12: Lord Chaldeas
Even as a Caster, it's pretty clear that Cu Chulainn far surpasses Mash in combat ability. Frankly, this can't even be called a fight. He's not even casting any spells - just utterly dominating her in a melee smackdown, wielding his staff as if it were a spear.
As expected of the original holder of the Gae Bolg, I suppose. My knowledge of the weapon may be limited to videogames, but considering it's usually thrown into the same class as things like Lævateinn, Excalibur, and Gungnir, I figure it's probably a pretty big deal, right?
In any case, not having his signature weapon doesn't seem to be causing Cu any trouble. It's all Mash can do to deflect all of his attacks, to say nothing of delivering blows of her own. What's worse, I can see the battle wearing on her. She didn't get much of a break, considering Hanam, Heracles, and Cu have all picked fights with us back-to-back.
Finally, Cu pauses, frowning at Mash as she all but collapses, leaning on her shield and panting heavily.
"Man, you're still not getting it, huh?" He says. "In that case, then… think fast, girlie!"
A bolt of fire streaks towards me, and I react instinctively, my spirit contract flaring to life - but Avalon isn't Beako, and it can't reconstruct one of our spells with only my half to go off of.
"Senpai!"
But somehow, despite her exhaustion, Mash manages to block it at the last possible second.
"Nice save, Mash-tan!" I call out, carefully watching Caster for his next attack.
"Fine then." He mutters. "This should seal it… burn to the ground with your Master!"
The runes engraved on his staff glow even brighter, and I can feel the sensation of imminent death pressing down on me.
"My spell is the coffin of flames, a giant of verdant thorn."
Damn, is this a Noble Phantasm-!? With her in this state, Mash will be…
"Retribution, the forest that will purify human misery-!"
I clutch my chest and grit my teeth, activating [Cor Leonis]. Mash's strength surges, and her stance solidifies - even as my own lungs seize up, exhaustion nearly driving me to my knees. Slowly, desperately, I heave one breath after another, even as a blanket of uncertainty and fear tightens around my throat.
"Befall the [Wicker Man]! And behold, as both good and evil bite the dust-!" Cu Chulainn roars, and from behind him, a vaguely humanoid, towering frame of wood, straw, and metal emerges from the ground.
As the Wicker Man ignites, Mash glances back at me, fear clear in her face.
"D-don't give up, Mash-tan!" I say, flashing her a forced smile and a thumbs up.
She takes a deep breath, and exhales slowly, her eyes locking onto the advancing giant of flame.
"...Beginning pseudo-deployment of Noble Phantasm! Haaaah!"
Intricate blue circles erupt from Mash's shield, and brick by brick, the ephemeral image of a pristine white wall takes shape. The Wicker Man topples forwards, crashing into the bricks in a burst of flame and shrapnel- but to no avail.
The wall holds strong. Caster's Noble Phantasm burns away in a cloud of cinders, and the marble bricks of Mash's wall don't even have a single scorch mark to show for it.
"...I did it." Mash says with a small sigh of relief- and then, a smile lights up her face, "...I did it!"
"You had to fudge the true name, though, right?" Says Caster, making her smile drop again.
"That's right… I've still got a good distance to go."
"W-well, it's still good progress, you know!" I say, patting her shoulder. "Besides, not knowing the Noble Phantasm's name just means we get to make up our own cool name for it!"
"E-eh? Well, I guess I am moving in the right direction…" She says with a small smile. "B-but, um, make up our own? Is that... allowed?"
"Sure! After all, it'll sound cooler than just yelling 'Noble Phantasm goooo!', right?" I reply. "Something like [Final Bastion - Last Refuge of Humanity] would sound pretty heroic, right?"
"Master, a name like that… feels like a bit too much." Hanam interjects.
"Eh? How so?" I ask. "I mean, considering we're saving the world here, doesn't it sound about right?"
"Um, I think I'm happy that you have such high expectations of me, but…" Mash says nervously.
"Too over the top, huh?" I say with a sigh. "Sorry, I've got the soul of a little kid, so stuff like this happens. I'll try and think of a better name."
"N-no! It's not that I thought it wasn't cool, but more about…" She says, looking down. "Er… It seems like being constantly reminded of what's at stake, would get a bit too stressful. It's not that I don't want to meet your expectations, Senpai! It's just..."
Ah, damn. I messed up again. Mash isn't used to fighting, or even violent by nature. It should have been obvious that she'd want something a bit more subdued. "Right, I guess I got too excited…" I say with a forced chuckle. "Sorry about that. Still, not having a name for your special attack feels a bit weird…"
"How about [Lord Chaldea], then?" Interjects Mordred. He scratches his cheek as we all glance at him. "I mean, you guys are from that Chaldea place, so we can just name it after that, right?"
