Hello everyone and welcome back to the start of chapter 117 of the story!
So, enjoyed the Fate20th Anniversary Event Livestream? If you were there in person, no doubt that you did. Now, if you were like many of us who were watching it through the livestream...yeah, not that good. The event in itself wasn't bad mind you. Hearing about the Fate animes productions from the people that worked and directed them, the VA's of Strange Fake and more. All that was great.
But damn, if you were watching the livestream, you know what I'm talking about. The long intervals between the events interviews and sections, the same like 4/5 clips playing over and over again, just general boredom for the people at home watching.
However, we still got to see the premiere of Strange Fake!...Unless you live in a country where it's region-locked like me (Thanks Crunchyroll). So I had to really content myself with just watching some clips on social media. But screw it, I have waited this long for the anime to release, I surely can wait one more month where the 1st ep releases worldwide.
Oh, and the rewards of the 20th event in FGO were kinda good I suppose.
But right, you're actually here for the story, and so without further ado, let's go at it!
DISCLAIMER: All of the Nasuverse characters belong to Nasu and are property of Type-Moon with the exception of the OC's that belong to me, the author
The divine tower of the Holy City there stood, raised up high and piercing the skies. The vessel of the Lion King's final plan. The connection that would lead her chosen people to the utopia Artoria Pendragon had so much craved to achieve. Not yet activated but still magnificent in its aspect, blending in perfectly with the rest of the tall place. Nontheless, it's own existence was a target to take down by many others.
Some with the intention of keeping humanity's hopes of existence to prevail, denying it to be replaced by the upcoming foretold utopia.
Others, for far more ulterior motives.
"The Lion King's utopia is an error in the equation. Its possible materialization needs to be eradicated before it comes to fruition." The King of Magecraft, Solomon, explained as he stood besides the other individual, both gazing at the royal Holy City in the distance as the winds blew against them on the flat ridge they were standing on. "If not, our very own plans will not be concretized due to the collision of the Lion King's own. What you shall do here, Man of Sin?"
Softly lifting up his hooded head, Man of Sin laid sight on the giant castle, the goal clear in his mind. "The tower of light shall crumble, deluged in darkness."
At the very frontier of the Lion King's domain, a few miles away from the Holy City, a large army stood still and in formation, the day having arrived at last. The decisive battle against the Lion King. Whoever was the winner, the Singularity would have its end altough in different ways. One that the chaldeans and allies couldn't let it happen. And now, here they were today to fight for the rejection of that possibility, as well as keeping humanity's chances of survival alive.
"From here, if we proceed any further, we will kickstart it." Da Vinci speaked, sitting on a second model of the bugey-vehicle she had before, having built a new one during the last days. Her eyes aiming to where everyone was aiming. The headquarters of the enemy. "Our final battle against the Lion King. If you have anything to say, say it now as there is no turning back from this point onwards."
"The seats you've made for this model are way more comfortable, Da Vinci." Ritsuka replied, being on the seat right next to her.
Da Vinci smiled pridefully. "Thank you, Fujimaru! I always make sure that my inventions always one-up my previous ones! Always on a constant battle with myself."
"Da Vinci-san really made a splendurous job with this vehicle here." Mash also congratulated her work while on the seat at tha back, alongside Bedivere. "I'd say from mine and master's part, it is just that. And what about you, Bedivere-san?" Mash gave a look to the Knight of Loyalty by her side, giving him a positive and confident look. The conversation she and Arthur had with him two days ago was still fresh in the knight's mind. How it helped Bedivere get some things through.
Now he was ready. Ready to confront his king. "I have nothing to point out, Lady Mash. Only that we shall set this right!" He said with determination, doing a simple gesture with Airgétlam.
Mash nodded, satisfied with the answer. "What about you two, Peko, Nala?" She asked to her companions who were mounted on Peko's motorcycle, Árma Hermes, just next to Da Vinci's vehicle. "You sure you don't want to go on our vehicle as well?"
"Yeah. We pass it, Mash." Peko replied to her, checking the configurations. "That way, the buggy doesn't go that packed."
"You know how the saying goes: never put all the eggs in one basket!" Nala said, sitting right behind her brother on the motorcycle. "Also, I wanna see how fast this thing really is."
Peko smugged, giving a side eye. "Quite the way to admit I'd win in a race against you."
"That's not what I said!" Nala protested.
"Such cool motorcycle..." Ritsuka sighed. Everytime he'd look at Árma Hermes, it only made him wish to have one for himself. Crossing his arms, Ritsuka laid his back on the seat. "I know that now it isn't the best time to ponder it but..." The master of humanity gave an happy smile to Peko upon having an idea. "How about we do a race against each other one day? Your motorcycle against me and this buggy?"
Peko's face brightened up, sharing the same smile. "Sure!"
"NO!"
The trio of Mash, Nala and Da Vinci all shouted in unison, still having bad memories from when Ritsuka was put at the wheel with Peko's assistance. They weren0t craving for a sequel of that.
Bedivere just sighed with a shy smile. But it seems all of the army is ready." The knight said, taking a look at the back. "Even the huge sphynxes are here."
"That will certainly give us a bit of an advantage when trying to break in." Sanzang talked, she and Touta being on the same horse and also next to the buggy. "Being on the air, many of the soldier knights that were put on the walls as defense will have their attentions concentrated on the creatures flying torwards them."
"Remember, the most important factor in this first stage of our plan is to reach the walls and breach their line of defense without suffering many ot major loses." Touta reminded them of the importance of arriving to the walls with their army basically intact. "If we can execute that out greatly, we'll be able to fight the Lion King's army inside the Holy City on equal footing!"
"You speak with good awareness in mind." Cursed Arm replied to the bowman, being just right behind Da Vinci's vehicle. Even with the skull mask, the Hassan's eyes were locked on on the Holy City. "So after all this months and hard challenges. It all comes down to this moment."
Hundred Personas and Serenity were standing right behind him.
"The one where our people will either get to be free from this hell, or they will be eternally damned." Hundred Personas stepped forward. "The innocents have already suffered for long enough. It's time to put an end to this!"
"For all of our fallen comrades that died for a day like this to possibly come." Serenity closed her eyes, putting both her hands close to her heart, paying respect a some seconds of silence for all the other Hassans that had perished along the way.
"Yes, my fellow kindred..." Cursed Arm murmured, looking to the to the towers of the castle, having waited so much to see them being brough down. "It is time to take back what's ours!" The Hassa went to give a look to his companions and allies near him. "In advance, since this is much likely the last time we'll get to speak to one another properly, I want to thank to every single one of you for having heloed our cause." He told to the chaldeans as well to Bedivere, Sanzang and Touta. "Without you, the hopes of the order wouldn't be as high as they are now."
Hundred Personas agreed. "You sure proved us to be incredibly reliable. And to think at the beggining I doubted of you. How the tables have turned." She smiled to them, having grown to actually like the group when in comparison with their rocky start and interactions. "However, nothing is won yet! All of these words will be meaningless if we end up loosing, so don't even think about that!"
"Heh, you've also grow a bit on me, Hundred Personas." Ritsuka replied with a kind smile to the Hassan.
"But like you said, nothing has been won yet." Romani's hologram appeared to them. "Remember, despite that we now have this Singularity's grail, the Singularity won't dissapear until the true cornerstone of it, the Lion King and her tower, Rhongomyniad, is destroyed."
"Thanks for the brief summary, doc!" Nala replied to Romani. "By the way, you still can't peer into the Holy City with your devices? It's that it would be great to know the positions of the Lion King and the knights inside the Holy City."
"Unfortunately, I cannot detect neither the Lion King nor the knight of the Round Table locations." Romani informed. "But I think that won't be necessary. At least for the Lion King as per what Peko and Lancelot shared with us."
"Yeah. She mainly stays in one place and one place only." Peko replied, looking to the highest tower of the castle. "The throne room. If anything, I bet she's already there, waiting for us if we manage to go all the way through."
"And beetween her and us, a whole army to prevent us from stopping the Lion King." Touta said, imagining the obstacles they would get on their way.
"The knights of the Round Table constitute majority of the Lion King army's strenght, just like we servants compose tha major strenght of ours." Sanzang told not only to her disciple but also to everyone else. "They are our main priority after the Lion King. We definetly won't be able to defeat her without bringing them down along the way."
"Plus, they will fight with the advantage of their Gifts and have the home advantage." Romani crossed his arms and closed his eyes, pensative. "It certainly won't be easy."
"Well, you will just be there at Chaldea sitting and chilling without breaking a sweat, Roman." Da Vinci told him. "We'll be the ones fighting on a life-threatening situation."
