Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 47 of the story! And sorry for the slight delay! Cursed FF16 is keeping me away from doing my writer duties.
Man idk about you but summer around here is freaking HOT! I bet I could even fry some bacon on the ground. But on the positive side, I haven't been bitten by any mosquitoes at night so far. If you have, my deepest condolences. Those bites are annoying as hell! But at least is the perfect weather to watch the F/SF OVA while eating ice cream!
But with that said, let's start the chapter!
DISCLAIMER: All the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon, with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author.
Getting out of the limit of the storm, leaving behind the defeated Blackbeard and his crew, the Golden Hind of Captain Drake went into chasing the smaller ship of the trojan servant, Hector, who revealed to be conspiring against Blackbeard and his true intentions were to kidnapp the goddess Euryale and the Singularity's Holy Grail, both of whom he successfuly did. Now, the treacherous servant was on his way to his actual captain with Drake and Chaldea persuing him.
"Can we still see the vessel?" Drake asked to Artemis and Orion that where by her side, looking intensily at the horizon.
The moon goddess was able to caught sight of Hector's ship quite ahead of them. "There! I see it on the horizon!"
"We need to get closer then! The ship is already at its maximum speed! It has to be enough to catch him up" Drake responded.
"If he didn't had Euryale aboard it I could probably shot down his vessel from here..." Artemis said, feeling frustrated that sich crucial detail was keeping her away from destroying Hector's vessel and putting an end to this chase.
"He'd probably survive that if he is the Heroic Spirit that I know of." Orion told to his lover.
Meanwhile, the Chaldea group was near Asterios, tending his wounds and talking with Dr Romani to give them information.
"Done! This must stop the bleeding from now." Mash said as she and Peko finished putting bandages on Asterios wounds. But the minotaur himself was desolate. Anxious and barely containing his worriedness. The moment the two chaldeans were done patching him up, Asterios immediatly tried to get up, wanting to go after Hector and save Euryale as quick as possible.
"Woah! Stay down Asterios! Please!" Peko advised the big servant as he and Mash prevented him from taking a step further, much to Asterios anger.
"Get out!" He shouted agressively at the two, his mind only thinking about Euryale. As he tried to get past Peko and Mash, the abrupt movement from his muscles created a painful shock on the minotaur's nerves, resulting on Asterios to stumble and fall down.
"Don't move Asterios-san! Your wounds will reopen if you do!" Mash told him, grabbing his shoulder and back so that the minotaur could lean against the mast of the ship.
"I know what you are feeling right now and I swear we will get Euryale back! Just keep your head in control until then!" Peko tried to calm the servant down who by now decided to follow the advises, much to his discomfort and pain as Asterios lowered his head and stared to the floor.
"I...need...friend back..."
Ritsuka and Nala watched it alongside the hologram of Dr. Romani.
"Poor Asterios. I too find it hard to be calm when a person we care for is being abducted." Nala commented, staring at Asterios.
"You felt the same with me and Peko, didn't you?" Ritsuka asked, wondering if Nala was seeing some of her behaviour in Asterios when he and Peko got kidnapped by Blackbeard.
"Yeah...It isn't a nice feeling." Nala replied.
"It sure isn't." Ritsuka added before turning around to stare at Dr Romani. "But yeah, the actual situation is that Hector was never actually working for Blackbeard but for someone else." He explained to him.
"And he also has this grail's Singularity and Euryale huh?" Romani scratched the back of his head. "And when I tought everything would be resolved with the defeat of Blackbeard and his crew." He lamented for a bit.
"This Singularity stretching a bit or not, we now need to defeat that guy and get both Euryale and the grail back." Nala said.
"Correct." Romani told her before speaking to Ritsuka. "You say the identity of that servant if Hector right?"
Ritsuka nodded. "Sure seems like it, unless he's also lying about that too."
"Rest easy master. It can't be." Mash said as she and Peko approached them. "The spear that Hector carries has a great amount of mana inside it. I bet the doctor has already tried to analyze it."
"Hmm, the Durindana. A spear said to be able to pierce anything in the world." Romani said as he stared at the searches about Hector's weapon. "It is extremely dangerous and powerful. Not even Mash's shield would be able to stop such ferocious weapon if used at it's maximum power I'm afraid." Romani told them.
"In other words, we must avoid its blow at all costs. Noted." Ritsuka responded.
"Now who do you think Hector is working for? His real captain?" Peko put that question on the table, making everyone speculate about it for a while.
"It's hard to tell. It never was Blackbeard from the start." Nala responded.
"And the Argonauts...but it couldn't be! They helped us from the start and made way for the ship to escape Blackbeard's fleet." Mash speaked.
"I too wouldn't like to believe in it, but now that I recall, that Jason dude wasn't a very trustworthy fellow so to speak." Nala commented, remembering how assholish the captain of the Argonauts acted when they where with them.
"Me and Peko never saw them so it's hard for us to say." Ritsuka told, looking to Peko. "And what do you say?"
"I also don't know. I mean, it only leaves us with Artemis and Orion but..." Peko took a quick look at the greek paired, watching Artemis tightly hug Orion against his will. "I seriously doubt that they would plan something like that."
Romani then made a question for Ritsuka and Peko. "Since you two were with Blackbeard's crew for some time, can you remember any suspicious about Hector that could give us an hint about his true master?"
"Not really." Ritsuka scratched his head. "He has always been relaxed and laid back the majority of the time we where alongside Blackbeard's crew.
"Yeah. We couldn't get that much from him." Peko added. "So his master's identity can be someone entirely new."
Nala then tought about someone. "What if it's Lev- I mean, that Flauros thing of the Seventy-Two Demon somethings?"
That assumption was very plausible. So much so that the rest of the Chaldea group assumed that it could actually be the most realistic scenario.
"That isn't far-fetched." Ritsuka said.
"However, it would be unexpected to see him again that fast after our meeting in Rome." Romani said, a bit confused in why Lev/Flauros would also be following them here.
"He surely is a petty guy, so I doubt he would waste any opportunity to mock us while trying to ruin our mission." Nala told.
"Then it's either them or someone else that we don't know." Mash speaked.
Ritsuka then remembered something. "What about that voice Lev told us about? Since it was in someway involved in the previous Singularity, it could also be here."
"Good one Fujimaru!" Romani responded. "How could I have forgotten about that?"
"So do you think that the identity behind that voice can be Hector's true master?" Mash asked him.
