Save Scumming? It's on my Character sheet. (Re: Zero/Fate Grand Order)
- Thread starter Xorn
- Start date
- Crossover
47: A bit too close.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
47: A bit too close.
"-And that sums up everything we know about what's going on." I conclude, resting my back against the carriage bench.
Of course, the mandatory exposition dump hadn't happened on the spot. With Dracula, Dark Jeanne, and that other guy on our tail, the best option was naturally to load up into our new Allies' transportation and make our escape at top speed.
At the moment, with the countryside rushing by in a flat smear of green and blue, I can't help but reminisce about the dragon carriages back home. Hell, with Mordred keeping watch from the roof, I can't help but think back to a certain other noisy blond who refused to sit still.
"...I see. We had already learned that France was in terrible danger, but to think that Demons were involved as well!" Marie frowns for a few moments, before her face immediately brightens up, and she seizes Jeanne's hands, clasping them in her own. "Well, it's lucky we have you then, right? Saint Jeanne d'Arc, the perfect hero to save France from the schemes of Hell!"
"Eh? No, no, I'm really not that much of a Saint…" Jeanne protests as Marie leans closer and closer into her face - she's one of those super affectionate, doesn't-care-about-personal-space types, huh?
I'm in danger. I'm in so much danger here it's not even funny.
"That's nice and all, but we've given you information, so you ought to reciprocate, right?" The Director interrupts from the holographic display.
"Ah, she's back. Did you figure out what was up with those other singularities?" I ask.
"No, I was pulled back to you guys because someone decided to charge into danger half-cocked again!" Olga Marie growls. "But we'll delay your punishment until later. For now-!"
"'I showed you mine, so you show me yours', is that it?" Amadeus says with a smirk.
"Exactly." Olga responds, completely serious.
…
Then her brain cells make the connection, and the Director turns into a tomato. "No! I meant no! Th-th-that's not what I was going to ask!"
"Okay, we'll keep our secrets." The Caster's smile grows.
"Yes! I meant yes! I want to know what you know!" She stammers, and his grin turns predatory.
"Then I guess I've got no choice but to bare everything, so to speak!~" Amadeus laughs.
"N-no! Wait!" Olga covers her eyes.
"Oh, she's fun." He chuckles.
"Amadeus, don't be rude." Marie slaps the back of his head.
"Fine, fine, I'll stop my teasing. As far as information goes, everything we know was more or less eclipsed by what you guys said." He shrugs. "I'm sure it's unsatisfying, but that's how the cookie crumbles."
"At the very least, you can share your capabilities, right?" Mash interjects.
"Well you've already seen my lovely horse!" Marie says. "Isn't my [Guillotine Breaker] gorgeous?"
Yeah, it's definitely pretty, and fast…" I say, leaving the question of 'does it do anything else?' unasked.
"It's an A-ranked anti-army Noble Phantasm that traps Maria's enemies in crystal and breaks them to pieces!" Mozart says with a grin.
"...Pardon?" No, seriously, what?
"Somehow I got a Noble Phantasm that incorporates the metaphysical strength of the entire French Monarchy! Vive la France, everyone!" The queen claps and smiles.
"I… see?" I turn to Mozart again. "So do you have some kind of super duper sonic blast attack, then?"
"Oh, no, I'm useless." He waves his hand dismissively. "I'm just a normal person who plays music. Of course, I've also got good hearing - speaking of which, enemy incoming!"
"Wha-?" I start to ask, but then I hear it. Entering audible range, rapidly closing on us.
"-aaaAAAAHHHH!" The mad howl of the Black Knight, as he chases us down.
***
Around a minute passes, during which Mordred fires off around three sword lasers at the approaching Berserker, but…
{It's no use. I can't hit him at this range. He'll be close enough soon, but I bet he'll get the first shot, with that cannon of his.} The Saber says telepathically. Dammit.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" I ask desperately. "It's a Noble Phantasm, isn't it? How's he catching up with us!?"
"The carriage is mundane, unfortunately. I've applied some reinforcement to it, but I don't have [Item Construction] or anything. If we go any faster, the wheels will fall off." Mozart says.
"Reinforcement? Didn't you just say that you were a normal person?" I force a smile.
"I'm just a normal magus who plays music!" He says cheerfully.
I'm about to make a retort, but the sound of thunder drowns out my thoughts.
"Mash!"
"[Lord Chaldeas]!" Mash's shield slams against the back wall of the carriage just in time, the cannon finding its mark a moment later. The rear of the carriage is annihilated, and I can finally see him.
The same black smear as before, undistinguishable save for his gleaming red visor. In his right hand is a smoking cannon, and chained to his back is a second one. His left hand, though, is firmly gripping the side of a wild-eyed horse.
The animal is terrified. Eyes wide, foam coming from its mouth, even as blood oozes from its side where Berserker has dug his clawed fingers into its flesh. And all across its body, black fog sits, veined with glowing red lines.
"You're joking. He turned some random horse into a Noble Phantasm capable of catching up with us!?" I ask.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Berserker discards his first cannon, ripping the second from his back in one clean motion.
"Like I'd let you! [Azoth Blood Arthur]!" Red light lances towards his weapon, set to pierce clean through it, except-!
"AAAAARRRRHHH!" Leaping to the side, for a moment unanchored by anything except his one-handed grip on the horse, the Black Knight pulls himself back and locks his legs around the animal's neck, hanging upside down. Mordred's shot arcs harmlessly past him, and an instant later, he fires.
"[Luminosité Éternelle]!" A glowing golden banner is planted at the edge of the carriage, and Jeanne's Noble Phantasm shields us from the blast. There's a small tearing noise, and some of the golden frill falls off of her banner.
The Berserker lets out another howl as he flips back on top of his mount, feet finding grip on top of the saddle as he stands up at full height, drawing two of the muskets tied to his waist. In a series of fluid motions, he fires and discards each gun in rapid succession, drawing a new one to replace it until all six are spent.
"Shit!" Mordred is forced to dive to the front of the carriage to avoid getting turned into swiss cheese, and Mash manages to cram her shield in the way to stop any of the shots from finding purchase within.
For a second, I dare to think he's run out of ammunition, and that we can safely take potshots at him until he catches up - and then it happens.
A twist of fate. It can't have been planned, it's too stupid for anyone to have planned it. It can't be anything other than pure, dumb, [Luck].
Among four bullets deflected by Mash's shield, two of them impact stray pebbles on the road, and ricochet back towards us, destroying both of our rear wheels. From the two bullets that sailed overhead, one bounces off a boulder, and returns to smash a front wheel.
The carriage grinds against the dust, the floor is torn out, and finally the whole thing tumbles over onto its side as Mash catches me, shielding my poor mortal body from the bulk of the crash.
For a few seconds, nothing can be seen through the cloud of dust - and then, sailing into view, braying frantically, the Berserker's horse is hurled at us, where Jeanne bats it aside, and it finally goes silent.
Clack. Clack. Clack. The sound of steel-clad feet comes closer and closer.
Slowly, a red light pierces the cloud of dust.
"Aaaaahh."
"-And that sums up everything we know about what's going on." I conclude, resting my back against the carriage bench.
Of course, the mandatory exposition dump hadn't happened on the spot. With Dracula, Dark Jeanne, and that other guy on our tail, the best option was naturally to load up into our new Allies' transportation and make our escape at top speed.
At the moment, with the countryside rushing by in a flat smear of green and blue, I can't help but reminisce about the dragon carriages back home. Hell, with Mordred keeping watch from the roof, I can't help but think back to a certain other noisy blond who refused to sit still.
"...I see. We had already learned that France was in terrible danger, but to think that Demons were involved as well!" Marie frowns for a few moments, before her face immediately brightens up, and she seizes Jeanne's hands, clasping them in her own. "Well, it's lucky we have you then, right? Saint Jeanne d'Arc, the perfect hero to save France from the schemes of Hell!"
"Eh? No, no, I'm really not that much of a Saint…" Jeanne protests as Marie leans closer and closer into her face - she's one of those super affectionate, doesn't-care-about-personal-space types, huh?
I'm in danger. I'm in so much danger here it's not even funny.
"That's nice and all, but we've given you information, so you ought to reciprocate, right?" The Director interrupts from the holographic display.
"Ah, she's back. Did you figure out what was up with those other singularities?" I ask.
"No, I was pulled back to you guys because someone decided to charge into danger half-cocked again!" Olga Marie growls. "But we'll delay your punishment until later. For now-!"
"'I showed you mine, so you show me yours', is that it?" Amadeus says with a smirk.
"Exactly." Olga responds, completely serious.
…
Then her brain cells make the connection, and the Director turns into a tomato. "No! I meant no! Th-th-that's not what I was going to ask!"
"Okay, we'll keep our secrets." The Caster's smile grows.
"Yes! I meant yes! I want to know what you know!" She stammers, and his grin turns predatory.
"Then I guess I've got no choice but to bare everything, so to speak!~" Amadeus laughs.
"N-no! Wait!" Olga covers her eyes.
"Oh, she's fun." He chuckles.
"Amadeus, don't be rude." Marie slaps the back of his head.
"Fine, fine, I'll stop my teasing. As far as information goes, everything we know was more or less eclipsed by what you guys said." He shrugs. "I'm sure it's unsatisfying, but that's how the cookie crumbles."
"At the very least, you can share your capabilities, right?" Mash interjects.
"Well you've already seen my lovely horse!" Marie says. "Isn't my [Guillotine Breaker] gorgeous?"
Yeah, it's definitely pretty, and fast…" I say, leaving the question of 'does it do anything else?' unasked.
"It's an A-ranked anti-army Noble Phantasm that traps Maria's enemies in crystal and breaks them to pieces!" Mozart says with a grin.
"...Pardon?" No, seriously, what?
"Somehow I got a Noble Phantasm that incorporates the metaphysical strength of the entire French Monarchy! Vive la France, everyone!" The queen claps and smiles.
"I… see?" I turn to Mozart again. "So do you have some kind of super duper sonic blast attack, then?"
"Oh, no, I'm useless." He waves his hand dismissively. "I'm just a normal person who plays music. Of course, I've also got good hearing - speaking of which, enemy incoming!"
"Wha-?" I start to ask, but then I hear it. Entering audible range, rapidly closing on us.
"-aaaAAAAHHHH!" The mad howl of the Black Knight, as he chases us down.
***
Around a minute passes, during which Mordred fires off around three sword lasers at the approaching Berserker, but…
{It's no use. I can't hit him at this range. He'll be close enough soon, but I bet he'll get the first shot, with that cannon of his.} The Saber says telepathically. Dammit.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" I ask desperately. "It's a Noble Phantasm, isn't it? How's he catching up with us!?"
"The carriage is mundane, unfortunately. I've applied some reinforcement to it, but I don't have [Item Construction] or anything. If we go any faster, the wheels will fall off." Mozart says.
"Reinforcement? Didn't you just say that you were a normal person?" I force a smile.
"I'm just a normal magus who plays music!" He says cheerfully.
I'm about to make a retort, but the sound of thunder drowns out my thoughts.
"Mash!"
"[Lord Chaldeas]!" Mash's shield slams against the back wall of the carriage just in time, the cannon finding its mark a moment later. The rear of the carriage is annihilated, and I can finally see him.
The same black smear as before, undistinguishable save for his gleaming red visor. In his right hand is a smoking cannon, and chained to his back is a second one. His left hand, though, is firmly gripping the side of a wild-eyed horse.
The animal is terrified. Eyes wide, foam coming from its mouth, even as blood oozes from its side where Berserker has dug his clawed fingers into its flesh. And all across its body, black fog sits, veined with glowing red lines.
"You're joking. He turned some random horse into a Noble Phantasm capable of catching up with us!?" I ask.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Berserker discards his first cannon, ripping the second from his back in one clean motion.
"Like I'd let you! [Azoth Blood Arthur]!" Red light lances towards his weapon, set to pierce clean through it, except-!
"AAAAARRRRHHH!" Leaping to the side, for a moment unanchored by anything except his one-handed grip on the horse, the Black Knight pulls himself back and locks his legs around the animal's neck, hanging upside down. Mordred's shot arcs harmlessly past him, and an instant later, he fires.
"[Luminosité Éternelle]!" A glowing golden banner is planted at the edge of the carriage, and Jeanne's Noble Phantasm shields us from the blast. There's a small tearing noise, and some of the golden frill falls off of her banner.
The Berserker lets out another howl as he flips back on top of his mount, feet finding grip on top of the saddle as he stands up at full height, drawing two of the muskets tied to his waist. In a series of fluid motions, he fires and discards each gun in rapid succession, drawing a new one to replace it until all six are spent.
"Shit!" Mordred is forced to dive to the front of the carriage to avoid getting turned into swiss cheese, and Mash manages to cram her shield in the way to stop any of the shots from finding purchase within.
For a second, I dare to think he's run out of ammunition, and that we can safely take potshots at him until he catches up - and then it happens.
A twist of fate. It can't have been planned, it's too stupid for anyone to have planned it. It can't be anything other than pure, dumb, [Luck].
Among four bullets deflected by Mash's shield, two of them impact stray pebbles on the road, and ricochet back towards us, destroying both of our rear wheels. From the two bullets that sailed overhead, one bounces off a boulder, and returns to smash a front wheel.
The carriage grinds against the dust, the floor is torn out, and finally the whole thing tumbles over onto its side as Mash catches me, shielding my poor mortal body from the bulk of the crash.
For a few seconds, nothing can be seen through the cloud of dust - and then, sailing into view, braying frantically, the Berserker's horse is hurled at us, where Jeanne bats it aside, and it finally goes silent.
Clack. Clack. Clack. The sound of steel-clad feet comes closer and closer.
Slowly, a red light pierces the cloud of dust.
"Aaaaahh."
[Protection of Fairies] was, is, and will continue to be bullshit. Lancelot is terrifying.
Technically, Knight of Owner might not be supposed to work on horses - but he used it as a weapon in the end there, so it counts I guess.
Technically, Knight of Owner might not be supposed to work on horses - but he used it as a weapon in the end there, so it counts I guess.
- Location
- Somewhere North of south
I mean horses where weapons of war... And I'm pretty sure he used a telephone pole once so it's close enough.
48: Out of the Fire.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
48: Out of the Fire.
For a few seconds he stands there, head twitching madly every so often, with a broken scrap of wood from the carriage in each hand. Of course, each of his improvised weapons is enveloped in that same black mana that everything else he wielded had been coated in, so it goes without saying that they're lethal weapons.
