The Mercenary King was a legend.
A man who was supposedly the strongest beyond even Alfia and Zald.
Wielding a silver longsword, his swordsmanship was said to embody the concept of 'perseverance' and 'will.'
As if to cement that perspective, Ais had never doubted it. Part of the reason she'd taken up the sword was because her father was said to be a master of it.
Growing up, Ais could barely remember much of her parent's true strength, but the vague memories were spurred from the familiarity of Saber's swordsmanship.
Heralded by a Valkyrie, Saber had come into the foray like a devastating bolt of lightning.
Great Cleave.
Hefting his arms back, Saber swung his sword down against the Black Dragon's maw and shattered its protruding horn by the chin. The momentum of the swing carried backwards and cut a valley into the distant hills beyond the Black Dragon.
Ais felt her heart shake as she shook her head and continued staring.
The Black Dragon recoiled, trying to make room for itself, but its massive body met an immovable wall as Archer beat it back towards Saber.
Thrashing and roaring, the Black Dragon swung its claws at Saber.
Sparks clashed as steel met Draconic talons.
Parry, and pommel smash.
Bucking his leg up, Saber pushed, dislodged his sword from the Black Dragon's talon, and rammed the pommel of his blade into the Black Dragon's snout.
Recoiling, the Black Dragon shot a breath of blue fire to engulf everyone, but before the flames could even escape it mouth, a green comet flashed through the side and forced it closed.
The Black Dragon's throat bulged from the shafted flames, and smoke billowed out past its serrated teeth.
"Ais!"
Bell's shout snapped Ais out of her musings. As much as she and many others were taken in by the level of combat Saber and the others were displaying, the situation for the entirety of the party was growing dire.
For each blow Saber inflicted, more and more bone spurs and even scales were being shed by the Black Dragon and converted into a horde of Dragon-Bone warriors.
Now wasn't the time to gawk.
Shifting backwards, Ais raised her sword and pushed back her nearest adversary.
The blow was shallow, the enemy lacking flesh and making the sharpness of her sword rather useless. If not for the anti-dragon properties Shirou had gifted to everyone on the Raid Party, the entire formation would have already collapsed.
"Ais, stick close!"
Turning to her side, Finn appeared with a grave expression. He twisted his spear into the ribcage of several Dragon-Bone Warriors, and then channeled the strength of his Falna into his weapon, imbuing it with Loki's Divinity.
With another shake, and swift upward motion, Finn broke the connection of the Dragon-Bone warrior's vertebra and kicked the other bones away.
"Finn…" Ais murmured, knowing that she'd been caught red-handed by being here.
"Loki already knew," Finn said before turning his attention to Bell who helped smuggle Ais along. Now wasn't the time for lectures though.
"This is crazy." Finn couldn't help but mutter as he took account of the entire battle around the Raid Party.
From up high, spears of light were being shot forward by Assassin's units towards the growing number of Dragon-Bone warriors, but even then, it wasn't enough.
The rowdier members of the Raid Party were already pushing forward and ignoring any semblance of a defensive formation. This was what happened when gathering Raid Party members of another Familia.
Skilled or not, trust and teamwork wasn't something that was built by just gathering people together.
"Amazons!"
Penthesilea was a prime example as battle lust bled into her eyes, the Amazons around her crying out to her rallying call and following their Warrior Queen. "Attack, bring glory!"
With Penthesilea in the lead, she threw spiked chained balls attached to her ankles forward as if they weighed nothing. Imbued with Shirou's reinforcement and anti-dragon properties, they were far more effective than before.
With each sweep, the Amazon Queen crushed and snapped bone, leading her troops deeper into enemy territory and causing Finn's expression to sour further.
Ais on the other hand could not be happy with Finn's order to stay near him.
Her entire objective in coming to this battle was to search for any remnant of her parents that may remain stuck on the Black Dragon which she could give to Caster. Flesh caught in the dragon's teeth, or even articles of clothing -anything like that was what Ais was desperate for.