"I'm not very sure but is another hypothesis." Ritsuka responded.
"Fu fou!"
They all stopped the conversation to stare at Fou who was calling them out.
"Hm? What is it Fou?" Peko asked as he and the rest of the group saw the little creature pointing his nose to Asterios who was once again trying to get back on his feet. He failed and proceeded to punch the floor in anger, grunting.
"Miss her?" Nala asked him, approaching him.
Asterios let out a low growl, showing it as his answer.
"And you want her to be back and safe, don't you?" Ritsuka made another question, joining him alongside the rest of the Chaldea group.
Asterios nodded, confirming what Ritsuka said.
"Heh. You know what Asterios?" Ritsuka looked to the minotaut's eyes. "For a servant that is supposed to be a monster, you sure care about other people rather than yourself." He said, smilling kindly to Asterios. "I guess we all know why Euryale chosed to be your friend."
"I...I still...be a monster..." Asterios replied.
"A true monster wouldn't care about anyone else." Ritsuka told him. "If anything, you are more human than some of those who actually are."
"You...think so..?" Asterios asked him in slight surprise.
"Sure do! Me and everyone else aboard this ship." Ritsuka turned around to look at his group. "Isn't that right guys?"
"It is. Asterios-san can feel simple love and compassion for others." Mash supported Ritsuka's argument. "So in my eyes, you are anything but a cruel monster Asterios-san!"
"And even if you look intimidating on the outside, you have good nature on the inside." Peko added. "You're not a monster Asterios. You're our friend!"
"And it's our job as friends to help one another!" Nala said. "So don't even think about saving Euryale alone. We'll do it together!"
"Friends...help me..?" Asterios replied, a bright shine in his eyes as he looked at them.
"Of course Asterios!" Ritsuka responded, closing his hand into a fist and touching Asterios chest with it. "You can count on us!"
Asterios got taken aback by the statement before showing them a small smile. "I see..."
"Looks like you were able to calm him down." Romani said, proud of them.
"Yeah. I hope that at least eases Asterios pain for a bit." Peko said before looking at his sister. "Wich makes me think how awful you must have felt when I was captured. Sorry to have made you worried sis."
Nala acted as if it didn't affected her that much. "Ah no biggie. I knew you and Ritsuka would be fine ever since the start."
"So you're telling me you weren't concerned at all?" Peko asked to her.
"I was! Except...not that much."
"Not even shed a tear?"
"Nope!"
Hearing that, Ritsuka quietly approached Mash to ask something. "She's lying, isn't she?"
Mash nodded with a smile. "Yes. Nala cried a lot when she heard you and Peko were taken away." She responded, staring at the two siblings. "But I don't censor her for wanting to keep it secret from Peko."
After changing some words, Nala tapped her brother in the back without warning. "Anyways, what matter is that both of you are safe!"
"Ow! My back! Did you really had to do it with that strenght?" Peko protested.
"Just checking if nothing was broken." Nala responded with a silly smile. "By the way, how's your leg?"
"Feeling better, thank you." Peko replied. "How about you two?" He asked to both Ritsuka and Mash.
"Still have all of my limbs!" Ritsuka said with a thumbs up.
"Same here!" Mash responded. "We're ready to fight Hector again."
"I doubt he is alone in that ship." Romani told them. "I'm detecting more signals inside his ship. That must be his private crew. Be careful!"
"We'll be doctor!" Mash replied.
"Hey! You better get ready!" Drake told them from her helm. "We're starting to approach the ship!"
"Aye aye cap'n!" Every crewmember on the deck yelled.
"I'm surprised that for a pirate, Drake does seem to have a good heart." Mash responded, seeing how focused she was in getting Euryale back.
"That's cap'n for ya!" Bombe told her, passing by the group. "Once you are part of her crew, she will treat you as an equal and friend."
"And we all thought pirates used to be just arrogant and lawless evildoers." Ritsuka commented.
"Well, majority could be, but not every pirate was." Romani told him. "That's why stereotypes exist."
"Every group has it's good and bad apples, isn't that right Ritsuka?" Nala speaked to the master of humanity.
"It is indeed true." Ritsuka replied.
"Then we're lucky to be with a good apple here." Peko said.
"Fu fou!" Fou jumped up and down, eyeing on Hector's ship that was getting closer to them.
Grunting a bit, Asterios got up and walked to the front of the ship, joining the Chaldea group. They all could see the determination and will on the minotaur's eyes.
"Asterios." Ritsuka called the servant's attention, staring at him in the eyes. "Ready?"
"...Ready..."
On his own ship, Hector would watch the horizon in front of him as Euryale was kept with her arms tied up behind the trojan servant. She didn't even tried struggling. Euryale knew it would be useless doing that with an enemy more powerful than her in the proximities and much more so alone in the opponent's territory. So the only thing the greek goddess did was wait and hope that Asterios and the rest of the bunch were coming to save her.
"If those ropes are feeling uncomfortable, don't worry goddess." Hector started talking to her. "We will shortly reunite with my real crew."
"So that you can sacrifice me to that ark, isn't it? Tell me, what even is that ark about to be so adressed like that?" Euryale questioned Hector, wanting to know why ever since she had been summoned to the Signularity, Blackbeard and now Hector's captain wanted that thing so much and why she was the key to it. What could possible be in order to attract so much attention? It certainly couldn't be a mere pirate treasure.
Unfortunately for her, Hector was as clueless as her on that topic. "Hmm, beats me. All that I know is that its power when open, is enough to destroy the entire world." He said, staring at Euryale. "And only a Divine Spirit, in other words a deity, can be able to unlock it but not wihout sacrifice. Sure sounds ominous to this old man." He chuckled.
"Then you and your captain are planning on destroying the world by using the ark?" Euryale asked.
"My captain doesn't have that purpose. The guy is very obsessed and close minded to think like that. For him, the ark is only a fuel boost for his ego and power." Hector responded, giving a few more hints about his captain.
That made Euryale start taking assumptions. And then, she reached to a possible suspect on who Hector's captain could be. "Is your captain-"
Suddenly, the two servants heard a loud roar in the distance. Euryale knew immediatly who it belonged to.
"Asterios!" She turned her head around, catching sight of the Golden Hind. "They're here!" The goddess face shined a bit by seeing her friends coming to the rescue.
Hector prepared his spear as Drake ship got closer. "Looks like we still have company."
"Alright people! We're closing in!" Drake told them, ordering her crew to get ready.