"Hey! Don't underestimate my job now, Leonardo! You know it goes way more than that!" Romani exclaimed, being teased by the italian inventor. "I mean, do you seriously think me and the other members of the staff don't get all anxious and with the hurt jumping up and down during your battles, specially this one?! Way far from chilling! Also, it isn't like if you lose we here at Chaldea will continue to exist as if the entire humanity ceases to exist or anything!"
"Fufufufu. I know, I know. Just wanted to see those expressions on your face again." Da Vinci winked at him with some silliness.
"Aaah. Honestly, you sometimes..." Romani sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before changing his attention to Mash and the rest. "How are you feeling, Mash? What's your body's condition?"
"All fine and well doctor, no need to worry." Mash replied, knowing the reason why Romani made that question to her. " I don't plan for my body to succumb that easily."
Romani smiled to Mash's response, seeing by the sound of it that the shielder was more than capable to endure the rigorous event that would follow. "That's great to hear. And what about the rest of you?" Romani asked to the other members of the team.
"Full night sleep! Well hydrated and fed!" Nala replied to Romani, being fully ready as well. "That training with Lancelot will also come in handy!"
"No illness or pain doctor! Ready to go too!" Peko said.
"You already know my answer, Roman." Da Vinci giggled to him.
"No last minute trips to the bathroom!" Ritsuka told by last, everyone one of them prepared for the incoming war.
"Fou fou!"
"It's always good to check and confirm to be sure." Romani was satisfied with their responses. "Now, don't forget this: as chaldeans, give everything you've got to defeat the Lion King and put an end to her plan! With that, this Singularity will be cleared once and for all! Understood?"
"Yes!" Ritsuka replied shortly, with the rest of the Chaldea group nodding with their heads.
"You've ended the chat right on time." Bedivere told them as he turned around to see something. "King Arthur and Lancelot are finally walking to the front of the army."
In the middle of the units, the horses of the Knight of the Lake and King of Knights passed through, the duo having made sure their soldiers more at the back had everything ready and in order. Getting close to the front of the army, both stopped their horses for a brief moment, having reached to the chaldeans and the other Heroic Spirits.
"It seems everyone's here." Arthur gave them all a warm smile, of a king and leader that would go to war and fight with his men until the last breath even if not a single person in there was actually his soldier or knight. Yet, his appearence and stance on the animal transmited the very idea and image of a true king. "Heads held high, my companions! it will be for the good of mankind that we shall march to the battlefield today! It will be an honor, fighting alongside such warriors."
Everyone of the party felt the honesty and compassion in those words, Arthur truly having the talent to transmit the optimism to others before a battle.
"King Arthur." Bedivere called Arthur's attention, exiting Da Vinci's vehicle for a moment in order to stay at the same height as him.
"Do say, Sir Bedivere." Arthur replied to the Knight of Loyalty.
"Despite king Arthur being a different Arthur Pendragon, and not my actual king, this knight shall fight the war alongside king Arthur as if he was my own." Bedivere said in earnest, being the closest he was to pledge his loyalty to Arthur. But Bedivere's loyalty, was already reserved for another king. He's true king Arthur Pendragon.
"Same here, king Arthur." Lancelot also said to Arthur.
"Eh. No need for such vow or flattery, you two." Arthur told them, friendly. "However, you do have my consideration. More than a loyal knight, it takes one even more loyal to save a king from himself. Ald altough giving speeches before battles was a thing I've always done throughout my entire life..." The King of Knights turned to Lancelot. "Sir Lancelot, you shall be the one doing such honor."
Lancelot nodded his head, comprehensively. "I will make sure that our troops are properly rallied up, king Arthur." He said, proceeding to make his horse move forward to the very front of the army.
And Arthur would also join him there soon after. "May our brave hearts guide us to victory everyone." He told to the party, proceeding to give a particular look to Peko, with the boy looking back to the King of Knights, nodding his head to Arthur as they both smiled to each other before Arthur went to join Lancelot at the front.
"What was that?" Ritsuka asked to Peko, having seen the small and brief interaction between him and Arthur.
"Yeah. Why were you smilling like best buds?" Nala also questioned to her brother.
"Stuff." Peko replied, his smile still maintaining.
"Looks like Lancelot is about to male the speech." Romani pointed out, seeing Arthur next to the Knight of the Lake once again, giving him a simple gesture with his head as a sign to begin the final speech before the battle.
Looking to the large army that stood in front of him, Lancelot started to speak. "Attention men! I crave you to heed my words now!" He speaked loudly, getting the entire army's gaze. "Today, it shall be the fateful battle! The decisive event that will dictate whether we put an end to all this tyranny of the Lion King, or die attempting it! Many of you may have come from different factions, with different backgrounds and causes! However, you all share more similarities with each other than you might have originally thought! You've all grown tired of this pain! Of this conflict that has taken so much from you! Of the king that has been prolonging the suffering for far enough! You're all here today, because you all decided that it is enough!"
Listening to Lancelot's speech carefully, Ritsuka ended up hearing some murmurs around him, observing the Hassan trio, the sound coming from Cursed Arm's lips as they were sat on the ground. Visualizing it, Ritsuka's mind came to a natural conclusion. "They're...praying?"
And it wasn't only the Hassans, as Sanzang and Touta were also praying silently in their own way. Even Bedivere, in the back of the vehicle, was with his eyes closed, much likely doing the same as Lancelot's speech continued.
"Enough of fighting to survive! Enough of killing to survive! All of this chaos and tragedy over the past months, it is up to us to put an end to it!"
And the chaldeans soon came to realize the entire army was praying. Be it mountain people, soldier knights, egyptians from Ozymandias kingdom or merchants. They were all praying in their own ways in a collective silent and concentrated prayer.
"To do what we believe ourselves to be right! For the people we have lost! The sacrifices and efforts that were made! No matter the adversity, we won't turn around and flee!"
"You better get put on your seats..." Da Vinci said lowly to both Ritsuka and Mash as she leaned to the wheel, beggining to start the vehicle's engine, her feet on the pedals, ready for the moment.
Peko also begun to activate Árma Hermes, his feet taking off the ground as both his hands on the handlebars while Nala hold close onto him and his back.
"Blood will be shed! Death will ensue! Nevertheless, we will make sure that it will be the last time it occurs because of this conflict! We might die, but it is better dying with a taste of freedom than living an entire life of fear and opression! But if we end up dying..."
"This one will be for you, Arash." Cursed Arm and the Hassans finished their prayers.
"...we shall die..."
"O mighty Shakyamuni, watch me from the heavens above." Sanzang and Touta had finished theirs as well.
"WITH THE ENTRANCING VIEW OF VICTORY OVER THE HOLY CITY'S RUINS!"
Bedivere open up his eyes. "I'm coming in thy rescue, my king!"
Lancelot yelled at the top of his lungs, raising Arondight quite high in the air, his speech having hugely embolddened the army. With it, came the command. "Charge!"
"Charge!"
"Charge!"
The scream was followed by Arthur also delivering the same command to the troops, that was then repeated by none other than Saruhan in the middle of the army, leading everyone in it to release their war cries, fully heartened for the grand battle.
And so, the engines of both vehicles went off and the countless horses begun to gallop, everyone sprinting torwards the Holy City, aiming to break through its first defenses, the walls.
The pivotal battle to this Singularity's disclosure had started.
From the top of the walls, the Knight of the Sun, Gawain, was checking to see if every soldier knight up there was in their positions, on the alert for any indexes of an incoming assault by their enemies on the horizon.
The king and Agravain had warned them, having summoned Gawain as well as Tristan and Mordred for a reunion, to inform them that a war against what remained of the mountain people, aided with extra forces of the Sun Kingdom units and others, would soon take place at the Holy City, in a last 'desperate' attempt of the enemy to stop their majesty's utopia of being reached.
A conversation that took place two days prior. And so, the knights of the Round Table spent those two days tirelessly setting up and reinforcing the kingdom's defenses. The Lion King ordered them that she wanted not only hundreads of units put guarding the walls, but also every main area of the Holy City, stating that even if the white walls were unbreakable, they should be wary to any posdible surprises.
In the middle of all that, Gawain wondered where was Lancelot, the Holy City having not received news from him by almost a week now. Was he dead? Had he been killed by the enemy? As Lancelot given up alltogether? Whatever it was, Gawain was sure that something had happened with the Knight of the Lake. But now it wasn't the time for assumptions, needing his own mind focused for what was about to come.
And the timing couldn't have been more perfect as the Knight of the Sun's ears begun catching noises from afar.
