129: Those Who Reach the Heavenly Sword

Alcides

Burning. It's all burning away, every last part crumbling and melting and burning in the depths of these sins.

Die. Die. Die.

Fated death accidental death wrongful death purposeful death convenient death why why why why why who who-

Who can we blame for this?

Choose a scapegoat and bury him crush crush and grind Retribution retribution retribution. See that the monster is not human. See that the monster was (never) once human. Put it away. Put it away. Hide it from the light, bury it-

Die.

Death by spears death by knives death by the sword death by arrows and arrows and arrows and arrows why why why why why why why who who who-

Who will save us?

-In the end, I surface, clinging to the last indelible truths.

I **** humans. I despise the gods.

I rise from the mud with closed eyes, and hold my hands out as the Nemean Lion's pelt materializes in them.

"...Well?" The Caster of the Stars asks. "Are you ready to cooperate now?"

"Humans…" I mutter as I drape the pelt over my face. "are worthless. Let their works never again enter my sight."

If this kind of freak occurrence had happened under different circumstances, I would surely have focused upon my grudge against the gods. But I cannot afford that. Not right now.

Who will save us?

I, who **** humans-

"I hate humans," I say. That is the word. Hate, is the word I must focus upon - no other. "You Demon Pillars can do as you wish with them."

"So you'll cooperate, then?" The Caster asks.

"Cooperate?" Scorn fills my voice as I materialize my bow. "Did I say that?"

If he is to command me, I must first test his resolve.

-I drown his world in mud and corpses.

It's a simple affair. Defeat Blackbeard's crew and reclaim the grail that Jason lent to him. He has a crew of nameless shades and a few Servants with him, but-

"[Nine Lives]."

-They won't matter.

There is nothing particularly special about my bow. It's a well designed weapon, and of a good size and draw weight for me, but it is ultimately a nameless armament. It is not a Noble Phantasm. I have no particular need for legendary weapons.

Any weapon, wielded by me, is the 'strongest'. Any necessary feats - trick shots, rapid fire and the like - can simply be produced by skill at the time of their necessitude. That is [Nine Lives] - a Noble Phantasm that simply achieves victory, whatever the occasion demands.

-In this case, I'll start out simple. Sink their ship with a single shot at full draw, and in the next instant, fire three arrows toward each occupant of the ship.

My arm blurs, and death rains down on the [Queen Anne's revenge].

However-

A blazing fire steps up to the edge of the ship.

A man in a kimono, his long red hair dancing like flames in the wind of the storm, grins as he pulls off an eyepatch to reveal a second piercing blue eye, and draws his sword. This must be the 'Hauroy Ralior' that the Caster of the Stars spoke of.

In the next moment, he begins his dance through my forest of arrows. Leaping from shaft to shaft, cutting down in mid-flight those that would impede his motion, swiftly crossing the gap between our vessels without fear or hesitation.

I draw back my bowstring once more - let's step things up a bit. The next arrow I fire glows, wreathed in energy, and as it leaves the bowstring it splits into nine lasers, writhing through the air like the heads of the Hydra to home in on their target. However, Ralior's sword tears through the air with a simple elegance - and my attack vanishes.

He's getting a bit too close. Let's make some distance.

Leaping from the ship, I call upon the river I used to clean the Augean stables, propelling me away from the swordsman atop the surface of the water as I continue to rain death upon him.

Miraculously, he continues to parry all of them, still sprinting over the shafts of my arrows like it's nothing - that's some skill he has there. My bow just won't be enough, it seems.

"[Cerberus]!" As we reach a rocky island, I make space again. The dog of Hades appears, its jaws snapping closed around the swordsman - but just a moment later, his its skull is split from the inside, as Ralior bursts outward, still grinning.

However, that brief moment was enough.

With a final catastrophic smash, I finish shaping one of the island's rocky crags to the required shape - and with a minimal effort I pry my improvised weapon from the earth. It's somewhere between a sword and an axe, hewn roughly from stone - but it will do.

He closes the gap, blade rippling with that same strange technique that cleaves all in its path.

A simple parry won't do. Dodging and countering is too risky. In that case-!

I simply need to match his technique.