However, Asterios looked like he wouldn't be able to hold on for one more second. With his friend in need of rescue right there, he was about to leash out in front of everybody.
Orion, noticing this, tried to calm the minotaur. "Look, I know what is in stake but you need to-"
"Hey..." Asterios stared at Ritsuka, calling him out and ignoring Orion.
"Hm? What is it Asterios?" Ritsuka replied to Asterios, seeing how nervous and furious but also decided he was.
"Can I...count on you..?" Asterios asked after looking to Ritsuka and his group.
Taking some few seconds to react, Ritsuka nodded his head. "You sure can!"
Asterios showed a little smile. "Good..." And then he released all his fury and jumped straight to Hector's ship, yelling and growling like a wild beast.
"Asterios!" Peko shouted, seeing how enraged the servant charged in Hector's ship. "It was suppose for all of us to attack together!"
"It's clear that he doesn't care about that!" Nala replied. "Specially if Euryale is in danger!"
"So let's join him too instead of talking here!" Ritsuka responded.
"Right! Let's help Asterios!" Mash said.
"All of you four go then!" Drake shouted to them. "I'll stay here to make sure the ship is safe!"
Artemis summoned her bow. "Me and Orion will also stay here to give you support!"
"Understood!" Ritsuka responded before jumping to Hector's ship alongside his group.
As they landed in, a whole crowd of Hector's pirates where in front of them, separating the group from Hector. Despite that, Asterios was able to advance, stomping and slashing any pirate in his way, making progress to reach to Hector and Euryale. The chaldeans stayed behind.
"They're so many that they block the way!" Mash said as she blocked an enemy attack with her shield.
"Then let's defeat them to create our own path!" Peko talked to the shielder as he also engaged in the fight with Hector's pirates.
"Stay behind me master and becareful!" Mash said as she upt herself in front of Ritsuka. "The same goes for you! Nala! Peko!"
"Roger that!" Nala responded, slashing an enemy down.
Watching Mash nearby, Ritsuka saw Asterios on the front finally reaching near Hector. "Give it your best Asterios!"
With the minotaur in front of him, Hector dodged to the back, avoiding Asterios attack. "Oh oh! You are quite energetic my friend!" The trojan man said as he could see how violently and brutal Asterios would try to hit him non stop, damaging the floor of the ship along the way.
Asterios swinged his two axes at the same time torwards Hector. "Give her back!" Asterios shouted, clashing with Hector's spear.
Hector undid the clash and made a small cut on Asterios face before taking a step back. "Sorry. No can do big guy!" He said with a chill voice.
"Even if he's fighting with an opponent bigger and stronger than him, he can still be as calm as ever!" Euryale looked to how Hector would easily clash with Asterios.
As Hector continued to dodge, he also wouldn't stop making snarky remarks. "Man, all this action will end up killing this old man from exhaustion! Gimme a break will ya?"
Asterios growled angrily in response, bashing his axes against Hector repeatedly, with the trojan warrior having to continue dodging. The insane attacks of the minotaur ended up raising a curtain of fog by the time Asterios was done with it.
"Fine! You want the goddess so bad?" Hector voice could be heard in the middle of the fog. Asterios quickly moved his axe to the direction of Hector's voice. "Then you can have her."
With the clouds of smoke going away, Asterios immediatly stopped his attack, seeing that the person he was about to hit was Euryale who stood right in front of him. The axe got centimeters away from splitting her head open.
"E-Euryale..." Asterios speaked dumbfounded. Altough he was now face to face with his dear friend, Asterios was unaware that he reacted exactly how Hector had planned to.
Fastly appearing behind the minotaur, Hector was about to pierce him on the back. Asterios had fallen for the bait. "Checkmate!"
However, Hector wasn't counting for sudden reinforcements on Asterios side. "As if we'd let you do it!" Mash yelled as she prevented Hector from stabbing Asterios back. Ritsuka, Peko and Nala were also with her.
"Guys!" Euryale exclaimed happily.
Hector backed off from Mash and saw behind the entirety of his crew defeated. "Sheesh! That was quick!" He said before hearing a growl from Asterios who had already turned back to strike a blow on Hector.
Taking the chance that Hector wasn't near Euryale, Peko and Nala approached her.
"Need some saving?" Nala said as she carefully but swiftly cut the ropes that were tied on the goddess arms, freeing her limbs.
Peko helped her get up. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah. No injury whatsoever. Thank you both." Euryale said, staring at Peko. "Specially you." She said with a gentle voice, causing Peko to blush.
"You know I was the one who cut the ropes right?" Nala said, feeling that Euryale was menting to provoke her with that small comment.
"And that's why I also thank you." Euryale simply replied.
"Let's just concentrate on helping the others defeat Hector, alright?" Peko said after erasing the blush from his face.
Back to the fight, Mash and Asterios were both delivering blows to Hector, with Mash managing to break Hector's defense for a second. "Take this!" She said, pushing Hector away with her shield.
Even if he was getting tired and worn out, Hector had to recognize Mash's merit for having broken his defense. "You're getting the hang of this girl! Not bad!"
Mash's cheeks blushed a bit as she was caught by surprise with Hector's compliment. "Oh! R-Really?"
"Yep! I'd say you are cathing up!" Hector replied.
"You know, for someone who's in a fight and in big disadvantage, you sound very okay with it." Ritsuka told him.
"Well, this old man can't just enter in dispair at the slightest inconvenience." Hector responded to Ritsuka before dodging a blow from Asterios and then an incoming one from Peko and Nala.
"I'd say losing your captive and having to fight all alone against six opponents isn't a 'slight inconvenience'." Peko said as he summoned his sword.
"It would be wise of you to give up." Mash told Hector. "But, knowing your identity, I bet you won't."
"And you're right on the money!" Hector replied, moving his spear a bit. "I just need to hold on for a while until my captain and the rest turns up."
"Then let's make sure by the moment they arrive, it will be already too late for you!" Nala responded, pointing her sword torwards Hector alongside everyone else.
"Give us your worst!" Ritsuka said from behind.
"Heh. Gladly." Hector talked back.
