as she immediately snatched it and took a bite. She lit up with stars in her eyes and stared at the onigiri like it held the secrets of the best-tasting food.
Once she was finished, she noticed the amused smile I gave her and quickly recomposed herself, looking as if the last minute hadn't happened. Saber always did look cute while she was eating.
"Anything happen while I was sleeping?" I asked Saber.
"Nothing of note. Everything has been relatively quiet." was her reply.
I took a deep breath and was quiet for a while.
"Yuki," Saber spoke up. "What is our next move?"
That is exactly what I'm thinking of. I have had no quest ever since I entered this world, which means I have no obvious direction. I know Servants are running around. I know the Holy Grail is involved since the two Servants I saw have been corrupted by it. So it stands to reason that I am in the middle of a Holy Grail War. Specifically, the Fourth or Fifth Fuyuki Grail War since those were the ones that involved the corrupted Grail. The fact that Hassan of the Cursed Arm showed up has me leaning more toward the Fifth, but Rider wasn't Boudica.
I'm going to guess that I'm in an alternate version of the Fifth Grail War.
[Due to your spot on deductive reasoning, +1 INT.]
Well, the Game has confirmed it. I was in Fuyuki in the year 2004. Why would the rift drag me here?
"Yuki?" Saber spoke up.
Oh, right, I'm supposed to think of what to do right now.
"Other than the fact that we're in the middle of a Grail War, we don't know much. I think we should head out and explore the place, specifically the other side of the river. I haven't been there, and maybe we can find… something."
That's really all I can think of doing. I don't want to head to Mount Enzou yet, where the Grail is. Not without gathering some more information… and maybe some allies if people are still alive.
"I suppose that plan is the best we can do given the situation," Saber agreed.
"Then let's get a move on," I said, grimacing as I stood up. My body is not fully healed, plus that Flaw… This is annoying.
~X~
~1 hour later – Fuyuki City – Shinto ~
Saber and I are walking side by side, kind of wandering around the city. Like I said earlier, I really have no clear direction in this place. I'm just wandering around until I find something. Saber noticed my lack of direction but decided not to comment on it. This feels just like my time in Fuyuki in my own world, I can't find a damn lead.
"Are you okay?" Saber noticed my growing frustration.
"Not really," I admitted. "I suddenly find myself in another world that seems to have gone through an apocalypse, and I have no way of knowing if I can get back home. When did my life suddenly take this huge turn?" I finished in a half growl, half whine, running a hand through my hair.
"I do not know what is going on, but I shall do my best to help. That is what I'm here for, after all." Saber said with a smile in an attempt to make me feel better. It kind of worked, reminding me that I wasn't going through this alone and that I had a powerful companion at my side.
"Hm?" We were at an intersection when my Presence Detection pinged to the left, and I heard some sounds of something coming our way. Saber took out her weapon cloaked in Invisible Air, and I Traced a Nihil Sword. Running towards us were about 20 skeletons, all armed with swords and shields.
"Saber, deal with them," I ordered her.
Saber took off and engaged them. While she was doing that, I was doing some thinking.
"Hey, Merlin? You with me?"I mentally called out to my first Persona.
"I'm inside your soul. I'm always with you," She replied, and I'm sure she had a smile on her face.
"I have an idea I want to run by you. Remember that game I was playing a few days ago?"I asked.
"Yes, Persona 3. It's very hard to forget that game." Merlin and my other Personas were surprised, to say the least, that a game existed that knew about a previous wild card's journey.
I bought a laptop at the Abyss Shop that allows me to play video games from my original world up until the end of 2021. I started with P3 FES. I also have P4G and P5R, so I can't wait to see their reactions to those games once I get to them. That will be a while since I just started P3, and with all that's going on in my life, I hardly have time to play games.
"Do you think I can also channel my Personas through my Nihil Sword?"
"For what purpose would you want to do that?" Merlin asked.
"I was wondering if I could do that then I could use my Mystic Eyes on them so I can use them later."
"Hmm, it's certainly worth a shot."
