I can't see Dantès not ending up as a Servant of Chaldea in some form, mostly because without him, and later others like him, isn't it implied, or actually might have been outright stated, that the FGO Master would have died or broken from accumulated grudges of their adventure long ago?
I can't see Dantès not ending up as a Servant of Chaldea in some form, mostly because without him, and later others like him, isn't it implied, or actually might have been outright stated, that the FGO Master would have died or broken from accumulated grudges of their adventure long ago?
The better question is HOW will it work? In game, there was one master so Dantes didn't have to spread himself thin, but here we have Rika, and Tayler. Assuming his contract is only to Ritsuka due to him being the only one to conquer the tower, that does leave Taylor and Rika out to dry.
The thing is, this is what Taylor just went through in her dream sequence that started this chapter, so we might get to see Dante split between the two of them
I thought, for a moment, about reaching out to her across our bond and asking her to show up and spar with me, but I discarded it just as quickly as it came.
I really wasn't in the mood for picking up new techniques anyway. I wasn't sure I'd retain any of it if she did show up and teach me some, so there was no point in wasting anyone's time on it.
The better question is HOW will it work? In game, there was one master so Dantes didn't have to spread himself thin, but here we have Rika, and Tayler. Assuming his contract is only to Ritsuka due to him being the only one to conquer the tower, that does leave Taylor and Rika out to dry.
In a different fic I read with three Masters, Avenger called in two other Servants to serve as mental guardians for the others. However, this story has very different vibes so that wouldn't really work here
Honestly, if Dantes does end up in the same position as Ritsuka's mind guardian, I don't think he'll care that much about the safety of the other two Masters aside from how it would affect Ritsuka. Dantes is very single-minded in his goals as a result of his Avenger class and Personal Skills, so while he may give them some passing thought, he wouldn't be nearly as steadfast as he is with his primary target of protection.
Still, there are other options for the protection of the others' psyches. If we go by FGO's story and Interludes, dozens of Servants can qualify for this role even if Dantes took most of the spotlight. From gods and goddesses, to Servants with spiritual skills or Sainthood, to even other Extra Classes. For me the most ironic outcome would be if somehow Abigail Williams becomes Taylor's protector, being from America and also being connected to an interdimensional being as she is.
For me the most ironic outcome would be if somehow Abigail Williams becomes Taylor's protector, being from America and also being connected to an interdimensional being as she is.
I think it's far better if QA is Taylor mind-guardian.
Any attack of that type that happens in singularity get redirected to eldritch mind-space, and attacker is like "now what?"
Played the most recent Guda Guda on NA ("Ryouma's Narrow Escape") and while I didn't like all of it... Ryouma and Oryou's backstory was great. Like. I know they were basically the B plot of the event story, but I genuinely enjoyed it more than I did the main story. I guess I'm just a sucker for that sort of thing.
I kinda want to bring them into Hereafter...but there's too much buildup for it to work, and I'm sad.
I say if you want to bring Ryouma and Oryou into Hereafter, no one would complain. It's not like Oryou being a Dragon specifically breaks Nasu's worldbuilding. He may argue that it does, but it's not really that different from Frankenstein's Monster being a woman, or Musashi's personal rayshifting abilities, IMO.
Honestly, if Dantes does end up in the same position as Ritsuka's mind guardian, I don't think he'll care that much about the safety of the other two Masters aside from how it would affect Ritsuka. Dantes is very single-minded in his goals as a result of his Avenger class and Personal Skills, so while he may give them some passing thought, he wouldn't be nearly as steadfast as he is with his primary target of protection.
Still, there are other options for the protection of the others' psyches. If we go by FGO's story and Interludes, dozens of Servants can qualify for this role even if Dantes took most of the spotlight. From gods and goddesses, to Servants with spiritual skills or Sainthood, to even other Extra Classes. For me the most ironic outcome would be if somehow Abigail Williams becomes Taylor's protector, being from America and also being connected to an interdimensional being as she is.
Plus, if Dantes does end up being just as zealous in protecting Rika and Taylor, it really really cheapens what Ritsuka went through.
He's already got the short end of the stick as far as spot light goes. If Dantes just goes to Taylor too then frankly, Ritsuka should have just been killed in the bombing so Taylor could try and break under her karma
Plus I imagine that Taylor has QA in her corner for that sort of thing not as good as Edmond primarily due to the question of Priorities on QAs end but it's better than nothing
Nah, that's a slight misrepresentation. If you depart from gameplay to count lore, Dantes' defensive stats are just as busted as the rest of him.
He has a flat A+ Endurance to rely on in a fight, meaning he's already hardier than the greater percentile of Servants. Agility is actually the dump stat at C-Rank, but his super-speed negates that. His Determination of Steel is EX, meaning he possesses the Valor and Calm-and-Collected Skills at equivalent levels; he does not feel any pain, cannot have his mental state interfered with at all, and the physical stressors of super-speed have no effect on him. And he has Avenger at A-Rank, meaning negative emotions directed towards him immediately become mana he can use, further reinforcing everything else.
