Beta read by Shigiya and Paragon of Awesomeness
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-Bran Castle, Romania-
Night settled over the ancestral home of Dracula and his Tepes descendants. The castle did not blend within the dark forest; it found itself illuminated by red light crawling along the stone walls, spreading across the towers and down into the courtyards like cracks in glass. Magical symbols burned across the ground in wide circles, carved deep into the rock and filled with energy that felt like fresh blood.
The joyful atmosphere of the prior banquet was nowhere to be seen, or even the tense atmosphere that came with the historic summit between the biblical factions. Several figures moved across the grounds from both within and beyond the castle, checking each circle, adjusting the spacing between formations where smaller crests had been nailed in place. Some carried several weapons to distribute amongst themselves, and others traced over fading lines with new strokes to keep the glow from dimming.
"North formation is ready," one of them called from the forest. "All anchors are in place."
"South courtyard is sealed," another replied. "The last channel's been fed."
Near the western area, right at the gates of the castle, two vampires stood over a wide magic circle carved into the stone floor. The marking pulsed under their boots and gave off an ominous light. The younger-looking one kept glancing toward the main keep with an uneasy expression. "They're still inside, right? Dracula and the guests?"
"They are," the older vampire from the House of Tepes answered while pressing his palm against the edge of the rune. The light rose slightly under his hand. "And I told you to stop calling him by that name. A pretender such as him does not deserve to carry the name of our most revered ancestor, especially when he is intent on besmirching it by kneeling to the three factions. Just do your job."
The younger one swallowed. "I know, but… do you really think this will work? He's not alone. Vlad has Sirzechs, Serafall, Ajuka, Azazel, and Michael with him. That's not some minor group we can just scare off. And the power he used last time someone tried to rebel…"
Memories of those stakes were still strong in his mind.
"Lower your voices," an irritated voice spoke, with both vampires watching as the former fourth prince of the Tepes Faction appeared before them. "We don't want to blow our own cover."
Ever since the initial confrontation with Lancer shortly after his summoning, everything just kept going downhill for Marius. From losing his prior status and influence held amongst the vampires, to being forced into obedience to follow that rotten halfbreed that was nothing more than a tool for his growing power and convenient toy when he needed some amusement. Suffice to say, his patience had reached its limit, and only rage and indignation now dictated his emotions.
"L-Lord Marius, forgive me but… but surely you must see the issue at hand," the younger insisted. "Sirzechs Lucifer isn't someone you just trap in a box. And Azazel's not an idiot. If they break through—"
A loud smack cut him off. The elder's hand had met the back of his head without warning.
"Use your head," the elder snapped. "You think this is just a simple barrier?"
The younger glared but stayed quiet, knowing better to talk back to his betters when they are speaking.
The elder tapped the glowing lines at his feet. "This field drains whoever steps inside it. Devils, angels, humans, spirits, it doesn't matter. And the stronger they are, the more it takes. Their strength feeds the formation. And then that power returns to us."
"You're saying it will weaken them enough?"
"It will bleed them dry." This time, it was Marius who replied. "And every drop of power they lose mends our wounds. Do you feel it? It's already responding."
The younger vampire hesitated. "Even so… going against Dracula like this…"
Dracula… Hearing that name come out of his subordinate's mouth once more nearly pushed Marius to crush this insolent fool right then and there. Yet right as he contemplated going through with this motion, his senses picked up another presence getting closer.
"It is far too late for any regrets." Another vampire approached from the depths of the forest, a young woman wiping blood from her sleeve. Holding onto an umbrella, her doll-like appearance would easily attract everyone's attention. "The outer ring is active. If you have doubts, go ahead and run away like a coward."
"You…" Marius frowned at the woman, noticing the emblem embroidered upon her clothes, that of the House of Karnstein. "Don't you members of the Carmilla Faction have more important matters to take care of rather than wasting my time?"
Even if this plan was put forth with both factions working together, some friction naturally still arose. An inevitable outcome, for if they succeeded, they would be right back to going at each other's throats. Everyone knew this, but as long as it helped them achieve their goals… then nothing else mattered. A bit of disagreement could be easily overlooked as long as everyone held off on any backstabbing, at least until Lancer was out of the picture.
"Why the hostility? Should I remind you that you're speaking to a noblewoman? You are no longer the head of Tepes yourself, so from my perspective, we now stand on equal ground as far as rank is concerned." The doll-like woman mentioned with an arrogant tone, showing little respect to the former head of Tepes.
"Watch your tone, Elmenhilde!"