"Great. Medea, you want to help me out?"I asked the Princess of Colchis.
"Why not? I'm a bit interested in this myself," replied Medea.
So I placed Medea in the forefront of my mind and with a bit of her help, channeled her soul through my sword. I watched as the sword morphed into an iridescent jagged dagger. Using my Mystic Eyes showed what it is.
.
[Rule Breaker: All Spells Must Be Broken]
Rank: C
A weapon that embodies the Witch of Betrayal. It is usually not meant to be used to attack your opponents but it is possible. The dagger is capable of nullifying all effects created by magic. Does not work against divine magic.
- ATK: 30
.
[Rule Breaker has been added to ?.]
I think I now have a pretty good idea of what that mystery question mark is. I tried to see if saying the guess would unlock it, but it didn't work. It has some sort of hidden unlocking requirements. That sucks because if this is what I think it is, this could be a very powerful skill.
I dismissed the dagger since it was channeled in a Traced weapon. I made a new Nihil Sword and felt Medea back in my mind.
"Well, that was rather unpleasant," she commented with some annoyance in her voice.
"What was it like?"I asked curiously.
"It was like I was trapped in a very small prison cell. Being in there felt incredibly stiff and uncomfortable," she said, still feeling annoyed. "In the future, I would rather not have to go through that again. If you really want me to, I'll do it, but I won't like it at all."
"At least we know weapon fusion works, and I don't need to go to a special store, like in the game, to do it,"Also, with my Tracing, I probably only need to channel each Persona through it once so I can copy the weapon.
"I suppose so," she idly commented.
"Thanks for the help, Medea," I said, and I felt her go back into the Sea. She seemed to be in a bad mood at the end there, probably from the short time in the Nihil Sword. But I did notice she felt happier when I thanked her.
[Due to certain actions, a new Perk has been added.]
Perk Acquired
[Weapon Fusion]
The ability to channel Personas through your Nihil Weapons. This will turn your Nihil Weapon into the chosen Persona's signature weapon. Does not work with all Personas.
.
I guess when I have some time I'll be going through my Personas and analyzing some weapons. I can't wait until I can itemize Personas.
I looked toward where the skeletons were, and Saber had just finished dealing with the final one.
"Nice work, Saber," I complimented her with a smile. She simply nodded. "With the appearance of these enemies, I suppose this means we're finally getting somewhere."
Hmm…
"What are you thinking, Yuki?" Saber asked, noticing that I was in my mind.
"Just figuring out how to add this new information," A few more seconds of thinking, I got nothing. "Hn… let's move- Wait, what is that?"
Saber looked to where I was staring and saw it as well. Out in the distance, something is flying into the sky with a red streak. It soon disappeared into the clouds and a large barrage of those red streaks came crashing down onto a specific area some ways away from our location. After about 10 seconds, the barrage stopped, and the top of a crane in another direction exploded.
"I guess we now know which way to go," I pointed out the obvious. "Take the lead, Saber."
"Very well," Saber nodded and went off at a pace that I could keep up at.
As we were running towards where those explosions landed, something in the back of my mind was bothering me. Why did the scene I just witnessed seem so familiar?
~X~
"Are you okay?" Saber asked with some concern showing in her voice.
I was taking a couple of deep breaths. "I'm fine. I'm still feeling the fatigue from our battle with Assassin and Rider," there's also the part where I was chased around and injured by Assassin shortly before that battle. Also, my wounds are making me feel uncomfortable, but I don't want to say that out loud.
"I see," was all Saber said. She could tell I was telling the truth but not the entire truth.
After my stamina went back up, we looked around the area. We were at another street intersection, and there were small craters in the ground. However, in the center of the intersection was an area untouched and had no small craters.
"Hmm, someone was here recently, and they managed to survive the barrage that targeted this person," I was speaking my thoughts out loud. "I'm guessing by the untouched area in the center, they were able to use some sort of shield to defend themselves. They couldn't have gotten far; it only took us 20 minutes to get here.
Saber, I don't suppose you have any way to track them?" I asked her. I don't think she can, but it doesn't hurt to ask.
