Save Scumming? It's on my Character sheet. (Re: Zero/Fate Grand Order)
- Thread starter Xorn
- Start date
- Crossover
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
Oh no, Cu's master will die of mana exhaustion in the one place where he auto revives...
No seriously, ths irony is Subaru staying where he is and just running away from his alter self means Cu can go all out for as long as he wants.
thenew
#1 Masters of the Bazaar Fan
- Location
- My Lodgings
I mean, how is that going to work? If he dies of mana exhaustion, does returning reset them? Should it? Or is it like if he was buried alive, and every regeneration just means he suffocates again immediately? Could Cu just exhaust or even damage the mana generators in Chaldea?
- Location
- Earth: Universe Meta - 1
Other parts of him are restored when he returns. Why should this be different? However, that's entirely up to the author.
- Location
- Somewhere North of south
BERSERKERBOWL! SUPER-HERAKLES VS WEAKENED CUZERKER! PlACE YOUR BETS!
(Personally I think that super-Herc still has this but Weakened CuZerker should by time)
(Personally I think that super-Herc still has this but Weakened CuZerker should by time)
124: The Difference Between You and Me
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
124: The Difference Between You and Me
(Tentatively recommended music. Thematically appropriate, but it doesn't sync perfectly to story beats.)
***
"Because I hate you."
Those words pierce me with the same mercilessness as the blade that spills my guts onto the mud-streaked ground of Alter Ego's Reality Marble.
-Diplomacy is impossible. I should have realized that from the start. Was I ever the type of guy to take an "I'm better than you" speech with a smile? Even if it was true?
Of course not. That's why I fought Julius, after all. For all that I've been humbled, for all that I tell myself that I've learned my lesson - the jealous asshole that I was that day is still a part of me. If I ran into a version of me who managed to save Rem from Ley back then, who was having some lovey-dovey romantic comedy life with her and Emilia, and my only option was to take his place or disappear…
But right now, that's not my circumstance.
So for all that I pity him, for all that I can understand his position-
Because everyone is waiting for me. Because I can't count on this moron to help them, not really. Because his ridiculous possession scheme is dubious at best.
Because, despite everything, even if the result is imperfect, even though suffering and despair may well be inevitable, I don't want to die.
-I need to fight.
I'm reborn, and again he closes the gap with incredible speed, his strange claw-like blade flashing through the air.
"[Minya]!" I shout, and the crystals dig into his flesh as his blade finds my throat. He shatters. I choke and die.
The mud rises to our ankles, and he lunges again. I reinforce my muscles and match his first attack this time, my own weapons catching his as I counter with my [Invisible Providence] -
He lets go of the weapons, slicing through the unseen hand with a dagger that follows through to lodge itself in my heart, even as my blades come down on his head.
As we die, I realize that my third command spell, the one I spent in a vain attempt to buy time for diplomacy, is back on my hand - in other words, my whole body gets reset?
"[EMT]!" I activate my magic-cancelling spell, but it does nothing to disrupt the Reality Marble - it's more permanent than Prelati's fraudulent one, I guess. A swipe from Barusu's right weapon removes my head.
"[EMM]!" I activate my absolute defense spell again. "Aren't you being unreasonable!?"
"Shut up. Do you really think buying time will help? I've seen how this fight plays out. Even with you there, the only one who could have taken down Alcides was Nobunaga," Barusu says. "You can give up on that whole 'tear Odin out of his Spirit Origin' plan, too. The second Leyline you went to was a fake that Circe created to hide the real one on her island."
…Seriously, just how thorough is this guy? "Do you really need to 100% everything!? I'm pretty sure we weren't even the type to catch every Pokemon, so why are you acting like some kind of hardcore completionist now!?"
"That's why you'll lose. If you hadn't taken shortcuts, if you had gone back to recruit every Servant you encountered, you might not have been in this situation," He says, a spiteful grin clear on his face.
"You're just jealous that I haven't died since the Minotaur attack!" I say, sticking my tongue out.
"Y-you… just how half-assed are you!?" He screams.
My spell ends, sooner than expected, and I double over as nausea overwhelms me. Mana exhaustion!? Just what-
My skull is split by a cruel blade, and I'm released from my sickness.
Should I just summon someone with the Command Spell? The mud is already up to our knees, though, and the only Servant who could kill Alter Ego in here-
(His blade is buried deep into my chest.)
-is Benkei, but since he was a Grand Servant I couldn't form a direct contract with him-
(He slices my head off.)
-Nobunaga could have at least flown above the mud, but she's…
He dashes into range again, but pauses before he swings. "...Why aren't you fighting back?"
Ah, I guess I'm not, am I? "...Will it stop you, if I do?"
I die.
"Of course not," He says.
"I guess not fighting back won't stop you either, though." I say, and I die.
"Naturally," my counterpart answers.
"In that case, I'll just ignore you and try to figure out a way out of this," I say.
It's a total bluff. Of course I won't be able to think of anything worth a damn if he keeps killing me. Even now, it's not like I'm used to the feeling of death. I'm just saying it to wind him up.
"None!" With a shout, he cuts me down again. "There is none! This is checkmate, dammit!" He kills me. "I get it!" He tackles me and I struggle to raise my head above the mud, to breathe, breathe - "I know I'm an idiot! I'm a moron who can't get anything right, even after a billion tries! But even I-!" He plunges his blade into my chest, and whips his anguished face towards my new body as it forms.
"Even I won't screw up when it's my last chance to see everyone again!" He shouts as tears start to fall from his eyes.
…Goddammit.
He staggers to his feet and walks sullenly towards me.
I close my eyes. Don't look at me like that.
I hear a splash in front of me as he falls to his knees in front of me, and I look up, towards the still dripping hole in reality above me, anywhere but at the guy himself.
"...Please," He mumbles at last. "Just one more chance. I just want… one more chance, dammit."
Shit, shit, shit.
Why?
Why did he have to finally be honest?
If he hadn't done this… I'm sure I could have fought it out to the bitter end. But instead.
"...Shit, you got me," I finally say, and he looks at me in shock. "What the hell are you doing on the ground? It's checkmate, right? S-stand proud, you fucking asshole."
"You… are you serious?" He mutters, eyes scanning me for any sign of deception.
"Ye-yeah. This is… as far as a I fucking go. Sh-shit…" I choke out through tears. "I can't get out of this. You win, fair and square."
"...Liar. Liar! I was just about to finally break down, so why-!" He screams.
"I t-told you, right?" I stammer through my tears. "Th-that's the difference. Between you and me."
"..."
"I, I told you, right?" Finally, I choke back the waterworks, forcing a wide smile onto my face. "'Natsuki Subaru' - is also someone I want to save."
He stands up. With gritted teeth, and guilty eyes pouring tears that can't even look at me straight, the other me rises to his feet.
"Th-then, I'm going to do it," He mutters. "I'll really… take your place."
"Yeah. But, before that-" There's one more thing. One last thing I need to do, if I'm going to save this moron. Because, as he is now, he's doomed to go astray and ruin everything - but there's a way to prevent that. "-[Sure Kill Trident]."
A spell, embedded in my Mystic Code, that I had no use for up to this point. I had regretted swapping out the water-walking spell for it many times up to this point. But now-
With certain accuracy, my blade shatters the Pyroxene crystal hanging around his neck, the container for the Witch of Greed that led him to this point.
-In this moment, I'm truly grateful.
"...Ah." My counterpart's eyes widen - and then, with no warning, he drops to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, as the Reality Marble collapses.
***
…He's not waking up.
No matter how much I poke and prod, how much I shout at him, Barusu simply stares into space with blank eyes, totally unresponsive.
"...I was resolved to help you, and this is what you give me!?" I finally shout, kicking him. Was Echidna's destruction the trigger to defeat him? That's stupid!
But… if I'm loose now, I don't have to give up. I can return, I can stop Nobunaga from being killed - I can even… yeah, I can find a better way to save this guy, that doesn't mean I need to disappear.
"...I'm not abandoning you. I promise. I will, definitely, save you."
I crush my own heart with Invisible Providence, my eyes trained on the vacant, tear-stained eyes of 'Natsuki Subaru' to the very end. There's a vague pulling sensation, and then-
(Tentatively recommended music. Thematically appropriate, but it doesn't sync perfectly to story beats.)
***
"Because I hate you."
Those words pierce me with the same mercilessness as the blade that spills my guts onto the mud-streaked ground of Alter Ego's Reality Marble.
-Diplomacy is impossible. I should have realized that from the start. Was I ever the type of guy to take an "I'm better than you" speech with a smile? Even if it was true?
Of course not. That's why I fought Julius, after all. For all that I've been humbled, for all that I tell myself that I've learned my lesson - the jealous asshole that I was that day is still a part of me. If I ran into a version of me who managed to save Rem from Ley back then, who was having some lovey-dovey romantic comedy life with her and Emilia, and my only option was to take his place or disappear…
But right now, that's not my circumstance.
So for all that I pity him, for all that I can understand his position-
Because everyone is waiting for me. Because I can't count on this moron to help them, not really. Because his ridiculous possession scheme is dubious at best.
Because, despite everything, even if the result is imperfect, even though suffering and despair may well be inevitable, I don't want to die.
-I need to fight.
I'm reborn, and again he closes the gap with incredible speed, his strange claw-like blade flashing through the air.
"[Minya]!" I shout, and the crystals dig into his flesh as his blade finds my throat. He shatters. I choke and die.
The mud rises to our ankles, and he lunges again. I reinforce my muscles and match his first attack this time, my own weapons catching his as I counter with my [Invisible Providence] -
He lets go of the weapons, slicing through the unseen hand with a dagger that follows through to lodge itself in my heart, even as my blades come down on his head.
As we die, I realize that my third command spell, the one I spent in a vain attempt to buy time for diplomacy, is back on my hand - in other words, my whole body gets reset?
"[EMT]!" I activate my magic-cancelling spell, but it does nothing to disrupt the Reality Marble - it's more permanent than Prelati's fraudulent one, I guess. A swipe from Barusu's right weapon removes my head.
"[EMM]!" I activate my absolute defense spell again. "Aren't you being unreasonable!?"
"Shut up. Do you really think buying time will help? I've seen how this fight plays out. Even with you there, the only one who could have taken down Alcides was Nobunaga," Barusu says. "You can give up on that whole 'tear Odin out of his Spirit Origin' plan, too. The second Leyline you went to was a fake that Circe created to hide the real one on her island."
…Seriously, just how thorough is this guy? "Do you really need to 100% everything!? I'm pretty sure we weren't even the type to catch every Pokemon, so why are you acting like some kind of hardcore completionist now!?"
"That's why you'll lose. If you hadn't taken shortcuts, if you had gone back to recruit every Servant you encountered, you might not have been in this situation," He says, a spiteful grin clear on his face.
"You're just jealous that I haven't died since the Minotaur attack!" I say, sticking my tongue out.
"Y-you… just how half-assed are you!?" He screams.
My spell ends, sooner than expected, and I double over as nausea overwhelms me. Mana exhaustion!? Just what-
My skull is split by a cruel blade, and I'm released from my sickness.
Should I just summon someone with the Command Spell? The mud is already up to our knees, though, and the only Servant who could kill Alter Ego in here-
(His blade is buried deep into my chest.)
-is Benkei, but since he was a Grand Servant I couldn't form a direct contract with him-
(He slices my head off.)
-Nobunaga could have at least flown above the mud, but she's…
He dashes into range again, but pauses before he swings. "...Why aren't you fighting back?"
Ah, I guess I'm not, am I? "...Will it stop you, if I do?"
I die.
"Of course not," He says.
"I guess not fighting back won't stop you either, though." I say, and I die.
"Naturally," my counterpart answers.
"In that case, I'll just ignore you and try to figure out a way out of this," I say.
It's a total bluff. Of course I won't be able to think of anything worth a damn if he keeps killing me. Even now, it's not like I'm used to the feeling of death. I'm just saying it to wind him up.
"None!" With a shout, he cuts me down again. "There is none! This is checkmate, dammit!" He kills me. "I get it!" He tackles me and I struggle to raise my head above the mud, to breathe, breathe - "I know I'm an idiot! I'm a moron who can't get anything right, even after a billion tries! But even I-!" He plunges his blade into my chest, and whips his anguished face towards my new body as it forms.
"Even I won't screw up when it's my last chance to see everyone again!" He shouts as tears start to fall from his eyes.
…Goddammit.
He staggers to his feet and walks sullenly towards me.
I close my eyes. Don't look at me like that.
I hear a splash in front of me as he falls to his knees in front of me, and I look up, towards the still dripping hole in reality above me, anywhere but at the guy himself.
"...Please," He mumbles at last. "Just one more chance. I just want… one more chance, dammit."
Shit, shit, shit.
Why?
Why did he have to finally be honest?
If he hadn't done this… I'm sure I could have fought it out to the bitter end. But instead.
"...Shit, you got me," I finally say, and he looks at me in shock. "What the hell are you doing on the ground? It's checkmate, right? S-stand proud, you fucking asshole."
"You… are you serious?" He mutters, eyes scanning me for any sign of deception.
"Ye-yeah. This is… as far as a I fucking go. Sh-shit…" I choke out through tears. "I can't get out of this. You win, fair and square."
