- Location
- Somewhere North of south
Has... Olga gone a bit mad with all the stress, sleep deprivation and caffeine?
-
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Save Scumming? It's on my Character sheet. (Re: Zero/Fate Grand Order)
- Thread starter Xorn
- Start date
- Crossover
I wonder who that voice was. Probably a Knight of the Table, but it's hard to narrow down; I'm doubtful any of Gareth's siblings would say that, except maybe Agravaine, but you'd think she would recognize her own brother's voice. That doesn't leave a lot of options, honestly. From canon we have Tristan and Percival, neither of whom seem the type.
60: Some referential humor is inevitable.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
60: Some referential humor is inevitable.
-Clack.
The clatter of the carriage door closing rouses me to semi-consciousness, and I spend a few minutes trying to slip back into sleep before finally giving up.
Slowly, my awareness spreads to the buzzing numbness in my back, to the sound of wooden wheels rattling against the road below us. As usual, cold sweat has filled the inside of my bedroll, but the lack of bumps and scrapes from thrashing around means that Flat-senpai's nightmare suppression bracelet is still working.
Heaving a breath, I sit up.
"Oh, finally awake, Subaru?" Says Prelati as he materializes, cross-legged on the floor of the carriage.
"-Don't watch me while I'm sleeping, you creep. You're on thin ice as it is." I grumble, glancing around the room. "Where's Mash?"
"She's up top talking to Sir Gareth - Round Table gossip I guess." He says. "Hey, Subaru, do you want to listen in? I can help you listen in if you want! Well? Well!?"
…
"-No, it's a private conversation, so I'll stay out of it." I decide after a moment's contemplation. "If it's important, one of them will tell me about it."
"Ehhh, really? Even though you went through the Clock Tower, you still believe in things like Private Conversations? Where's your sense of intrigue, Master?" He laughs.
"...Oi, who told you I went to the Clock Tower?" I ask.
"Mash mentioned it to Jeanne." He says with a chuckle. A bit behind him, golden particles start to settle into a humanoid shape. "It's amazing, the things you can hear just by staying unsee- ow, ow, ow, stop, stop squeezing my head Jeanne! Forgive me! I'm not sorry one bit, but please forgive me anyway!"
Eventually, she lets go of him and he drops to the ground rubbing his temples.
"Ah, you were watching this whole time, Jeanne?" I ask. "-Say, what were you going to do if I ended up spying on them like Prelati offered?"
"I had faith that you wouldn't." She answers with a calm smile.
"Okay, but what if I-"
"I had faith that you wouldn't." She answers with a vaguely menacing smile.
"R-right…"
"Oh, speaking of spying on private conversations, Jeanne, I also saw-" The Alchemist starts to speak up - and in one fluid motion, Jeanne seizes his head in one hand and lifts him off the ground.
"Subaru, I'm going to go grind this guy's face against the ground while the carriage is in motion, so please give me a moment." The Saint(?) says.
"R-rail tracer!?" I mutter.
"I won't tell! I won't tell, okay!?" Prelati screams, flailing in her grip. "I promise I won't tell anyone about-!"
"[Director Beeeeaaaam]!" Olga Marie's voice echoes down from above us.
Jeanne freezes, and I can see a deep existential crisis filling her eyes. "J-just how many people were…?"
"Oh, everyone except Subaru, Marie, and Gareth I think." Says Prelati. "The whole Chaldea Staff, Mozart, even that fluffy creature pretending to be asleep over there- they all saw."
"Oh, I told Maria as soon as it happened." Mozart's disembodied voice says, and that's the final straw. With a crimson face and a prolonged, high-pitched squeak, Jeanne d'Arc vanishes in a puff of golden mist.
…I won't ask.
Even though I really, really want to know, I won't ask-!
***
The benefits of having actual transportation really can't be understated - on foot, the trek from Lyon to Paris could take weeks, depending on the state of the roads and our ability to find food. With [Guillotine Breaker] at our disposal, the travel time is reduced to a mere two days, and so by sunset we'll have arrived at our destination.
"-As if it would be so easy." I mutter, gazing down the road before us, a familiar spiked shape taking form as we crest a hill.
Crackling with lightning and fire, the six-legged shape of the Tarasque storms towards us on a direct collision course, with Saint Martha perched upon its back.
-That's fine. No, that's ideal. So long as the weaker Servants just come at us one at a time, we can overwhelm them with numbers and keep moving.
"Everyone, battle positions!" I shout.
Jeanne materializes atop the carriage, where Mash has been sitting - it's their job to keep an eye out for other enemies coming after us, especially the Black Knight, Fafnir, or the still unaccounted for Berserk Archer.
Marie is, of course, in the driver's seat - that's as far as she can get from Guillotine Breaker, so she's stuck up there for as long as we're in motion. Gareth, on the other hand, is mounted on the crystal horse itself, her terrific Riding Skill making it child's play for her to maneuver and protect our "engine".
Mozart, Prelati, and myself are, of course, inside the carriage where it's safe for us squishy mages. We can cast all of our spells through the windows, and that's a lot safer than being out where a stray [Hell's Snipe] or whatever Berserk Archer has could take our heads off from two miles away..
"Crush the sinners before you - [Tarasque]!" A hammer-like blow of Saint Martha's staff sends the Dragon Turtle spinning towards us.
It was uncharitable to call her 'weak'. Without a doubt, this tornado of uprooted earth, fire, and lightning is terrifying. I kind of forgot just how scary it was - but then, the reason I forgot, is because I have a counter to it.
"We're breaking through - Prelati, give this spell a boost! [Murak]!" I shout, pulling mana from my Mystic Code and sending a pulse of purple-black energy sailing towards the Tarasque.
"On it!" He shouts, and the spell grows in size as he layers a bit of his own magic into my spell.
The anti-gravity spell impacts the Dragon's shell, and a faint alteration of its flight pattern makes it clear that we overcame the creature's innate Magic Resistance. "-Now, Gareth!"
"Roger- take this!" The Knight shouts as she balances flawlessly on [Guillotine Breaker]'s nose and thrusts her lance to meet the oncoming Noble Phantasm. "Haaaaaa-!"
"[Ira…" Bright blue light meets a typhoon of fire and gives way almost instantly - but then comes the next blow, and the next, and the next, and slowly the Tarasque's trajectory changes, before finally being sent careening away from us. "...Lupus]!"
"Right, now she should be simple enough to-!" I start to say - and then Saint Martha leaps into the air and intercepts her out-of-control Noble Phantasm.
"Sei!" With a shout and a harsh punch, Saint Martha redirects the Tarasque again, driving it against Gareth's lance. "There's no escape! [Iron Fist Holy Judgement!]"
"-As if I'd give up! [Ira Lupus]!" Gareth shouts, driving blast after blast from her gunlance against the Dragon's underbelly. "Ora, ora, ora!"
"Useless, useless, useless!" the Saint(?) shouts, raining blows down on top of the Tarasque.
"...Am I having a fever dream?" I wonder aloud as blood starts to spray out from between the Tarasque's iron scales.
It's nonsense. This is absolute nonsense - but it favors us. Just a bit more. Just a bit more, and Berserk Rider will be done for. Jeanne takes a step forward, preparing to attack Martha, who is all but helpless, all her efforts focused on the Tarasque.
-A shadow appears overhead.
In an instant, my confusion snaps back into terrified lucidity, even as the shadow vanishes again - because the fire pouring from Fafnir's jaws has lit things back up again quite nicely.
It can't be a coincidence. The very instant Jeanne stopped watching the sky, he appears. He had to have been watching us - but where from, and how?
"[Lord Camelot]!"
Fortunately, Mash was ready this time. A White Fortress expands over all of our party, hedging out Martha and the Tarasque, who are left to bear the brunt of Fafnir's breath weapon.
"-[O' Dragon's Shield that Shall Not Let a Blade Pass ]!" The Tarasque vanishes, and an instant later its shell alone appears, encircling Martha and protecting her from both the fire and the hooves of [Guillotine Breaker] as we trample over her and leave her in the dust behind us.
Fafnir vanishes from sight again as the flames dissipate, flickering back into existence just long enough to snatch Saint Martha up in his left claw, and then vanishing again.
"...He even evacuates his allies now?" I mutter annoyedly. "Can we go back and finish him the first time we fought? I don't like cautious Fafnir."
-Clack.
The clatter of the carriage door closing rouses me to semi-consciousness, and I spend a few minutes trying to slip back into sleep before finally giving up.
Slowly, my awareness spreads to the buzzing numbness in my back, to the sound of wooden wheels rattling against the road below us. As usual, cold sweat has filled the inside of my bedroll, but the lack of bumps and scrapes from thrashing around means that Flat-senpai's nightmare suppression bracelet is still working.
Heaving a breath, I sit up.
"Oh, finally awake, Subaru?" Says Prelati as he materializes, cross-legged on the floor of the carriage.
"-Don't watch me while I'm sleeping, you creep. You're on thin ice as it is." I grumble, glancing around the room. "Where's Mash?"
"She's up top talking to Sir Gareth - Round Table gossip I guess." He says. "Hey, Subaru, do you want to listen in? I can help you listen in if you want! Well? Well!?"
…
"-No, it's a private conversation, so I'll stay out of it." I decide after a moment's contemplation. "If it's important, one of them will tell me about it."
"Ehhh, really? Even though you went through the Clock Tower, you still believe in things like Private Conversations? Where's your sense of intrigue, Master?" He laughs.
"...Oi, who told you I went to the Clock Tower?" I ask.
"Mash mentioned it to Jeanne." He says with a chuckle. A bit behind him, golden particles start to settle into a humanoid shape. "It's amazing, the things you can hear just by staying unsee- ow, ow, ow, stop, stop squeezing my head Jeanne! Forgive me! I'm not sorry one bit, but please forgive me anyway!"
Eventually, she lets go of him and he drops to the ground rubbing his temples.
"Ah, you were watching this whole time, Jeanne?" I ask. "-Say, what were you going to do if I ended up spying on them like Prelati offered?"
"I had faith that you wouldn't." She answers with a calm smile.
"Okay, but what if I-"
"I had faith that you wouldn't." She answers with a vaguely menacing smile.
"R-right…"
"Oh, speaking of spying on private conversations, Jeanne, I also saw-" The Alchemist starts to speak up - and in one fluid motion, Jeanne seizes his head in one hand and lifts him off the ground.
"Subaru, I'm going to go grind this guy's face against the ground while the carriage is in motion, so please give me a moment." The Saint(?) says.
"R-rail tracer!?" I mutter.
"I won't tell! I won't tell, okay!?" Prelati screams, flailing in her grip. "I promise I won't tell anyone about-!"
"[Director Beeeeaaaam]!" Olga Marie's voice echoes down from above us.
Jeanne freezes, and I can see a deep existential crisis filling her eyes. "J-just how many people were…?"
"Oh, everyone except Subaru, Marie, and Gareth I think." Says Prelati. "The whole Chaldea Staff, Mozart, even that fluffy creature pretending to be asleep over there- they all saw."
"Oh, I told Maria as soon as it happened." Mozart's disembodied voice says, and that's the final straw. With a crimson face and a prolonged, high-pitched squeak, Jeanne d'Arc vanishes in a puff of golden mist.
…I won't ask.
Even though I really, really want to know, I won't ask-!
***
The benefits of having actual transportation really can't be understated - on foot, the trek from Lyon to Paris could take weeks, depending on the state of the roads and our ability to find food. With [Guillotine Breaker] at our disposal, the travel time is reduced to a mere two days, and so by sunset we'll have arrived at our destination.
"-As if it would be so easy." I mutter, gazing down the road before us, a familiar spiked shape taking form as we crest a hill.
Crackling with lightning and fire, the six-legged shape of the Tarasque storms towards us on a direct collision course, with Saint Martha perched upon its back.
-That's fine. No, that's ideal. So long as the weaker Servants just come at us one at a time, we can overwhelm them with numbers and keep moving.
"Everyone, battle positions!" I shout.
Jeanne materializes atop the carriage, where Mash has been sitting - it's their job to keep an eye out for other enemies coming after us, especially the Black Knight, Fafnir, or the still unaccounted for Berserk Archer.
Marie is, of course, in the driver's seat - that's as far as she can get from Guillotine Breaker, so she's stuck up there for as long as we're in motion. Gareth, on the other hand, is mounted on the crystal horse itself, her terrific Riding Skill making it child's play for her to maneuver and protect our "engine".
Mozart, Prelati, and myself are, of course, inside the carriage where it's safe for us squishy mages. We can cast all of our spells through the windows, and that's a lot safer than being out where a stray [Hell's Snipe] or whatever Berserk Archer has could take our heads off from two miles away..
"Crush the sinners before you - [Tarasque]!" A hammer-like blow of Saint Martha's staff sends the Dragon Turtle spinning towards us.
It was uncharitable to call her 'weak'. Without a doubt, this tornado of uprooted earth, fire, and lightning is terrifying. I kind of forgot just how scary it was - but then, the reason I forgot, is because I have a counter to it.
"We're breaking through - Prelati, give this spell a boost! [Murak]!" I shout, pulling mana from my Mystic Code and sending a pulse of purple-black energy sailing towards the Tarasque.
"On it!" He shouts, and the spell grows in size as he layers a bit of his own magic into my spell.
The anti-gravity spell impacts the Dragon's shell, and a faint alteration of its flight pattern makes it clear that we overcame the creature's innate Magic Resistance. "-Now, Gareth!"
"Roger- take this!" The Knight shouts as she balances flawlessly on [Guillotine Breaker]'s nose and thrusts her lance to meet the oncoming Noble Phantasm. "Haaaaaa-!"
"[Ira…" Bright blue light meets a typhoon of fire and gives way almost instantly - but then comes the next blow, and the next, and the next, and slowly the Tarasque's trajectory changes, before finally being sent careening away from us. "...Lupus]!"
"Right, now she should be simple enough to-!" I start to say - and then Saint Martha leaps into the air and intercepts her out-of-control Noble Phantasm.
"Sei!" With a shout and a harsh punch, Saint Martha redirects the Tarasque again, driving it against Gareth's lance. "There's no escape! [Iron Fist Holy Judgement!]"
"-As if I'd give up! [Ira Lupus]!" Gareth shouts, driving blast after blast from her gunlance against the Dragon's underbelly. "Ora, ora, ora!"
"Useless, useless, useless!" the Saint(?) shouts, raining blows down on top of the Tarasque.
"...Am I having a fever dream?" I wonder aloud as blood starts to spray out from between the Tarasque's iron scales.
It's nonsense. This is absolute nonsense - but it favors us. Just a bit more. Just a bit more, and Berserk Rider will be done for. Jeanne takes a step forward, preparing to attack Martha, who is all but helpless, all her efforts focused on the Tarasque.
-A shadow appears overhead.
In an instant, my confusion snaps back into terrified lucidity, even as the shadow vanishes again - because the fire pouring from Fafnir's jaws has lit things back up again quite nicely.
It can't be a coincidence. The very instant Jeanne stopped watching the sky, he appears. He had to have been watching us - but where from, and how?