As always, Asterios was the first to jump torwards Hector, swinging his axes to slash him. With Hector avoinding it, Nala charged torwards him, delivering a combo of slashes and kicks that were able to start consuming the warrior's stamina. He then shoved Nala to the side right before moving his head out of Euryale's arrow and Peko's bullet way. However, things weren't over yet. Mash was the final one to step in, moving her shield around to hit Hector who used his spear to defend himself. Altough he went on a defensive mode throughout all of this, Hector's body was starting to feel the fatigue of having to do multiple fights and so ended up getting sliced on the shoulder by Mash's shield. He had to admit that perhaps there wouldn't be a way out of this. Hector retreated some distance away from his enemies in order to recover his stamina.
"Well, I have to say that I may be damned right now." Hector laughed a bit, checking the recent wound on his body. "You finally managed to hit me!"
"And we won't stop until you're defeated!" Mash exclaimed to him.
But when it appeard that Hector would have to fend off against the group all alone, Romani's hologram showed up to bring some unfortunate news.
"Warning! My sensors are detecting great mana signals coming nearby!" He told to his allies.
"Crap! Could it be Hector's captain?" Ritsuka asked to Romani.
Hector took the opportunity to give a quick look to the sea behind him. And luckily for him, a ship was sailing torwards his location. "It was about time..."
Also looking to the ship Hector was seeing, Nala's mind wondered where she had seen that vessel before. "Wait..." She then remembered what ship she was seeing. "Is that-"
"Huh?! The Argo is here?!" Orion exclaimed in surprise as he recognized the legendary ship that had appeard in his vision. As someone from Greece and the same period, the appearence of the vessel was no stranger to him nor Artemis.
"It is! But that's weird." Artemis said to her lover before looking to Drake. "Didn't you told us that the Argonauts had sacrificed themselves to open a way for you during a naval battle before?"
"Y-Yes they did." Drake sweated a bit at seeing Argo's apparition. "So they ended up surviving." She said before realizing something. "Wich means-"
"Hey hey losers! Guess who's back?" An identical voice speaked from the Argo has the figure of a blonde arrogant and narcissistic man appeard in front of them. It was non other than the captain of the ship and leader of the Argonauts, Jason.
"You!" Nala exclaimed in surprise.
Mash also had the same reaction. "You're alive!"
Jason stared down at them with an indignant look. "Of course we are alive! We're the goddamn Argonauts! A mere fleet wouldn't be enough to sink us down! Isn't that right my fellow crewmembers?" He asked, turning his head around to look at both Heracles and Medea. The two were also looking well and fit.
Heracles responded with some grunting noises while Medea used her words. "Of course Lord Jason! Our fame and might is much more greater than any number of pirate crews together could muster. The Argo is the vessel of heroes and legends alike! It is no mere boats that will destroy it."
Jason smirked. "Exactly how I wanted to hear."
"Then...you are Hector's real captain?" Mash asked him.
"Yep I am!" Jason answered. "And now he will hand me the grail and the goddess so that the ark can be mine!" He laughed with a big smile on his face.
"But why?! Why did you helped us then?" Drake questioned, wanting to know why the Argonauts helped them if their goals would end up making of them enemies.
"Keh! Simple my fellow stupid people of the sea." Jason said. "We were just helping you in order to get rid of the competition entirely! As you and that other group of pirate morons would kill each other, Hector would snatch the grail and the goddess away in the middle of the chaos! Way better than have to do a lot of fighting for ourselves don't ya think?" Jason said, still wearing his annoying douchbag smile.
"So...you were using us!" Mash exclaimed in shock and anger.
"Yes I was! Pretty genius from my part I know." Jason replied.
"Honestly, why am I not surprise?" Nala commented, always having the feeling that being the sketchy person the he is, Jason would try pull something of this genre on them. And looks like her intuiton was right.
Drake punched the helm in anger. "You damn bastard! I knew I should have shot you in the head when we first met!"
"That's the captain of the Argonauts for you." Orion told her. "A big scummy and scheming coward!"
"Agree." Artemis responded. "Also, is that Medea near him?" The moon goddess asked as she saw Medea by Jason side.
Jason also caught sight of both Artemis and Orion. "Oh? One of the Twelve Olympian Gods is here? And Artemis above all else? Man, now it's a shame that stupid cat isn't here to see you. I would pay to see her reaction!"
"What do you mean by that? Did you do something to her?" Artemis questioned Jason in an agressive tone, preparing her bow.
"Nah. She just decided to scram once I told her my plans. Not like she will be missed." Jason told to the moon goddess. "Also, when did you bought a teddy bear? It looks ridiculous!"
"Say that again asshole!" Orion screamed in rage, feeling attacked by Jason's insult. "I'm Orion the hunter! And if you have at least an ounce of brain inside that head of yours, you should know that I alone am worth more than half of your goddamn crew!"
Jason was taken aback by the revelation of the teddy bear's identity. "What?! You're Orion? Orion the best hunter of Artemis that got turned into a constellation?! YOU?!" Jason tried to hold on a laughter that he ended up releasing anyways.
"Keep laughing jackass..." Orion scorned at him before looking at Medea. "And why are you with him? Don't you see he's a bastard of a person?"
Medea was confused by that. "Hm? What do you mean O hunter of Artemis? As his lover, no matter what happens, I'll always stay by Lord Jason's side. Such his my affection for him."
Orion was distraught at hearing that. "How can you-"
"It's no use darling." Artemis told him. "She isn't an adult. The version that despises him. No, this is a much younger Medea that still saw Jason as an extraordinary captain. So it's very probable that she doesn't even has those bad memories at all." She said sadly but also repulsed by seeing Medea together with Jason. Knowing the tale, Artemis was aware of the type of person Jason is, and so seeing Medea together with him did upset her.
"Hey now, do not try to sway my crewmembers loyalty! That wouldn't be nice of you." Jason told Artemis with a smug.
Being the first time he was seeing Jason, Peko looked at Nala. "It's hard to believe thid guy helped you. He sounds like the worst!"
"He is the worst." Nala replied back.
"The very worst." Euryale added.
"Thank god I wasn't there to think he was a good guy then." Ritsuka said. "He looks like a wimp."
"HEY! I HEARD ALL OF THAT!" Jason shouted, having been offended.
"And to think he was only using us..." Mash sighed.
"It makes sense with his nature honestly." Romani told her. "But I do admit it saddens me to see that Medea and Heracles were okay with doing it."
"Yeah." Mash replied.
Ritsuka however tried to put those lamentations aside. "Well, used or not, we will make them regret that by beating them right now!"
Mash knew he was right. "Understood master! Engaging for combat!"
"Now you said it Fujimaru!" Romani told him with a smile.
Ritsuka then looked to Peko and Nala. "And you?"