If she stayed near Finn, there was no way Finn would permit her to venture close to where Saber and the others were fighting the Black Dragon.
Ais opened her mouth as stubbornness clouded her expression, but Finn was faster. Grabbing Ais and Bell, he retreated further as a wall of ice and cold froze over oncoming enemies in their direction.
On the other end of the ice, Riveria nodded her head to Finn as he secured the safety of those they cared about. Selfish as it was, everyone had a bias towards those they didn't wish to see hurt or dead.
BANG!
For a second, everyone gave pause and stared back towards the area where three men squared off against a massive Black Dragon.
A wave of potent magic energy had pushed back all three Servants.
Rider steadied his chariot in the sky after being pushed back several kilometers, while Archer was buried in the dirt.
Saber was no different from the other two. Rather, the primary focus of the energy discharge had been focused on him, sending him tumbling further away than the other two.
Clicking his tongue, Saber glanced from the sword in his hand, and then back towards the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
What he needed was a clean shot. A blow that needed to be delivered at full power rather than glancing strikes.
The Black Dragon's hide was thick, and the magic energy coursing through its body able to regenerate conventionary wounds.
Moreover, that pulse of magic energy was unmistakable in Saber's eyes.
Dragon Spirit.
Not only did this Dragon skill increase the strength of its breath attack, but it did so by several folds.
Saber wasn't concerned about himself or his fellow Servants tanking the blow, but the same could not be said for the Master and the Raid Party if the area of effect was too wide.
"Saber. Trust us."
Right.
As a voice echoed in Saber's mind, Saber was reminded that he was not fighting alone.
He would make his preparations before indulging himself in impulse.
The legend of Siegfried and Sigurd didn't have them slaying the Evil Dragon out of recklessness, but from a place of readiness.
Defense was no longer a concern.
Saber pushed himself off of the ground and held his sword before him as a medium to help channel his magic energy.
He would place his trust in his comrades and the party they led.
And in turn, he would bring about the twilight.
-Did they just get pushed back?
Rider was different because the green aura of his Divinity made him a beacon in the skies, but Saber and Archer were different.
Saber had been pushed to the back of the Raid Party where he'd stood up and began preparing for an attack, but Archer was nowhere in sight.
However, it didn't take long to locate Archer as a rugged arm pierced through several feet of dirt and stone.
Dusting himself off, Archer narrowed his eyes as both he and Rider noted Saber's intentions.
As warriors, both Rider and Archer understood that Saber's strikes would always be the most effective against the Black Dragon. Although theirs could be just as strong if not greater, the magic energy of the Black Dragon would mitigate much of the damage.
"Buy Saber time!" Shirou yelled, revealing the current strategy to everyone.
Rider and Archer nodded and immediately moved to help contain the One-Eyed Black Dragon, but everything changed within the span of a single second.
From the moment Saber committed to gathering his magic energy to bolster himself to his peak level, the One-Eyed Black Dragon's behaviour changed.
As if sensing its natural enemy, the Black Dragon could feel the danger emanating from Saber.
Just like Saber, the Black Dragon instinctively knew that it was no longer the time to hesitate.
Roaring, the Black Dragon used the full extent of its body's core and affinity with mana to become the ultimate conduit of magic energy.
The sheer volume of power it harnessed within itself all at once left both Rider and Archer no choice but to halt their advance towards it.
"It's going all in," Rider hardened his expression knowing that his mother and father were part of the Raid party. "Can you snipe it down, Archer?"
"It's amassed too much energy. Regardless of its aim or stopping it, the energy will be released into the surrounding area. Taking cover would be wise." Archer said observantly.
The area trembled, the ground cracking and splintering into tiny crevices that continued to spiral out towards the Raid Party.
Having been blinded with adrenaline and battle lust, it was only after a shockwave from the Black Dragon's build up of energy blew over them, that Penthesilea and the Amazons realized they'd strayed too far from the Raid Party.
It was even worse for Penthesilea who'd spear-headed the Amazon's movement towards the densest location of Dragon-Bone Warriors. Even her own fellow Amazons could not keep pace with her.
