View: https://youtu.be/BOMT8qaI7WE?si=YUgKmu6B6CXERl3j
[X] [Split]
-[X] Have Circe, Archer, Medusa and Shadow Servants engage Brihannala.
-[X] Have Shielder, Luke, and Mordred engage Cu Chulainn, with Medea acting as support. Ayako switches between support with Medea, and getting in close when she has the opportunity.
--[X] Make a copy of that bow Circe showed you, and pass it to Ayako. Ruby is powerful, but having something she's more familiar with on hand could help.
-[X] Have Illya, Shirou, and Ritsuka stay back, survey the battle, and take potshots.
Thanks to @Armoury for the beta!
—
It would be wrong to say you had a plan for this situation. You barely had a plan for anything these days. The world itself seemed to move against the very
concept of you having plans. You were reactive, chasing, catching up and failing. You were frequently too late, or were surprised, caught off guard or simply overpowered. But today,
today unlike any others. You were on the attack. So, while you lacked a plan… you did have an idea of how things would go.
You say nothing as the servants rush forth. What left was there to say? A flash of air, the world igniting, Ruby swinging through the air to
remove the front of the church. Medea releases you, dropping you to the ground next to Illya and Ayako as Rider turns into the wind itself. Brihannala leaps back, narrowly avoiding Rider's blades swinging for her neck. They disappear then, the sound of clashing weapons and the flash of light being the only sign either are still there at all. Even as the Red Archer and Ritsuka's 'shadows' move in. Ruby swings around again, a large chunk of the grounds disappearing as you stab out an arm to catch your girlfriend from the recoil. The air around you shakes as the beasts roars, swinging its fists with abandon, its many eyes darting from spot to spot, keeping track of all the servants around it. Medea moves, casting you one last look before she takes off, her cloak billowing open in the wind.
Your hand stabs out to the side, and the mantra leaves your lips without you even thinking about it. The bow appears in your hands, a simple thing, but filled with history. Then you hold it in front of Ayako.
She stares at the unfamiliar bow for only a moment, then takes it, nocking it back. An arrow appears of its own accord, and she looses it a second later, then another, then another. A wicked grin forms on Ayako's face as the arrows shriek in flight, puncturing the flesh of the monster as it lets out a roar that shakes the trees. A massive fist crashes against Mash's shield, sending the servant tumbling back, but Mordred is there in the moment between moments, red streaks of light flashing as her blade carves into him. The beast hurtles itself forward, threatening to crush your Berserker, only for the ground around him to erupt in blasts of energy, Medea flying by, beams of light dancing through the air to hem it in or carve deep tracks through its flesh. She's faster than before, stronger than before as well. And you only have a moment to process that before Medusa comes to a skidding stop just nearby. Her face covered in blood, her daggers still held tight in her hands. Another shriek of arrows, this far louder than that of Ayako's. Mordred goes flying back, and a flaming arrow jutting out of her breast, the knight tumbling end over end on the ground, sword flying.
"Medusa!" Illya shouts, her fist raised. "
Kill her!" Illya was different now, her body alight in magical markings you couldn't even begin to understand. But then Medusa was gone, an eruption of air and a popping of your ears marking her reengagement. The Archer turns, moving her bow from where it had been pointed at Circe to instead point it at Rider.
She's too slow. The clash of metal upon metal sounds as she barely turns the bow in time to catch Medusa's daggers, but not her leg as the purple-haired servant spins in the air, sending the archer flying across the battlefield. Circe's staff spins in the air, a mocking laugh sounding from your teacher as golden beams of light scour the ground.
… Right.
Your hand stretches out again, and you let out a breath. "Ο κόσμος αλλοίωσις, ο βίος υπόληψις." A familiar staff appears in your hand, its construction is known, its history is known, its power is known, and you point it at the monster. "Αερο!"
The Monster, its fist raised to the man in black stumbles back from the force of cutting winds. And a beam of luminous green flashes from the man, severing the Monster's arm and causing it to howl in rage and pain.