"...Where'd the 'Lord' part come from?" I wonder aloud.
"That sounds… correct, more or less!" Mash says, smiling brightly. Ever so slightly, I see her posture straighten up, and she stands just a little taller than before. "Yeah. [Lord Chaldeas]... that sounds right!"
"Seriously, where did the 'Lord' part come from?" I ask again.
"That's great. Hearing you name that shield after Chaldeas… really warms my heart, Mash." Says Doctor Roman over his holographic link. "And, more importantly, congratulations on getting it to manifest so soon! I really felt like that was going to be more of a long term thing… Anyway, now we'll have an excuse to have a party once this mess is over!"
"Doctor, you were going to throw a party after this regardless of how much progress I made, weren't you?" Mash says with a small smile.
"Well, we're gonna be saving the world here, you know! It only makes sense to celebrate!"
"That weak-looking guy's words of praise aside, it'll do until you figure out its true name." Says Cu with a sigh.
"Eh!? I got called weak by someone I just met!?" Roman whines.
"More importantly, though… Oi, kid." the Caster turns his attention to me. "What the hell did you do? A spell to take her exhaustion onto yourself… what kind of useless magecraft is that, huh? If you're gonna use scapegoat-type stuff, at least have the brains to use a doll or something!"
I scratch the back of my head. "Well, to start with, [Cor Leonis] isn't magecraft. It's kind of complicated, but I spent a bit of time in 'another world', and I got abilities called [Authorities] while I was there. They don't cost any mana to use, so I can still make use of them even though my circuits are damaged."
"Wait, wait, you never mentioned something this crazy, Subaru!" Exclaims Romani. "Doing something like that without mana is-!"
"Yeah, yeah, it sounds kind of nuts. But on the other hand, they're pretty limited in application. [Cor Leonis] lets me take people's burdens onto myself, but only so long as I've got an emotional connection with them - and even then, it's not like there's some kind of safeguard to keep me from killing myself using it or anything." I say with a shrug.
"Senpai… That telekinesis you used, to lift that rock off of me… was that also..?" Mash asks.
"That's the other one I've got - I call it [Invisible Providence]." I say, lifting a nearby chunk of concrete to demonstrate. "I can manifest one or two hands that only I can see. They've got decent grip strength and can lift heavy things pretty easily, but they've got a max range of about three meters…"
"So it's the same type of stand as Star Platinum." Says Romani.
...Unbidden, an image of Regulus asking me if I'm approaching him comes to mind.
"Pfffft! N-no, it's way slower, unfortunately. I can throw a punch with it, but 'ora ora' type stuff is off the table." I reply.
"Ah, how disappointing…" mutters Romani. "And that clairvoyance-type thing you've been doing? Is that also an authority?"
"...I can't tell you anything about that. Bad things happen if I do."
Also, I just plain don't know. [Return by Death] certainly behaves like an authority - an arbitrary, seemingly invincible ability that loses a large amount of its effectiveness when someone figures it out. But it could also be a [Divine Protection], or something that I gained as a result of traveling between worlds.
"Hm." Cu nods. "Well, we can unpack that later. For now, we've got a snake to hunt. I'll give you all some runes to boost magic resistance, so hold still, would you?"
Five hours of combing through abandoned streets later, with a small army of defeated skeletons in our wake, we arrive in Lancer's territory. Terrified statues dot the churchyard - a few have limbs severed, or twisted out of shape before the petrification. One man is clutching at his throat, a rocky cleft visible beneath his fingers. A statue of a woman is lying on the ground, with a hole punched clean through her chest leaving the ground visible.
On the doorstep of the church, a stone child is frozen, desperately trying to shove stone entrails back into the fallen body of an old woman.
Each and every statue is unique in its atrocity. Each one a twisted work of 'art', displaying a unique manner of death.
Monster. Lancer, Medusa, is without a doubt, a true monster. Not like the Mabeasts who were just overpowered animals. Not like the skeletons, who just hunt whatever's moving. She chose this. Consciously decided to be a monster, to inflict misery. And she reveled in it, enjoyed it, glorified in it.
Without a doubt, hunting her down was the right thing to do.
Only...
"...Where the hell is she!?" yells Mordred.
"Tch. I should have figured she'd go into hiding." mutters Cu. "There's no way she didn't notice Red's Noble Phantasm earlier, and she probably saw mine too. And if she figured out Berserker is down…"
"Indeed. Say what you like about her, but Lancer is far from the type to pick fights she can't win." mutters Hanam.
