63: Gareth Beaumains

-Somehow, I knew this was going to happen.

I knew that it would come down to a battle between the Black Knight and me, in the end. That's just how it goes when you've got a low luck stat like mine.

As I deposit Prelati next to me, and Master and Queen Marie arrive behind us, my heart is pounding, my blood almost boiling in my veins. I can feel my knees start to shake, butterflies churning my stomach, and I haven't even gotten close to him yet-!

"So that's the Black Knight I've heard so much about, huh? What a menacing aura!" I say. My voice sounds far away from my own ears. Adrenaline courses through my body, and I feel like my bones might shake themselves apart.

He's an insurmountable obstacle. Every part of my spirit origin is screaming that death is the only possible result of facing him. Terror is coursing through me.

"Arrrthuuur…" he moans, slowly turning towards us, his helmet twitching.

I feel like I'm about to puke. The sensation of it is completely overwhelming. Any normal girl would turn tail and run.

But I am a rampaging wolf.

"Mash is down… Marie can't hurt him…" Subaru starts to say, but I don't have the patience to let him finish thinking.

"Master!" I shout, my lance hand twitching uncontrollably. "Please! Let me fight him! There's no way I can pass this up!"

I can barely hold myself back to hear his answer, I'm so excited. My cheeks hurt from how much I'm grinning. I haven't felt like this since my first joust.

"...You're really our only shot at this point." He starts to say, and before he can complete the thought, I charge. "Prelati, back her up! Marie, get [Guillotine Breaker] ready! Gareth, you just need to last that long-!"

"[Ira Lupus]!" I shout, surging forward with even more speed than I thought I was capable of.

In one motion, the Black Knight tears a belt loaded with muskets from his waist, and whips them through the air, all of them discharging, before he whips the whole assembly and hurls it at me.

"Not enough!" With ease, I repel every bullet. Sliding beneath the improvised bolas, I thrust upwards-

Berserker sidesteps, weaving out of the way of my attack like it's nothing, responding with a punch that I deflect before delivering a counterattack that he dodges, and counterattacks, and again, and again, and again-!

Amazing. This is amazing. I haven't felt this kind of battle high since my first match with Sir Lancelot!

("Prelati, what the hell are you doing!?" I hear Master roar in the distance.

"I'm trying! But none of my magecraft is affecting him- crap! That's it! That Luck stat of his, it's not just natural luck! He's got [Protection of the Fairies] as a personal skill! They won't let my spells do anything to him!")

My Noble Phantasm ends, and the ether cartridge in my gunlance is discharged. A smoke-wreathed fist flies towards my face-

It finds my shield instead, the metal denting under the strain. Batting his blow aside - is my strength parameter supposed to be this high? - the gunlance clicks as another ether cartridge is loaded, and the next second, I thrust into his exposed guard, lance awash with blue light-

-only for a leg sweep to knock me off balance, the attack barely scraping the side of his stomach. Clawed gauntlets grip my extended arm, and in one motion, he hurls me over his shoulder, slamming me back into the ground.

And causing me to lose grip on my lance.

In an instant, the stray weapon is snatched from the air, twirled around, and driven through my-

-("[Emergency Evade]!")

-stomach, as the speed boost barely allows me to dodge it going straight through my heart. I try to dematerialize the weapon, but it remains, impaling me to the ground, as black mana begins to coat the weapon's surface.

With his other hand, Berserker snatches a stray piece of timber from the ground, and swings it and my head.

"AAAAAARRRRR!" He wails, head twitching violently.

I protect my face with my shield as blow after blow starts to rain down on my immobilized form. Slowly, the spiritual armament starts to crack, blue mana leaking from it.

"Not yet! I'm not… finished yet!" I grunt, trying to push back the blows.

For some reason, familiar words play through my head. The first thing I heard in this summoning, before I even fully manifested.

You have been summoned for a purpose. Do not hesitate to sacrifice yourself to achieve it. Fulfill your duty, and victory is assured.

It was obvious advice, I thought at the time. Something I would have done anyway. It was nice to know that it would have meaning, but when I really think about it, I wouldn't have hesitated to sacrifice myself in the first place.

But since I started this fight, something has been off. My body has been more responsive. Faster, stronger, than I'm used to. Not so much that I'd say my stats were ranked up, but it's noticeable anyways.

And now, the closer I get to death, the more I feel it building. Those words ring in my head, and I can feel my Spirit Origin pushing itself to the very edge of its limits.

"This is… [Tactician's Command]?" I realize, eyes widening.

I've heard of it before. A personal skill that allows a servant to give his allies a boost in performance merely by giving orders to them. It's meant to be used on a large army, but with sufficiently high rank, even a single servant can get benefits.

There are all kinds of questions to be raised. How did this mysterious tactician's voice reach me during my summoning? How did he predict that I'd need to sacrifice myself?

"-But most importantly… I can't afford to waste it! Take this!" I bat the next blow aside with my shield. But he's ready for it this time, letting go of the stick and catching my fist before it can connect.

That's just fine, though - the fist was just a distraction. I lunge upwards, tearing free from my lance impalement in a spray of blood. The damage is probably lethal, but that's what Battle Continuation is for!

The Black Knight tries to jump back, but he's too slow-!

Stars erupt in my vision as I smash my head against his chin with all of my might.

The Black Knight staggers backwards, but I don't give him any time to recover. I spring to my feet-!

"Take this!" My empty right fist is clenched, and as an [Emergency Reinforcement] from Master thrums through my muscles, I punch Berserker in the face with enough force that his helmet shatters.

But that's not enough, so I follow through - jabbing my thumb into his eye and sending him flying. Quickly, I pull the Gunlance from the dirt, and lunge forward-!

"I am a rampaging wolf! [Ira Lupus]!" The first strike connects while he's still in mid-air and severs his right leg at the knee. The second strike-

Is parried as a familiar sword materializes in his right hand. The black smoke vanishes. A familiar face, twisted in unrecognizing madness, stares straight through me. Beloved eyes, filled with madness and rage, track my movements expertly, as his sword glows-

"[Arondight]!"

A flash of blue mana bites off my lance arm. The gunlance flies wildly off course, the force of its blast crashing it into the ground some three meters away.

'I hope it's not damaged.' - an absurd thought flits through my mind, and then I snap back to reality.

{Dammit! Two minutes - just two more minutes until [Guillotine Breaker] is ready to be used offensively! Hang in there, Gareth-!} Master shouts telepathically. I know that's futile, though. There's no chance of me lasting thirty seconds against this person while missing an arm.

He's the strongest knight of the round table, after all-!

He launches forwards, propelled by his remaining leg, hurling [Arondight] in front of him as a projectile. My shield deflects it, but it's a distraction, and I know-

Familiar hands rest on my head in a strangely gentle way.

"Sir Lancelot-" I say as the pressure on the sides of my head builds.

I'm so glad that I got to see you again-!

Crunch.

A/N:

We'll see how long I can keep up this update pace, huh?

Also, RIP Gareth. She'll be back, probably.