"...Liar. Liar! I was just about to finally break down, so why-!" He screams.
"I t-told you, right?" I stammer through my tears. "Th-that's the difference. Between you and me."
"..."
"I, I told you, right?" Finally, I choke back the waterworks, forcing a wide smile onto my face. "'Natsuki Subaru' - is also someone I want to save."
He stands up. With gritted teeth, and guilty eyes pouring tears that can't even look at me straight, the other me rises to his feet.
"Th-then, I'm going to do it," He mutters. "I'll really… take your place."
"Yeah. But, before that-" There's one more thing. One last thing I need to do, if I'm going to save this moron. Because, as he is now, he's doomed to go astray and ruin everything - but there's a way to prevent that. "-[Sure Kill Trident]."
A spell, embedded in my Mystic Code, that I had no use for up to this point. I had regretted swapping out the water-walking spell for it many times up to this point. But now-
With certain accuracy, my blade shatters the Pyroxene crystal hanging around his neck, the container for the Witch of Greed that led him to this point.
-In this moment, I'm truly grateful.
"...Ah." My counterpart's eyes widen - and then, with no warning, he drops to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, as the Reality Marble collapses.
***
…He's not waking up.
No matter how much I poke and prod, how much I shout at him, Barusu simply stares into space with blank eyes, totally unresponsive.
"...I was resolved to help you, and this is what you give me!?" I finally shout, kicking him. Was Echidna's destruction the trigger to defeat him? That's stupid!
But… if I'm loose now, I don't have to give up. I can return, I can stop Nobunaga from being killed - I can even… yeah, I can find a better way to save this guy, that doesn't mean I need to disappear.
"...I'm not abandoning you. I promise. I will, definitely, save you."
I crush my own heart with Invisible Providence, my eyes trained on the vacant, tear-stained eyes of 'Natsuki Subaru' to the very end. There's a vague pulling sensation, and then-
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- Location
- Somewhere North of south
Yes! Save Medea!
I wonder if Greedbaru will stick around after? I imagine he'd cause the future singularities to become too easy?
I wonder if Greedbaru will stick around after? I imagine he'd cause the future singularities to become too easy?
125: Clawing our way up to Zero
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
125: Clawing our way up to Zero
Alter Ego
"Well? What do you want to do about this?" Echidna asks.
"...Huh?" I ask.
Somehow, I've found myself at the witch's tea party again. Usually I have to enter on purpose, but there is a provision in our contract that allows her to call me in during an emergency. But I can't really understand the emergency. After all, that guy…
"Come to think of it…" I look away, gritting my teeth. "Do we have to do it this way? I know… up until now I've been dead set on this possession plan, but…"
…The truth is, I hadn't considered a peaceful option. This whole time, I had worked under the assumption that a fight between us was inevitable. I know what kind of lonely, hideous monster I am.
But I didn't account for him.
I've been going on and on about replacing him up to this point, but…
I can't do that. Obviously I can't. There's no possible way for me to measure up. I can try a million times and I'll just mess up and ruin it again.
No, exactly because I'll try a million times, I'll ruin everything. The friendship and trust that Stede has given me, the love and affection that Medea has given me… just how many millions of times have I thrown those feelings away at this point?
Did I tell Medea I loved her, this time around?
"Hello?"
Probably not. Those feelings… already faded more than ten thousand loops ago. Since then, I've just been going through the motions. For the sake of the countless iterations of her that I did love, who I erased with my own hands.
"Hellooooo? Are you just going to ignore me!?"
Finally, I notice the Witch shaking my shoulders. "Sorry, I was lost in thought."
"Goodness… you really need to pay better attention. You can't just ignore a cute, beautiful girl when she's right in front of you. Especially not in such a dangerous moment as this!" Echidna huffs. "Especially not to think about someone else! Can't you at least hold me tightly now of all times?"
"...My bad," I say, sighing. "So? What's the big problem, exactly?"
"Wow!? Isn't that just cruel? Or- don't tell me, you really didn't notice?" Her face shifts to total shock. "I understand it was an emotional moment, but that doesn't excuse you failing to even realize that he broke my crystal just now!"
"...Oh." Ain't that bad!?
"Yes, 'oh'! So with that in mind, I've slowed down our perception of time a bit, but you really need to decide what we're going to do quickly, before Satella locks this in." She says. "Luckily we're not that short on options - the easiest is, you can just kill yourself before I finish disappearing. The normal you wouldn't be able to, but the extra speed you got from Angra Mainyu can manage it."
Why!? Why the hell would he do this? Was all that sympathy, were all those tears, just an act?
"Secondly, we've got the option of just directly absorbing me into your Spirit Origin," The Witch continues. "Well, if we do that, I don't know whether the 'Echidna' inside you would end up being me or the original Witch of Greed, and that might also stand a chance of turning you into a woman or something strange like that. I understand you've crossdressed once or twice in the past, but I don't believe your hobby extends quite that far, so as interesting as it would be, that option seems a little risky."
Doesn't he understand that without Echidna, I-
"Third and finally, we still have my preferred option. I mentioned it before, but the ability of the Demon Pillars to propagate endlessly should be enough to allow you to create a whole new body for me using Zepar's existence as a model. I understand that there's the risk that he could try to possess me, but I really think that isn't as big of an issue as you believe. Any branches off of the Zepar within you should be just as mentally broken as yours, and furthermore I believe even if I did receive a fully intact Demon Pillar I would be more than capable of breaking their will on my own. I understand that there's also the issue of the Witch of Envy, but if she does come after us for this, we can just default back to Plan A. Really, there aren't any risks to speak of, and the benefits are countless. I know you've turned down my offers of physical companionship in the past, but if I had a real body I'm certain it would be considerably better. And, of course, when you need to Return by Death I can assist you with it, no questions asked. In fact, if we set it up correctly, we can probably even make it so that I actually remember previous loops, since I would become 'Zepar' and Zepar is 'Natsuki Subaru'. Really, I might even be able to Return by Death myself, which would give us an unspeakably huge advantage. If there is a limit on Return by Death that sent us here, then by doing this we would essentially produce an entire extra set of lives so that we could better perfect solutions - actually, come to think of it, there's nothing saying we need to stop at creating one copy of me, so if we create enough we would essentially have infinite lives. By that point, you wouldn't even be required to die anymore and you could just live happily ever after while I solve everything for you. Ah, if you're at all worried, please don't, there's no way I could get rid of you, since at the end of the day Return by Death would still only work because of you. I wouldn't abandon you, in fact considering that I could make so many copies of myself, I could even model some to your preference, and you could simply get rid of them when you got bored, since they would all be me anyway. You wouldn't have to feel guilty like you do about Rem, Emilia, Beatricem, or Medea - not that I'm implying you fell out of love with Rem, you've been curiously persistent in that attachment - but as for the others, the fact is that you couldn't maintain your relationship with any of them over so many loops, but obviously that wouldn't be a problem with me-"
Oh.
"Echidna, shut up," I snap, my fist starting to clench by habit.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I went into chatterbox mode again…" She says with her usual false embarrassment that just makes me want to hit her even more. "I really can't help it when I get talking. The truth is, even though people say I don't understand emotions, that doesn't mean I don't have emotions of my own, and I'm very prone to excitement-
"I know, so shut up!" Just how long have I been contracted to you, woman!? I raise my fist, and-
No, stop. Don't let her distract you.
…Right, I understand now.
"Echidna," I say, forcing myself to lower my fist. "You promised me perfect results, but his results are better. Do you have any excuse for that? No… I actually don't care so much about it, except… was it on purpose?"
She's quiet for a moment, staring back into my eyes as I search her face for just one, just a single sign of guilt.
I find none.
"...That's difficult to answer," She finally says. "I promised perfect results… but not perfect results in the smallest number of loops."
"Yeah. I already figured that part out a while ago, but since it was just me being hurt, I decided it was fine," I admit. "Seeing him… I think I was wrong to decide that, but I've made my peace with it at this point. Just… everything else. Did you know that I was going to burn all of my relationships to the ground by doing this."
"...Haven't you already been told many times by this point?" She asks simply. "I don't understand the human heart."
"...I see," I say as I stand up and slide my chair back under the table, and she does the same. "In that case…"
"Do you think you would be better off without me?" She asks, drawing close and gazing up to meet my eyes. "Surely you understand by now how worthless you are on your own, Subaru."
"Yeah. But right now, I'm even less than worthless," I say. "...This is goodbye, Echidna."
"...I see. There's no changing your mind, is there? Why must love always fade…" She says, eyes scanning my face before finally a smile that makes me want to puke stretches across her face. "I suppose this is interesting too, in its own way."
She leans forward, and just this once, I don't try to avoid it. "Farewell then, Natsuki Subaru."
Our last kiss tastes of faded flowers and dust.
***
Snap.
I'm sorry.
Snap.
I was wrong.
Snap.
I am worthless. I was always worthless.
Snap.
I'll never try to get away again, so please, Echidna.
Snap.
Please, tell me the answer!
Snap.
But there is no answer. The moment she died, the reset point was moved. The moment the reset point was moved, this hell was locked in stone. Even if I don't even bother to possess Natsuki Subaru. Even if I retain my might as a Servant.
Snap.
I will never make it in time.
Snap.
***
Natsuki Subaru
I stare at the fallen form of 'Natsuki Subaru'. Still collapsed. Still totally void of emotion. Still broken.
It moved.
Of course it moved.
Echidna, who used [Return by Death] to the very ends of her pleasure - there can't have been anyone in this singularity Satella wanted dead more than her.
It's only natural that she would move it.
The death of Nobunaga, whatever state my friends were left in after my absence - I just locked it in with my own hands. And the guy I wanted to save, has collapsed in despair at the loss of the one person who was with him through subjective centuries of trials and tribulations.
I'm an idiot. I know I'm an idiot.
"-But, I can't just give up with this," I mutter. "[Cor Leonis]."
If I can take on some of his despair, then maybe, just maybe -
Die die die die die die nothing no hope there is no salvation die die suffer die help help help help help me help me not on my own I can't do this on my own please please please answer me help die help help-!
I vomit as his feelings wash over me.
He mumbles, pitifully. "Me…dea."
But that's when I feel it. At the edge of my awareness, a little ways down the beach, my Authority detects the unmistakable presence of Oda Nobunaga.
***
It feels wrong. Something feels so terribly wrong, as I sprint, stumbling, through down the windy, sand-swept beach. Despite all of the hope I'm feeling that Gudaguda particles or whatever will have bailed me out, somehow I know. I know that what I see here will only deepen my anguish.
Finally I see them. The first, that super cute blue-haired elf girl from before, Medea - really, looking at her I can basically confirm that Jason deserved everything he got, because come on- but that's beside the point. The point is, she's injured. Terribly so, every limb twisted at a different angle, with blood oozing from her mouth as she tries to speak. "S-subaru, sama?"
Then, with a sickening crack, the second presence snaps her neck and drops her, lifeless, to the ground, revealing itself as drops of rain begin to plop down onto the sand again.
A twisted creature, with no head. On the lower body, I can still make out the pants and boots of my Archer, but above the waistline, she has transformed. A hulking mass of muscle covered in purple scales has taken the place of her upper body, with burly, fin-lined arms. And, on the center of the torso, a familiar orange-eyed, fish-like face sneers at me.
"...Dagon," I scowl.
"As I have declared… you remain accursed."
"This is… one of the 'headless men?'" I ask, brandishing the arm with my single Command Spell. As expected of Sensei, even something like this was in the [Okeanos Doom Packet]. "I think they were called Blemmyes, right?" Well, I think there's also some Youkai that looks similar, but considering this guy's nature-
"Its model was a vengeful spirit that once haunted the Nile," He snarls. "Thus, by my authority to create Water Monsters-"
"You used what was left of Nobunaga and yourself to create one last monster," I sigh as the sky, already lit only by the stars, grows darker and darker. "...I wonder how long that guy was trying to save her?"
He spoke her name, just now, after all. At first I thought it was the loss of Echidna, but… to be honest I can't imagine their relationship was very good. No, I'm sure by this point he had to be aware she was actively using him, that he had signed up for a life that was hell on Earth. But he was too scared to move on. Someone just needed to step in to break him free.
That's why I destroyed that crystal, after all.
Anyway, what broke him just now… had to be this. The monster, waiting with his friend captive to kill her in front of him for the express purpose of making him miserable. He must have tried thousands of times - but, no matter what he did, as long as he was on his own… he would never be able to make it in time to save Medea.
Barusu was in this singularity for a much longer time than anyone else, subjectively. Even putting aside whatever he was throwing at me, he had to have died an insane number of times just to even get Heracles into his Reality Marble. The amount of time he was spending with that girl…
Well, if you consider that I appear to have a thing for both 'affectionate blue-haired girls' and 'cute silver-haired elf girls', an 'affectionate blue-haired elf girl' falls completely into the established range of girls Barusu could fall for. Putting aside his total incompetence in interpersonal relationships, he was probably head over heels for her, even if he didn't want to admit it. Mhm, mhm, as his older brother, I'm rooting for him.
Why am I the older one? Well, he's less wise, and I've got three extra months of real-time experience on him from my return to Earth. Time loops don't count.