"Hm?" Moving his head to gaze at the wastelands around the Holy City, Gawain heard distant cries as way on the horizon, a large line of warriors appeared, riding their horses as well as sphynxes getting out of the ground, starting to fly. An entire army charging torwards the kingdom. They where here.
"So it begins." Gawain narrowed his eyes, proceeding to stare at his men and gesture with his hand. "The enemy has arrived! Prepare the catapults and artillery!"
"Get the catapults!"
"Move! Move! Put the harpoon arrows and launchers in position!"
"Grab the bows!"
Moving quickly but coordinated, the soldiers set the weapons and defenses in position, locking the arrow launchers in place as they try to take aim at the sphynxies in the sky as they approached, being a bit closer to the Holy City's walls than the rest of the army. Gawain however, wanted him to not fire yet.
"Hold it!" Gawain commanded, the trigger on the artillery and arrows of the soldier knights bows nervously waiting for the command.
"Hold it!" Gawain insisted, seeing that their enemies were still too far away to release their rain of attacks.
"Hold it!" Gawain said, seeing the sphynxes getting more closer than ever in a matter of seconds, the army on the ground shortly behind. They were finally within range. "Now!"
And the shots were fired, released into the air, some of the harpoon arrows hitting the sphynxes successfuly while others missed by little, the sphynxes that managed to dodge, blitzing towards the top of the walls, attempting to take some soldiers and weaponry down.
With Galatine, Gawain fought back, slaying a sphynx coming torwards him. "Keep firing men!"
On the outside, leading the tackling army, Lancelot looked above to see the rain of arrows and boulders about to fall on them as they were approaching the Holy City's walls. "Attack incoming!"
"Shield yourselves!" Arthur shouted, alerting the troops alongside Lancelot for the numerous arrows and bolders coming from above.
"Hold to your seatbelts!" Da Vinci exclaimed to Ritsuka, Mash and Bedivere on the vehicle, shifting speed on the gearbox, manuvering the buggy in a way that could avoid majority of the boulders and arrows, with some of the arrows even hitting on the buggy's roof. The italian inventor was doing the best she could with the vehicle while some of the soldiers near them were already being hit and taken down alongside their horses by the aerial attacks.
Peko was also driving with adrenaline his motorcycle, having to avoid the countless incoming arrows with Árma Hermes as if they were rain drops. A task that Nala aided in by swinging her sword around, dispersing the arrows and boulders alike. Still, avoiding all of that kept being hard, with some more men being taken down.
"They're taking quite a good number of us with this!" Touta exclaimed, fighting the attacks from the Holy City with his own bow and arrow.
"It's definetly coming from the top of those walls!" Sanzang added, watching the sphynxes attempting to keep the soldier knights at the walls busy for long enough until the army reached near the Holy City's walls.
"As expected, they prepared themselves for our assault!" Cursed Arm speaked as he rushed alongside Serenity and Hundred Personas.
"And they've prepared very well! Even the sphynxes are having problems taking the artillerty down!" Serenity commented upon seeing the egyptian creatures fighting and struggling a few miles ahead of them.
"If it wasn't for them the soldier knights attention would be solely focused on us!" Peko replied. "But we're still losing way many already under these attacks! It can't start like this!"
Lancelot gave a pained expression. "I hate to say it but continue to head forward! On and on until we reach the walls!" He commanded, not wanting the army's morale to decay. "But it seems we're going to suffer more loses here than we anticipated...dammit!" Lancelot cursed lowly in frustration, as his horse continued to run against the arrows.
Arthur however, didn't shared the same thought. "I wouldn't be so sure about it."
"Sir Agravain, the enemy army has already been spotted by Sir Gawain and his men, trying to sprint torwards the walls near the main gates section!"
A soldier knight reported the situation of the first minutes of the war to Agravain, who was standing on a balcony of one of the towers, watching glimpses of the battle happening beyond the city's walls.
"How is he and the defenses performing?" Agravain asked to the soldier.
"Perfectly my lord. Sir Gawain and his men are being able to slow down the enemy's charge."
"And the final preparations of His Majesty's tower?"
"The last touches are said to be almost complete, my lord."
Agravain let out a satisfied grunt from his throat, smirking. "Excellent."
"Keep on firing men! Don't give them an inch!" Gawain ordered to the soldier knights as they kept shooting non-stop against the invading army, not wanting to stop to give them an hard time.
"At this rate, a great party won't make it to the walls!" Mash exclaimed, having summoned her shield to defend the others in the vehicle from any arrows.
"We gotta do something! Something to stop them from firing, even if it is for just five seconds!" Ritsuka exclaimed, the party getting closer to the Holy City but still losing units at each passing second.
"But what can we even do to-huh?" Driving and with the eyes on the 'road', Da Vinci soon noticed something beggining to change in the environment overall. From nowhere, huge clouds of smoke and dust begun to form, being blown into the battlefield by the winds, soon taking over the entire area and field vision. "Dust?"
"How did it appeared so suddenly?" Bedivere wondered in surprise just like the rest of the party. However, Arthur wasn't as baffled, already knowing who was behind it.
At the top of the walls, Gawain's troops briefly stop shooting as they lost visual contact with the enemy due to the huge curtain of dust.
"What's this?" Gawain asked in bewilderment, unsure where did all that dust came from.
Continuing to proceed alongside the party, Cursed Arm thought he had spotted something amidst the clouds of dust. "?!"
From within the misty clouds, the Hassan thought he had seen him. The brief figure of First Hassan staring back at them. "G-Great Founder!" But upon blinking, the First Hassan vanished from Cursed Arm's eyes. Yet, his appearence was a clear hint of something was well as the dust. "It was the Great Founder! The Great Founder was the one who brought this dust to cover us!" He exclaimed to the others of the party.
"Really?" Hundred Personas asked back with glee in her face. "Haha, the Great Founder truly works in mysterious ways! Now we have to take opportunity of the chance he gave us!"
"Indeed! The arrows have stopped firing for a moment now that they cannot exactly see us!" Peko responded. "They must be a bit stunned by the dust's sudden appearence!"
"We can advance territory without being under attack!" Nala said. "It will also save our army from suffering huge loses!"
"That and..." Touta grabbed his bow and pointed the arrow at somewhere beyond the dust.
"Keep in your position men!" Gawain instruscted to the soldiers, still on the top of the walls with them. "We have to sta-" Being caught off guard, the Knight of the Sun felt an arrow scratching close his cheek, surprising him "!"
And it wasn't the only attack, as more arrows came out from the dust curtain as well as the remaining sphynxes, destroying huge chunk of their artillary and taking down groups of soldier knights.
"Time to counter-attack!" Touta exclaimed, having fired the first arrow of the army's brigade of arrows that were all fired to the same direction torwards the top of the walls.
On the front, Lancelot finally spotted the walls of the Holy City up ahead and nerby. "We've arrived! The walls of the Holy City, men! Now let's break them down and invade the Holy City!" He exclaimed, receiving lots of uplifting and emotional war cries of the army behind him. The first stage of their operation was done.
Hearing the loud noises on below, Gawain took a look at the ground level of the walls, watching the entire enemy army. "Shit! They've arrived!" He cursed to himself as he noticed who was leading the army. "Hm? That man does resemble His Majesty a bit and...Lancelot?!" Widening his eyes as he saw his fellow knight being the one leading the faction of their enemies, Gawain got visibly angry and dissapointed. Once again, the Knight of the Lake ended up betraying their king's trust.
But Gawain couldn't give much thought to it as the attacks from the enemy continued, shielding himself behind a catapult. "Kgh! Men! The enemy has reached the walls! I want majority of you to go down there this instead and show them resistance! Now!" He shouted the command to the soldier knights. "Do not let them invade the Holy City! We can't allow it!"
On the ground and going torwards the main gates, the party and their army were soon met with an enormous group of soldier knights to oppose them from reaching the main gates and breach their main layer of defense.
"They made a defense line!" Ritsuka exclaimed.
"Then get ready to see some driving code violations!" Da Vinci replied, touching on the gearbox with full intent of running over the enemies.
"Brace yourselves for impact! Swords drawn out!" Arthur exclaimed, seeing the enemy army also advancing with their horses, this being the first moment where the war between the two sides would have direct clash.
And so, as the two army's charged torwards one another, weapons hit onto each other, horses clashing heads and bodies, units getting fatal hits onto other enemy units upon the impact. A total chaotic scenario of war breaking out, with Da Vinci and Peko's vehicle opening the way as both ran over the opponents at max speed while the rest of the party and some batallions of the army followed them torwards the closed main gates.