If it were not for the pretender, then people from the Carmilla Faction would not waste a single opportunity to rub salt on his wounds. His pride, already trashed, would not accept being further lowered by the hands of these fools. Yet he could not put them in their places anymore like he used to, for any sort of open conflict would ruin their plans.
The girl scoffed, twirling her umbrella without a care in the world. "Watch my tone? You should be following your own advice, Marius. Besides, I am but a mere messenger here to inform you that the Carmilla Faction has taken out those who decided to side with that little naive girl and her Servant. It's only a matter of time before they find out, so get ready. As for me, my role in this is done. So I shall be taking my leave." She bowed elegantly, lifting the edge of her dress in a haughty curtsy while the one before her tried his best not fall for her taunts.
"Humph."
Soon, after all this was over and things returned to how they used to be, Marius swore to get his revenge on that impudent girl, one way or another.
Maybe turn her into one of his concubines or throw her to his men to vent some of their stress.
Silence followed.
From outside, the final crest along the outer wall flared brighter than the rest. The red light across the castle walls linked together in one continuous line that quickly formed a complete circle. The snow in the courtyard melted in thin patches where the markings spread.
"It's done," someone shouted from above. "All sectors should be covered by the spell. Doesn't matter what anyone tries, as long as Lord Vladi uses this to his advantage. As long as this spell stands, no one can defeat us."
A low vibration passed through the stone beneath their feet.
Then the sky above the castle turned a bright crimson red, a giant dome enveloping the area.
The formation flared again.
From the ground level, rebel vampires stepped forward through the red haze, their skin alight with the same glow of power.
From the battlements, the rebels looked down. The crimson dome had sealed them in, and the air itself felt different. Below, the main gates of the keep swung open. Lancer emerged first, his blonde hair waving in the air and looking outward with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
It would be a lie to say that a cold dread filled their core within the ranks of the renegade vampires. But if they hoped to ever win this war, then that weakness needed to be purged!
The Servant happened to be followed by the leaders of the factions. Sirzechs held hands with his wife. Ajuka glanced around, taking everything in with a calculated gaze. Serafall practically bounced in place, looking far too excited for the current situation while Azazel's hands were in his pockets, observing the scene with an intrigued gaze, and then there was Michael, shepherding the two exorcists who were nominally there for his protection.
Archer, Rider, and Assassin were a few steps behind, though they all kept a close eye on their Masters. To the vampires' shock, they were all letting Lancer go ahead and deal with the matter himself.
Lancer stopped in the center of the courtyard, the snow around him melting from the ambient heat of the bounded field. He looked up at the rebels floating above in the sky, his gaze sweeping over them before settling on their leader. Even when not standing beside Lord Vladi, Marius felt fear and the lingering ache of old wounds when facing that monster again.
He hated himself for having stayed hidden like this, which, to his immense frustration, just gave more credence to Elmenhilde's parting words. The conversation happening between Lancer and Lord Vladi went on as one would expect, and hearing his name being uttered further sent a chill down the former Tepes prince.
"Those who betray Queen Valerie's hospitality and shed blood where peace was promised shall learn firsthand why history remembers me as the Impaler." Lancer raised his spear — ornate, ancient, and unlike any weapon the vampires had seen before and several of the rebels visibly faltered, their resolve cracking at the sight of it alone.
Lord Vladi's sneer widened. He did not speak. He simply raised a single hand and dropped it.
The signal was given.
Dozens of vampires on the walls raised their hands, and a storm of magic descended upon the lone figure in the courtyard. A myriad of spells filled the air, concussive blasts of crimson energy, and waves of pure corrosive blood filled the sky, all converging on Lancer.
At the same time, a score of vampires leaped from the walls, their claws extended, moving faster than the eye could track to tear him apart from the ground.
Lancer moved leisurely, his spear rotating and gleaming against the moonlight and meeting the oncoming attacks with absolute calm. He merely stood there as the storm of spells came crashing down on him; fire, lightning, blood magic layered over curses.
A split second before impact, the man brought his spear up and what followed was a loud bang!
The first spell, in the form of a condensed sphere of fire, shattered into thousands of tiny embers right as it met the tip of the spear. The unnamed spear easily cleaved through the next layer of spells, some being shattered and most deflected, with none of them even so much as touching the clothes of his guests.
Lancer moved with grace and a surprising amount of nimbleness that one would not expect from someone like him, and a speed that even Marius couldn't follow despite his enhanced senses.
"Keep blasting! He'll get tired out eventually!"