"[Lord Camelot]!"
Fortunately, Mash was ready this time. A White Fortress expands over all of our party, hedging out Martha and the Tarasque, who are left to bear the brunt of Fafnir's breath weapon.
"-
Fafnir vanishes from sight again as the flames dissipate, flickering back into existence just long enough to snatch Saint Martha up in his left claw, and then vanishing again.
"...He even evacuates his allies now?" I mutter annoyedly. "Can we go back and finish him the first time we fought? I don't like cautious Fafnir."
Gareth: "Standing here, I realiiiize-!
Martha: "Actually this is a Jojo reference!"
Fafnir "Yeah but the road roller loses, lemme help you out."
Anyway Rider Martha really shouldn't be able to road roller the Tarasque, but... well, she's berserk, and his weight was lowered, so it's probably fine.
Martha: "Actually this is a Jojo reference!"
Fafnir "Yeah but the road roller loses, lemme help you out."
Anyway Rider Martha really shouldn't be able to road roller the Tarasque, but... well, she's berserk, and his weight was lowered, so it's probably fine.
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- Location
- Somewhere North of south
The real question is: "Did Martha switch to her bikini Summer spirit origin for that noble phantasm?"
Also: man that sleep deprivation must be really getting to Olga.
Also: man that sleep deprivation must be really getting to Olga.
Last edited:
- Location
- Oregon, USA
And Lev.
She probably is using self-hypnosis to avoid falling into a fugue right now. That, or Romani prescribed a bunch of anti-depressants.
61: False Safety
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
61: False Safety
Of course, the attack doesn't end after Fafnir leaves. Not five minutes after Berserk Rider's escape, winged shadows begin to circle over the carriage. Swooping down, dozens upon dozens of wyverns fall upon us.
"[Ira Lupus]!" Again and again, Gareth's lance pierces foe after foe, carving a path through the bulk of the enemy assault. Here and there, clouds of enemies fall into the swirling curses and blasts of mana that Prelati and Marie are filling the air with. But it's not enough, and bit by bit, more and more wyverns break through, clawing and biting chunks of wood off of the carriage -
"[Lord Camelot]!" Mash finally pulls the trigger, and the Wyverns are dashed upon her wall, bones and scales cracking, blood spattering across the chalk white surface from the speed of our motion.
From among the swarm, larger shapes descend - large dragons, about half the size of Fafnir, raining down fire on [Lord Camelot], but achieving no visible result. Until, at last-
"-Master, I'm at my limit." Mash finally says.
"That's fine, we're close enough!" Prelati says. "-This should finish it! [Grand Illusion]!"
My stomach churns, a dizzying, sickening sensation as a sea of farmland rushes through the sky above me, until a large city comes into view, hanging upside down in the air above our carriage. Prelati's illusion folds miles of space, jumping us around half of the way down the road towards Paris in a single instant.
This was our big get-out-of-jail-free card. According to Prelati, he's got no chance of pulling it off on this scale more than once, and the increased range will drain his reserves for the rest of the day. That's why it had to wait as long as possible. But now, as gravity reverses and we drop towards the city square-!
"[Fleur de Lys]." A bored voice calls out, and the city rushes out of view as space unfolds itself. The carriage crashes upside down, in a dusty heap along a nondescript dirt road, flanked on either side by blackened crop fields.
Confusion. Everything is chaos. I can't see, and something is pinning my body to the ground. Then, another crash, and the roof - no, was it the floor? The debris on top of me, whatever it was, is blown away by a kick from Jeanne, and I stagger to my feet, head frantically turning from side to side - and seeing enemy after enemy.
Dark Jeanne, flanked by two more of those true dragons. Vlad III, sheltered from the sun's light by the cloud of wyverns overhead.
And a third Servant, one I haven't seen before. A blond boy in a red cloak and a golden crown, leaning against a hulking axe with a head shaped like a stylized Fleur de Lys. His skin is a pale, almost clammy gray, combined with dull blue eyes that are a bit too large and a slight greasiness to his hair to give him a vaguely fish-like appearance.
Berserk Archer…? That doesn't seem right. But we already saw the other six, plus Berserk Avenger-!
Unless… "She's not limited to one per class." I realize with muted horror.
"Sorry kids, but this is the end for you." The boy is the first to speak, displaying sharp teeth. "An awful bad turn, getting matched against someone like me."
-I know that axe. I've seen it once before. Haftless and partially melted, but the fact remains, I have seen that axe before. Scattered bits of partially erased memory come together, and I remember.
There was a certain vault in the Atlas Academy. A vault where they stored seven superweapons, each capable of saving or destroying the world - along with numerous replicas of said superweapons.
To be honest, most of them blended together in my mind. There's only so many annoying talking cubes or scary guns that a guy can remember, after all.
But the axe stands out in my mind. It was, after all, one of the only items in that vault to have actually been deployed. A superweapon created from the fragment of a greater Superweapon - the Holy Axe [Fleur de Lys].
"...Which makes you King Clovis I, right?" I ask with a grimace.
This is awful. Absolutely terrible. To have the first king of France show up as an enemy, wielding that weapon, especially against our current party - talk about an unwinnable battle!
He clicks his tongue in annoyance. "It's Chlodovech, brat. Chlodovech! Kids should pronounce their elders' names correctly."
Ah, so he's part of the elusive Shotajiji archetype, huh?
"-So? How does it feel, me? To see even the first king of France side against it?" Dark Jeanne asks, a grin on her face.
"It doesn't matter how many servants you drive mad." Jeanne says, prompting a scowl. "I shall still fight for my country. I shall still follow God's will."
"Our country!? God!? Saints, noblemen, even the founder of France itself stand against you, and you still persist? What are you thinking, me? We're just a useless peasant girl with delusions of grandeur - you realize that, don't you, me?" Her evil clone spits. "How could you have not realized that, after what they did to us!?"
"To be honest, I was starting to think something like that. Between your existence, and my weakness after being summoned, I think I was on the brink of admitting you could be right." Jeanne says with a sigh, shaking her head - and then stands up straight, gazing at her doppleganger with a smile. "I'm glad that you put those fears to rest, just now."
"What the hell are you talking about, me-!?"
"That's just the thing, isn't it?" Jeanne says with a small laugh. "You keep saying 'me' and 'us' when you're talking about me, but you don't understand my thoughts at all. Because you're not, are you? You aren't 'me' at all."
Silence follows her declaration. Dark Jeanne doesn't even protest the accusation. She simply stands there, glaring at Jeanne, before finally clicking her tongue.
"Whatever, I'm bored of this. Berserk Lancer, Berserk Rider, just kill them already."
"Finally. I was worried I might start openly drooling." Dracula chuckles, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah." Chlodovech says, hefting his axe. "Kids these days are so damn demanding…"
Wait, he's a Rider-?
"[Quinotaurus]!" Shouts the blond, and a cyclone of water and steam erupts into existence, hurtling towards us-
"[Luminosité Eternelle]!" Jeanne shouts - slamming her flag down, she erects a barrier, and the attack is halted.
Through the barrier, I can see it - a massive mechanical bull, with a fish-like lower half, and a trident embedded in its head between its horns, spinning like a drill as it drives against Jeanne's Noble Phantasm.
"Good work, Jeanne! Just give me ten more seconds, and-!" Marie starts to shout, but she cuts off as she stares at the wrecked carriage. "-Okay, this is fine, I just need to-!"
But her desperate planning is cut short. In a ridiculous movement, Chlodovech vaults into the air with his axe, over his mount, and brings the weapon crashing down on Jeanne's barrier.
What will happen next is obvious. The Holy Axe [Fleur de Lys] operates under a relatively simple principle, for a conceptual weapon - drawing upon the power of the Counter Force, it directly imposes the [Common Sense of Man] upon the texture of the planet, creating a sort of Reality Marble in which nothing can occur contradictory to the average man's expectations.
In other words, nothing unexpected will be allowed to happen.
Of course, in 15th century France, where Monarchy is still deeply entrenched, and gender equality is virtually nonexistent-!
"[Cor Leonis]!" I activate my authority of Greed in the vain hope that I might be able to prevent it, but-
The efforts of a mere Peasant Girl cannot hope to hold back the might of an ancient Hero-King. Jeanne's flag shatters in her grasp, and the golden greataxe bites deep into her chest.
Red warmth colors my shirt as blood spews from my mouth. My focus is broken, and Cor Leonis slips from my grasp-
Through eyes darkened by shock, I see Chlodovech deliver a second blow to Jeanne, and she goes still.
I collapse, shirt soaked with blood. But I need to stay awake. I need to witness every moment. That's my duty. I can't check out just yet, even though I can feel fate rapidly closing its fist on this loop.
[Emergency First Aid]. Keep your eyes open, Subaru. For the next time. Because, next time, for sure-!
"Senpai!" Mash shouts, starting to dash to my side, except-
"[Kazikli Bey]!" A swarm of bats impacts her, stakes of bone peppering the right half her body before a blast of pink energy beats Vlad III's attack away from her - wounded but not slain, Mash follows up with a vicious smash which knocks the Vampire's head from his shoulders. With a furious kick, his body is catapulted a good five meters away from the head, stalling its regeneration slightly.
"▆██▆▬▆▆████!" A static-laden bellow of rage rings out. Saltwater sears my wound as a wave crashes over me- but the Quinotaur shoots over our heads and lands behind us, fooled by an illusion from Prelati.
"[Ira Lupus]!" The cyclone of water and steam stalls as the [Quinotaur] bellows in pain, molten metal spewing from a rapid series of punctures delivered by Gareth.
A blink, and Chlodovech is next to her, massive axe swinging for the back of her head. My Mystic Code pulses with mana, and [Emergency Evasion] allows her to dodge the blow. A follow-up strike with the haft of the axe thunders against the Lancer's shield, before he bounds away with an annoyed click of his tongue.
"Going to make these old bones work for it, huh?" Chlodovech grouses as the Quinotaur dematerializes.
"Come now, your highness, you don't truly mean that, do you?" On the other side of the battlefield, Vlad III straightens his head on his shoulders with a sickening sound. "Prey that doesn't fight back is just dull."
Dark Jeanne rolls her eyes. "Whatever, you're both damn useless." And with a gesture, the dragons above us descend, a cloud of teeth and claws raining down upon our group.
"[Lord…" Mash raises her shield, but-!
"[Kazikli-!" Vlad III roars, surging towards her - but Gareth intercepts him, carving the Vampire in half with her lance-!
"-Bey]!"
From the two halves of Berserk Lancer, a forest of stakes erupts, and Gareth, standing between them-!
"Dodge it!" I yell, Command Spell burning bright. In a moment, she flickers back into range, just as Mash's shield comes crashing down.
…Camelo]-aah!" Mash's invocation is cut off. Somehow, impossibly, a spear of blood has pierced her right shoulder, through the side of her ribcage, and out the other side.
How? How!? How the hell did he-!
Another spear of blood explodes out of the Shielders body. And another. And another. From within her previous wounds, stakes of blood explode forth.
"-Ah." Mash lets out a single whimper, and collapses.
But I don't have any time to take it in. I don't have a single second to mourn. Because, with Mash and Jeanne both down, the wyverns-!
"-I suppose that's far enough." Mozart says with a sigh as he finishes scribbling something on a piece of paper. "The Intelligence Bureau comes to order. We expose the past and collapse the future." The composer says, his voice distorting and growing deeper.
And then, with a snap of his fingers, the storm of Wyverns vanishes in a sea of flames.
"[Incineration Ritual: Amdusias]."
Of course, the attack doesn't end after Fafnir leaves. Not five minutes after Berserk Rider's escape, winged shadows begin to circle over the carriage. Swooping down, dozens upon dozens of wyverns fall upon us.
"[Ira Lupus]!" Again and again, Gareth's lance pierces foe after foe, carving a path through the bulk of the enemy assault. Here and there, clouds of enemies fall into the swirling curses and blasts of mana that Prelati and Marie are filling the air with. But it's not enough, and bit by bit, more and more wyverns break through, clawing and biting chunks of wood off of the carriage -
"[Lord Camelot]!" Mash finally pulls the trigger, and the Wyverns are dashed upon her wall, bones and scales cracking, blood spattering across the chalk white surface from the speed of our motion.
From among the swarm, larger shapes descend - large dragons, about half the size of Fafnir, raining down fire on [Lord Camelot], but achieving no visible result. Until, at last-
"-Master, I'm at my limit." Mash finally says.
"That's fine, we're close enough!" Prelati says. "-This should finish it! [Grand Illusion]!"
My stomach churns, a dizzying, sickening sensation as a sea of farmland rushes through the sky above me, until a large city comes into view, hanging upside down in the air above our carriage. Prelati's illusion folds miles of space, jumping us around half of the way down the road towards Paris in a single instant.
This was our big get-out-of-jail-free card. According to Prelati, he's got no chance of pulling it off on this scale more than once, and the increased range will drain his reserves for the rest of the day. That's why it had to wait as long as possible. But now, as gravity reverses and we drop towards the city square-!
"[Fleur de Lys]." A bored voice calls out, and the city rushes out of view as space unfolds itself. The carriage crashes upside down, in a dusty heap along a nondescript dirt road, flanked on either side by blackened crop fields.
Confusion. Everything is chaos. I can't see, and something is pinning my body to the ground. Then, another crash, and the roof - no, was it the floor? The debris on top of me, whatever it was, is blown away by a kick from Jeanne, and I stagger to my feet, head frantically turning from side to side - and seeing enemy after enemy.
Dark Jeanne, flanked by two more of those true dragons. Vlad III, sheltered from the sun's light by the cloud of wyverns overhead.
And a third Servant, one I haven't seen before. A blond boy in a red cloak and a golden crown, leaning against a hulking axe with a head shaped like a stylized Fleur de Lys. His skin is a pale, almost clammy gray, combined with dull blue eyes that are a bit too large and a slight greasiness to his hair to give him a vaguely fish-like appearance.
Berserk Archer…? That doesn't seem right. But we already saw the other six, plus Berserk Avenger-!
Unless… "She's not limited to one per class." I realize with muted horror.
"Sorry kids, but this is the end for you." The boy is the first to speak, displaying sharp teeth. "An awful bad turn, getting matched against someone like me."
-I know that axe. I've seen it once before. Haftless and partially melted, but the fact remains, I have seen that axe before. Scattered bits of partially erased memory come together, and I remember.
There was a certain vault in the Atlas Academy. A vault where they stored seven superweapons, each capable of saving or destroying the world - along with numerous replicas of said superweapons.
To be honest, most of them blended together in my mind. There's only so many annoying talking cubes or scary guns that a guy can remember, after all.
But the axe stands out in my mind. It was, after all, one of the only items in that vault to have actually been deployed. A superweapon created from the fragment of a greater Superweapon - the Holy Axe [Fleur de Lys].
"...Which makes you King Clovis I, right?" I ask with a grimace.
This is awful. Absolutely terrible. To have the first king of France show up as an enemy, wielding that weapon, especially against our current party - talk about an unwinnable battle!