"Cease your insufferable smirking. Will you call your servant to your side, or not?"
"I won't," I say with a smirk. This command spell is going to serve a different purpose.
"...Then perish." A bolt of lightning tears through my chest.
I don't want to make a habit of it, but… dying to save myself doesn't feel that bad.
***
Soul-crushing despair flows over me again, but this time I'm ready, and I don't vomit as I dump a bucket of cold water over Barusu's insensate face.
"Wake up, stupid little brother, and make a contract with me! We're saving your girlfriend!" I shout.
"...What?" He mutters dully.
"I said, make a contract with me, dumbass! You're a Servant, aren't you?" I say. "We're gonna go save Jason's cute ex-wife that you've clearly got a crush on!"
"A 'crush'? You goddamn… no," He starts to get ready to start up a shouting match before he exhales and flops onto his back. "Saving her is already… impossible. Just how many millions of times do you think I… dammit. Why… why the hell did you have to get rid of Echidna!?"
"M-millions!?" Are you stupid? "And did you actually ask me for help a single time? Or did you run off half-cocked like an idiot!?"
"Ask for- what would be the point? Even if I run as fast as I can, I won't make it." He mumbles. "Echidna might have thought of something, but my plans are always useless. I understand what you were trying to do, but… you shouldn't pity a guy like me. I'm not even worthless. I'm worse than worthless. I'm a useless bastard who can't do anything right, who sabotages his friends' lives because a witch he knows is using him said to!"
…
"...It's your win," He admits. "I can't do anything on my own. I would have ruined everything anyway, so this is for the best-"
"Of course you can't do anything on your own!" I say, rolling my eyes. "When the hell did you get the idea that you were supposed to do things on your own? That's not our specialty. So, since you've got me for backup - stand up."
"..."
"Stand up."
"I can't anymore. I ruined everything. Not just my friends - I can't even save yours now. Alcides isn't listening to me anymore," He says.
"Stand up," I say, biting back my own feelings.
"And even before this… back home, it was all ruined. Garfiel and Beatrice… you managed to work things out with them, right? But they both hate me. I thought I could solve that, if I reset enough but… that's stupid, right?"
I figured as much, to be honest. Neither of them would have let him get this bad. "Yeah, it's stupid. Now, stand up."
"And then Emilia, and Reinhard… I think there's something wrong with both of them, but I'm too stupid to understand it. Or really, I didn't really see them changing like a normal person would see it, so I don't even understand the first thing of how to fix it - no, in the first place, me, fixing people!? There's not a chance!"
What, Reinhard joined his camp? No, let's ignore that for now. "Yeah, that's stupid. Now, stand up."
"...Why are you so damn annoying." He mumbles.
"Older brother privilege. Now, stand up."
"No, I forgot earlier, but in what way are you older!?" He finally shouts as he sits up and points at me - okay, good enough.
I grab his outstretched hand and pull him up to his feet. "There you go, you're standing."
He sighs. "You're not even listening to me."
"Sure I was. You're worse than worthless, can't fix a damn thing, and you're just incredibly stupid to boot. So what?" I grin and point at myself. "I'll let you in on a secret - I, your wise older brother, was also useless and stupid in the past!"
"We're not brothers, and if we were, I'd be older!" He shouts as he pulls his hand out of my grip.
"...The point is, let's do our best to fix this. It won't be perfect, but it'll be something. I don't care how firmly your life is buried in the negatives. I came down here to get you, and I'm not going to stop until we've clawed our way all the way back up to zero."
He breathes in, sighs - and punches me in the stomach.
"Ow, what the hell!?" I thought that was a good speech!
"I can't believe you had the gall to plagiarize Rem to me - no, actually, that 'stand up' thing you kept repeating, was that her too!? You had the same damn lilt in your voice for that!" He shouts.
"Geh." He caught me. I should have stolen from Otto instead. "You said you didn't remember her voice-"
"I at least remember that moment!" He says, facepalming.
I examine him for a moment. "...Still, you seem a bit more cheerful now."
Barusu shakes his head and shrugs. "Sure. What the hell. I ask of you, are you my Master?"
"Yeah," I answer with a grin. "I guess I am."
"...By the way, now that I think about it, I don't actually want to call you Barusu forever, so what do you think about 'Rigel'?"
"I get that I'm technically the fake, so I'll accept a nickname, but can we at least stick to something Japanese?"
Alter Ego
"Well? What do you want to do about this?" Echidna asks.
"...Huh?" I ask.
Somehow, I've found myself at the witch's tea party again. Usually I have to enter on purpose, but there is a provision in our contract that allows her to call me in during an emergency. But I can't really understand the emergency. After all, that guy…
"Come to think of it…" I look away, gritting my teeth. "Do we have to do it this way? I know… up until now I've been dead set on this possession plan, but…"
…The truth is, I hadn't considered a peaceful option. This whole time, I had worked under the assumption that a fight between us was inevitable. I know what kind of lonely, hideous monster I am.
But I didn't account for him.
I've been going on and on about replacing him up to this point, but…
I can't do that. Obviously I can't. There's no possible way for me to measure up. I can try a million times and I'll just mess up and ruin it again.
No, exactly because I'll try a million times, I'll ruin everything. The friendship and trust that Stede has given me, the love and affection that Medea has given me… just how many millions of times have I thrown those feelings away at this point?
Did I tell Medea I loved her, this time around?
"Hello?"
Probably not. Those feelings… already faded more than ten thousand loops ago. Since then, I've just been going through the motions. For the sake of the countless iterations of her that I did love, who I erased with my own hands.
"Hellooooo? Are you just going to ignore me!?"
Finally, I notice the Witch shaking my shoulders. "Sorry, I was lost in thought."
"Goodness… you really need to pay better attention. You can't just ignore a cute, beautiful girl when she's right in front of you. Especially not in such a dangerous moment as this!" Echidna huffs. "Especially not to think about someone else! Can't you at least hold me tightly now of all times?"
"...My bad," I say, sighing. "So? What's the big problem, exactly?"
"Wow!? Isn't that just cruel? Or- don't tell me, you really didn't notice?" Her face shifts to total shock. "I understand it was an emotional moment, but that doesn't excuse you failing to even realize that he broke my crystal just now!"
"...Oh." Ain't that bad!?
"Yes, 'oh'! So with that in mind, I've slowed down our perception of time a bit, but you really need to decide what we're going to do quickly, before Satella locks this in." She says. "Luckily we're not that short on options - the easiest is, you can just kill yourself before I finish disappearing. The normal you wouldn't be able to, but the extra speed you got from Angra Mainyu can manage it."
Why!? Why the hell would he do this? Was all that sympathy, were all those tears, just an act?
"Secondly, we've got the option of just directly absorbing me into your Spirit Origin," The Witch continues. "Well, if we do that, I don't know whether the 'Echidna' inside you would end up being me or the original Witch of Greed, and that might also stand a chance of turning you into a woman or something strange like that. I understand you've crossdressed once or twice in the past, but I don't believe your hobby extends quite that far, so as interesting as it would be, that option seems a little risky."
Doesn't he understand that without Echidna, I-
"Third and finally, we still have my preferred option. I mentioned it before, but the ability of the Demon Pillars to propagate endlessly should be enough to allow you to create a whole new body for me using Zepar's existence as a model. I understand that there's the risk that he could try to possess me, but I really think that isn't as big of an issue as you believe. Any branches off of the Zepar within you should be just as mentally broken as yours, and furthermore I believe even if I did receive a fully intact Demon Pillar I would be more than capable of breaking their will on my own. I understand that there's also the issue of the Witch of Envy, but if she does come after us for this, we can just default back to Plan A. Really, there aren't any risks to speak of, and the benefits are countless. I know you've turned down my offers of physical companionship in the past, but if I had a real body I'm certain it would be considerably better. And, of course, when you need to Return by Death I can assist you with it, no questions asked. In fact, if we set it up correctly, we can probably even make it so that I actually remember previous loops, since I would become 'Zepar' and Zepar is 'Natsuki Subaru'. Really, I might even be able to Return by Death myself, which would give us an unspeakably huge advantage. If there is a limit on Return by Death that sent us here, then by doing this we would essentially produce an entire extra set of lives so that we could better perfect solutions - actually, come to think of it, there's nothing saying we need to stop at creating one copy of me, so if we create enough we would essentially have infinite lives. By that point, you wouldn't even be required to die anymore and you could just live happily ever after while I solve everything for you. Ah, if you're at all worried, please don't, there's no way I could get rid of you, since at the end of the day Return by Death would still only work because of you. I wouldn't abandon you, in fact considering that I could make so many copies of myself, I could even model some to your preference, and you could simply get rid of them when you got bored, since they would all be me anyway. You wouldn't have to feel guilty like you do about Rem, Emilia, Beatricem, or Medea - not that I'm implying you fell out of love with Rem, you've been curiously persistent in that attachment - but as for the others, the fact is that you couldn't maintain your relationship with any of them over so many loops, but obviously that wouldn't be a problem with me-"
Oh.
"Echidna, shut up," I snap, my fist starting to clench by habit.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I went into chatterbox mode again…" She says with her usual false embarrassment that just makes me want to hit her even more. "I really can't help it when I get talking. The truth is, even though people say I don't understand emotions, that doesn't mean I don't have emotions of my own, and I'm very prone to excitement-
"I know, so shut up!" Just how long have I been contracted to you, woman!? I raise my fist, and-
No, stop. Don't let her distract you.
…Right, I understand now.
"Echidna," I say, forcing myself to lower my fist. "You promised me perfect results, but his results are better. Do you have any excuse for that? No… I actually don't care so much about it, except… was it on purpose?"
She's quiet for a moment, staring back into my eyes as I search her face for just one, just a single sign of guilt.
I find none.
"...That's difficult to answer," She finally says. "I promised perfect results… but not perfect results in the smallest number of loops."
"Yeah. I already figured that part out a while ago, but since it was just me being hurt, I decided it was fine," I admit. "Seeing him… I think I was wrong to decide that, but I've made my peace with it at this point. Just… everything else. Did you know that I was going to burn all of my relationships to the ground by doing this."
"...Haven't you already been told many times by this point?" She asks simply. "I don't understand the human heart."
"...I see," I say as I stand up and slide my chair back under the table, and she does the same. "In that case…"
"Do you think you would be better off without me?" She asks, drawing close and gazing up to meet my eyes. "Surely you understand by now how worthless you are on your own, Subaru."
"Yeah. But right now, I'm even less than worthless," I say. "...This is goodbye, Echidna."
"...I see. There's no changing your mind, is there? Why must love always fade…" She says, eyes scanning my face before finally a smile that makes me want to puke stretches across her face. "I suppose this is interesting too, in its own way."
She leans forward, and just this once, I don't try to avoid it. "Farewell then, Natsuki Subaru."
Our last kiss tastes of faded flowers and dust.
***
Snap.
I'm sorry.
Snap.
I was wrong.
Snap.
I am worthless. I was always worthless.
Snap.
I'll never try to get away again, so please, Echidna.
Snap.
Please, tell me the answer!
Snap.
But there is no answer. The moment she died, the reset point was moved. The moment the reset point was moved, this hell was locked in stone. Even if I don't even bother to possess Natsuki Subaru. Even if I retain my might as a Servant.
Snap.
I will never make it in time.
Snap.
***
Natsuki Subaru
I stare at the fallen form of 'Natsuki Subaru'. Still collapsed. Still totally void of emotion. Still broken.
It moved.
Of course it moved.
Echidna, who used [Return by Death] to the very ends of her pleasure - there can't have been anyone in this singularity Satella wanted dead more than her.
It's only natural that she would move it.
The death of Nobunaga, whatever state my friends were left in after my absence - I just locked it in with my own hands. And the guy I wanted to save, has collapsed in despair at the loss of the one person who was with him through subjective centuries of trials and tribulations.
I'm an idiot. I know I'm an idiot.
"-But, I can't just give up with this," I mutter. "[Cor Leonis]."
If I can take on some of his despair, then maybe, just maybe -
Die die die die die die nothing no hope there is no salvation die die suffer die help help help help help me help me not on my own I can't do this on my own please please please answer me help die help help-!
I vomit as his feelings wash over me.
He mumbles, pitifully. "Me…dea."
But that's when I feel it. At the edge of my awareness, a little ways down the beach, my Authority detects the unmistakable presence of Oda Nobunaga.
***
It feels wrong. Something feels so terribly wrong, as I sprint, stumbling, through down the windy, sand-swept beach. Despite all of the hope I'm feeling that Gudaguda particles or whatever will have bailed me out, somehow I know. I know that what I see here will only deepen my anguish.
Finally I see them. The first, that super cute blue-haired elf girl from before, Medea - really, looking at her I can basically confirm that Jason deserved everything he got, because come on- but that's beside the point. The point is, she's injured. Terribly so, every limb twisted at a different angle, with blood oozing from her mouth as she tries to speak. "S-subaru, sama?"
Then, with a sickening crack, the second presence snaps her neck and drops her, lifeless, to the ground, revealing itself as drops of rain begin to plop down onto the sand again.
A twisted creature, with no head. On the lower body, I can still make out the pants and boots of my Archer, but above the waistline, she has transformed. A hulking mass of muscle covered in purple scales has taken the place of her upper body, with burly, fin-lined arms. And, on the center of the torso, a familiar orange-eyed, fish-like face sneers at me.
