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Save Scumming? It's on my Character sheet. (Re: Zero/Fate Grand Order)
- Thread starter Xorn
- Start date
- Crossover
Wise Up! - [Black Serpent]
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Wise Up! - [Black Serpent]
Black Serpent of Gluttony: Daphne Hydrae
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Army
Range: 1-200
Maximum number of targets: 300 People.
The first of the Great Witchbeasts created by the Witch of Gluttony, Daphne. A phenomenally dangerous Phantasmal Beast that spewed all-devouring venom as it rampaged across the other world. It was the least controllable of the three, with only the [Witch of Vainglory] having any ability to manipulate it - and even her 'control' amounted to little more than "drop it in a place you want destroyed."
Since Roy had ties to the thing, metaphysically speaking, it has manifested as a Noble Phantasm that qualifies him for the Rider class. But in life he never rode upon the Black Serpent, and so his ability to control it is tenuous at best.
Incidentally, Reid can only control it for a few seconds during its initial summoning, after which it's turned loose - so he just uses it as an improvised shield.
Black Serpent of Gluttony: Daphne Hydrae
Rank: A
Type: Anti-Army
Range: 1-200
Maximum number of targets: 300 People.
The first of the Great Witchbeasts created by the Witch of Gluttony, Daphne. A phenomenally dangerous Phantasmal Beast that spewed all-devouring venom as it rampaged across the other world. It was the least controllable of the three, with only the [Witch of Vainglory] having any ability to manipulate it - and even her 'control' amounted to little more than "drop it in a place you want destroyed."
Since Roy had ties to the thing, metaphysically speaking, it has manifested as a Noble Phantasm that qualifies him for the Rider class. But in life he never rode upon the Black Serpent, and so his ability to control it is tenuous at best.
Incidentally, Reid can only control it for a few seconds during its initial summoning, after which it's turned loose - so he just uses it as an improvised shield.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Witch factor got yanked out of its appropriate spot by force and it left a bunch of Geuse-y gunk in Subaru's soul on its way out. It's weird, but Witch Factors have always been weird.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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He is lucky to not have taken Return by Death
Or he would have...
Don't know but pretty sure that, is some that make Satella furious
Or he would have...
Don't know but pretty sure that, is some that make Satella furious
RIP Mordred, unceremoniously stomped to death by Berserker Lancelot. Reid's defeat was also clever, I think, since I can definitely buy that he wouldn't expect the leaves from a random tree Berserkalot uprooted to be as deadly as any blade.
Oh, and RIP Prelati too, I guess.
Oh, and RIP Prelati too, I guess.
- Location
- Mt. Holly, North Carolina
Berserker Lancelot is obsessed with Arthur, not the knights of the round. For example, he actually disregarded every enemy if they aren't blocking him from fighting Arturia in Fate/zero. Which Gilgamesh did. That then led to Berserker stealing a military jet that flew over, then ripping out it's machine gun. He also, doesn't notice that Mash is a demiservant of Galahad, his son, in FGO.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Correct. But Mordred looks a lot like Arthur when her helmet is off, so Lancelot got em mixed up since he's crazy. And then he went ahead and killed the other people in the area just in case, since his orders are still "kill everyone".
37: Thinking is nice.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
37: Thinking is nice.
I gag and choke as salt water fills my mouth and nostrils - here again!? Why here, Satella? Why not the clearing from earlier, or Ahab's boat!?
Ugh, do I just wait until I pass out again? According to what Prelati said on the boat, that should float me to the surface. But then, there's no guarantee that they'll find me floating around up there. And it certainly didn't look like Prelati's scheme to get Ahab to kill Fafnir was going to pan out in the first place - both the old captain and myself were half melted by the time I popped this fake Reality Marble.
...Well, I might be making a biased call, since the alternative involves nearly drowning, but I'm going to make the call to end this stupid ocean adventure early.
"[E-M-T]!" I yell, command spell blazing - and in a ten meter sphere around me, the water vanishes, my feet landing with a soft crunch upon fresh green grass. It's not necessary to keep the negation effect up for long - already, the disruption of Francois Prelati's fake Reality Marble has spread a good two meters beyond the boundary of my spell. Punching a tiny hole in his [Grand Illusion] was all that was necessary from me; the planet will take care of the rest.
If my understanding of that whole [World Egg Theory] thing is correct - and that's a pretty big 'if' - this kind of trick wouldn't work against a true Reality Marble. But since Prelati's more or less directly assaulting the Planet with his illusion... that more adversarial nature probably makes this black sea far more vulnerable to disruption. Probably.
And so, not five minutes later, the hellish dark ocean disappears entirely.
***
I find myself finally able to breathe easily, standing beneath a clear blue sky. Rolling hills of gently swaying grass stretch on far into the horizon - save for a few trees dotting the plains, and a small village several kilometers away, there doesn't appear to be much out here. No sign of dragons or sea monsters.
Behind me, I can hear Mordred coughing and sputtering, spitting out water, and to my left, Mash leans on her shield, panting heavily. Near her feet, Fou kicks the ground angrily, shaking his fur - come to think of it, he disappeared at some point during the last loop, probably when Prelati teleported us. I doubt he stood much of a chance against the Wyverns, so that's another failure to add to the list, I guess.
"What… was that?" Mash mutters, and before I can respond, a hologram of the director pops in to ask the same question.
"We completely lost your signal for a few seconds there! What happened!?"
I sigh. "We got unlucky with our landing zone - got trapped in a fake Reality Marble for a little bit there."
"A fake Reality Marble? Senpai, what exactly…?" Mash starts.
"Ugh, I've got a bunch of information now about what's going on in this singularity, but I haven't had much time to think about it. Can you give me a few minutes to get everything straight?" I reply, rubbing my temples. "Like before, I can't tell you how I know it, though…"
"Ugh, I was hoping it would be limited to the Fuyuki mess, but this is going to be a pattern, huh?" Olga says, heaving a sigh.
"Sorry, but my hands are kind of tied. Anyway, while I think, we can head towards… that village, I guess."
***
...Rather than starting at the beginning, it might be best to start at the end. I need to figure it out, since that could very easily be the biggest problem I'm facing. Namely, what the hell was that, at the end there? It felt like… Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. It felt like the time I was possessed by that guy, the Archbishop of Sloth.
Ugh. Even now, that bastard's causing problems for me, huh?
He should be dead. He's definitely dead, and yet…
Let's backtrack. Why did he start invading my thoughts in the first place? It had to be because that Berserker tore out my [Invisible Providence]. Leaving aside the obvious 'how the fuck?' there, the fact remains that he stole my authority of Sloth, and as a result, Petelgeuse started leaking into my mind.
But that doesn't make any sense. If he's tearing my [Sloth] out of my body, why would I feel more like Petelgeuse?
...
This isn't the first time I've heard the voice of a dead Archbishop in my head. Back in Fuyuki, Louis showed up. And beneath the Watchtower, too, I think I heard Sloth and Greed. It's obviously got something to do with the [Witch Factors], but…
Dammit, I should have asked Beatrice more about how they worked. But I put it off, because I didn't want to think about it, and now… well, it's far too late.
In any case, it's just circumstantial evidence, but the best bet seems to be that the Witch Factors keep some kind of record of their prior holders - or maybe the Archbishops' souls were absorbed alongside their abilities. There's no real difference either way. Those guys were headed for Hell anyway, so if the Hell they get to suffer is my life, I'm fine with that too.
So, when that Berserker tore out my Authority, it might have been like tearing the faucet off of a sink - only [Sloth] sprays everywhere, instead of water. Or maybe he tore out the whole Witch Factor, and Petelgeuse left a bunch of gunk behind in my soul on his way out.
"...Either way, it's an important reminder, I guess." I mutter with a sigh. The Witch Factors can't be trusted. My Authorities are not my friends. They are not good for me. They're something to use when things are at their most desperate, and nothing more.
***
Next up is… Prelati, I guess.
Francois Prelati. A Cleric, an Alchemist, and an Illusionist. He's useful. Without a doubt, he's useful to have around, to the point that his sheer utility can't be understated. What's more, as far as I can tell, we only got the bare minimum information out of him regarding the nature of this Singularity.
It's not like another Caster Servant would be a bad thing to have back at Chaldea. Yeah, from an objective standpoint, finding Prelati and teaming up with him again is the right move.
However.
However, his personality is completely rotten! He seems like he's made it his life's mission to piss people off! He's the type of guy who finds the line he's not supposed to cross, crosses it, and then jumps back to the side he's supposed to be on just so he can cross the line an additional time for good measure!
Sure, the results of his compulsive lying turned out well enough for us, but since there was a perfectly sound rationalization for it anyway, he should have just started with that, instead of tricking us into doing the correct thing. Not to mention his tendency to needle people, to get under their skin and twist the knife. He was mostly targeting Mordred, but I'm sure that's just because he hadn't figured out enough about me or Mash yet.