Flames washed over him. Lightning crawled across his clothes, leaving behind a faint burn; that was the only thing causing the old man to frown with genuine distaste. Hexes shattered on contact like glass against stone. The courtyard shook as stray blasts tore into the ground behind him, away from the other three Servants who casually watched the clash.
Some of the braver vampires hissed with pure killing intent. Moving in to clash against Lancer directly, their nails turned into vicious claws capable of even shredding through steel. Their fangs thirsted for blood; holding nothing back, they lunged at him in great numbers.
Despite that, Lancer watched them with a calm expression.
"W-What—"
He vanished, or more accurately, he moved at a speed beyond the perception of Marius' kins. A blur tore through their line and had already impaled the closest vampires.
"Argh—?!"
A spear punched straight through a vampire's throat, the tip bursting out the back of his neck in a spray of crimson. The body dropped before it even realized it was dead.
Another lunged from the side. "Tear him to shreds!"
Lancer pivoted, his boots caved the enemy's chest in with a single motion. Ribs snapped, lungs collapsed, and a geyser of blood spewed out of their mouths. One body that was about to be sent flying back and smash into a stone wall with a sickening crack, ended up pinned to the ground with the same ornate spear skewering him.
"How long do you intend to play this game, Vladi? Sending mere fodder against this King, do you intend to bore me to death? Is that your grand plan? Is this truly the totality of what the combined forces of the Tepes and Carmilla Factions can accomplish? Truly a pathetic showing."
"…"
Two more came at once.
"Humph!"
Steel flashed.
The spear drove through both torsos in a single thrust. Lancer ripped it free in one violent pull, and both bodies split apart as they hit the ground.
A spell flew toward his head.
He raised an arm.
The spell deflected off the end of his weapon, with its wielder no longer showing any courtesy to treat such attacks with the absolute peak of his ability. He instead treated them as the inconveniences they were, incapable of even serving as distractions with which to buy time.
He stepped forward, and three heads came off in a single turn of his spear.
They hit the tainted grass of Bran Castle almost at the same time.
Just kill after kill after kill.
"You are certainly skilled," Vladi commented, to which Lancer accepted the compliment by placing a hand over his heart.
"While I may have been a king first and foremost to my people, the blood of a warrior still courses through my veins. No ruler can truly call themselves a king worthy of the name without holding the mettle to stand and defend their country in times of war. Death comes for all of us equally, so why make it easy for it?"
Another vampire shrieked and dove from above. Lancer didn't even look up. Merely just spun the spear backward and drove it up through the creature's maw and out the back of its skull.
Silence fell fast.
Bodies twitched across the courtyard. Blood soaked into the snow. The red glow of the barrier flickered and formed a macabre reflection on the blood coating Lancer's weapon as it flowed down into the many pools he had created.
The vampires came to a halt, yet there was not a trace of uncertainty to be found on their faces, even as they witnessed Lancer massacre their kin.
"Now!" A sense of growing dread growing within, Marius waited no longer. He shouted the command at the top of his lungs, and several cloaked mages promptly teleported into the sky all around. Their spells were already prepared within their palms, all launching at once towards the Servant of the Spear.
Yet when faced with the rain of light above him, illuminating his surroundings, all aimed at him for the sole intent to reduce him to ashes, the king stood his ground with a smirk on his face. "So you have finally decided to show your cowardly self, Marius. Using such means against me… I commend you for being clever in how you go about your betrayal, if nothing else."
When the smoke cleared, the surrounding vampires' gazes turned dark.
And the tall figure of the greatest hero in all of Romania's history stood there, spear at his side and not a trace of a wound anywhere on his being. His eyes remained closed and allowed the wind to gently blow through his long blonde locks — nothing more to show than another demonstration of pure certainty and superiority.
"Mere spells that cannot even hope to bypass my innate Magic Resistance. It would seem this little rebellion has truly come to its conclusion far faster than I could have predicted. How unfortunate."
Lord Vladi just closed his eyes and turned his attention towards the dome above them. The red ripple of crimson energy suddenly grew in intensity.
The rebels staring down at him didn't speak.
Then—
"Ugh…!"
A broken body on the ground began to shake.
Bones shifted under torn flesh.
The vampire with the shattered spine arched violently as the crimson light poured into him. His back straightened in a jerking motion. The hole in his throat sealed shut with wet, sickening sounds.
He sucked in a ragged breath and stood.
His eyes burned red.
Around the courtyard, more bodies started moving.