"...Dagon," I scowl.
"As I have declared… you remain accursed."
"This is… one of the 'headless men?'" I ask, brandishing the arm with my single Command Spell. As expected of Sensei, even something like this was in the [Okeanos Doom Packet]. "I think they were called Blemmyes, right?" Well, I think there's also some Youkai that looks similar, but considering this guy's nature-
"Its model was a vengeful spirit that once haunted the Nile," He snarls. "Thus, by my authority to create Water Monsters-"
"You used what was left of Nobunaga and yourself to create one last monster," I sigh as the sky, already lit only by the stars, grows darker and darker. "...I wonder how long that guy was trying to save her?"
He spoke her name, just now, after all. At first I thought it was the loss of Echidna, but… to be honest I can't imagine their relationship was very good. No, I'm sure by this point he had to be aware she was actively using him, that he had signed up for a life that was hell on Earth. But he was too scared to move on. Someone just needed to step in to break him free.
That's why I destroyed that crystal, after all.
Anyway, what broke him just now… had to be this. The monster, waiting with his friend captive to kill her in front of him for the express purpose of making him miserable. He must have tried thousands of times - but, no matter what he did, as long as he was on his own… he would never be able to make it in time to save Medea.
Barusu was in this singularity for a much longer time than anyone else, subjectively. Even putting aside whatever he was throwing at me, he had to have died an insane number of times just to even get Heracles into his Reality Marble. The amount of time he was spending with that girl…
Well, if you consider that I appear to have a thing for both 'affectionate blue-haired girls' and 'cute silver-haired elf girls', an 'affectionate blue-haired elf girl' falls completely into the established range of girls Barusu could fall for. Putting aside his total incompetence in interpersonal relationships, he was probably head over heels for her, even if he didn't want to admit it. Mhm, mhm, as his older brother, I'm rooting for him.
Why am I the older one? Well, he's less wise, and I've got three extra months of real-time experience on him from my return to Earth. Time loops don't count.
"Cease your insufferable smirking. Will you call your servant to your side, or not?"
"I won't," I say with a smirk. This command spell is going to serve a different purpose.
"...Then perish." A bolt of lightning tears through my chest.
I don't want to make a habit of it, but… dying to save myself doesn't feel that bad.
***
Soul-crushing despair flows over me again, but this time I'm ready, and I don't vomit as I dump a bucket of cold water over Barusu's insensate face.
"Wake up, stupid little brother, and make a contract with me! We're saving your girlfriend!" I shout.
"...What?" He mutters dully.
"I said, make a contract with me, dumbass! You're a Servant, aren't you?" I say. "We're gonna go save Jason's cute ex-wife that you've clearly got a crush on!"
"A 'crush'? You goddamn… no," He starts to get ready to start up a shouting match before he exhales and flops onto his back. "Saving her is already… impossible. Just how many millions of times do you think I… dammit. Why… why the hell did you have to get rid of Echidna!?"
"M-millions!?" Are you stupid? "And did you actually ask me for help a single time? Or did you run off half-cocked like an idiot!?"
"Ask for- what would be the point? Even if I run as fast as I can, I won't make it." He mumbles. "Echidna might have thought of something, but my plans are always useless. I understand what you were trying to do, but… you shouldn't pity a guy like me. I'm not even worthless. I'm worse than worthless. I'm a useless bastard who can't do anything right, who sabotages his friends' lives because a witch he knows is using him said to!"
…
"...It's your win," He admits. "I can't do anything on my own. I would have ruined everything anyway, so this is for the best-"
"Of course you can't do anything on your own!" I say, rolling my eyes. "When the hell did you get the idea that you were supposed to do things on your own? That's not our specialty. So, since you've got me for backup - stand up."
"..."
"Stand up."
"I can't anymore. I ruined everything. Not just my friends - I can't even save yours now. Alcides isn't listening to me anymore," He says.
"Stand up," I say, biting back my own feelings.
"And even before this… back home, it was all ruined. Garfiel and Beatrice… you managed to work things out with them, right? But they both hate me. I thought I could solve that, if I reset enough but… that's stupid, right?"
I figured as much, to be honest. Neither of them would have let him get this bad. "Yeah, it's stupid. Now, stand up."
"And then Emilia, and Reinhard… I think there's something wrong with both of them, but I'm too stupid to understand it. Or really, I didn't really see them changing like a normal person would see it, so I don't even understand the first thing of how to fix it - no, in the first place, me, fixing people!? There's not a chance!"
What, Reinhard joined his camp? No, let's ignore that for now. "Yeah, that's stupid. Now, stand up."
"...Why are you so damn annoying." He mumbles.
"Older brother privilege. Now, stand up."
"No, I forgot earlier, but in what way are you older!?" He finally shouts as he sits up and points at me - okay, good enough.
I grab his outstretched hand and pull him up to his feet. "There you go, you're standing."
He sighs. "You're not even listening to me."
"Sure I was. You're worse than worthless, can't fix a damn thing, and you're just incredibly stupid to boot. So what?" I grin and point at myself. "I'll let you in on a secret - I, your wise older brother, was also useless and stupid in the past!"
"We're not brothers, and if we were, I'd be older!" He shouts as he pulls his hand out of my grip.
"...The point is, let's do our best to fix this. It won't be perfect, but it'll be something. I don't care how firmly your life is buried in the negatives. I came down here to get you, and I'm not going to stop until we've clawed our way all the way back up to zero."
He breathes in, sighs - and punches me in the stomach.
"Ow, what the hell!?" I thought that was a good speech!
"I can't believe you had the gall to plagiarize Rem to me - no, actually, that 'stand up' thing you kept repeating, was that her too!? You had the same damn lilt in your voice for that!" He shouts.
"Geh." He caught me. I should have stolen from Otto instead. "You said you didn't remember her voice-"
"I at least remember that moment!" He says, facepalming.
I examine him for a moment. "...Still, you seem a bit more cheerful now."
Barusu shakes his head and shrugs. "Sure. What the hell. I ask of you, are you my Master?"
"Yeah," I answer with a grin. "I guess I am."
"...By the way, now that I think about it, I don't actually want to call you Barusu forever, so what do you think about 'Rigel'?"
"I get that I'm technically the fake, so I'll accept a nickname, but can we at least stick to something Japanese?"
This is technically a greatly expanded second half of the previous chapter. That one will be cut accordingly. The second half of the previous one was rushed and kind of ruined the emotional beat.
Should this one also be cut in half?
.....possibly.
Should this one also be cut in half?
.....possibly.
- Location
- Washington, USA
"Nissan."
"Really? I'm not your... Fuck you."
126: Madness
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
126: Madness
"You really mean what you said the other day?" Cu Chulainn asked, leaning against the ship's railing.
"Be more specific. I say a lot of random crap," Jason replied, glancing away from the rudder for a moment.
"Heracles. You really think the berserk me would stand the best chance?" The caster said.
"I mean, it's your strongest class, right?"
"Haaah… I wonder about that. If you're asking which one is the best to summon, it's Lancer, no questions asked," Cu Chulainn said. "Even putting aside the issues with his mana consumption, the berserk me is a good-for-nothing who can't tell enemy from friend. No, even worse than that, he hates both of them with all his heart. Don't really like hating people - makes me feel gross, you know?"
"...Yeah, I guess you are the light-hearted battle maniac type," Jason sighed. "But still… isn't [Riastrad] your strongest Noble Phantasm?"
"Nah, [Gae Bolg] is better nine times outta ten. It doesn't matter how strong I get if my spear can just instantly kill anyone in range. [Riastrad] is only better against enemies that can consistently get lucky enough to dodge an undodgeable blow, or enemies who don't die when they're killed."
"So enemies like Heracles, then."
"...Yeah."
A moment of silence followed, before Cu Chulainn finally spoke again.
"Master told you a bit about Fuyuki, but he didn't mention that I was originally part of that grail war," He said. "Actually, after everyone got corrupted, I was basically running around on my own for close to a month. So for me, Berserker - sorry, Heracles - is kind of like an old friend at this point."
"You were fighting him for a month and you think you're his friend!? You really are easygoing, huh!?" Jason blurted out.
The caster chuckled. "You said it yourself, right? [God Hand] was stored in his skin, and he lost both - but he had a full month, you know? He never regenerated his skin, or even repaired his eyes, even over an entire month?"
"...That's just like him," Jason said, smiling and shaking his head.
"The rest were the same. Whether it was Archer sitting around doing nothing unless I got close, or Rider charging clearly into an obvious trap and letting Berserker kill him… they were all restrained in some way or another. I don't think any of them were even aware of it, and maybe this is all just wishful thinking, but deep down it felt like… they were all cheering for me," Cu Chulainn said with a sigh. "So I got to thinking, a little bit before Chaldea arrived - if I forced a [Riastrad] with runes, could I finish the war? Everyone else had already shown me their worst, most loathsome sides - so what was I doing holding mine back?"
***
The runes on Cu Chulainn's body pulse as his form distorts. His muscles bulge, shuddering with the terrible sound of stretching skin as he hunches over like a beast. Fingers twist and melt together, wrapping around the split halves of his spear as his shoulder bones exit their joints with a horrific pop. His legs bulge as he rolls forward onto his tiptoes, the bones of his feet cracking as his feet extend into an animalistic lower leg.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!" An unearthly howl wracks the man's throat as his jaw distends, unhinging like a snake, teeth sharpening against themselves with a sickening grinding noise. His veins bulge impossibly large, before being swallowed by even more distorted tendon and muscle, knitting itself outward in an impossible manner, flesh layering upon flesh until his head is covered, his displaced shoulder blades emerging to snap over his face like a helmet. His long blue locks snap free of the ponytail they were tied in, tendrils of hair writhing every which way, stabbing and scoring the deck of the ship as if they were made of iron.
Finally, the hideous transformation ends - and he explodes into motion.
The two copies of Alcides move to meet him as he thrusts his weapons towards them, one towards each. One flickers behind him as the other moves to block the obvious attack-
"[RIASTRAD]!"
With a gruesome snap, his arms grow extra joints, stretching around Alcides's defense and impaling him in a single blow as his writhing hair stabs towards the copy behind him-
-Alcides's blade shimmers, and the [Heavenly Sword] of Reid Astrea cleaves Cu Chulainn in half at the waist even as it cuts away the piercing hair.
But that will not be enough to slay the berserk Cu Chulainn.
"[RIASTRAD]!"
Muscle fibers shoot out of the severed halves of Cu Chulainn, catching each other and pulling him back together as his upper half whirls around in the air, stitching back to his body backwards to allow him to attack Alcides head on, his massive jaw lashing out and tearing the Archer's throat out.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!" Another terrible howl rings out as he shudders, flesh rippling and hair peeling back - and a madly twitching eye opens on the back of his head to stare at the last, bow-wielding copy of Alcides as his foe finishes firing a rapid series of shots at the far away Archer who had interfered before.
Cu Chulainn moves again, splintering the deck of the Argo as he leaps towards Alcides, only for the latter to flicker away with the [Leaper's Talent], sailing away with a series of short-range teleports as he readies a new shot, this one slower than those preceding it.
-The [Heavenly Sword] is a way of moving, more than anything. A certain type of perfect motion that cuts down anything that needs to be cut, even if that thing is light, karma, or causality itself. There is nothing restricting its use to a 'sword' - indeed, Reid utilized a pair of chopsticks as a handicap.
And so, when Alcides fires his next shot, it is an arrow with the same strange 'motion' that cuts all things. A [Heavenly Arrow] cuts through the air to tear through Cu Chulainn's [Protection From Arrows] and Spirit Origin in a single shot.
However, the [Heavenly Sword] is also a 'technique'. In theory, any swordsman - or rather, any wielder of weapons - could learn it with enough talent and devotion to his weapon. There is nothing restricting its usage to Reid Astrea - indeed, by the end of the first day of their battle, Alcides had already mastered the technique, without ever yet acquiring the Gluttony Witch Factor.
When Cu Chulainn's torso twists around to face the right way, towards the oncoming arrow - his parry, guided purely by the mad instinct of a perfect killing machine, matches Alcides's [Heavenly Arrow] and cuts it down.
And Alcides, seeing this - cannot help the smile that's beginning to form on his face.
A moment later, with the sound of a cannon, the Argo explodes.
***
"Still not so sure that was a good idea, captain…" A faceless pirate says as the smoke from the cannons of the [Golden Hind] starts to clear.
"We had our orders," Sir Francis Drake replies dully.
The ordinary Francis Drake is a pirate. The freest of free spirits, who sank the eternal Spanish sun with nothing but her greed and willingness to do the impossible. A jolly spirit who moves wherever the wind takes her, because that is her heart's desire.
…But in truth, Sir Francis Drake was a soldier. She gave all she had and more to the crown, and sailed to her death simply at the request of her liege. This part of her is ordinarily suppressed - whether from the distortion of her legend, or her own desire to return to the carefree days of piracy rather than the bleak ordeals of war.
Her altered form is a soldier, who fought for her liege, died in her armor, and was buried at sea. That is all she is - a walking corpse that follows orders.
