052 - Fatal Battle (Final)

Oda Nobunaga

When they were sent into this mission, Nobunaga held certain expectations about how things would go. She also held a healthy degree of receptiveness towards the unexpected, because it takes a bigger fool than her to expect everything to go as expected, every time. But nothing could've prepared her to see Yamato Takeru soaring through the sky, away from the battle, like the world's most undignified dragon. Or a discarded rag doll.

It's a bit disappointing to watch him recover mid-air and land on his feet, but expecting him to crater the ground with his face was probably too much to ask.

"Pulling away from a fight?" She muses as the man lands right beside her, keeping up her barrage all the while. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"They caught me by surprise." The man admits with a frown of annoyance in his face. "I didn't expect a single-word chant to ignore my Magic Resistance like that."

Nobunaga can't help but scoff, this guy takes the honor of their Empress far too seriously. Also, it might just be his lack of familiarity with firearms, but he's making a rather off-base assumption there. "That wasn't magecraft."

"No, I felt the magical energy shifting as she spoke." Yamato argues back, frown still in place. "That was magecraft alright."

"The chant used magecraft to create the gun." Nobunaga explains with an eye roll. "The bullshit that sent you flying was 100% thaumaturgy-free."

"Huh."

And there he goes rushing ahead again, the subtlety of a charging bull, that one. Nobunaga shakes her head in disappointment. Someone so serious and straightforward, without a single scheming bone in his body… They aren't very compatible at all.

But man, these visitors really are something!

Look at that Shielder girl, standing before a charging Yamato without a hint of hesitation, that takes some courage! Sure, her shield seems to be pretty much indestructible, but she's still getting thrown around by the blows, so it's not like she's not feeling it. And yet, the glint in her eyes doesn't doesn't dull an iota, clashing with Yamato's blade again and again even when she loses every trade.

Sure, it takes frequent support from the backline fighters. Sure, it's only working because Yamato is limiting his own lines of attack out of sheer stubbornness. Sure, everything would collapse like a house of cards the moment Kagetora stops playing around with her chew toy. But all that doesn't change the facts. In this very narrow field of expertise that's keeping an indestructible shield between her enemy and her allies, this slip of a girl seems to be barely enough to keep up with Yamato Fucking Takeru.

Nobunaga would've given a lot to entice that cutie to her side back during her conquest!

Time and time again, shield meets blade. The blade is stronger, pushing the shield back and threatening to blow it away with every strike, but not strong enough. Time and time again, the shield barely recovers in time to meet the blade's next strike before the advantage can be turned into victory. Time and time again, Nobunaga sees the blatant opening created with every clash and… cheerfully ignores it in favor of shooting the shield some more.

Yamato throws her a baleful glare, but she just grins unrepentantly.

Seriously, this guy needs to take a chill pill. What's the point in ending the show early when everyone's having so much fun?

Finally, something changes in Yamato's expression, immediately wiping the smile off her face. His light and relatively casual demeanor shifts to something heavier and more forceful as his blade is raised overhead with both hands. Surely he wouldn't… right? Besmirched honor of their empress of whatever, going too far won't do any good either. An empire can't be built upon fields of ashes!

And yes, she's aware of how ironic these words sound coming from her, they're still true!

"Oi, Yamato! Mind your damn surroundings!" She calls out in a panic, not quite believing she has to do this. In what sort of bizarre fucked-up timeline makes any sense for the Fool of Owari to be the voice of reason!? "Don't you fucking dare!"

There's no reply to her warning, but at least he's not chanting anything? That's probably a good sign, right?

"Mashu, we're done!" The Master of the visitors suddenly announces out loud, drawing everyone's attention. "Pull back!"

Nobunaga's panicked eyes narrow in sudden suspicion. The visitors have been communicating telepathically pretty much from the start, and now she shouts a command out loud? No way that's a coincidence, is it trying to provoke Yamato into rushing his attack?