Yeah, there's no way we can work with him long-term. Maybe someone like Flat or El-Melloi could manage him as a servant, but there's no way I could. He reminds me of someone - several someones, really. I couldn't place it earlier, but thanks to the unfortunate reminder of Petelgeuse's existence, I figured it out - deeds aside, Francois Prelati has a personality suited for a Sin Archbishop.
***
Speaking of Prelati's deceptions, I should think about that trick he pulled during the summoning ritual.
"[Foreigner-class], huh...?" I mutter.
To start with, I only have an extremely rudimentary knowledge of what a Foreigner-class Spirit Origin actually means. From what little of my memories survived my life in Atlas, I know those guys were pretty spooked by the concept. I remember Flat mentioning Foreigner at one point before the professor cut him off and yelled at him for going off topic. And I know that Zelretch warned me about them; that my very connection to Satella was liable to get me labeled a [Threat to Humanity].
...Ugh, from all that, I guess rather than being pissed Reid showed up, I should be thankful that it wasn't the Witch of Envy.
Speaking of which, Reid Astrea. What the hell was he doing here? I was under the impression that the Throne of Heroes only recorded people from Earth! Obviously, that's why he was summoned in a class reserved for aliens, but that doesn't answer what he was doing on the Throne in the first place.
...Well, he wasn't Reid, though. He was Roy Alphard, who lost his existence to Reid Astrea during that mess at the Watchtower. That's important to remember. No, that's definitely the answer to a lot of questions.
If I expand off that guess earlier that Witch Factors keep a record of prior holders, then it makes some sense for Roy Alphard to be recorded as part of the Human Order - he got copied from my soul.
Which probably means that the other archbishops I killed have a chance of showing up as well. And possibly even the Witches who had the authorities before them.
"Summoning a Foreigner is a 'no', then." I mumble under my breath. We got seriously lucky last loop! If Daphne showed up and started adding Mabeasts to this mess, I might cry!
The fact that he was actually Roy Alphard is probably why he lost, too. Reid was already stupidly fast in life; as a Servant he should have been fast enough to cut the rest of the leaves out of the air when the first one pierced his skin. But since he was just Roy Alphard imitating the memories of the human Reid Astrea using Solar Eclipse, he didn't get the bonus of Reid's legend.
And so, that Berserker was able to defeat him.
***
...That's the last question, I guess. What was going on with that Berserker?
I couldn't see what he looked like. I couldn't see anything about him, other than that black fog surrounding him, and that glowing red line on his face - but I felt a metal chestplate when I missed his heart with [Invisible Providence], so… that red line could have been a visor slit.
"...A Black Knight, then?" I sigh. "And those cannons…?"
He discarded them, after firing. In that case… is it some kind of trick where he can empower things he touches? Everything he grabbed turned black with glowy red lines - all the way down to the leaves on the uprooted tree he used against Reid.
Can he just… use anything he grabs as his Noble Phantasm?
That would explain the cannons and muskets, I guess. To start with, it's not like medieval cannons have triggers or anything. It would probably be a nightmare to fire them dual-wielded like that, unless he had some way of igniting the cannon's fuse without touching it. And it explains how fucking leaves were able to kill Reid Astrea.
They weren't just leaves; they were a Noble Phantasm, with all that implies.
But still, an improvised weapons master, huh? Or at least, someone who could 'master any weapon'.
"The first to come to mind is Benkei, I guess..?" I mumble. The man was literally called Oniwakamaru, which means Oni child, when he was growing up, so the Berserker class is an obvious fit. And considering the fact that he and Yoshitsune used disguises while on the run, something that hides his appearance probably isn't too far afield…
If his glowing red visor was a Western-style helmet, that would be a point against the theory, but it's not like steel plate helmets are rare in Medieval France. It would be easier to confirm one way or another if I knew how tall he was, but that fog even made his height difficult to perceive.
"I think I've put together as much as I can right now…" I say aloud with a sigh, tapping the communicator on my wrist so that the Director appears once again. "Alright, I'll try and summarize everything I know, so everybody listen up."
I gag and choke as salt water fills my mouth and nostrils - here again!? Why here, Satella? Why not the clearing from earlier, or Ahab's boat!?
Ugh, do I just wait until I pass out again? According to what Prelati said on the boat, that should float me to the surface. But then, there's no guarantee that they'll find me floating around up there. And it certainly didn't look like Prelati's scheme to get Ahab to kill Fafnir was going to pan out in the first place - both the old captain and myself were half melted by the time I popped this fake Reality Marble.
...Well, I might be making a biased call, since the alternative involves nearly drowning, but I'm going to make the call to end this stupid ocean adventure early.
"[E-M-T]!" I yell, command spell blazing - and in a ten meter sphere around me, the water vanishes, my feet landing with a soft crunch upon fresh green grass. It's not necessary to keep the negation effect up for long - already, the disruption of Francois Prelati's fake Reality Marble has spread a good two meters beyond the boundary of my spell. Punching a tiny hole in his [Grand Illusion] was all that was necessary from me; the planet will take care of the rest.
If my understanding of that whole [World Egg Theory] thing is correct - and that's a pretty big 'if' - this kind of trick wouldn't work against a true Reality Marble. But since Prelati's more or less directly assaulting the Planet with his illusion... that more adversarial nature probably makes this black sea far more vulnerable to disruption. Probably.
And so, not five minutes later, the hellish dark ocean disappears entirely.
***
I find myself finally able to breathe easily, standing beneath a clear blue sky. Rolling hills of gently swaying grass stretch on far into the horizon - save for a few trees dotting the plains, and a small village several kilometers away, there doesn't appear to be much out here. No sign of dragons or sea monsters.
Behind me, I can hear Mordred coughing and sputtering, spitting out water, and to my left, Mash leans on her shield, panting heavily. Near her feet, Fou kicks the ground angrily, shaking his fur - come to think of it, he disappeared at some point during the last loop, probably when Prelati teleported us. I doubt he stood much of a chance against the Wyverns, so that's another failure to add to the list, I guess.
"What… was that?" Mash mutters, and before I can respond, a hologram of the director pops in to ask the same question.
"We completely lost your signal for a few seconds there! What happened!?"
I sigh. "We got unlucky with our landing zone - got trapped in a fake Reality Marble for a little bit there."
"A fake Reality Marble? Senpai, what exactly…?" Mash starts.
"Ugh, I've got a bunch of information now about what's going on in this singularity, but I haven't had much time to think about it. Can you give me a few minutes to get everything straight?" I reply, rubbing my temples. "Like before, I can't tell you how I know it, though…"
"Ugh, I was hoping it would be limited to the Fuyuki mess, but this is going to be a pattern, huh?" Olga says, heaving a sigh.
"Sorry, but my hands are kind of tied. Anyway, while I think, we can head towards… that village, I guess."
***
...Rather than starting at the beginning, it might be best to start at the end. I need to figure it out, since that could very easily be the biggest problem I'm facing. Namely, what the hell was that, at the end there? It felt like… Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti. It felt like the time I was possessed by that guy, the Archbishop of Sloth.
Ugh. Even now, that bastard's causing problems for me, huh?
He should be dead. He's definitely dead, and yet…
Let's backtrack. Why did he start invading my thoughts in the first place? It had to be because that Berserker tore out my [Invisible Providence]. Leaving aside the obvious 'how the fuck?' there, the fact remains that he stole my authority of Sloth, and as a result, Petelgeuse started leaking into my mind.
But that doesn't make any sense. If he's tearing my [Sloth] out of my body, why would I feel more like Petelgeuse?
...
This isn't the first time I've heard the voice of a dead Archbishop in my head. Back in Fuyuki, Louis showed up. And beneath the Watchtower, too, I think I heard Sloth and Greed. It's obviously got something to do with the [Witch Factors], but…
Dammit, I should have asked Beatrice more about how they worked. But I put it off, because I didn't want to think about it, and now… well, it's far too late.
In any case, it's just circumstantial evidence, but the best bet seems to be that the Witch Factors keep some kind of record of their prior holders - or maybe the Archbishops' souls were absorbed alongside their abilities. There's no real difference either way. Those guys were headed for Hell anyway, so if the Hell they get to suffer is my life, I'm fine with that too.
So, when that Berserker tore out my Authority, it might have been like tearing the faucet off of a sink - only [Sloth] sprays everywhere, instead of water. Or maybe he tore out the whole Witch Factor, and Petelgeuse left a bunch of gunk behind in my soul on his way out.
"...Either way, it's an important reminder, I guess." I mutter with a sigh. The Witch Factors can't be trusted. My Authorities are not my friends. They are not good for me. They're something to use when things are at their most desperate, and nothing more.
***
Next up is… Prelati, I guess.
Francois Prelati. A Cleric, an Alchemist, and an Illusionist. He's useful. Without a doubt, he's useful to have around, to the point that his sheer utility can't be understated. What's more, as far as I can tell, we only got the bare minimum information out of him regarding the nature of this Singularity.
It's not like another Caster Servant would be a bad thing to have back at Chaldea. Yeah, from an objective standpoint, finding Prelati and teaming up with him again is the right move.