So she feels nothing as a cloud of steam, rising from an undersea form so hot it is boiling the water around it, approaches. She feels nothing as a still steaming mass of muscle and teeth and claws rips into the lower deck, and then through the midship, before finally exploding onto the upper deck and tearing her screaming crew to shreds.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!" A thrust of a broken spearhead with enough skill to kill even the light in its path goes unadmired, and Sir Francis Drake dies.
***
Arrows rain down as Mash Kyrielight sprints past falling trees towards the heart of the island, following a crying raven.
With a cry, she sprains her wrist deflecting one with her shield - and then the rain of arrows pauses for a moment.
"[Bayard]!" Georgios cries, suddenly materializing, and the wounded horse just barely hauls Mash out of the path of another all-piercing arrow. "It's just one right now, but I think I saw him make another three copies before the ship exploded-!" He shouts as the horse careens haphazardly down a forest trail, arrows raining down behind them.
Another pause from Alcides, and Georgios tenses up, ready to deflect it with all the strength his broken arms can muster, but- "[Hamesh Avanim]!" Another streak of light arcs overhead like a meteor, and he relaxes as his instincts tell him a sacrifice won't be necessary just yet.
Finally, the horse exits into a wide clearing, half tumbling over as Mash dismounts and sprints forward, wholly ignoring an ornate golden box and a horrifically wounded green-haired man whirling a sling in favor of hurling Cu Chulainn's staff with all her might into the center of what she knows to be the leyline.
For a moment, nothing happens - and then, in a burst of flame, a human figure made of wood grows out of the staff, winding itself together, until finally skin and clothing materializes over the all-too-familiar form of-
"Cu Chulainn!?" Mash shouts, pointing at the newly formed man.
The Caster grins as he puts a strip of cloth to his bleeding eye. "Call me Grimr now. I shed just about all of 'Cu Chulainn' except my consciousness, after all. It's a trick Pseudo-Servants can do when things get tough - well, normally it'd reduce your Spirit Origin to less than half strength, but since I'm Odin, 'sacrificing' myself just makes me stronger."
"That- no, that's not important right now! Hurry up and perform your ritual, please!" Mash says.
"I'd love to, but… we've been had," Grimr sighs. "The second Leyline we went to, the one with no guardians? It was a fake. Someone disguised a minor font as a greater one, probably to hide the real deal."
"No…" Mash slumps against her shield. "I-isn't there anything you can do?"
"Revealing the real Leyline won't be too hard now that we've got three," He says.
"-But getting there will be another matter. Did anyone happen to see where Jason ended up?" Georgios asks.
"Without his boat, he's useless anyway," says Grimr. "But we've got comms up, and leyline access, so-"
There's a beep from Mash's wrist as a hologram of Olga Marie Animusphere appears. "I'm already preparing Assassin for rayshift - but at this rate, we're going to run out of power before he can get there. Between supporting three servants, and how many times your other half is firing off his Noble Phantasm, we're practically on reserve power as it is. We can still rayshift you out, since it's less costly, at least where Servants are concerned, but we'll need to get two of you back here before we can power another rayshift to the singularity, and that window is closing."
"I know you missed the details, but I've gotta be here to activate the ritual," the Caster says.
"I'm not talking about you. We're supporting two more Servants out there, after all."
"...Director, I'm not drawing any power, since I'm a Demi-Servant," Mash says. "If you're saying there's one more apart from Cu Chulainn and Georgios, then does that mean…?"
***
"Let go, dammit!" A sopping wet Jason shouts as strangely familiar squat figures, clad in leaves and wooden tribal masks haul him deeper into the seaside cave, and into a gloomy shrine.
Within the darkness, lit only by candles, he can only make out the silhouette of another one of the strange short creatures behind a curtain. Finally, one of his captors speaks, and he understands the horrible truth of what creatures lie behind these masks.
"Nob. Nob nob nobbu."
"If they establish a breeding population-"
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," The Rider groans.
"Nob bu bu bu! Nobbu nob nobbunob! Nobunaga nob, nob nobbu. Nob bu bu!" The figure behind the curtain says with as much imperiousness as its squeaky voice can convey.
…
"Why does this kind of thing always happen to me..?" Jason mumbles after a moment of silence.
"Nobbu nob!" The Mini-Nobbu behind the curtain cries, and his captors drag him away into the darkness, heedless of his screams.
***
Jason is still screaming when the Mini-Nobbus shove him into a crude bamboo cage and slam the door shut. "You can't do this to me! I'm your captain, goddammit! Well, maybe not yours, but I commanded your parents!"
"Hey, you. You're finally awake," says a gravelly voice in the back of the cell.
"Shut the hell up, Blackbeard!" Jason whirls to point at his cellmate.
"Jeez, you're not even surprised to see me-?" The pirate mumbles.
"I'm in a permanent state of surprise right now, nothing else could possibly-!"
He cuts himself off in utter speechlessness as he finally locks eyes with the third person in his cell. Or at least, what's left of them.
"So, let's talk about my missing body!" Says Oda Nobunaga's severed head.
"You really mean what you said the other day?" Cu Chulainn asked, leaning against the ship's railing.
"Be more specific. I say a lot of random crap," Jason replied, glancing away from the rudder for a moment.
"Heracles. You really think the berserk me would stand the best chance?" The caster said.
"I mean, it's your strongest class, right?"
"Haaah… I wonder about that. If you're asking which one is the best to summon, it's Lancer, no questions asked," Cu Chulainn said. "Even putting aside the issues with his mana consumption, the berserk me is a good-for-nothing who can't tell enemy from friend. No, even worse than that, he hates both of them with all his heart. Don't really like hating people - makes me feel gross, you know?"
"...Yeah, I guess you are the light-hearted battle maniac type," Jason sighed. "But still… isn't [Riastrad] your strongest Noble Phantasm?"
"Nah, [Gae Bolg] is better nine times outta ten. It doesn't matter how strong I get if my spear can just instantly kill anyone in range. [Riastrad] is only better against enemies that can consistently get lucky enough to dodge an undodgeable blow, or enemies who don't die when they're killed."
"So enemies like Heracles, then."
"...Yeah."
A moment of silence followed, before Cu Chulainn finally spoke again.
"Master told you a bit about Fuyuki, but he didn't mention that I was originally part of that grail war," He said. "Actually, after everyone got corrupted, I was basically running around on my own for close to a month. So for me, Berserker - sorry, Heracles - is kind of like an old friend at this point."
"You were fighting him for a month and you think you're his friend!? You really are easygoing, huh!?" Jason blurted out.
The caster chuckled. "You said it yourself, right? [God Hand] was stored in his skin, and he lost both - but he had a full month, you know? He never regenerated his skin, or even repaired his eyes, even over an entire month?"
"...That's just like him," Jason said, smiling and shaking his head.
"The rest were the same. Whether it was Archer sitting around doing nothing unless I got close, or Rider charging clearly into an obvious trap and letting Berserker kill him… they were all restrained in some way or another. I don't think any of them were even aware of it, and maybe this is all just wishful thinking, but deep down it felt like… they were all cheering for me," Cu Chulainn said with a sigh. "So I got to thinking, a little bit before Chaldea arrived - if I forced a [Riastrad] with runes, could I finish the war? Everyone else had already shown me their worst, most loathsome sides - so what was I doing holding mine back?"
***
The runes on Cu Chulainn's body pulse as his form distorts. His muscles bulge, shuddering with the terrible sound of stretching skin as he hunches over like a beast. Fingers twist and melt together, wrapping around the split halves of his spear as his shoulder bones exit their joints with a horrific pop. His legs bulge as he rolls forward onto his tiptoes, the bones of his feet cracking as his feet extend into an animalistic lower leg.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!" An unearthly howl wracks the man's throat as his jaw distends, unhinging like a snake, teeth sharpening against themselves with a sickening grinding noise. His veins bulge impossibly large, before being swallowed by even more distorted tendon and muscle, knitting itself outward in an impossible manner, flesh layering upon flesh until his head is covered, his displaced shoulder blades emerging to snap over his face like a helmet. His long blue locks snap free of the ponytail they were tied in, tendrils of hair writhing every which way, stabbing and scoring the deck of the ship as if they were made of iron.
Finally, the hideous transformation ends - and he explodes into motion.
The two copies of Alcides move to meet him as he thrusts his weapons towards them, one towards each. One flickers behind him as the other moves to block the obvious attack-
"[RIASTRAD]!"
With a gruesome snap, his arms grow extra joints, stretching around Alcides's defense and impaling him in a single blow as his writhing hair stabs towards the copy behind him-
-Alcides's blade shimmers, and the [Heavenly Sword] of Reid Astrea cleaves Cu Chulainn in half at the waist even as it cuts away the piercing hair.
But that will not be enough to slay the berserk Cu Chulainn.
"[RIASTRAD]!"
Muscle fibers shoot out of the severed halves of Cu Chulainn, catching each other and pulling him back together as his upper half whirls around in the air, stitching back to his body backwards to allow him to attack Alcides head on, his massive jaw lashing out and tearing the Archer's throat out.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!" Another terrible howl rings out as he shudders, flesh rippling and hair peeling back - and a madly twitching eye opens on the back of his head to stare at the last, bow-wielding copy of Alcides as his foe finishes firing a rapid series of shots at the far away Archer who had interfered before.
Cu Chulainn moves again, splintering the deck of the Argo as he leaps towards Alcides, only for the latter to flicker away with the [Leaper's Talent], sailing away with a series of short-range teleports as he readies a new shot, this one slower than those preceding it.
-The [Heavenly Sword] is a way of moving, more than anything. A certain type of perfect motion that cuts down anything that needs to be cut, even if that thing is light, karma, or causality itself. There is nothing restricting its use to a 'sword' - indeed, Reid utilized a pair of chopsticks as a handicap.
And so, when Alcides fires his next shot, it is an arrow with the same strange 'motion' that cuts all things. A [Heavenly Arrow] cuts through the air to tear through Cu Chulainn's [Protection From Arrows] and Spirit Origin in a single shot.
However, the [Heavenly Sword] is also a 'technique'. In theory, any swordsman - or rather, any wielder of weapons - could learn it with enough talent and devotion to his weapon. There is nothing restricting its usage to Reid Astrea - indeed, by the end of the first day of their battle, Alcides had already mastered the technique, without ever yet acquiring the Gluttony Witch Factor.
When Cu Chulainn's torso twists around to face the right way, towards the oncoming arrow - his parry, guided purely by the mad instinct of a perfect killing machine, matches Alcides's [Heavenly Arrow] and cuts it down.
And Alcides, seeing this - cannot help the smile that's beginning to form on his face.
A moment later, with the sound of a cannon, the Argo explodes.
***
"Still not so sure that was a good idea, captain…" A faceless pirate says as the smoke from the cannons of the [Golden Hind] starts to clear.
"We had our orders," Sir Francis Drake replies dully.
The ordinary Francis Drake is a pirate. The freest of free spirits, who sank the eternal Spanish sun with nothing but her greed and willingness to do the impossible. A jolly spirit who moves wherever the wind takes her, because that is her heart's desire.
…But in truth, Sir Francis Drake was a soldier. She gave all she had and more to the crown, and sailed to her death simply at the request of her liege. This part of her is ordinarily suppressed - whether from the distortion of her legend, or her own desire to return to the carefree days of piracy rather than the bleak ordeals of war.
Her altered form is a soldier, who fought for her liege, died in her armor, and was buried at sea. That is all she is - a walking corpse that follows orders.
So she feels nothing as a cloud of steam, rising from an undersea form so hot it is boiling the water around it, approaches. She feels nothing as a still steaming mass of muscle and teeth and claws rips into the lower deck, and then through the midship, before finally exploding onto the upper deck and tearing her screaming crew to shreds.
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!" A thrust of a broken spearhead with enough skill to kill even the light in its path goes unadmired, and Sir Francis Drake dies.
***
Arrows rain down as Mash Kyrielight sprints past falling trees towards the heart of the island, following a crying raven.
With a cry, she sprains her wrist deflecting one with her shield - and then the rain of arrows pauses for a moment.
"[Bayard]!" Georgios cries, suddenly materializing, and the wounded horse just barely hauls Mash out of the path of another all-piercing arrow. "It's just one right now, but I think I saw him make another three copies before the ship exploded-!" He shouts as the horse careens haphazardly down a forest trail, arrows raining down behind them.
Another pause from Alcides, and Georgios tenses up, ready to deflect it with all the strength his broken arms can muster, but- "[Hamesh Avanim]!" Another streak of light arcs overhead like a meteor, and he relaxes as his instincts tell him a sacrifice won't be necessary just yet.
Finally, the horse exits into a wide clearing, half tumbling over as Mash dismounts and sprints forward, wholly ignoring an ornate golden box and a horrifically wounded green-haired man whirling a sling in favor of hurling Cu Chulainn's staff with all her might into the center of what she knows to be the leyline.
For a moment, nothing happens - and then, in a burst of flame, a human figure made of wood grows out of the staff, winding itself together, until finally skin and clothing materializes over the all-too-familiar form of-
"Cu Chulainn!?" Mash shouts, pointing at the newly formed man.