"Y-Yes…!" one gasped as his severed arm dragged itself across the snow and latched itself back onto his shoulder, the torn flesh and sinews magically stitching themselves back together.
Flesh knitted.
Spines reset.
Necks twisted back into place.
The red dome pulsed brighter.
Every wound Lancer had inflicted vanished as if it had never been inflicted.
The vampires rose again, now fully recovered.
High above them, Lord Vladi kept his composure, looking down with a blank face; any hint of emotions that might have lurked behind his eyes was impossible to identify. "A direct confrontation against you, Lancer. Whether it be by the prowess of one's might or our numbers—none of that mattered when facing you. So, I had to even the playing field another way."
His eyes gleamed down at the figure below.
"This land rejects you, Heroic Spirit. Every strike you make merely revitalizes us. Every drop of blood spilled here belongs to us."
The barrier pulsed.
"This is our domain," Lord Vladi said, voice echoing across the night. "Kill us once. Kill us a hundred times. It matters not."
The vampires began advancing again, grinning now.
"We will rise again every time."
Snow crunched under their boots.
And yet, Lancer still didn't move so much as a toe back. Instead, a smirk began to form on his lips, and a chuckle spilled from his throat that gradually grew into a full-blown laugh, freezing Marius, who had grown confident of their victory after seeing the effect of the barrier. Yet despite being in a state that practically guaranteed a temporary form of immortality, the dread within just refused to die out.
"Your… domain?" Lancer repeated under his breath. Several strands of blonde hair create a shadow over his eyes. "Hehehe, what an amusing jape this is. This land rejects me, you say? Who decided that?"
Taking a step forward, several vampires, including Marius, felt a chill creep up their spines upon seeing and feeling a dense shroud of crimson magical energy start to surround Lancer. A suffocating sensation descended upon the entire area, where an equally terrifying and familiar sensation started to settle within the bones of every single vampire present.
The very instinct etched into their own blood was screaming at them to stand down. But it was already too late.
"This land, whether it be in this world, my home reality, or any number across the infinite cosmos, is my dominion. Whatever else it may be, the soil of my birthplace remains the same; it calls for my steadfast spirit to stand as its eternal guardian, and in return provides me with its blessing. For you to utter such nonsense makes it clear that my prior actions were not cruel enough." Lancer raised his arm, and a sea of killing intent rolled off him. "You say that every drop of blood spilled here belongs to you? Then allow me to assist you in gorging yourselves on it!"
"Stop him!"
Sensing the impending doom, Marius desperately ordered both the mages and vampires at once. Hundreds, if not thousands, of spells were being formed around him, all of them aimed at none other than Lancer… Despite that, Marius showed no hesitation in turning his back and fleeing.
"Now, you barbarians who dare to trample upon my land… It is time for punishment! I shall turn your blessing into a curse and embed upon your very souls one singular truth: My compassion, my sorrow, and my rage are each unto themselves infinite, and thus so too are the stakes that I summon as I enact my judgement as king!"
The castle grew more distant behind Marius, with some of the vampires outside watching him flee with confusion written across their faces, wondering what he was doing. A few who had seen the horror Vlad could unleash managed to understand what drove his actions, but we're too consumed by our own hubris.
And then, he heard it.
"Kazikli Bey!"
The name of that power echoed in his ears, no different from a bell tolling that vibrated in his very bones.
"Those damn incompetent idiots!" Marius felt betrayed the moment he sensed the enormous surge of magical energy bursting from a single individual and sweeping across the land itself. "T-This shouldn't have happened!"
Lord Vladi promised to have gotten the capabilities of killing Lancer long before he would even have the capabilities of using that power! As someone who was there to see its sheer destructive prowess, that man should have known the consequences of failure! He risked a glance back and regretted it immediately, with blood draining from his now pale face.
The courtyard… There is no longer a courtyard, but instead a vertical graveyard.
Crash!
Black stakes erupted from the flagstones like a geyser of demon teeth, in the thousands.
One of them shot up, punching through a vampire's jaw and exiting out the top of his skull, his eyes still wide with shock. Another burst through the stone floor of a guard tower, impaling a pair of mages who had been chanting together, lifting them into the air with their spell circles fizzling out on their fingertips. Marius saw another stake, thick as a ship's mast, burst from the main keep's wall, impaling three vampires at once, pinning them in a grotesque tableau of writhing limbs and agonized screams.