However.
However, his personality is completely rotten! He seems like he's made it his life's mission to piss people off! He's the type of guy who finds the line he's not supposed to cross, crosses it, and then jumps back to the side he's supposed to be on just so he can cross the line an additional time for good measure!
Sure, the results of his compulsive lying turned out well enough for us, but since there was a perfectly sound rationalization for it anyway, he should have just started with that, instead of tricking us into doing the correct thing. Not to mention his tendency to needle people, to get under their skin and twist the knife. He was mostly targeting Mordred, but I'm sure that's just because he hadn't figured out enough about me or Mash yet.
Yeah, there's no way we can work with him long-term. Maybe someone like Flat or El-Melloi could manage him as a servant, but there's no way I could. He reminds me of someone - several someones, really. I couldn't place it earlier, but thanks to the unfortunate reminder of Petelgeuse's existence, I figured it out - deeds aside, Francois Prelati has a personality suited for a Sin Archbishop.
***
Speaking of Prelati's deceptions, I should think about that trick he pulled during the summoning ritual.
"[Foreigner-class], huh...?" I mutter.
To start with, I only have an extremely rudimentary knowledge of what a Foreigner-class Spirit Origin actually means. From what little of my memories survived my life in Atlas, I know those guys were pretty spooked by the concept. I remember Flat mentioning Foreigner at one point before the professor cut him off and yelled at him for going off topic. And I know that Zelretch warned me about them; that my very connection to Satella was liable to get me labeled a [Threat to Humanity].
...Ugh, from all that, I guess rather than being pissed Reid showed up, I should be thankful that it wasn't the Witch of Envy.
Speaking of which, Reid Astrea. What the hell was he doing here? I was under the impression that the Throne of Heroes only recorded people from Earth! Obviously, that's why he was summoned in a class reserved for aliens, but that doesn't answer what he was doing on the Throne in the first place.
...Well, he wasn't Reid, though. He was Roy Alphard, who lost his existence to Reid Astrea during that mess at the Watchtower. That's important to remember. No, that's definitely the answer to a lot of questions.
If I expand off that guess earlier that Witch Factors keep a record of prior holders, then it makes some sense for Roy Alphard to be recorded as part of the Human Order - he got copied from my soul.
Which probably means that the other archbishops I killed have a chance of showing up as well. And possibly even the Witches who had the authorities before them.
"Summoning a Foreigner is a 'no', then." I mumble under my breath. We got seriously lucky last loop! If Daphne showed up and started adding Mabeasts to this mess, I might cry!
The fact that he was actually Roy Alphard is probably why he lost, too. Reid was already stupidly fast in life; as a Servant he should have been fast enough to cut the rest of the leaves out of the air when the first one pierced his skin. But since he was just Roy Alphard imitating the memories of the human Reid Astrea using Solar Eclipse, he didn't get the bonus of Reid's legend.
And so, that Berserker was able to defeat him.
***
...That's the last question, I guess. What was going on with that Berserker?
I couldn't see what he looked like. I couldn't see anything about him, other than that black fog surrounding him, and that glowing red line on his face - but I felt a metal chestplate when I missed his heart with [Invisible Providence], so… that red line could have been a visor slit.
"...A Black Knight, then?" I sigh. "And those cannons…?"
He discarded them, after firing. In that case… is it some kind of trick where he can empower things he touches? Everything he grabbed turned black with glowy red lines - all the way down to the leaves on the uprooted tree he used against Reid.
Can he just… use anything he grabs as his Noble Phantasm?
That would explain the cannons and muskets, I guess. To start with, it's not like medieval cannons have triggers or anything. It would probably be a nightmare to fire them dual-wielded like that, unless he had some way of igniting the cannon's fuse without touching it. And it explains how fucking leaves were able to kill Reid Astrea.
They weren't just leaves; they were a Noble Phantasm, with all that implies.
But still, an improvised weapons master, huh? Or at least, someone who could 'master any weapon'.
"The first to come to mind is Benkei, I guess..?" I mumble. The man was literally called Oniwakamaru, which means Oni child, when he was growing up, so the Berserker class is an obvious fit. And considering the fact that he and Yoshitsune used disguises while on the run, something that hides his appearance probably isn't too far afield…
If his glowing red visor was a Western-style helmet, that would be a point against the theory, but it's not like steel plate helmets are rare in Medieval France. It would be easier to confirm one way or another if I knew how tall he was, but that fog even made his height difficult to perceive.
"I think I've put together as much as I can right now…" I say aloud with a sigh, tapping the communicator on my wrist so that the Director appears once again. "Alright, I'll try and summarize everything I know, so everybody listen up."
A bit late, sorry. Next chapter is aiming for next Monday, because I've got a busy week unfortunately.
Incidentally, Subaru mentions El-Melloi, he's talking about Reines, not Waver. Case Files is pre-5th war (which is in 2004), and FGO is in 2015, so she's probably got the El-Melloi title by this point barring shenanigans.
Incidentally, Subaru mentions El-Melloi, he's talking about Reines, not Waver. Case Files is pre-5th war (which is in 2004), and FGO is in 2015, so she's probably got the El-Melloi title by this point barring shenanigans.
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
Don't think I've ever seen somone theorise that Berserker!Lancelot could be Benkai due to the 'use anything as a weapon' ability, so that came as a surprise. Go figure Subaru jumps to Japanese heroes first off, though, considering his upbringing.
Makes you wonder, actually - the Chaldea crew seem pretty good at identifying Servants. Is that due to generally collected historical/mythological knowledge, or a specific function like analyzing Spirit Graphs, or "just ask Leonardo lol"? Especially considering the historical Grail Wars, it's fairly likely that they could go "oh, we have records from survivors of prior wars, that El-Melloi II guy mentioned a figure like this, it's Lancelot, he showed up as Berserker in that Fuyuki war, good luck with that".
Although I... could have sworn that that version of Waver wasn't compatible with the timeline of Grand Order where the 4th Fuyuki war actually had a winner.
Although I... could have sworn that that version of Waver wasn't compatible with the timeline of Grand Order where the 4th Fuyuki war actually had a winner.
RoboRenee
Trans of gender
- Location
- FFXIV, probably
- Pronouns
- She/Her
IIRC Berserkerlot's Not For One's Own Glory would blank that even if Waver was in Chaldea on call. I mean, in F/Z he's literally running at Saber screaming her name and not recognized as even a Knight of the Round. It took him catching an invisible Excalibur to twig Saber that he might be someone she knew, and that because it was literally the only way he could have known the sword well enough to do that or something.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
There was only one fuyuki grail war in the fgo timeline. Iirc the reason the servants get identified so easily in canon is because people just keep blabbing their names lol.
Did Waver even ever learn who Berserker was?
RoboRenee
Trans of gender
- Location
- FFXIV, probably
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I don't think so, at least not during the war itself. Saber and Berserker's final battle was a solo thing IIRC, so outside of them I think Kiritsugu was the only one guaranteed to be able to know (seeing through servant eyes or w/e). It's plausible he could have found out later on if the two ever spoke though.
38: Try looking up every now and then.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
38: Try looking up every now and then.
"...And that's about everything." I conclude. Well, I left out the stuff about Reid and Petelgeuse, but they won't be showing up if I can help it.
"Ugh…" The Director massages the bridge of her nose. "Obvious questions that you can't answer aside, it's not like we can complain about free information. But how much of it are you actually sure of? You seemed a bit uncertain at some points of your explanation."
That's right. After all, considering how many lies the boy told us, it wouldn't be strange for a considerable portion of the information given to us by Prelati to be falsehood. In fact, in the worst case, we might have had friend and foe mixed up entirely.
No, in the true worst case, it's possible we never escaped his [Grand Illusion] in the first place. But doubting literally everything I see is a path to madness, so I'll have to ignore that possibility for now.
"...That's a good question. I'm at least certain that the Dragons and Servants I described the appearances of are present, but beyond that, it's possible I was deceived." I sigh. "And like I said, it's not like I can be certain that I've got the right True Names for any of them. Ahab doesn't seem like the type to pull tricks like lying about his True Name, and the Tarasque - assuming it really is the Tarasque - is a pretty dead giveaway, but as for the rest…"
"...Right. You already said this 'Francois Prelati' was deceitful by nature, and the idea that this Black Knight is Musashibou Benkei seems like little more than blind speculation." She says with a sigh. "For now, we'll look to corroborate your information once you arrive in Domremy - that's the village you're approaching, by the way. The birthplace of Jeanne d'Arc."
"...Well, if nothing else they might have info on the whole 'fake Jeanne d'Arc' thing." I mutter.
"Speaking of information, Senpai…" Mash interjects. "Um, I didn't bring it up earlier because I figured you might be about to tell us about it anyway, but you didn't say anything about it…"
"Ah, did I miss something? I guess I wasn't super thorough in my explanation…" I apologize.
"Um, it's just… you didn't mention that at all." She says, and somewhat shakily points towards the sky. My eyes follow her movement, and-
What.