He's dangerous. This Black Knight is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous things I've ever encountered. It feels like I'm staring down Heracles or Reinhard. Our one saving grace is that he only has two hands. But that being said…
"Don't we outnumber him?" I can't help but ask. And with that, the spell is broken, and everyone springs into action.
A shield bash towards his face. A sword thrust to the chest. A spear-like banner thrust into his back, towards his lower spine. A blast of pink energy at his knees. Mozart shrugs helplessly. In an instant, all four combat capable servants attack him.
And in the next, he responds. Shield blocked with right hand. Sword beaten aside with left hand. Spear sidestepped, trapped between right knee and elbow. Marie's magic blast connects, but it breaks on impact, harmlessly dispersing.
"Oh dear. I was afraid of that. It seems he has some level of Magic Resistance." Mozart sighs. "Maria's spells are little more than crudely compressed atmospheric mana, so it goes without saying that even E-rank resistance will nullify them."
The Berserker crushes the piece of wood in his left hand and throws it, assailing Mordred with a hail of wood chips that has more in common with a flak gun. Dropping the wood in his right hand, he kicks it at Mash's shield, knocking her further back. His elbow is raised up, off of Jeanne's banner, but as she pulls it back, he catches it with both hands.
"Of course, I'd love to catch him in my Noble Phantasm, but since the thing affects anyone who can hear it, I'd probably end up killing you in the process, Subaru." The composer continues.
Mordred mana bursts out of the way of Berserker's shrapnel. Mash stumbles to a recovery and makes another swing at him. Jeanne tries to twist her banner out of his grip.
The Black Knight swings Jeanne's weapon, with her still gripping it, into Mash and lets go. Both Servants go tumbling away in a tangle of limbs. He prepares to follow up, snatching up the piece of wood he had kicked at Mash earlier and sprinting towards the two, except-!
"[Azoth Blood Arthur]!" A slash of red light erupts between him and his targets, zoning him out while the two recover. The Black Knight slides to a stop, another cloud of dirt and uprooted grass filling the air.
"AAAAAAAARRRRHHHH!"
His head whips towards Mordred, clattering and shaking with renewed fury. An instant later, he pounces towards her, swinging his wood scrap with force that breaks the sound barrier. It craters into the ground with a thunderous noise, seismic shock creating a geyser of earth - but Mordred dodges the blow easily.
"Too predictable!" She roars, sword crackling with red lightning as she thrusts at his bent form, even as Jeanne approaches from the opposite side with an overhead swing of her flag.
"URRRRHHHH!"
Rolling forward onto his hands, the Black Knight executes a perfect handstand split, kicking both of his assailants' wrists to prevent their strikes. Following through, he launches himself into an aerial spin, kicking both weapons aside even as he crushes the scrap in his hand and launches a volley of empowered woodchips at Jeanne.
"Gah-!" The saint cries out, unable to dodge completely. The splinters shred her left shoulder, and her grip on the banner weakens for just a second - allowing the Berserker to grab it and kick her away, sending her bouncing across what remains of the dusty road. Howling, he uses it to block another strike from Mordred, and kicks against a shield bash from Mash.
"That's enough, sir knight!" A heart-shaped blast of pink energy hits him, bowling him over.
"I figured that might be her next choice. Now we see if he's vulnerable to charms." Amadeus notes.
"Aah… Gwuh… Gwuh…" The Berserker drops the banner and stands up straight, clutching his head and swaying back and forth.
Marie lets out a happy sigh. "So you really are the chivalrous sort, under all that. Won't you tell me about yourself, sir knight?"
"G...g...GUAAAAH!" He howls, collapsing to his knees and slamming his head against the ground. "NNNNUUUHHH!" Again, he slams his helmeted head against the ground, clawing at the dust beneath him. "VRRRH!"
"...Oh dear. That doesn't look good. Please, sir knight, there's no need to-!" Marie starts, but Mordred cuts her off.
"It's no use, queenie. Berserkers will be Berserkers, after all." The Saber says, her sword glowing red. "Sometimes, all you can do is this. [Azoth Blood-"
In an instant, the Black Knight rockets towards her, left hand catching the Azoth Longsword as his visor grows an even brighter red.
"Arrr...thuuur." He rumbles - and then he throws the sand in his right hand at her eyes.
In most combat situations, sand in the eyes is a dirty trick. It can be dangerous to the target, but I can attest that against a strong enough opponent, mere blindness is no impediment. However, in the hands of a servant who turns anything he touches into a Noble Phantasm, sand ceases to be a mere dirty trick. It's more reminiscent of the nonsense Regulus pulled when we fought him.
To her credit, Mordred dodges the bulk of the attack, jerking her head to the side - but that doesn't stop the sand from shredding the right side of her face, gouging out her eye and eviscerating her ear.
In the same moment, the Azoth Longsword finishes cleaving through the Black Knight's palm, coming down in a blast of energy as it severs most of the fingers on his left hand. But he succeeded in redirecting the blast away from himself and, heedless of the damage he had taken, as if sacrificing that hand means nothing to him, he follows through on the motion, inertia carrying what remains of his hand into a left hook, grinding exposed bone fragments against Mordred's face wound in a brutal punch that sends her flying.
In an instant, things go from bad to worse - Mordred loses her grip on her weapon. Not letting the opportunity go to waste, the Berserker snatches the blade out of the air, and it blazes with sickly-looking black and red light.
"You're joking." I mutter. It took Mordred a solid week to get that thing working.
And yet, the Black Knight lets out an invocation, in his same warbling scream as always. "[AaazOOOTH-!"
The light recedes - no, it's more accurate to say it's pulled back into the sword. What should be a blast of mana is restrained, bound up, forced to wait until the exact moment of the strike. It's an absurd technique - even from here I can see his arm shaking with effort as his bones creak and muscles tear.
But nonetheless, he launches himself after Mordred, sword raised.
"-OVERLOOOAAAAD]!"
"[Lord-!" Mash valiantly jumps in the way, but she doesn't have time to finish her invocation before he's upon her, sword driving against her shield. I activate [Emergency Reinforcement] to bolster her defenses, and then-!
"[Cor Leonis]" My heart pounds as I activate my authority of Greed. I know she won't be able to take this hit. Not on her own. My right shoulder dislocates, and the forearm is bruised. On my left hand, my pinky, ring, and middle finger snap. Seeing me grit my teeth and double over, Mash gives me a horrified look, and I feel both her guilt, and my own for breaking the promise so quickly, wash over me. It hurts even more than the injuries.
But she withstands his attack, and a moment later, the Azoth longsword falls from his grip as his arm and hand spasm from overexertion. Looking at the way his arm is hanging there, I think he might also have a few broken bones, but there's no way to tell for sure with that fog around him. The blade, on the other hand, is clearly damaged, warped and deformed from being used in such an absurd manner.
For a moment, there's a lull in the fight, and I'm able to activate the [Emergency First Aid] function of my Mystic Code to heal Mash's broken limbs - just in time for the Black Knight to renew his assault, attempting to beat down the Shielder's resistance with a series of furious kicks delivered to her weapon.
"AAARRRTHUUURRR!" He screams, kicking the Azoth Longsword into his left hand, gripping it with just his thumb and his slowly regenerating palm.
Jeanne has recovered by this point, and moves to rejoin the fight - and then she freezes, as her own voice, not coming from her mouth, cuts through the noise of the ongoing fight.
"Berserker, that's enough - by my command spell, leave this place and return to your original task." The woman I had seen at La Charité was suddenly standing here. In the space between blinks, she had arrived, with the same dark silhouette as before standing behind her.
"AAAH! AAAH! AAAARRRRRTHHHUUUUUUUURRRR!" The Black Knight shrieks with hatred and desperation as he dematerializes, spending the last of his time to use his mangled hand to attempt to throw the sword at Mordred, who easily catches it.
"Good, it was going to be impossible to focus with him here. Now then… hello there, me. How about we figure out just what the hell is going on here?" Says Dark Jeanne, smiling villainously.
For a few seconds he stands there, head twitching madly every so often, with a broken scrap of wood from the carriage in each hand. Of course, each of his improvised weapons is enveloped in that same black mana that everything else he wielded had been coated in, so it goes without saying that they're lethal weapons.
He's dangerous. This Black Knight is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous things I've ever encountered. It feels like I'm staring down Heracles or Reinhard. Our one saving grace is that he only has two hands. But that being said…
"Don't we outnumber him?" I can't help but ask. And with that, the spell is broken, and everyone springs into action.
A shield bash towards his face. A sword thrust to the chest. A spear-like banner thrust into his back, towards his lower spine. A blast of pink energy at his knees. Mozart shrugs helplessly. In an instant, all four combat capable servants attack him.
And in the next, he responds. Shield blocked with right hand. Sword beaten aside with left hand. Spear sidestepped, trapped between right knee and elbow. Marie's magic blast connects, but it breaks on impact, harmlessly dispersing.
"Oh dear. I was afraid of that. It seems he has some level of Magic Resistance." Mozart sighs. "Maria's spells are little more than crudely compressed atmospheric mana, so it goes without saying that even E-rank resistance will nullify them."
The Berserker crushes the piece of wood in his left hand and throws it, assailing Mordred with a hail of wood chips that has more in common with a flak gun. Dropping the wood in his right hand, he kicks it at Mash's shield, knocking her further back. His elbow is raised up, off of Jeanne's banner, but as she pulls it back, he catches it with both hands.
"Of course, I'd love to catch him in my Noble Phantasm, but since the thing affects anyone who can hear it, I'd probably end up killing you in the process, Subaru." The composer continues.
Mordred mana bursts out of the way of Berserker's shrapnel. Mash stumbles to a recovery and makes another swing at him. Jeanne tries to twist her banner out of his grip.
The Black Knight swings Jeanne's weapon, with her still gripping it, into Mash and lets go. Both Servants go tumbling away in a tangle of limbs. He prepares to follow up, snatching up the piece of wood he had kicked at Mash earlier and sprinting towards the two, except-!
"[Azoth Blood Arthur]!" A slash of red light erupts between him and his targets, zoning him out while the two recover. The Black Knight slides to a stop, another cloud of dirt and uprooted grass filling the air.
"AAAAAAAARRRRHHHH!"
His head whips towards Mordred, clattering and shaking with renewed fury. An instant later, he pounces towards her, swinging his wood scrap with force that breaks the sound barrier. It craters into the ground with a thunderous noise, seismic shock creating a geyser of earth - but Mordred dodges the blow easily.
"Too predictable!" She roars, sword crackling with red lightning as she thrusts at his bent form, even as Jeanne approaches from the opposite side with an overhead swing of her flag.
"URRRRHHHH!"
Rolling forward onto his hands, the Black Knight executes a perfect handstand split, kicking both of his assailants' wrists to prevent their strikes. Following through, he launches himself into an aerial spin, kicking both weapons aside even as he crushes the scrap in his hand and launches a volley of empowered woodchips at Jeanne.
"Gah-!" The saint cries out, unable to dodge completely. The splinters shred her left shoulder, and her grip on the banner weakens for just a second - allowing the Berserker to grab it and kick her away, sending her bouncing across what remains of the dusty road. Howling, he uses it to block another strike from Mordred, and kicks against a shield bash from Mash.
"That's enough, sir knight!" A heart-shaped blast of pink energy hits him, bowling him over.
"I figured that might be her next choice. Now we see if he's vulnerable to charms." Amadeus notes.
"Aah… Gwuh… Gwuh…" The Berserker drops the banner and stands up straight, clutching his head and swaying back and forth.
Marie lets out a happy sigh. "So you really are the chivalrous sort, under all that. Won't you tell me about yourself, sir knight?"
"G...g...GUAAAAH!" He howls, collapsing to his knees and slamming his head against the ground. "NNNNUUUHHH!" Again, he slams his helmeted head against the ground, clawing at the dust beneath him. "VRRRH!"
"...Oh dear. That doesn't look good. Please, sir knight, there's no need to-!" Marie starts, but Mordred cuts her off.
"It's no use, queenie. Berserkers will be Berserkers, after all." The Saber says, her sword glowing red. "Sometimes, all you can do is this. [Azoth Blood-"
In an instant, the Black Knight rockets towards her, left hand catching the Azoth Longsword as his visor grows an even brighter red.
"Arrr...thuuur." He rumbles - and then he throws the sand in his right hand at her eyes.
In most combat situations, sand in the eyes is a dirty trick. It can be dangerous to the target, but I can attest that against a strong enough opponent, mere blindness is no impediment. However, in the hands of a servant who turns anything he touches into a Noble Phantasm, sand ceases to be a mere dirty trick. It's more reminiscent of the nonsense Regulus pulled when we fought him.
To her credit, Mordred dodges the bulk of the attack, jerking her head to the side - but that doesn't stop the sand from shredding the right side of her face, gouging out her eye and eviscerating her ear.
In the same moment, the Azoth Longsword finishes cleaving through the Black Knight's palm, coming down in a blast of energy as it severs most of the fingers on his left hand. But he succeeded in redirecting the blast away from himself and, heedless of the damage he had taken, as if sacrificing that hand means nothing to him, he follows through on the motion, inertia carrying what remains of his hand into a left hook, grinding exposed bone fragments against Mordred's face wound in a brutal punch that sends her flying.
In an instant, things go from bad to worse - Mordred loses her grip on her weapon. Not letting the opportunity go to waste, the Berserker snatches the blade out of the air, and it blazes with sickly-looking black and red light.
"You're joking." I mutter. It took Mordred a solid week to get that thing working.
And yet, the Black Knight lets out an invocation, in his same warbling scream as always. "[AaazOOOTH-!"
The light recedes - no, it's more accurate to say it's pulled back into the sword. What should be a blast of mana is restrained, bound up, forced to wait until the exact moment of the strike. It's an absurd technique - even from here I can see his arm shaking with effort as his bones creak and muscles tear.
But nonetheless, he launches himself after Mordred, sword raised.
"-OVERLOOOAAAAD]!"
"[Lord-!" Mash valiantly jumps in the way, but she doesn't have time to finish her invocation before he's upon her, sword driving against her shield. I activate [Emergency Reinforcement] to bolster her defenses, and then-!
"[Cor Leonis]" My heart pounds as I activate my authority of Greed. I know she won't be able to take this hit. Not on her own. My right shoulder dislocates, and the forearm is bruised. On my left hand, my pinky, ring, and middle finger snap. Seeing me grit my teeth and double over, Mash gives me a horrified look, and I feel both her guilt, and my own for breaking the promise so quickly, wash over me. It hurts even more than the injuries.