"No, unfortunately, I do not," Saber shook her head.
Hmm. I know a certain Persona can help me. So, I placed this Persona in the front of my mind.
"Orobas, tell me what happened here and where the survivor went,"I asked the 55th Pillar of Ars Goetia.
"Very well, Master. Two people appeared here in a flash of light and were unconscious. After a short while, they woke up, confirmed that the other was alright, and looked at their surroundings. They then noticed the barrage of arrows coming towards them and just before it hit, a third person, wielding a large shield, intercepted the arrows and successfully blocked them. They talked for a bit and ran off towards the west," Orobas finished his explanation of the events.
Three people though… Hmm… "Describe these three."
"The first is a male that is 18 years of age. He has short, unkempt black hair and blue eyes. He has a height of 171 centimeters and was wearing a white shirt, black slacks, and black shoes.
The second is a female who is also 18 years of age. She has shoulder-length red hair tied in a side ponytail and orange eyes. She has a height of 160 centimeters and was wearing a white shirt, black skirt, and silver calf boots.
The third is a female who is 15 years of age. She has short lavender hair and lilac eyes. She has a height of 158 centimeters and was wearing this skin-tight black and purple armor that seems to accentuate her feminine assets as opposed to following a more practical design. She was also wielding a large cross-shaped shield."
He finally finished his description.
…Okay, those three people sound awfully familiar. I should know who they are, I have the game on my phone. The three people Orobas described are the two protagonists from Fate/Grand Order and Mash Kyrielight. Looks like I figured out where I am.
Haah… I've been transported to Singularity F.
[About time you figured it out,]
Quest Added.
[Singularity F]
You have found out the rift that suddenly appeared has dragged you to a Singularity in a different world. Find a way to get back to your world.
Objective:
- Defeat Saber Alter. [ ]
Bonus Objectives:
- Summon your own Servant. [x]
- ?
Rewards: ?
Bonus Rewards: ?
.
Haah, troublesome.
"I know which way our survivors went," I started walking to the west with Saber by my side. Let's get this over with so I can head back home.
~X~
~ Fuyuki City – Riverside Park ~
With a bit of help from Orobas, I found out that the two protags and Mash had met up with Olga and had made their way to Riverside Park. We ended up fighting more of those skeletons along that way. It was a good time to try and level my magic and combat skills.
We finally seem to be catching up with them, if the sounds of battle are anything to go by. Saber and I are on the top of a small slope that leads down to the walkway next to the river. Mash is currently engaging Lancer while the two protags and Olga are watching behind her.
Let's get a look at their stats before we jump in.
.
Name: Mash Kyrielight
Race: Demi-Servant
Class: Shielder
Alignment: Lawful Good
Level: 50
HP: 22378/25000
MP: 10894/12000
STR: C (300)
END: A (500)
AGL: D (200)
Mana: B (400)
LUK: C (300)
NP: ?
.
Name: Medusa
Race: Servant
Class: Dark Lancer
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Level: 50
HP: 10000/10000
MP: 7183/7500
STR: B (400)
END: D (200)
AGL: A (500)
Mana: C (300)
LUK: D (200)
NP: ?
.
[Harpe has been added to ?.]
[Lord Camelot has been added to ?.]
Mash isn't doing a bad job, but she could sure use some help. Her lack of experience showed, as Lancer just used her hair to turn into chains and boxed them in. Lancer herself is standing just outside on one of her chains. Time to help out.
"Saber, let's go. You fight Lancer head-on. I'll try and support you from the rear," I ordered my Servant. It's the same idea we used against Rider and Assassin.
Saber nodded and took off down the slope with a Mana Burst. She attacked Lancer from the side.
Lancer noticed this and raised her scythe just in time to block the blow. She got a good look at her opponent, and her eyes went wide when she saw who it was. "Saber? Why are you- wait, no. You're not the same Saber."
Saber ignored her surprise and continued to press the attack. Lancer tried slipping away when Saber overextended but found her escape cut off when I Traced a few swords in mid-air and fired them in the direction she was going, forcing her to stand her ground. Saber was able to get a few good strikes when that happened.