What the hell is that?
How did I not see this thing last time!?
No, to be fair, we didn't exactly spend that much time under the open sky last time - I didn't have much of a chance last time.
But as for this time, there's basically no excuse. I should have noticed it the moment we exited Prelati's Grand Illusion.
I'd heard before, that humans were bad at noticing danger above them, that we just didn't look up very often - I'd experienced it, in fact. Every time I die is disorienting, but categorically, death from above is generally the most confusing way to die that doesn't involve brain damage.
Yeah, humans don't look up very often. Especially in a wide open field, with no shadow cast upon us, there was no need to look up. The only thing in the sky should have been the sun.
Indeed, when the only thing in the sky is a bright object casting light upon you, there's no need to look at it. You shouldn't look at it, because it's the sun.
It's the sun. The big light in the sky would naturally be the sun. That was the assumption.
Except, the sun wasn't there. There was no sun in the sky of this singularity. There was only-
"A ring... of light?" I ask. No, it might be more accurate to describe it as a hole in the sky, encircled by light. An image similar to a solar eclipse, but without the accompanying darkness.
"What are you- oh God." the Director says, eyes widening. "W-what the hell!? Natsuki, how the hell did you fail to mention that!? It's got to be at least the size of the United States! And these energy readings… The closest thing I can think of is the output of Excalibur back in Fuyuki, and even that might be too little!"
"...Do you think it might be the Holy Grail?" I ask. "Because I'm not sure how we could retrieve something like that…"
"...No. That… that thing is giving off more energy than a Holy Grail!"
"I thought the Grail had infinite mana! How the hell do you get more energy than that!?" Mordred interjects.
"...It's got a bigger throughput. If the Holy Grail is like a water faucet attached to a reservoir of infinite mana, then this is like a fire hose." Olga replies quietly, her eyes still wide and trained upon the ring of light in the sky. "But why? Even if you get more mana to work with this way, what could you possibly need that much mana for? Or maybe the question is how? Because a normal Grail gets its mana from leylines, but pulling that much energy from the planet would have already turned France into a wasteland…"
"Well, if it's something that ridiculous, it's not like we can do much to stop it…" I mumble. "I guess we just ignore it and hope we don't get lasered from orbit."
"...You're probably right, but it's kind of upsetting how calm you're being about potential orbital bombardment." she sighs.
***
About fifteen minutes later, we arrive at Domremy. The place is pretty nondescript - smaller than the Arlam Village back home, and obviously less wealthy. Arlam could afford to have glass in some of its windows, whereas Domremy's houses have only holes in the walls with wooden latches bolted over them.
Still, all told, it's a pretty generic Medieval European village, I guess. At this time of day, people would naturally be out working the fields. Which, naturally, begs the question...
"Where...are all the people?" I ask, as ice cold hands grip my insides.
***
"...At the very least, there's no sign of a struggle." I mutter as I examine the interior of a small one-room dwelling - but a certain haunting memory causes me to reassess that observation. "No, a mere lack of bloodstains and corpses is no guarantee. I'm well aware of that."
"...Senpai?" Mash asks, turning to look at me, but not yet lowering her shield. She had demanded to take point, and it's not like I could deny such an earnest request. Also, she has a shield, so honestly it just makes sense.
"Sorry. Just thinking aloud." I reply, taking a deep breath to steady myself. The Great Rabbit doesn't exist anymore. I know that. That self-replicating army of tiny Witchbeasts which devoured every part of its prey, to the point that not even a drop of blood remained spilled across the snowy village that night - that monster, was already long gone.
"But this scenario… is just too damn-!"
"Master! I found something!" Mordred yells from a few houses down the road, interrupting my traumatic flashback.
I take another deep breath, and with Mash by my side, we head to one of the local farmhouses.
"Mordred, I'm here with Senpai! Where are you?" Mash calls out.
"Out back! Just come around and hop the fence!" The knight calls out, pausing for a second. "...Though, you're gonna want to get your stomach ready. It's not a pretty sight."
***
Out of place. That's my first thought. This kind of sight, is completely out of place here. This quaint, peaceful, idyllic town. In the middle of a plain of bright green grass, under a bright, cloudless sky, with a gently blowing breeze.
Even now, I can smell the faint scent of flowers and freshly trod grass - but by this point, that's long been drowned out by the stench of iron and feces.
A pile of meat. There's a pile of meat, in the center of this farmyard.
A tower of blood, skin, flesh, and offal. Constructed there, Piled up, intentionally, intelligently, as if in mockery of the very idea of common decency.
I feel a warm, wet texture on my fingertips and palms as the nails of my clenched fists accidentally break the skin. Behind me, I can hear Mash retching.
"...Master, you can relax." Mordred says, and before I can open my mouth to shout at her, she continues. "I know it's tough for you to tell, but none of these bodies are human."
"...You're sure?" I whisper, not daring to believe it.
"Yeah. Look, these bones are too big for a human. The damn wyverns tore them up real well, but you can see little patches of cow hide." She says. "If they had any human parts in here, they'd make sure we could see them."
"...Thank goodness." I mutter as my muscles go slack with relief. "But… would Wyverns really make something this horrible?"
"Yeah. Wyverns like to make piles like this - get a big mass of animal bones and scatter some parts of the one human they ever managed to kill on top, or do the same with a pile of farmyard tools and a sword or two." Mordred says. "It's an intimidation tactic - to fool cowardly knights into thinking they're a real dragon and not just a jumped-up snake with wings."
"A-ah, did you fight a lot of wyverns when you were alive?" Mash asks - still a bit pale, but not actively doubled over anymore.
"A few. Father and his other knights had already gotten most of the big dragons by the time I signed up. I had to find some way to match up, so I went and tracked down a few Wyverns." She shrugs. "They're not all that clever, but they're fast and hard to hit - really, a Wyvern's not that much worse than a [Vorpal Bunny]."
…I must have heard wrong.
"...Vorpal Bunny?" Mash asks.
"What, you've never heard of the Vorpal Bunny?" Mordred says with a laugh. "Man, Bors would pitch a fit if he heard that the future generations forgot those things existed."
...I heard correctly!?
"Eh, Master, you're looking a bit pale there. You ok?"
"It's fine, I'm just about to pass out whilst foaming at the mouth, is all." I force out. "More importantly, where do you suppose the towsfolk have gotten off to, Mordred?"
"No, Senpai, passing out while foaming at the mouth is definitely a big problem!"
"...And that's about everything." I conclude. Well, I left out the stuff about Reid and Petelgeuse, but they won't be showing up if I can help it.
"Ugh…" The Director massages the bridge of her nose. "Obvious questions that you can't answer aside, it's not like we can complain about free information. But how much of it are you actually sure of? You seemed a bit uncertain at some points of your explanation."
That's right. After all, considering how many lies the boy told us, it wouldn't be strange for a considerable portion of the information given to us by Prelati to be falsehood. In fact, in the worst case, we might have had friend and foe mixed up entirely.
No, in the true worst case, it's possible we never escaped his [Grand Illusion] in the first place. But doubting literally everything I see is a path to madness, so I'll have to ignore that possibility for now.
"...That's a good question. I'm at least certain that the Dragons and Servants I described the appearances of are present, but beyond that, it's possible I was deceived." I sigh. "And like I said, it's not like I can be certain that I've got the right True Names for any of them. Ahab doesn't seem like the type to pull tricks like lying about his True Name, and the Tarasque - assuming it really is the Tarasque - is a pretty dead giveaway, but as for the rest…"
"...Right. You already said this 'Francois Prelati' was deceitful by nature, and the idea that this Black Knight is Musashibou Benkei seems like little more than blind speculation." She says with a sigh. "For now, we'll look to corroborate your information once you arrive in Domremy - that's the village you're approaching, by the way. The birthplace of Jeanne d'Arc."
"...Well, if nothing else they might have info on the whole 'fake Jeanne d'Arc' thing." I mutter.
"Speaking of information, Senpai…" Mash interjects. "Um, I didn't bring it up earlier because I figured you might be about to tell us about it anyway, but you didn't say anything about it…"
"Ah, did I miss something? I guess I wasn't super thorough in my explanation…" I apologize.
"Um, it's just… you didn't mention that at all." She says, and somewhat shakily points towards the sky. My eyes follow her movement, and-
What.
What the hell is that?
How did I not see this thing last time!?
No, to be fair, we didn't exactly spend that much time under the open sky last time - I didn't have much of a chance last time.
But as for this time, there's basically no excuse. I should have noticed it the moment we exited Prelati's Grand Illusion.
I'd heard before, that humans were bad at noticing danger above them, that we just didn't look up very often - I'd experienced it, in fact. Every time I die is disorienting, but categorically, death from above is generally the most confusing way to die that doesn't involve brain damage.
Yeah, humans don't look up very often. Especially in a wide open field, with no shadow cast upon us, there was no need to look up. The only thing in the sky should have been the sun.