On top of his broken speed feats and mindboggling power, there's a reason I've referred to Dantes in the past as the prime candidate for Grand Avenger. The man's greatest weakness would be his complete lack of Luck. Not even general bad luck and so-on like Emiya's ever-infamous E-Rank, he doesn't have Luck, the same way Sasaki has no Noble Phantasm. This results in forces generally conspiring against him and making things infinitely harder than they should be
He's also vulnerable to getting overwhelmed, especially if his abilities have been suppressed in one or more ways. In Summer 5 he was completely unable to put up a fight against Abby, who's basically Queen of the Dreamrealms, in Ritsuka's mental landscape, and was summarily booted out of action in short order. And in the Shimousa manga, he wasn't able to react fast enough to employ his superspeed in a fight and took a pretty damaging iaido blow to the body.
That wouldn't go so well for her. Even if she was buffed up to Servant specs she'd be fighting two large scale pyromancers and her own physical parameters would not be nearly good enough to even compete with one of them let alone both backed with Protagonist Power.
If she's given the liberty to fight as a puzzle/gimmick boss instead of an arena boss her odds improve.
But given how Aife and EMIYA both were forced into the appropriate positions of their negative karma and not permitted the freedom to be or act otherwise she'll probably be Arena Khepri with like 5 minions.
"Damn it," said Emiya as blood darkened the black of his shirt. "You just don't understand it, do you? A world where everyone can be saved… A world where every hand can be held and every smile protected… Dreaming of a world like that…can only cause you suffering."
In a burst of light, Emiya fractured and dissolved, dissipating into glittering motes.
"Damn," Jeanne Alter groused. She flicked her blade, casting off blood that wasn't there. "I knew that bastard was tough, but he just didn't fucking know when to quit, did he?"
Ritsuka was about to remind her that he could be a whole lot worse, and then he remembered that she hadn't been there when they fought that corrupted Emiya in Fuyuki. The one they'd just gotten done fighting was tough and difficult, but in terms of fighting, he'd been sloppy and half-hearted. In terms of the sin he'd supposedly been representing…
"Yeah."
…it felt like it was reflecting someone else instead of Ritsuka himself. Like Emiya had been speaking to someone who wasn't there, imposing that person upon Ritsuka and attacking that person's flaws instead.
"Congratulations, Master," said Avenger, his grin ever-present. "You have defeated the avatar of greed, for what could possibly be greedier than desiring a world that conforms to your own idealistic view of mankind? A man who wished with all his heart to save everyone and end all suffering, who desired only to experience the joy of sparing another's life… Heh! Truly, he was the greediest man to ever live!"
Ritsuka grimaced.
On the other hand… It wasn't like he himself had never felt like that. Wasn't that what he was fighting for in the first place? Wasn't that Chaldea's Grand Order? Saving the world was part of his job, wasn't it?
So then…was it wrong to want to save everyone along the way, too? Even if it was impossible?
Maybe it was.
"Hey, what's with that fucking lackluster congratulations?" Jeanne Alter said, annoyed. "It's not like you handled that on your own or something! I was right fucking there!"
Ritsuka wanted to sigh. "Thank you, Jeanne Alter. We couldn't have made it without you."
And it was the truth, as far as he was concerned. Especially if Emiya had taken them more seriously and actually tried to kill them all, Ritsuka wasn't sure Avenger would have been enough to stop him. Not against a guy who had taken several of Herakles' twelve lives and expressed surprised disappointment he hadn't taken more.
"Tch." She folded her arms across her chest. "Goddamn right."
"Let's go back." He turned to Avenger. "There's still four more, right?"
Avenger's grin broadened. "Indeed."
So they returned back to the dingy little prison cell that served as the nexus point for this little slice of hell. The woman Ritsuka had rescued — Mercédès, as Avenger had named her — was waiting for them when they got back.
"You're back," she said by way of greeting. "That means you defeated the Lord of Judgment, doesn't it?"
Ritsuka smiled tiredly at her. "Yeah. It wasn't easy, but with Avenger and Jeanne Alter there, we managed to defeat him without anyone getting hurt."
"Of course we did," Jeanne Alter drawled. "This guy's my only ticket out of this place, so I need him in one piece if I want out of here. And those goody two-shoes outside would probably pitch a fucking fit if I let him die on me."
"I see," said Mercédès. "I'm glad. It's good that Ritsuka has people he can rely upon."
Avenger said something in response, but Ritsuka's eyes had fallen on the threadbare cot that he had originally woken up on, and the weight of the last three battles suddenly settled upon him like a heavy coat. The urge to lie down and close his eyes hit him like a punch to the stomach, and before he could even think about it, he was already stumbling across the room towards it.
"Giving up, Master?" Avenger asked mockingly, and the words jolted straight through Ritsuka's brain. He shook his head.
"No," he answered firmly. "Just…I think…I need a little nap."
"Heh!" Jeanne Alter leered. "Tired, Master? Did that bastard wear you out with all his preaching?"
Ritsuka chuckled anemically. "Something like that. It just…feels like I've been up all day."