The others were surprised by the swords that simply appeared and then surprised by me when I jumped down in front of them.
"What? Who the hell are you!?" demanded a voice behind me who I knew to be Olga.
"Listen, old lady, if you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a battle. I'll deal with you later," I answered without turning to face her. I can hear her sputter when I called her old.
[-5 REP with Olga [-5/100] for calling her old.]
Despite that earlier slip-up I covered for Saber, she was actually beating Lancer rather handily. Even more so when Mash snapped out of it and started backing up Saber. I'm starting to think Saber doesn't need my help. It didn't look like she needed my help when she fought Rider and Assassin at the same time. The only reason I got involved was that I wanted to make sure they died. Though I'm not complaining about not fighting. With my Weakened Body Flaw, it's probably best I stay out of fights for now.
Hmm, where is Caster? Isn't he supposed to show up at this point in time? Maybe because Saber and I showed up before he did, he decided to take the wait-and-see approach. Whatever, I don't really care about following the canon events too much. I just want to get out of here.
Speaking of getting out of here.
.
[You (or rather Saber but she's your Servant) have defeated Servant Lancer (Medusa)]
Rewards: 40000 EXP, Harpe. +10 REP with the four from Chaldea.
.
Saber just finished off Lancer with a stab through the chest. With her death, the chains all over the battlefield disappeared. I and the others caught up with Saber, who was a bit a ways away, as that's where the battle ended.
"Nice work, Saber," I complimented her as we came up.
"Thank you, Master," she replied.
Master? I told her to call me by my name. I gave her an odd look, and in response, her eyes quickly flicked to the others. I see. Despite helping them, Saber doesn't know if we can trust them yet. She called me Master to not give away my name.
"Thank you for your help," Mash spoke up with a bow towards Saber and me. "You two saved us when we were in trouble."
"Not a problem. This is Sabe,r and I am her Master. My name is Yuki Emiya," I introduced us.
"Huh?" "Eh?"
I glanced over at the two, who made sounds of surprise, and it turned out to be the two protagonists. I'm a bit surprised that both of them are here instead of one or the other, but it's not really a big deal.
Still, why are they surprised by my name? I decided to use my Mystic Eyes on them.
.
Name: Ritsuka Tohsaka
Age: 18
Race: Human
Sex: Male
Alignment: Neutral Good
Level: 10
HP: 1400/1400
MP: 2775/2775
STR: 34
END: 28
DEX: 28
INT: 37
WIS: 32
LUK: 1
Bio: Ritsuka Tohsaka is the son of Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka and is the twin brother of Kana Tohsaka. He is the heir of the Tohsaka Family. When the incineration of human history occurred, Rin used her limited knowledge of Kaleidoscope to send him and his sister away, where they accidentally landed in Chaldea.
.
Name: Kana Tohsaka
Age: 18
Race: Human
Sex: Female
Alignment: Neutral Good
Level: 10
HP: 1200/1200
MP: 2400/2400
STR: 25
END: 24
DEX: 41
INT: 32
WIS: 38
LUK: 50
Bio: Kana Tohsaka is the daughter of Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka and is the twin sister of Ritsuka Tohsaka. When the incineration of human history occurred, Rin used her limited knowledge of Kaleidoscope to send her and her brother away, where they accidentally landed in Chaldea.
.
Oh, that's why. Huh. So, the two are twins and the children of Shirou and Rin. This will be interesting.
"Something wrong?" I asked the two of them since everyone heard them.
"N-no, it's, nothing," Ritsuka managed to stutter his reply.
"For now, let's ask them what's going on. They seem to be the only sane people here," I heard a voice and turned to see that it was Romani talking through some sort of communication hologram thing, like in the movie. "Greetings, Heroic Spirit and their Master. I do not know where you hail from-"
"Alright, look, you don't need to talk so formally," I interrupted him. "It's obvious you want to know what's going on here."
"Ah, uh,, yes that's right," Romani recovered.