But she withstands his attack, and a moment later, the Azoth longsword falls from his grip as his arm and hand spasm from overexertion. Looking at the way his arm is hanging there, I think he might also have a few broken bones, but there's no way to tell for sure with that fog around him. The blade, on the other hand, is clearly damaged, warped and deformed from being used in such an absurd manner.
For a moment, there's a lull in the fight, and I'm able to activate the [Emergency First Aid] function of my Mystic Code to heal Mash's broken limbs - just in time for the Black Knight to renew his assault, attempting to beat down the Shielder's resistance with a series of furious kicks delivered to her weapon.
"AAARRRTHUUURRR!" He screams, kicking the Azoth Longsword into his left hand, gripping it with just his thumb and his slowly regenerating palm.
Jeanne has recovered by this point, and moves to rejoin the fight - and then she freezes, as her own voice, not coming from her mouth, cuts through the noise of the ongoing fight.
"Berserker, that's enough - by my command spell, leave this place and return to your original task." The woman I had seen at La Charité was suddenly standing here. In the space between blinks, she had arrived, with the same dark silhouette as before standing behind her.
"AAAH! AAAH! AAAARRRRRTHHHUUUUUUUURRRR!" The Black Knight shrieks with hatred and desperation as he dematerializes, spending the last of his time to use his mangled hand to attempt to throw the sword at Mordred, who easily catches it.
"Good, it was going to be impossible to focus with him here. Now then… hello there, me. How about we figure out just what the hell is going on here?" Says Dark Jeanne, smiling villainously.
Surprise Update! Lancelot continues to be scary. Luckily, Jalter wants to monologue, so Subaru gets a chance to live.
RoboRenee
Trans of gender
- Location
- FFXIV, probably
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Doesn't Subaru have like a goodbye senses thing or am I misremembering? 'Cuz if so he could just say 'hit it' and zap himself, right?
shadow9800
Yorokobe~
- Location
- My Worst Nightmares
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Damn, Berserkalot using his memories of Guinevere to resist Marie's charm ability. God damn it, why do you have to be so damn cool Lancelot?!?
49: And back into the frying pan.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
49: And back into the frying pan.
A moment of stunned silence follows Dark Jeanne's words, only broken by her cold laughter.
"Hah. Hahaha! Ah, someone pour water on me, I think I'm gonna be sick." Dark Jeanne says, Covering her face with a hand. "Shit, this is so messed up. Who would have thought something like this could happen, huh? I feel like I swallowed a live eel and it's trying to get out. Hey, 'Me', are you feeling this too?"
"-No. I don't feel anything at all like that." Jeanne replies, and her counterpart scowls. "But you're the one trying to destroy my country, right? The so-called Dragon Witch?"
"Our country!? Don't make me laugh! This country, which betrayed us and allowed us to be burned alive!? France already lost any claim it had on us at that point!" The Dragon Witch spits.
Jeanne opens her mouth to say something, but Marie speaks first, pointing at "Then it's up to me to reclaim you! That's right, Dragon Witch - as a monarch of France, I'm going to make you mine!"
A moment of shocked silence follows. On Dark Jeanne's cheeks I see a faint dusting of red, mirrored by a much more pronounced blush on our Jeanne's.
"Another conquest so soon, Maria? Goodness you're insatiable." Amadeus says, shaking his head.
"Um, no! That came out wrong, what I meant is, I'm going to steal back your heart! I-in the name of France! That's right, for France! Vive la France!" The queen hastily "corrects" her sentence. "Oh, um, not-evil Saint Jeanne d'Arc, don't worry, I'll also make sure to claim your heart and body."
"She let her true intentions slip…" I mutter, awestruck. Okay, good news, the yuri readings are off the charts. Safe! That means I'm safe, right?
"Ah, a war on two fronts. How bold." Mozart continues to tease the Queen.
"God, are all French rulers like this…?" Dark Jeanne mumbles, and then she coughs into her fist. "Ahem! Th-that's pointless. You can't change my mind. It's impossible. You'd need to claim the grail to even have a chance in hell of turning me to your side - and even then, I'm me. I am the Jeanne d'Arc who avenges herself upon France. The pain of those flames, the pain of that betrayal will never fade-"
"Then I'll cover them up with love!" Marie exclaims.
Dark Jeanne's eye twitches and her face turns even more red. "Shut up! Come to my side, Evil Dragon - and kill them all!"
In an instant, the sun is blotted out. Soundlessly, the Evil Dragon Fafnir arrives, mouth already sparking with blue fire. It's only as he starts to release his attack that the noise finally catches up, the sonic boom generated by his motion ripping through what remains of the nearby foliage. Immediately afterwards, a condensed jet of flame carves its way through the road, turning dust to glass, certain death billowing out from that point of impact-!
"[Luminosité Éternelle]!" Jeanne's banner slams into the ground, a shimmering golden field spreading around our group as the sea of fire crashes over us. One second, two seconds, three seconds go by as seemingly endless fire pours from the evil Dragon's jaws. Slowly, almost invisibly, the banner starts to fray. Staring after string, one by one, it's unmade by Fafnir's attack.
"Hey, 'Me', I know as well as you do that we don't want to burn to death again. So if you give up now, I'll have Berserk Avenger here put you out of your misery." The Dragon Witch calls through the roaring flames, mocking laughter filling her voice.
-Avenger. I've never heard of that class before. I've learned at least that about the Shadow behind her, and I know now that the Black Knight is someone who knew Arthur. So if I die here, I'll have at least that going for me. If I dodge La Charite, and pick up Mozart and Marie on the other road, it might save us some pain too.
Yeah. If I die here, it won't be a total loss. For an instant I contemplate killing myself, to spare everyone the pain of burning alive - but I'll stick it out. I can't give up so easily. I need to see it through.
Jeanne, similarly, levels a glare full of resolve at her counterpart.
"I refuse. If it's my destiny to die like this once more, then so be it - but until that point, I won't give up!"
"Kuhaha!" The shadow standing behind Dark Jeanne - "Berserk Avenger", I guess? - finally speaks. "Such a shame! I'd have loved to have the chance to kill a saint - but even if it's for the wrong reason, she's found the right answer!"
The downpour of flames continues, stretching on and on with no sign of ending. Every so often, he pauses to take a breath, but there's no time for us to do anything before he starts up again. An entire five minutes passes like that, Jeanne's banner continuing to fray under the strain.
"...There's no helping it. We're gonna have to try for a Hail Mary." I mutter through gritted teeth, glancing at my final Command Spell. Between it and the two or so spells worth of mana I've got in my Mystic Code, there are a few options. "Mordred, how are your injuries? Can you still fight?"
"I'll manage. Sword's pretty messed up, though." She says through gritted teeth.
...Translation: her wounds are pretty damn crippling, even with Jeanne's barrier providing some passive healing. Normally she'd say something like "who the hell do you think I am?"
"Mash, what about you?" I ask the Shielder.
"Before worrying about other people's injuries, shouldn't you heal your own, Senpai?" She responds, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"...Sorry, but I'm just gonna be counting on Jeanne's Noble Phantasm for that for now. We're in too tight a spot for me to be blowing mana on healing myself." As long as I don't move too much, it's not that bad anyway. In any case, I guess I can just approximate Mash's wounds from my own. She already set her own shoulder, so all things considered, she's not doing too bad. Still, Mash doesn't have any Noble Phantasms we know of that can do anything to Fafnir, so…
"Marie, Mozart said your Noble Phantasm was pretty strong, right?"
She nods. "But it's a big commitment. If I use [Guillotine Breaker] at its full power, I won't be able to summon it again at all for an hour or so."
"So if it doesn't work, we won't have our getaway option either, huh?" I cringe. That's a serious downside. And so, turning to the last offensive option we've got...
"Amadeus, your Noble Phantasm isn't capable of holding back that fire, right? So even if I use my magecraft to get rid of our senses and protect from your music, we'll just get fried."
"It's just a debuff, I'm afraid. Two ranks down to all parameters is nothing to sneeze at, but…" He sighs.
"Not anything that'll turn this mess around. Damn it, just how long can he keep this up-?"
"Ah, but back up a second." Mozart says. "You said you've got a curse that obstructs the targets' senses, right?"
"...Well, it's not strictly a curse, but-" I start. What's he getting at? It's not like Shamak is any use here.
"It's no good if it's not a curse. Listen, if this is going to work, you absolutely have to be thinking of the spell as a 'curse'. Are you good enough of a magus to pull that off?" He interrupts.
"With a command spell, I could maybe pull it off, but what good is it gonna do? In case you forgot, that's a dragon up there! Nothing I cast is going to punch through his innate magic resistance. And even if I did, he already knows where we are." I mutter, scowling. It feels bad to be so defeatist, but…
"I take it you haven't read the Volsunga Saga, then? You see, it doesn't matter if he knows where we are, so long as we hit Fafnir 'from below, in the left shoulder, with an attack he does not see coming', it ought to be close enough - you can manage that, right Sir Mordred?" Amadeus says, prompting a nod from the Saber.
"Alright, so we recreate his legend. That's fine. That makes sense. But did you forget the part where he resists magic?" I protest.
"Not curses. As long as it's a curse, it should work." The composer says, a grin on his face. "In life, Fafnir was cursed twice over - the [Evil Dragon Phenomenon], which turned him into a dragon, and the curse of [Das Rhinegold], which condemned him to a violent death. Really, you could probably make an argument that his entire life was defined by curses. Naturally, that ought to give him a crippling conceptual weakness to them!"
"...If you say so. Fine, we'll give it a try. Jeanne, the next time he takes a breath, drop the barrier and we'll take a shot at him. Mash, get ready to shield us if he manages to counterattack."
"Got it."
"Understood, Senpai."
A moment later, the plan is executed. Jeanne's barrier drops, and my last command spell flares to life. Smoke billows out of my hand as I do my best to twist the spell into a proper 'curse'.
"[Shamak]!"
Since it's my own spell, I can still make out the general gist of where everything is - I feel Mordred rocket off the ground with a Mana Burst, sword awash in scarlet light. I sense Fafnir recoiling, attempting to dodge the strike.
And I hear the footsteps as Berserk Avenger suddenly appears behind me, hands crackling with indigo fire.
"You couldn't possibly think I'd be so merciful as to simply let you plot amongst yourselves right in front of me, could you?" He asks, cruel laughter filling his voice. And faster than I can turn around, he thrusts his hand at my back-!
Only to freeze as the sound of a piano fills the air. Beautiful music, mixed with tones of darkness and hope, penetrates the noise of the battlefield - and visible pain wracks the Avenger's body, driving him to his knees.
"W-what-!?" He hisses, head whipping towards Mozart, who had apparently materialized the instrument while we couldn't see him.
Above us, Fafnir roars in agony as [Azoth Blood Arthur] pierces his left shoulder, oceans of noxious-smelling purple blood pouring from the wound.
"You know, I mentioned earlier that I'm basically useless. But one thing that I have got going for me is my [Aesthetic Appreciation] skill." Mozart says, smirking as his fingers dance across the keyboard. "Simply put, it allows me to identify art. It's limited in its application, but a living work of art like you… well, pardon my pun, but you're an open book to me."
"Y-you…!" The avenger tries to stand, hands sputtering with fire - but as he does so, his body seems to smear across space, leaving another image of him still doubled over in pain. "What have you inflicted upon me!?"
"It's funny, you know. A different soundtrack can change so much about a story. My musical magecraft isn't good for much, but this is something it can do. Drawing out different aspects of the same story - I can manage that." Mozart says in a mocking tone. "I've titled this piece [The Redemption of Edmond Dantès] - I wonder, Monsieur Avenger, can your spirit origin survive it?"
"Hah. Hahaha! Kuhahaha! So that's what this is! I won't forget this, composer!" The man cackles madly as his body's edges start to fray. "To steal the kind ending that man gave me, and brandish it against me - you must be one of the most vile men I've ever met."
Fafnir smashes into the ground, absent his left arm, spasming and roaring as he bleeds out. To the side, Marie and Mash use some basic magecraft to repair our carriage's wheels. Mordred lands somewhere nearby, panting heavily.
The Avenger narrows his eyes, silencing his laughter. "I'll kill you for this."
Mozart laughs and prepares to respond, but I cut him off. "No, you won't. [Minya]."
Purple crystal covers his body, breaking away in chunks, tearing him apart until all that remains is a nondescript mess of spiritual waste matter, faintly sparkling with gold light.
Letting out a breath, I turn to join the others in our retreat as Dark Jeanne looks on. Why is she just watching? It actually takes me until I'm standing in the door of the carriage before it clicks.
"Wait, we outnumber her five to one. Shouldn't we just-?"
"Fou!" An almost-forgotten white dog springs from somewhere and roundhouse kicks me into the carriage.
"Can't we-?" Another conflagration fills the area as the Tarrasque impacts the ground behind us. "Okay, nevermind, let's leave."
***
"-[Attendre, Espérer]."
A moment of stunned silence follows Dark Jeanne's words, only broken by her cold laughter.
"Hah. Hahaha! Ah, someone pour water on me, I think I'm gonna be sick." Dark Jeanne says, Covering her face with a hand. "Shit, this is so messed up. Who would have thought something like this could happen, huh? I feel like I swallowed a live eel and it's trying to get out. Hey, 'Me', are you feeling this too?"
"-No. I don't feel anything at all like that." Jeanne replies, and her counterpart scowls. "But you're the one trying to destroy my country, right? The so-called Dragon Witch?"
"Our country!? Don't make me laugh! This country, which betrayed us and allowed us to be burned alive!? France already lost any claim it had on us at that point!" The Dragon Witch spits.
Jeanne opens her mouth to say something, but Marie speaks first, pointing at "Then it's up to me to reclaim you! That's right, Dragon Witch - as a monarch of France, I'm going to make you mine!"
A moment of shocked silence follows. On Dark Jeanne's cheeks I see a faint dusting of red, mirrored by a much more pronounced blush on our Jeanne's.
"Another conquest so soon, Maria? Goodness you're insatiable." Amadeus says, shaking his head.
"Um, no! That came out wrong, what I meant is, I'm going to steal back your heart! I-in the name of France! That's right, for France! Vive la France!" The queen hastily "corrects" her sentence. "Oh, um, not-evil Saint Jeanne d'Arc, don't worry, I'll also make sure to claim your heart and body."
"She let her true intentions slip…" I mutter, awestruck. Okay, good news, the yuri readings are off the charts. Safe! That means I'm safe, right?