"Any idea on how we will open these?" Mash asked as they were approaching the gates.
"We simply can't." Da Vinci replied.
"What?!" Ritsuka replied in shock. "What do you mean?"
"Fou?!"
"Lancelot told that the Holy City's walls are immune to any attacks regarded with ill intention! Therefore, enemy attacks!" Da Vinci explained.
"Then you're saying we won't be able to break through it by just attacking it?" Serenity asked.
"Yes! Only attacks deemed by the walls intself as 'holy' can do any type of damage!" Lancelot told them. "So was the law input by the Lion King when crafting them!"
"Then we cannot enter the Holy City unless we climb over it!" Sanzang said, putting a thumb to her fingers, deeply considering something. Something that could cost her highly. "...Altough-"
"You won't need to panic much about that!" Peko told to the group. "We've already got the solution to that problem days before this battle started!"
"What exactly?" Ritsuka questioned, puzzled.
"Only holy attacks can damage the Holy City's walls..." Bedivere mumured before figuring it. "It can't be...!"
Fate Zero OST- The Sword Of Promised Victory
"What more holier relic than Excalibur itself?" Arthur brandished his sacred and precious mosty sword, materializing it in all its glorious physical form. One of the most legendary in all world of Magecraft. "An Arthur Pendragon's weapon to destroy another Arthur Pendragon's creation!" He said, stopping right in front of the tall and closed main gates with the rest of the group as their army kept the enemies occupied. "Stay back! I will release Excalibur's power!" Arthur warned the others in advance as he hoped out from his horse, standing right in front of the gates, bringing the mythical Excalibur close to his face and pointing right up, closing his eyes.
A golden light begun to emmanate around the King of Knights body, Excalibur beggining to shine brightly as all the heavenly light went up to the skies above.
"I can't believe that after all this time...I'm witnessing it again." Lancelot murmured.
"It has indeed been a long time since the last time." Bedivere also commented, sensing agressive gusts of wind coming on their way torwards Arthur, envolving the powerful Excalibur and its king as the golden light begun to shine more ferociously.
"Ggh! So this is how it is to witness Excalibur in its splendor!" Da Vinci said as she felt the turbulent wind going around. "The levels of a Rank A Noble Phantasm is really absurd!"
"King Arthur..!" Mash gazed at the ruler in front of them, a feeling of nostalgia bumping in her heart, Galahad sensing it too.
"You two are also thinking the same, aren't you?" Bedivere speaked to Mash near her, his eyes focused on the knight stance of Arthur Pendragon. How identical he wield Excalibur the same way as Artoria. "That they are one in the same!"
Loading his Noble Phantasm, unfazed by the strong winds surrounding him as Excalibur glorious light continued to shine, it's glow compassing the entire Holy City.
Gawain, ebing nearby, couldn't help but feel in awe to it as well as familiar. "Hm?! But this is-"
"That light...It can't be!"
Agravain said alomost speechless as he too observed the giant pilalr of light forming in the distance from the balcony.
"Grr! He will really blow out those gates, won't he?" Ritsuka said as he protected his face from the winds.
With his mind focused and in equilibrium with his own body and sword, Arthur Pendragon was ready to unleash it: Excalibur's light over the gates. No seal needing to be removed. The sword's actual state being enough for the job.
"Sword of Promised Victory:
And so, stretching his arms and up high, it's divine light soaring through the heavens, the King of Knights pronounced the mythical word of his weapon:
"EX-
CAAAAALIBUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRR!"
Bringing it down, Arthur slashed the gates and way beyond that, the mighty beam of light tearing the imperishable main gates apart and into ashes, leaving a huge opening.
"B-But that is...! How?!"
Mordred exclaimed in a confused state of disbilief and irk, seeing the beam of light erasing the main gates while on another area of the Holy City.
"Oh dear. This was quite the unforseen event."
Tristan said apparently calm despite the bit of sweat appearing on his face, having also seen the dustrictive and magnificent power that was Excalibur.
"..."
From the top of her castle, the Lion King observed what was once her power now being used again. The light of her long gone sword now up against her.
"Excalibur..." She muttered, her gaze slightly changing to upset as she slowly closed her hands into fists.
The entire group watched in awe, their eyes capturing the moment as if it was in slow motion. The could tell that it was the Noble Phantasm of the most legendary sword to the most legendary king.
"Such light...embedded in one's blade." Peko commented in astonishment.
Now they could enter the Holy City, the first and most essential line of defense from the Lion King having been surpassed.
"Forward, my companions!" Arthur exclaimed, putting Excalibur's sharp tip on the ground. "The castle now awaits us ahead!"
"You're the coolest, king Arthur!" Nala exclaimed in ovation, speaking out what everyone in the party was subconsciously feeling at that moment.
"No time to lose! Let's proceed!" Lancelot told to the rest of the party who all agreed and runned past the gates. All except one.
"Hm? Touta? What are you doing?" Sanzang questioned as she noticed her disciple staying behind, taking down soldiers from the enemy side.
"Giving some backup to our units here!" Touta explained, glancing back at Sanzang. "Someone needs to help them out in this area! Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! Just focus on reaching the Lion King! I'm sure you can help them out on that, mentor!"
Hearing Touta say those words, Sanzang felt more proud than ever for him. "You must have been one of the most virtuous disciples I ever had, Touta! Such selfish act to stay behind! And I shall respect it so! You've really learned my teachings!"
"I'm just doing what's best for the situation here! Go now!" Touta exclaimed to Sanzang, don't wanting to pay attention to her compliments.
"Understood! Stay safe, Touta!" Ritsuka told him as he and the party begun to proceed into the Holy City, signaling Sanzang to also go along, leaving the bowman behind.
"Now, let's see who's ready to battle the great Tawara Touta!" He exclaimed, killing five soldier knights in a row.
"I am ready to fight alongside such warrior!" From the right, Saruhan approached Touta, having been fighting and taking down enemies so far, his sword in hand.
"Holy- you're still alive?" Touta said, a bit surprised that someone like Saruhan hadn't died yet.
"Of course I am! Have you never heard about Saruhan the Great Ghazi before?" Saruhan said with a confident smirk, he and Touta standing side by side.
"To be honest, not really." Touta said with a sheepish smile.
"Then after this, you shall get to know him!" Saruhan responded, seeing some enemies beggining to surround them.
"Eh, so you better don't let me down!" Touta exclaimed, both he and Saruhan ready to fight against the waves of enemies.
Meanwhile, having freed himself from some of the walls wreckage that had crumbled due to Arthur's Noble Phantasm, Gawain saw that the Holy City had been breached, the walls no more holding their enemies outside. "It cannot end...!" He said, using Galatine to help himself get up. The Knight of the Sun would do anything within reach to prevent the enemies from reaching his king. "Not when we are nearly there!"
Back to the entrance area of the Holy City, the party and some good portion of the army were advancing through the zone, having been greatly destroyed by Arthur's Excalibur as well.
"Those stairs over there!" Peko shouted, seeing an entrance to a staircase at the other end of the area. "It is the path to the upper layer of the Holy City!"
"This is where we shall part ways for now!" Cursed Arm told to the group.
"We will go in the shadows now! To see if we can go all the way through to the Lion King's throne room without being spotted!" Serenity explained.
"That way, we might have a chance to assassinate the Lion king and end this war sooner than expected!" Hundred Personas also speaked, being a plan the assassin trio had came with on their own.
"Alright! Just make sure to not be noticed!" Ritsuka told them.
"See you around!" Cursed Arm replied as he alongside Hundred Personas and Serenity jumped into the shadow of the buildings, going stealth in order to pass through the Lion King's men and in the best of chances, reach the throne room to kill her without being spotted, no one in the party objecting to that.
As they were making a quick progression, the party soon came to an halt as a large group of soldier knights appear from the buildings on the sides.
"And of course they would appear to prevent us from reaching there!" Ritsuka said.
Signaling with his hand, Lancelot stopped his horse, making everyone else behind him to do the same. "There's no point to continue with horses and vehicles inside the Holy City! From here on out, we shall go on foot!" He said, getting off from his horse, Arondight already on his hand.
Looking to one another, both Peko and Da Vinci agreed as they also got out from their respective vehicles alongside the other occupants. Arthur and Sanzang did the same with their horses.
"It's one long way through until we reached those stairs!" Bedivere said, drawing out his sword.
"Engaging in combat mode! Setting to fighting output! Are you ready, master?" Mash asked to Ritsuka.
"Let's do it!" Ritsuka responded briefly, giving his response.