"Ready for it!" Nala responded.
"Same here!" Peko also gave his answer before all of them returned to focus on Hector since he was the one with the grail.
Noticing that as well and seeing how tired he must be from figthing for so long, Jason decided to call Hector back. "Hey Hector, ignore them and come back with the grail!"
"Well, looks like that's my cue." Hector said, about to abandon his ship to go to the Argo.
Nala immediatly tried to go after him. "We won't- ggh!" But she was stopped in her path the moment the giant muscled man known as Heracles landed in front of her, making the whole ship tremble.
"B-Berserker?!" Nala exclaimed in shock.
"Herc, my pal. Do me a favour and wipe them out as well as getting that goddess for me." Jason said from the Argo to his friend as he would see Hector reaching to the deck of the Argo.
Heracles roared in response, accepting his captain's orders. He jumped over Nala and went running straight to Euryale.
"Euryale!" Nala shouted to her as Heracles got closer to the goddess.
Thankfully, Asterios was there to protect his friend, tanking Heracles charge and trying to stop him from getting to Euryale behind him.
"Let's go help him!" Ritsuka said to his team as they all went torwards the two Berserkers.
Asterios pushes Heracles aside and punches him in the face, only to be hit back by Heracles fist in the stomach. Whatever the hit he had taken, Asterios was just glad that he was able to stop Heracles from getting to Euryale for now. That wasn't over however as Heracles prepared to do another charge. This time, the chaldeans went to give support to Asterios.
Ritsuka stood right in front of Euryale. "Stay behind me, okay?"
"Sure." Euryale responded.
Heracles sprinted torwards all of them, dismissing of Asterios this time who was on the front with his demigod strenght. Next he easily shoved Mash away by hitting on her shield.
Peko was legitemately terrified by how strong this servant was. As the first time seeing Heracles, Peko could see that from every enemy up until now, he was clearly the strongest that they had faced. "It's no use facing him in a normal fight!" Peko thought to himself as his body stood paralyzed and about to be blown away by Heracles intimidating figure and giant clad weapon.
"Peko! Attention!" Ritsuka screamed to him, taking the boy out of his own stunment.
"Hrgh!" Peko put his sword in front to block the attack and altough it prevented him from taking a direct hit, the boy was thrown away to the other side of the ship.
Now Heracles runned all the way torwards Ritsuka and Euryale, with the master of Chaldea putting his own body in front of the goddess.
"Don't be scared! Don't be scared!" Was what his mind was saying to his body as Ritsuka's legs trembled in seeing the giant imponent and wild body of Heracles going at a fast speed torwards them. He knew that a hit from Heracles weapon would kill him, but Ritsuka also knew that he couldn't just ran away and leave Euryale unprotected. "C'mon Fujimaru! Stay in place!" He shouted to himself as Heracles approached.
"Kyah!" Nala however appeard right in time, taking the impact of Heracles weapon with her sword and being able to hold on altough not without a lot of effort. "Gggrgh! Why are you doing this Berserker?!" She questioned to Heracles.
That somehow had an effect on Heracles who upon seeing Nala's pleading face and the word 'Berserker', lessened the pressure and strenght of his weapon as if he was being hypnothized.
Jason noticed it. "Hm? Why the hell is Herc going easy on that kid?"
Despite having to deal with less force, Nala was still having an hard time to push the iron clad away. "Ggh! I thought you were a good person Berserker!"
Ritsuka watched Nala holding off Heracles from behind alognside Euryale. "Heracles is hesitating on her!"
With the greek demigod's mind still in a state of wandering, Heracles was stabbed in the back by Asterios who then got him up with his two axes and threw him to the ground, finalizing by making a deep cut on Heracles chest. The enemy looked like to have been killed.
"Was...was that it?" Peko wondered as he slowly got back up. "Did we defeated him like that?"
"Something isn't right." Mash said. "There's no way someone like Heracles would die that easily."
Out of nowhere, they started hearing some clapping coming from Jason. "Wow! For a bunch of idiots you do actually have some half brain in there. Yes, as a demigod and one of the most famous warriors of the pantehon, there's indeed no way he died just yet."
As Jason finished saying that, the cold and soulless corpse of Heracles suddenly came back to life, fixing his wounds and then procceding to make a big slash on Asterios back who had been caught off guard.
"Asterios!" Euryale shouted.
Nala couldn't believe what she was seeing with her own eyes. "How did he-..."
"Does he has a skill that allows him to do that?" Ritsuka pondered.
"That seems the case here!" Romani exclaimed. "It has to be an ability that was granted to him by the gods! It is more than a simple resurrection magic!"
"God Hand." Jason said.
"What?" Romani reacted, wanting to know what Jason meant by saying that.
"That his Heracles second and hidden Noble Phantasm that was a blessing from the gods in the form of basically immortality. After concluding his such famous Twelve Labours, Herc was granted twelve lives by our deities. His body gets stiffer and his physic refined!" Jason said, stretching his smile. "No one was ever able to kill him let alone making a scratch during the Age of Gods! Do you get it? You are fighting against a nearly immortal warrior!" He shouted.
"A nearly immortal..?" Mash said in a low tone, shocked and terrified at hearing such thing. They were only able to kill him by luck this first time. And he still had other eleven full lives to keep fighting. There was no way they would be able to kill Heracles the remaining eleven times!
"We can't...W-We just can't defeat him." Peko voice trembled as the boy realized the impossible task to win against this servant.
Seeing the desolated state Mash and Peko were in, Ritsuka took a glance at Nala. The girl was hopeless as well. They all knew that they wouldn't be defeating Heracles here and that engaging in a fight with him would only end up in their defeat. So Ritsuka made the decision he thought was the correct one to do in that situation.
"Let's retreat everyone! Head back to the Golden Hind!" He shouted. "We already got Euryale! We'll come later for the grail!" He said, grabbing Euryale's hand and starting to flee to the Golden Hind.
"Fujimaru is right guys! Forget Heracles and think only on escaping. As of right now we aren't able to defeat him!" Romani advised to the rest of them.
Agreeing with Ritsuka's decision, all of them started to retreat to Drake's ship. All except one. Asterios stood in the same place, injured and damaged, facing Heracles head, preventing the invigorated Berserker from reaching out to the rest, struggling against him.
"A-Asterios?! What are you doing?! Get back!" Euryale yelled to him to join them and to stop fighting with Heracles.