"Ah, a war on two fronts. How bold." Mozart continues to tease the Queen.
"God, are all French rulers like this…?" Dark Jeanne mumbles, and then she coughs into her fist. "Ahem! Th-that's pointless. You can't change my mind. It's impossible. You'd need to claim the grail to even have a chance in hell of turning me to your side - and even then, I'm me. I am the Jeanne d'Arc who avenges herself upon France. The pain of those flames, the pain of that betrayal will never fade-"
"Then I'll cover them up with love!" Marie exclaims.
Dark Jeanne's eye twitches and her face turns even more red. "Shut up! Come to my side, Evil Dragon - and kill them all!"
In an instant, the sun is blotted out. Soundlessly, the Evil Dragon Fafnir arrives, mouth already sparking with blue fire. It's only as he starts to release his attack that the noise finally catches up, the sonic boom generated by his motion ripping through what remains of the nearby foliage. Immediately afterwards, a condensed jet of flame carves its way through the road, turning dust to glass, certain death billowing out from that point of impact-!
"[Luminosité Éternelle]!" Jeanne's banner slams into the ground, a shimmering golden field spreading around our group as the sea of fire crashes over us. One second, two seconds, three seconds go by as seemingly endless fire pours from the evil Dragon's jaws. Slowly, almost invisibly, the banner starts to fray. Staring after string, one by one, it's unmade by Fafnir's attack.
"Hey, 'Me', I know as well as you do that we don't want to burn to death again. So if you give up now, I'll have Berserk Avenger here put you out of your misery." The Dragon Witch calls through the roaring flames, mocking laughter filling her voice.
-Avenger. I've never heard of that class before. I've learned at least that about the Shadow behind her, and I know now that the Black Knight is someone who knew Arthur. So if I die here, I'll have at least that going for me. If I dodge La Charite, and pick up Mozart and Marie on the other road, it might save us some pain too.
Yeah. If I die here, it won't be a total loss. For an instant I contemplate killing myself, to spare everyone the pain of burning alive - but I'll stick it out. I can't give up so easily. I need to see it through.
Jeanne, similarly, levels a glare full of resolve at her counterpart.
"I refuse. If it's my destiny to die like this once more, then so be it - but until that point, I won't give up!"
"Kuhaha!" The shadow standing behind Dark Jeanne - "Berserk Avenger", I guess? - finally speaks. "Such a shame! I'd have loved to have the chance to kill a saint - but even if it's for the wrong reason, she's found the right answer!"
The downpour of flames continues, stretching on and on with no sign of ending. Every so often, he pauses to take a breath, but there's no time for us to do anything before he starts up again. An entire five minutes passes like that, Jeanne's banner continuing to fray under the strain.
"...There's no helping it. We're gonna have to try for a Hail Mary." I mutter through gritted teeth, glancing at my final Command Spell. Between it and the two or so spells worth of mana I've got in my Mystic Code, there are a few options. "Mordred, how are your injuries? Can you still fight?"
"I'll manage. Sword's pretty messed up, though." She says through gritted teeth.
...Translation: her wounds are pretty damn crippling, even with Jeanne's barrier providing some passive healing. Normally she'd say something like "who the hell do you think I am?"
"Mash, what about you?" I ask the Shielder.
"Before worrying about other people's injuries, shouldn't you heal your own, Senpai?" She responds, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"...Sorry, but I'm just gonna be counting on Jeanne's Noble Phantasm for that for now. We're in too tight a spot for me to be blowing mana on healing myself." As long as I don't move too much, it's not that bad anyway. In any case, I guess I can just approximate Mash's wounds from my own. She already set her own shoulder, so all things considered, she's not doing too bad. Still, Mash doesn't have any Noble Phantasms we know of that can do anything to Fafnir, so…
"Marie, Mozart said your Noble Phantasm was pretty strong, right?"
She nods. "But it's a big commitment. If I use [Guillotine Breaker] at its full power, I won't be able to summon it again at all for an hour or so."
"So if it doesn't work, we won't have our getaway option either, huh?" I cringe. That's a serious downside. And so, turning to the last offensive option we've got...
"Amadeus, your Noble Phantasm isn't capable of holding back that fire, right? So even if I use my magecraft to get rid of our senses and protect from your music, we'll just get fried."
"It's just a debuff, I'm afraid. Two ranks down to all parameters is nothing to sneeze at, but…" He sighs.
"Not anything that'll turn this mess around. Damn it, just how long can he keep this up-?"
"Ah, but back up a second." Mozart says. "You said you've got a curse that obstructs the targets' senses, right?"
"...Well, it's not strictly a curse, but-" I start. What's he getting at? It's not like Shamak is any use here.
"It's no good if it's not a curse. Listen, if this is going to work, you absolutely have to be thinking of the spell as a 'curse'. Are you good enough of a magus to pull that off?" He interrupts.
"With a command spell, I could maybe pull it off, but what good is it gonna do? In case you forgot, that's a dragon up there! Nothing I cast is going to punch through his innate magic resistance. And even if I did, he already knows where we are." I mutter, scowling. It feels bad to be so defeatist, but…
"I take it you haven't read the Volsunga Saga, then? You see, it doesn't matter if he knows where we are, so long as we hit Fafnir 'from below, in the left shoulder, with an attack he does not see coming', it ought to be close enough - you can manage that, right Sir Mordred?" Amadeus says, prompting a nod from the Saber.
"Alright, so we recreate his legend. That's fine. That makes sense. But did you forget the part where he resists magic?" I protest.
"Not curses. As long as it's a curse, it should work." The composer says, a grin on his face. "In life, Fafnir was cursed twice over - the [Evil Dragon Phenomenon], which turned him into a dragon, and the curse of [Das Rhinegold], which condemned him to a violent death. Really, you could probably make an argument that his entire life was defined by curses. Naturally, that ought to give him a crippling conceptual weakness to them!"
"...If you say so. Fine, we'll give it a try. Jeanne, the next time he takes a breath, drop the barrier and we'll take a shot at him. Mash, get ready to shield us if he manages to counterattack."
"Got it."
"Understood, Senpai."
A moment later, the plan is executed. Jeanne's barrier drops, and my last command spell flares to life. Smoke billows out of my hand as I do my best to twist the spell into a proper 'curse'.
"[Shamak]!"
Since it's my own spell, I can still make out the general gist of where everything is - I feel Mordred rocket off the ground with a Mana Burst, sword awash in scarlet light. I sense Fafnir recoiling, attempting to dodge the strike.
And I hear the footsteps as Berserk Avenger suddenly appears behind me, hands crackling with indigo fire.
"You couldn't possibly think I'd be so merciful as to simply let you plot amongst yourselves right in front of me, could you?" He asks, cruel laughter filling his voice. And faster than I can turn around, he thrusts his hand at my back-!
Only to freeze as the sound of a piano fills the air. Beautiful music, mixed with tones of darkness and hope, penetrates the noise of the battlefield - and visible pain wracks the Avenger's body, driving him to his knees.
"W-what-!?" He hisses, head whipping towards Mozart, who had apparently materialized the instrument while we couldn't see him.
Above us, Fafnir roars in agony as [Azoth Blood Arthur] pierces his left shoulder, oceans of noxious-smelling purple blood pouring from the wound.
"You know, I mentioned earlier that I'm basically useless. But one thing that I have got going for me is my [Aesthetic Appreciation] skill." Mozart says, smirking as his fingers dance across the keyboard. "Simply put, it allows me to identify art. It's limited in its application, but a living work of art like you… well, pardon my pun, but you're an open book to me."
"Y-you…!" The avenger tries to stand, hands sputtering with fire - but as he does so, his body seems to smear across space, leaving another image of him still doubled over in pain. "What have you inflicted upon me!?"
"It's funny, you know. A different soundtrack can change so much about a story. My musical magecraft isn't good for much, but this is something it can do. Drawing out different aspects of the same story - I can manage that." Mozart says in a mocking tone. "I've titled this piece [The Redemption of Edmond Dantès] - I wonder, Monsieur Avenger, can your spirit origin survive it?"
"Hah. Hahaha! Kuhahaha! So that's what this is! I won't forget this, composer!" The man cackles madly as his body's edges start to fray. "To steal the kind ending that man gave me, and brandish it against me - you must be one of the most vile men I've ever met."
Fafnir smashes into the ground, absent his left arm, spasming and roaring as he bleeds out. To the side, Marie and Mash use some basic magecraft to repair our carriage's wheels. Mordred lands somewhere nearby, panting heavily.
The Avenger narrows his eyes, silencing his laughter. "I'll kill you for this."
Mozart laughs and prepares to respond, but I cut him off. "No, you won't. [Minya]."
Purple crystal covers his body, breaking away in chunks, tearing him apart until all that remains is a nondescript mess of spiritual waste matter, faintly sparkling with gold light.
Letting out a breath, I turn to join the others in our retreat as Dark Jeanne looks on. Why is she just watching? It actually takes me until I'm standing in the door of the carriage before it clicks.
"Wait, we outnumber her five to one. Shouldn't we just-?"
"Fou!" An almost-forgotten white dog springs from somewhere and roundhouse kicks me into the carriage.
"Can't we-?" Another conflagration fills the area as the Tarrasque impacts the ground behind us. "Okay, nevermind, let's leave."
***
"-[Attendre, Espérer]."
Should have double-tapped, Baru.
Was strongly considering having Tarrasque outta nowhere just kill Subaru, but frankly there's just no good point for a reset in the past few chapters lol
Like I could reset to before la charite but then why have that scene with carmilla bathing in dragon blood? Also I'd have to rewrite like five different introduction scenes and eff that.
Fafnir's really been jobbing pretty hard, huh? I'll make up for that eventually. Edmond too.
Was strongly considering having Tarrasque outta nowhere just kill Subaru, but frankly there's just no good point for a reset in the past few chapters lol
Like I could reset to before la charite but then why have that scene with carmilla bathing in dragon blood? Also I'd have to rewrite like five different introduction scenes and eff that.
Fafnir's really been jobbing pretty hard, huh? I'll make up for that eventually. Edmond too.
Last edited:
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
I
He's beating his head against the ground screaming to himself "THOU SHALT NOT SIMP". And/or using power of love. Either way, it's cool lol
- Pronouns
- It
yup this definitely going to be a failed loop
50: We all saw this coming.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
50: We all saw this coming.
Desperately bandaging our wounds, carriage threatening to shake itself apart, with absolutely no idea of where we can possibly find a safe haven, we hurtle down the road. Close behind, the rapid "bububububump" of six claws against the earth clearly demonstrate the pursuit of the Tarrasque.
"God, it really is just one thing after another, huh?" I glance behind us at the column of dust. "Anyone know anything we can use from the Tarrasque's legend?"
"In his legend he was tamed by prayer, but if he's got Saint Martha with him, I doubt my Prayers will get through to him." Jeanne says, frowning. "Our only option is to hope she runs out of mana to manifest him before Queen Marie runs out of mana for [Guillotine Breaker]."
"You can just call me Marie, Jeanne!" The French Queen interjects.
"R-right…"
"Well, it's a Dragon, so it's gotta burn a lot of mana to keep manifested, right?" I say. So long as nothing shows up on the road ahead of us, we'll probably be fine. Idly, I take a peek through the carriage's front door, but I can't see anything through the fog-
Wait a minute.
I glance out the broken rear of the carriage, seeing only thick white mist there as well. "It was getting close to midday, right? So what's up with this?" I ask, even as my pounding heart crawls up my throat.
"No, Senpai, inland France doesn't get much fog at all... Did we enter a bounded field?" Mash says, anxiety building in her voice.
Despite myself, I remember the sailor we met in the first loop. White whale. He was certain that there would be a white whale in this singularity.
"Wait, wait, wait. There's no way, right? There's no possible way, right?" I mutter half deliriously. For a second, I think I hear the mind-melting cry of the monster we faced in Lugnica. A shadow passes over us.
-And then, the fog breaks, and the carriage is suddenly tearing through a flower field, kicking up showers of petals in its wake. A sigh of relief escapes my lips, because whatever this is, it's not the whale, and that's enough for a ton of the tension to leave my shoulders.
"Oh dear." Marie mutters, and the carriage rapidly draws to a stop. "It seems there's another lone Servant in our path."
"Hey, boss, any clue what this is?" I mutter into my communicator. I receive no response - I guess that confirms it, then? Stepping forward, I open the carriage door, revealing a picnic blanket spread out at the center of the meadow. There's a few plates spread out, and a basket that looks to be full of sandwiches, but they're not what I'm looking at.
Sitting directly on the opposite side of the picnic spread, a wide grin on his face. It's him. There he is. The scumbag.
"How do you do, fellow defenders of humanity?" says Francois Prelati.
***
"...Somehow, I knew you'd be wrapped up in all of this, Francois." Jeanne sighs. "What's your game now, then?"
"Just the same as always, Jeanne!~ I'm here to help you out. Because I'm your ally." The boy says, a smile on his face. "Oh, but I haven't met the rest of you guys yet. Francois Prelati- alchemist, illusionist, and ally of humanity. Nice to meet you!"
"Oh, hello Francois! Vive la France!" Marie waves to him, and he gives a happy wave in response.
Mozart, on the other hand, gives him a suspicious look. "-Maria, Jeanne, you're both aware of this person's history, right? Even if this is the Prelati that existed prior to committing that string of murders, he's still certainly an anti-hero."
"It's fine, Amadeus. I've known Francois for some time now. We can trust-" Jeanne says, and then pauses. "No, it's more accurate to say, we can use him."
"Oh? To think you'd fallen so far as to think about using people, Jeanne." The Caster in question chuckles.
"If he says he's our ally, then that means he'll be our ally through thick and thin. No matter how wrong-headed we are, no matter how stupid our plans are, he'll cheer us on and lend as much aid as he can. He's that kind of person." Jeanne continues, as if he hadn't spoken. "Even when I stopped hearing the voices of the saints, even when I was acting against the king's will - he stayed by my side, pushing me along with words of encouragement. Even though that path was certain to end in my death."
"I did do that." Prelati nods with a dumb smile.
"Just like how you encouraged Gilles, right, Francois? Even when he lost faith and turned to the worship of demons, even when he began sacrificing children, you cheered him on and assisted to the very best of your ability." Jeanne muttered, eyes shadowed. "That's what happened, isn't it? He suggested that path on his own, and only then did you begin guiding him down it."