The first battle inside the Holy City then begun, with the party and allies making their way through the horde of opponents, their combined efforts and abilities easily slashing and knocking down groups of enemies as they would get closer from the staircase that would give them access to the more center zones of the Holy City. Taking some minutes but eventually making it, the entire group made it while the fight happening just outside the gates had now expanded to here. Despite having reached the stairs, the enemies didn't stopped from trying to prevent them from proceeding, with Da Vinci and Lancelot mainly holding back the soldier knights at the group's rear-guard.
"Quick everyone! Get up the stairs!" Arthur told to the group as he stood at the staircase's start, waiting for the others.
"Da Vinci-san! Lancelot! You can stop holding the enemy back!" Mash told to the two as she saw that they were still a little more behind fighting enemies. "We have to continue!"
"You can go then! Me and Lancelot will stay here to make sure they don't follow you!" Da Vinci replied, surprising the chaldeans.
"Wha-But why?" Mash questioned.
"Are we really doing this were some of us stay behind in order for the rest to proceed?" Nala speaked, deducing were this was going.
Peko tried to argue. "But-"
"Every second counts here! Remember that!" Da Vinci told him and the other members of Chaldea, giving them a smile. "Don't be apprehensive! I'm not planning on 'dying' a second time here!" She said, using her mechanical arm to shoot down a group of enemies. "Plus, I have Lancelot and good part of the army in here with me! So I'll be alright all in all! You have a crazy king to stop in the meantime, got it?"
"Da Vinci..." Ritsuka was going and try to make Da Vinci change her mind, but je stopped himself when he comprehended her words. Time here was valuable and they could not waste it. It didn't matter for the entire party reach the throne room to confront the Lion King as long as some would at least get there and defeat her. "Got it! Leave it to us!"
"Bedivere, king Arthur! I also have to apologize for not going to guide the group until the end!" Lancelot speaked, slashing down some foes with Arondight. "But I refuse to let these men that have originally decided to follow me, to perish without leadership of their commander in the battlefield! I am confident that you are able enough to put an halt on the Lion King yourselves, so I'm giving you the opportunity to continue without having nuisances chasing you down! Go forth now! We'll try and see if we can still rejoin you after this!"
"And to think out of all the knights here, you'd be the one standing up against the Lion King and the injustice caused." Bedivere commented, never expecting that Lancelot would have had the conviction enough to go against his ruler. "You have truly surprised me positively."
"Then we shall leave these enemies to you! Fight alongside your men like the great knight that you are, Lancelot!" Arthur told him.
"Understood!" Lancelot replied. "Me and Lady Da Vinci will make sure they don't come after you!"
"Do a decent job for once!" Mash said to the Knight of the Lake, being more of Galahad speaking.
"A bit cruel that. But I suppose I'm not really the father that one can be proud of..." Lancelot frowned sadly before gazing at the enemies once again. "I hope this at least amends some mistakes for it!"
"No more time for conversations! You must go now!" Da Vinci told to the party, she and Lancelot continuing to stall the enemy from reaching them.
"Good luck and take care, Da Vinci!" Ritsuka wished her before he and everyone else went up the stairs, leaving the duo of Da Vinci and Lancelot to fight off the huge number of enemies at the stairs entrance alongside other units of the army.
"I'm sure my eyes haven't deceived me! That pillar of light could only be one thing..."
Agravain, with both hands on the balcony railing, was now a tad vexed after having just witnessed the main gates being vaporized so easily with an attack he wasn't unfamilliar with when gazing at that golden light. Unfortunately, it meant that they had no longer defenses to keep the enemy outside of the Holy City.
Known news that would be informed to him by a soldier knight standing on the balcony, behind Agravain.
"Sir Agravain! Urgent news! The enemy already gone all their way through the entrance area of the Holy City and reached the layer above the first one! What does Sir Agravain wishes us to do?"
Agravain remained calm despite the displeasure on his face. "Do not despair! They still have a long way to go in order to reach us. Our first and foremost priority is to prevent them from reaching the king. Go and inform Tristan and Mordred to relocate their positions in order to get on our enemy's way."
"Yes sir!"
The soldier knight obeyed, about to leave the balcony to fulfill Agravain's orders.
"But...I think there's one more thing Sir Agravain would need to know about the enemy."
"Hm? Which is?" Agravain asked, wondering what is it by the reluctant tone on the soldier's voice.
"It's Sir Lancelot. He is helping the enemy invade and attack our kingdom, leading their army no less."
"..." No response came from Agravain's mouth, the knight silently quiet while staring to the city below.
"Sir Agravain?"
"It's nothing. Leave and delivermy orders." Agravain told simply in a stoic and monotonous voice.
"Y-Yes sir!"
The soldier knight responded, immediatly leaving the balcony to do his job, leaving Agravain alone.
"Lancelot..." Agravain muttered while lowering the head, a unrestrained smirk creeping into his lips. "Heh. HeheheheheheHahahahahahahahahahaha!" Agravin laughed intensily. Laughing so much. He should have seen it coming. It was so obvious yet he chose to give the other knight another chance. And now, Lancelot had once again betrayed their trust. Honestly, it shouldn't have come as surprising, considering the Knight of the Lake didn't even reported to him as of late. If anything, it was hilarious. As well as deeply infuriating, resulting in Agravain to smash his fists on the balcony raillings.
"Of course that bastard would be helping them!"
Reaching to the layer above after some long minutes of going up the stairs, the smaller party had found themselves in a spacious garden with buildings of marble and glass around.
"They even have gardens here?" Ritsuka asked in surprise.
"They do have a lot of those here!" Peko replied.
"Yeah. They really put much effort on the decorations and creation of green spaces in the Holy City." Sanzang commented, remembering of her time while as a guest of the Lion King.
"We are still some layers below before we reach to the one that has the main entrance to the castle!" Mash said, looking at the high towers of the castle, still a bit away from them. "Where to now?"
Nala gave a look to the layer below they were before, being near the garden's edge. "Wow. It's a great fall from here already."
"The path to the upper layer must be near." Arthur responded, his eyes placed on two buildings with a bridge beetween just on the other end of the garden, seeming to lead somewhere. "Maybe it continues there! Let's go!" The King of Knights said, both he and the party running across the garden.
Until someome tried to attack them.
"!" Feeling the sudden presence coming at him, Arthur quickly swinged Excalibur, clashing blades with the one and only Clarent, Mordred's sword.
"Now now now! What do we have here? A cheap copy of the king?" Mordred smirked arrogantly as she pushed Arthur some meters back before her men quickly joined her, appearing on the garden to make resistance against the party.
"Mordred!" Bedivere exclaimed, seeing the Knight of Treachery suddenly appeared. The Knight of Loyalty also noticed the scars on her face. "Hm?! W-What happened to you? Why is your face scarred?"
"As if you cared enough about me to know, moron!" Mordred responded in her way as usual. "Specially now that it seems you and that shithead of Lancelot have replaced the king for a copycat."
"And I was wondering when one of you would show up!" Ritsuka stated, having bumped into the first knight of the Round Table during their attack to the Holy City.
Bedivere was ready to engage in a fight with her. "You're the ones who-"
"Stay put, Sir Bedivere." Arthur told him, putting his arm in front of the knight. "So you're this Arthur Pendragon's Mordred, correct? How unusual. Mine is a young man. I reckon however that your title still must be the same."
"What? That 'treachery' bullcrap? Who cares!" Mordred exclaimed, putting on her helmet. "After I kill you, the imposter, and present your head to my father as my final act of atonment, that whole thing will be pardoned!" She then quickly charged torwards Arthur, aiming to wound him fatally.
"King Arthur, watch out!" Bedivere exclaimed in alarm as well as the rest of the party.
But the King of Knights showed to be extremely calm even in danger. "You sure? Those words you speak, don't seem to carry the amount of certainty that you wish to think so."
"!?"
In a quick second, Arthur simply swinged Excalibur at Mordred, now being behind her in a blink of an eye. "I sense conflict within you. Just like my Mordred." He lowered Excalibur, with Mordred quickly bleeding from an unpredictable slash on her armour.
"Ghg!"
"Both of you act childish and impulsively, insecure about yourselves." Arthur speaked with a rebuking tone.
With Mordred on her knees, Arthur begun to walk away, only to be stopped by the soldier knights who pointed their weapons at him.
"Oi oi! Who the hell are you calling 'insecure', you damn snob!" Mordred said in an angry tone, trying to get up. "Our fight hasn't barely started!"
"Sorry." Arthur replied, not even looking at her or giving Mordred any importance. "But we're in a hurry. You can leave that for other occasion."