Indeed, when the only thing in the sky is a bright object casting light upon you, there's no need to look at it. You shouldn't look at it, because it's the sun.
It's the sun. The big light in the sky would naturally be the sun. That was the assumption.
Except, the sun wasn't there. There was no sun in the sky of this singularity. There was only-
"A ring... of light?" I ask. No, it might be more accurate to describe it as a hole in the sky, encircled by light. An image similar to a solar eclipse, but without the accompanying darkness.
"What are you- oh God." the Director says, eyes widening. "W-what the hell!? Natsuki, how the hell did you fail to mention that!? It's got to be at least the size of the United States! And these energy readings… The closest thing I can think of is the output of Excalibur back in Fuyuki, and even that might be too little!"
"...Do you think it might be the Holy Grail?" I ask. "Because I'm not sure how we could retrieve something like that…"
"...No. That… that thing is giving off more energy than a Holy Grail!"
"I thought the Grail had infinite mana! How the hell do you get more energy than that!?" Mordred interjects.
"...It's got a bigger throughput. If the Holy Grail is like a water faucet attached to a reservoir of infinite mana, then this is like a fire hose." Olga replies quietly, her eyes still wide and trained upon the ring of light in the sky. "But why? Even if you get more mana to work with this way, what could you possibly need that much mana for? Or maybe the question is how? Because a normal Grail gets its mana from leylines, but pulling that much energy from the planet would have already turned France into a wasteland…"
"Well, if it's something that ridiculous, it's not like we can do much to stop it…" I mumble. "I guess we just ignore it and hope we don't get lasered from orbit."
"...You're probably right, but it's kind of upsetting how calm you're being about potential orbital bombardment." she sighs.
***
About fifteen minutes later, we arrive at Domremy. The place is pretty nondescript - smaller than the Arlam Village back home, and obviously less wealthy. Arlam could afford to have glass in some of its windows, whereas Domremy's houses have only holes in the walls with wooden latches bolted over them.
Still, all told, it's a pretty generic Medieval European village, I guess. At this time of day, people would naturally be out working the fields. Which, naturally, begs the question...
"Where...are all the people?" I ask, as ice cold hands grip my insides.
***
"...At the very least, there's no sign of a struggle." I mutter as I examine the interior of a small one-room dwelling - but a certain haunting memory causes me to reassess that observation. "No, a mere lack of bloodstains and corpses is no guarantee. I'm well aware of that."
"...Senpai?" Mash asks, turning to look at me, but not yet lowering her shield. She had demanded to take point, and it's not like I could deny such an earnest request. Also, she has a shield, so honestly it just makes sense.
"Sorry. Just thinking aloud." I reply, taking a deep breath to steady myself. The Great Rabbit doesn't exist anymore. I know that. That self-replicating army of tiny Witchbeasts which devoured every part of its prey, to the point that not even a drop of blood remained spilled across the snowy village that night - that monster, was already long gone.
"But this scenario… is just too damn-!"
"Master! I found something!" Mordred yells from a few houses down the road, interrupting my traumatic flashback.
I take another deep breath, and with Mash by my side, we head to one of the local farmhouses.
"Mordred, I'm here with Senpai! Where are you?" Mash calls out.
"Out back! Just come around and hop the fence!" The knight calls out, pausing for a second. "...Though, you're gonna want to get your stomach ready. It's not a pretty sight."
***
Out of place. That's my first thought. This kind of sight, is completely out of place here. This quaint, peaceful, idyllic town. In the middle of a plain of bright green grass, under a bright, cloudless sky, with a gently blowing breeze.
Even now, I can smell the faint scent of flowers and freshly trod grass - but by this point, that's long been drowned out by the stench of iron and feces.
A pile of meat. There's a pile of meat, in the center of this farmyard.
A tower of blood, skin, flesh, and offal. Constructed there, Piled up, intentionally, intelligently, as if in mockery of the very idea of common decency.
I feel a warm, wet texture on my fingertips and palms as the nails of my clenched fists accidentally break the skin. Behind me, I can hear Mash retching.
"...Master, you can relax." Mordred says, and before I can open my mouth to shout at her, she continues. "I know it's tough for you to tell, but none of these bodies are human."
"...You're sure?" I whisper, not daring to believe it.
"Yeah. Look, these bones are too big for a human. The damn wyverns tore them up real well, but you can see little patches of cow hide." She says. "If they had any human parts in here, they'd make sure we could see them."
"...Thank goodness." I mutter as my muscles go slack with relief. "But… would Wyverns really make something this horrible?"
"Yeah. Wyverns like to make piles like this - get a big mass of animal bones and scatter some parts of the one human they ever managed to kill on top, or do the same with a pile of farmyard tools and a sword or two." Mordred says. "It's an intimidation tactic - to fool cowardly knights into thinking they're a real dragon and not just a jumped-up snake with wings."
"A-ah, did you fight a lot of wyverns when you were alive?" Mash asks - still a bit pale, but not actively doubled over anymore.
"A few. Father and his other knights had already gotten most of the big dragons by the time I signed up. I had to find some way to match up, so I went and tracked down a few Wyverns." She shrugs. "They're not all that clever, but they're fast and hard to hit - really, a Wyvern's not that much worse than a [Vorpal Bunny]."
…I must have heard wrong.
"...Vorpal Bunny?" Mash asks.
"What, you've never heard of the Vorpal Bunny?" Mordred says with a laugh. "Man, Bors would pitch a fit if he heard that the future generations forgot those things existed."
...I heard correctly!?
"Eh, Master, you're looking a bit pale there. You ok?"
"It's fine, I'm just about to pass out whilst foaming at the mouth, is all." I force out. "More importantly, where do you suppose the towsfolk have gotten off to, Mordred?"
"No, Senpai, passing out while foaming at the mouth is definitely a big problem!"
The Vorpal Bunny is just an inside joke among the KotR, according to Tristan.
But then Vorpal Bunnies actually show up in Fate/Labyrinth... Manaka makes a stew out of them. So who fucking knows at this point. Goddamn deep joke lore.
But then Vorpal Bunnies actually show up in Fate/Labyrinth... Manaka makes a stew out of them. So who fucking knows at this point. Goddamn deep joke lore.
The PTSD from Rabbits is real
Nursery Rhyme could summon the White Rabbit? From Alice?
Nursery Rhyme could summon the White Rabbit? From Alice?
Teiwaz
Beloved of Adorjan.
- Location
- RUNNING AWAY
Oh of course she does.
shadow9800
Yorokobe~
- Location
- My Worst Nightmares
- Pronouns
- He/Him
To be fair, they are a reference to Monty Python, complete with Bors having been supposedly slain by one (but not actually, that's part of the joke.)
39: Just because it isn’t permanent...
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
39: Just because it isn't permanent...
"So the villagers have fled, huh…?" The Director mutters as we exit down the well-trodden path that the Domremy Villagers clearly left by. "The closest easily defensible location during that period is probably the Vaucouleurs commune to the north, so I'd assume that's where they're headed. It may not be a proper castle, but it's got stone buildings, so it would probably make a good foundation for a fort."
"...The direction seems to line up with the tracks leaving town, but it's nice to have a name for the place they were headed." I reply. "For the record, Mordred said they can't have left more than a day ago, and the wyverns probably only hit this place within the last couple hours, judging from the freshness of the animal bodies here. If we're fast, we can probably catch up with them, so-"
"If the villagers are headed to Vaucouleurs, catching up is basically irrelevant. It's only a four hour walk to reach it in the first place." She interrupts. "But if they're being pursued by Wyverns, then aiming to catch up with them may not be such a good idea. No, actually, that's an understatement. Let me make it clear - with what we currently know, heading to Vaucouleurs is a pointless, suicidal idea."
...She's right, of course. I hadn't wanted to think about it that way, but now that she points it out, I've got to acknowledge that a scenario like this is technically to our benefit. Any wyverns pursuing the helpless French peasantry are wyverns not pursuing our group. What's more, if last time was anything to go off of, any significant encounter with the enemy seems liable to lead to a steady dogpile of more and more foes crawling out of the woodwork - Tarasque leads to wyverns, which lead to Fafnir, which leads to maybe-Benkei, and we all die horribly again.
However…
"Sorry, but my 'hard men making hard choices' character arc was scrapped. Too much overlap with that Fuyuki Archer." I reply with a shrug. "It can't be helped, we'll just have to fight an army of Wyverns. As long as Mordred can handle around thirty, I think Mash and I can deal with the leftovers. I don't think that they've got the strength to smash stone walls, so we should be able to get a good defensive position."
"Are you nuts!? Just listen to yourself talk! Thirty-!?" The director yells.
"...Senpai said it in a pretty amazing way, but I don't actually disagree." Mash says. "That pile in the farmyard… I don't think I want to let a bunch of civilians end up like that. Um, actually, it's like something inside me is screaming, that I can't let something like that come to pass."
"Yeah, it'd be hard to sleep at night if we let a bunch of civilians get killed when we could've stopped it." Mordred says. "Like I said, wyverns aren't that much worse that vorpal bunnies, so they should be easy if we've got a decent way to not get surrounded - like a stone building."