"Well, sorry to say that you're asking the wrong people," I told them.
"What do you mean?" Olga spoke up for the first time in this conversation.
"We're also clueless as to what's going on," I told her.
"That's not possible," Olga said a bit aggressively. "You're the Master of Saber for this Grail War."
"You're half right, old lady," I started, ignoring her rising anger at being called old lady again. "I am the Master of Saber but not for a Grail war. There were special circumstances around her summoning."
"What special circumstances?" Kana was the one to ask this.
"Unimportant. Bottom line, we know nothing. You'll have to find someone else to ask." I stated.
"Well, there is no one else. You two are the only others we've seen since we got here," Olga said with frustration.
"Well, that's not necessarily true," Everyone was staring at me as I looked to my right. "You can come out any time now, Caster!"
A few meters away from us, blue motes gathered together, and Caster Cu appeared.
"Huh, I'm a bit impressed you noticed me, missy," I felt my face make a small twitch at the nickname but decided to ignore it.
"You know what's going on here," I stated as if it was a fact.
"I do. Let's find someplace to sit, 'cause I got a story to tell," Caster rested his staff on his shoulder, gave a quick glance at Saber, and walked off. The rest of us followed.
We found a spot, and Caster told us what happened. About how, at one point, the whole city was on fire, that all the humans disappeared, and there were only Servants left. How Saber came back in a corrupted state, restarted the War, and killed all the other Servants until it was only Saber and Caster left. How the defeated Servants came back in a corrupted state.
Basically, it's all information that I already know from the game.
"So you're saying that if we defeat Saber, we'll end the Holy Grail War?" I asked.
"That's right," Caster confirmed.
"There's also a high likelihood that doing so will solve the abnormality in Singularity F," Olga said. "Do you know where the Servant is?"
"Yeah," Caster said in a low tone, turning towards Mount Enzou. "In the heart of this land where the corrupted Grail is. They're protecting it."
We all stared in the direction of the mountain in silence. I still don't know if what's over there is my ticket home, but it's my only shot.
"Fortunately, we don't have to worry about Lancer showing up to help," Caster then looked at me. "Also, Rider and Assassin seem to be dead as well. Was that your and Saber's doing?" I simply gave him a nod, and he smirked in return. "Not bad at all."
I'll take care of that Archer bastard. I need to settle things between us once and for all," Caster said in a way that left no room for argument. "And it would be best to avoid Berserker."
I saw Ritsuka and Kana glance at Caster and then at each other. Both had a look of apprehension on their faces. I guess it makes sense. Archer is a future version of their father; I guess Rin or Shirou or maybe both told them about the Fifth War since I've also been noticing the two take glances over at Saber.
"You really have no problem helping us? Even though you hardly know anything about our situation?" Olga questioned Caster.
"I don't mind at all. Your purpose is to investigate this abnormality, my purpose is drawing the Holy Grail War to a close. Our interests line up. Why not join forces in a jovial manner?" said Caster.
Olga was quiet for a bit, thinking it over. "A logical decision," came her answer.
"Right? Although, speaking of interests…" Caster slowly looked towards me, drawing the others' attention. "What's your interest in all this?"
I huffed and looked to the side. "My only interest is going back home."
"Home? I'm not sure if you're blind, but the whole world here is on fire. I'm pretty sure no one here has a home," said Olga with a bit of a glare while crossing her arms. I think she's still mad I called her an old lady.
"I'm not from this world," I said with a huff and a small glare at Olga.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Ritsuka asked.
"What do you mean, what do I mean? I meant exactly as I said," I said, giving him a strange look. I could not have been clearer.
"I think what my bro means to ask is if you could explain more about not being from this world," Kana spoke.
I thought about it for a bit and decided to give them a little information. I told them how I'm from an alternate Fuyuki and how this… rift opened up and dragged me here. Summoning Saber and that I am now trying to find a way back home. I did not mention anything about finding my parents or Personas. They don't need to need to know about that and it's not important to this situation.
Caster, Olga, Mash, and Romani looked thoughtful at this. Ritsuka and Kana looked to be having a silent conversation with each other. No one asked any more questions about my circumstances, to my surprise.