He clicks his tongue in annoyance. "It's Chlodovech, brat. Chlodovech! Kids should pronounce their elders' names correctly."
Ah, so he's part of the elusive Shotajiji archetype, huh?
"-So? How does it feel, me? To see even the first king of France side against it?" Dark Jeanne asks, a grin on her face.
"It doesn't matter how many servants you drive mad." Jeanne says, prompting a scowl. "I shall still fight for my country. I shall still follow God's will."
"Our country!? God!? Saints, noblemen, even the founder of France itself stand against you, and you still persist? What are you thinking, me? We're just a useless peasant girl with delusions of grandeur - you realize that, don't you, me?" Her evil clone spits. "How could you have not realized that, after what they did to us!?"
"To be honest, I was starting to think something like that. Between your existence, and my weakness after being summoned, I think I was on the brink of admitting you could be right." Jeanne says with a sigh, shaking her head - and then stands up straight, gazing at her doppleganger with a smile. "I'm glad that you put those fears to rest, just now."
"What the hell are you talking about, me-!?"
"That's just the thing, isn't it?" Jeanne says with a small laugh. "You keep saying 'me' and 'us' when you're talking about me, but you don't understand my thoughts at all. Because you're not, are you? You aren't 'me' at all."
Silence follows her declaration. Dark Jeanne doesn't even protest the accusation. She simply stands there, glaring at Jeanne, before finally clicking her tongue.
"Whatever, I'm bored of this. Berserk Lancer, Berserk Rider, just kill them already."
"Finally. I was worried I might start openly drooling." Dracula chuckles, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah." Chlodovech says, hefting his axe. "Kids these days are so damn demanding…"
Wait, he's a Rider-?
"[Quinotaurus]!" Shouts the blond, and a cyclone of water and steam erupts into existence, hurtling towards us-
"[Luminosité Eternelle]!" Jeanne shouts - slamming her flag down, she erects a barrier, and the attack is halted.
Through the barrier, I can see it - a massive mechanical bull, with a fish-like lower half, and a trident embedded in its head between its horns, spinning like a drill as it drives against Jeanne's Noble Phantasm.
"Good work, Jeanne! Just give me ten more seconds, and-!" Marie starts to shout, but she cuts off as she stares at the wrecked carriage. "-Okay, this is fine, I just need to-!"
But her desperate planning is cut short. In a ridiculous movement, Chlodovech vaults into the air with his axe, over his mount, and brings the weapon crashing down on Jeanne's barrier.
What will happen next is obvious. The Holy Axe [Fleur de Lys] operates under a relatively simple principle, for a conceptual weapon - drawing upon the power of the Counter Force, it directly imposes the [Common Sense of Man] upon the texture of the planet, creating a sort of Reality Marble in which nothing can occur contradictory to the average man's expectations.
In other words, nothing unexpected will be allowed to happen.
Of course, in 15th century France, where Monarchy is still deeply entrenched, and gender equality is virtually nonexistent-!
"[Cor Leonis]!" I activate my authority of Greed in the vain hope that I might be able to prevent it, but-
The efforts of a mere Peasant Girl cannot hope to hold back the might of an ancient Hero-King. Jeanne's flag shatters in her grasp, and the golden greataxe bites deep into her chest.
Red warmth colors my shirt as blood spews from my mouth. My focus is broken, and Cor Leonis slips from my grasp-
Through eyes darkened by shock, I see Chlodovech deliver a second blow to Jeanne, and she goes still.
I collapse, shirt soaked with blood. But I need to stay awake. I need to witness every moment. That's my duty. I can't check out just yet, even though I can feel fate rapidly closing its fist on this loop.
[Emergency First Aid]. Keep your eyes open, Subaru. For the next time. Because, next time, for sure-!
"Senpai!" Mash shouts, starting to dash to my side, except-
"[Kazikli Bey]!" A swarm of bats impacts her, stakes of bone peppering the right half her body before a blast of pink energy beats Vlad III's attack away from her - wounded but not slain, Mash follows up with a vicious smash which knocks the Vampire's head from his shoulders. With a furious kick, his body is catapulted a good five meters away from the head, stalling its regeneration slightly.
"▆██▆▬▆▆████!" A static-laden bellow of rage rings out. Saltwater sears my wound as a wave crashes over me- but the Quinotaur shoots over our heads and lands behind us, fooled by an illusion from Prelati.
"[Ira Lupus]!" The cyclone of water and steam stalls as the [Quinotaur] bellows in pain, molten metal spewing from a rapid series of punctures delivered by Gareth.
A blink, and Chlodovech is next to her, massive axe swinging for the back of her head. My Mystic Code pulses with mana, and [Emergency Evasion] allows her to dodge the blow. A follow-up strike with the haft of the axe thunders against the Lancer's shield, before he bounds away with an annoyed click of his tongue.
"Going to make these old bones work for it, huh?" Chlodovech grouses as the Quinotaur dematerializes.
"Come now, your highness, you don't truly mean that, do you?" On the other side of the battlefield, Vlad III straightens his head on his shoulders with a sickening sound. "Prey that doesn't fight back is just dull."
Dark Jeanne rolls her eyes. "Whatever, you're both damn useless." And with a gesture, the dragons above us descend, a cloud of teeth and claws raining down upon our group.
"[Lord…" Mash raises her shield, but-!
"[Kazikli-!" Vlad III roars, surging towards her - but Gareth intercepts him, carving the Vampire in half with her lance-!
"-Bey]!"
From the two halves of Berserk Lancer, a forest of stakes erupts, and Gareth, standing between them-!
"Dodge it!" I yell, Command Spell burning bright. In a moment, she flickers back into range, just as Mash's shield comes crashing down.
…Camelo]-aah!" Mash's invocation is cut off. Somehow, impossibly, a spear of blood has pierced her right shoulder, through the side of her ribcage, and out the other side.
How? How!? How the hell did he-!
Another spear of blood explodes out of the Shielders body. And another. And another. From within her previous wounds, stakes of blood explode forth.
"-Ah." Mash lets out a single whimper, and collapses.
But I don't have any time to take it in. I don't have a single second to mourn. Because, with Mash and Jeanne both down, the wyverns-!
"-I suppose that's far enough." Mozart says with a sigh as he finishes scribbling something on a piece of paper. "The Intelligence Bureau comes to order. We expose the past and collapse the future." The composer says, his voice distorting and growing deeper.
And then, with a snap of his fingers, the storm of Wyverns vanishes in a sea of flames.
"[Incineration Ritual: Amdusias]."
In Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood, Araki introduces eight new named characters in the last quarter of the arc, just before the final confrontation with Dio. I have not done that in this chapter, but it still makes me feel a bit worried.
I feel really, really conflicted about including Chlodovech. It's not like this arc hasn't already been dragging like hell, even without him here.
But he's been in my "outline" (read: daydreams about future chapters) for a while now, so I figured including him would be better than not.
Yes, his axe is bullshit. No, it is not a canon Atlas Superweapon. Yes, the Quinotaur is a real thing that was written about in the history of the Merovingians. No, it wasn't a robot.
Chlodovech is the last of the four great obstacles of this arc to make an appearance. The other three have been introduced already.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Subaru. Here's some misery for you, my man.
I feel really, really conflicted about including Chlodovech. It's not like this arc hasn't already been dragging like hell, even without him here.
But he's been in my "outline" (read: daydreams about future chapters) for a while now, so I figured including him would be better than not.
Yes, his axe is bullshit. No, it is not a canon Atlas Superweapon. Yes, the Quinotaur is a real thing that was written about in the history of the Merovingians. No, it wasn't a robot.
Chlodovech is the last of the four great obstacles of this arc to make an appearance. The other three have been introduced already.
Anyway, Happy Birthday Subaru. Here's some misery for you, my man.
Servant Parameters - Rider (Chlodovech (Clovis I)
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Class: Rider
Alternate Classes: Berserker, Ruler
True Name: Chlodovech (Clovis I)
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Armaments: Armor, Holy Shroud
Manifestation Cost: High->Overwhelming
Bio:
The First King of France, an apocryphal saint who restored order to the chaotic world following the demise of the Western Roman Empire. Ruthless yet generous, barbaric yet noble, Pagan yet Christian - a walking paradox who embodies the transformation of the Franks from irrelevant barbarians to the center of Medieval European Culture.
Naturally, having been summoned to France, his power in this work is completely overwhelming. Outside of Western Europe, his Parameters are all one or two ranks lower, and his [Fleur de Lys] is significantly weakened.
Parameters
Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: B
Mana: C
Luck: B
NP: EX
Class Skills:
Riding: D
Magic Resistance: D->B
In France, where Chlodovech is revered by some as an apocryphal Saint, his normally mediocre Magic Resistance receives a drastic boost.
Presence Concealment: E--
Acquired from an anecdote where Chlodovech slew a disobedient soldier while distracting the man by telling him his boot was unlaced. In other words, a form of Presence Concealment that only functions briefly while the target is already distracted.
Personal Skills:
Divinity: C
Chaotic Villain: A
Charisma: B
Noble Phantasms:
Fiend of the Northern Coast: Quinotaurus
Rank: E---
Type: Anti-Fortress
Range: 1-15
Maximum Number of Targets: 30
A Divine Beast attested to in the Chronicle of Fredegar, a child of Neptune that haunted the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic. According to legend, it assaulted the wife of the Frankish king Chlodio and sired Merovech, the Grandfather of Chlodovech.
-That being said, the Quinotaur is almost completely unknown in the modern day, and so it suffers a tremendous drop in the power that it ought to have as a Divine Beast, in truth only reaching about the level of a C-Rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
…Even so, could mere obscurity result in such a drastic drop in effectiveness?
New Order, Bloom Amidst the Ashes: Fleur de Lys
Rank: E -> EX
Type: Anti-Army (Self) -> Anti-Divergence
Range: 1-40 -> -
Maximum Number of Targets: 100 -> -
The Axe of Chlodovech, gifted to him by Saint Remigius. Forged from the gauntlets of the Powered Armor [RESTITVTOR • ORBIS], one of the Seven Superweapons of Atlas, which was destroyed in the Third Century.
As a conceptual weapon, [RESTITVTOR • ORBIS] operated by enforcing the Common Sense of Man upon the Texture of the Planet in a feedback loop that forced all events to play out according to the status quo. "The Emperor cannot be defeated. Rome cannot fall." In such a way, that which the people took for granted was materialized and made irrefutable.
After the armor was destroyed, its fragments were recovered by the Roman State, and the portion still in possession of the Papacy in Chlodovech's time was forged into an axe for his use. While weaker than the original superweapon, it is still powerful enough to render its wielder all but invincible and nullify most reality-distorting Noble Phantasms.
As a weapon produced by the Church, and originating from a Saint, the Axe has also obtained Holy properties, and can be considered a Saintly Relic. For this reason, it is able to overcome Jeanne d'Arc's Noble Phantasm, much the same as a Church Sacrament can bypass her Magic Resistance. Natsuki Subaru, being unaware of this, attributes it to the secular power of the Axe, but he's incorrect about this.
Incidentally, if summoned outside of France, this Noble Phantasm is reduced to a powerful Magic Resistance buff for Chlodovech and his allies.
Alternate Classes: Berserker, Ruler
True Name: Chlodovech (Clovis I)
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Armaments: Armor, Holy Shroud
Manifestation Cost: High->Overwhelming
Bio:
The First King of France, an apocryphal saint who restored order to the chaotic world following the demise of the Western Roman Empire. Ruthless yet generous, barbaric yet noble, Pagan yet Christian - a walking paradox who embodies the transformation of the Franks from irrelevant barbarians to the center of Medieval European Culture.
Naturally, having been summoned to France, his power in this work is completely overwhelming. Outside of Western Europe, his Parameters are all one or two ranks lower, and his [Fleur de Lys] is significantly weakened.
Parameters
Strength: A
Endurance: A
Agility: B
Mana: C
Luck: B
NP: EX
Class Skills:
Riding: D
Magic Resistance: D->B
In France, where Chlodovech is revered by some as an apocryphal Saint, his normally mediocre Magic Resistance receives a drastic boost.
Presence Concealment: E--
Acquired from an anecdote where Chlodovech slew a disobedient soldier while distracting the man by telling him his boot was unlaced. In other words, a form of Presence Concealment that only functions briefly while the target is already distracted.
Personal Skills:
Divinity: C
Chaotic Villain: A
Charisma: B
Noble Phantasms:
Fiend of the Northern Coast: Quinotaurus
Rank: E---
Type: Anti-Fortress
Range: 1-15
Maximum Number of Targets: 30
A Divine Beast attested to in the Chronicle of Fredegar, a child of Neptune that haunted the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic. According to legend, it assaulted the wife of the Frankish king Chlodio and sired Merovech, the Grandfather of Chlodovech.
-That being said, the Quinotaur is almost completely unknown in the modern day, and so it suffers a tremendous drop in the power that it ought to have as a Divine Beast, in truth only reaching about the level of a C-Rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.
…Even so, could mere obscurity result in such a drastic drop in effectiveness?
New Order, Bloom Amidst the Ashes: Fleur de Lys
Rank: E -> EX
Type: Anti-Army (Self) -> Anti-Divergence
Range: 1-40 -> -
Maximum Number of Targets: 100 -> -
The Axe of Chlodovech, gifted to him by Saint Remigius. Forged from the gauntlets of the Powered Armor [RESTITVTOR • ORBIS], one of the Seven Superweapons of Atlas, which was destroyed in the Third Century.
As a conceptual weapon, [RESTITVTOR • ORBIS] operated by enforcing the Common Sense of Man upon the Texture of the Planet in a feedback loop that forced all events to play out according to the status quo. "The Emperor cannot be defeated. Rome cannot fall." In such a way, that which the people took for granted was materialized and made irrefutable.
After the armor was destroyed, its fragments were recovered by the Roman State, and the portion still in possession of the Papacy in Chlodovech's time was forged into an axe for his use. While weaker than the original superweapon, it is still powerful enough to render its wielder all but invincible and nullify most reality-distorting Noble Phantasms.
As a weapon produced by the Church, and originating from a Saint, the Axe has also obtained Holy properties, and can be considered a Saintly Relic. For this reason, it is able to overcome Jeanne d'Arc's Noble Phantasm, much the same as a Church Sacrament can bypass her Magic Resistance. Natsuki Subaru, being unaware of this, attributes it to the secular power of the Axe, but he's incorrect about this.
Incidentally, if summoned outside of France, this Noble Phantasm is reduced to a powerful Magic Resistance buff for Chlodovech and his allies.
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Huh. Should have seen that coming.
Demon Pillar Mozart... Is not what I was expecting, though in hindsight, several comments he made that I just thought was him being shady make a bit more sense. And a demon Pillar, on the 'protagonist's side,' at least temporary? Not entirely unprecedented in fanfics, but very rare indeed.
Demon Pillar Mozart... Is not what I was expecting, though in hindsight, several comments he made that I just thought was him being shady make a bit more sense. And a demon Pillar, on the 'protagonist's side,' at least temporary? Not entirely unprecedented in fanfics, but very rare indeed.