"Compare it to an animal I actually know about, not some mysterious rabbit! I mean, you said it's a bunny so the assumption is that it's not dangerous, but - actually, Natsuki, you keep giving ridiculous full body shudders every time it comes up, so clearly it's a problem!" The director yells.
"Ah, no, this is just some deep rooted trauma that's only related to me, so don't mind it." I say with a thin smile. Honestly, if Reid could deal with that swarm using that stupid method last time around, odds are Mordred can manage it. "As long as we don't take any crippling injuries before- woah, let's not go raising any flags."
"Ugh, don't you get that it's pointless!?" The Director snaps. "The people of that village, and every other person you'll meet in that singularity- they're already dead!"
I blink. "That's…" Well, I know what she means. We're in the 1400s after all. Everyone here is long dead. "But even so, letting those lives be cut short-"
"-Doesn't matter. As long as the grail is recovered, all changes to the timeline will be reverted. You understand that, right?" She asks. "Every atrocity, every heroic act, and everything in between - all of that is going to disappear with the singularity. It's all going to be erased."
I know that. I already know that. I understand it completely. This time period will vanish, so any action that doesn't bring us closer to our goal is a frivolity. From a detached, emotionless perspective, it's a mistake.
"But even if it's a mistake, it's something I've got to do. Sorry, but that's also a conclusion I reached a long time ago." A melancholy smile graces my lips. That's right. I have to believe that my actions have consequence. Because, even if the evidence vanishes from the world, the record of my actions will remain carved upon my heart.
That's just how it is. Above all, Natsuki Subaru must not be allowed to believe that events that are erased can be forgiven.
"...I'll become something unsightly, otherwise." I conclude, aware as always of the three coiling black somethings hidden within my soul.
There's a pause in the conversation as everyone stares at me for a few seconds - shit, I said something a bit strange there, huh? Quickly, I open my mouth to explain it away-
"Fou!" - dark grey toe beans press against my cheek. "Fou kyu!"
"O-oi, when did you climb up there?" I ask the white squirrel-dog on my shoulder.
"Oh! That's the sixth of Fou-kun's forty-seven secret moves, the super stealth shoulder scramble!" Mash says excitedly.
"Oh, that's right." I nod. "I remember that from the Fuyuki briefing!"
"As if something like that made it into my speech!" Olga yells. "I already know you weren't paying attention back then, so don't try to save face now!"
"It's a secret attack that lets Fou-kun climb someone's shoulder without being noticed at all!" Mash continues.
"No, if the secret move's name is that clear, the explanation is just redundant..." I mutter.
"Fou, oufoufou!" The mysterious animal in question says, lifting his nose in the air.
"Why the hell does he seem so smug…?" Mordred mumbles.
"That's actually Fou-kun's second secret move, emotional resonance!" Mash says. "It lets him convey his emotions even though his face never noticeably changes!"
"I know I'm not one to talk, but you really get excited about the strangest things, Mash-tan…"
The shielder's face turns bright red as she suddenly becomes self-conscious. "Um, that's…"
A strange, almost bird-like cry interrupts her as a shadow passes across the ring of light in the sky.
...Wow, there sure are a lot of them up there, huh?
"Shit, our scanners missed them since they were so far up!" The director says. "But now that we've noticed them, I'm detecting ten, twenty… at least fifty flying enemies approaching from your west!"
"Sorry, Mash! We're in the middle of talking but suddenly wyverns!" I yell as the three of us break out into a run. "If we hurry, we can reach Vaucouleurs before they catch us, so-!"
"-Hang on tight, then!" Mordred shouts as she scoops me up under her left arm and tosses Mash over her shoulder. "Mash, astralize your shield! Master, get a good grip on Ca- Fou!"
""Right!""
Mordred's feet explode in a pulse of red lighting, and from there the true terror begins.
"AAAHHHHH!!!" "We're gonna diiiieeee!" Mash and I scream, clinging to the Saber for dear life.
"Oh come on, it's not like I'm going to drop you…" Mordred grouses.
"So the villagers have fled, huh…?" The Director mutters as we exit down the well-trodden path that the Domremy Villagers clearly left by. "The closest easily defensible location during that period is probably the Vaucouleurs commune to the north, so I'd assume that's where they're headed. It may not be a proper castle, but it's got stone buildings, so it would probably make a good foundation for a fort."
"...The direction seems to line up with the tracks leaving town, but it's nice to have a name for the place they were headed." I reply. "For the record, Mordred said they can't have left more than a day ago, and the wyverns probably only hit this place within the last couple hours, judging from the freshness of the animal bodies here. If we're fast, we can probably catch up with them, so-"
"If the villagers are headed to Vaucouleurs, catching up is basically irrelevant. It's only a four hour walk to reach it in the first place." She interrupts. "But if they're being pursued by Wyverns, then aiming to catch up with them may not be such a good idea. No, actually, that's an understatement. Let me make it clear - with what we currently know, heading to Vaucouleurs is a pointless, suicidal idea."
...She's right, of course. I hadn't wanted to think about it that way, but now that she points it out, I've got to acknowledge that a scenario like this is technically to our benefit. Any wyverns pursuing the helpless French peasantry are wyverns not pursuing our group. What's more, if last time was anything to go off of, any significant encounter with the enemy seems liable to lead to a steady dogpile of more and more foes crawling out of the woodwork - Tarasque leads to wyverns, which lead to Fafnir, which leads to maybe-Benkei, and we all die horribly again.
However…
"Sorry, but my 'hard men making hard choices' character arc was scrapped. Too much overlap with that Fuyuki Archer." I reply with a shrug. "It can't be helped, we'll just have to fight an army of Wyverns. As long as Mordred can handle around thirty, I think Mash and I can deal with the leftovers. I don't think that they've got the strength to smash stone walls, so we should be able to get a good defensive position."
"Are you nuts!? Just listen to yourself talk! Thirty-!?" The director yells.
"...Senpai said it in a pretty amazing way, but I don't actually disagree." Mash says. "That pile in the farmyard… I don't think I want to let a bunch of civilians end up like that. Um, actually, it's like something inside me is screaming, that I can't let something like that come to pass."
"Yeah, it'd be hard to sleep at night if we let a bunch of civilians get killed when we could've stopped it." Mordred says. "Like I said, wyverns aren't that much worse that vorpal bunnies, so they should be easy if we've got a decent way to not get surrounded - like a stone building."
"Compare it to an animal I actually know about, not some mysterious rabbit! I mean, you said it's a bunny so the assumption is that it's not dangerous, but - actually, Natsuki, you keep giving ridiculous full body shudders every time it comes up, so clearly it's a problem!" The director yells.
"Ah, no, this is just some deep rooted trauma that's only related to me, so don't mind it." I say with a thin smile. Honestly, if Reid could deal with that swarm using that stupid method last time around, odds are Mordred can manage it. "As long as we don't take any crippling injuries before- woah, let's not go raising any flags."
"Ugh, don't you get that it's pointless!?" The Director snaps. "The people of that village, and every other person you'll meet in that singularity- they're already dead!"
I blink. "That's…" Well, I know what she means. We're in the 1400s after all. Everyone here is long dead. "But even so, letting those lives be cut short-"
"-Doesn't matter. As long as the grail is recovered, all changes to the timeline will be reverted. You understand that, right?" She asks. "Every atrocity, every heroic act, and everything in between - all of that is going to disappear with the singularity. It's all going to be erased."
I know that. I already know that. I understand it completely. This time period will vanish, so any action that doesn't bring us closer to our goal is a frivolity. From a detached, emotionless perspective, it's a mistake.
"But even if it's a mistake, it's something I've got to do. Sorry, but that's also a conclusion I reached a long time ago." A melancholy smile graces my lips. That's right. I have to believe that my actions have consequence. Because, even if the evidence vanishes from the world, the record of my actions will remain carved upon my heart.
That's just how it is. Above all, Natsuki Subaru must not be allowed to believe that events that are erased can be forgiven.
"...I'll become something unsightly, otherwise." I conclude, aware as always of the three coiling black somethings hidden within my soul.
There's a pause in the conversation as everyone stares at me for a few seconds - shit, I said something a bit strange there, huh? Quickly, I open my mouth to explain it away-
"Fou!" - dark grey toe beans press against my cheek. "Fou kyu!"
"O-oi, when did you climb up there?" I ask the white squirrel-dog on my shoulder.
"Oh! That's the sixth of Fou-kun's forty-seven secret moves, the super stealth shoulder scramble!" Mash says excitedly.
"Oh, that's right." I nod. "I remember that from the Fuyuki briefing!"
"As if something like that made it into my speech!" Olga yells. "I already know you weren't paying attention back then, so don't try to save face now!"
"It's a secret attack that lets Fou-kun climb someone's shoulder without being noticed at all!" Mash continues.
"No, if the secret move's name is that clear, the explanation is just redundant..." I mutter.