"And you, Saber?" Caster moved on.
"I only wish to keep my Master safe," Saber simply said.
"I figured as much," Caster seems to have expected that answer. "Let's get a move on, yeah?"
And with that, we all started our journey to the Grail and hopefully my way home.
~X~
~ Homurahara Academy ~
The seven of us made our way through Fuyuki in silence, though I did notice the occasional glance from the twins towards me. Likely to ask about my origins, considering their parentage and my last name. But they seem hesitant to do so.
Saber and I took the lead in case we ran into any enemies while the mages were behind us. Mash stuck close to them to guard them, and Caster separated from the group from time to time to scout around. We did end up running into some skeletons from time to time, and the Servants easily dealt with those. I wanted to help, too, to gain some EXP, but the Servants killed them so quickly that I never got to participate.
The humans of the group, including myself (damn this Flaw), were starting to get tired from all the walking so we agreed to take a break at a nearby school, which happened to be Homurahara Academy. I think Ritsuka and Mash were on the second floor of the school building. Olga, Artoria, and Caster are hanging out on the roof. I'm on the open school grounds in the center of the place. I have no idea where Kana is.
"Hey there," I take that back; I know where she is now. I turned in the direction of the voice, and it was indeed Kana. She has a friendly smile on her face, but it doesn't fully hide the nervousness I can see coming off of her.
"Need something?" I asked.
"Just a.., you know…" Seems her nervousness is getting to her. This is kind of funny, watching her act like this.
"No, I don't know," I had a ghost of a smile on my face.
"Ugh… why this so hard…" Kana bemoaned before she seemed to pull herself together. "Alright, let's start there. My name is Kana Tohsaka. Nice to meet you."
"Yuki Emiya, though I'm pretty sure I introduced myself earlier," I said.
"Right, you have… aha," she scratched her cheek in apparent embarrassment.
Haah, guess I should take pity on her. "Not good at small talk?" a sheepish laugh was my answer. "That's fine. I'm not exactly good at it either."
Although, I know you didn't come up to me for small talk," I gave her a knowing look. I don't know what exactly she wants to talk to me about, but I do know it's important to her from the look in her eyes.
"Well, I wanted to ask you something kind of personal," she started, and I gave her a nod to go ahead. "I wanted to ask about your parents."
"…You want to know who my parents are?" it seemed like a question, but I said it more like a statement.
"Yeah," nodded Kana.
I turned my head to the side. "I don't know who they are. I grew up an orphan all my life," That fact is something I don't like talking about.
"Ah…" is all she said with a tone of disappointment.
"Why do you want to know?" I had a good idea why, but it's always good to confirm it.
"Ah… the name Emiya reminds me of someone. I was wondering if you were related to him," she said.
"And who is this someone?" I asked.
"Ah, well, he's-"
!
Before she could finish, my senses and Mind's Eye flared up like never before. What I'm feeling around me is this incredibly oppressive aura, one of the heaviest things I've ever felt. It felt like power, anger, and madness all multiplied by 10. Even though it's only been less than a second, I already feel short of breath, and now that oppressive aura… IS CHARGING RIGHT TOWARDS US!
I reinforced my legs as much as they could go and quickly tackled Kana about a few meters out of the way as something huge slammed right where we were standing, kicking up dust and dirt. I had no time to think as this huge blur came shooting out of the dust cloud, forcing me to pick up Kana like a sack of potatoes and jump out of the way. Unfortunately, this thing is relentless in its pursuit and quickly redirected itself towards us again, this time going even faster.
Too fast for me to dodge!
.
"TRACE ON!"
Just in time.
...
But the impact still hurt.
[-2475 HP]
"ARRGGHH!"
It was the most painful thing I ever felt since I started my new life.
.
I Traced [Lord Camelot] onto my arm just in time as the blur lashed out, and I'm guessing, punched the shield. The shield cracked and folded under the force, knocking myself and Kana, who fell out of my grip, back into the air about 40 meters. I was just barely able to plant my feet and skid to a stop. Kana rolled a few meters to a stop, her clothes getting scratched and dirtied but no worse for wear.