62: Demon God Amdusias
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
62: Demon God Amdusias
Fire and brimstone fills the air at my command. Explosions and the screaming of dying wyverns set my ears ringing. With their shadow removed, the screams of Vlad III soon join them as he bursts into flame. Berserk Rider disengages as around the perimeter of the carriage wreck, purple columns of flame explode from the ground, arcing overhead and forming a barrier.
I can feel my flesh start to squirm, preparing for my transformation into a pillar - but I restrain it. My eyes have already started to change into the cross-slitted eyes of a Demon God, but I happen to have a mask on my person, just in case something like this should happen, and I put it on. Best not to worry anyone too much.
There's a brief pause, as my allies stare at me in a mix of disbelief and hostility - apart from Bael's insufferable vessel, who is just as unblinkingly amused as always. The only noise is the continuous outpouring of fire surrounding us.
"Well, how's that, Tchaikovsky?" I ask myself with a small chuckle. It's an awful joke. There's not a thing that's musical about this, not an ounce of beauty to be found. Not to mention, I, Amdusias, have now properly betrayed my King. To defy him, and save the Chaldeans, it really is completely discordant with my nature. "Well? Hurry to it, everyone. Maria, I understand that you're a bit in shock right now, but you need to use your Noble Phantasm. If Miss Kyrielight doesn't receive healing, she's going to die."
There's already nothing to be done about poor Jeanne, who is dematerializing as I speak. Everyone can see that pretty clearly.
With a moment's hesitation, Marie nods. "You're right. Thank you, Amadeus. [Guillotine Breaker]!"
"...You don't have to force yourself to smile." I note as her horse materializes, and then pause in thought. Odd, that feeling of melancholy just now. I'll have to use it in a piece at some point. "Once you've got her loaded onto your Noble Phantasm, I'll open a hole in this fire, and you can run."
"-Hang on." Natsuki Subaru interrupts me, hissing between clenched teeth. Naturally. As expected of the Master of Chaldea. "Don't think you can just push past this like it's nothing, you perfectly not normal musician! Amdusias - you said Amdusias just now, right? As in-!"
"-one of the seventy-two Demon Gods, Amdusias?" I ask, grinning at him. "Don't worry about it too much. I'm just a perfectly normal demon magus who plays magical music!"
"A-amadeus…" Marie starts to ask, but she falters. "Have you-?"
"-Been possessing him this whole time?" I ask. "It's not as simple as all that. If it was, you would have noticed it, Maria. The truth is, when it comes to the Demon Gods and their hosts… there's no real tangible difference between the personalities of the two. That was the King of Mages' design - that each of the Demons responsible for overseeing the Singularities would have perfect vessels. To that end, he shaped history, using his clairvoyance, starting three thousand years ago, to ensure the birth of one whose existence was indistinguishable from the Demon God Amdusias."
"...Come to think of it, Flauros said something along those lines as well." Subaru mutters.
"That's right. 'Amadeus Mozart was always possessed', 'Amadeus Mozart is still in complete control' - the truth could be anywhere between those possibilities, and it wouldn't really make a difference." I explain-
"-Except that's a load of crap." Subaru says." We were able to split Flauros from Lev. That's how we won, back in Fuyuki. There's definitely a difference between the two."
"Is that what happened? Hahaha! So much for the great and mighty Flauros! 'Amdusias is too much of a slacker' - that's what he was thinking, I bet, and now look at him! At least I'm failing on purpose!" I burst out laughing.
"Speaking of which, how are you able to do that?" Bael's vessel pipes up. "I mean, I was able to trick the Demon that tried to possess me because I was never meant to be his vessel in the first place - but to my understanding, the King of Mages had something in place to prevent defection."
-A shining smile, on a sunny day in the Austrian court.
"Well, I already sold my soul to Music, so Amdusias doesn't have any real control over my actions - something like that, I guess?" I laugh.
He's right about the prevention mechanism, though. Chaldea's own near-future lens, provided by Lev Lainur - I can feel it correcting my point of view as we speak.
"Hahaha! Is that so!? But a crappy excuse like that can't last forever, right?" Prelati says. "I'd say… you've got five minutes or so."
"Something like that." I chuckle. "So you had better get going while you can - Paris is terribly close now, and it would be pretty lame to give up so close to the goal."
"...And with Saint George's help, th- we can exorcise you!" Gareth pipes up.
I pretend I didn't hear her verbal slip-up. Just like I didn't hear her conversation on the roof of the carriage last night.
"That's right!" I lie to her as the wall of fire parts. "So hurry up! Being possessed really isn't any fun!"
Five minutes from now, Amdusias will return to the fold - but Amadeus will remain the same. And our body, which we shared for all of our life, will tear itself to ribbons because of our divergence from one another.
A soft hand is lowered, and grasps my hand - dirty and skinned from my fall - pulling me to my feet. The most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on asks me if I am alright.
Because I, Amadeus, will never, ever give up that which made me a real human being. Even if that means death.
But Maria wouldn't want to hear about something gross like that, so I'll spare her the details.
"Roger!" The lancer says, with a small salute. Hefting Prelati over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Gareth rockets out of the fiery barrier, staying just long enough to call out. "We'll be back soon!"
Marie lingers a moment longer, as Subaru clambers onto her horse, steadying the unconscious Mash on top of it. My first and only love pauses to look at me. "Amadeus… I'll definitely come save you, okay? So do your best to hang on until then."
"Yes, yes. Get moving, you silly girl! I'll be here later." I laugh, lying as easily as I breathe. "Ah, but first - take this with you, won't you? It's not finished yet, but maybe you'll run into some other composer who can finish the piece."
She takes the unfinished composition from my hand, and tucks it into Subaru's pack. With a satisfied nod, she pats the side of her horse, and the Chaldeans are gone, leaving a meadow of gleaming crystal flowers in their wake.
She'll save me, huh?
Stammering, star-struck, words tumble out of my mouth without regard for propriety, or even decency.
"Thank you, nice lady. My name is Amadeus." I blurt as she pulls me to my feet. "If a beautiful lady like you has no fiance yet, could I be the first one?"
"I sold my soul to music… that really was a stupid excuse for my divergence from the King's plan, wasn't it?" I chuckle a bit as the ring of fire recedes and I turn to properly face Jeanne Alter's forces. "But I can't stand cliches, so I'll leave the rest of the things about my soul and salvation unsaid, I think."
The purple curtain opens, and I brandish my baton at a motley assortment of lizards and madmen, far too uncultured to enjoy any of my work.
"-Well, you're still not the worst audience I've ever performed for." I laugh, as my form twists, the shape of a Demon Pillar finally bursting forth from under my skin.
Let the Concert begin.
***
-Get ahold of yourself, Natsuki Subaru.
It's an unreasonable demand to make of myself, I know. Everything is going to hell, and I don't have a single second to process any of it. Jeanne is dead. Mozart has become a Demon Pillar. And Mash is terribly wounded, so much so that even with Marie's Noble Phantasm healing her, I'm not sure she's going to pull through.
Can we still be victorious? If we reach Paris, and recruit Saint George, can we still win this singularity? It feels wrong. Everything about it feels wrong.
Is there really a possibility to defeat Dark Jeanne without the real Jeanne on our side?
Logically, I know it should be possible. But thousands of hours playing videogames and watching anime say it shouldn't. That the 'plot' of this story demands her presence at the final confrontation.
And haven't I learned before, that the destinies of Servants are bound up in the telling of stories?
Of course, there's another question - if Jeanne is dead, should I reset? Can I allow an ally to die for my victory?
She's a Servant. An expendable familiar. It doesn't matter if she sacrifices herself for our ultimate victory. Even if she survived to the end, she'd be likely to just return to the throne. Cu was a special case, the human arm grafted onto him keeping him anchored a bit longer. Anyone else is likely to just disappear before even getting back. So, it shouldn't matter if she stays dead. That's what Olga Marie would say. Hell, that's what Jeanne would say.
But can I say that? And if I can't, what should I do about it? Can I really die, for the sake of Jeanne d'Arc? Not merely throw my life away, but kill myself on purpose, to save her-?
-I don't have time to come to a conclusion. I don't even have time to turn my focus to the revelation about Mozart and process it. Because, before we can reach Paris, as we crest the last hill between us and the city, the last obstacle comes into view.
Standing in a field of half-rotted corpses and burned wheat, with a cannon gripped in his hand, the most dangerous enemy in the singularity has appeared.
He's facing away from us. I can make out a single crack in his armor, gleaming red - as an unrecognizable blackened heap in front of him dissolves into golden mist.
For a brief moment, I panic - but glancing around, I quickly spot Gareth standing just a bit down the hill. She may have left before Marie, but she didn't get too far away from us.
Which means that whoever was just killed, they must have come from Paris. An ally, sent to bail us out, maybe - I don't doubt that the wyvern swarm was visible from the city. But they were intercepted and killed. And all that there is to show for it is some damage to his armor. For all we know, it might have been Saint George. This whole trip might have been for nothing.
It could also have been someone else. It might be that it was just one of the unimportant Servants Prelati mentioned.
Of course, with how difficult this guy was to face last time… I doubt it's going to matter.
With a small grunt, the Black Knight discards his expended cannon, and turns to face us, visor glowing red.
"Aaaarrrrthuuuur…"
Fire and brimstone fills the air at my command. Explosions and the screaming of dying wyverns set my ears ringing. With their shadow removed, the screams of Vlad III soon join them as he bursts into flame. Berserk Rider disengages as around the perimeter of the carriage wreck, purple columns of flame explode from the ground, arcing overhead and forming a barrier.
I can feel my flesh start to squirm, preparing for my transformation into a pillar - but I restrain it. My eyes have already started to change into the cross-slitted eyes of a Demon God, but I happen to have a mask on my person, just in case something like this should happen, and I put it on. Best not to worry anyone too much.
There's a brief pause, as my allies stare at me in a mix of disbelief and hostility - apart from Bael's insufferable vessel, who is just as unblinkingly amused as always. The only noise is the continuous outpouring of fire surrounding us.
"Well, how's that, Tchaikovsky?" I ask myself with a small chuckle. It's an awful joke. There's not a thing that's musical about this, not an ounce of beauty to be found. Not to mention, I, Amdusias, have now properly betrayed my King. To defy him, and save the Chaldeans, it really is completely discordant with my nature. "Well? Hurry to it, everyone. Maria, I understand that you're a bit in shock right now, but you need to use your Noble Phantasm. If Miss Kyrielight doesn't receive healing, she's going to die."
There's already nothing to be done about poor Jeanne, who is dematerializing as I speak. Everyone can see that pretty clearly.
With a moment's hesitation, Marie nods. "You're right. Thank you, Amadeus. [Guillotine Breaker]!"
"...You don't have to force yourself to smile." I note as her horse materializes, and then pause in thought. Odd, that feeling of melancholy just now. I'll have to use it in a piece at some point. "Once you've got her loaded onto your Noble Phantasm, I'll open a hole in this fire, and you can run."
"-Hang on." Natsuki Subaru interrupts me, hissing between clenched teeth. Naturally. As expected of the Master of Chaldea. "Don't think you can just push past this like it's nothing, you perfectly not normal musician! Amdusias - you said Amdusias just now, right? As in-!"
"-one of the seventy-two Demon Gods, Amdusias?" I ask, grinning at him. "Don't worry about it too much. I'm just a perfectly normal demon magus who plays magical music!"
"A-amadeus…" Marie starts to ask, but she falters. "Have you-?"
"-Been possessing him this whole time?" I ask. "It's not as simple as all that. If it was, you would have noticed it, Maria. The truth is, when it comes to the Demon Gods and their hosts… there's no real tangible difference between the personalities of the two. That was the King of Mages' design - that each of the Demons responsible for overseeing the Singularities would have perfect vessels. To that end, he shaped history, using his clairvoyance, starting three thousand years ago, to ensure the birth of one whose existence was indistinguishable from the Demon God Amdusias."
"...Come to think of it, Flauros said something along those lines as well." Subaru mutters.
"That's right. 'Amadeus Mozart was always possessed', 'Amadeus Mozart is still in complete control' - the truth could be anywhere between those possibilities, and it wouldn't really make a difference." I explain-
"-Except that's a load of crap." Subaru says." We were able to split Flauros from Lev. That's how we won, back in Fuyuki. There's definitely a difference between the two."
"Is that what happened? Hahaha! So much for the great and mighty Flauros! 'Amdusias is too much of a slacker' - that's what he was thinking, I bet, and now look at him! At least I'm failing on purpose!" I burst out laughing.
"Speaking of which, how are you able to do that?" Bael's vessel pipes up. "I mean, I was able to trick the Demon that tried to possess me because I was never meant to be his vessel in the first place - but to my understanding, the King of Mages had something in place to prevent defection."
-A shining smile, on a sunny day in the Austrian court.
"Well, I already sold my soul to Music, so Amdusias doesn't have any real control over my actions - something like that, I guess?" I laugh.
He's right about the prevention mechanism, though. Chaldea's own near-future lens, provided by Lev Lainur - I can feel it correcting my point of view as we speak.
"Hahaha! Is that so!? But a crappy excuse like that can't last forever, right?" Prelati says. "I'd say… you've got five minutes or so."
"Something like that." I chuckle. "So you had better get going while you can - Paris is terribly close now, and it would be pretty lame to give up so close to the goal."
"...And with Saint George's help, th- we can exorcise you!" Gareth pipes up.
I pretend I didn't hear her verbal slip-up. Just like I didn't hear her conversation on the roof of the carriage last night.
"That's right!" I lie to her as the wall of fire parts. "So hurry up! Being possessed really isn't any fun!"
Five minutes from now, Amdusias will return to the fold - but Amadeus will remain the same. And our body, which we shared for all of our life, will tear itself to ribbons because of our divergence from one another.
A soft hand is lowered, and grasps my hand - dirty and skinned from my fall - pulling me to my feet. The most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on asks me if I am alright.
Because I, Amadeus, will never, ever give up that which made me a real human being. Even if that means death.
But Maria wouldn't want to hear about something gross like that, so I'll spare her the details.
"Roger!" The lancer says, with a small salute. Hefting Prelati over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Gareth rockets out of the fiery barrier, staying just long enough to call out. "We'll be back soon!"
Marie lingers a moment longer, as Subaru clambers onto her horse, steadying the unconscious Mash on top of it. My first and only love pauses to look at me. "Amadeus… I'll definitely come save you, okay? So do your best to hang on until then."
"Yes, yes. Get moving, you silly girl! I'll be here later." I laugh, lying as easily as I breathe. "Ah, but first - take this with you, won't you? It's not finished yet, but maybe you'll run into some other composer who can finish the piece."
She takes the unfinished composition from my hand, and tucks it into Subaru's pack. With a satisfied nod, she pats the side of her horse, and the Chaldeans are gone, leaving a meadow of gleaming crystal flowers in their wake.
She'll save me, huh?
Stammering, star-struck, words tumble out of my mouth without regard for propriety, or even decency.
"Thank you, nice lady. My name is Amadeus." I blurt as she pulls me to my feet. "If a beautiful lady like you has no fiance yet, could I be the first one?"