Worst of all, they were all incapable of receiving a swift death, as their trump card had become their trap. For the barrier's red light pulsed around them, forcing their bodies to remain alive, to feel every splinter, every ounce of pure mind-breaking pain. Unable to breathe, unable to scream, nothing but just gagging or gurgling with their bodies turning into genuine fountains of blood.
A cycle of unending torture.
"Move! Get away from the ground!" Marius screamed, his voice cracking as he scrambled backward.
A stake shot up from the dirt in front of him. He sidestepped, but another appeared to his left. He grabbed the nearest vampire, a hulking brute from House Manthar, and shoved him into its path. The stake punched through the man's stomach with a sickening, wet crunch. The brute roared in pain and fury, but before he could do anything, a dozen more stakes erupted around him, piercing his limbs, his neck, his back, lifting him into a cage of his own agony.
"Just disappear!" Marius roared, thrusting his palm forward.
A vortex of dark energy shot from his hand, hitting a stake that was shooting toward his chest. The stone splintered and cracked before finally shattering.
For a fleeting second, he felt a surge of hope that he'd make it out of this.
Then, from those very same shards, a dozen more stakes burst forth, each one thicker than those before and faster than Marius could cast, forcing him to throw himself to the side. He landed hard, panting, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"They're everywhere!" he shrieked, scrambling to his feet — some of these things even grew out from one another! He could see them all across the castle grounds, a forest of impaled bodies that stretched out into the forest beyond the walls. There was no safe place. The stakes seemed to have a mind of their own, seeking out every last person who dared to defy Lancer.
Marius watched as some whom he had almost considered friends or close allies, were being turned into skewed puppets left on display like a cruel reminder, alongside some familiar faces from the Carmilla Faction. All of them were caught, being lifted into the air with those damned stakes through their torsos.
All except that damnable girl from earlier, who spoke back to him, was nowhere to be seen. Seemed she really had decided her part in this was done.
'I can't die here! I can't die here!' Desperation clawed at his throat. The ground was death. The walls, the trees, the rocks, anything would eventually sprout those deadly stakes like a curse following him around. There was only one place left.
"Hm!"
He kicked off, his vampiric power flaring as he launched himself into the air. He shot upward like a rocket, leaving the screams and the horrors below him. He ascended past the highest tower and trees until he was floating a hundred meters above the castle's highest towers, a lone figure in the sky. He looked down. The stakes continued their relentless work below, a silent, deadly harvest.
But he was safe. He had escaped.
A gleeful, arrogant grin spread across his face. "Is that all you have, you relic?" he yelled down, his voice full of renewed confidence. "You can't reach me up here! Your little trick is just a parlor trick! You're nothing but a—"
He stopped. He heard a sound. It was not loud. It was a dry, grinding noise, like a tree twisting in a hurricane, but amplified a thousand times. It was coming from behind him.
"—!"
He saw those stakes. Hundreds of them. Shooting up from the ground, growing from it, extending from the earth far below, stretching dozens, even hundreds of meters into the air to reach him. They moved like serpents from the abyss, writhing and coiling in the crimson light without eyes or fangs, yet they were more monstrous than any dragon.
One of them shot forward. Marius moved to dodge, but he was not fast enough to avoid it completely. It did not impale him, but it did pierce his right wing, tearing through the leathery membrane with a sound like ripping canvas. Pain, white-hot and blinding, shot through him. He cried out, faltering in the air.
"Aaaah!"
Another stake pierced his left leg, the sharpened stone digging into his flesh and bone. Then a third stake, followed by two others, was driven into his back.
His scream was lost in the storm of stakes. And yet only more came. One pierced his stomach, forcing its way through his intestines and exiting his navel. Another went through his thigh, another through his arm. They were dismembering him, piece by piece, while the barrier's magic forced him to stay conscious, to feel every single moment of it.
"V-V… la… di…"
With all these attacks piercing his body in a manner reminiscent of a pincushion, the young man, in his final pain-filled moment, could do nothing but just curse Lord Vladi, along with that man's entire existence and lineage, for making him believe this might ever work.
{Break}
"Wow…" That was all that emerged from Rias's mouth upon witnessing Lancer's Noble Phantasm. The once quiet and beautiful courtyard of Bran Castle had been fully turned into a deadly forest of death, with bodies impaled on stakes standing in for trees. Blood flowed to the ground endlessly, then back up into the very bodies it had spilled from, creating a grotesque artwork which Lancer himself readily ignored.
"Impressed? I don't blame you," Archer said, his voice calm as he stood beside Rias, his eyes never leaving the forest of impaled bodies. "That is Kazikli Bey. It's not just an attack; it's the sublimation of his entire legend as the Impaler Prince. He is in his element where that particular Noble Phantasm can shine at its absolute best."