"Fou, oufoufou!" The mysterious animal in question says, lifting his nose in the air.
"Why the hell does he seem so smug…?" Mordred mumbles.
"That's actually Fou-kun's second secret move, emotional resonance!" Mash says. "It lets him convey his emotions even though his face never noticeably changes!"
"I know I'm not one to talk, but you really get excited about the strangest things, Mash-tan…"
The shielder's face turns bright red as she suddenly becomes self-conscious. "Um, that's…"
A strange, almost bird-like cry interrupts her as a shadow passes across the ring of light in the sky.
...Wow, there sure are a lot of them up there, huh?
"Shit, our scanners missed them since they were so far up!" The director says. "But now that we've noticed them, I'm detecting ten, twenty… at least fifty flying enemies approaching from your west!"
"Sorry, Mash! We're in the middle of talking but suddenly wyverns!" I yell as the three of us break out into a run. "If we hurry, we can reach Vaucouleurs before they catch us, so-!"
"-Hang on tight, then!" Mordred shouts as she scoops me up under her left arm and tosses Mash over her shoulder. "Mash, astralize your shield! Master, get a good grip on Ca- Fou!"
""Right!""
Mordred's feet explode in a pulse of red lighting, and from there the true terror begins.
"AAAHHHHH!!!" "We're gonna diiiieeee!" Mash and I scream, clinging to the Saber for dear life.
"Oh come on, it's not like I'm going to drop you…" Mordred grouses.
"Sorry, Mash! We're in the middle of talking but suddenly wyverns!" - is, of course, a callback/call forward to a line from the Olympus Lostbelt.
This one took a while but it is what it is. Not super satisfied with how it turned out, but not every chapter can be a big wow chapter. Next chapter is probably no earlier than next Friday.
This one took a while but it is what it is. Not super satisfied with how it turned out, but not every chapter can be a big wow chapter. Next chapter is probably no earlier than next Friday.
And I misread this as "Fuck you!"
TortugaGreen
Constantly out of the loop
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Same - frankly, I'd be surprised if anyone didn't read it like that at first glance.
- Location
- Mt. Holly, North Carolina
Fanon says you're not wrong. Of course, it's fanon so... maybe just a pound of salt for this? He probably does mean that at some points.
40: Vaucouleurs
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
40: Vaucouleurs
After a few seconds, my heart stops pounding and I calm down. Even though the danger of this situation hasn't decreased, my body has grown used to the ridiculous speed we're moving at, even as the French countryside flies past in a green and blue blur. Mash has calmed down a bit as well, from what I can see of her - though her face is still pale. Well, she's less used to this kind of thing than I am, so that's to be expected.
"Honestly, it's a bit annoying how much I've gotten used to this…" I mutter. Getting carried around like this... it was embarrassing when Rem did it, it was embarrassing when Ram did it, it was embarrassing when Garfiel did it… but it doesn't feel like I'm being emasculated anymore, which is arguably worse. "Getting carried around like a sack of potatoes isn't something I wanna get used to, dammit!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll give you a proper princess carry next time." Mordred snarks. "We're getting close, though, so get ready."
Looking ahead, I can see our destination, rapidly growing from a spot on the horizon to a full blown wooden wall, behind which the stone steeple of a church can be seen peeking out - that'll be the commune, I guess.
I nod. "Got i-aaaaHHH!" My affirmative response is cut off by a scream as she suddenly leaps a good ten feet into the air, catapulting us over the hastily erected wooden wall, and into the Vaucouluers fort.
There's a brief pause as the soldiers around us stare at the armored knight who just landed in their midst - broken when one of them finally starts yelling.
"Ah-Ahhh! They're here! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The crack of muskets discharging and the scent of gunpowder fills the air as a dozen or so bullets bounce harmlessly off Mordred's armor, even as she deposits Mash and I onto the ground unceremoniously.
"Huh!? Do I look like a damned winged lizard to you idiots? More importantly, the hell were you guys thinking, building a fort with no roof against flying enemies? Hurry up and-" She cuts herself off as a shadow flits across the ring of light replacing the sun - and then another, and another. The french soldiers scream and backpedal as bolts of red energy erupt from the knight's body, and - "[Azoth Blood Arthur]!"
A crimson beam extends from her blade, and dragging it through the air, she scrapes four wyverns out of the sky - but more and more begin to circle overhead, and slowly the swarm of leathery wings begins to blot out the sun.
"Just hurry up and get everyone into the church! As long as I'm here, they won't make it through the door!" She calls out.
"...There's no more room." Says a scruffy looking blond man - who, now that I look at him, isn't actually wearing armor, but rather outfitted with an iron pot on his head and an old pitchfork in his hand. "Do you think we didn't try that? Fighting behind wooden walls like this is obviously stupid, but we ran out of room in the church. We've crammed as many women and children into it, but…"
Looking around, I can still see a number of noncombatants sitting despondently against the church's walls - the elderly, beggars, and a few men and women in traveling clothes. All the people who were most 'expendable'. And even among the 'soldiers' a good half dozen are obviously just villagers outfitted with farming implements, the youngest among them no older than thirteen.
"...Shit." I mutter, standing up. They're going to die. They're all going to die. Everyone outside of the church is going to be butchered, I'm almost sure of it. They might as well be defenseless, apart from the dozen or so muskets that I see among the few real soldiers, and two cannons posted at the edge of the fort, hastily being aimed skyward. Everyone else here might as well be unarmed, if the wyverns are as fast as I remember - melee weapons just won't cut it.
"...I could try to position Lord Chaldeas above us…?" Mash suggests.
"...That's no good. It would only hold them off for a bit longer, and run you out of mana." I bite out. What do I do? What the hell do I do? My jaw clenches, my teeth grind, and my gut churns.
Yeah, now's the time. Now that I'm backed into a corner, just maybe, it'll work. Desperately, I focus on that squirming black something in my soul, and pull.
"-[Lunar Eclipse]."
…
…As expected, nothing happened. Goddammit. Well, it was worth a shot.
I'll survive this. I know I'll survive this, with Mash protecting me - but all these people are going to die, and there's no possible way for me to save them.
Thunder rips through the air as the cannons fire, two iron balls arcing into the sky towards the swarm of dragons - but one with red scales dives out of the pack, and easily batters the shots away with a couple slaps from its talons. A strange hissing laughter echoes down on us.
Then, like a meteor shower, the whole pack plunges towards us as one.
A few more swipes from the Azoth Longsword dispatch about ten more before they can reach us, and one more cannon shot manages to bring down a small looking green-scaled beast - but then they're upon us, and Hell truly arrives at the Vaucouleurs fort.
***
"Senpai!"
Mash tackles me to the ground, shielding the both of us - and I can't see anything else through the storm of leathery wings and claws.
Well, that's a lie. I can still catch the occasional glimpse of the hell around us, of death and violence. To the left, the scruffy blond man's scalp slides off his skull as razor winds lacerate his head. To the right, the teenage boy I had seen is carried off into the sky, dangling by his leg, only for the Wyvern's claws to snip it off at the knee and let the rest of him plummet to the ground far below. Behind us, a glimpse of an old woman staring at the intestines spilling into her hands.
Mash's eyes flit from sight to sight, hell searing itself into her retinas. Her breath hitches, and slowly, I see panic start to well up in her.
And then a red wyvern slams into Mash's shield, its wings fillingour vision and obscuring all else as it tries to tear the weapon from her hands.
But still, I can hear every scream, above the gnashing teeth and swirling winds.
"I don't want to die!" "Mother! Mother!" "God, why? Please, God, forgive us!"
Until, a voice cuts through the cacophony.
"Stand and fight!"
The wyvern attacking Mash goes limp as a metal pole smashes into its head and breaks every bone therein. A second later, an armored boot kicks the thing off of her.
"Stand and fight, men of France! We defeated the English, will mere lizards get the better of you? They are but animals; kill a third of them and the rest will flee!" She calls out, even as she spears another Wyvern on her polearm. Long, braided blonde hair flutters behind her, and even as blood sprays into the air from the dying wyvern, not a drop of it dares to land upon her.
"Spearmen, aim for the eyes! Guns, archers, target their wings! Artillery, use grapeshot, you buffoons! And fear not, for God has not yet abandoned the people of France! [Luminosité… Eternelle]!"
She plants the end of her pole in the ground, and golden light spills from the banner at its end as it unfurls, a ring of golden light slowly growing outwards around her, as the injuries of everyone in its vicinity seal shut, and the wyvern's claws fail to pierce their skin any longer.
Slowly, inexorably, the tide of battle begins to shift. A spear through the eyes dispatches one. Another one is battered down by Mash's shield, now that this woman's Noble Phantasm is here to protect me in her stead. Clusters of fist-sized cannonballs tear a few of them out of the sky. Blasts of crimson light from Mordred, still going strong, cut down another five or so. I almost get into it enough to carelessly fire off a Minya or two, but I manage to restrain myself - I may need those spellcasts if things suddenly flip on us again.