"I sold my soul to music… that really was a stupid excuse for my divergence from the King's plan, wasn't it?" I chuckle a bit as the ring of fire recedes and I turn to properly face Jeanne Alter's forces. "But I can't stand cliches, so I'll leave the rest of the things about my soul and salvation unsaid, I think."
The purple curtain opens, and I brandish my baton at a motley assortment of lizards and madmen, far too uncultured to enjoy any of my work.
"-Well, you're still not the worst audience I've ever performed for." I laugh, as my form twists, the shape of a Demon Pillar finally bursting forth from under my skin.
Let the Concert begin.
***
-Get ahold of yourself, Natsuki Subaru.
It's an unreasonable demand to make of myself, I know. Everything is going to hell, and I don't have a single second to process any of it. Jeanne is dead. Mozart has become a Demon Pillar. And Mash is terribly wounded, so much so that even with Marie's Noble Phantasm healing her, I'm not sure she's going to pull through.
Can we still be victorious? If we reach Paris, and recruit Saint George, can we still win this singularity? It feels wrong. Everything about it feels wrong.
Is there really a possibility to defeat Dark Jeanne without the real Jeanne on our side?
Logically, I know it should be possible. But thousands of hours playing videogames and watching anime say it shouldn't. That the 'plot' of this story demands her presence at the final confrontation.
And haven't I learned before, that the destinies of Servants are bound up in the telling of stories?
Of course, there's another question - if Jeanne is dead, should I reset? Can I allow an ally to die for my victory?
She's a Servant. An expendable familiar. It doesn't matter if she sacrifices herself for our ultimate victory. Even if she survived to the end, she'd be likely to just return to the throne. Cu was a special case, the human arm grafted onto him keeping him anchored a bit longer. Anyone else is likely to just disappear before even getting back. So, it shouldn't matter if she stays dead. That's what Olga Marie would say. Hell, that's what Jeanne would say.
But can I say that? And if I can't, what should I do about it? Can I really die, for the sake of Jeanne d'Arc? Not merely throw my life away, but kill myself on purpose, to save her-?
-I don't have time to come to a conclusion. I don't even have time to turn my focus to the revelation about Mozart and process it. Because, before we can reach Paris, as we crest the last hill between us and the city, the last obstacle comes into view.
Standing in a field of half-rotted corpses and burned wheat, with a cannon gripped in his hand, the most dangerous enemy in the singularity has appeared.
He's facing away from us. I can make out a single crack in his armor, gleaming red - as an unrecognizable blackened heap in front of him dissolves into golden mist.
For a brief moment, I panic - but glancing around, I quickly spot Gareth standing just a bit down the hill. She may have left before Marie, but she didn't get too far away from us.
Which means that whoever was just killed, they must have come from Paris. An ally, sent to bail us out, maybe - I don't doubt that the wyvern swarm was visible from the city. But they were intercepted and killed. And all that there is to show for it is some damage to his armor. For all we know, it might have been Saint George. This whole trip might have been for nothing.
It could also have been someone else. It might be that it was just one of the unimportant Servants Prelati mentioned.
Of course, with how difficult this guy was to face last time… I doubt it's going to matter.
With a small grunt, the Black Knight discards his expended cannon, and turns to face us, visor glowing red.
"Aaaarrrrthuuuur…"
I'm not allowed to have a consistent update schedule, so a rapid second update to prevent a consistent pattern of slow updates is required here and there.
TheEmpOfMankind
THE GREAT MANPEROR
- Location
- Golden Toilet On Terra
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Oh noooooooo. Hopefully Lancelot won't smash Subaru's face in
63: Gareth Beaumains
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
63: Gareth Beaumains
-Somehow, I knew this was going to happen.
I knew that it would come down to a battle between the Black Knight and me, in the end. That's just how it goes when you've got a low luck stat like mine.
As I deposit Prelati next to me, and Master and Queen Marie arrive behind us, my heart is pounding, my blood almost boiling in my veins. I can feel my knees start to shake, butterflies churning my stomach, and I haven't even gotten close to him yet-!
"So that's the Black Knight I've heard so much about, huh? What a menacing aura!" I say. My voice sounds far away from my own ears. Adrenaline courses through my body, and I feel like my bones might shake themselves apart.
He's an insurmountable obstacle. Every part of my spirit origin is screaming that death is the only possible result of facing him. Terror is coursing through me.
"Arrrthuuur…" he moans, slowly turning towards us, his helmet twitching.
I feel like I'm about to puke. The sensation of it is completely overwhelming. Any normal girl would turn tail and run.
But I am a rampaging wolf.
"Mash is down… Marie can't hurt him…" Subaru starts to say, but I don't have the patience to let him finish thinking.
"Master!" I shout, my lance hand twitching uncontrollably. "Please! Let me fight him! There's no way I can pass this up!"
I can barely hold myself back to hear his answer, I'm so excited. My cheeks hurt from how much I'm grinning. I haven't felt like this since my first joust.
"...You're really our only shot at this point." He starts to say, and before he can complete the thought, I charge. "Prelati, back her up! Marie, get [Guillotine Breaker] ready! Gareth, you just need to last that long-!"
"[Ira Lupus]!" I shout, surging forward with even more speed than I thought I was capable of.
In one motion, the Black Knight tears a belt loaded with muskets from his waist, and whips them through the air, all of them discharging, before he whips the whole assembly and hurls it at me.
"Not enough!" With ease, I repel every bullet. Sliding beneath the improvised bolas, I thrust upwards-
Berserker sidesteps, weaving out of the way of my attack like it's nothing, responding with a punch that I deflect before delivering a counterattack that he dodges, and counterattacks, and again, and again, and again-!
Amazing. This is amazing. I haven't felt this kind of battle high since my first match with Sir Lancelot!
("Prelati, what the hell are you doing!?" I hear Master roar in the distance.
"I'm trying! But none of my magecraft is affecting him- crap! That's it! That Luck stat of his, it's not just natural luck! He's got [Protection of the Fairies] as a personal skill! They won't let my spells do anything to him!")
My Noble Phantasm ends, and the ether cartridge in my gunlance is discharged. A smoke-wreathed fist flies towards my face-
It finds my shield instead, the metal denting under the strain. Batting his blow aside - is my strength parameter supposed to be this high? - the gunlance clicks as another ether cartridge is loaded, and the next second, I thrust into his exposed guard, lance awash with blue light-
-only for a leg sweep to knock me off balance, the attack barely scraping the side of his stomach. Clawed gauntlets grip my extended arm, and in one motion, he hurls me over his shoulder, slamming me back into the ground.
And causing me to lose grip on my lance.
In an instant, the stray weapon is snatched from the air, twirled around, and driven through my-
-("[Emergency Evade]!")
-stomach, as the speed boost barely allows me to dodge it going straight through my heart. I try to dematerialize the weapon, but it remains, impaling me to the ground, as black mana begins to coat the weapon's surface.
With his other hand, Berserker snatches a stray piece of timber from the ground, and swings it and my head.
"AAAAAARRRRR!!!!" He wails, head twitching violently.
I protect my face with my shield as blow after blow starts to rain down on my immobilized form. Slowly, the spiritual armament starts to crack, blue mana leaking from it.
"Not yet! I'm not… finished yet!" I grunt, trying to push back the blows.
For some reason, familiar words play through my head. The first thing I heard in this summoning, before I even fully manifested.
You have been summoned for a purpose. Do not hesitate to sacrifice yourself to achieve it. Fulfill your duty, and victory is assured.
It was obvious advice, I thought at the time. Something I would have done anyway. It was nice to know that it would have meaning, but when I really think about it, I wouldn't have hesitated to sacrifice myself in the first place.
But since I started this fight, something has been off. My body has been more responsive. Faster, stronger, than I'm used to. Not so much that I'd say my stats were ranked up, but it's noticeable anyways.
And now, the closer I get to death, the more I feel it building. Those words ring in my head, and I can feel my Spirit Origin pushing itself to the very edge of its limits.
"This is… [Tactician's Command]?" I realize, eyes widening.
I've heard of it before. A personal skill that allows a servant to give his allies a boost in performance merely by giving orders to them. It's meant to be used on a large army, but with sufficiently high rank, even a single servant can get benefits.
There are all kinds of questions to be raised. How did this mysterious tactician's voice reach me during my summoning? How did he predict that I'd need to sacrifice myself?
"-But most importantly… I can't afford to waste it! Take this!" I bat the next blow aside with my shield. But he's ready for it this time, letting go of the stick and catching my fist before it can connect.
That's just fine, though - the fist was just a distraction. I lunge upwards, tearing free from my lance impalement in a spray of blood. The damage is probably lethal, but that's what Battle Continuation is for!
The Black Knight tries to jump back, but he's too slow-!
Stars erupt in my vision as I smash my head against his chin with all of my might.
The Black Knight staggers backwards, but I don't give him any time to recover. I spring to my feet-!
"Take this!" My empty right fist is clenched, and as an [Emergency Reinforcement] from Master thrums through my muscles, I punch Berserker in the face with enough force that his helmet shatters.
But that's not enough, so I follow through - jabbing my thumb into his eye and sending him flying. Quickly, I pull the Gunlance from the dirt, and lunge forward-!
"I am a rampaging wolf! [Ira Lupus]!" The first strike connects while he's still in mid-air and severs his right leg at the knee. The second strike-
Is parried as a familiar sword materializes in his right hand. The black smoke vanishes. A familiar face, twisted in unrecognizing madness, stares straight through me. Beloved eyes, filled with madness and rage, track my movements expertly, as his sword glows-
"[Arondight]!"
A flash of blue mana bites off my lance arm. The gunlance flies wildly off course, the force of its blast crashing it into the ground some three meters away.
'I hope it's not damaged.' - an absurd thought flits through my mind, and then I snap back to reality.
{Dammit! Two minutes - just two more minutes until [Guillotine Breaker] is ready to be used offensively! Hang in there, Gareth-!} Master shouts telepathically. I know that's futile, though. There's no chance of me lasting thirty seconds against this person while missing an arm.
He's the strongest knight of the round table, after all-!
He launches forwards, propelled by his remaining leg, hurling [Arondight] in front of him as a projectile. My shield deflects it, but it's a distraction, and I know-
Familiar hands rest on my head in a strangely gentle way.
"Sir Lancelot-" I say as the pressure on the sides of my head builds.
I'm so glad that I got to see you again-!
Crunch.
-Somehow, I knew this was going to happen.
I knew that it would come down to a battle between the Black Knight and me, in the end. That's just how it goes when you've got a low luck stat like mine.
As I deposit Prelati next to me, and Master and Queen Marie arrive behind us, my heart is pounding, my blood almost boiling in my veins. I can feel my knees start to shake, butterflies churning my stomach, and I haven't even gotten close to him yet-!
"So that's the Black Knight I've heard so much about, huh? What a menacing aura!" I say. My voice sounds far away from my own ears. Adrenaline courses through my body, and I feel like my bones might shake themselves apart.
He's an insurmountable obstacle. Every part of my spirit origin is screaming that death is the only possible result of facing him. Terror is coursing through me.
"Arrrthuuur…" he moans, slowly turning towards us, his helmet twitching.
I feel like I'm about to puke. The sensation of it is completely overwhelming. Any normal girl would turn tail and run.
But I am a rampaging wolf.
"Mash is down… Marie can't hurt him…" Subaru starts to say, but I don't have the patience to let him finish thinking.
"Master!" I shout, my lance hand twitching uncontrollably. "Please! Let me fight him! There's no way I can pass this up!"
I can barely hold myself back to hear his answer, I'm so excited. My cheeks hurt from how much I'm grinning. I haven't felt like this since my first joust.
"...You're really our only shot at this point." He starts to say, and before he can complete the thought, I charge. "Prelati, back her up! Marie, get [Guillotine Breaker] ready! Gareth, you just need to last that long-!"
"[Ira Lupus]!" I shout, surging forward with even more speed than I thought I was capable of.
In one motion, the Black Knight tears a belt loaded with muskets from his waist, and whips them through the air, all of them discharging, before he whips the whole assembly and hurls it at me.
"Not enough!" With ease, I repel every bullet. Sliding beneath the improvised bolas, I thrust upwards-
Berserker sidesteps, weaving out of the way of my attack like it's nothing, responding with a punch that I deflect before delivering a counterattack that he dodges, and counterattacks, and again, and again, and again-!
Amazing. This is amazing. I haven't felt this kind of battle high since my first match with Sir Lancelot!
("Prelati, what the hell are you doing!?" I hear Master roar in the distance.
"I'm trying! But none of my magecraft is affecting him- crap! That's it! That Luck stat of his, it's not just natural luck! He's got [Protection of the Fairies] as a personal skill! They won't let my spells do anything to him!")
My Noble Phantasm ends, and the ether cartridge in my gunlance is discharged. A smoke-wreathed fist flies towards my face-
It finds my shield instead, the metal denting under the strain. Batting his blow aside - is my strength parameter supposed to be this high? - the gunlance clicks as another ether cartridge is loaded, and the next second, I thrust into his exposed guard, lance awash with blue light-
-only for a leg sweep to knock me off balance, the attack barely scraping the side of his stomach. Clawed gauntlets grip my extended arm, and in one motion, he hurls me over his shoulder, slamming me back into the ground.
And causing me to lose grip on my lance.
In an instant, the stray weapon is snatched from the air, twirled around, and driven through my-
-("[Emergency Evade]!")
-stomach, as the speed boost barely allows me to dodge it going straight through my heart. I try to dematerialize the weapon, but it remains, impaling me to the ground, as black mana begins to coat the weapon's surface.
With his other hand, Berserker snatches a stray piece of timber from the ground, and swings it and my head.
"AAAAAARRRRR!!!!" He wails, head twitching violently.
I protect my face with my shield as blow after blow starts to rain down on my immobilized form. Slowly, the spiritual armament starts to crack, blue mana leaking from it.
"Not yet! I'm not… finished yet!" I grunt, trying to push back the blows.
For some reason, familiar words play through my head. The first thing I heard in this summoning, before I even fully manifested.
You have been summoned for a purpose. Do not hesitate to sacrifice yourself to achieve it. Fulfill your duty, and victory is assured.
It was obvious advice, I thought at the time. Something I would have done anyway. It was nice to know that it would have meaning, but when I really think about it, I wouldn't have hesitated to sacrifice myself in the first place.
But since I started this fight, something has been off. My body has been more responsive. Faster, stronger, than I'm used to. Not so much that I'd say my stats were ranked up, but it's noticeable anyways.
And now, the closer I get to death, the more I feel it building. Those words ring in my head, and I can feel my Spirit Origin pushing itself to the very edge of its limits.
"This is… [Tactician's Command]?" I realize, eyes widening.
I've heard of it before. A personal skill that allows a servant to give his allies a boost in performance merely by giving orders to them. It's meant to be used on a large army, but with sufficiently high rank, even a single servant can get benefits.
There are all kinds of questions to be raised. How did this mysterious tactician's voice reach me during my summoning? How did he predict that I'd need to sacrifice myself?