"Time passes differently in Chateau d'If than it does in the outside world," Avenger said. He grinned. "Very well, Master. Rest, if you must, before we continue our crusade through this hell. But if you grow complacent and succumb to temptation, then you will lie here and rot."
"Like I'd fucking let him," Jeanne Alter snarled.
Ritsuka smiled at her. "Thank you, Jeanne Alter. I'm glad you're here to look out for me."
"Tch." She rolled her eyes. "Don't read too much into it. You're the only way I'm getting out of here, remember?"
"Yeah. I remember."
The cot was rickety and creaked and felt like it would fall apart, and it was like lying down on heaven when Ritsuka climbed onto it. He sank into the canvas with a sigh and didn't even bother to grab the threadbare blanket.
Mercédès pulled it up over top of him for him.
"Rest for now, Ritsuka," she said gently. "There will be time to fight again when you wake up."
He murmured a thanks to her and slid one last glance at Jeanne Alter, who had taken up sentinel at the door, and then slipped into sleep.
How long he spent like that, he didn't know. Time was weird enough in Chateau d'If, and there was no way of knowing whether or not it got weirder while he slept. It could have been hours, it could have been days, and it might even have been nothing more than a few minutes.
But when he came to later on to the feeling of a hand gently combing through his hair, he felt much better. Well-rested and ready to take on the next Lord of Judgment.
When he opened his eyes, Mercédès smiled down at him. "Good morning, Ritsuka."
"Morning," he mumbled back. "Um… If it is morning, I mean."
Mercédès hummed quietly. "I suppose there really isn't a way of knowing, is there? I should warn you. Avenger seems to be in a particularly foul mood this morning."
Ritsuka's brow furrowed as he sat up. "Foul mood?"
Mercédès nodded solemnly. "Normally, he looks like he's enjoying himself. This morning, however, he seems quite…angry, for no reason I can discern."
He's always angry, Ritsuka was tempted to say, but it wasn't quite true, was it? Avenger could have quite the temper, and he was prone to speaking loudly and even yelling on occasion, but even when he was arguing with Jeanne Alter, he almost seemed to be having fun doing it.
As though the thought had drawn her attention, Jeanne Alter looked over from her position by the door, where she must have spent the entire "night," as it were.
"'Sup," she drawled. "You done lying about, Master?"
"Yeah," he said. "I feel much better now. Thanks for watching over me, Jeanne Alter."
She rolled her eyes. "Like I said. Don't think about it too much. It's not any more complicated than me needing you to get out of here."
Ritsuka wondered how true that actually was.
The door to the cell creaked open, and Avenger walked through. Jeanne Alter, who had reached for her sword, let her hand drop away from its hilt.
Avenger's eyes zeroed in on Ritsuka immediately. "You're awake. Good. We're going to the fourth Hall of Judgment. Don't fall behind."
And then, he turned around again.
"You're right," Ritsuka muttered to Mercédès. "He is in a bad mood."
"Yes, he is," she whispered back. "Please take care, Ritsuka. I don't believe he would hurt you intentionally, but if he were to be taken over in a fit of rage…"
Then he might do it on accident. Ritsuka wasn't quite sure how true that was, but he wasn't sure it was safe to risk it either. "Yeah."
He climbed up off the cot and jogged over to the door, where Jeanne Alter was waiting. "Let's go, before he leaves us behind."
"Not like we actually need him," she said, but she fell into step with him anyway.
They managed to catch up to Avenger before he got too far ahead of them, and he said nothing to even indicate he knew they were there for a long while, just kept walking. Ritsuka tried to keep track of the route they were taking, but it was all the same as it had been before. Avenger kept saying that the path changed with every Lord they fought, but to Ritsuka, they all looked identical.
"The next Lord embodies the sin of gluttony," Avenger said at last. "The sin of those who attempt to devour everything in their path. To eat and eat and eat and still remain unfulfilled, to never be satisfied, no matter what. No high-minded ideals, simply an endless appetite that can never be sated."
They finally came to another door.
"Prepare yourself, Master. This fight will be simpler."
Avenger pushed the door open. On the other side, awaiting them, there was a familiar figure —
"But simpler does not mean easy."
— carrying a deadly red spear.
I actually completely forgot that Mister Starfish was amongst the enemies faced. So. Uh. We'll just...not address him for now?
Honestly that's how I feel in a lot of "character attack" monologues.
You have some villain or mentor tearing down the hero as if they know their deepest darkest secrets... when they only met them a few minutes ago and they are actually just projecting.
"-and that's why people like you can never know the suffering of an orphan!"
"I am an orphan."
"What? Really?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Dunno, it just never seemed that important to me."
"-and that's why people like you can never know the suffering of an orphan!"
"I am an orphan."
"What? Really?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Dunno, it just never seemed that important to me."
IIRC, it should be Caligula that they're facing right now for Gluttony, so what caused Aoife (or is is Scáthach?) to upend the standard order of events?
Hell, if they're on the third Lord, then it should've been Gilles that they're facing.