"So, eliminating her before we fight Archer is…" mutters Mash.
"Not something she's gonna let us do. Goddammit!" Spits Caster.
I sigh. "So… should we just go after Saber, then, and if Lancer shows up, she shows up?"
"I guess so." Says Cu. "We'll need to wait a night, though - I'm gonna want to make a few more preparations."
"That gives us time to recharge your command spell, so that's probably for the best, Senpai." says Mash.
"Mm. Let's go then." I mutter. "We'll definitely be able to find at least one building back in town that's still standing - let's not stay here. I won't be able to sleep in a place like this."
A/N:
Lancer: "Four servants and someone who smells like PURE EVIL on their way here? Haha nope."
Another kinda meh chapter, but it's already late, so I'll put it out now.
Next chapter monday probably.
REVIEW RESPONSE CORNER
Guest said:
I really love this story and I hope to see Hans analysis about Subaru in London
God I wish London wasn't so far away...
Crown of Reaper said:
Say, how does compatability work? Does it have to do something with personality?
It's mostly personality, if there's a catalyst that can summon multiple servants. If there's no catalyst, then basically, the master becomes a catalyst - personality is a strong factor, but things like being connected to the servant in life can do it too (in subaru's case, he's a living catalyst for all the prior holders of his authorities, so not using a catalyst is a terrible idea).
Also, I'm not sure about Barusu's compatability, but can you put Okita Alter in the story? I want to see Barusu's reaction when Okita falls asleep mid-battle.
I love Okitan, but I don't know what circumstance would make her show up pre-lostbelts. I mean, it's possible, but I'm aiming to keep cast bloat to a minimum.
Rinto said:
I really enjoy your fic! Though I'm also a bit surprised Heracles lost just like that. Wouldn't God Hand give him more lives?
Herc tore off his own skin when he was getting corrupted by the grail, which apparently disables god hand (he does this in FSN Heaven's Feel route). Herc is metal as fuck.
Also Ochd Deug Odin disables Noble Phantasms in its vicinity, so Cu had accounted for him still having it (though, again, he didn't).
And that Artoria fought him but didn't kill him, is she strong enough to repulse Heracles of all people nonlethally? He is a berserker, so wouldn't he just keep coming?
Watch the second Heaven's Feel movie fight between them. That's more or less how it went down here.
SING MY ANGEL SING said:
You mentioned in the previous chapter about how Rem would have to be cheated into Chaldea like Shiki, so would it be like the KnK event? If so, when would the Lugunica singularity be set, pre or post Subaru appearing? I can only imagine Rem being caster or the more likely Berserker because of her oni state. She could have Hero's Assisstant as a skill or something like Bryn has. Also, would the singularity have it's own Subaru? Double Subaru shenanigans?
Stuff like this is not gonna happen for a LONG while, so I'm far from decided as to how it will be implemented.
Guest said:
Nice chapter. I wonder how would Subaru react if he summoned himself (Foreigner)
Subaru: "Someone totally useless came!"
Foreigner: "I got summoned by someone useless!"
Subaru is the worst possible master for foreigner subaru, because he has nothing to offer. Ideally, Foreigner would want someone like Bazzett as a master, since she could make up for his uselessness in combat.
Caster Subaru wouldn't mind the safety net of RbD, though.
Guest said:
What is the power rankings
This is a very vague question, and I'm not sure who you're asking about...
To start, I'll say that powerlevels are bullshit. Just look at Gilgamesh - he's without a doubt the strongest servant, but he's also a total jobber who loses a bunch of fights in his various appearances in Fate because he's so stupidly arrogant.
Nonetheless, if you REALLY want power rankings, in terms of characters who might appear in this fic, in BROAD CATEGORIES, it's probably something like:
Solomon/Tiamat/Satella/Other Beasts
King Hassan/Romulus Quirinus/Other Grands
Gilgamesh
Heracles(Archer)/Karna/Reid Astrea/Enkidu/Artoria(with a good enough mana source)/etc.
Cu/Heracles(Berserker)/Reinhart/Achilles/Siegfried/etc.
Mash/Jeanne/Gawain/Mordred/Medea/Petelgeuse/etc.
Fran/Astolfo/Medusa/etc.
Cursed Arm/Jack/Gilles/etc.
Shakespeare/Hans/etc.
Subaru
In terms of people currently in Fuyuki, powerlevels are something like:
Salter
Cu
EMIYA
Mordred (because of limited NP)
Mash
Medusa (Because of the magic resistance runes cu passed out)
Hanam
Subaru