"-But most importantly… I can't afford to waste it! Take this!" I bat the next blow aside with my shield. But he's ready for it this time, letting go of the stick and catching my fist before it can connect.
That's just fine, though - the fist was just a distraction. I lunge upwards, tearing free from my lance impalement in a spray of blood. The damage is probably lethal, but that's what Battle Continuation is for!
The Black Knight tries to jump back, but he's too slow-!
Stars erupt in my vision as I smash my head against his chin with all of my might.
The Black Knight staggers backwards, but I don't give him any time to recover. I spring to my feet-!
"Take this!" My empty right fist is clenched, and as an [Emergency Reinforcement] from Master thrums through my muscles, I punch Berserker in the face with enough force that his helmet shatters.
But that's not enough, so I follow through - jabbing my thumb into his eye and sending him flying. Quickly, I pull the Gunlance from the dirt, and lunge forward-!
"I am a rampaging wolf! [Ira Lupus]!" The first strike connects while he's still in mid-air and severs his right leg at the knee. The second strike-
Is parried as a familiar sword materializes in his right hand. The black smoke vanishes. A familiar face, twisted in unrecognizing madness, stares straight through me. Beloved eyes, filled with madness and rage, track my movements expertly, as his sword glows-
"[Arondight]!"
A flash of blue mana bites off my lance arm. The gunlance flies wildly off course, the force of its blast crashing it into the ground some three meters away.
'I hope it's not damaged.' - an absurd thought flits through my mind, and then I snap back to reality.
{Dammit! Two minutes - just two more minutes until [Guillotine Breaker] is ready to be used offensively! Hang in there, Gareth-!} Master shouts telepathically. I know that's futile, though. There's no chance of me lasting thirty seconds against this person while missing an arm.
He's the strongest knight of the round table, after all-!
He launches forwards, propelled by his remaining leg, hurling [Arondight] in front of him as a projectile. My shield deflects it, but it's a distraction, and I know-
Familiar hands rest on my head in a strangely gentle way.
"Sir Lancelot-" I say as the pressure on the sides of my head builds.
I'm so glad that I got to see you again-!
Crunch.
We'll see how long I can keep up this update pace, huh?
Also, RIP Gareth. She'll be back, probably.
Also, RIP Gareth. She'll be back, probably.
- Location
- Somewhere North of south
Well... I'd hope she'd come back given Mash and Jeanne are dead Subaru's chances of pulling through are slim to none.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Mash isn't dead; Marie's Noble Phantasm has a healing effect on it.
- Location
- Somewhere North of south
My apologies apparently I am illiterate.
64: Theater D
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
64: Theater D
There's not an ounce of hesitation from Lancelot as he crushes her head between his hands.
Even though they were comrades, even though Gareth held him in the highest regard - the strongest Knight of the Round Table follows through, killing her in the exact same tragic manner he had in life.
I already forgave Sir Lancelot. Even before I had been summoned, on the throne, I already decided to forgive him.
She said that, when it came up before. To be honest, at the time, I had thought it was kind of admirable.
But now…
Now, as Gareth's still faintly smiling face craves in under the force of his grip-
Now, as gray matter and chunks of skull squeeze out from between Lancelot's fingers-
Now, as her headless body crumples to the ground-
My vision swims. A surge of vomit pours out of my mouth. It's completely sickening - the utter lack of contrition, his willingness to not only kill her again, but to do it in the exact same manner-!
"Unforgivable! You're completely unforgivable, Lancelot-!" I roar as my heart thunders in my ears.
He turns, dull eyes focusing on us, still visible from behind his stringy, unwashed hair - and then, he bounds forward, scrambling on the ground animalistically with his three remaining limbs.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" He howls, spit flying out of his mouth. He gets closer. Twenty meters. Ten meters. Five meters.
Briefly I glance at Mash, still unconscious on the ground behind me. Out of the edges of my vision, I see Marie and Prelati tensing up - but it's useless, and we all know that. Marie is still around a minute and a half away from having enough mana to use [Guillotine Breaker] offensively, and none of Prelati's spells are having any effect on Lancelot.
I take a step forwards. "[Invisible Providence]." I'm going to die. I know that.
But if I can punch Lancelot right in his shitty face as he kills me, I'll feel a bit better about it.
The distance closes. His sword is swung-
-A burst of motion from behind me-
-and the blade crashes against Mash's shield.
"Gaaah! Raaah!" The berserker roars in a vaguely confused manner, smashing his sword a second time against the shield - but as his weapon crashes against hers for the second time, her boot connects with his chin, sending him reeling backwards into an awkward three-limbed landing. "Haaaaagh-!"
"-Ninety seconds, right?" The words exit Mash's lips in an almost slurred manner, her voice barely audible. Her limbs are shaking, and her face is ashen pale from blood loss - and looking at the still damp redness covering her torso and arms, I can't even tell whether the bleeding has stopped. But her eyes are filled with a solemn determination that looks completely alien on her usually shy face. "If it's just that long - I'll hold this idiot off."
Wordlessly, I nod, and Invisible Providence retreats into my body as I activate a different authority in its place. "[Cor Leonis]." I'm all but bowled over by searing pain, a feeling like my insides have been scrambled and my bones are about to break.
"ARRRGGH!" Lancelot blurs into motion once more, and a rapid flurry of blows is exchanged. I feel my bones creaking, and my middle finger shatters as Mash disengages the fight once more with a right hook from behind her shield.
"I'll heal-!" I start, but she cuts me off.
"Don't. If you're going to cast something, give me that gravity spell. This next attack is going to decide it." She mutters, and to my dismay I see Lancelot's sword begin to glow blue as he rights himself. "While you're at it, switch that ridiculous pain sharing ability of yours off. If I can't keep track of how much I'm pushing her body, this girl is going to die."
'This girl'!?
"Y-you're-!" I stammer as Cor Leonis falters and a hundred thoughts and questions flash through my mind.
Lancelot howls, bounding forward using only his leg and his left arm, with his right arm holding his glowing weapon aloft. "[Aron-"
"Now, Master!" Roars Mash - no, Galahad - as she(?) lunges forwards to meet him.
"[Vita]!" Barely, I manage to cast my last available spell from my mystic code before she reaches him.
"-diiiiiight]!!!" Lancelot howls, swinging the sword down, a wave of mana cascading out of it-
Only for the pommel to meet Galahad's shield not five centimeters into the downswing, as the shielder performs a sliding kick, shield raised over her head.
There's an audible sound of bone cracking as the berserker tries to complete the swing of his weapon - but unfazed by the damage, Galahad hicks him in the chest with both feet, knocking him backwards and sending the rest of the beam from his sword in the opposite direction intended.
With a howl, Lancelot flips through the air to land in the same animalistic pose as before, now around fifteen meters away from me. Galahad, meanwhile, rises unsteadily to her feet.
"Gaaaa…Laaa…Haaaaad!" the Berserker twitches feverishly - but then, his attention switches - locked on Marie as sparkles begin to fill the air around her.
"That's far enough, Sir Lancelot - it's over! [Guillotine-!" Marie says as her gemstone horse manifests once more.
It's over. Lancelot is missing a leg, and just used his Noble Phantasm. He's already expended all of his ranged attacks. The sky is clear, no allies are coming to save him. Even his bullshit Luck Stat and Protection of the Fairies can't deflect an A-ranked Anti-Army Noble Phantasm! And so, Marie starts to charge-!
"[Dolorous…" The Black Knight plunges his clawed gauntlets into the soil, corruption spreading across the ground.
"I won't let you-!" Galahad shouts, charging him, her shield spinning downwards in an attack-
"-Breaker]!" Marie finishes, as her crystal steed-
"-Gaaaaard]!" impacts a steel wall as it erupts from the ground. Behind the Lancelot, and in front of him, around twelve meters away on each side, two jagged rectangles of steel emerge from the ground.
Galahad aborts her attack, attempting to leap away, but black chains explode out of the ground, arresting her movement. She gives a single glance at me, and then calls out- "Go!"
And then the steel jaws snap shut around her and Lancelot, completing the image of a black iron castle with no doors or windows, just outside the city gate of Paris.
…
For a moment, I can't say anything. I stagger forward and lay a hand on the cold metal.
"You've got to be kidding me." I mutter, voice cracking. I find my fist hammering against the Fortress's side impotently, the skin on my knuckles. "You've got to be fucking kidding me! We were so- we were so close!"
"Jeez, to think he'd have a Fortress-type Noble Phantasm in his back pocket too…" Prelati shakes his head as he approaches me. "That's fame bonus for you I guess! What a shame!"
My fury boils over, my vision going red. Enough. That's fucking enough, out of this piece of shit-!
"-Come to think of it, you got a Fortress-type from being summoned to this country too, right Marie?" The alchemist says, just before I start to reach to strangle him. "Bet that would have helped keeping Jeanne, Mozart, Gareth, and Mash alive. How come you didn't use it, huh?"
Something white hot lances through my brain. I turn, unblinkingly towards the Queen of France. The Queen of France most renowned for airheadedness, for saying 'let them eat cake' when told her peasants were starving.
She flinches under my gaze. "That's… I don't have-"
"Did you forget, by chance?" The Alchemist needles.
"No! I just didn't have enough mana to use both [Crystal Palace] and- " She protests.
It makes sense. It's a perfectly rational reason. Anti Army and Fortress Noble Phantasms are both incredibly mana intensive. It's a completely sensible defense.
Which is why I instantly regret my next sentence.
"That sure as hell didn't stop him!" I blurt out, gesturing at [Dolorous Gard]. "And so much for the A-Rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, huh!?"
The second criticism is also out of place. It's normal for an Anti-Army attack to not breach a Fortress. That's what Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms like Excalibur are for. It's completely out of line for me to expect a Queen with no combat experience in life to have anything on that level.
Her eyes fill with tears "I'm sorry! I know, I'm useless, I was useless, I'm sorry-!"
I'm filled with remorse instantly. I want to apologize. I was completely in the wrong, needlessly cruel, lashing out - but no such reconciliation can ever occur.
"[Phantom Maiden]."
Because, in the next instant, Marie shoves me back - and then, just as with Mash, the metal jaws of a death trap swallow her whole.
She screams. Marie Antoinette screams for an impossible amount of time. The Iron Maiden floats away from me in slow motion, as I reach a hand out, completely numb, and Marie is still screaming. A form materializes below the maiden as blood oozes from the cracks in its doors, cruel laughter on her lips, and Marie is still screaming.
Her hair has changed color to a vibrant pink, draconic horns have sprouted from her skull, and a black tail is swishing in the air behind her - but from her figure and dress, Berserk Assassin, Carmilla, is unmistakable.
She says something, but I can't hear it over the sound of Marie's screams and my boiling blood, and I lunge for her, blinded by rage.
"[Grand Illusion]!"
***
-Before I can reach Carmilla, the world dissolves into mist, and I feel a vague pain in my left wrist.
I can't move. I can't move a single muscle. Something is hot and wet on my wrist, but I can't look at it, because I can't move.
Slowly, Francois Prelati loops around from behind me, to come into the view of my frozen sight. "Hey now, you can't die just yet, Subaru. We've still got a little prep work to do. You don't mind my confiscating this for a bit, do you?" He gives a cheeky grin, and waves a severed hand with three expended command spells at me.
Didn't he say he wouldn't be able to create another illusion for hours after the last one!? And yet- Oh.
Duh.
This is the part where he betrays me.
***
Noble Phantasm Revealed!
Accursed Black Castle of No Return: Dolorous Gard
Rank: B--
Type: Fortress
Range: 30
Maximum Number of Targets: 2-22 (One Enemy, Lancelot, and up to Twenty Allies)
The Bleak Fortress which Lancelot conquered and purified at the start of his career, now turned to darkness once more by his madness. Allows Lancelot to ensnare an enemy within, and force them to fight him and up to twenty allies.
However, there are several caveats to the Fortress's use. First, [For Someone's Glory] must have already been dispelled. Second, once the ensnared foe is defeated, [Dolorous Gard]'s door will open, and the fortress can be entered by another lone enemy. Third, if [Dolorous Gard] is destroyed, Lancelot will also die. Finally, neither Lancelot nor his allies can leave [Dolorous Gard] unless his Mad Enhancement is dispelled by some means, or he is killed.
This Noble Phantasm is only available to Berserker Lancelot when summoned in France or Britain.
There's not an ounce of hesitation from Lancelot as he crushes her head between his hands.
Even though they were comrades, even though Gareth held him in the highest regard - the strongest Knight of the Round Table follows through, killing her in the exact same tragic manner he had in life.
I already forgave Sir Lancelot. Even before I had been summoned, on the throne, I already decided to forgive him.
She said that, when it came up before. To be honest, at the time, I had thought it was kind of admirable.
But now…
Now, as Gareth's still faintly smiling face craves in under the force of his grip-
Now, as gray matter and chunks of skull squeeze out from between Lancelot's fingers-
Now, as her headless body crumples to the ground-
My vision swims. A surge of vomit pours out of my mouth. It's completely sickening - the utter lack of contrition, his willingness to not only kill her again, but to do it in the exact same manner-!
"Unforgivable! You're completely unforgivable, Lancelot-!" I roar as my heart thunders in my ears.
He turns, dull eyes focusing on us, still visible from behind his stringy, unwashed hair - and then, he bounds forward, scrambling on the ground animalistically with his three remaining limbs.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" He howls, spit flying out of his mouth. He gets closer. Twenty meters. Ten meters. Five meters.
Briefly I glance at Mash, still unconscious on the ground behind me. Out of the edges of my vision, I see Marie and Prelati tensing up - but it's useless, and we all know that. Marie is still around a minute and a half away from having enough mana to use [Guillotine Breaker] offensively, and none of Prelati's spells are having any effect on Lancelot.
I take a step forwards. "[Invisible Providence]." I'm going to die. I know that.
But if I can punch Lancelot right in his shitty face as he kills me, I'll feel a bit better about it.
The distance closes. His sword is swung-
-A burst of motion from behind me-
-and the blade crashes against Mash's shield.
"Gaaah! Raaah!" The berserker roars in a vaguely confused manner, smashing his sword a second time against the shield - but as his weapon crashes against hers for the second time, her boot connects with his chin, sending him reeling backwards into an awkward three-limbed landing. "Haaaaagh-!"
"-Ninety seconds, right?" The words exit Mash's lips in an almost slurred manner, her voice barely audible. Her limbs are shaking, and her face is ashen pale from blood loss - and looking at the still damp redness covering her torso and arms, I can't even tell whether the bleeding has stopped. But her eyes are filled with a solemn determination that looks completely alien on her usually shy face. "If it's just that long - I'll hold this idiot off."
Wordlessly, I nod, and Invisible Providence retreats into my body as I activate a different authority in its place. "[Cor Leonis]." I'm all but bowled over by searing pain, a feeling like my insides have been scrambled and my bones are about to break.
"ARRRGGH!" Lancelot blurs into motion once more, and a rapid flurry of blows is exchanged. I feel my bones creaking, and my middle finger shatters as Mash disengages the fight once more with a right hook from behind her shield.