"!" A declaration that pierced on Mordred's very own core, sounding provocative to her even if that wasn't Arthur's intention. Such 'disdain' for her. It really was a copy of her father. "Grrr! In a hurry you say? Ooh, I get, I get it!" The Knight of Treachery pierced her sword on the ground as her fury was giving her energy to get back on her feet, red electricity beggining to surge from the blade. "You think I became a knight due to nepotism, asshole?! I don't know a thing about your Mordred, but I've worked my ass to death just to become one! To be the worthy successor of my father! And now you, a faker, comes here to mock all that? The true Arthur Pendragon would face me, coward!"
"..." Arthur remained silent, listening but still not giving a glance to the raging Mordred, who with red lightening coming out of her armour, took off her helmet and sprinted in fury with Clarent torwards the King of Knights once again.
"I won't tolerate to be looked down by a plagiarist like you!" She yelled, coming to attack once again.
"King Arthur, look out!" Ritsuka and the party warned him in alarm once again.
"Kristallblume!"
However, this time Arthur wasn't the one who acted, but Nala in her armour, having clashed her sword with Mordred's, preventing her from hitting Arthur.
"What?!" Mordred exclaimed in surprise as Nala was able to push her away.
"Good one, Nala!" Ritsuka exclaimed, he and the others about to join in.
"You want a fight?" Nala gave a defiant and determinent look to Mordred
"You damn shortie again..." Mordred grumbled in anger, remembering of their first confront back at the West Village and how she lost there, having paid for that humiliation. She was also looking to fight Nala again, wanting revenge.
"I'll give you a fight!" Nala shouted, immediatly jumping forwards with her legs torwards Mordred, surprising the Knight of Treachery because instead of attacking with her weapon, the girl slammed her body onto Mordred, putting her arms around the knight's torso.
"What the fuck are you-" Mordred yelled in indignation as both she and Nala were launched meters away in high velocity, hitting the garden's railling, resulting in both of them to fall from the garden and go falling all the way down to the bottom layer.
"Nala!" Peko shouted in shock as he and the rest approached the garden's edge, no longer seeing signs of either Nala nor Mordred, the girl having taken the knight down with her in order to not stop the party's progress.
"She'll be alright!" Mash told to Peko. "We have to trust she's able to defeat Mordred on her own!" The shielder added, looking down to the lower layer. "Please be alright, Nala."
Peko however was still a bit startled. "B-But-"
"We don't have time to lose, Peko! I'm sure Nala knows this and will be just fine!" Ritsuka said, snapping him out of it. "Like Mash said, trust in her!"
"...R-Right!" Peko replied, coming to terms that both Ritsuka and Mash were speaking the truth. Nala bought them a lot of time with this, and they couldn't waste it.
However, the soldier knight's of Mordred still remained in the guarden for them to fight.
"Sir Mordred might be out of your way, but we-ugh!"
Without warning, Sanzang came forward and kicked down some soldier knights without much effort. "Go ahead! It's my turn to open way to you now!" The lady monk said to the party.
"You sure you can handle all of them alone?" Bedivere asked her, not having other party member or units of the army to fight alongside her against the enemies.
"I sure do! I can multiply like clouds, remember?" Sanzang giggled to him and the others. "Now, you know the drill! Forward and only forward!"
"Good luck, Sanzang!" Ritsuka told her as he and the other run past her as she entered in combat with the soldier knights in the garden.
Being inside the Holy City buildings now, the party was going up a spiralling stair case now, going up to the other layer of the Holy City as combat noises and explosions could be heard on the outside.
"Hey...Guys...C..An you hear me?" Trying to establish contact, Romani appeared in his hologram to them.
"Doctor!" Mash exclaimed.
"Loud and clear, doc!" Ritsuka responded.
"Finally! Due to all the disturbance happening in the Holy City, its mana interfearence might have gotten weaker and I go to establish contact with you!" Romani explained, happy to get in contact with the group again. Until he saw most of them were missing. "Wait a sec! Where's Nala? And Leonardo? And everyone else?"
"Don't worry! They're alive!" Peko said before Romani could've started thinking on the worst. "They just decided to stay behind and hold the enemies back, saving us a lot of time to try and reach the Lion King before she activates her plan!"
"Is that so? Then I think that explains it!" Romani said, accepting the explanation before typping on the keyboard. "I was also able to scan out more or less a map of the Holy City at last!" He said, showing it to them. "I hope it is kinda accurate with the place!"
"It will certainly help us find our way to the Lion King faster!" Arthur replied as the party reached to the top of the staircase, finding themselves in a long hallway.
"The exit is right ahead!" Bedivere pointed to the end of the hallway, being where they would be heading.
As the group begun going there however, Romani detected something on his monitor. "Hm? Watch out! An Heroic Spirit is-"
From the walls to their right, the party was surprised as an energetic Gawain bursted through, catching them off guard. Giving them no time to react properly, Gawain grabbed Bedivere and took him to the left wall of the hallway, breaking through that one as well. And another one behind. And the one after. And a fourth and fifth one, using Bedivere as shield to burst through them before finally throwing the Knight of Loyalty's body torwards a pillar.
"Kghgrrhg!" Bedivere coughed blood as his entire body had just been crashed through walls five times.
"Still playing as a traitor, Bedivere?" Gawain asked him, drawing Galatine out.
"G-Gawain!" Bedivere gave him a rough look as the Knight of the Sun brought down his sword at him, making Bedivere react in time and parry the attack before rolling away from Gawain's vision and getting up on his feet. "If only you could understand why I'm doing this!"
"But I do, Bedivere!" Gawain said, trying to approach him only to block an incoming light bullet.
"Bedivere, are you alright?" Peko asked him as he and the others were fast to join him.
"I can still fight, so definetly!" Bedivere replied back, telling the others he was okay.
"I see that the Young Prince has also got into this." Gawain said with some lament and pity, his vision proceeding to stare at Arthur now. "And the imposter that bares our king's name as well, finally deciding to show up as well."
"Please put the sword down, Gawain! You don't have to do this!" Peko pleaded to the Knight of the Sun. "We don't want to fight you!"
"I'm sure you might not want to, but you surely want to fight and kill my king!" Gawain refuted Peko's pleas.
"Not sure if those choice of words are the most convincing if you want a guy to not fight you." Romani said on Peko's attempt to beg Gawain to not fight them.
"Not now doctor!" Ritsuka told him immediatly.
"The king you serve Gawain, is nothing more but an empty shell of what was once our king!" Bedivere told him. "Our majesty is now trapped by the identity that calls herself 'Lion King'! Can't you grasp it? The Lion King ain't our king!"
To that, Gawain responded shortly but with impact. "I know. And I chose to remain loyal."
"What?" Bedivere frowned.
"I said that I am aware that the Arthur Pendragon in this Singularity, the one that built the Holy City, is not the king we knew and served during our previous lives." Gawain repeated, revealing he was fully aware that the Lion King wasn't actually Artoria Pendragon.
Bedivere was incredulous. "And you chose to pledge loyalty to the Lion King because...?"
"Because she summoned us here, having requested our aid." Gawain explained. "Can't you understand, Bedivere? Whatever business or oath we had for our previous king, ended the moment he died and Camelot fell. Therefore, I am simply serving a new king now. One that I hope to not fail and let die, unlike our beloved king Arthur before."
Bedivere cleenched his teeth. "And that's your excuse for having commited all this slaughter?! Because you're so blindly devoted to a ruler who was never yours?!"
"But it is now!" Gawain exclaimed, rising his voice. "From the very moment I slayed the other knights, those who refused to accept the Lion King, I no longer was king Arthur's knight but of the Lion King! It is to that king I pledge my loyalty to now!" He said, resolute in his statement. "If our king, Artoria Pendragon, was here in this Singularity it might would have been a different case, but it ain't! Whether I am summoned by a virtuous or tirant ruler, I shall always offer my faithfulness to them! There's nothing more knightly than being loyal to their kings, Bedivere!" Calming his voice down, he then stared to Arthur. "Plus, you yourself seemed to have found a new king to serve as well."
"I admit, your loyalty to the Lion King is admirable." Arthur speaked, praising him on that aspect. "However, it makes you unloyal to your previous king, denying the Knight of Loyalty to save her from the identity that occupies her body. Are you really comfortable with it? To know that by swearing loyalty to a new king, you've turned your back on the previous one?"
"Like I said before, my duties to Artoria Pendragon ended the moment she died. It is now the Lion King's will that my sword serves." Gawain brandished Galatine. "And I shall not let you get near my king!"