"I won't!" Asterios shouted as his axes clashed with Heracles clad. "I'll...make up...for every crime I commited...as a monster!"
"What are you even saying?!" Euryale shouted back, about to jump to the ship where Asterios and Heracles were fighting. "You need to get back!"
Nala hold Euryale back. "Don't go there idiot! Don't you see he's trying to protect you?"
"Yes but-"
"I'll change for the better!" Asterios said. "I'll change for you...Euryale. I promise...to only become human once...my sins as a monster are cleared!" He then started to gain the upperhand against Heracles. "You...were the first one...to call me by my true name! Euryale!"
Euryale stood speechless alongside everyone as they watched Asterios standoff with Heracles. Asterios was determined to not let anything bad happen to her friend.
"And so...I'll retribute the favour!" Asterios screamed as he was able to push Heracles away, proceeding to attack him. Unfortunately, even with an endless amount of determination and resolved, Asterios quickly became target to Heracles powerful fists and brutal attacks of his weapon. It was apparent that Asterios was quickly loosing control of the battle, being hit from every side. Still he kept fighting had would only stop when his body gave up.
Euryale tried to reach him. "NO! STOP FIGHTING AND GET BACK ASTERIOS! GET BACK!" She screamed in dispair with tears in her eyes as Nala now alongside with Ritsuka, hold her body to prevent her from going near Asterios.
"Do you think that...he's buying time for us to escape?" Peko asked them, seeing how hard Asterios would fight to keep Heracles away from the Golden Hind.
"It couldn't be that Asterios is actually planning to..." Mash stopped herself from finishing that sentence altough her mind already done that. She couldn't believe that Asterios would do that. But deep down, Mash knew that for Euryale's safety, Asterios was capable of everything.
On the Argo, Hector walked torwards Jason and handed him the grail. "Here it goes cap'n! Back to your hands."
"Ha! No better way to celebrate victory than to have what is rightfully mine come back to me!" Jason gloated, moving the grail on his hand. "However, Euryale is the key and the only key we need to get that ark open." Jason said as he stares at Drake's crew on the Golden Hind with Euryale among them. "Letting her go right now would be nothing but the taste of defeat for me! Medea!" He called the young witch.
"Yes Lord Jason? How may I help you?" She asked politely.
"Go retrieve that goddess back immediatly!" Jason ordered with a stern voice.
"As you wish Lord Jason!" Medea bowed before teleporting to the Golden Hind's deck, much to everyone's suprise.
"Careful everyone! As an ancient witch, Medea has a high capability on mana and magecraft! She is the most talented witch of all Greece!" Romani warned them.
"Oh, thanks for the compliments Mr. Hologram." Medea said to the doctor. "However, I'm afraid I'll have to bring goddess Euryale ba-" Her body quickly teleported, with Euryale managing to avoid a bullet that came from Drake.
"Over our dead bodies first!" Drake said, pointing her guns at the witch as her crew alongside the Chaldea group adn Artemis and Orion prepared to fight her back.
"...This does not look good." Medea said after checking the situation around that. She smiled anyways. "Well, gotta please Lord Jason still."
And as she engaged in battle with everyone, they noticed that despite having great magical abilities and skills, Medea wasn't much of a great fighter in direct combat. The young witch would only rely in summoning Dragon Tooth warriors and shoting magical laser beams as she tried to avoid anyone from getting closer to her. Unfrotunately for Medea, Nala's speed catched up to her, with the girl striking a blow on the young witch.
"Take this!" Nala broke Medea's defense and landed the hit successfuly on Medea's body, making the opponent fly some meters away.
"That was mean of you!" Medea said with a slight angry and dissapointed face.
"Not like you are giving me any options." Nala responded.
Peko couldn't help but see how stronger his sister has gotten as well as her attacks. "She really has become a lot better in these fights." He let out a smile from his face before looking at his own sword. "I can't get behind!"
Seeing that two of his crewmembers were still occupied and unable to achieve the goal, Jason started to grew unpatient, specially by seeing Medea being pushed off from the Golden Hind with the collective effort of everyone aboard in there. It was frsutrating for someone like him. "Damnit! Can't things be done a lot faster already?" He complained before looking at Hector. "I've grown tired of this lame show! Hector, have my permission to unleash your Noble Phantasm!"
Hector ears got intrigued the moment they caught those words. "It would be an honour captain! And who should get the honour of being strucked by this old man spear?"
Jason looked down on the fight beetween Asterios and Heracles. For the leader of the Argonauts, Asterios was a clear stone in his shoe ever since the beggining, hindering his efforts to try and capture Euryale. Jason would be more than glad to see the minotaur kick the bucket. "Time to say goodbye, ektropí!" He then pointed at Asterios to Hector. "That minotaur right there Hector!"
"The goddess bodyguard? I see." Hector responded with a relaxed voice before he started his Noble Phantasm. "Let's do it then!" Grabbing the sacred Durindana and doing some tricks with it, Hector put Asterios on the target.
"Time to get serious..."
The bottom end of the spear started to combust before a beam came out of it in all its power.
"Target confirmed. Angle set."
Romani monitors started to show a powerful signal nearby. Romani moved his vision to be able to see what it was. That's when he saw Hector's Noble Phantasm, the powerful Durindana, about to be thrown by the warrior himself in Asterios direction. "Crap! Everyone, Hector is about to unleash his Noble Phantasm on Asterios!"
"What?!" Ritsuka exclaimed as he and everyone else shifted their attention to Hector and his spear that was being charged up with more mana around it.
"That spear is Hector's Noble Phantasm?!" Peko said in surprise.
"Such power..!" Mash commented. "A blow from it is certain death!"
"We have to warn Asterios then!" Nala replied.
"Asterioooooos!" Euryale screamed on the top of her lungs, trying to make Asterios see the spear that would come for him.
"Damnit! He's still engaging with Heracles down there!" Drake said, seeing that Asterios was too occupied with Heracles to even notice the spear. "Oi Asterios!" She tried to call him out.
"Minotaur! Watch out!" Orion also yelled .
Artemis yelled with him. "The spear will hit you!"
Everyone on Drake's crew started to try warning Asterios.
"Watch out!"
"The spear! Asterios!"
"Asterios! Asterios!"
"Look at the spear!"
"Get away from there Asterios!"
Despite all the warnings, Asterios body was injured to such state that the minotaur had stopped hearing things clearly with his ears, only hearing some muffling noises from behind.
"ASTERIOS!"