Rias stared, horrified yet fascinated. "He slaughtered so many of them in seconds…"
Not just her, even Sona held a similar expression, gazing at the grotesque sight with equal amounts of wonder and dread. Several members of both peerages felt sick to their stomachs seeing the bodies hanging with blood pouring onto the ground, their victims unable to even die. Many vampires and mages had their entrails sliding out, pushing many of the devils from Kuoh to their limits in holding in their lunches, and leaving several to empty out their stomachs.
Asia, on the other hand, just fainted.
"It's designed for exactly that," Archer confirmed. "Kazikli Bey is an anti-army Noble Phantasm that shows its true value in a battle of one against many. Within his marked domain, Vlad can summon up to as many as he desires, and with a Master like Valerie, one might as well say it's a limitless number. As you can see, they don't just appear; they chase the enemy like starving hounds, eliminating any safe ground and making evasion near impossible — it's a perfect counter against an army like this. On top of that, it serves as a highly demoralising sight to any reinforcements the enemy might have, along with future attackers. That is the legend of the Impaler."
Rias tore her gaze away from the carnage to look at him. Funny how he did not even need to wait in order to know what she was about to say next. "Is it… is it deadlier than your Unlimited Blade Works? Since it's better against an army, y-you shouldn't have any issues against it, right?"
Archer was quiet for a moment. "It depends on the scenario, Master. In a situation like this, against a horde of weaker enemies on a battlefield he commands, Lancer's Noble Phantasm is frankly ideal. My Unlimited Blade Works is versatile, certainly, but if it were to go against him here of all places… I won't lie to you, but my chances of victory are not as high as you may imagine. Individually, those stakes pose little threat to a Servant, but quantity is a quality all its own, and he can spawn them from just about anywhere."
He suspected that pulling the man into his Reality Marble would essentially cut him off from benefiting from some of his skills that boosted his prowess. He would technically no longer be standing on the soil of his domain, after all, but that was a theory he never actually tested out before. Nor did he particularly desire to find out.
"I disagree," Rias countered resolutely, her pride and confidence for her Servant showing. "Your ability to create any weapon you've seen, to deploy a countless number of them, seems far more versatile and destructive. You could just blow up the whole castle from a distance if you wanted."
"Heh, if only it were that simple." Archer shook his head while chuckling slightly. "And that's where you may be… simplifying his abilities. I've told you before that having a more powerful or versatile Noble Phantasm or better base stats does not necessarily make one Heroic Spirit inherently superior to another or guarantee a victory. You should know that by now better than anyone, given that I have fought both Berserker and Saber, who are inherently more powerful than me. It depends on numerous other factors, not the least of which is luck."
"…"
She did not say anything, and thus he continued, gesturing with his chin toward Lancer, who stood like a grim conductor in the center of a bloody orchestra. "You already looked at him with your Master's Clairvoyance ability. Remember his skills. This is his land, and thanks to his 'Demonic Defender of the State' skill, this entire area is his domain, and so he receives a significant power bonus equivalent to an EX or A-rank Mad Enhancement. Right here, right now, he is at his absolute strongest. Even I wouldn't casually challenge him if we were enemies."
The faction leaders, along with their entourage, listened to the conversation, which changed the way they looked at Lancer in the distance. With Azazel rubbing his chin with a wide smirk on his face. "No wonder the summit location ended up being Bran Castle. But then again, I feel safer knowing he is an ally; it would have been a pain to be his enemy. Right, Assassin? Aren't you happy being with us now?"
The woman just rolled her eyes and did not bother to give a reply.
"Interesting," Ajuka commented, having kept his silence for quite a while, immersed in the display of Lancer's ability. "Does that mean anywhere in Romania or only around Bran Castle? Yet how does this particular skill even work? Is it in conjecture with the local leylines? But how would those recognize Lancer if he is not of this world?"
One question after another flowed through his mouth. Thankfully, Serafall quickly covered it and shook her head. "Sorry, everyone~! Ajuka can get pretty excited when it comes to figuring out such things. Just ignore him."
So she said, but many admitted that they were also curious about the same questions brought forth by him.
While they spoke, Sona had her eyes closed, her hands clasped with nervousness. "The bounded field," she said. "That's the real problem. It's draining the ambient energy and using it to heal the vampires. Lancer can impale them and keep them in place, but it's still a dangerous power to ignore… We have to neutralize it as soon as possible. Rider, with me. We're taking that barrier down."