Well, he already explained this last time, so I guess he'll-
"Haha! It's only natural that I'd help him out. He's my dear friend after all." - he doesn't deny it. In stark contrast to last time, he doesn't even attempt to deny it.
"H-hang on. I heard that you guys were exonerated posthumously. Wasn't that whole child murdering thing made up?" I ask.
"Pfffthahaha! Who the heck told you that? That's hilarious!" Prelati laughs. "I mean, the trial was definitely a total sham - they just wanted Gilles' money. But somehow, despite being an absolute perversion of the justice process, they somehow got the right people! Hahahaha! Life is just too funny sometimes!~"
"This guy-!" I start to unwind [Heaven's Lash] from around my arm, as Mozart, Mash, and Mordred start to ready their weapons.
"Upbupbup! If I was you, I wouldn't make me my enemy. Assuming, of course, that I, speaking as you, value my life." The alchemist spews out a nonsensical tongue twister of a threat. "After all, you only stopped being 'lost' because I let you. As long as I will it, you won't reach your destination - whether it's me, or the outside of this fake Reality Marble. So if you want to avoid being lost out in the fog with the Tarrasque and the Black Knight and a few other things, you can go ahead and attack me. But really, I think you ought to form a contract with me instead!"
I blink, and my eyes narrow. Why does he want a contract? Just for magical energy? Is that really worth putting himself at the mercy of my Command Spells? I glance at the open space on the back of my hand, where a new mark will be regenerating some twelve hours from now- oh, I get it now. Carefully, I school my expression, suppressing a grin.
"...Why on earth would I do that?" I ask.
- Prelati doesn't know. He has no idea that I get a new Command Spell every day. As far as he knows, I'd just be giving him magical energy for free, with no way to reign him in.
Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
"Heh. Do you really think you have a choice here?" Fog begins to spill into the meadow, and the other people start to drift away from us as space itself distorts.
"Senpai!" Mash tries to leap to my side, only to end up even further away.
"You've already stumbled into my world, fake though it might be. I could easily tear you to pieces and use your body as a mindless battery. And yet, because I'm your ally, I'm offering you a partnership! Really, you ought to be jumping at the chance." The boy says, shaking his head. "Here, let me show you more clearly what the balance of power is like."
Suddenly, I'm up to my chest in flower petals. Beneath them, I feel hands grasping me, dragging me down.
"You're drowning. You're going to drown, Natsuki Subaru - so take my hand. I'll save you. I'll cheer for you. I'll be the one who watches you from behind, as you chase your goals. So take my hand, and let's begin. I'll be your ally… from step one." He extends his hand, and something in my gut clenches. "Go on, take it." How dare he. "Take it." How dare this person try to take that role. "Take it." ...Something else comes to mind. "Take it."
"I never told you my name." Heis grin grows wider. "Just how long were you watching… waiting for me to use all of my command spells?"
"Ha ha! Does it really matter?"
Behind him, where he can't see, Mozart locks eyes with me and gives a vicious smirk, raising a finger to his lips, as magical energy begins to swirl around him - I don't really want to get hit by his Noble Phantasm, though, so I'll go ahead and tighten the noose now.
"...Fine." I grab Prelati's outstretched hand. Mozart mimes 'what the hell!?' at me. "It's a deal. Now cut that spatial warping crap out, it's making me queasy."
Space warps again - I'm standing again, rather than sinking into the meadow, and the others snap back to their starting positions before the ground started to warp.
"Then our contract is sealed! I, Francois Prelati, shall be there to guide and and encourage you all the way up the mountain-" He claps his hands together, and the blanket of flowers surrounding us unfurl into the severed hands of children, applauding, as the sky oozes blood. "-and to kick you screaming into the abyss!"
"...That's neat and all, but there's something you should know before you get too excited." I deadpan, and the Alchemist almost falls on his face as a burst his bubble.
"H-hey! That was my special introduction! Don't just ignore it! Where did all your fear from before go!?" He yells. "I'm still holding all the cards here!"
"-No, you've actually placed yourself in checkmate. Chaldea's master system involves some fancy magical generators, so…" I glance at my watch/communicator. "Yeaah, in about ten hours, I'll have another command spell."
"Oh. Wow, you played me like a fiddle, huh?" He gives a giddy chuckle that breaks down into full blown laughter. "That's amazing! I knew from your eyes that you'd be a good master for me, but you already blew my expectations out of the water!"
The more he laughs, the more pissed off I get, so- "Hey, grit your teeth."
"Haha-gwah!"
-The crunch of his teeth as my boot connects with his jaw makes me feel a bit better.
Desperately bandaging our wounds, carriage threatening to shake itself apart, with absolutely no idea of where we can possibly find a safe haven, we hurtle down the road. Close behind, the rapid "bububububump" of six claws against the earth clearly demonstrate the pursuit of the Tarrasque.
"God, it really is just one thing after another, huh?" I glance behind us at the column of dust. "Anyone know anything we can use from the Tarrasque's legend?"
"In his legend he was tamed by prayer, but if he's got Saint Martha with him, I doubt my Prayers will get through to him." Jeanne says, frowning. "Our only option is to hope she runs out of mana to manifest him before Queen Marie runs out of mana for [Guillotine Breaker]."
"You can just call me Marie, Jeanne!" The French Queen interjects.
"R-right…"
"Well, it's a Dragon, so it's gotta burn a lot of mana to keep manifested, right?" I say. So long as nothing shows up on the road ahead of us, we'll probably be fine. Idly, I take a peek through the carriage's front door, but I can't see anything through the fog-
Wait a minute.
I glance out the broken rear of the carriage, seeing only thick white mist there as well. "It was getting close to midday, right? So what's up with this?" I ask, even as my pounding heart crawls up my throat.
"No, Senpai, inland France doesn't get much fog at all... Did we enter a bounded field?" Mash says, anxiety building in her voice.
Despite myself, I remember the sailor we met in the first loop. White whale. He was certain that there would be a white whale in this singularity.
"Wait, wait, wait. There's no way, right? There's no possible way, right?" I mutter half deliriously. For a second, I think I hear the mind-melting cry of the monster we faced in Lugnica. A shadow passes over us.
-And then, the fog breaks, and the carriage is suddenly tearing through a flower field, kicking up showers of petals in its wake. A sigh of relief escapes my lips, because whatever this is, it's not the whale, and that's enough for a ton of the tension to leave my shoulders.
"Oh dear." Marie mutters, and the carriage rapidly draws to a stop. "It seems there's another lone Servant in our path."
"Hey, boss, any clue what this is?" I mutter into my communicator. I receive no response - I guess that confirms it, then? Stepping forward, I open the carriage door, revealing a picnic blanket spread out at the center of the meadow. There's a few plates spread out, and a basket that looks to be full of sandwiches, but they're not what I'm looking at.
Sitting directly on the opposite side of the picnic spread, a wide grin on his face. It's him. There he is. The scumbag.
"How do you do, fellow defenders of humanity?" says Francois Prelati.
***
"...Somehow, I knew you'd be wrapped up in all of this, Francois." Jeanne sighs. "What's your game now, then?"
"Just the same as always, Jeanne!~ I'm here to help you out. Because I'm your ally." The boy says, a smile on his face. "Oh, but I haven't met the rest of you guys yet. Francois Prelati- alchemist, illusionist, and ally of humanity. Nice to meet you!"
"Oh, hello Francois! Vive la France!" Marie waves to him, and he gives a happy wave in response.
Mozart, on the other hand, gives him a suspicious look. "-Maria, Jeanne, you're both aware of this person's history, right? Even if this is the Prelati that existed prior to committing that string of murders, he's still certainly an anti-hero."
"It's fine, Amadeus. I've known Francois for some time now. We can trust-" Jeanne says, and then pauses. "No, it's more accurate to say, we can use him."
"Oh? To think you'd fallen so far as to think about using people, Jeanne." The Caster in question chuckles.
"If he says he's our ally, then that means he'll be our ally through thick and thin. No matter how wrong-headed we are, no matter how stupid our plans are, he'll cheer us on and lend as much aid as he can. He's that kind of person." Jeanne continues, as if he hadn't spoken. "Even when I stopped hearing the voices of the saints, even when I was acting against the king's will - he stayed by my side, pushing me along with words of encouragement. Even though that path was certain to end in my death."
"I did do that." Prelati nods with a dumb smile.
"Just like how you encouraged Gilles, right, Francois? Even when he lost faith and turned to the worship of demons, even when he began sacrificing children, you cheered him on and assisted to the very best of your ability." Jeanne muttered, eyes shadowed. "That's what happened, isn't it? He suggested that path on his own, and only then did you begin guiding him down it."
Well, he already explained this last time, so I guess he'll-
"Haha! It's only natural that I'd help him out. He's my dear friend after all." - he doesn't deny it. In stark contrast to last time, he doesn't even attempt to deny it.
"H-hang on. I heard that you guys were exonerated posthumously. Wasn't that whole child murdering thing made up?" I ask.
"Pfffthahaha! Who the heck told you that? That's hilarious!" Prelati laughs. "I mean, the trial was definitely a total sham - they just wanted Gilles' money. But somehow, despite being an absolute perversion of the justice process, they somehow got the right people! Hahahaha! Life is just too funny sometimes!~"
"This guy-!" I start to unwind [Heaven's Lash] from around my arm, as Mozart, Mash, and Mordred start to ready their weapons.
"Upbupbup! If I was you, I wouldn't make me my enemy. Assuming, of course, that I, speaking as you, value my life." The alchemist spews out a nonsensical tongue twister of a threat. "After all, you only stopped being 'lost' because I let you. As long as I will it, you won't reach your destination - whether it's me, or the outside of this fake Reality Marble. So if you want to avoid being lost out in the fog with the Tarrasque and the Black Knight and a few other things, you can go ahead and attack me. But really, I think you ought to form a contract with me instead!"
I blink, and my eyes narrow. Why does he want a contract? Just for magical energy? Is that really worth putting himself at the mercy of my Command Spells? I glance at the open space on the back of my hand, where a new mark will be regenerating some twelve hours from now- oh, I get it now. Carefully, I school my expression, suppressing a grin.
"...Why on earth would I do that?" I ask.
- Prelati doesn't know. He has no idea that I get a new Command Spell every day. As far as he knows, I'd just be giving him magical energy for free, with no way to reign him in.
Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.
"Heh. Do you really think you have a choice here?" Fog begins to spill into the meadow, and the other people start to drift away from us as space itself distorts.
"Senpai!" Mash tries to leap to my side, only to end up even further away.
"You've already stumbled into my world, fake though it might be. I could easily tear you to pieces and use your body as a mindless battery. And yet, because I'm your ally, I'm offering you a partnership! Really, you ought to be jumping at the chance." The boy says, shaking his head. "Here, let me show you more clearly what the balance of power is like."
Suddenly, I'm up to my chest in flower petals. Beneath them, I feel hands grasping me, dragging me down.
"You're drowning. You're going to drown, Natsuki Subaru - so take my hand. I'll save you. I'll cheer for you. I'll be the one who watches you from behind, as you chase your goals. So take my hand, and let's begin. I'll be your ally… from step one." He extends his hand, and something in my gut clenches. "Go on, take it." How dare he. "Take it." How dare this person try to take that role. "Take it." ...Something else comes to mind. "Take it."
"I never told you my name." Heis grin grows wider. "Just how long were you watching… waiting for me to use all of my command spells?"
"Ha ha! Does it really matter?"
Behind him, where he can't see, Mozart locks eyes with me and gives a vicious smirk, raising a finger to his lips, as magical energy begins to swirl around him - I don't really want to get hit by his Noble Phantasm, though, so I'll go ahead and tighten the noose now.
"...Fine." I grab Prelati's outstretched hand. Mozart mimes 'what the hell!?' at me. "It's a deal. Now cut that spatial warping crap out, it's making me queasy."
Space warps again - I'm standing again, rather than sinking into the meadow, and the others snap back to their starting positions before the ground started to warp.
"Then our contract is sealed! I, Francois Prelati, shall be there to guide and and encourage you all the way up the mountain-" He claps his hands together, and the blanket of flowers surrounding us unfurl into the severed hands of children, applauding, as the sky oozes blood. "-and to kick you screaming into the abyss!"
"...That's neat and all, but there's something you should know before you get too excited." I deadpan, and the Alchemist almost falls on his face as a burst his bubble.
"H-hey! That was my special introduction! Don't just ignore it! Where did all your fear from before go!?" He yells. "I'm still holding all the cards here!"
"-No, you've actually placed yourself in checkmate. Chaldea's master system involves some fancy magical generators, so…" I glance at my watch/communicator. "Yeaah, in about ten hours, I'll have another command spell."
"Oh. Wow, you played me like a fiddle, huh?" He gives a giddy chuckle that breaks down into full blown laughter. "That's amazing! I knew from your eyes that you'd be a good master for me, but you already blew my expectations out of the water!"
The more he laughs, the more pissed off I get, so- "Hey, grit your teeth."
"Haha-gwah!"
-The crunch of his teeth as my boot connects with his jaw makes me feel a bit better.
Hey look at that we actually made it to the 50th chapter. Sorry for the delays, real life is a bitch and my muse is an even bigger one.
Prelati is, unsurprisingly, a piece of shit. I've taken some slight liberties with his backstory, leaning into his whole Ate connection and his NP chant for Grand Illusion to sort of interpret him as "the Imp who pushes you along to your chosen destruction" rather than "the Imp who drags you along to your destruction", since I feel like that might be his intended role in Strange Fake.
So yeah, to be clear, his relationship with Jeanne, and the idea that Gilles was the one to suggest demon summoning, are both my own ideas and probably not canon, though I personally think it'd be cooler if they were. It sort of characterizes him as the type of ultra shitty friend who only ever tells you what you want to hear and encourages every bad habit you have. He has [The Power of Friendship (Evil)].
Prelati is, unsurprisingly, a piece of shit. I've taken some slight liberties with his backstory, leaning into his whole Ate connection and his NP chant for Grand Illusion to sort of interpret him as "the Imp who pushes you along to your chosen destruction" rather than "the Imp who drags you along to your destruction", since I feel like that might be his intended role in Strange Fake.
So yeah, to be clear, his relationship with Jeanne, and the idea that Gilles was the one to suggest demon summoning, are both my own ideas and probably not canon, though I personally think it'd be cooler if they were. It sort of characterizes him as the type of ultra shitty friend who only ever tells you what you want to hear and encourages every bad habit you have. He has [The Power of Friendship (Evil)].