"I'll heal-!" I start, but she cuts me off.
"Don't. If you're going to cast something, give me that gravity spell. This next attack is going to decide it." She mutters, and to my dismay I see Lancelot's sword begin to glow blue as he rights himself. "While you're at it, switch that ridiculous pain sharing ability of yours off. If I can't keep track of how much I'm pushing her body, this girl is going to die."
'This girl'!?
"Y-you're-!" I stammer as Cor Leonis falters and a hundred thoughts and questions flash through my mind.
Lancelot howls, bounding forward using only his leg and his left arm, with his right arm holding his glowing weapon aloft. "[Aron-"
"Now, Master!" Roars Mash - no, Galahad - as she(?) lunges forwards to meet him.
"[Vita]!" Barely, I manage to cast my last available spell from my mystic code before she reaches him.
"-diiiiiight]!!!" Lancelot howls, swinging the sword down, a wave of mana cascading out of it-
Only for the pommel to meet Galahad's shield not five centimeters into the downswing, as the shielder performs a sliding kick, shield raised over her head.
There's an audible sound of bone cracking as the berserker tries to complete the swing of his weapon - but unfazed by the damage, Galahad hicks him in the chest with both feet, knocking him backwards and sending the rest of the beam from his sword in the opposite direction intended.
With a howl, Lancelot flips through the air to land in the same animalistic pose as before, now around fifteen meters away from me. Galahad, meanwhile, rises unsteadily to her feet.
"Gaaaa…Laaa…Haaaaad!" the Berserker twitches feverishly - but then, his attention switches - locked on Marie as sparkles begin to fill the air around her.
"That's far enough, Sir Lancelot - it's over! [Guillotine-!" Marie says as her gemstone horse manifests once more.
It's over. Lancelot is missing a leg, and just used his Noble Phantasm. He's already expended all of his ranged attacks. The sky is clear, no allies are coming to save him. Even his bullshit Luck Stat and Protection of the Fairies can't deflect an A-ranked Anti-Army Noble Phantasm! And so, Marie starts to charge-!
"[Dolorous…" The Black Knight plunges his clawed gauntlets into the soil, corruption spreading across the ground.
"I won't let you-!" Galahad shouts, charging him, her shield spinning downwards in an attack-
"-Breaker]!" Marie finishes, as her crystal steed-
"-Gaaaaard]!" impacts a steel wall as it erupts from the ground. Behind the Lancelot, and in front of him, around twelve meters away on each side, two jagged rectangles of steel emerge from the ground.
Galahad aborts her attack, attempting to leap away, but black chains explode out of the ground, arresting her movement. She gives a single glance at me, and then calls out- "Go!"
And then the steel jaws snap shut around her and Lancelot, completing the image of a black iron castle with no doors or windows, just outside the city gate of Paris.
…
For a moment, I can't say anything. I stagger forward and lay a hand on the cold metal.
"You've got to be kidding me." I mutter, voice cracking. I find my fist hammering against the Fortress's side impotently, the skin on my knuckles. "You've got to be fucking kidding me! We were so- we were so close!"
"Jeez, to think he'd have a Fortress-type Noble Phantasm in his back pocket too…" Prelati shakes his head as he approaches me. "That's fame bonus for you I guess! What a shame!"
My fury boils over, my vision going red. Enough. That's fucking enough, out of this piece of shit-!
"-Come to think of it, you got a Fortress-type from being summoned to this country too, right Marie?" The alchemist says, just before I start to reach to strangle him. "Bet that would have helped keeping Jeanne, Mozart, Gareth, and Mash alive. How come you didn't use it, huh?"
Something white hot lances through my brain. I turn, unblinkingly towards the Queen of France. The Queen of France most renowned for airheadedness, for saying 'let them eat cake' when told her peasants were starving.
She flinches under my gaze. "That's… I don't have-"
"Did you forget, by chance?" The Alchemist needles.
"No! I just didn't have enough mana to use both [Crystal Palace] and- " She protests.
It makes sense. It's a perfectly rational reason. Anti Army and Fortress Noble Phantasms are both incredibly mana intensive. It's a completely sensible defense.
Which is why I instantly regret my next sentence.
"That sure as hell didn't stop him!" I blurt out, gesturing at [Dolorous Gard]. "And so much for the A-Rank Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, huh!?"
The second criticism is also out of place. It's normal for an Anti-Army attack to not breach a Fortress. That's what Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms like Excalibur are for. It's completely out of line for me to expect a Queen with no combat experience in life to have anything on that level.
Her eyes fill with tears "I'm sorry! I know, I'm useless, I was useless, I'm sorry-!"
I'm filled with remorse instantly. I want to apologize. I was completely in the wrong, needlessly cruel, lashing out - but no such reconciliation can ever occur.
"[Phantom Maiden]."
Because, in the next instant, Marie shoves me back - and then, just as with Mash, the metal jaws of a death trap swallow her whole.
She screams. Marie Antoinette screams for an impossible amount of time. The Iron Maiden floats away from me in slow motion, as I reach a hand out, completely numb, and Marie is still screaming. A form materializes below the maiden as blood oozes from the cracks in its doors, cruel laughter on her lips, and Marie is still screaming.
Her hair has changed color to a vibrant pink, draconic horns have sprouted from her skull, and a black tail is swishing in the air behind her - but from her figure and dress, Berserk Assassin, Carmilla, is unmistakable.
She says something, but I can't hear it over the sound of Marie's screams and my boiling blood, and I lunge for her, blinded by rage.
"[Grand Illusion]!"
***
-Before I can reach Carmilla, the world dissolves into mist, and I feel a vague pain in my left wrist.
I can't move. I can't move a single muscle. Something is hot and wet on my wrist, but I can't look at it, because I can't move.
Slowly, Francois Prelati loops around from behind me, to come into the view of my frozen sight. "Hey now, you can't die just yet, Subaru. We've still got a little prep work to do. You don't mind my confiscating this for a bit, do you?" He gives a cheeky grin, and waves a severed hand with three expended command spells at me.
Didn't he say he wouldn't be able to create another illusion for hours after the last one!? And yet- Oh.
Duh.
This is the part where he betrays me.
***
Noble Phantasm Revealed!
Accursed Black Castle of No Return: Dolorous Gard
Rank: B--
Type: Fortress
Range: 30
Maximum Number of Targets: 2-22 (One Enemy, Lancelot, and up to Twenty Allies)
The Bleak Fortress which Lancelot conquered and purified at the start of his career, now turned to darkness once more by his madness. Allows Lancelot to ensnare an enemy within, and force them to fight him and up to twenty allies.
However, there are several caveats to the Fortress's use. First, [For Someone's Glory] must have already been dispelled. Second, once the ensnared foe is defeated, [Dolorous Gard]'s door will open, and the fortress can be entered by another lone enemy. Third, if [Dolorous Gard] is destroyed, Lancelot will also die. Finally, neither Lancelot nor his allies can leave [Dolorous Gard] unless his Mad Enhancement is dispelled by some means, or he is killed.
This Noble Phantasm is only available to Berserker Lancelot when summoned in France or Britain.
Chapter title is from the Re:Zero insert song by Myth&Roid. I don't actually think it quite measures up to that moment in the show, so maybe I should change it... but I wanna post the chapter now, not spend an hour making up a new title for it
The next chapter is, of course, titled "Sudden but inevitable".
The next chapter is, of course, titled "Sudden but inevitable".
The sudden but expected yet inevitable betrayal of Pretali
matureraven
Self-Requested Ban
I think next loop suberu should use them to kill one of the enemies then use one of his command seals to get them killed
They cant betray you if you betray them first
They cant betray you if you betray them first
- Location
- Oregon, USA
Is it actually a betrayal though?
He said they needed prep work, and he's already clued in on RbD. Additionally, he said he was borrowing the command spells, and I'm inclined to believe him here.
He said they needed prep work, and he's already clued in on RbD. Additionally, he said he was borrowing the command spells, and I'm inclined to believe him here.
I guess it's the Prelati version of helping, where he technically gets you where you want to go but makes you wish you died on the way.
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Power of Friendship (Evil), right? It's helpful, but you feel worse for doing it. And if you keep listening to it, you find yourself atop a pile of corpses in a sewer under Fuyuki, transforming yourself into the core of an incarnation of an outer god.
- Location
- Oregon, USA
More like, he gets you where you want to go, but by the time you get there, it's likely a completely different goal than the one you started with.
65: Sudden but Inevitable
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
65: Sudden but Inevitable
"Hey now, don't look at me like that!" Prelati laughs, drawing closer to my frozen body. "I know what it looks like, but this isn't a betrayal! I'm still your ally. Really, I mean it!"
His words are completely disingenuous, but it's not like this kind of thing is a surprise. I knew from the start that he was going to betray me at some point - really, it's a mercy that he waited this long.
"This is me helping you - I know it's not the type of help you want, but I promise, it's for your own good or something like that!" He continues unconvincingly.
I'm already done with this loop. Marie, Jeanne, Mozart, and Gareth are dead, and Mash is locked in single combat with Lancelot with a broken arm and severe blood loss - in other words, she's dead too.
"You still look unconvinced, so I'll explain - It has to do with the nature of our enemy. Not Dark Jeanne, but the one pulling her strings, the King of the Demon God Pillars - hey, pay attention!"
This loop is a dead end. I got some good information, but it's time to pull the plug. With a nauseating feeling, I call up [Invisible Providence] and reach for my brainstem-
And find nothing. The hand grasps empty air.
"Woah, you actually went for it, huh? Absolutely no hesitation! As expected of Natsuki Subaru!" The Alchemist's voice cuts through my confusion like a razor. "Sorry for distorting your senses like that, but like I said - I can't let you kill yourself just yet! We need to prepare, after all. For your next loop, I mean."
Ice cold hands grip my gut as his words sink in. My skin crawls, and my heart thunders in my ears with an intensity that has me flashing back to fucking Sirius.
He knows.
And yet, Satella does not appear. No penalty is given. No pitch black shadow swallows him or me to end the loop.
"That's right, I know eeevery~thing!" Prelati says in a singsong voice, poking my paralyzed nose in a playful manner. "And the Witch won't be showing up to save you, because I blinded her with my illusion magecraft a few days ago."
He pauses expectantly for a moment, and then chuckles. "You know, you can still talk to me with Telepathy. I can't let you move your mouth because you might bite your tongue, but this won't be any fun if you don't scream a bit."
…{How the hell did you-} I start.
"Find out? That's such a boring question, Subaru - to be honest, you ought to know the answer to this one. Didn't anyone tell you yet? Servants and Masters can view each other's past, in their dreams. Of course, your Witch was blocking people up until you contracted me, but like I said, she can't really see anything that's happening to you right now. Long range observation on that level is suuuuper simple to scramble. And not to boast, but I'm pretty good at navigating dreams." He explains. "You could say you're an open book for me. Like Meili Portroute, right?"
…So that's how it is. I was wondering what exactly he was getting out of our contract - I knew it couldn't just be the magical energy. But it totally figures that he'd form a contract just to find some trauma to push my buttons with.
{..You really are an irredeemable piece of shit, huh?} I sigh internally.
"Ahaha, if you say so!" He laughs. "But that can't be your only question. There's another important question, right? What you should be asking isn't 'how', it's 'what'! So go on, ask! Ask away!"
I know. I was trying to avoid it, because I know I'm going to hate the answer. {'What are you going to do to me now'? That's the line you're feeding me, right?}
"Hey, you should at least try to be excited. This is part of my big plan to save humanity after all, so-" he pauses, glancing to the side. "-ah, seriously? What a pain. Sorry, Subaru, we've got to relocate a bit. One of my familiars just spotted that Chlodovech guy, so we can't just use this illusion anymore."
With a snap of his fingers, the misty world melts away-
***
-and I find myself being dragged through darkness, across rough stone, a cloud of chalky dust filling the air.
"By the way, did you know? Most of the stone used to build Paris actually came from quarries beneath the city. It's actually gotten to the point now that some of them are interconnected, and it's just a big underground maze." Prelati says. "If you've heard of the Paris Catacombs, these tunnels are going to become them a few hundred years from now, and serve as part of the inspiration for a certain famous Opera Ghost! Anyway, I guess that means you're going to be getting one of the first picks at a spot, Subaru! First mover advantage, I guess you'd call it."
{So you're going to kill me after all, huh?} I grumble telepathically. {Then get it over with already. Why drag it out by running from Chlodovech?}
"Ah, sorry." He lets go of me and my head cracks against the dusty tunnel floor. "This is far enough, so I guess I should explain!"
My left eye goes a bit darker, and a few instants later, pain ignites as warm wetness dribbles down my cheek. I scream internally.
"There's the scream I was looking for!~" The boy claps. "See, the thing is, just killing you is no good - I need it to be excruciating, for the plan to work. Sorry about that, but it really can't be helped."
He stomps on my still bleeding wrist, grinding the stump into the jagged dusty stone beneath me.
"So here's the thing. The King of Demon Gods, our enemy - he told you his motive, right? Or rather, Flauros did. Yadda yadda, humanity suffers too much, so we're gonna mercy kill them." Prelati gives a derisive laugh. "How boooring! What a boring reason to wipe out humanity, don't you think? Just killing you guys out of pity, in a painless manner? Where's the flair, where's the drama!? How is anyone supposed to get catharsis from that?"
{So that's your objection, you- aaahhh! Gaaah!} I start to quip, but pain quickly blots that out as he drives his knife into my thigh.
"-Anyway, I just had to oppose him after that. Not only was he going after my beloved humans, he was doing it in such a hubristic way." He continues as if nothing happened. "So I had two choices, right? To maximize the drama of it, I mean. There's the cliche route, for humanity to rise above, to prove themselves noble, to demonstrate that they did not need his pity."
{Aaah…a-and the other one?} I ask as he literally twists the knife inside my wound.
"Well, it's the opposite obviously - 'humanity is something far too vile to deserve your pity' - that's the kind of refutation I'm planning to give him!" Prelati chuckles. "So here's the gist, right? He's doing all this because he can't bear to watch. He can't bear to sit back and watch humanity suffer, so he has to blot it out. That's the heart of pity, after all - it's not some variant of love. When you pity someone, you just want them to stop suffering where you can see."
I scream internally again as he starts to break my fingers one by one.
"But here's the issue - the King of Demon Gods can see everything. He sees all, past, present, and future. So he has to destroy humanity - just to put the ugliness out of sight. And that seems to have fixed it, from his point of view. Sure, there are still seven singularities, but if he plugs his ears and closes his eyes, he can pretend they don't exist long enough for them to go away. And so, he can conveniently ignore it. He can ignore all the misery he's causing."
I don't understand. I don't understand. He's just spouting nonsense. There's no justification. Not a single way in which this has anything to do with-!
"And so, we'll make him look, you and I." Prelati whispers in my ear, and the whole horrible picture starts to slot into place.