A cold sweat matted Penthesilea's brow as realization dawned.
Fighting her way out had not been a concern, but staring at the Black Dragon readying what could only be a massive breath meant that she'd have little time to get to sufficient cover.
She could…die here.
Clenching her jaw, the Amazon Queen did not cower or give up, rather, she turned back and fought even fiercer to get herself out of the hole she dug.
She'd rather die than drag down a comrade or tarnish the reputation of the Amazons and would not willingly call for help.
Yet, someone else seemed to know what kind of personality she had because he was already moving upon noting Penthesilea's location.
A whistle sounded clearly in the Amazon Queen's ears, spurring her to glance up at the direction of the noise.
There Rider was, his chariot turned upside down and an arm outstretched, a suave smirk on his face.
He was mouthing something to her even while rapidly approaching at a safe speed.
'Raise.'
What?
'Your.'
The Amazon Queen stood dumbfoundedly in place as she read Rider's lips.
'Hand.'
Before Penthesilea could really process what she was doing, days of sparring against Rider and taking lessons and beatings from him had engrained a subconscious instinct to listen.
She raised her hand before she knew it.
As Rider low swept above her, at a reasonable speed that wouldn't injure upon collision, Rider grabbed her hand in his own and carried her out into the air.
In that moment, the two stared at each others eyes. One pair was in a daze, and the other thoughtful, though Penthesilea was loath to admit it.
"…Thanks." She still had her pride.
Rider laughed uproariously in response, causing Penthesilea to feel flustered for the first time in her life.
"S-Shut up you bastard!" The Amazon Queen yelled while dragged to safety.
Rider stopped to pick up Archer, and then moved to raise his shield in front of where his mother and father were in the Raid Party.
Meanwhile, the situation was not looking good overall.
Rider could only help so many behind his shield, but the overall Raid party was huge.
There would be no getting away for everyone from this attack, and that fact was widely understood.
Those caught in the blast would surely die, and if Caster was caught up in it too then…
"Stay back, this isn't the time to put on a bravado!" Hephaestus warned sincerely, eyes going wide as Shirou of all people began to take action.
The group was already panicking as several had joined from outside Orario. They knew not of Caster's ability to revive the dead and were blatantly breaking ranks as the threat of death loomed.
In the midst of everything, Shirou's actions quickly caught the eye of Hephaestus who had been sticking near him like glue.
"Listen to me!" Hephaestus felt her voice grow shrill out of concern. She didn't even know she could make such a voice.
But Shirou was a stubborn bastard. A mule set in his ways.
"I cannot." Shirou said, shifting his attention away from Hephaestus and towards the Black Dragon.
Saber was putting his trust in him and the others. To not act now was to tarnish that trust. Moreover, if he didn't act, then many would die.
That reason was enough. Shirou hadn't been shunted to different worlds be Zelretch for no reason. Each and every place he'd gone to had enabled him to learn and gain experience.
There was also a sole fundamental truth.
One didn't come to be called a Hero by listening to convention, but by somehow overcoming it.
Beyond titles or recognition, saving lives was something that was fundamental to the ideal he'd sought to uphold and continue in Arturia's name.
It was not wrong to save others.
"I said stop!" Hephaestus could not stand Shirou's actions any longer and directly tried to restrain him.
However, what Shirou said next gave her pause.
"You do no need to show such concern for my sake," Shirou said with all honesty.
He had no clue as to why Zelretch had given him the condition to conceal his origin and blur his background, but he was already feeling guilty enough as it is.
If Hephaestus did not concern herself too deeply with him, then that was for the best. But given the direction things were going; he had to draw a line for Hephaestus's sake more than his.
"What is a weapon?" Shirou asked, deciding to use a blacksmith's mentality to convince a fellow blacksmith.
He would never have known how deeply the question struck home to Hephaestus whose mouth opened and closed like a fish.
Regardless, Shirou continued talking.
"A weapon or a tool only ever has a single purpose."