"Pashupa-" Brihanalla shouts, but is forced to leap back as Medusa closes the distance once again, blades singing. They disappear from view, once more, a half dozen servants, if only three really engage the archer at once. Twin blades of black and white carve through the air, forcing Brihannala to jerk and dodge, all the while Rider forces herself into any gaps as Circe forces the archer back and further back.
"Don't you fucking dare!" Ruby shrieks, and you turn your head to see the stick wiggling violently as Ayako has it drawn back against the strings of the bow. With a
twang the string releases, causing it to surge ahead with a scream as it crashes into the Monster's hide. You open your mouth to question that-
But you are instead busy shoving Ayako out of the way as a knife narrowly misses her midsection. The priest!? He is among you now, long but thin knives held in his hands. You only have a singular moment to process that he was among you before he is swinging for you. Fujimaru dives into the way, the woman raising an arm to attempt to block it to no avail, the blade skids against the jumpsuit before sliding down and into her gut, causing the woman to fall back onto the ground with a pained gasp. Kirei swings around, his blades raised-
You didn't plan, not much. You had always been rather instinctive. But that didn't mean you didn't have contingencies, and as his blades sang towards your neck, you shouted. But it wasn't a spell.
"MORDRED!"
—
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7OhTeJEBik
Kirei only has a moment to widen his eyes before a knight of legend has appeared in the midst of you all. A gauntlet crashes into his face, causing the man to go spiraling back. And it's either instinct or luck that causes the knifes to raise just in time to keep her sword from slicing into his midsection. Kirei stumbles back, unsteady for but a moment, before he leaps forward, knives flashing at his side as he closes the distance with berserker. The man was fast, inhumanely so, and Illya dives out of the way of the clash, even as Rin watches impassively from the side.
His blades raise, his face impassive.
Only to pause, his arms falling limp as his side as a thin knife juts out from his neck. His eyes flit down, looking at the half foot of steel erupting from his throat. Then he falls forward, a wet gurgling sound being his only vocalisation before he collapses onto the earth, his knives falling away with a clatter. Rin stands there, a blade slick with blood held in her hand.
"Agni Gandiva!"
You jerk your head to see a red streak of light tearing towards you.
"MASH!"
Shielder appears in front of you, her shield slammed against the ground. The arrow hits a fraction of a second later, crashing into the large cross with a deafening
bang. Shielder yelps, her feet digging back against the ground, the arrow isn't
stopping. You move without even thinking, your shoulder crashing against the back of the shield. A heavy pair of gauntlets around your shoulders, and you know Mordred is pushing as well. Then another, then another. Mata Hari is pushing to the right of Mash, Taiga just beside her. The woman lets out a shout of exertion as she digs her shoes into the earth. The ground
breaks around the lot of you, erupting, tearing, burning. Mash screams, pushing as hard as she can.
… And then it's over.
The arrow falls to the ground, aflame, but harmless. A deep crater on the front of the shield being the only sign it had been a threat at all. You look past the shield, past the smoke, past the flames. To see Brihannala standing atop what remains of the roof, staring down at the lot of you impassively as she fades away.
A roar sounds, desperate and angry, but by the time you turn your head, the beast is little more than a flailing mass of blood and butchery. Glowing wounds from Saber's burning blade cover it, and it charges forward once more, but it makes it only halfway to the man before it too is gone. And then… and then there is nothing. No more sounds of combat, no more shouts, no more screams. Just flame, and ruined earth.
The hill, what was left of it, was in ruins. Craters pocked the ground like a battlefield from one of your history classes… school, now that wasn't something you had thought about in a fair bit. You stood unsteadily, your body tired, your muscles aching. You couldn't focus on your victory, not when someone close to you was lying on the ground just nearby. You pay only a moment's attention to Taiga, only a moment's attention to the people with her. And instead you look to the woman laying at your feet. Fujimaru was grinning from ear to ear, looking rather smug all things considered despite the bleeding wound at her side.