Through it all, murmurs grow.
"Jeanne!" It's Jeanne!" "Jeanne has returned, like they said!" "But she's still on our side!" "Of course, this is our Jeanne we're talking about! How could that girl possibly turn evil?"
Until finally, finally, the Wyverns start to turn tail and flee.
"See, the beasts are routing! But don't let up! Shoot them down to the best of your ability! Each one that escapes is a threat to your countrymen! Kill as many as you can!" Jeanne d'Arc yells.
And so, there's a last salvo of musket fire, with bow and cannon fire continuing for a time after that - even as the fort's defenders cheer and hug one another, glad to be alive.
I can relate to that.
Anyway, Luminosite eternelle heals wounds in this chapter when it's not clear whether its supposed to do that lorewise... it does have a turn-based heal in-game, though, so I'm just gonna have it do that. To be clear a whole buncha people did still die, both those outside of the flag's range and those who were already too wounded.
Speaking of range, what exactly is '10' range? Is that ten meters? Ten kilometers? Ten Sabers lined up on the ground?
See you next week hopefully.
After a few seconds, my heart stops pounding and I calm down. Even though the danger of this situation hasn't decreased, my body has grown used to the ridiculous speed we're moving at, even as the French countryside flies past in a green and blue blur. Mash has calmed down a bit as well, from what I can see of her - though her face is still pale. Well, she's less used to this kind of thing than I am, so that's to be expected.
"Honestly, it's a bit annoying how much I've gotten used to this…" I mutter. Getting carried around like this... it was embarrassing when Rem did it, it was embarrassing when Ram did it, it was embarrassing when Garfiel did it… but it doesn't feel like I'm being emasculated anymore, which is arguably worse. "Getting carried around like a sack of potatoes isn't something I wanna get used to, dammit!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll give you a proper princess carry next time." Mordred snarks. "We're getting close, though, so get ready."
Looking ahead, I can see our destination, rapidly growing from a spot on the horizon to a full blown wooden wall, behind which the stone steeple of a church can be seen peeking out - that'll be the commune, I guess.
I nod. "Got i-aaaaHHH!" My affirmative response is cut off by a scream as she suddenly leaps a good ten feet into the air, catapulting us over the hastily erected wooden wall, and into the Vaucouluers fort.
There's a brief pause as the soldiers around us stare at the armored knight who just landed in their midst - broken when one of them finally starts yelling.
"Ah-Ahhh! They're here! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!" The crack of muskets discharging and the scent of gunpowder fills the air as a dozen or so bullets bounce harmlessly off Mordred's armor, even as she deposits Mash and I onto the ground unceremoniously.
"Huh!? Do I look like a damned winged lizard to you idiots? More importantly, the hell were you guys thinking, building a fort with no roof against flying enemies? Hurry up and-" She cuts herself off as a shadow flits across the ring of light replacing the sun - and then another, and another. The french soldiers scream and backpedal as bolts of red energy erupt from the knight's body, and - "[Azoth Blood Arthur]!"
A crimson beam extends from her blade, and dragging it through the air, she scrapes four wyverns out of the sky - but more and more begin to circle overhead, and slowly the swarm of leathery wings begins to blot out the sun.
"Just hurry up and get everyone into the church! As long as I'm here, they won't make it through the door!" She calls out.
"...There's no more room." Says a scruffy looking blond man - who, now that I look at him, isn't actually wearing armor, but rather outfitted with an iron pot on his head and an old pitchfork in his hand. "Do you think we didn't try that? Fighting behind wooden walls like this is obviously stupid, but we ran out of room in the church. We've crammed as many women and children into it, but…"
Looking around, I can still see a number of noncombatants sitting despondently against the church's walls - the elderly, beggars, and a few men and women in traveling clothes. All the people who were most 'expendable'. And even among the 'soldiers' a good half dozen are obviously just villagers outfitted with farming implements, the youngest among them no older than thirteen.
"...Shit." I mutter, standing up. They're going to die. They're all going to die. Everyone outside of the church is going to be butchered, I'm almost sure of it. They might as well be defenseless, apart from the dozen or so muskets that I see among the few real soldiers, and two cannons posted at the edge of the fort, hastily being aimed skyward. Everyone else here might as well be unarmed, if the wyverns are as fast as I remember - melee weapons just won't cut it.
"...I could try to position Lord Chaldeas above us…?" Mash suggests.
"...That's no good. It would only hold them off for a bit longer, and run you out of mana." I bite out. What do I do? What the hell do I do? My jaw clenches, my teeth grind, and my gut churns.
Yeah, now's the time. Now that I'm backed into a corner, just maybe, it'll work. Desperately, I focus on that squirming black something in my soul, and pull.
"-[Lunar Eclipse]."
…
…As expected, nothing happened. Goddammit. Well, it was worth a shot.
I'll survive this. I know I'll survive this, with Mash protecting me - but all these people are going to die, and there's no possible way for me to save them.
Thunder rips through the air as the cannons fire, two iron balls arcing into the sky towards the swarm of dragons - but one with red scales dives out of the pack, and easily batters the shots away with a couple slaps from its talons. A strange hissing laughter echoes down on us.
Then, like a meteor shower, the whole pack plunges towards us as one.
A few more swipes from the Azoth Longsword dispatch about ten more before they can reach us, and one more cannon shot manages to bring down a small looking green-scaled beast - but then they're upon us, and Hell truly arrives at the Vaucouleurs fort.
***
"Senpai!"
Mash tackles me to the ground, shielding the both of us - and I can't see anything else through the storm of leathery wings and claws.
Well, that's a lie. I can still catch the occasional glimpse of the hell around us, of death and violence. To the left, the scruffy blond man's scalp slides off his skull as razor winds lacerate his head. To the right, the teenage boy I had seen is carried off into the sky, dangling by his leg, only for the Wyvern's claws to snip it off at the knee and let the rest of him plummet to the ground far below. Behind us, a glimpse of an old woman staring at the intestines spilling into her hands.
Mash's eyes flit from sight to sight, hell searing itself into her retinas. Her breath hitches, and slowly, I see panic start to well up in her.
And then a red wyvern slams into Mash's shield, its wings fillingour vision and obscuring all else as it tries to tear the weapon from her hands.
But still, I can hear every scream, above the gnashing teeth and swirling winds.
"I don't want to die!" "Mother! Mother!" "God, why? Please, God, forgive us!"
Until, a voice cuts through the cacophony.
"Stand and fight!"
The wyvern attacking Mash goes limp as a metal pole smashes into its head and breaks every bone therein. A second later, an armored boot kicks the thing off of her.
"Stand and fight, men of France! We defeated the English, will mere lizards get the better of you? They are but animals; kill a third of them and the rest will flee!" She calls out, even as she spears another Wyvern on her polearm. Long, braided blonde hair flutters behind her, and even as blood sprays into the air from the dying wyvern, not a drop of it dares to land upon her.
"Spearmen, aim for the eyes! Guns, archers, target their wings! Artillery, use grapeshot, you buffoons! And fear not, for God has not yet abandoned the people of France! [Luminosité… Eternelle]!"
She plants the end of her pole in the ground, and golden light spills from the banner at its end as it unfurls, a ring of golden light slowly growing outwards around her, as the injuries of everyone in its vicinity seal shut, and the wyvern's claws fail to pierce their skin any longer.
Slowly, inexorably, the tide of battle begins to shift. A spear through the eyes dispatches one. Another one is battered down by Mash's shield, now that this woman's Noble Phantasm is here to protect me in her stead. Clusters of fist-sized cannonballs tear a few of them out of the sky. Blasts of crimson light from Mordred, still going strong, cut down another five or so. I almost get into it enough to carelessly fire off a Minya or two, but I manage to restrain myself - I may need those spellcasts if things suddenly flip on us again.
Through it all, murmurs grow.
"Jeanne!" It's Jeanne!" "Jeanne has returned, like they said!" "But she's still on our side!" "Of course, this is our Jeanne we're talking about! How could that girl possibly turn evil?"
Until finally, finally, the Wyverns start to turn tail and flee.
"See, the beasts are routing! But don't let up! Shoot them down to the best of your ability! Each one that escapes is a threat to your countrymen! Kill as many as you can!" Jeanne d'Arc yells.
And so, there's a last salvo of musket fire, with bow and cannon fire continuing for a time after that - even as the fort's defenders cheer and hug one another, glad to be alive.
I can relate to that.
Did I say next Friday? Cuz I apparently meant the Friday after that. Sorry guys. I'd like to say I've been busy, but that'd be a lie. I was just. slothful, is all.
Anyway, Luminosite eternelle heals wounds in this chapter when it's not clear whether its supposed to do that lorewise... it does have a turn-based heal in-game, though, so I'm just gonna have it do that. To be clear a whole buncha people did still die, both those outside of the flag's range and those who were already too wounded.
Speaking of range, what exactly is '10' range? Is that ten meters? Ten kilometers? Ten Sabers lined up on the ground?
See you next week hopefully.
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