Rider nodded, her chained nails already beginning to manifest within her grasp. "Of course, Master."
"I shall accompany you in this endeavor as well, Lady Sona." Grayfia offered, which Sona accepted without hesitation.
A short distance away, the leaders of the three factions continued to watch the display with a mixture of awe and respect. Sirzechs whistled softly. "Hah, to think he possessed such a terrifying ability. Queen Valerie, you have truly summoned a powerful Servant. Despite my own faction already having summoned two similar allies, I can't help but envy you."
The young vampire queen, who had been watching with a complex expression, immediately corrected him. "U-Um… H-He is not just my Servant." She didn't elaborate, but everyone managed to catch the unspoken words and not say anything in return. They all knew she saw him as family, as the protector who had stood by her side when no one else would.
Sirzechs smiled gently. "My apologies. It was a poor choice of words."
"Rather than the Master being lucky to have summoned such a powerful ally, I suppose we can also see it as Lancer having gotten a new family member." Michael joined in, his answer making Valerie a bit embarrassed under the attention, but she remained happy nonetheless, hearing that.
"It's cute!" Serafall swooned, "I want to hug her so bad!"
Meanwhile, on the actual battlefield, the opposing side was in complete and utter chaos. The remaining vampires and mages had been forced to scatter across different directions, hoping to evade the stakes jutting from the ground and flying through the air. Vlad remained impassive to their attempts, instead keeping his eyes fully focused on Lord Vladi, who seemed wholly unbothered by the deaths of his comrades and allies.
Yet he showed far more skill in avoiding the stakes than most. Rather than using his own power to push against something that would inevitably get through, he focused on redirecting them into one another and using the environment to his advantage — even when one of the stakes managed to sneak past his defense and pierce his arm.
"Father!"
Gasper shouted, frozen with fear, seeing blood poor from that man's body. Yet as he instinctively tried to head over, the light in his eyes glowing a deep scarlet red, Archer's hand came to rest upon the boy's shoulders.
"Don't," said the Heroic Spirit, knowing full well that this particular Sacred Gear would not necessarily have any effect on Lancer and would potentially cause an unneeded misunderstanding. "Let him handle it."
"B-But… h-he's…"
But his father was in danger, which is what Gasper tried to say, but held himself back.
"Gasper, come here," Rias called, seeing what was going on and immediately taking the young dhampir into her embrace. She gently caressed his blonde hair. "I know he is your father, but you mustn't try to attack our own allies in trying to help him since he decided to betray Valerie. I know it's not going to be easy, but I'll make sure to protect you, Gasper."
"Buchou…"
Seeing the state of her oldest and dearest friend, Valerie hesitated at first but then spoke to Lancer herself. "Do we… Do we need to kill him?"
What she asked for was simple: mercy towards the head of House Vladi. Yet the only reply she got from her Servant was silence, for he gave her a sidelong glance followed by another directed at Gasper.
"If you deem it so, then I shall obey. But I must advise you on this, Master. Giving traitors a second chance is no different from ingesting poison. It may not kill you immediately on the spot, but it will weaken you in a manner from which recovery might well prove impossible. And it will continue to rot you away until all of the foundation you have built for the vampires' survival in this cruel world crumbles under the weight of greed and envy. So now I ask you, young man, do you wish for me to spare your father?"
"…"
Gasper looked away, having Rias and Koneko comfort him.
All the while, Lord Vladi continued to prove himself difficult to kill, as he finally dispersed into a flock of bats. With many of them flying from the forest and clouding the skies above, it became impossible for Vlad to pinpoint the man's location.
"How interesting. I'd expect nothing less of you, Lord Vladi."
No matter how many stakes were raised above to kill them, some managed to slip away and disperse across the entire night sky. "So you've chosen to run, but how long will this last?"
.
.
.
Something felt off.
Observing the fight ahead, this idea continued to lurk within Archer's mind. While he had no doubt that Lancer could handle this matter on his own. He did not understand Lord Vladi's motives here. Had it simply been a rebellion led for the sole reason to not ally themselves with the biblical faction—then this path made even less sense than he first thought.
Even taking every other Servant out of the equation, the fact that he willingly decided to attack the peace summit with leaders from all three factions assembled, with just the other vampires who disagreed with this change, alongside a bunch of mages.
Someone like Lancer would have definitely taken notice of the growing divide between those who followed him and those who didn't. A festering cancer quietly growing from within, no sane ruler would ignore such a thing, much less rely only on fear to keep them in place. The slightest sign of weakness, the smallest opening, would lead to a revolt eventually.