Unlike myself.
HP: 151/3100
Geez, if I didn't Trace the shield in time, I would be a bloody smear on the ground. Even with the shield, I still almost died from the power of that attack. Damn it, there's no way I can take another hit. I can't dodge and protect Kana at the same time. And now, my entire right arm is broken and bleeding. Argh! At least I have time to use my Command Seals.
"Saber, teleport to me!"
My Command Seals glowed for a bit, and Saber appeared in front of me in red light. Just in time to redirect this blur's attack. The thing jumped back and stayed in place long enough for me to use my Mystic Eyes.
.
Name: Heracles
Race: Servant
Class: Dark Berserker
Alignment: Chaotic Mad
Level: 50
HP: 25000/25000
MP: 15000/15000
STR: A+ (1000)
END: A (500)
AGL: A (500)
Mana: A (500)
LUK: B (400)
NP: A
.
Oh, of course, it's Heracles. And he has 1000 STR, while the rest of his stats are the same as Saber's. No wonder the shield folded, and my arm broke so easily. Just great. What is he doing here? I thought he kept to himself. Doesn't matter; he's here now and attacking us.
Berserker roared and charged at Saber, and Saber got into her stance and prepared herself to engage him in a melee.
"Yuki!" I heard Kana scream and scramble towards me as I dropped to a knee, tired and in pain. The Traced shield is off my arm and to my side.
"Are you okay!?" she frantically asked.
"What does it look like!?" I bit back, sounding angrier than I meant to. This whole situation is making me annoyed. It doesn't help that my injuries are too painful to ignore.
She flinched at the tone of my voice. "Ah… right, stupid question."
"Haah, sorry, I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at this whole thing we're stuck in." I tried to explain myself. Seems it worked because Kana looked a little more sympathetic.
"Kana!" a shout came from behind, so I turned to see it was Ritsuka and Olga running towards us.
*CLANG*
I turned to look towards that sound, and it was Mash. She had managed to deflect a strike from Berserker, allowing Saber to go for a counter-attack, but Berserker was too fast and was able to dodge the oncoming strikes. Saber had gone a little too far in her attack, leaving an opening that Berserker took. Fortunately for her, Mash came in between them and deflected more attacks from Berserker.
"Kana, you okay?" Ritsuka asked, concerned since his sister was also attacked by Berserker.
"I'm fine bro. It's Yuki who's hurt pretty bad," Kana said, drawing their attention to my broken arm.
"Oh, wow, that's pretty bad," Ritsuka cringed when he saw it. It does look really bad, with it going in different directions.
"Quick, you two, use First Aid on her!" Olga shouted out her order.
"Oh! Right!"
[+1000 HP]
[+1000 HP]
I watched as my arm quickly went back to the way it was supposed to look. I can feel my bones quickly healing and being put back together. The bones are completely healed, but there are still some open cuts, and the right sleeve of my shirt and jersey zip-up, along with the bandages there, are shredded.
Looking back at the battle, it's clear that despite the 2v1 Berserker has the advantage.
….
…2v1?
"Wait… where's Caster?" Ritsuka has also noticed who's missing.
"He was on the roof with Saber and me. Why isn't he here?" Olga was looking around, confused as to where he disappeared to.
Another crash was heard, and all of us turned back towards the battle. Mash and Saber look a bit scuffed up, while Berserker looks fine. It looks as if they were barely able to scratch him. It doesn't help that Saber is holding back for some reason.
"Saber! You need to release Invisible Air and fight seriously!" I yelled out to her.
Saber nodded, without taking her eyes off Berserker, to acknowledge that she heard. Berserker roared, attacking again, and Mash went to work defecting the blows. At one point, Mash was able to deflect a blow in such a way that it made Berserker stumble, leaving him wide open.