Gathering his magic energy, circuit-like patterns began forming over Shirou's skin. Carrying heat and steel, the aura around him was reminiscent to the kindling before a grand forge.
"Its to be used on behalf of the wielder."
What flashed before Hephaestus's mind was the process that she had deemed would create the ultimate masterpiece. Her life's work.
"And I, I only need to know which direction to point, which direction to seek."
"No. No. That was never the intention!" Hephaestus's eye widened as emotion bled into her tone. "Y-You were meant to-tch. Do you know what you are saying?!" She demanded.
"I do."
He was drawing the line. Don't think of him as a person, but as a tool.
It was easier that way, just like the countless people who'd left Shirou behind in his arduous search.
Ever since he could recall from the memories dredged in flames, it was who he was and who he had become.
Shirou stared forward at the Black Dragon that was amassing a huge swell of magic energy in a bid to wipe out Saber and everything in his direction entirely.
It was time.
"I am the Bone of my Sword."
Hephaestus's expression grew ashen at the mantra-like declaration that differed from ordinary chant magic. In that line was pure belief; the purest sort of conviction unmarred by anything else that sought to describe Shirou as a person.
If it was here, and with this much energy supplied into him through Zelretch's machinations, then it would be possible.
Shirou began to focus under the weight of the One-Eyed Black Dragon's coming attack.
In a state where the armoury of an Unlimited Blade Works was fueled by an unending source of energy from the Second True Magic, the limitation was his body's ability to conduct that energy alone.
If flesh and blood could not suffice, then simply change the property.
"Steel is my body, and Fire is my blood."
"Y-You," Hephaestus barely managed to choke the word out as her Divine Eye of a blacksmith suddenly designated Shirou as a 'Divine-Grade' forging material.
When flesh turns to metal, and lifeblood into flames, it brought back memories to Hephaestus. Ones that still traumatized and haunted her to this day. Only the process was reversed.
From metal to flesh, and flames into blood.
A story akin to Pinocchio.
All along, what she had buried in her heart, abandoned, and deemed a failure had been-
"We're going to die!"
Shouts echoed out as the Crozzos and the other non-combatant personnel began to feel the pressure of the Black Dragon's attack surge ever closer to completion.
Despite Shirou stepping forward, a single man was not enough to give confidence to those who had no idea of Shirou's capabilities. Hephaestus's actions to discourage Shirou also did not garner any faith either.
Rather, many were lamenting the fact that they weren't closer to Rider who had deployed a verdant green shield that covered a portion of the Raid Party behind it.
Now it was too late.
Rearing its head back, a mighty Draconic breath was unleashed.
"Nibelheim!"
The Black Dragon unleashed its strongest attack.
From its open maw, an incinerating flame and a crippling draconic poison that not only sapped away at life, but corroded one's defense, spewed forth in a ginormous wave.
Standing firmly at the front of Caster's medical ward to imprint everything into her mind, Alfia felt her stomach sink from a terrifying nostalgia.
This was it.
This attack.
Her body shuddered, goosebumps raising over her skin.
That despair inducing attack that wiped out everything and left but a scant few of the strongest alive.
The helplessness of that day fueled the idea of committing evil if only to raise the moral of Orario's new generation against the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
She and Zald had been no different in this regard.
And yet this time-
"I have created over a thousand blades searching for the one."
A firm voice continued to chant alone in the chaos and panic.
The strength of a chanted magic was determined by the length of lines spoken, and yet Alfia had never felt this feeling crawling through her skin from a mere three-line chant that was far from over.
"Unaware of Loss."
"Nor aware of Gain."
Who?
Alfia's eyes searched for the source as many else did in this moment of life or death, and in the end, she and many others found it.
A man, seemingly the least conspicuous of the three who had participated in the banquet of the Gods was standing alone for the sake of others.
Yet what could one man do even if he was a Demi-God?
Everyone could feel it.
The Black Dragon's attack wasn't one where even a God in his or her fully released form could hope to stand against in the lower world, let alone a single mortal's body.