But then, a piercing voice from Euryale was able to reach out to him in the middle of all the noise, alerting the minotaur of the imminent danger. Alas, it was already too late. The Durindana was fully charged.
"Ultimate Unbroken Spear: Durindana Pilum!"
In a blink of an eye, Hector quickly launched his accelerating spear torwards Asterios. There was no time to dodge. Asterios would receive the hit of Hector's Noble Phantasm. However, he wouldn't receive the hit alone.
In a final effort, Asterios grabs Heracles and holds him still, right at the time the spear was about to pierce them both.
"!"
With the explosion of the impact over, the ship that Asterios and Heracles were in, was mostly destroyed, with big clouds of smoke surrounding it. Its wreckage was now scattered all around the near waters of the sea.
"Asterios! Asterios!" Euryale tried to see through the smoke in order to locate her friend, moving her eyes in frenzy. "Asterios! Where are y-!" The goddess gasped in horror as the clouds of smoke vanished, revealing a bloodied and fatally injured Asterios and Heracles, both impaled by the Durindana who got stuck in their bodies.
Inuyasha OST- Futari no Kimochi
"It's...alright...Euryale..." Asterios said weakly as blood would come out from his mouth. "I...got this..."
Everyone from Drake's crew as well as the Argonauts saw the image in absolute shock.
"Asterios..." Ritsuka said in a low voice, letting a drop of sweat fall from his cheeck.
"He brought Heracles with him." Peko said, seeing that Heracles body had gone limp. "He took out his second life!"
"He's giving us a chance to flee." Nala added.
Jason was absolutely furious but what happened. "What the hell!? You hit Heracles as well dumbass!" He insulted Hector.
The Lancer showed him a face of regret. "Ups! Sorry, my bad. Wasn't expecting for the minotaur to grab Heracles on the last second at all."
Euryale stretched the arm for Asterios, tears rolling down her face. "Asterios...Why? Why did you had to do this?" She asked with great sorrow.
"Because...a monster like me...needs to be punsihed..." Asterios told her, remembering of his times as the famous monster of the labyrinth and all the people he hurt in that maze.
"But you're not a monster!" Euryale shouted. "Or at least you shouldn't regret to be one! One that understands the others pain and can empathize with them! If that is supposed to be a monster, then you should have no shame in being one!" Euryale said as she watched the last moments of her dear friend. She knew that this was his end. That from here on, he wouldn't be accompanying her anymore. The next island that they would arrive, Asterios wouldn't be present. This was her friend's last stop.
Asterios smiled at her. "Still...I need...to answer for my crimes..." He said, before giving a final look to everyone aboard on the Golden Hind. After all, ti was not only Euryale he got to be friends with. "C-Chaldea...Captain Drake...I enjoyed the voyage with you..!" He said, having felt the sensation of freedom from the moment he was able to navigate with them on the Golden Hind, exploring the seas and leaving that giant empty labyrinth behind. He then specifically stared at the chaldeans. "I'm grateful...that we could be friends as well...to have been called by my true name by all of you..."
All the four stayed speachless, trying to manage their anguish and sorrow while seeing Asterios body starting to fade.
"So...I count on you...to keep Euryale safe..." Asterios made a dying request to them.
"Hm!" Ritsuka's eyes slightly widened and his lips moved down. Fighting against the sadness, Ritsuka put his fist to his chest. "We will." He said. The rest of the group nodded, confirming it. The Golden Hind started to sail away, distanciating from the Argo and the wreckage of the other ship, slowly saying goodbye to one of its crewmember.
With the time ending up, Asterios looked at Euryale as she was getting far away, telling his friend one last thing. "Euryale...I love you..."
Surprised by the statement, Euryale stood still, with the tears falling freely from her eyes as she saw Asterios fell to the sea alongside Heracles and the Durindana, sinking with them.
In the last seconds that head left before totally vanishing, Asterios looked to the bright shinning surface of the ocean while he continued to go below. He then remembered of his original slayer, Theseus, and how he stared at Asterios face shortly before putting an end to him.
The once great hero and king of Athens, who had also been temporarily member of the Argonauts, was one of the most emblematic figures of the greek mythos, with countless tales and legends to tell adn that were spread over the centuries. Yet, his most famous one was when the hero faced against a creature known to be half-man half-bull, the Minotaur. Many see this legend as the greatest among Theseus's countless others. Several interpretations and theatrical plays were performed in potrayal of this specific myth. The one where the great king defeats the terrible and horrific monster of the labyrinth with his skills. Yet if one asked to Theseus himself what the minotaur actually looked like or what was his thought about the 'horrible monster' whose name used to be Asterios, this would be his answer:
"On that labyrinth, looking to that face, I didn't saw a monster. Instead, a lost boy who realized the harm he had done."
"Crap!" Jason punched the border of the Argo in anger. "Now we have to wait for Herc to get back to life and with the spear as well! They're already going away with goddess damnit!" He complained, behaving like a spoiled rich kid.
Hector scratched his ear, not knowing how to calm him down. "Jeez! Having to be near to people like you is the reason why I call myself 'old man'."
Thankfully, Medea appeard, with words that would tranquilize her lord. "No worries Lord Jason! As your useful witch and lover, I can track the enemies Magic Circuits. So I know exactly where they will be headed. Also Francis Dreak is a notorious sailor. As a pioneer for human history, I do believe her skills will help her find the ark and so lead us straight to it! In the end, there's no reason to worry my lord! Everything is still under control!"
Hearing the explanation, Jason calmed himself down before smilling snobbishly. "Good to hear that. I knew I could count on you." He then starts to walk away to his bedroom. "Now excuse me as I will give myself a very good and deserved relaxation time. Call me when Herc gets back." He said, leaving Medea and Hector alone.
"Man, if he wasn't a bastard already, I'd say you were being cruel to him by fueling this fake fantasy to him." Hector told to Medea.
"Unfortunately it has to be this way. He can't know the true power that the ark contains. The goddess Euryale will be the piece to end everything. If Lord Jason knew, he would immediatly cease this chase for her."
"Wich is why ignorance is a bliss." Hector told her. "And let's hope it stays like that until the end."
Now far away from the Argo, the crew mourned the passing of Asterios, specially Euryale. Nala and Peko stood by her side, trying to comfort her.
"He was a good friend. Asterios really decided to give is everything so that we could be save. Specially you Euryale." Peko told her. "We even had to hold him back when we were chasing Hector! That's how much he valued you."