"Now we're even," Fujimaru groans.
"Even?" you ask in disbelief.
Fujimaru nods, then lets out a slow breath. "I'll be fine, Rasputin is kind of a shit shot."
You blink slowly, processing that statement. "That was Kirei."
"No, right now his name is 'dead asshole'." Fujimaru replies, then grunts as Shielder begins to pull up her shirt to bandage the wound.
"
Master." Shielder complains without further words.
You smile, then look over the scene again. Ayako was panting but fine, as were you for that matter. The servants were in various states of mauled, Mordred was battered but fine… the man in black. Luke, you believe Ayako called him, was spotless. Medea and Circe were fine as well, though Medea you note was favoring one leg over the other… something you missed in the fight. Beyond that… not much more in the way of injuries… a small miracle, but then, you had spent quite some time building up this force.
You turn your attention then to Taiga. Helicopters roared overhead, the sleek black designs of Raiga's 'fleet' circling the area. She wasn't alone, Mata Hari was there of course, holding the same blade 'Rin' had been just a few moments prior… and three others were standing behind her. The same three you had seen back at the skyscraper that Rin was staying in. Why your teacher was here you still had no idea, but at the moment you felt rather tired, and weren't much in the mood for questioning sudden freak appearances.
"I thought Raiga wanted nothing to do with me anymore?" you ask tiredly.
"Raiga is no longer in charge," Taiga replies simply, staring at you.
You open your mouth to respond, but you don't have the opportunity. Taiga's hands wrap around the back of your head and pull you against her. Holding you tight. "Thank you, Shirou." She whispers.
There is no hesitation, you wrap your arms around her in return. Holding her there. You separate a moment later, Taiga smiling at you, you smiling back. "Is it over then?" Taiga asks.
"No." A new voice, one brimming with exhaustion responds.
You and Taiga both turn your heads to see the tall man, Ruler, standing just nearby. He hadn't been there a moment ago, he looked at you, the man looked haggard, bruised, and bleeding. "I couldn't stop it. I can only apologize."
"Stop what?" Taiga asks.
The world's end was the answer to that question. The ground shook, and you watch, all of you watch, as the center of Fuyuki disappears in fire. A tower was erupting from the earth, raising itself out of the ground with an eruption of lava and smoke. It's a jagged, ugly thing of black metal. Battlements upon battlements, no light reaches it, in fact the city goes dark as it begins to rise, the power lost. It continued to rise, jagged, spiked towers of the cruelest construction, darker than even the deepest shadows cast by the night. Then it stopped, it was dozens of stories high, dwarfing every other building in Fuyuki, and from it glowed a baleful light that illuminated nothing as Fuyuki
burned.
You stare at it in disbelief, watching, saying nothing. Transfixed.
Then you take a step, your eyes shifting away from the tower, watching as building after building caught fire. Screams and shouts filling the air. Panic filling the city. It was an impossible thing, it was an impossible situation. It was not something man could build, nor mage. And with it came the end of everything.
In moments the center of the city was gone entirely, replaced by flame and black smoke.
Nobody spoke, nobody was capable of it. Some were shocked, others were stoic, none spoke.
…
And you began to walk, one foot ahead of the other, making your way towards the center of the city. There were people that needed you.
"
Master."
It's… Caster, Medea. Her arms are wrapping around you. You are still walking, but no longer moving forward anymore. You turn your head up slowly, seeing her. Then, for some reason you can't quite explain.
You begin to cry.
View: https://i.imgur.com/M4EnwwJ.png
Wasn't it enough? How much more did you have to do? How much more did Fuyuki have to suffer? How much more did the people you love have to suffer?
"Master, we must regroup and gather information." Caster says quietly. "Alright?"
…
—
[] [Continue on]
No more waiting, this ends now.
[] [Head back to the castle]
People were injured, and you needed to take stock of the situation.
—
Sorry for the shorter length, I'm still very sick. Art is done by the amazing BSpence.