At the very least, using Rider as an example, he would need a shield that could cover him, but even then, what shield would be big enough to save everyone else?
"Have Withstood Pain to Create Many Weapons."
"Hephaestus Familia, no all you fucking cowards, step forward and help him-!"
Hephaestus's voice was drowned out even as she tried to rally support to Shirou. In her bid to act, she'd even begun to deploy her personal collection of Divine Artifacts that she'd hand forged.
The profession of a blacksmithing God wasn't one to be looked down upon in the lower world.
However much Gods were restrained upon their descent, the same could not be said for divine weapons or armours!
Seeing no one step forward as they remained petrified in place, Hephaestus snapped.
With bloodshot eyes, Hephaestus was opening her personal armoury, but it was already too late.
Anyone could see it.
All Hephaestus could hope to do was deploy a shield on Shirou and no one else. However, that conclusion was one Shirou already rejected.
He moved away before Hephaestus could carry out her actions.
From the perspective of others, Shirou was using a magic that required the use of six lines, straight in the realm of the highest tier spells. However, none could recognize the nature of the magic he was using.
Regardless, Alfia pursed her lips and stared up at the One-Eyed Black Dragon's attack.
It was already too late.
What more could be done when the attack was already before them in the blink of an eye?
At the very least, Alfia hoped Caster would survive.
Colour rapidly drained from the surroundings as the searing heat and power of the Black Dragon's attack engulfed everything.
No.
Not everything.
From the area devoid of color, shades of lavender and pink formed a ring around everyone.
Rings that covered the burning heavens.
Dozens of them all projected at once.
"Rho Aias!"
Larkspurs?
Seven petaled flowers filled the space for as far as the eye could see before everything vanished in an explosion of white.
The echo of petal after petal shattering, reverberated through the air.
Ais felt her body ache, a cough escaping her lips as she forced herself to sit up.
A cracked slab of stone had fallen over her, the entire structure crumbling as she pushed. The dust quickly flew over her face, stinging her eyes, but she could not bring herself to close them.
Coughing, Ais squinted through the chaos to stare ahead at her surroundings.
It was a mess of upturned rocks and gravel that leveled everything within the vicinity. All signs of nature or life had been vaporized past a certain point, and from there, a shockwave had obliterated everything else.
Groans could be heard everywhere.
Ais felt her ears ringing, her body trembling with each movement.
Rather than feel the scorching nature of the Dragon's attack and the accompanying poison that polluted various wildlife with draconic taint, the shockwave had been all that assailed her.
It was all that had assailed everyone as the brunt of the strike had been fended off by numerous walls of seven petaled flowers.
And there standing in place, heels hammered into the ground, and arms outstretched and braced over the other, Shirou stood panting for breath.
As the layers of the flowers had shattered one by one, each reflected back damage to the user.
Blood trickled down Shirou's temples, the hand he held furthest out, mangled and broken. Even the sleeves he wore over his arms had torn apart from the sheer force of his blood vessels rupturing beneath.
Beyond Rider who shielded a portion of the group's attack behind his singular shield, Shirou alone had shielded the rest without hesitation. Not because he had to or wanted to, but because that was the kind of person he was.
Ais could see it reflected in Shirou's eyes, as could many others, none more so than Hephaestus herself.
Shirou was…a man who saw his worth to be less than that of another's.
As if- him stepping forward had only been natural.
Ais did not know how to feel about it at all, rather she'd been numb to emotions ever since her parents died.
But Hephaestus, she was; Ais had never seen her appear so distraught.
As if blind to the concerns others had for him, Shirou remained single-mindedly focused on the task at hand.
"…Saber," Shirou murmured out, only then reminding everyone of the reason for their need to stall for time.
A sword of gleaming blue energy suddenly parted the dust and debris to draw all attention back towards the swordsman who had shorn the Black Dragon's wing.
Now wreathed in a towering blue aura that resembled flames around his entire body, Saber took back the stage.
"Leave the rest to me." Saber willed the smaller swords around his waist to float alongside him.