The Caster grins as he puts a strip of cloth to his bleeding eye. "Call me Grimr now. I shed just about all of 'Cu Chulainn' except my consciousness, after all. It's a trick Pseudo-Servants can do when things get tough - well, normally it'd reduce your Spirit Origin to less than half strength, but since I'm Odin, 'sacrificing' myself just makes me stronger."
"That- no, that's not important right now! Hurry up and perform your ritual, please!" Mash says.
"I'd love to, but… we've been had," Grimr sighs. "The second Leyline we went to, the one with no guardians? It was a fake. Someone disguised a minor font as a greater one, probably to hide the real deal."
"No…" Mash slumps against her shield. "I-isn't there anything you can do?"
"Revealing the real Leyline won't be too hard now that we've got three," He says.
"-But getting there will be another matter. Did anyone happen to see where Jason ended up?" Georgios asks.
"Without his boat, he's useless anyway," says Grimr. "But we've got comms up, and leyline access, so-"
There's a beep from Mash's wrist as a hologram of Olga Marie Animusphere appears. "I'm already preparing Assassin for rayshift - but at this rate, we're going to run out of power before he can get there. Between supporting three servants, and how many times your other half is firing off his Noble Phantasm, we're practically on reserve power as it is. We can still rayshift you out, since it's less costly, at least where Servants are concerned, but we'll need to get two of you back here before we can power another rayshift to the singularity, and that window is closing."
"I know you missed the details, but I've gotta be here to activate the ritual," the Caster says.
"I'm not talking about you. We're supporting two more Servants out there, after all."
"...Director, I'm not drawing any power, since I'm a Demi-Servant," Mash says. "If you're saying there's one more apart from Cu Chulainn and Georgios, then does that mean…?"
***
"Let go, dammit!" A sopping wet Jason shouts as strangely familiar squat figures, clad in leaves and wooden tribal masks haul him deeper into the seaside cave, and into a gloomy shrine.
Within the darkness, lit only by candles, he can only make out the silhouette of another one of the strange short creatures behind a curtain. Finally, one of his captors speaks, and he understands the horrible truth of what creatures lie behind these masks.
"Nob. Nob nob nobbu."
"If they establish a breeding population-"
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," The Rider groans.
"Nob bu bu bu! Nobbu nob nobbunob! Nobunaga nob, nob nobbu. Nob bu bu!" The figure behind the curtain says with as much imperiousness as its squeaky voice can convey.
…
"Why does this kind of thing always happen to me..?" Jason mumbles after a moment of silence.
"Nobbu nob!" The Mini-Nobbu behind the curtain cries, and his captors drag him away into the darkness, heedless of his screams.
***
Jason is still screaming when the Mini-Nobbus shove him into a crude bamboo cage and slam the door shut. "You can't do this to me! I'm your captain, goddammit! Well, maybe not yours, but I commanded your parents!"
"Hey, you. You're finally awake," says a gravelly voice in the back of the cell.
"Shut the hell up, Blackbeard!" Jason whirls to point at his cellmate.
"Jeez, you're not even surprised to see me-?" The pirate mumbles.
"I'm in a permanent state of surprise right now, nothing else could possibly-!"
He cuts himself off in utter speechlessness as he finally locks eyes with the third person in his cell. Or at least, what's left of them.
"So, let's talk about my missing body!" Says Oda Nobunaga's severed head.
This chapter was finished last Saturday, but I realized it would completely butcher the tone of the last couple of chapters, so it was moved to this point.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Maybe the real madness was the mini-nobbus we made along the way
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
In the school of thought that led to
[X]Kill yourself for power
-[X]Do it manually
Odin would make a great SVer, huh.
Also, Nobbu really doesn't know how to quit while she's ahead, does she.
Redsoff
[DETACHMENT]
- Location
- By [your] side
Yeah, that pretty much sums up everything.
What the fuck is happening.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
From ten chapters ago:
As for Nobbu, she's been harmlessly decapitated before, in canon, so this is nothing new.
- Location
- Omniverse #1345
I imagine her body being possessed is slightly annoying, though. Lol
DamnedAeons 187
An Ally of Convenience is an Enemy of Opportunity
- Location
- Texas
I believe in you Jason. Be the Hero that you set out to be.
127: Someone needs to put a stop to this.
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
I am not liable for any brain damage incurred reading this chapter. I am, however, deeply sorry.
127: Someone needs to put a stop to this.
"How the hell are you alive!?" Jason blurts, staring at Nobunaga's disembodied head.
"Well!" She says. "It's kind of a long story, but basically this has happened to me before. It turns out, if Ranmaru gets summoned, my head becomes his Noble Phantasm, since he hid it after I died. It was harmless back then because my Avenger form is a little special in terms of its durability, but now, even though I got turned into an Archer again when I was summoned here, it seems like I can survive for a little bit after getting decapitated!"
Jason seems to age another ten years as he rubs his eyes. "...Sure, why not."
"...Fascinating," Says-
"Asclepius!?" Jason staggers backwards as a new Servant wearing a long black robe and a beaked mask suddenly appears in the cell with them, accompanied by a floating mechanical snake. "What-!? How-!?"
"I don't know why you're confused, you're the one who summoned me here," The newcomer mumbles as he picks up Nobunaga's head and begins examining it.
"Wha… You mean my Noble Phantasm!? That was a week ago! I can't even use it anymore!" Jason screams, pointing at him.
"The summons didn't catch my interest until now," He replies. "I see… you said your head became a Noble Phantasm in the past? That clearly isn't what has happened here, though… Heh… hehehe… this might be just the kind of study I need. I'll begin the procedure right away."
"What procedure…?" Jason mutters, massaging his temples. "No, I'm getting distracted. Blackbeard-"
"Hmph. I've already learned my lesson. Friendship… is impossible," says the scruffy-looking pirate, turning to face away.
"...Huh?"
Blackbeard sniffs, wipes fake tears from his eyes, and sniffs again. "I tried… I tried to be friendly, but… it was impossible after all."
"I'll punch you," Jason says, seeing through the fake emotions in a second.
""Boohoo… boohoo… now he's threatening to punch me… boohoo…"
"Fine! I'm sorry for yelling! Are you happy!?" The blond says with irritation dripping from his voice.
"That's not why I'm upset… the reason I'm upset is…" The Pirate breathes in, and a composed look washes over his face, before - "How dare you summon another guy in here! It was already too much with just you and me! Summon a cute girl instead!"
"Ah, that's a Blackbeard answer, right there…" Nobunaga mutters as Asclepius holds her upside down, probing at her neck with a small silver tool. "Hey, w-wait, that tickles! Also all the blood is rushing to my head, so turn me rightside up already-!"
"You're experiencing hypotension in this state? Fu, fufufu, how astounding," The doctor mutters, chuckling like a mad scientist.
"Would you all be serious for just thirty seconds!?" Jason shouts. "Look, before anything else - Blackbeard, you had the grail, right?"
"Nah, it got stolen by some girl disguised as an idol, a little bit after I lost my ship," the pirate sighs. "How the hell was I supposed to know her singing was so awful it would knock me out!?"
"Oh come on, it's not even Halloween yet!" Nobunaga yells.
With closed eyes and gritted teeth, Jason manages to endure her non-sequitur without shouting. "Someone you know?"
"Elizabeth Bathory, it's gotta be," The Archer says. "Self-proclaimed idol with a sonic breath weapon that ruins all her singing, and a penchant for finding random Holy Grails lying around, usually just in time to trigger another repetitive holiday event? That's gotta be Elizabeth. Actually, this makes perfect sense! I knew just Gudaguda particles wouldn't be enough for the level of silliness on display right now, but if they're interacting with Eliza particles-!"
"Of course, the presence of unknown particles must be the cause of this bizarre disease!" Asclepius shouts, dropping Nobunaga's head on the ground, where she starts screaming as she rolls away.
"Based on what evidence!?" Jason protests.
"It's simple math, you just have to carry the three," The Caster says as he gestures to a nonsensical equation etched into the cave wall.
"When did you write that!?"
"I just need to find a way to reproduce them en-masse, and then…" He continues, chuckling under his breath.
"Um, guys?" Says Nobunaga. "I got out."
Sure enough, the severed head has rolled out of the gaps between the bars in the crude bamboo cell.
"Really!?" Blackbeard shouts. "See if you can roll around and get a key!"
"...First of all, it's just a latch with a knot," Jason groans. "Second of all, we're Servants, we can just break this. Third of all, even if we couldn't, we could just turn into spirit form and slip out."
"Well, sure, but where's the romance in that?" The pirate asks.
Asclepius reaches through the bars and unhooks the latch, stepping out to retrieve his specimen. "...My apologies. You aren't damaged, are you?"
"Nobbu! Nob bu bu bu!" A mini-nobbu guard screams as she runs away down a tunnel.
"Wait, are you actually breaking out!?" Blackbeard says. "Why don't you just give up and let them recapture you?"
"...Why?" Asks Jason. "No, for that matter, how did you even get locked up here long term in the first place?"
"Nob-buaaahhh!" As if to emphasize his point, a squad of yelling mini-nobbus running into the chamber containing the cell is sent scattering like bowling pins as Asclepius directs his familiar to attack them.
"I mean, these girls are super cute, right?" Blackbeard says with an 'innocent' smile. "They're trying their best!"
"Nobwah!" One of them screams as it disintegrates into golden dust, leaving behind-
"Huh, seems like they're dropping limited edition idol merch this time," Nobunaga says.
-In an instant, the cavern is filled with the stench of gunpowder and the screams of mini-nobbus. Stepping through the smoke and admiring his carnage, Blackbeard grins. "Let's kill as many as we can!"
"Incredible! There are particles flowing into you from those defeated creatures to prolong your existence! Heh, heh, heh, this is fantastic!" Asclepius shouts. "Let's kill as many as we can!"
"...Why are you both like this?" Jason groans.
***
What follows is a long, tiring, grind of frankly boring combat as, unaided by Noble Phantasms, the three combat-capable servants carve a path through wave after wave of increasingly strange mini-nobbus.
"NOBBOAAAH!" Shouts a large one in a familiar voice as it fires nine lasers from its mouth.
"Does that one have Heracles's voice…?" Asks Asclepius as Blackbeard charges between the lasers to plunge a hook on his wrist into its stomach..
"Hm, if the HeraNobus are showing up, things are getting really bad," the disembodied head he's still dutifully carrying mutters. "We should be careful of any-"
"Nob nob nob nob!" Shouts another with the voice of Cu Chulainn as she raises a stone spear. "[Nob-" She's engulfed by a puff of blue fire from Asclepius's mechanical snake before she can finish, and collapses into a pile of golden dust and music CDs.
"Oi, Nobunaga. If you somehow survive this… you better not ever summon these things again," Jason mutters with a glare.
Finally, the group reach the candlelit shrine that Jason was dragged to before, where the apparent leader of the tribe had declared his sentence.
"Nob! Nob Nobubu Nobbu!" Shouts the Mini-Nobbu behind the curtain, and draws it back to reveal-
"No… this can't be!" Nobunaga shouts as she sees the blue bodysuit and white armor the chibi creature is wearing.
"Nobbu, nob nob nobbu no no nobubu Mini-Nobbu nobubu, Nobunaga…" She says, pulling off her hat to reveal spiky black hair, and striking the signature pose of her namesake. "Nob, Vegenobbu, nob nobubu nobbu… nobu nobububu SUPER NOBBU! Wahahaha!"
"Hmph," Nobunaga huffs. "There's no such thing as a Super Nobbu! That's just a story you stupid chibis made up to pass around a campfire!"
"What did my brain ever do to you? Why are you hurting it like this?" Jason asks.
"NobuuuUUUUUUUU!" Vegenobbu starts to shout as energy crackles around her, her hair flickering golden-
BLAM! "Nobwah!?"
A gunshot rings out, and the legendary Super-Nobbu dies like all the rest. "I always wondered why no one attacks in the middle of a transformation sequence," Blackbeard says.
***
The three-and-a-half Servants exit the seaside cavern to the fury of a fresh storm.
""I thought the storm was over at this point…" Jason mutters.
"Well, I don't feel like getting rained on, so I'm going back to the cave-!" Blackbeard starts.
""No, you're not,"" Say Jason and Nobunaga at the same time.
There's a tense moment of silence as the three eye each other for a moment.
"...You figured it out, huh?" Blackbeard asks, and for the first time, his eyes seem to grow serious.
"I think we all saw the deeper tunnels behind that curtain, and it's obvious from the sheer numbers of those things…" Jason says.
"Yeah, they've totally got the grail at this point," Nobunaga completes.
"Question is… do you really think you can stop me?" The Pirate asks, and lightning crashes, lighting up the sinister angles of his face as he draws a pistol.
Jason smirks "Heh, don't underestimate my buddy- oi, Asclepius!? Where are you going!? Don't just walk away!"
"Yeah, what about the Holy Grail!? You're a Servant, don't you want it!?" Nobunaga, still in the doctor's grip, shouts.
"That isn't important now. I need to find my patient's body before she expires. Heh, heheheh. To reattach a severed head to the body-!" Asclepius laughs delightedly. "Surely, this is a perfect study for me!"
"Right, I forgot you were crazy…" Jason mutters.