MountainBookSage
Daydreaming Sage
- Pronouns
- He
Yay
so
More?
The update has been monthly
So wondering if you'll update more frequently or stay at this pace
so
More?
The update has been monthly
So wondering if you'll update more frequently or stay at this pace
- Pronouns
- It
dont worry about it as long you keep updating and progressing its fine for me
RoboRenee
Trans of gender
- Location
- FFXIV, probably
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It seems more like he lied when he thought he could get away with it. Jeanne (regretfully) knew him IRL, and as such he was just like 'yuuuup' rather than bother with a lie where it was both obvious he was lying and obvious what the truth was.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Eh, it's not his goals changing per say.
Also he saw a lack of Command Spells on Subaru's hand, and ended up overplaying his hand
shadow9800
Yorokobe~
- Location
- My Worst Nightmares
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Great chapter, good job highlighting both how twisted Prelati is, and how completely numb to that sort of thing Subaru is at the same time, what with Prelati changing his fake Reality Marble to a nightmare realm, and Subaru reacting like it's an ordinary Tuesday. Also, I both love and hate how this:
reads like the name of an actual skill from F/GO.
51: Oath of Vengeance
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
51: Oath of Vengeance
A short time later, we exit the [Grand Illusion] in a familiar forest clearing - the Leyline location, from last time.
"-and that's basically everything you missed." I conclude, deftly ignoring the way the Director's eye is twitching at my words.
"I'm not going to bother warning you about how obviously untrustworthy that Caster is. It's obvious, after all, and if Magi only worked with those they could trust, nothing would ever get done." Olga sighs. "But just to confirm, you do have a contingency plan, right?"
"...Yeah. I don't think he'll backstab us directly, but if he does, I can handle it." I reply. "I can't tell you the details right now, though."
She rolls her eyes. "Obviously. It stops being a reliable plan if he knows about it."
Well, that's true too, I guess.
"That aside, good work on finding the leyline. And on not dying, I suppose."
"Woah, praise from the Director? Hey, Mash, did you hear that? The director just told us we did a good job!" I shout.
Glancing up from the magic circle she's preparing a few meters away, she smiles. "That's amazing, Senpai! I'm glad to hear it!"
"W-why are you both acting like this is a momentous occasion!? I at least complement my employees when they succeed!"
"All that aside… hey, Mordred, have you remembered anything about that Black Knight yet?" I ask.
The Saber moves to scratch her head, but her fingers touch the bandages over her eye and she rethinks it. "-Nah, I've got nothing. He definitely yelled Father's name though. Bet the bastard was mistaking me for him, huh?" She sighs. "That 'Overload' thing he did… I've seen it. Gareth had a move like that at one point, and she had that ring of shapeshifting-"
"'She'...Were there any knights of the round that weren't secretly women!?" Romani shouts from offscreen.
Mordred's eye twitches, but she doesn't rise to the accidental bait.
"Anyway, you're sure it's not that Gareth person?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'd have kicked her ass if it was." She replies. "She was crap with everything except a lance."
"What about the whole hating King Arthur angle? Can you think of any standout enemies?"
"I mean, Father had too many enemies to count. But...I guess it could be that Vortigern guy? Gawain said he looked like a hole in reality, and he couldn't see him clearly... He could turn into a Dragon too, so he would fit the theme."
"Ugh, so this isn't even his final form?" I groan. "That tracks with our luck so far."
"-Senpai, it's ready." Mash calls out.
"Ah, thanks." I walk over to where her shield has been placed on the ground.
"You know, you didn't really need to go to all this trouble. With my illusions, we can fudge the circle pretty easily." Prelati notes from his seat atop the boulder in the center of the clearing.
"Yeah, yeah. And then we'll summon some weirdo I can't control because you messed with the ritual. Not happening." I snark back.
Reid was probably going to end up as a dead end no matter what happened, after all, and the rest of the Archbishops are the same. Best case, I'd have to Command Spell them to kill themselves - and that might not even work on Reid or Petelgeuse depending on how they wound up manifesting.
...That's not true. To be honest, I probably could trick Petelgeuse into thinking I was his Gospel or something, if I used a Command Spell. And Louis knows the score. She'd work with me, if only because she has no other option. Regulus, Mordred could probably take out, assuming his Authority still worked the same way. And Reid, I still somehow feel like I could reach an understanding with - however idiotic that thought might be. They're all manageable, I was just trying to look away from the possibility.
The absolute worst case is Lye. Because there's no possibility of working with him - and I don't know if I have it in me to kill a kid again.
"...Senpai?" Mash interrupts my thoughts, a worried look on her face.
"Sorry, Mash-tan. I got a little lost in thought. Let's do this-!" I hold out my hand as the magic circle starts to glow.
And then, Mash's eyes widen, and she lunges for the shield in the center of the magic circle.
"To paraphrase your words earlier- 'I won't let you do that.'" A voice filled with scornful laughter says from behind me.
"What-!?" He's here, standing right behind me. Edmond Dantes. How is he here!? How is he even alive!?
As Mash jumps in between us, Mozart starts his tune up again, but the Avenger doesn't even flinch. Mordred rockets towards him, sword blazing-
"- I follow a path beyond love and hate! [Enfer…" Suddenly, he blinks out of existence, several dozen copies of him materializing around the perimeter of the clearing. Each one is holding an orb of black flame. "-Château d'If]!"
"[Lord Chaldeas]!" Mash slams her shield down, marble wall taking form to repel the bulk of the blast - but another double appears behind me, hands alight.
"Like I'd let you!" I shout, and [Heaven's Lash] shoots towards his hand- only to pass through it.
"Sorry, but this is just an afterimage." the double says - and then it explodes into a gout of black flame, and despite my attempt to dodge, it engulfs my right arm.
"Aaaagh!" I scream. It hurts. What the hell is this - this isn't fire! I can already feel my muscle and bone melting from it, real fire doesn't get that deep so fast. "Aaaaah!!"
Mash's eyes widen as she glances at me in horror - the marble wall shatters, and flame swallows her.
She screams, and crumples to the ground. And screams, and screams, writhing in pain.
This is hell. Without a doubt, this fire must be hell on Earth.
"Incidentally, my [Wisdom of Crisis] skill gives me [Item Construction] at B rank." In an instant, the Avenger appears next to Mozart. The Caster sends a blast of music at him, but he shrugs it off, and a moment later, the composer is swallowed by a column of fire. "An Avenger always comes prepared, you see. Earplugs to deal with your music-"
He flickers to the side to avoid a bolt of magic and retaliates with a blast of flame towards a seemingly empty patch of grass. "-glasses to deal with illusion magecraft -" The invisible Francois Prelati screams, and his illusory double disintegrates as he too falls to the ground in agonizing torment.
The bastard is hit by a blast of magic from Marie, but his body explodes into a cloud of flame again as he blinks behind Mordred. The Knight swings at him, but- "-a sword catcher to deal with this sword." A red, claw-like blade whips out of his cloak, catching the Azoth Longsword in its grasp. A loud crack rings out, as the Mystic Code finally shatters.
Black fire spews from his hands, engulfing Mordred as she stumbles forward- but still, she lunges out of the dark pyre, her charred hands grabbing his wrist, a mana burst empowered kick tearing it clean from his body - but then that arm and body, too, burst into flames, just an afterimage.
"Aaahh! Aaah! Just… kill me! Kill me, please!" Through it all, Mash is still screaming- I have to… I have to-!
No, Cor Leonis won't work here. I'd just die right away, and she'd go right back to hurting. Slowly, deliriously, I point a hand at her, pulling a spell from my Mystic Code.
"[Shamac]." Her senses disappear, and she finally goes mercifully silent - now I can focus.
"Aaah! Where is he… where is he?" I scream, eyes flicking around the battlefield as I look for Edmond Dantes. I need to see it. Every moment, to the very end, I have to see all of it. So I can kill him. I'll kill him. I'll kill him.
Jeanne runs towards Mash and I, but suddenly he's next to her, and in between blinks she's reduced to a pathetic state, her legs set alight as she drags herself still trying, trying to reach us.
The fire has reached my shoulder now, and my voice has long since given out.
Berserk, blinded by flames, fighting on nothing but instinct, the Knight of Treachery chases after his flickering afterimages, only serving to exacerbate her injuries.
Dimly, I notice a 'light' in my sense through Cor Leonis going dark. Suddenly, my blood feels like it's caught fire, and I vomit blood.
"That's far enough, Edmond Dantes-!" An angelic voice cuts across the battlefield.
"Kuhaha! So you think you'll stop me, your highness?" He laughs, blinking towards her, hands wreathed with claws of flame.
"I'm sorry it took so long, everyone- [Guillotine Breaker]!" The Avenger is forced to teleport again, out of the path of a stampeding horse of crystal, as motes of light fill the clearing, snuffing out the black fire.
It's not enough. Even though he blinks out of the way, he clips one of the small motes of light, and crystal erupts from the point of impact, both shredding his body and freezing him in place to allow more and more of the lights to hit him. "What-!?"
"By the way, [Guillotine Breaker] is even more effective against enemies of the crown - and intentional or not, that does mean you, Monsieur Dantes." Marie says, a hint of sorrow in her voice.
"Gh… You think, this will hold me!?" He yells, even as his body breaks into crystal.
Finally, the pain vanishes, and I feel my wounds closing- and looking around, it seems like it's the same for everyone else.
-No, that's not true. Because Mash is completely missing, aside from a faint cloud of golden dust rising from the charred patch of ground where she fell.
Time seems to stop. My mind is moving at a million kilometers a minute.
I'll kill him.
The battle seems like it might be over. Marie's Noble Phantasm counters his - but Mash is dead, so it's meaningless. I'll have to reset.
I'll kill him.
Can I reset? Can I really do that? I've died for Emilia. I've died for Rem. I've died for Beatrice. Can I die for Mash's sake? I think I can, but some part of me hesitates. This is a step in a direction I don't want to move- but it can't be helped. I have to-!
-And then, I'll kill him.
Slowly, Invisible Providence emerges from my chest-
"[Attendre, Espérer]!" Suddenly, in a cloud of spiritron dust, Berserk Avenger is whole again. Restored to perfect form, as if nothing happened, shooting forward with speed and force somehow even greater than before
"Not yet, it's not over yet-!" Dantes hisses, flickering across the battlefield, in my direction, flame trailing behind him. One of the gently drifting lights hits him, and crystals sprout from his body, tearing his arm from his body, but he ignores it, and the next second he's closed the distance. The black flames engulf me again, this time swallowing my entire body.
I'm dying. I know that I'm dying. I feel every part of my body burning away in agony. Layer after layer of skin, muscle and sinew peels back and falls away. I can't scream, because my trachea is seared shut, my whole throat full of boiling pus and blood. My eyelids fall off like crinkling paper, and my eyes burst.
I feel a faint tugging sensation, and-
"...It's happening again."
Somehow, despite my eardrums already caving in from the pressure difference, I hear him mutter those words.
And then, there's nothing.
A short time later, we exit the [Grand Illusion] in a familiar forest clearing - the Leyline location, from last time.
"-and that's basically everything you missed." I conclude, deftly ignoring the way the Director's eye is twitching at my words.
"I'm not going to bother warning you about how obviously untrustworthy that Caster is. It's obvious, after all, and if Magi only worked with those they could trust, nothing would ever get done." Olga sighs. "But just to confirm, you do have a contingency plan, right?"
"...Yeah. I don't think he'll backstab us directly, but if he does, I can handle it." I reply. "I can't tell you the details right now, though."
She rolls her eyes. "Obviously. It stops being a reliable plan if he knows about it."
Well, that's true too, I guess.
"That aside, good work on finding the leyline. And on not dying, I suppose."
"Woah, praise from the Director? Hey, Mash, did you hear that? The director just told us we did a good job!" I shout.
Glancing up from the magic circle she's preparing a few meters away, she smiles. "That's amazing, Senpai! I'm glad to hear it!"
"W-why are you both acting like this is a momentous occasion!? I at least complement my employees when they succeed!"
"All that aside… hey, Mordred, have you remembered anything about that Black Knight yet?" I ask.
The Saber moves to scratch her head, but her fingers touch the bandages over her eye and she rethinks it. "-Nah, I've got nothing. He definitely yelled Father's name though. Bet the bastard was mistaking me for him, huh?" She sighs. "That 'Overload' thing he did… I've seen it. Gareth had a move like that at one point, and she had that ring of shapeshifting-"
"'She'...Were there any knights of the round that weren't secretly women!?" Romani shouts from offscreen.
Mordred's eye twitches, but she doesn't rise to the accidental bait.
"Anyway, you're sure it's not that Gareth person?" I ask.
"Yeah, I'd have kicked her ass if it was." She replies. "She was crap with everything except a lance."
"What about the whole hating King Arthur angle? Can you think of any standout enemies?"
"I mean, Father had too many enemies to count. But...I guess it could be that Vortigern guy? Gawain said he looked like a hole in reality, and he couldn't see him clearly... He could turn into a Dragon too, so he would fit the theme."
"Ugh, so this isn't even his final form?" I groan. "That tracks with our luck so far."
"-Senpai, it's ready." Mash calls out.
"Ah, thanks." I walk over to where her shield has been placed on the ground.
"You know, you didn't really need to go to all this trouble. With my illusions, we can fudge the circle pretty easily." Prelati notes from his seat atop the boulder in the center of the clearing.
"Yeah, yeah. And then we'll summon some weirdo I can't control because you messed with the ritual. Not happening." I snark back.
Reid was probably going to end up as a dead end no matter what happened, after all, and the rest of the Archbishops are the same. Best case, I'd have to Command Spell them to kill themselves - and that might not even work on Reid or Petelgeuse depending on how they wound up manifesting.
...That's not true. To be honest, I probably could trick Petelgeuse into thinking I was his Gospel or something, if I used a Command Spell. And Louis knows the score. She'd work with me, if only because she has no other option. Regulus, Mordred could probably take out, assuming his Authority still worked the same way. And Reid, I still somehow feel like I could reach an understanding with - however idiotic that thought might be. They're all manageable, I was just trying to look away from the possibility.
The absolute worst case is Lye. Because there's no possibility of working with him - and I don't know if I have it in me to kill a kid again.
"...Senpai?" Mash interrupts my thoughts, a worried look on her face.
"Sorry, Mash-tan. I got a little lost in thought. Let's do this-!" I hold out my hand as the magic circle starts to glow.
And then, Mash's eyes widen, and she lunges for the shield in the center of the magic circle.