The power that he'd harnessed from his primary sword had not been unleashed in a wave of light, but was used in another manner after Saber had been keen to notice a specific detail.
As a Dragon Slayer, Saber knew this intuitive feeling best.
From the very beginning, the Black Dragon lacked any control of its power as if it were being restrained by something.
It was always rather suspicious that the Black Dragon had remained idle after the first Raid Party's failure.
Saber knew that this behaviour was not in an Evil Dragon's nature. Retaliation and vengeance should have been first on the list, not a full recuperation when it knew nothing else could stand against it.
Evil Dragons were Evil due to their repulsive nature.
Then there was the feeling of resonance within Saber's Spirit Origin.
The pieces began to fit one by one from then on.
Approaching alone, Rider and Archer stood down as they noticed the change in Saber's demeanor. It was something that they understood from one warrior to another.
This was Saber's fight to finish.
All at once, the energy surrounding Saber focused solely into his swords, the clouds above writhing with lightning and reverberating thunder.
The blades around his waist began to levitate around him before crows began to caw. Imbued in his blades was not only anti-Dragon properties, but Divinity of the chief God of the Aesir.
Nordic Heaven's wheel of Destruction as blessed by Odin.
Saber cocked his fist back and channeled his full power.
"Bölverkr!" Saber shouted.
He punched each anti-dragon blade forward at once, all aimed at different targets.
Charged from the time Shirou and the others had brought him, each blade carried a level of magic energy and power that no Dragon could hope to resist against.
Drained after just finishing a large attack, the Black Dragon did not have the time to recuperate and move properly.
Hind limbs, front limbs, and remaining wing, all were pierced cleanly and pinned to the ground by Saber's blades, leaving only the neck to crane up at Saber's approaching figure.
Dead silence echoed at the scene after the hell everyone had gone through.
The One-Eyed Black Dragon roared, the madness in its eye gradually condensing into a semblance of reason.
Saber noticed it right away.
"Dragon of Black." Saber's voice echoed as he carried his sword aloft.
The clarity that returned for a fraction of a second suddenly grew more profound as the Black Dragon's eye focused clearly on Saber with a type of recognition.
"Evil Dragon of Black."
Saber continued forward as he spoke, the sword held in his hands flashing out and severing the Black Dragon limb by limb much to the fervor of the others.
Saber had already seen through the heart of the matter.
"No, the existence tied to my name."
Stopping just short of cleaving the Black Dragon's neck off, Dragon and Man stared across from the other.
"Beyond the corruption, you've worked hard all along."
The turbid clarity in the Dragon's eye coloured quickly as the madness signaled its return.
Yet before then, Saber's words appeared to carry a profound effect, as if it had found something worth believing in.
"Show thyself and face me in combat."
Under the eyes of all, the One-Eyed Black Dragon's body began to glow and break away into motes of blue light that converged into the radius of a circle.
Within the circle was a sphere, and within that sphere was a woman with golden hair steadfastly holding onto a tattered banner. The banner emitted a faint healing light, wind creating a cushion beneath.
From all perspectives, the woman was no longer breathing, her body marred with blood and countless wounds. Yet her hands never let go of the banner until the end when the light fully converged and shattered, revealing what had been desperately contained within.
A man with blackish brown hair, leather armour, and a body eaten away by draconic taint.
Veins bulged on the man's person. Miasma poured off of him in waves, drowning reasoning and thought while purpling his skin and shifting the shape of his irises into that of a reptile's.
In the man's hands was a fragment of a certain Holy Grail that quickly caught the eye of Shirou and the other Servants.
Yet to everyone else, that fragment was the source of the taint eating away at the man.
"…"
"…"
Saber and the man wordlessly stared at the other, each silently conveying their intention.
The figure raised a pointed steel longsword, and in turn Saber raised his own weapon.
So, that was how it was…
Saber hardened his expression while observing the state of the man before him.
You must have suffered long.
Regardless of it all.
Saber only had a single task left to perform in this battle.
"I will free you of your burden."
It was the wish of the heart possessed by the individual that resonated with his own.
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