"[Divine Water…" As she's considering this, Yamato makes his move. "...Mana Burst]"

A mesmerizing blue surrounds Yamato's blade, making Nobunaga's fingers twitch with the urge to act, to burn down the gods and extinguish all trace of their divine stench from the mortal world. Yup, that's divine water alright. Sword meets shield a last time, the strike resounding like a thunderclap as the shield visibly shudders under the punishment for the first time.

For a moment, the cutie holds her ground, roaring in defiance as if the overwhelming strike somehow spurred her own fighting spirit to rise to the challenge. But then the moment is over and the divine water contained within the blade explodes outwards, overwhelming all opposition and sending the cutie flying away. Like a rag doll.

…Did Yamato do that on purpose? The guy might be surprisingly petty, after all.

"[Earth and Metal Sign: Emerald Megalopolis]"

As soon as the Shielder is blown away, five mighty walls of green crystal rise from the ground in quick succession, barring the way and obscuring their sight. Welp, that cinches it. A heavy-duty barrier activating the moment the cutie is blown back? There's no way that's a coincidence. Nobunaga finally dismisses her guns, taking a deep, long-drawn breath and not quite managing to wipe a smirk off her face. It's been a very intense minute, after all. Heck, look at how wide Kagetora is smiling!

"Wipe these smiles off your faces, you two!" The sourpuss immediately tries to rain in their parade. "We're breaking through!"

"Yeah, yeah." She rolls her eyes with a sigh. "Man, why did you have to be in charge? You're taking this way too seriously."

She's not particularly worried, though. The colossal, multi-layered emerald wall looks quite impressive, but there's a limit to how much magecraft can hope to achieve in front of three Servants, especially when she's around. That is to say, it only takes about five seconds to work through the multiple layers. Fifteen tops.

Which makes Nobunaga frown. That was easy, far too easy. Their Master has already proven to have a decent head on her shoulders and a good grasp on their capabilities. There's no way she was buying time for this disappointment. She's gotta have something else cooked.

Just in case, she takes a wary step back as the last of the emerald walls crumble away, revealing the visitors… disappearing into the distance on the backs of spun-glass horses.

"And here I was thinking a wall wouldn't accomplish much in these circumstances…" She hums distractedly before letting a wide smile spread her lips again. "But it turned out to be just a bluff to break line of sight and turn tail uncontested. Sneaky sneaky… I think I like that gal."

"No matter, we're giving chase." Saber grounds out, looking rather cross than the visitors pulled a fast one on us. "A good Rider may be capable of outpacing us in the long run, but—"

"The enemy is still within reach." Kagetora cuts him off, bursting ahead without wasting a second. "Follow me! Nya!"

Yamato follows without another word, the two of them quickly shrinking the distance between them and the fleeing visitors.

"And of course you battle junkies would want to give chase." Nobunaga shakes her head with a resigned sigh. "Go ahead, I'll catch up later. My Agility Rank isn't that good."

Oh, well, she's tried. But these two hotheads are too stubborn for their own good. The won't listen to reason until their blood cools down a bit. She just hopes they don't do anything truly stupid while trying to 'unbesmirch their Empress's honor' or whatever.

As the two Servants close the distance, Nobunaga's sharp Archer eyes catch sight of the visitor Master standing on top of her horse's back and turning around to face their pursuers. It doesn't take a military genius to realize they still have some tricks up their sleeves.

Yes, she knew it! The wall was nice and all, but there was no way that was everything. Oh, this is gonna be good. Feeling her smile grow so wide that her cheeks hurt, Nobunaga lets out some extra power to levitate herself into a more advantaged position. She doesn't want to miss a single thing!

Right before the Master makes her move, her eyes meet Nobunaga's and she'd like to believe there's a moment of understanding there. Of acknowledgement and mutual respect. Whatever is coming next, it was planned for three Servants. But Nobunaga acknowledged the Master's skills enough not to charge blindly. And thus she earned the Master's respect by not getting caught in the trap like an idiot.