Saber held her sword and pointed the blade behind her. She released Invisible Air, the compressed wind surged, and Saber took off like a rocket. She then charged up a Mana Burst and stabbed her sword forward. The strike hit true as Excalibur stabbed into Berserker, and the Mana Burst in her sword surged forward and exploded Berserker's torso in half.
Berserker stood there for a second before he fell backward.
Dead.
…
"Whew, it's over," Olga sighed in relief.
"Berserker's not dead yet," Ritsuka spoke out with a serious look.
"What do you mean? Look at-"
Olga didn't get to finish that sentence when Berserker's body lit up red as it started putting itself back together. His body went back to perfect condition, and his eyes lit up red as he jumped up and roared out in his newfound life.
"What the hell!?" Olga was gaping in disbelief.
"It's Berserker's Noble Phantasm. There are two parts," Ritsuka started to explain.
"The first part is that it turns his skin into tough armor. Any attack B-Rank or lower can't harm him," Kana continued.
"The second part is based on his Twelve Labors. Basically, he has 12 lives," Ritsuka finished.
"Oh, well, that's just great!" Olga said sarcastically.
"There's more. Each time he revives, he becomes immune to whatever it is that killed him," Ritsuka shared some more bad news.
"So that means that not only do we have to kill him 12 times, but also we have to kill him 12 different ways," I summarized that info.
"Not necessarily. It's possible that if an attack is devastating enough, it can get rid of multiple lives," Kana stated the silver lining.
"Except we can't use Saber's sword because she's already killed him with it," I grimaced, as that was the only A-Rank weapon we had. None of the weapons I have are that high.
Wait, I do have Dawn, the Vibranium longsword. But even then, it's only one weapon, and we would need more.
"Damn it. Where is Caster!?" Olga is annoyed. "I thought we were supposed to be working together! How are we supposed to kill Berserker so many different ways!?"
That is a really good question. Ritsuka and Kana had no answer to that, and neither did I. We can't Excaliblast him anymore because Saber has already killed him with Excalibur, and for some reason, Caster has disappeared.
[God Hand: 11]
I honestly have no idea how we're going to make it out of this one.
~X~
Social Links:
0 – Fool (Igor) – Rank 2
I – Magician (Morgana) – Rank 2
V – Hierophant (Sojiro Sakura) – Rank 3
VI – Lovers (Ann Takamaki) – Rank 1
VII – Chariot (Ryuji Sakamoto) – Rank 4
XIV – Temperance (Artoria Pendragon) – Rank 1
XVII – Star (Issei Hyoudou) – Rank 3
Author's Note:
Chapter 6 is done. Not much to say here. We're just continuing further into Singularity F.
Constructive Criticism is appreciated. Especially towards the fight scenes in this chapter. I would like to hear what was good, what was bad, and what can be improved on.
(Preview)
I had no choice, I had to do it. It was the first time I ever used my Mystic Eyes to take such a deep dive into a person's history. I never did so before because my targets were all living, and it felt like an invasion of privacy if I did that.
But I needed to do that with Berserker if I wanted to live.
.
So I did…
I saw everything…
And I do mean everything, from birth to death...
.
His Twelve Labors really stood out.
Slaying the Nemean Lion.
Slaying the nine-headed Hydra.
Capturing the Golden Hind.
Capturing the Erymanthian Boar.
Cleaning the Augean Stables.
Slaying the Stymphalian Birds.
Capturing the Cretan Bull.
Obtaining the Girdle of Hippolyta.
Obtaining the cattle of Geryon.
Stealing the golden apples of the Hesperides.
Capturing Cerberus.
.
It was easy to see why he was considered Greece's greatest hero.
.
But…
As interesting as that history was…
The history that stood out the most…
.
Was Heracles crying over the bodies of his wife and children.
.
After being driven to madness…
From a petty goddess who wouldn't leave him alone…
.
I didn't know it at the time…
But seeing that memory…
Forever changed how I interpreted the Greek gods.
.
And as you'll see later on…
I had no choice…
But to be forced to get involved with those same gods.
.
And when I was alone with Hera…
For the first time…
Since seeing that history…
….
Well, I'll just save what happened until we get to that point.
Trigger Off.