"Is loyalty that great when you commit attrocities for your king? When you kill innocents in his name?" Mash confronted him. "I thought Sir Gawain was better minded than this!"
Peko joined in. "You don't like to do that, do you? I know that you don't! That murdering average people to you is abhorring!" He exclaimed to Gawain, tring to convince him to not fight them. "That you don't want to be that type of ruthless knight!"
However, Gawain already seemed too far gone in his loyalty to the Lion King. "The greatest knights are those who follow and obey their king, no matter how attrocious an order is. The maiden of the shield, or rather, the knight inside her should know of this already."
"..." Mash frowned at him, putting her shield in position as Gawain called Galahad out.
"As for the Young Prince, if you truly are a prince, then perhaps there will be one day were you understand what the true meaning of being a knight is." He told to Peko.
"Tsk! It's no use." Ritsuka said, seeing that Gawain would be obedient to the Lion King until the end, having him collared since the start.
"But you know, Bedivere." Unexpectedly, Gawain smiled sadly. "With all that kindness of yours, perhaps you could've given some humanity to the Lion King if you had arrived earlier. And then, who knows..." He put in the air a wishful reality where Bedivere could have been there since the start to avoid all the pain that followed in this Singularity.
"Gawain..." Bedivere murmured, wondering if he was peeking at a rare side of the Knight of the Sun. One that in the end, desired that all this tragedy had been avoided.
"But that won't be necessary." Gawain said. "Not when my king will achieve utopia!" He exclaimed, finally launching torwards the group, starting the fight.
"!" Bedivere defended himself immediatly with his sword, blocking Gawain's potent attack.
Arthur came in aid already, aiming to attack Gawain on his left side, the Knight of the Sun however blocking Excalibur with quick reflexes, pushing Arthur away and kicking Bedivere in the stomach.
"Luminary Route!"
Not wanting to give Gawain time to breath, Peko quickly approach him, poitning his finger at the knight's head, about to fire a powerful light bullet.
"Ghg!" Being caught almost off guard, Gawain put Galatine in front of his face by instinct, Peko's light bullet hitting powerfully the knight's blade, causing a bright explosion in that moment that temporarily blinded everyone else as well as damaged the room they were in.
Coughing while waving the dust away from him, Ritsuka opened his eyes "P-Peko..!"
As the dust dissapeared, it revealed a big hole in the middle of the room, with Peko and Gawain nowhere to be seen.
"Peko!" Ritsuka shouted, going near the hole to see if he could spot his friend, but alas, he too had gone away with Gawain, just like Nala with Mordred.
"Peko's still alive!" Romani informed them as Mash also went torwards Ritsuka and near the hole. "But he and Gawain have both gone down a few floors!"
"Are you fine with leaving your friend to fend off against Gawain alone?" Arthur asked to Ritsuka.
"..." Ritsuka didn't respond immediatly. Unlike Nala, Peko didn't had an armour or ascension form to highten his senses, being obviously weaker. And Gawain was obviously stronger than Mordred.
"Master..." Mash was also a bit worried about leaving Peko to fight alone against Gawain.
However, after everything they've gone through, all the challenges and adversities surpassed, Ritsuka had to believe in Peko just like he believed in Nala. "Yes! Peko can do it!" He responded, getting up. "We have to keep going and reach the throne room!" He then turned his head to look at Mash. "Are you fine with it, Mash?"
"I am!" Mash replied. She had to have faith in Peko as well after all.
"Good! Then let's get going!" Arthur told them.
"According to the map, there is other upper layer you need to go to!" Romani informed them, checking the map. "After that, you will be on the same layer as the entrance to the castle!"
"So we're almost there!" Bedivere said as the four of them went back to the hallway they were before Gawain appeared and attacked, heading torwards the exit.
The sounds of the war waged on throughout the entire Holy City. The noises of swords clashing, the soldiers screaming their war cries, the explosions popping off, the buildings that were such carefully detailed now crumbling like an house of cards. Such turbulent chaos, fitting for the stage of the final battle.
However, sitting on her throne, at the highest place of the Holy City, almost touching the sky itself, Artoria Pendragon, or rather, the Lion King, didn't pay mind to all the ruckus happening down there, behaving like an emotionless goddess observing inferior species fighting one another from her place. The only thing that she could consider as an inconvenience in the slightest was the fact she would need to rebuilt almost the entire Holy City when ascending to her utopia. That and how she witnessed Excalibur being used once again after so much time, but against her, feeling somehow a jab at her pride. But it were things she could overlook.
After all, the Lion King's plan was nearly ready. In about an hour, the tower that would guide her to utopia would be completed, and her goal achieved. The objective was so close that she couldn't bother to care about the hardships happening in all of the Holy City. However, there was someone that wasn't having the same patience as hers.
Opening her eyes, the Lion King saw the presence that had come unannounced. "What does thoust wish to speak with me, Agravain?"
Standing in front of his king, Agravain took a respectful bow, knowing what he was about to propose to the lion King would be risky. "My king, I do am aware of the fact that Your Majesty's tower is about to culminate its complition. However, with all due respect, not desiring to sound impertinent with thee, may I suggest the following?" He looked to his king in the eyes. "Could the king, activate the tower at this exact instant?"
The party had gotten so much smaller compared to when they started the raid on the Holy City. What was originally a bigger party had now gone down to only four members, everyone else staying behind or separating ways, separing huge time to the ones tha were still going, hoping to prevent the Lion king from unleashing her tower before it was too late.
"Who do you think we're gonna run into next? Agravain?" Ritsuka asked to the others as they were running across a bridge.
"Maybe! But I truly wish we wouldn't get anyone else in our way torwards the Lion King anymore!" Mash replied.
"We can't be sure! Stay on alert!" Arthur adviced.
"But if it is Agravain that shows up, we will have to be careful with him!" Bedivere said. "He's scheming and rigorous, never underestimating opponents! He was a very great advisor and strategist during our previous life! A fundamental piece to Camelot's prosperity!"
"We could already tell that by the time we first met him at the fort when rescuing Touta and Serenity!" Mash brought it up, agreeing with Bedivere's view on Agravain.
"Really?"
From nowhere, an arrow passed incredibly close to Bedivere's face, scratching him on the cheek and the knight slightly tilted his head in reaction. "!"
"Watch out!" Arthur and the party stopped as they saw another person approaching from the other end of the bridge. Another knight of the Round Table.
"Agravain is nothing more but an irascible fool that loves to be on top of authority! What about me?" Tristan speaked to them, a cockish smile on his face.
"Of course there had to be someone else we were forgetting!" Bedivere gave him a rude glare. "Tristan!"
"Hi there, Bedivere! How is that toy arm of yours doing? Does it still hurt?" Tristan mentioned Airgétlam, remembering their previous encounter. "Also, a surprise to see you already here this early. It took you to reach here exactly what? An hour? It must be a new record!" The Knight of Lamentation joked, still with that normal yet sadistic smile with hints of mockery.
"Step aside! We don't have time for this!" Arthur demanded to Tristan, being able to tell that there was something wrong with this Knight of Lamentation.
"Hehehe, a pleasure to see 'Your Majesty' as well, Arthur Pendragon." Tristan made a sarcastic bow to the King of Knights. "And I wondered how the imposter would look like. Guess I am not dissapointed."
"You will regret picking up a fight with us now!" Ritsuka told him.
Tristan chuckled. "A fight? Oh no no no. You don't quite understand do you? I am not looking for a fight, per say." The knight grabbed his bow and arrow. "Rather, I just want to stall you for enough time until my king's tower is complete. His Majesty can't have party crashers at such important time like this." He said, ready to take aim and fire at the party.
"But we want to fight you."
"Hm?" Hearing a voice, Tristan was almost caught by surprise as a flying dagger passed closely on his face, taking some hair out.
"You like to be smuggish, don't you? Well then, we will rip off that smug from your annoying face!"
Appearing beetween the party and Tristan, the Hassan trio had came out of the shadow to confront the knight.
"Don't ever think you can mess with our Order and live without consequences!" Serenit said as a threat.
"You three are here!" Mash exclaimed, pleasently surprised by their presence.
"weren't you trying to reach the throne room without being detected?" Bedivere asked the trio.
"We were. But then, we felt the presence of a certain individual that needed to be rightfully punished." Cursed Arm replied, giving a menacing glare to Tristan. "You shall face the wrath of the Hashashin, insolent young man!"
"Arash and all who died on that day will be avenged!" Serenity exclaimed.
That only resulted in more scorn from Tristan. "Ah, so this is still about them? About the archer who I can barely even remember his name? Those simple nameless with no relevance whatsoever?"