Our swords meet - and with a blinding light and resounding crash, repel each other. And then again, and again, the earth splitting beneath our feet as light, sound, and heat pour out of our rapid clash - until finally, I beat him in speed, nine simultaneous slashes slipping past his guard at once -

His form flickers, and suddenly he's standing out of my range again.

"Haa… Haa… You're something else, you." He says, speaking for the first time.

I hate humans. But- "You're not bad yourself," I say, as I notice the smile starting to form on my face.

"You're like me, right? Type of guy that never met anyone on your level," He says.

He's right, of course. In all my life, the only ones who could match me were beasts far beyond humanity - and even then, I overcame every one of them, falling only to the cowardly use of poison after my labors were already finished. However-

"From where I stand, I still have not."

"Hah! That so?" He barks a short laugh. "I'm not the type'a guy to go makin' excuses, but I sure do wish I could use my full power - this body just ain't it."

I don't bother responding. It's not as though this vessel can contain all of my existence either.

"So I gotta bridge the gap somehow, even if it's gonna get a little gross. This brat's body has some tricks of its own. I don't like using 'em, but-" Hauroy raises his left hand, and a second sword materializes in his grip. "A guy like me doesn't get summoned much. But I got some records of another time, fighting a smokin' hot chick that used two swords - and against her I really realized, that between those who've reached the Heavenly Sword-"

He flickers through the air, appearing behind me.

"-any trick is fair game!"

I bound over his strike, backflipping over him while twisting in midair to deliver a rapid series of blows. He repels a few of them before moving with the same teleportation-like ability to attack from another position-

And so, as the earth, air, and sea break to pieces around us, our swords dance amidst the whirling storm.

For four days we clash, the deluge of blows between us never once pausing. At some point the surroundings melted away into a water-filled cyclone, but I paid it no notice. I paid nothing notice save the man before me.

Parry and strike. Parry, dodge, strike. Dodge and strike. Strike, parry, parry, dodge, strike.

The rhythm of our blows is like an old friend at this point. The sparkling coruscations of steel against steel lulling me into the delirium of total exertion. A grin is still plastered across his drenched face, and the matching smile on my own is making my cheeks sore.

I don't understand.

I never particularly enjoyed violence - no, I think I was afraid of it. Violence was something that came upon me, seized me, destroyed the things I loved. Even during my labors, when men praised me, the furthest my feelings ever went was the thought that I might be able to do something to turn the demons haunting me for my fellow men's benefit.

And yet, in this moment-

A discordant note sounds in our bladesong, and I'm faintly aware of Hauroy losing his grip on one of his swords.

There it is. This is as far as he can go - his Endurance is no match for mine. Again, his strange ability allows him to flicker backwards through the air to avoid me, but that won't be enough this time.

That motion is no Noble Phantasm, nor is it magic - it's a technique, a yet unseen capacity of the human body. All I have to do-

"[Nine Lives]."

-is match it.

I leap through the air to meet him, and his eyes widen, but his grin remains unmoved.

"[Black Serpent]!"

An abomination fills the space between us, a coiling horned abomination that every fiber of my body screams is certain death. It won't stop me, but if the precious seconds spent dealing with it, he may achieve something of note, so-!

"[Lernean Hydra]!" I summon my own serpentine abomination to deal with it, knowing instinctively that anything less will fail. The two coil around each other, plunging to the sea below, and as I blink through the air past them, I see-

"[Total…]!" Hauroy shots, and he begins to take a monstrous shape.

However- he's the one who said it. Between men like us- "[Reincarnation…"

"-Eclipse]!"

-any cheap trick will suffice.

"-Pandora]!"

Naturally, what occurred was the usurpation of the Gluttony Witch Factor by Alcides. Reid's transformation lasted a mere fraction of a second, before Roy Alphard's powerless body replaced him, and was struck down without a spare thought by Alcides.

But, in the moments that followed, a contest was initiated. To assimilate the consciousness of Reid Astrea was a task great enough for the previous bearer of Gluttony to lose his existence. Even for Alcides, a struggle was required. The weight of one soul against another, a battle of wills decided in a single instant - from the outside, it was an unremarkable affair that amounted to a momentary lapse in consciousness.