"To paraphrase your words earlier- 'I won't let you do that.'" A voice filled with scornful laughter says from behind me.
"What-!?" He's here, standing right behind me. Edmond Dantes. How is he here!? How is he even alive!?
As Mash jumps in between us, Mozart starts his tune up again, but the Avenger doesn't even flinch. Mordred rockets towards him, sword blazing-
"- I follow a path beyond love and hate! [Enfer…" Suddenly, he blinks out of existence, several dozen copies of him materializing around the perimeter of the clearing. Each one is holding an orb of black flame. "-Château d'If]!"
"[Lord Chaldeas]!" Mash slams her shield down, marble wall taking form to repel the bulk of the blast - but another double appears behind me, hands alight.
"Like I'd let you!" I shout, and [Heaven's Lash] shoots towards his hand- only to pass through it.
"Sorry, but this is just an afterimage." the double says - and then it explodes into a gout of black flame, and despite my attempt to dodge, it engulfs my right arm.
"Aaaagh!" I scream. It hurts. What the hell is this - this isn't fire! I can already feel my muscle and bone melting from it, real fire doesn't get that deep so fast. "Aaaaah!!"
Mash's eyes widen as she glances at me in horror - the marble wall shatters, and flame swallows her.
She screams, and crumples to the ground. And screams, and screams, writhing in pain.
This is hell. Without a doubt, this fire must be hell on Earth.
"Incidentally, my [Wisdom of Crisis] skill gives me [Item Construction] at B rank." In an instant, the Avenger appears next to Mozart. The Caster sends a blast of music at him, but he shrugs it off, and a moment later, the composer is swallowed by a column of fire. "An Avenger always comes prepared, you see. Earplugs to deal with your music-"
He flickers to the side to avoid a bolt of magic and retaliates with a blast of flame towards a seemingly empty patch of grass. "-glasses to deal with illusion magecraft -" The invisible Francois Prelati screams, and his illusory double disintegrates as he too falls to the ground in agonizing torment.
The bastard is hit by a blast of magic from Marie, but his body explodes into a cloud of flame again as he blinks behind Mordred. The Knight swings at him, but- "-a sword catcher to deal with this sword." A red, claw-like blade whips out of his cloak, catching the Azoth Longsword in its grasp. A loud crack rings out, as the Mystic Code finally shatters.
Black fire spews from his hands, engulfing Mordred as she stumbles forward- but still, she lunges out of the dark pyre, her charred hands grabbing his wrist, a mana burst empowered kick tearing it clean from his body - but then that arm and body, too, burst into flames, just an afterimage.
"Aaahh! Aaah! Just… kill me! Kill me, please!" Through it all, Mash is still screaming- I have to… I have to-!
No, Cor Leonis won't work here. I'd just die right away, and she'd go right back to hurting. Slowly, deliriously, I point a hand at her, pulling a spell from my Mystic Code.
"[Shamac]." Her senses disappear, and she finally goes mercifully silent - now I can focus.
"Aaah! Where is he… where is he?" I scream, eyes flicking around the battlefield as I look for Edmond Dantes. I need to see it. Every moment, to the very end, I have to see all of it. So I can kill him. I'll kill him. I'll kill him.
Jeanne runs towards Mash and I, but suddenly he's next to her, and in between blinks she's reduced to a pathetic state, her legs set alight as she drags herself still trying, trying to reach us.
The fire has reached my shoulder now, and my voice has long since given out.
Berserk, blinded by flames, fighting on nothing but instinct, the Knight of Treachery chases after his flickering afterimages, only serving to exacerbate her injuries.
Dimly, I notice a 'light' in my sense through Cor Leonis going dark. Suddenly, my blood feels like it's caught fire, and I vomit blood.
"That's far enough, Edmond Dantes-!" An angelic voice cuts across the battlefield.
"Kuhaha! So you think you'll stop me, your highness?" He laughs, blinking towards her, hands wreathed with claws of flame.
"I'm sorry it took so long, everyone- [Guillotine Breaker]!" The Avenger is forced to teleport again, out of the path of a stampeding horse of crystal, as motes of light fill the clearing, snuffing out the black fire.
It's not enough. Even though he blinks out of the way, he clips one of the small motes of light, and crystal erupts from the point of impact, both shredding his body and freezing him in place to allow more and more of the lights to hit him. "What-!?"
"By the way, [Guillotine Breaker] is even more effective against enemies of the crown - and intentional or not, that does mean you, Monsieur Dantes." Marie says, a hint of sorrow in her voice.
"Gh… You think, this will hold me!?" He yells, even as his body breaks into crystal.
Finally, the pain vanishes, and I feel my wounds closing- and looking around, it seems like it's the same for everyone else.
-No, that's not true. Because Mash is completely missing, aside from a faint cloud of golden dust rising from the charred patch of ground where she fell.
Time seems to stop. My mind is moving at a million kilometers a minute.
I'll kill him.
The battle seems like it might be over. Marie's Noble Phantasm counters his - but Mash is dead, so it's meaningless. I'll have to reset.
I'll kill him.
Can I reset? Can I really do that? I've died for Emilia. I've died for Rem. I've died for Beatrice. Can I die for Mash's sake? I think I can, but some part of me hesitates. This is a step in a direction I don't want to move- but it can't be helped. I have to-!
-And then, I'll kill him.
Slowly, Invisible Providence emerges from my chest-
"[Attendre, Espérer]!" Suddenly, in a cloud of spiritron dust, Berserk Avenger is whole again. Restored to perfect form, as if nothing happened, shooting forward with speed and force somehow even greater than before
"Not yet, it's not over yet-!" Dantes hisses, flickering across the battlefield, in my direction, flame trailing behind him. One of the gently drifting lights hits him, and crystals sprout from his body, tearing his arm from his body, but he ignores it, and the next second he's closed the distance. The black flames engulf me again, this time swallowing my entire body.
I'm dying. I know that I'm dying. I feel every part of my body burning away in agony. Layer after layer of skin, muscle and sinew peels back and falls away. I can't scream, because my trachea is seared shut, my whole throat full of boiling pus and blood. My eyelids fall off like crinkling paper, and my eyes burst.
I feel a faint tugging sensation, and-
"...It's happening again."
Somehow, despite my eardrums already caving in from the pressure difference, I hear him mutter those words.
And then, there's nothing.
What's scarier than a teleport-spamming Avenger with crazy cursed fire and an OP self-heal?
A teleport-spamming Avenger with crazy cursed fire and an OP self-heal and prep time.
Next chapter will hopefully be sometime this week, since I've got a general idea of its structure
A teleport-spamming Avenger with crazy cursed fire and an OP self-heal and prep time.
Next chapter will hopefully be sometime this week, since I've got a general idea of its structure
Last edited:
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
She died a few times in Fuyuki loops.
Well, she disappeared when Goetia killed her in canon, though that might have been her body getting dusted by his super laser. Also she used to disappear if killed in game, but now she retreats.
Basically, it's kind of unclear.
shadow9800
Yorokobe~
- Location
- My Worst Nightmares
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, she didn't just get dusted by Ars Salomonis, she was literally evaporated by the sheer heat of the attack, even with her blocking it with Lord Camelot.
52: Oath of Absolute Vengeance
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
52: Oath of Absolute Vengeance
"-[Attendre, Espérer]." I mutter, and in a cloud of golden dust, the Evil Dragon Fafnir's wound seals shut. "This creature is weak to curses. The Dragonslayer aside, this ought to have been something you prepared for, my so-called master. With such an indolent attitude, do you truly believe you can achieve your wish?"
"Shut the hell up. Don't go calling me lazy- not when you just let them get away." She hisses.
"-No, this is not slothfulness, but prudence, my so-called master. I cannot face them as I am, so I will plot, scheme, and prepare until the deed is done." I reply, hatred burning in my gut. I won't forgive that Caster. The master was just doing what he saw as the best thing to survive, but that musician took what was sacred, and perverted it into a weapon. I won't forgive him.
"...No, one such as I ought to hold nothing sacred. Ha! Kuhaha! To think that music could affect me so deeply!" I scowl. "How disgusting."
"What the hell are you on about now?" Master says. "Just get moving, won't you?"
"They'll have thirty minutes' grace. I'll pursue once I'm ready." I say. "I need to return to my workshop - will you have me serve as your chauffeur once more?"
"Sure. I was already getting sick of this stupid chase." She says with a derisive laugh.
"...No, that's the wrong answer, my so-called master. An Avenger mustn't be so mercurial." I chide her. "You should have insisted on pursuing your course to the end, by whatever means were necessary."
"Fine, I'll stay here then!" She says, rolling her eyes.
"No, that's no good either. Because you're still simply following the commands of others. Like this, there's no way you can become a real person. You'll stay that man's weapon forever."
"-Then I'll do both."She scowls, and a second later she tears a scrap of cloth from her dress, tying it to one of Fafnir's fingers. "There. A Holy Shroud, to protect from curses. Even though I've become like this, I'll still use that [Saint] skill as much as I like. If God doesn't like that, he can strike me down."
For an instant, she fizzles in place. Cutting out of reality like static. But it stops as quickly as it starts, and an instant later she's fine. The [Saint] skill alone wasn't enough to destabilize her Spirit Origin. It was risky, but…
"That's it. That's the kind of resolve that suits an Avenger, my master."
***
"Ohhhh! Jeanne! You're back! How WONDERFUL!" Shrieks Berserk Caster as we arrive in the castle. Ignoring him, I deposit my master and storm away, down two flights of stairs, towards my workshop.
I'll need Mystic Codes. Earplugs, to deal with that music - tufts of chimera hair, layered in a waxy paste of blood mixed with void dust, the cursed nature of which will naturally repel the beauty of that Caster's music. A sword-catcher, crafted with wyvern claws and layered with curses-.
"Hmmm? Isn't that [Tawrich]? Or is it [Zarich]?" A constant nuisance asks as she barges into my workshop as if she owns the place. "I never figured Avengers loaned each other stuff like that."
"How should I know? This is but an imitation of a weapon I encountered in a Turkish bazaar once upon a time." I respond, dully.
"Turkish…? Oh, that's those guys the Greeks are having so much trouble with, right? Hahaha! There's gotta be some kind of awful story about how that thing wound up in a marketplace." She giggles, and then she leans against me, fluttering her dark black eyes. "Hey, won't you tell me your story already? I'm ready to burst at the seams from curiosity."
She wasn't told about me by the throne. Because this woman is a living "human", after all.
"Then go ahead and burst." I say coldly. There's still one more worry-
"-[Guillotine Breaker]!"
Marie Antoinette. In spite of everything, I've no grudge against the monarchy - but I need a method to deal with that Noble Phantasm which so thoroughly counters my [Monte Cristo Mythologie].
"Kyaaa! You want me to burst? You shouldn't just ask to see a lady's organs like that, you pervert!" The red-faced nuisance wiggles in place, making suggestive motions and pressing her body against me. "B-but, if it's you, I'll show them to you, mister Avenger!"
I cast her away from me. "Be silent, Prelati. Either tell me what you came here for, or be gone."
"Fine, fine." The living 'human' Francesca Prelati mutters disappointedly. "The 'me' that was summoned, he's united with the other Jeanne. You ought to bring those glasses of yours."
"So you were still in contact with him after all - what's your plan, playing both sides like this?" I ask, retrieving the illusion piercing glasses from a nearby shelf. They won't pierce his Noble Phantasm, but basic illusion magecraft won't be a match for them.
She gives a tittering laugh. "Hey, mister Avenger, do you really think that I'm the type of person to make big plans like that?"
"Yes." I say without an ounce of hesitation.
"Pft...hahaha! You just said it! You didn't even hesitate!" The Alchemist cackles. "You're right! You're totally right! I have a cunning plan, and I'll share it with you, mister Avenger!" Her voice falls to a conspiratorial whisper. "Because, after all, you're an ally of humanity too, right?"
"Kuhaha! Humanity? I bade farewell to that some time ago!" My cruel grin returns to my face like a bird to his roost. "I will not - nay, can not save humanity. All I shall do is punish the wicked."
"Well, that's fine too, just so long as you're on our side." Francesca replies easily.
I grind my teeth, faint embers of fury glowing within my heart. "Do not think to make a pawn of me, woman. I've had my fill of being led around by the nose."
"Ahaha!~ It's fine, it's fine. Just keep doing what you're doing. What you're doing right now is perfect." She laughs.
"...In that case, let me hear it. This plan of yours." I say, turning and staring deep into her black eyes.
She tells me. I listen for a full five minutes, as she details every last step of her plan to save humanity. Until I understand it all. Until I can't possibly withhold my wrath any longer.
I grab her with both hands, and Francesca Prelati vanishes in a column of black fire. Her body bursts, and a shrieking, squirming, black thing attempts to fly out, but that too is engulfed by my flames of vengeance. Until, at last, nothing is left.
I breathe heavily. Dimly, I notice my right hand twitch upwards. It's the echo of the time before I forsook salvation - my first impulse after the deed is done is to cross myself. Indeed, were I still mortal, if I were not an Avenger, I'm certain I would have found myself fleeing to the nearest church to seek absolution.
I had known evil men, back when I was alive. I had known self-interested men, willing to throw innocents to the wolves for their own gain, or out of spite, or to save their own skin. And after I was summoned, I met the other servants - madmen, driven to evil through the compulsion of magic - or in Berserk Caster's case, through grief.
But I think, just now, I finally met Satan himself.
He has to die. He has to die. Francois Prelati must die. Whether that plan he shared with the woman I just killed will work or not, I have to kill him.
I don't remember this, from last time. Did it not happen, or does it not qualify as a "grudge"? The second possibility is worrisome, because he has to die. Even if it's not personal, I cannot possibly allow something like Francois Prelati to exist.
-In that case, I have to do it right. Last time - [Guillotine Breaker]! - last time, that horse doused all of my flames. I remember that much. And as I recall from the clash earlier, the Shielder and the Saint each have their own defenses to supply.
There is no room for failure. I must not fail. I will carve a path through as many of them as I have to, to kill that creature. Even if I have to kill the saint, and not bring her back to my so-called master as I had hoped, that's fine. So long as Francois Prelati dies.
I put the finishing touches on my countermeasure for Marie Antoinette, and then I move.