"!" Bedivere closed his fist, thinking how much Tristan could dare calling Arash a nameless with no relevance? Everyone else also felt some level of anger to Tristan's provocation.
"Enjoy talking with that spiteful tongue while you still can, asshole." Hundred Personas replied, dangling a dagger in her fingers. "We're gonna make sure that you won't use it again!"
"Scary." Tristan said calmly, still smirking and chuckling. "But fine. It's always good getting rid of filthy mountain people like you. After that, I'm going to take care of who really matters."
"Fujimaru, everyone. Continue please!" Cursed Arm said to the party behind them.
"Careful! Tristan can also play dirty!" Bedivere warned the trio.
"We know. That's why we came up with a plan to kill him." Serenity responded.
"Really?" Ritsuka asked.
"Yes. It will work! Trust us!" Cursed Arm said, taking out some daggers. "Now go!" He shouted, throwing the daggers to Tristand who dodged and counter-attacked with his arrows.
Both Serenity and Hundred Personas dodged, proceeding to try and attack the Knight of Lamentation on both sides of the bridge, with Tristan having to dodge and block out of the way, forcefully stepping aside, making way for the party.
Ritsuka and the others wasted no chance as they sprinted all the way, heading to the other end of the bridge. "Thank you guys!" He shouted back to Cursed Arm and the other two.
"Take care! Free the people from this torment, master of Chaldea!" Cursed Arm shouted back.
"Ghg!" As Tristan tried to aim and shot at the fleeing group he was stopped by the duo of Serenity and Hundred Personas.
"What do you think you can do?" Serenity said coldly behind him.
"You're ours now." Hundred Personas said with same coldness at the front.
"Tsk!" And so Tristan once again stepped out of the way, now having the trio of Cursed Arm, Serenity and Hundred Personas preventing him from hunting down the party. He gave the assassins a forceful smile, evidence that he was annoyed. "Okay. You shall here the melody of Failnaught then!"
"My king, please! I beg of thee-"
"There is no need for it, Agravain."
At the top of the tower, in the throne room, Agravain was trying almost beggingly to convince the Lion King to activate the tower before the expected time.
"But understand it my liége! I know that the moment is nigh but we cannot take any risks! I don't want to vehemently go against the king's will but it is one of those occasions that it needs to be done!" Agravin insisted. "The reports tell that our enemies, the chaldeans, have made a faster progress than we had anticipated! They can be here at any moment now!"
Despite the constant warning, 'Artoria Pendragon' did not seemed bothered. "If our foes do arrive to stop us, I myself will personally dispose of them. If anything, my credence on the other knights is enough to consider that it will be enough to halt the enemy. Sooner or later, Chaldea will be annihilated. Be it by my judgement or of my knights."
Seeing that nothing was working to changer her mind, Agravain decided to tackle on another angle. "But what if it isn't the chaldeans that pose a real threat to Your Majesty? What if The Blight instead shows up again? Those demonic creatures and many more? Possibly being way worse than the last time!"
"..." Having brought that topic to the conversation, a slight change appeared on the Lion King's face, beggining to have some doubts. If Man of Sin or Solomon showed up to ruin her plans right before the tower could be summoned, it would be a despairing problem that she wishes to avoid.
"With the chaldeans and our other enemies now attacking us, having more showing up to take the chance would be dreadful, Your Majesty!" Agravain exclaimed. "The Holy Selection is needed no more! The final touches are being finished! The king can with all his power and will unleashed it right now, before it's too late! We can't afford to throw everything to waste right when we are at the cusp of obtaning that utopia the king craves so much for!"
Not replying immediatly, taking some long seconds to think with her stoic face, the Lion King had decided. "So shall it be." She said, oblying to do Agravain's request, getting up from the throne.
Agravain sighed in relief. "Thank you for thee understanding, my king."
Heading to the balcony, the Lion King summoned her sacred lance, Rhongomyniad, and pointed it to the skies. "Let the sacred lance ascend."
"Ghg!" Getting up from the ground, Nala recovered from the huge fall she took alongside Mordred. "That was...quite the fall!"
"Tsk! DAMMIT!" Shouting, Nala spotted the Knight of Treachery, Mordred, punching a boulder away as it was revealed a small wodden detritus had impaled her on the leg. "Fucking...stupid...brat!" She said, being able to get up despite the pain, removing the piece of wood from her leg.
Neither her nor Nala seemed to have been much damaged by the fall.
But as both were recovering, the entire ground begun to shake, almost making them lose balance.
"W-What's happening?!" Nala asked in surprise.
"Cough cough!" Coughin as the smoke around was dissipating, Peko looked above to find a hole in the ceilling from where he and Gawain had fallen after their clash. "I need to get back to the others! But..." Looking to the front, the boy saw the figure of Gawain come out from the smoke.
"I know you don't want this, Young Prince. But there is no other way." Gawain told him, Galatine in his hands and ready to fight.
Mentalizing himself to fight the Knight of the Sun, Peko took a deep breath and tighten the grip on his sword. "Bring i-!?"
But then, the two felt everything around them trembling.
"What's this?!" Peko exclaimed in shock. "The entire chamber is shaking!"
Maintaining his equilibrium, Gawain looked up, much likely guessing what it meant. "Right now, my king?"
"Hm?"
"The entire city is trembling!"
"Even the castle!"
The Hassan trio were all shocked as they also saw and felt it.
Tristan couldn't help but to smirk. "So it begins."
The quakes were felt everywhere, be it at the Holy City's entrance.
"This can only be a bad omen!" Touta said as he and Saruhan, alongside the army and enemies, were all surprised by the sudden rumbling.
"Is the earth about to split?" Saruhan questioned.
On the first layer of the city.
"Careful, Lady Da Vinci!" Lancelot said as he grabbed Da Vinci's hand, preventing her from stumbling.
"Thank you! This cannot be natural!" Da Vinci replied. "Do you know what it is?"
Sweat runned down Lancelot's face as he had a good theory. "Nothing good, I tell you."
Or even on the most upper layer, where the party was getting closer to the castle's entrance.
"Master! The ground is...!" Mash alerted Ritsuka.
"I know Mash! Something's off!" Ritsuka replied.
"Fooooooooouuu!"
"Look! The tower up there!" Bedivere pointed up to the tallest tower of the castle as he noticed something happening with it.
Upon glaring at it, Arthur's eyes widened. "It can't be!"
Looking to the tower as well, both Ritsuka and Mash went mouth open, speechless.
Even Romani showed up. "The mana energy of that tower is...It revealed its true form!"
The tower had transformed. Its exterior was now purely golden and bright, like a giant pillar of light, many times bigger than the one of Arthur's Excalibur. A light so tall, that it could pierce the heavens, because it was the tower of heaven, the one that connected the Lion King's Holy City to her promised utopia.
The throne room was now gone, only remaining its floor and the throne, now being completly out in the open, the tallest location of the castle. The land around the kingdom begun to be erased, dissapearing from space, the Singularity itself beggining to vanish with all its territory. Only the Lion King's holy domain would be spared, transported to the heavens and roaming around forever out of time and space flux. A thing to happen when all of the territory was erased until nothing left.
"Witness, simple humans. A work beyond your capabilities and reasoning." The Lion King saw the golden particles of light flying torwards the skies. "I presume you are witnessing it too, Young Finsternis." She had to be thankful for having got a part of the light from Peko's soul, being enough to make up for the final parts and much more, finalizing her project. The giant sacred lance of light that anchored this Singularity's layer to the paradise above. "My ark that will guide this pure garden to its destination: Rhongomyniad."
To be continued...
And that was it for chapter 117!
I know, I know that it was fast-paced. Very fast-paced. But it was already to set up the fights that will happen in these final chapters of Camelot, so this chapter here was essentialy an entire build-up for those fights that will occur next. So this finale of Camelot will basically be a 'run the gauntlet' of fights. Important ones as well. Every chapter from here until the last one, a different fight.
Look forward to those!
Aaand, that's basically all I wanted to say! See you next time on chapter 118! Peace!
P.S:
Peko: Everyone! Let's escape from this place before it collapses on us! Hop into my motorcycle!
(Árma Hermes ends up getting crowded, with Peko, Nala, Mash, Ritsuka and Kadoc all jammed on one another)
Mash: Thinking better, Peko, this may not have been your best idea.
Peko: Yeah...
Heracles: *Roars* (Does it have space for one more?)
Ritsuka: Sorry, Herc. You'll have to go on foot.
Heracles: *Roars* (Understandable master. I don't mind running anyways.)