But from the perspective of the two fighters-

I find myself in a featureless void, shrouded with shadows - but somehow, I already understand what has happened, and what must take place in this place. Across from me, just a few meters away, Hauroy - no, Reid Astrea, stands, sword in hand.

"Pretty glad it came down to this, you," He says, rolling his shoulder. "You couldn't see it all, inside that brat like I was. Sword Saint, Reid Astrea - this is my everything, so get ready."

"Then I hope you won't mind seeing everything I have either - you aren't the only one held back by your vessel," I reply. "Usurper of the Heavens, ******es - I'll take it all and blow you away."

"Swords, dragons, witches, and magic - ain't a need for any of them." He raises his sword, and the world behind it splits. The very definition of cutting is there, imposed upon reality in perfect clarity, and I-

I throw my shield. "[Herakles Kosmos]."

A barrier emerges. The absolute defense unique to my Lancer self, a shield that deploys a miniature world to absorb any attack - will not withstand this blow for long.

"Just pick up a stick, and swing it 'til ya win," He continues. "That's all my life is. That is-!"

And so, I raise my sword.

"[Marmyadose, fill yourself with heat," I rumble, and from my sword, a column of light erupts.

"[REID…" The sword comes down, and reality starts to slide apart along the length of the divide.

"[NINE…" I swing nine times with the speed of a god, each strike wreathed in energy enough to level a mountain, each directed to a different vital point to prevent any hope of deflection or avoidance.

"...ASTREA]!" My shield splits under the weight of a perfect sword.

"...LIVES]!" And then our strikes meet each other.

Blinding light. Unbearable Heat.

I die - and revive again, gaining resistance to the blow, as [God Hand] takes effect.

And then I die again. And again. And again.

Twelve times, burning through every life from [God Hand, and Chiron's Immortality from [King's Order, before at last as my thirteenth life's Battle Continuation activates - the cut is finally halted.

And then, the violence disappears, and we stand across from each other once more.

"Ahhh, really thought I had ya there!" Reid laughs, collapsing onto his back and laughing.

"To be honest, if you'd avoided my counterattack I might have been in some trouble," I say, following suit. "I'd probably have to use my Assassin tricks, and they can be unreliable at times."

"The hell am I gonna avoid a miles long nine-directional slash!?" He laughs, and I join him.

This really is reminding me of why I -

"...I hate humans," That's right. Cling to that. That reality, absolutely must not disappear.

"Back to bein' glum, you?" Reid sighs.

"Even so… I had fun," I mutter.

"Yeah. It was fun. Catcha later, H****les."

The split sky yawns open, and under familiar stars, I ascend.

"[Total Eclipse]."

Compendium Update: Heracles

Herakles Kosmos: The Miniature World Enclosed by Terror

Rank: A

Type: Barrier

Range: 0

Maximum Number of Targets: 1 Person

The shield used by the Lancer Heracles. Hesiod's description of the shield borrows four full lines from the Illiad's description of Achilles's shield, so in this work the two have an almost identical function - namely, the creation of a miniature world to intercept an attack. Anything less than an Anti-World Noble Phantasm cannot pierce the barrier, and its mere deployment causes a morale penalty in those witnessing it.

By the way, Heracles's spear as a Lancer is a relatively mundane armament. However, [Nine Lives] makes up for this - his signature technique as a Lancer is to throw the shield to ricochet off something behind his opponent, and then activate it in midair on the return strike so that it enlarges into what's basically a planet being dropped on the enemy - meanwhile, Heracles will attack head-on with a nine-pointed spear thrust towards every vital point.

Marmyadose: Sword of Perfect Devastation

Rank: A

Type: Anti-Fortress

Range: 1-99

Maximum Number of Targets: 1000 People

The sword used by the Saber Heracles, forged by Hephaestus and granted to many great heroes of the past. In the days of the Round Table, this sword was at times used by Artoria Pendragon when she lent Excalibur to Gawain, and in terms of raw destructive power, it actually exceeds that weapon.

Lacking the holy attribute and special status of Excalibur, it is still less suited to be the weapon of a hero of justice. Nonetheless, for Heracles, a hero whose might makes right, and whose large bulk can handle it better than the King of Knights, it is the perfect weapon. Used in conjunction with Nine Lives, it creates an undodgeable, max-ranged, unblockable attack.