"True! He wouldn't like to see you crying if he was here." Nala said.
Euryale then turned her head around to look at the siblings. "Don't be ridiculous! A goddess like me doesn't cry!" She said after having cried enough tears for Asterios passing. "But you're right that he offered his life for us and so we shouldn't be wasting that by being here lamenting his death! If we really want to honour him, then let's find that ark first and bring the Argonauts down!" Euryale said with conviction.
Drake liked hearing that. "Now you said it girl!"
"If we steal the ark, then they won't be able to do whatever they are planning on doing with it!" Ritsuka said.
Peko agreed. "So we mustn't let them have that ark by any means."
"I know that the ark as been a constant topic almost since we arrived to this Singularity but...does anyone know what the ark is even about? Like, it had to be a special ark to be so famous and rumored instead of a simple one." Nala asked, only now making the question of what ark they could be talking about. It certainly couldn't be just some random ark like she said.
"Now that you say...we never really stopped to think about the ark's identity." Mash said. "I really do wonder what ark are we even talking about after all. Any clues Doctor?" Mash asked to Romani.
"Hmmm, if I had to guess..." Romani started thinking in many historical arks that he had heard across his life. "The Ark of the Covenant!" He exclaimed.
"The what?" Drake asked confused.
"Never heard of it. But it sounds religious." Ritsuka said.
"Me and darling are as clueless as you." Artemis speaked.
"If I recall correctly, it's an ark that holds the Ten Commandments of Moses inside, isn't it doctor?" Mash asked to Romani.
"Correct! And it's told that if one opens, it will only bring upon divine punishment to the entire world." Romani said.
"Oh! A Pandora's Box basically." Orion said, thinking on the strange similarity this ark had with the infamous box of the greek mythology.
"Well, it's more than that." Romani told him. "Still, why would someone like the Argonauts want that? They never were the type of people to go after doomsday relics." He said, finding weird the crew's obssession in wanting that ark.
"Do you think that someone could be behind that? Manipulating them?" Peko pondered.
"At this time, it wouldn't be quite new for us." Ritsuka said, remembering the whole case of the previous Singularity.
"Also the criteria for end of the world is there. If the ark is opened and the punihsment is the world ending, wich means this Singularity, then it collapses alongside humanity." Nala said, reminding of the important factors that the Singularities have and if that one is destroyed, humanity cannot be saved.
"Then if the ark is unlocked it will be the end for us." Mash said.
"But on a positive note, it seems that we won't be having anymore enemies besides the Argonauts. Once we are finished with them, we also finish this Singularity thing!" Drake said to all of them.
"Hope that's true." Euryale said. "Dealing with Blackbeard was already enough pain."
"All that we need now is find the ark, defeat the Argonauts and get the grail!" Romani spelled it out. "So don't worry! At this late point, I bet we won't find anymore enemies!" He said with a big smile.
"I already know the jinx behind it..." Ritsuka said with skepticism.
"Anyways then! Let's find that ark guys!" Drake said as she grabbed the helm. "Ready for-"
"Haaa!" A scream coming from Orion surprises them as they see the teddy bear on the ground with an arrow stuck on hos body.
"D-Darling!" Artemis exclaimed worriedly, picking him up. "Are you alright! Talk to me if you are!"
"I-I am...just got a bit scared..." Orion said as he felt his soul leaving his body from the huge scare he got from the arrow.
"Who shot that arrow?" Nala asked as she looked closely into it. "It doesn't look like Artemis nor Euryale's arrows."
Ritsuka then noticed that there was a piece of paper attached to it. "And look! It comes with a message!"
Hearing that, Artemis grabbed the arrow and took the out the paper page attached to it. Once she started to vizualise its content, Artemis eyes widened. "It cant be!"
"What is it about?" Peko asked curious.
"This type of caligraphy, I know who could have wrote it!" Artemis exclaimed. "Also, the letter is telling us that there are two servants waiting for us in a island nearby!"
Everyone got intrested when hearing that part.
"Welp, let's go to that island then!" Drake said as she started moving the helm.
Reaching to the island that had presumably been the origin of the arrow with the letter, Drake, the chaldeans and Artemis and Orion all landed on the beach, going to meet up with the two servants the letter spoked of.
"Are we sure the letter came from here?" Mash asked.
"It was the closest island to us, so it has to be!" Drake responded.
As they were about to walk into the forest, a person came out of the vegetation, showing themselves to the newcomers.
"Happy to see that my aim is still as good as ever." Said a female voice. One that was familiar to everyone in ther except Drake.
Artemis eyes shinned with joy. "Ahaha! It has been so long since I last saw you!"
The woman in front of them appear with green hair and clothes as well as cat ears and tail. The Chaldea group immediatly recognized her.
Nala was even about to say it. "You are that servant from-"
"Greetings. I'm Atalanta the huntress. Archer is my Servant Class." She welcomed them with a warm smile.
Instant flasbacks of fighting this woman back in France passed through the mind of everyone from the Chaldea group. It had already been some time since they fought that corrupted form of hers.
"It really is you!" Peko exclaimed.
But the reveals haven't stopped there.
"Glad that we could have meet at last." Another voice, a male one, sounded behind Atalanta.
From behind, a yound adult man with short green hair and eyes appeard. He was holding a staff in his hand and wearing blue and white clothes.
"My name is David, ancient king of Israel. Pleasure to meet you."
To be continued...
And that's the end of chapter 47 of the story!
F for Asterios guys. He deserves it. Also the last two servants of the Singularity, Atalanta and David, have finally been introduced. With that, I'm happy to announce that we have reached to the final chapters of Okeanos! Soon enough, we will have one more grail in the back and a Singularity resolved.
Now let's all get ready for this final battle! Will it happen the same way like it happened in the game? Who knows...
Anyways, that's all I wanted to say, and see you next time on chapter 48 of the story! Peace!
P.S:
(Peko walks around the halls of Chaldea and stops in front of a random door)
Peko: So this is where Sétanta said for us to meet.
(Peko looks around, noticing that Sétanta is nowhere to be seen. Peko then notices a note on the door in front of him.)
Peko: Hm? What does it say? (Looks and reads) 'House of the Old Hag'...Weird.
(Suddenly, the door creaks and slightly opens, with a scary Scátach staring coldly at Peko)
Scátach: Who're you calling hag kid?
Peko: (Starts to sweat abundantly) I'm screwed, aren't I?