"O Angel who appears before a False God,
Black wings crafted by the Powerless.
Unknown is the essence of your being,
Return all to nothing!"

As the Master starts chanting, Nobunaga can feel a shiver run down her spine. It's a feeling reminiscent but oh-so-different from the one caused by Yamato's [Divine Water]. It doesn't evoke hostility, but wariness. She's not watching prey, but rather competition.

Kin.

Anti-Divinity.

And… something else. Something even more primal, more deeply rooted into her legend than her petty grudge against the gods.

That gleeful, exhilarating feeling when victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat. The elation of an unconventional plan working to perfection. The immense satisfaction of pulling a fast one over those stronger than oneself, on turning the tables in the face of great danger.

Before becoming Papiyas(Demon King), she was a Fool.

"[Judgement Zero]"

Ice blooms from nothing around the pursuing Servants, like a coral reef around a shipwreck. So quickly that there's no chance to react and would've looked instantaneous to anyone without the sharp eyes of her Class.

Nagao Kagetora is the incarnation of Bishamonten.
Yamato Takeru no Mikoto is an outright god.

And the two of them are now popsicles trapped in anti-divine ice.

Nobunaga doesn't immediately react to this development, crossing her arms and humming thoughtfully instead. Did this weird-ass attack truly manage to overcome their Magic Resistance, she wonders? Or maybe they've spontaneously developed a functioning sense of humor and are just playing some sort of prank?

After a full minute where the glacier fails to shatter, though, she has no choice but to accept they got caught for real. Probably for the best, now that she thinks about it. The world isn't ready for a Yamato Takeru with a taste for pranks.

Oh, well… She'd better get there and melt these two out before getting back to base and report on their failures. She'll even be nice and not laugh at them all through the process.

…

…

…

She'll even be nice and not laugh much.

… Okay, fine, she failed.

But hear her out.

Watching these two caught in ice was the funniest shit she's seen in ages, who can blame her for laughing a bit too much?

She tried to hold back, honest! But every time her eyes landed on the sourpuss pouty frown or Kagetora's silly shocked face… well, the cackles burst out of her gut all on their own.

And she had a lot of chances to do that, because this ice was quite something. The stubborn thing didn't want to melt, even with her inherent advantages against mystery. No wonder these two divine morons utterly failed to get free on their own. Without Nobunaga, they might have been left with no choice but to wait until the ice melted naturally.

The two of them were looking rather sullen after the whole ordeal. If Nobunaga was a better person, she would've respected their mood and left them to reflect on their mistakes in peace.

Suffice to say, Nobunaga isn't that sort of person.

"We seem to have lost the visitors." She comments idly.

"Indeed." Yamato has no choice but to agree.

"Which means we failed." She can't help but poke a bit harder.

"Utterly and completely." At least the guy takes responsibility for his fuckups.

The two of them remain quiet for a while, eyes lost into the horizon where the visitors disappeared hours ago.

"You know there was absolutely no reason to fight, right?" Nobunaga finally speaks up again. "They hadn't actually turned down our invitation, they were just posturing to save face. Until you jumped the gun, that is."

"… Ah."

"You're aware our Empress wanted to make friends with the visitors, right?"

"…I have no excuse."

Nobunaga can't help but sigh in resigned incredulity. Ladies and gentlemen, the Great Unifier of Japan, the Slaughterer of Demons and Gods and maybe the only relic from the past she actually respects a bit: the one and only Yamato Takeru in the flesh.

Never meet your heroes, indeed.

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Judgement Zero (Yggdra Union/Riviera the Promised Land): The mysterious, ominous power of a counterfeit grim angel. Manufactured to usurp the gods and raised under false premises. Effectiveness scales to the user's status upon use. The more dire the circumstances, the more powerful it becomes.

"In order to revive the golden age of the gods... Someone must become the one and only god. This is what my master said, and his word is absolute."

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