"...So, what'll it be?" Blackbeard asks, hand not leaving his flintlock. "The tone's been pretty lighthearted so far, but we both know these kind of things can-"
At that moment, he falls silent. All four people present do. The rain itself seems to freeze in the air, not daring to make a sound. The warm wind and wet rain are almost nonexistent. The only feeling, the only sensation, is a terrible, overwhelming pressure.
And, in the distance, as stars begin to vanish from the cloud-swept sky, the true enemy emerges.
Last edited:
ExNihilo
SPACE!
- Location
- USA
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Smh just np loop. Pick up a support Castoria, and with Asclepius, Jason can probably pull it off (lies).
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
Jason is NP sealed in this fight for story reasons (his ship blew up). Blackbeard too.
For the record this is like 5 nodes of 6/6/6 Mini-Nobbus with inconsistent class affinities and annoyingly high health pools.
- Location
- Somewhere North of south
Classic blackbeard jumping from goofy to scary to goofy to scary to goofy.
128: Dagon
Xorn
Master Procrastinator
- Location
- Somewhere I won't be able to rest in peace
128: Dagon
I was worshipped, once.
On islands of blasphemous sludge, upon altars of bleakest stone, millions were offered to slake my appetite. Ziggurats of inhuman design were built upon the ocean floor, and my kin ruled all beneath the waves.
"-No. No, that never happened, it didn't-!" I groan, clutching a scaly hand to the face upon my new form's chest. How loathsome. How wretched.
Judgment. Pass judgment. That is the duty of a god, and once I tear the interlopers limb from limb they shall know my name-!
My form starts to rot, but I correct it with gritted teeth. Just a small bit more. Just one more chance, and I will-! I will-!
I am insane. I know that. I've known that for tens of thousands of years- is wrong. I've only been insane for a few thousand. Since my kin sank into the sea-
Wrong. Wrong. It's all wrong.
I rise from the water, staggering ashore - there. A blue-haired girl, child of the Greek gods. I have seen her with the accursed one, so I attack her exposed back without mercy.
"What-!?" She shouts, whirling around and flooding the air with Magic Circles as I erupt from the water, Energy beams gouge my flesh, but I withstand it, and-
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅-!" My [Distorted Roar] fills the air as my fist connects with her hastily raised guard and shatters her arms. She's launched backwards, and kicking off the sand, I meet her flying form, catching the girl by a leg and twisting to hurl her back to the beach below. As I do so, I'm sure to tighten my grip enough to break that limb as well.
Calling the wind of the slowly returning storm to redirect my motion, I summon a jet of water behind me in the air to bring me back down with clasped fists upon the prone witch.
"Pathetic! Pathetic, child of the greeks! Do you see, now!? I am beyond those fools! Even in this state, Their children…" No. No, is this something to boast about…? I… I…
Oh, she's crawling away. I step on her remaining leg and break it. She makes a pleasant noise from her mouth. Why do I…?
"The accursed one… where is he?" I ask, holding her bruised face up by the hair. "No, it doesn't matter. He will come meet with you soon, and when he does, I will kill you in front of him! Ha! Ha! Wahahahaha!"
To push him over the edge of despair is the natural role of a demon like myself- "AAAAAAHHHH! NO! NO, that's wrong, it's all wrong! I am a god! I am a god! I am a god!"
"That tactic… will not affect Lord Subaru. He's a man without a heart," The girl says, affection clear in her voice. "You seem unstable, so you probably couldn't see it… everything he did for me was just an act to earn my trust. I'm sure, he'll move on without a second thought, the moment I'm killed."
"No… no, I have watched! The accursed one… the accursed one will despair if his allies are slain. I know it-!" I scream, grinding her face into the sand. "The tone of your voice betrays you! That love-! Yes, if it is mutual, then-!"
"It isn't. There's no one who can love a witch, after all," She says, smiling despite everything. "But he won't love anyone else. That's… enough for me. And, more importantly, when he finally has no use for me, Subaru-sama, unlike Jason… will be sure to kill me properly, when he abandons me."
"-That won't happen," Someone says.
At first, I do not recognize him. The image of an old bearded man with a peg leg seems to be superimposed over him as he dashes forward. Then, that illusion breaks, and I see the accursed one, wild-eyed as he closes the gap between us, two blades gripped in his hands.
"Even so, you are too slow-!" I shout, hands shooting for the girl's neck, but-!
"Don't move!" A voice calls out, and as my limbs seize up, I grapple with the sight of a second accursed one, identical to the first, a command spell glowing on the back of his hand.
***
Alter Ego
"So, Rigel, correct me if I'm wrong-" my self-proclaimed brother starts.
"You're really going with that name?" I mutter in mild protest.
"-but all those times you were trying to save your girlfriend-" he continues.
"She's not- it's more complicated than that!"
"-you were either trying after possessing me or just running off on your own as a Servant, right?" He finishes.
"...Now that you say it like that, it sounds really stupid," I mutter.
But of course, I wasn't going to ask him to help. Because I couldn't convince him to follow my orders without thinking, and I don't like explaining things to others.
Holding the same conversation, over and over again… will drive me insane, if I let it. At the very least, it makes me start shouting, and from there it's just a short path to… I think it would be called a psychotic break. I haven't really learned any psychology or anything, but the type of feral rage that sweeps over me at times like that is what I imagine a psychotic break is like.
"It sounds stupid because it is stupid," He says, and I manage to hold back my feral rage. "If a Servant isn't enough, and a Master isn't enough, then you need to try bringing both, obviously."
"Wow. You're so wise. Amazing," I say, voice dripping with sarcasm.
He winks, giving an insufferable smirk. "Right, so let me lay out the plan here. You might not have been able to tell because you don't recognize her as an ally, but with [Cor Leonis] I saw that Dagon is occupying Nobunaga's headless body right now." With what now? "I've been able to interfere with possession using it in the past, so between that and my command spell, I should be able to slow him down enough."
"Back up. Don't talk about things I don't know about. What's [Cor Leonis]?" I ask, and the most smug look I've seen so far stretches across his face.
…
…Wait, he can actually use his Witch Factors!?
***
As Tawrich tears open Dagon's wrist, I still can't believe it. He's still frozen, and I won't get another chance - twist, push in the hip, and - execute the one and only Judo throw that Natsuki Subaru ever learned, the Ogoshi.
"Ippon!" the other me yells, and I feel a faint twitch at the edge of my lips.
For just a moment, I glance towards Medea. She's alive. It feels… unreal.
Of course it's unreal. Even if she's alive for now… I know. something will go wrong. Something always goes wrong. I won't let myself of all people believe Natsuki Subaru's bravado. I will die, and fail, a dozen times yet, before this situation resolves.
Already, I can see him rising, unbound from the Command Spell's influence.
"...Two of you?" The reef god asks. "What trickery is this!?"
"It's not a trick. Just a coincidence, really," the other guy says. "He got summoned because someone else got interested in me, and called him up to fight me. To be honest, until you went and mistook Rigel for me, he didn't really have any reason to fight you."
"...I do not understand. That curse-" Dagon murmurs.
"Was on Natsuki Subaru, yeah. To be clear, it was supposed to be just me, since I foiled your resurrection scheme a few centuries back," He grins. "So next time you go slinging curses on people, make it more specific, dumbass!"
I can't believe it.
Dagon groans, clawing at the face on his chest in some kind of confusion. "You… no, humans do not live so long! Cease your lies! Why!? Tell me why I have cursed you!"
I can't believe this stalling tactic is working.
"I'm not lying. In another singularity, like this one, you were going to revive yourself, and I stopped it," Natsuki Subaru says coldly as he walks up to stand next to me. "Not because we were enemies or anything. I just felt like it - your method was gross, so I stopped it - ah, there we go, that's enough time."
Seriously, all he had to do was get him talking!?
As lightning starts to rain from the sky - on his hand, in a flash of red, a fresh command spell appears at the stroke of midnight.
"Now, Rigel!"
"[Return From Death]," Once more, my world opens upon the sandy shoreline.
***
The plan was simple enough. Get him off of Medea with a command spell, stall until a new one was delivered from Chaldea, and then trap the three of us in my Reality Marble again while excluding Medea. From there, the two of us could double team Dagon and bring him down under an unrelenting deluge of mud and blade strikes. Plus, since dying restores us to our state when the Reality Marble opened, he could effectively use as many Command Spells as he wanted, and wouldn't have to worry about the constant drain on his mana he had mentioned.
"[Rage-filled Current]!" Dagon roars as the reality Marble closes, and a torrent of mud rises from somewhere, already swallowing the green hillscape. And in response, Natsuki Subaru raises his hand, Command Spell alight.
"By my Command Spell… Rigel. Don't die," He says, stepping past me and towards the torrent of primordial ooze and bones.
What.
I try to chase after him, but- my body betrays me, and I leap backwards as I feel the telltale surge of mana from his demise.
What the hell is he-?
"-By my command spell," Natsuki Subaru says as a corpse is added to the pile, and a new him is born from the Reality Marble. "Rigel - Live."
"What are you doing, Natsuki Subaru!?" I scream as Dagon erupts from the grime beneath him to tear him in half.
Just how far are you willing to go?
"By my command spell-" He continues, as the bones of an ancient fish are hurled towards him to impale and kill him. "Value your life."
Just how good natured are you going to be towards me, you idiot!?
{Anyway,} His voice echoes in my mind. {It's my fault you got caught up in all this in the first place, you know? I'll take it from here, so just leave the rest to your big bro.}
"Just how long do you think I've been around, you moron! In what world-!?" I shout as I dodge a thrown bone.
{Loops don't count. Otherwise being in love with Emilia-tan could theoretically approach creepy territory at some point, right?}
"...What flawlessly self-serving logic."
{Anyway, you can leave the rest to me. Back me up with some Odin magic or something,} He concludes. "Don't move!" amidst the whirling grime Dagon freezes for a moment, and in the next, Subaru fires a spell towards him "[Shamak]!"
***
Natsuki Subaru
I have done quite a few incredibly stupid things in my time. However…
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅-!" Surfing atop a wave of cursed mud, Dagon closes the distance again and punches my head off.
This is still almost definitely my dumbest plan yet.
My command spell glows. "Allow my spells to affect you, Nobunaga! [Shamak]!" Even as my hastily fired Shamak finds its mark, purple lighting erupts from his claw and I scream as my body shakes itself to death.
But this is my fight. Not his. He's already died so many times thanks to a problem I caused, so he can stand back and let me handle it just this once. And besides, there's also-
"Fight his possession, Nobunaga!"
-A glimmering star, still somehow present in my awareness, even as the ancient god occupying her body tears into me again.
"Why won't you die!?" The monster roars, and I smirk.
"Authorities, Dagon! They revive me in response to physical trauma!" Let it not be said that Natsuki Subaru lacks a quick mind for idiotic references. "By the way, cast off his influence, Nobuanga!" I shout, Command Spell glowing.
"Hah… this realm, then. It must be… very well!" He stands tall, amid the still rising tide of corrupted mud and ancient grime, utterly unfazed by the corruption rising up his legs. "-Your efforts are futile, accursed one. My control over this corpse is all but absolute. Nothing in its arsenal is beyond my reach - behold! I am… the [Demon King of the Sixth Heaven]!"
The world shudders as flames erupt from the blighted mudscape.
"Goddammit, he's going to break it down!" Rigel shouts as Dagon leaps towards my newest body, propelled by a reeking, steaming mix of fire and grime. "Unsealing the Furnace! Attain a drop of truth! [Incineration Ritual: Zepar]!"
Dagon crashes through the explosion - flesh charred, all but burnt away, he still closes the distance as [Return From Death] begins to crack and fray under the weight of a superior Reality Marble.
Seconds, I have seconds before I die, and so I panic, pulling as hard as I can, my neck and chest starting to bleed as I draw as much of Nobunaga's burden to myself as possible, and in a final, desperate bid- "[Emergency Citrus]!" I shout, hitting him with the stupidly named debuff cleanse.
Dagon's right claw closes around my neck - but that's all. No pressure is applied. And then-
"Im…possible." The left claw, digging into the face upon his chest, tears. "Impossible, impossible, I cannot-!"
With a final spray of blood and spiritrons, Nobunaga tears the whole mass of flesh out of her chest cavity and hurls it away into the flames of her reality marble.
For just a moment, I can still see her standing proud, amidst the rising flames. A headless corpse with a hole clean through the center leaking golden dust that scatters dazzlingly in the flickering firelight.
"You really were… something else." I mutter, burning the sight of that prideful demon into my brain as the world dissolves into reality once more.
***
"Anyway, let's talk about my missing head," says Nobunaga.
…
"Give back my feelings!" I scream. She's fine! Not only is she alive without a head, she's talking without one!
"I… uh… do you mind if…" Rigel mutters, gesturing towards Medea. To be honest, I can pretty much tell that he just really, really, doesn't want to be part of this conversation. But still-
"Yeah, yeah, go talk it out," I say, sighing as I turn back to Nobbu. "I'll do my best to- where did you get a sign with your face drawn on it!?"
"Oh, Nobukatsu made this the last time-"
"It's happened before!?" I shout.
Well, I might be angry, but… to be honest this kind of ending is really the best possible. Even if it's nonsensical, even if it undercuts the drama… I'm happy about it.
And yet, somehow, I feel like I'm forgetting something.