"At first, I was just going to make the singularities as bad as possible. To utilize their unique status to create atrocities far beyond anything he had seen in the timeline before he started down this path. But then [Return by Death] came into my life!" He straddles my body, panting heavily, and I feel sick. "It's simply amazing! It's amazing, Subaru - with that ability, I can create misery without limit! Together, you and I - we'll do it! We'll create a monument to sin, create a human icon of Hell itself! An abyss so deep that a mere glance at your personal history will plunge him into despair!"
"We'll gouge out his all-seeing eye together, because we're best friends~!" He pauses for just a moment. "So, what do you think of that plan?"
{Like hell I'll -gaaaAAH! Aaah! AAAH!} I protest, and he starts dragging the knife upward, along my leg. Slowly, jerking or jiggling it occasionally as it gets caught on pits of bone and flesh.
"That's too bad. But it's fine! I'll just use Plan B - I'll torture you almost all the way to death, and then erase your memory with hypnosis, so that you don't remember this loop when you go back! And I'll keep doing that! Forever and ever, until something breaks - but by that time, I'm sure it'll be good enough!"
He laughs, and I scream. "Scream more! Cry out more! It doesn't matter if I'm the only one who hears them, because that's just what it means to be in love right-!?"
***
"There, and there! Ah, whoops, looks like you're getting close." He concludes, who knows how long later. "Okay, time to erase your memory. I know you've only got one eye left, but look carefully, okay?"
{H-how many…} It's an idle curiosity. A question borne of nothing but despair, the answer of which won't matter. I have no way to overcome his plan. From all my experience, Satella can't fix erased memories. She probably won't even know they've been erased, the way he's got it set up. But still, I have to know.
"Wow, you can still think straight, huh? As expected of Natsuki Subaru." The demon wearing a child's skin laughs. "The truth is, I don't know! I have no way of telling how many times we've done this! This might even be the thousandth time I've killed you in this exact manner!"
{Y-you…} I have no words. There's no escape. Not even Prelati has an off ramp. I'm just going to suffer the same exact fate, forever.
Ahahaha! That's right! We'll continue for as long as it takes for you to luck out - not that I expect that to happen for a few thousand loops! By that time, you'll be a perfect work of art! A portrait of Hell, a sculpture of Atrocity, a symphony of-gkk!"
Something shifts in the darkness. Prelati's weight is pulled off of me. For a brief moment, I see what looks like the face of a ghost in the darkness of the tunnels. Prelati tugs at a rope wrapped around his neck as he's dragged into the grasp of clawed crimson fingers.
Salvation comes in the form of a madman in an opera mask.
"You speak of music, with a hideous voice like yours! Any art produced would certainly be a sight of gore!" The new arrival hisses out to a vague tune. Something red glints in the darkness, and then-
I hear the telltale sound of a Servant dispersing.
"And now, for you - but what is this? From the lands above, a marvel left unfinished!" He sings, snatching something- the sound of paper rushing through the air. "Ah, Christine, my Christine-!"
Mozart's sheet music, I realize dully as my consciousness fades.
"-The Angel of Music shall accept this offering." He mutters, just before I lose consciousness.
***
Dim sunlight warms my skin - and then, I'm unceremoniously dumped on the streets of Paris. For a brief instant, I see the swirl of a black cloak as my unexpected savior vanishes into the tunnel behind me.
I wake up in agony. The fingers of my right hand are broken, and the less said about the state of my right hand, the better. There are wounds all over my body oozing blood and yet-
There's a soothing sensation, where the Holy Shroud Jeanne gave me touches my skin.
Even now, I can see the worst of my injuries sealing.
But it's not enough. A winged shape descends towards me. A lone wyvern, which somehow slipped past whatever is defending this city.
(Rapid footfalls ring out on the cobbled street to my right.)
The wyvern closes the distance, drooling jaws open-
But before it can reach me, the impossible occurs. A familiar weapon bats the winged lizard out of the air. I can't call it anything other than a miracle. Because, in spite of everything, in spite of all logic, and all my expectations-
Mash Kyrielight arrives just in time to defend me.
"Hey now, don't look at me like that!" Prelati laughs, drawing closer to my frozen body. "I know what it looks like, but this isn't a betrayal! I'm still your ally. Really, I mean it!"
His words are completely disingenuous, but it's not like this kind of thing is a surprise. I knew from the start that he was going to betray me at some point - really, it's a mercy that he waited this long.
"This is me helping you - I know it's not the type of help you want, but I promise, it's for your own good or something like that!" He continues unconvincingly.
I'm already done with this loop. Marie, Jeanne, Mozart, and Gareth are dead, and Mash is locked in single combat with Lancelot with a broken arm and severe blood loss - in other words, she's dead too.
"You still look unconvinced, so I'll explain - It has to do with the nature of our enemy. Not Dark Jeanne, but the one pulling her strings, the King of the Demon God Pillars - hey, pay attention!"
This loop is a dead end. I got some good information, but it's time to pull the plug. With a nauseating feeling, I call up [Invisible Providence] and reach for my brainstem-
And find nothing. The hand grasps empty air.
"Woah, you actually went for it, huh? Absolutely no hesitation! As expected of Natsuki Subaru!" The Alchemist's voice cuts through my confusion like a razor. "Sorry for distorting your senses like that, but like I said - I can't let you kill yourself just yet! We need to prepare, after all. For your next loop, I mean."
Ice cold hands grip my gut as his words sink in. My skin crawls, and my heart thunders in my ears with an intensity that has me flashing back to fucking Sirius.
He knows.
And yet, Satella does not appear. No penalty is given. No pitch black shadow swallows him or me to end the loop.
"That's right, I know eeevery~thing!" Prelati says in a singsong voice, poking my paralyzed nose in a playful manner. "And the Witch won't be showing up to save you, because I blinded her with my illusion magecraft a few days ago."
He pauses expectantly for a moment, and then chuckles. "You know, you can still talk to me with Telepathy. I can't let you move your mouth because you might bite your tongue, but this won't be any fun if you don't scream a bit."
…{How the hell did you-} I start.
"Find out? That's such a boring question, Subaru - to be honest, you ought to know the answer to this one. Didn't anyone tell you yet? Servants and Masters can view each other's past, in their dreams. Of course, your Witch was blocking people up until you contracted me, but like I said, she can't really see anything that's happening to you right now. Long range observation on that level is suuuuper simple to scramble. And not to boast, but I'm pretty good at navigating dreams." He explains. "You could say you're an open book for me. Like Meili Portroute, right?"
…So that's how it is. I was wondering what exactly he was getting out of our contract - I knew it couldn't just be the magical energy. But it totally figures that he'd form a contract just to find some trauma to push my buttons with.
{..You really are an irredeemable piece of shit, huh?} I sigh internally.
"Ahaha, if you say so!" He laughs. "But that can't be your only question. There's another important question, right? What you should be asking isn't 'how', it's 'what'! So go on, ask! Ask away!"
I know. I was trying to avoid it, because I know I'm going to hate the answer. {'What are you going to do to me now'? That's the line you're feeding me, right?}
"Hey, you should at least try to be excited. This is part of my big plan to save humanity after all, so-" he pauses, glancing to the side. "-ah, seriously? What a pain. Sorry, Subaru, we've got to relocate a bit. One of my familiars just spotted that Chlodovech guy, so we can't just use this illusion anymore."
With a snap of his fingers, the misty world melts away-
***
-and I find myself being dragged through darkness, across rough stone, a cloud of chalky dust filling the air.
"By the way, did you know? Most of the stone used to build Paris actually came from quarries beneath the city. It's actually gotten to the point now that some of them are interconnected, and it's just a big underground maze." Prelati says. "If you've heard of the Paris Catacombs, these tunnels are going to become them a few hundred years from now, and serve as part of the inspiration for a certain famous Opera Ghost! Anyway, I guess that means you're going to be getting one of the first picks at a spot, Subaru! First mover advantage, I guess you'd call it."
{So you're going to kill me after all, huh?} I grumble telepathically. {Then get it over with already. Why drag it out by running from Chlodovech?}
"Ah, sorry." He lets go of me and my head cracks against the dusty tunnel floor. "This is far enough, so I guess I should explain!"
My left eye goes a bit darker, and a few instants later, pain ignites as warm wetness dribbles down my cheek. I scream internally.
"There's the scream I was looking for!~" The boy claps. "See, the thing is, just killing you is no good - I need it to be excruciating, for the plan to work. Sorry about that, but it really can't be helped."
He stomps on my still bleeding wrist, grinding the stump into the jagged dusty stone beneath me.
"So here's the thing. The King of Demon Gods, our enemy - he told you his motive, right? Or rather, Flauros did. Yadda yadda, humanity suffers too much, so we're gonna mercy kill them." Prelati gives a derisive laugh. "How boooring! What a boring reason to wipe out humanity, don't you think? Just killing you guys out of pity, in a painless manner? Where's the flair, where's the drama!? How is anyone supposed to get catharsis from that?"
{So that's your objection, you- aaahhh! Gaaah!} I start to quip, but pain quickly blots that out as he drives his knife into my thigh.
"-Anyway, I just had to oppose him after that. Not only was he going after my beloved humans, he was doing it in such a hubristic way." He continues as if nothing happened. "So I had two choices, right? To maximize the drama of it, I mean. There's the cliche route, for humanity to rise above, to prove themselves noble, to demonstrate that they did not need his pity."
{Aaah…a-and the other one?} I ask as he literally twists the knife inside my wound.
"Well, it's the opposite obviously - 'humanity is something far too vile to deserve your pity' - that's the kind of refutation I'm planning to give him!" Prelati chuckles. "So here's the gist, right? He's doing all this because he can't bear to watch. He can't bear to sit back and watch humanity suffer, so he has to blot it out. That's the heart of pity, after all - it's not some variant of love. When you pity someone, you just want them to stop suffering where you can see."
I scream internally again as he starts to break my fingers one by one.
"But here's the issue - the King of Demon Gods can see everything. He sees all, past, present, and future. So he has to destroy humanity - just to put the ugliness out of sight. And that seems to have fixed it, from his point of view. Sure, there are still seven singularities, but if he plugs his ears and closes his eyes, he can pretend they don't exist long enough for them to go away. And so, he can conveniently ignore it. He can ignore all the misery he's causing."
I don't understand. I don't understand. He's just spouting nonsense. There's no justification. Not a single way in which this has anything to do with-!
"And so, we'll make him look, you and I." Prelati whispers in my ear, and the whole horrible picture starts to slot into place.
"At first, I was just going to make the singularities as bad as possible. To utilize their unique status to create atrocities far beyond anything he had seen in the timeline before he started down this path. But then [Return by Death] came into my life!" He straddles my body, panting heavily, and I feel sick. "It's simply amazing! It's amazing, Subaru - with that ability, I can create misery without limit! Together, you and I - we'll do it! We'll create a monument to sin, create a human icon of Hell itself! An abyss so deep that a mere glance at your personal history will plunge him into despair!"
"We'll gouge out his all-seeing eye together, because we're best friends~!" He pauses for just a moment. "So, what do you think of that plan?"
{Like hell I'll -gaaaAAH! Aaah! AAAH!} I protest, and he starts dragging the knife upward, along my leg. Slowly, jerking or jiggling it occasionally as it gets caught on pits of bone and flesh.
"That's too bad. But it's fine! I'll just use Plan B - I'll torture you almost all the way to death, and then erase your memory with hypnosis, so that you don't remember this loop when you go back! And I'll keep doing that! Forever and ever, until something breaks - but by that time, I'm sure it'll be good enough!"
He laughs, and I scream. "Scream more! Cry out more! It doesn't matter if I'm the only one who hears them, because that's just what it means to be in love right-!?"
***
"There, and there! Ah, whoops, looks like you're getting close." He concludes, who knows how long later. "Okay, time to erase your memory. I know you've only got one eye left, but look carefully, okay?"
{H-how many…} It's an idle curiosity. A question borne of nothing but despair, the answer of which won't matter. I have no way to overcome his plan. From all my experience, Satella can't fix erased memories. She probably won't even know they've been erased, the way he's got it set up. But still, I have to know.
"Wow, you can still think straight, huh? As expected of Natsuki Subaru." The demon wearing a child's skin laughs. "The truth is, I don't know! I have no way of telling how many times we've done this! This might even be the thousandth time I've killed you in this exact manner!"
{Y-you…} I have no words. There's no escape. Not even Prelati has an off ramp. I'm just going to suffer the same exact fate, forever.
Ahahaha! That's right! We'll continue for as long as it takes for you to luck out - not that I expect that to happen for a few thousand loops! By that time, you'll be a perfect work of art! A portrait of Hell, a sculpture of Atrocity, a symphony of-gkk!"
Something shifts in the darkness. Prelati's weight is pulled off of me. For a brief moment, I see what looks like the face of a ghost in the darkness of the tunnels. Prelati tugs at a rope wrapped around his neck as he's dragged into the grasp of clawed crimson fingers.
Salvation comes in the form of a madman in an opera mask.
"You speak of music, with a hideous voice like yours! Any art produced would certainly be a sight of gore!" The new arrival hisses out to a vague tune. Something red glints in the darkness, and then-
I hear the telltale sound of a Servant dispersing.
"And now, for you - but what is this? From the lands above, a marvel left unfinished!" He sings, snatching something- the sound of paper rushing through the air. "Ah, Christine, my Christine-!"
Mozart's sheet music, I realize dully as my consciousness fades.
"-The Angel of Music shall accept this offering." He mutters, just before I lose consciousness.
***
Dim sunlight warms my skin - and then, I'm unceremoniously dumped on the streets of Paris. For a brief instant, I see the swirl of a black cloak as my unexpected savior vanishes into the tunnel behind me.
I wake up in agony. The fingers of my right hand are broken, and the less said about the state of my right hand, the better. There are wounds all over my body oozing blood and yet-
There's a soothing sensation, where the Holy Shroud Jeanne gave me touches my skin.
Even now, I can see the worst of my injuries sealing.
But it's not enough. A winged shape descends towards me. A lone wyvern, which somehow slipped past whatever is defending this city.
(Rapid footfalls ring out on the cobbled street to my right.)
The wyvern closes the distance, drooling jaws open-
But before it can reach me, the impossible occurs. A familiar weapon bats the winged lizard out of the air. I can't call it anything other than a miracle. Because, in spite of everything, in spite of all logic, and all my expectations-
Mash Kyrielight arrives just in time to defend me.
Well, that was a chapter.
Phantom might be a bit of a deus ex machina, but oh well!~
That's what Prelati gets for killing people on his turf.
Phantom might be a bit of a deus ex machina, but oh well!~
That's what Prelati gets for killing people on his turf.
Ahhh
Pretali have gone Flowey/Asriel Dreemur
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER style
Pretali have gone Flowey/Asriel Dreemur
BEST FRIENDS FOREVER style
- Location
- Oregon, USA
…so, how many times DID it loop?
Can't have been too many. After all, the flaw of Prelati's plan is that time weakens memory naturally, and so his memory of events prior to this loop would eventually be almost none.
Can't have been too many. After all, the flaw of Prelati's plan is that time weakens memory naturally, and so his memory of events prior to this loop would eventually be almost none.