***
The binds of time and space slip their grasp on me. I know the place - a small clearing, with a boulder in the middle, wherein the closest leyline lies. A location for summoning, and as I arrive, I see that their magic circle is already drawn and ready, the Master reciting the chant. The rest are arrayed about - that Red Knight and the Shielder standing close to him, the Queen and Composer standing a short distance away near their carriage, and that Satanic Alchemist sitting cross-legged on the opposite side of the circle from the master. The circle starts to glow - however…
"To paraphrase your words earlier- 'I won't let you do that.'" I mock, and before he can react, I activate my Noble Phantasm to its fullest extent. "- I follow a path beyond love and hate! [Enfer…" With impossible speed I blur into motion, surrounding the entire group with a swarm of curse-laden after-images. "-Château d'If]!"
"[Lord-!" The Shielder begins - but I won't let her finish. Her shield shattered when her Master was hit last time, so before she can manifest it at all, I flicker forward, and drive my hand cleanly through his chest.
"-Sorry. I've no time for mockery or torture this time." I apologize coldly, as black fire floods the clearing.
"- Camelot]!" She concludes, heedless of her master's injury, and a great castle many times the majesty of the fragile chalk wall manifests, encasing both her allies and myself completely.
"What-!?" I ask, hesitating for just a brief second - no, something's wrong, I need to-! "Ghk!"
Something punches cleanly through my stomach. A gleaming cavalry lance, blazing with blue ether, materializes in the human's hand - no, this isn't a human at all!
"Hah! You didn't think I'd just stand around blabbering, did you?" The door of the carriage is flung open, and the Master, the true Master emerges from therein, a healing spell pulsing from his mystic code to seal the wound shut around my arm. "You got your preparations done, now take a good look at mine - tear him to pieces, Lancer!"
He already summoned!? But last time- no, did Prelati delay me?
I focus, attempting to slip away once more - but with a clunk and hiss from the lance in my stomach, another blast of light tears through my body and concentration alike.
"Roger! [Ring of Transformation], release!" A young girl's voice comes from the disguised Lancer's mouth, and in a swirl of light, a smiling knight takes the place of the fish-eyed youth. "I am a rampaging wolf-!"
I blink away, outside of the shield's vicinity, into the storm of fire still engulfing the outside. Now, far enough from her, while they're trapped on the other side of that wall-! "[Enfer-!"
"Haaaaaaaaaaah!"
The distance shrinks. Somehow, impossibly, as if I had never moved at all, I find myself back within the castle's boundaries. Her lance smashes into me once more, a blast of energy finally tearing my torso from my legs.
Again, I try to escape, this time leaving a gout of cursed flame in my wake, but the [Rampaging Maiden Wolf] crashes forward without hesitation, seeming to only grow mightier as her flesh burns. Yet again, the distance shrinks, and her Lance tears into me. Impossible, as if my every motion was but an illusion, but with these glasses-!
"The 'me' that was summoned, he's united with the other Jeanne. You ought to bring those glasses of yours."
-Of course. She replaced my glasses with a fake pair. For all I know she isn't even truly dead. What a vile woman. But…
"Kuhahahahaha!" I roar with laughter, even as lance strike after lance strike shreds my body to pieces. "It's personal! That's right, it's personal now, Francois Prelati! I'll remember this! I'll kill you! I will, definitely, kill you!"
It will happen. I'm certain, so long as I wait and hope, so long as I never forget this - I will definitely, definitely, find a way to kill him.
"[Ira… Lupus]!"
My Spirit Origin finally gives way, and I know nothing.
"-[Attendre, Espérer]." I mutter, and in a cloud of golden dust, the Evil Dragon Fafnir's wound seals shut. "This creature is weak to curses. The Dragonslayer aside, this ought to have been something you prepared for, my so-called master. With such an indolent attitude, do you truly believe you can achieve your wish?"
"Shut the hell up. Don't go calling me lazy- not when you just let them get away." She hisses.
"-No, this is not slothfulness, but prudence, my so-called master. I cannot face them as I am, so I will plot, scheme, and prepare until the deed is done." I reply, hatred burning in my gut. I won't forgive that Caster. The master was just doing what he saw as the best thing to survive, but that musician took what was sacred, and perverted it into a weapon. I won't forgive him.
"...No, one such as I ought to hold nothing sacred. Ha! Kuhaha! To think that music could affect me so deeply!" I scowl. "How disgusting."
"What the hell are you on about now?" Master says. "Just get moving, won't you?"
"They'll have thirty minutes' grace. I'll pursue once I'm ready." I say. "I need to return to my workshop - will you have me serve as your chauffeur once more?"
"Sure. I was already getting sick of this stupid chase." She says with a derisive laugh.
"...No, that's the wrong answer, my so-called master. An Avenger mustn't be so mercurial." I chide her. "You should have insisted on pursuing your course to the end, by whatever means were necessary."
"Fine, I'll stay here then!" She says, rolling her eyes.
"No, that's no good either. Because you're still simply following the commands of others. Like this, there's no way you can become a real person. You'll stay that man's weapon forever."
"-Then I'll do both."She scowls, and a second later she tears a scrap of cloth from her dress, tying it to one of Fafnir's fingers. "There. A Holy Shroud, to protect from curses. Even though I've become like this, I'll still use that [Saint] skill as much as I like. If God doesn't like that, he can strike me down."
For an instant, she fizzles in place. Cutting out of reality like static. But it stops as quickly as it starts, and an instant later she's fine. The [Saint] skill alone wasn't enough to destabilize her Spirit Origin. It was risky, but…
"That's it. That's the kind of resolve that suits an Avenger, my master."
***
"Ohhhh! Jeanne! You're back! How WONDERFUL!" Shrieks Berserk Caster as we arrive in the castle. Ignoring him, I deposit my master and storm away, down two flights of stairs, towards my workshop.
I'll need Mystic Codes. Earplugs, to deal with that music - tufts of chimera hair, layered in a waxy paste of blood mixed with void dust, the cursed nature of which will naturally repel the beauty of that Caster's music. A sword-catcher, crafted with wyvern claws and layered with curses-.
"Hmmm? Isn't that [Tawrich]? Or is it [Zarich]?" A constant nuisance asks as she barges into my workshop as if she owns the place. "I never figured Avengers loaned each other stuff like that."
"How should I know? This is but an imitation of a weapon I encountered in a Turkish bazaar once upon a time." I respond, dully.
"Turkish…? Oh, that's those guys the Greeks are having so much trouble with, right? Hahaha! There's gotta be some kind of awful story about how that thing wound up in a marketplace." She giggles, and then she leans against me, fluttering her dark black eyes. "Hey, won't you tell me your story already? I'm ready to burst at the seams from curiosity."
She wasn't told about me by the throne. Because this woman is a living "human", after all.
"Then go ahead and burst." I say coldly. There's still one more worry-
"-[Guillotine Breaker]!"
Marie Antoinette. In spite of everything, I've no grudge against the monarchy - but I need a method to deal with that Noble Phantasm which so thoroughly counters my [Monte Cristo Mythologie].
"Kyaaa! You want me to burst? You shouldn't just ask to see a lady's organs like that, you pervert!" The red-faced nuisance wiggles in place, making suggestive motions and pressing her body against me. "B-but, if it's you, I'll show them to you, mister Avenger!"
I cast her away from me. "Be silent, Prelati. Either tell me what you came here for, or be gone."
"Fine, fine." The living 'human' Francesca Prelati mutters disappointedly. "The 'me' that was summoned, he's united with the other Jeanne. You ought to bring those glasses of yours."
"So you were still in contact with him after all - what's your plan, playing both sides like this?" I ask, retrieving the illusion piercing glasses from a nearby shelf. They won't pierce his Noble Phantasm, but basic illusion magecraft won't be a match for them.
She gives a tittering laugh. "Hey, mister Avenger, do you really think that I'm the type of person to make big plans like that?"
"Yes." I say without an ounce of hesitation.
"Pft...hahaha! You just said it! You didn't even hesitate!" The Alchemist cackles. "You're right! You're totally right! I have a cunning plan, and I'll share it with you, mister Avenger!" Her voice falls to a conspiratorial whisper. "Because, after all, you're an ally of humanity too, right?"
"Kuhaha! Humanity? I bade farewell to that some time ago!" My cruel grin returns to my face like a bird to his roost. "I will not - nay, can not save humanity. All I shall do is punish the wicked."
"Well, that's fine too, just so long as you're on our side." Francesca replies easily.
I grind my teeth, faint embers of fury glowing within my heart. "Do not think to make a pawn of me, woman. I've had my fill of being led around by the nose."
"Ahaha!~ It's fine, it's fine. Just keep doing what you're doing. What you're doing right now is perfect." She laughs.
"...In that case, let me hear it. This plan of yours." I say, turning and staring deep into her black eyes.
She tells me. I listen for a full five minutes, as she details every last step of her plan to save humanity. Until I understand it all. Until I can't possibly withhold my wrath any longer.
I grab her with both hands, and Francesca Prelati vanishes in a column of black fire. Her body bursts, and a shrieking, squirming, black thing attempts to fly out, but that too is engulfed by my flames of vengeance. Until, at last, nothing is left.
I breathe heavily. Dimly, I notice my right hand twitch upwards. It's the echo of the time before I forsook salvation - my first impulse after the deed is done is to cross myself. Indeed, were I still mortal, if I were not an Avenger, I'm certain I would have found myself fleeing to the nearest church to seek absolution.
I had known evil men, back when I was alive. I had known self-interested men, willing to throw innocents to the wolves for their own gain, or out of spite, or to save their own skin. And after I was summoned, I met the other servants - madmen, driven to evil through the compulsion of magic - or in Berserk Caster's case, through grief.
But I think, just now, I finally met Satan himself.
He has to die. He has to die. Francois Prelati must die. Whether that plan he shared with the woman I just killed will work or not, I have to kill him.
I don't remember this, from last time. Did it not happen, or does it not qualify as a "grudge"? The second possibility is worrisome, because he has to die. Even if it's not personal, I cannot possibly allow something like Francois Prelati to exist.
-In that case, I have to do it right. Last time - [Guillotine Breaker]! - last time, that horse doused all of my flames. I remember that much. And as I recall from the clash earlier, the Shielder and the Saint each have their own defenses to supply.
There is no room for failure. I must not fail. I will carve a path through as many of them as I have to, to kill that creature. Even if I have to kill the saint, and not bring her back to my so-called master as I had hoped, that's fine. So long as Francois Prelati dies.
I put the finishing touches on my countermeasure for Marie Antoinette, and then I move.
***
The binds of time and space slip their grasp on me. I know the place - a small clearing, with a boulder in the middle, wherein the closest leyline lies. A location for summoning, and as I arrive, I see that their magic circle is already drawn and ready, the Master reciting the chant. The rest are arrayed about - that Red Knight and the Shielder standing close to him, the Queen and Composer standing a short distance away near their carriage, and that Satanic Alchemist sitting cross-legged on the opposite side of the circle from the master. The circle starts to glow - however…
"To paraphrase your words earlier- 'I won't let you do that.'" I mock, and before he can react, I activate my Noble Phantasm to its fullest extent. "- I follow a path beyond love and hate! [Enfer…" With impossible speed I blur into motion, surrounding the entire group with a swarm of curse-laden after-images. "-Château d'If]!"
"[Lord-!" The Shielder begins - but I won't let her finish. Her shield shattered when her Master was hit last time, so before she can manifest it at all, I flicker forward, and drive my hand cleanly through his chest.
"-Sorry. I've no time for mockery or torture this time." I apologize coldly, as black fire floods the clearing.
"- Camelot]!" She concludes, heedless of her master's injury, and a great castle many times the majesty of the fragile chalk wall manifests, encasing both her allies and myself completely.
"What-!?" I ask, hesitating for just a brief second - no, something's wrong, I need to-! "Ghk!"
Something punches cleanly through my stomach. A gleaming cavalry lance, blazing with blue ether, materializes in the human's hand - no, this isn't a human at all!
"Hah! You didn't think I'd just stand around blabbering, did you?" The door of the carriage is flung open, and the Master, the true Master emerges from therein, a healing spell pulsing from his mystic code to seal the wound shut around my arm. "You got your preparations done, now take a good look at mine - tear him to pieces, Lancer!"
He already summoned!? But last time- no, did Prelati delay me?
I focus, attempting to slip away once more - but with a clunk and hiss from the lance in my stomach, another blast of light tears through my body and concentration alike.
"Roger! [Ring of Transformation], release!" A young girl's voice comes from the disguised Lancer's mouth, and in a swirl of light, a smiling knight takes the place of the fish-eyed youth. "I am a rampaging wolf-!"
I blink away, outside of the shield's vicinity, into the storm of fire still engulfing the outside. Now, far enough from her, while they're trapped on the other side of that wall-! "[Enfer-!"
"Haaaaaaaaaaah!"
The distance shrinks. Somehow, impossibly, as if I had never moved at all, I find myself back within the castle's boundaries. Her lance smashes into me once more, a blast of energy finally tearing my torso from my legs.
Again, I try to escape, this time leaving a gout of cursed flame in my wake, but the [Rampaging Maiden Wolf] crashes forward without hesitation, seeming to only grow mightier as her flesh burns. Yet again, the distance shrinks, and her Lance tears into me. Impossible, as if my every motion was but an illusion, but with these glasses-!
"The 'me' that was summoned, he's united with the other Jeanne. You ought to bring those glasses of yours."
-Of course. She replaced my glasses with a fake pair. For all I know she isn't even truly dead. What a vile woman. But…
"Kuhahahahaha!" I roar with laughter, even as lance strike after lance strike shreds my body to pieces. "It's personal! That's right, it's personal now, Francois Prelati! I'll remember this! I'll kill you! I will, definitely, kill you!"
It will happen. I'm certain, so long as I wait and hope, so long as I never forget this - I will definitely, definitely, find a way to kill him.
"[Ira… Lupus]!"
My Spirit Origin finally gives way, and I know nothing.
And then we never saw Edmond or Francesca again, because they are both definitely dead for good and for real. Definitely. Definitely. Definitely?
Gareth is here. She got foreshadowed a bit last chapter, but now she's here for real. We'll get a flashback to her arrival next chapter. Maybe I should have had that happen first, but I kinda wanted a surprise reveal from Edmond's perspective. Thoughts for if and when we get to the big Orleans edit.
Gareth is here. She got foreshadowed a bit last chapter, but now she's here for real. We'll get a flashback to her arrival next chapter. Maybe I should have had that happen first, but I kinda wanted a surprise reveal from Edmond's perspective. Thoughts for if and when we get to the big Orleans edit.
- Location
- Somewhere North of south
I see if there's one thing we know about Re Zero it's that death is *always* permanent.