!!!
-Pressure.
Sudden, overwhelming pressure that commands the waves to still and the wind to flee. Beyond anything I've ever felt, in this world or the other one, only surpassed by the witch herself. And yet, there's another sense.
A sickening, half-remembered dread, like a forgotten nightmare from the distant past.
-snarls. -screams. Crystalline, branch-like horns, writhing under the moonlight.
And the overwhelming, certain knowledge, as I see eleven stars flash brightly and vanish, that the true foe has finally arrived.
I was worshipped, once.
On islands of blasphemous sludge, upon altars of bleakest stone, millions were offered to slake my appetite. Ziggurats of inhuman design were built upon the ocean floor, and my kin ruled all beneath the waves.
"-No. No, that never happened, it didn't-!" I groan, clutching a scaly hand to the face upon my new form's chest. How loathsome. How wretched.
Judgment. Pass judgment. That is the duty of a god, and once I tear the interlopers limb from limb they shall know my name-!
My form starts to rot, but I correct it with gritted teeth. Just a small bit more. Just one more chance, and I will-! I will-!
I am insane. I know that. I've known that for tens of thousands of years- is wrong. I've only been insane for a few thousand. Since my kin sank into the sea-
Wrong. Wrong. It's all wrong.
I rise from the water, staggering ashore - there. A blue-haired girl, child of the Greek gods. I have seen her with the accursed one, so I attack her exposed back without mercy.
"What-!?" She shouts, whirling around and flooding the air with Magic Circles as I erupt from the water, Energy beams gouge my flesh, but I withstand it, and-
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅-!" My [Distorted Roar] fills the air as my fist connects with her hastily raised guard and shatters her arms. She's launched backwards, and kicking off the sand, I meet her flying form, catching the girl by a leg and twisting to hurl her back to the beach below. As I do so, I'm sure to tighten my grip enough to break that limb as well.
Calling the wind of the slowly returning storm to redirect my motion, I summon a jet of water behind me in the air to bring me back down with clasped fists upon the prone witch.
"Pathetic! Pathetic, child of the greeks! Do you see, now!? I am beyond those fools! Even in this state, Their children…" No. No, is this something to boast about…? I… I…
Oh, she's crawling away. I step on her remaining leg and break it. She makes a pleasant noise from her mouth. Why do I…?
"The accursed one… where is he?" I ask, holding her bruised face up by the hair. "No, it doesn't matter. He will come meet with you soon, and when he does, I will kill you in front of him! Ha! Ha! Wahahahaha!"
To push him over the edge of despair is the natural role of a demon like myself- "AAAAAAHHHH! NO! NO, that's wrong, it's all wrong! I am a god! I am a god! I am a god!"
"That tactic… will not affect Lord Subaru. He's a man without a heart," The girl says, affection clear in her voice. "You seem unstable, so you probably couldn't see it… everything he did for me was just an act to earn my trust. I'm sure, he'll move on without a second thought, the moment I'm killed."
"No… no, I have watched! The accursed one… the accursed one will despair if his allies are slain. I know it-!" I scream, grinding her face into the sand. "The tone of your voice betrays you! That love-! Yes, if it is mutual, then-!"
"It isn't. There's no one who can love a witch, after all," She says, smiling despite everything. "But he won't love anyone else. That's… enough for me. And, more importantly, when he finally has no use for me, Subaru-sama, unlike Jason… will be sure to kill me properly, when he abandons me."
"-That won't happen," Someone says.
At first, I do not recognize him. The image of an old bearded man with a peg leg seems to be superimposed over him as he dashes forward. Then, that illusion breaks, and I see the accursed one, wild-eyed as he closes the gap between us, two blades gripped in his hands.
"Even so, you are too slow-!" I shout, hands shooting for the girl's neck, but-!
"Don't move!" A voice calls out, and as my limbs seize up, I grapple with the sight of a second accursed one, identical to the first, a command spell glowing on the back of his hand.
***
Alter Ego
"So, Rigel, correct me if I'm wrong-" my self-proclaimed brother starts.
"You're really going with that name?" I mutter in mild protest.
"-but all those times you were trying to save your girlfriend-" he continues.
"She's not- it's more complicated than that!"
"-you were either trying after possessing me or just running off on your own as a Servant, right?" He finishes.
"...Now that you say it like that, it sounds really stupid," I mutter.
But of course, I wasn't going to ask him to help. Because I couldn't convince him to follow my orders without thinking, and I don't like explaining things to others.
Holding the same conversation, over and over again… will drive me insane, if I let it. At the very least, it makes me start shouting, and from there it's just a short path to… I think it would be called a psychotic break. I haven't really learned any psychology or anything, but the type of feral rage that sweeps over me at times like that is what I imagine a psychotic break is like.
"It sounds stupid because it is stupid," He says, and I manage to hold back my feral rage. "If a Servant isn't enough, and a Master isn't enough, then you need to try bringing both, obviously."
"Wow. You're so wise. Amazing," I say, voice dripping with sarcasm.
He winks, giving an insufferable smirk. "Right, so let me lay out the plan here. You might not have been able to tell because you don't recognize her as an ally, but with [Cor Leonis] I saw that Dagon is occupying Nobunaga's headless body right now." With what now? "I've been able to interfere with possession using it in the past, so between that and my command spell, I should be able to slow him down enough."
"Back up. Don't talk about things I don't know about. What's [Cor Leonis]?" I ask, and the most smug look I've seen so far stretches across his face.
…
…Wait, he can actually use his Witch Factors!?
***
As Tawrich tears open Dagon's wrist, I still can't believe it. He's still frozen, and I won't get another chance - twist, push in the hip, and - execute the one and only Judo throw that Natsuki Subaru ever learned, the Ogoshi.
"Ippon!" the other me yells, and I feel a faint twitch at the edge of my lips.
For just a moment, I glance towards Medea. She's alive. It feels… unreal.
Of course it's unreal. Even if she's alive for now… I know. something will go wrong. Something always goes wrong. I won't let myself of all people believe Natsuki Subaru's bravado. I will die, and fail, a dozen times yet, before this situation resolves.
Already, I can see him rising, unbound from the Command Spell's influence.
"...Two of you?" The reef god asks. "What trickery is this!?"
"It's not a trick. Just a coincidence, really," the other guy says. "He got summoned because someone else got interested in me, and called him up to fight me. To be honest, until you went and mistook Rigel for me, he didn't really have any reason to fight you."
"...I do not understand. That curse-" Dagon murmurs.
"Was on Natsuki Subaru, yeah. To be clear, it was supposed to be just me, since I foiled your resurrection scheme a few centuries back," He grins. "So next time you go slinging curses on people, make it more specific, dumbass!"
I can't believe it.
Dagon groans, clawing at the face on his chest in some kind of confusion. "You… no, humans do not live so long! Cease your lies! Why!? Tell me why I have cursed you!"
I can't believe this stalling tactic is working.
"I'm not lying. In another singularity, like this one, you were going to revive yourself, and I stopped it," Natsuki Subaru says coldly as he walks up to stand next to me. "Not because we were enemies or anything. I just felt like it - your method was gross, so I stopped it - ah, there we go, that's enough time."
Seriously, all he had to do was get him talking!?
As lightning starts to rain from the sky - on his hand, in a flash of red, a fresh command spell appears at the stroke of midnight.
"Now, Rigel!"
"[Return From Death]," Once more, my world opens upon the sandy shoreline.
***
The plan was simple enough. Get him off of Medea with a command spell, stall until a new one was delivered from Chaldea, and then trap the three of us in my Reality Marble again while excluding Medea. From there, the two of us could double team Dagon and bring him down under an unrelenting deluge of mud and blade strikes. Plus, since dying restores us to our state when the Reality Marble opened, he could effectively use as many Command Spells as he wanted, and wouldn't have to worry about the constant drain on his mana he had mentioned.
"[Rage-filled Current]!" Dagon roars as the reality Marble closes, and a torrent of mud rises from somewhere, already swallowing the green hillscape. And in response, Natsuki Subaru raises his hand, Command Spell alight.
"By my Command Spell… Rigel. Don't die," He says, stepping past me and towards the torrent of primordial ooze and bones.
What.
I try to chase after him, but- my body betrays me, and I leap backwards as I feel the telltale surge of mana from his demise.
What the hell is he-?
"-By my command spell," Natsuki Subaru says as a corpse is added to the pile, and a new him is born from the Reality Marble. "Rigel - Live."
"What are you doing, Natsuki Subaru!?" I scream as Dagon erupts from the grime beneath him to tear him in half.
Just how far are you willing to go?
"By my command spell-" He continues, as the bones of an ancient fish are hurled towards him to impale and kill him. "Value your life."
Just how good natured are you going to be towards me, you idiot!?
{Anyway,} His voice echoes in my mind. {It's my fault you got caught up in all this in the first place, you know? I'll take it from here, so just leave the rest to your big bro.}
"Just how long do you think I've been around, you moron! In what world-!?" I shout as I dodge a thrown bone.
{Loops don't count. Otherwise being in love with Emilia-tan could theoretically approach creepy territory at some point, right?}
"...What flawlessly self-serving logic."
{Anyway, you can leave the rest to me. Back me up with some Odin magic or something,} He concludes. "Don't move!" amidst the whirling grime Dagon freezes for a moment, and in the next, Subaru fires a spell towards him "[Shamak]!"
***
Natsuki Subaru
I have done quite a few incredibly stupid things in my time. However…
"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅-!" Surfing atop a wave of cursed mud, Dagon closes the distance again and punches my head off.
This is still almost definitely my dumbest plan yet.
My command spell glows. "Allow my spells to affect you, Nobunaga! [Shamak]!" Even as my hastily fired Shamak finds its mark, purple lighting erupts from his claw and I scream as my body shakes itself to death.
But this is my fight. Not his. He's already died so many times thanks to a problem I caused, so he can stand back and let me handle it just this once. And besides, there's also-
"Fight his possession, Nobunaga!"
-A glimmering star, still somehow present in my awareness, even as the ancient god occupying her body tears into me again.
"Why won't you die!?" The monster roars, and I smirk.
"Authorities, Dagon! They revive me in response to physical trauma!" Let it not be said that Natsuki Subaru lacks a quick mind for idiotic references. "By the way, cast off his influence, Nobuanga!" I shout, Command Spell glowing.
"Hah… this realm, then. It must be… very well!" He stands tall, amid the still rising tide of corrupted mud and ancient grime, utterly unfazed by the corruption rising up his legs. "-Your efforts are futile, accursed one. My control over this corpse is all but absolute. Nothing in its arsenal is beyond my reach - behold! I am… the [Demon King of the Sixth Heaven]!"
The world shudders as flames erupt from the blighted mudscape.
"Goddammit, he's going to break it down!" Rigel shouts as Dagon leaps towards my newest body, propelled by a reeking, steaming mix of fire and grime. "Unsealing the Furnace! Attain a drop of truth! [Incineration Ritual: Zepar]!"
Dagon crashes through the explosion - flesh charred, all but burnt away, he still closes the distance as [Return From Death] begins to crack and fray under the weight of a superior Reality Marble.
Seconds, I have seconds before I die, and so I panic, pulling as hard as I can, my neck and chest starting to bleed as I draw as much of Nobunaga's burden to myself as possible, and in a final, desperate bid- "[Emergency Citrus]!" I shout, hitting him with the stupidly named debuff cleanse.
Dagon's right claw closes around my neck - but that's all. No pressure is applied. And then-
"Im…possible." The left claw, digging into the face upon his chest, tears. "Impossible, impossible, I cannot-!"
With a final spray of blood and spiritrons, Nobunaga tears the whole mass of flesh out of her chest cavity and hurls it away into the flames of her reality marble.
For just a moment, I can still see her standing proud, amidst the rising flames. A headless corpse with a hole clean through the center leaking golden dust that scatters dazzlingly in the flickering firelight.
"You really were… something else." I mutter, burning the sight of that prideful demon into my brain as the world dissolves into reality once more.
***
"Anyway, let's talk about my missing head," says Nobunaga.
…
"Give back my feelings!" I scream. She's fine! Not only is she alive without a head, she's talking without one!
"I… uh… do you mind if…" Rigel mutters, gesturing towards Medea. To be honest, I can pretty much tell that he just really, really, doesn't want to be part of this conversation. But still-
"Yeah, yeah, go talk it out," I say, sighing as I turn back to Nobbu. "I'll do my best to- where did you get a sign with your face drawn on it!?"
"Oh, Nobukatsu made this the last time-"
"It's happened before!?" I shout.
Well, I might be angry, but… to be honest this kind of ending is really the best possible. Even if it's nonsensical, even if it undercuts the drama… I'm happy about it.
And yet, somehow, I feel like I'm forgetting something.
!!!
-Pressure.
Sudden, overwhelming pressure that commands the waves to still and the wind to flee. Beyond anything I've ever felt, in this world or the other one, only surpassed by the witch herself. And yet, there's another sense.
A sickening, half-remembered dread, like a forgotten nightmare from the distant past.
-snarls. -screams. Crystalline, branch-like horns, writhing under the moonlight.
And the overwhelming, certain knowledge, as I see eleven stars flash brightly and vanish, that the true foe has finally arrived.