All of this raised several questions. Until a certain idea came to mind. 'Unless all of this is… Hm?'
Archer's attention snapped back to the battlefield. The initial wave was over, but some stubborn ones continued to fight back with the mages showing no signs of slowing down. The sheer number of them made it clear that this could not be just the work of Lord Vladi.
Then, all present Servants felt a shift in the air.
Whoosh!
A colossal surge of magical energy, wholly different from Lancer's, erupted from a distance. A towering pillar of pure crimson lightning, crackling with immense power, parted the clouds in a very distinct way that the devils and fallen angels who resided in Kuoh had witnessed once before.
Sona, who was still trying to find the anchors of the bounded field, quickly grew visibly pale and distressed.
"Oh shit! Why is that crazy bitch here too!?" Issei shouted out everyone's current thoughts. Koneko visibly started shaking, while Kiyome and Yuuto both looked increasingly nervous.
As for Rias and Akeno, both King and Queen immediately looked at Archer, the prior confrontation between him and her down in the Underworld with Berserker still fresh in their minds. Though Berserker was no longer present, that still did not make them feel any less worried.
Archer, on the other hand, observed the pillar of crimson lightning with an analytic gaze, finding that it seemed even more powerful than the ones before.
'I see, so Vladi had reinforcements after all. Was he… just buying time for her to get here? This might get troublesome if another Servant gets involved.'
Even though his prior action led him to technically save Saber from Berserker's influence, he did still try to kill her with that last attack. So he did not expect any special treatment from her, nor did he expect her to suddenly switch sides. That was both foolish and naive. Even if he managed to use Rule Breaker to erase the Command Seals linking her down to her current Master, Mordred would not necessarily ally herself with him. And he lacked Medea's mastery of magic to force a new contract on the spot.
The pillar that was Saber's Noble Phantasm slammed down from the sky with a resounding boom and clashed against the forest of stakes. Her power blindly annihilated all vampires who were still alive and stuck in place and any mages who were unlucky enough to be standing in the middle of her sword's path.
Each one of them turned to ashes. The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, shattering thousands of the stakes.
Archer clicked his tongue. "Saber is here."
With several thoughts crossing his mind, two new individuals decided to showcase themselves with a bright red gauntlet with emerald orbs and wide, majestic white wings bursting from Issei's arm and Vali's back, respectively.
"I see now. Yes, I can definitely sense it now that I'm closer." Ddraig spoke with a hint of curiosity, his voice surprising his host, and even Vali raised an eyebrow at the Heavenly Dragon's words.
"Archer, I recall that you once told me a story relating to my counterpart from your world. The True Dragon Albion."
"What?" Albion exclaimed with confusion.
"It is a long story, my fated rival, but let me first confirm something. Back when Saber first appeared, I did sense some traces of familiarity from her energy, but at the time, I had attributed it to ambient traces of my own power that had been stolen by Albion's current host, which he then used against her. But now that she is much closer, I can tell there is a draconic nature to Saber's power and strangely enough… It feels like my own, and also Albion's. Not exactly the same, but… There is some manner of resonance I am having a hard time putting into words."
Not expecting both Heavenly Dragons to appear and take notice of such a thing, Archer momentarily pondered if he should say it. But then again, this information was not exactly a secret, and whether they knew about it or not changed nothing. So, he nodded his head.
"Yes, your not wrong. Mordred possesses a magic core formed from a replica of the True Dragon Albion's own heart, which is also the source of her enormous power. It's what lets her generate this much magical energy, so long as her Master can sustain her."
Instantly, the wings on Vali's back shone brightly, with a sound akin to an angered roar coming from within the Sacred Gear.
"My heart was implanted within a human!? No wonder I sensed something odd when we first met her!"
"Not your heart, you idiot! It's obviously mine! Can't you tell with Saber's personality? She is a perfect representation of my power as the Welsh Dragon! Which, from what I hear, was able to kick your prized host's ass quite thoroughly, hahahaha!"
"Shut your mouth, Ddraig! If their world's most powerful dragon carries my name, then why the hell would her heart be yours? As usual, you sacrifice your own intelligence to try and attain greater power, only to then feed mine!"
Not sure how to react to the back and forth going on between the two dragons, Archer just shrugged his shoulders.
"It's more complicated than that. The heart was not exactly ripped out of the dragon's chest and put into Mordred; that happened with King Arthur. Mordred, on the other hand, was born with it when Morgan le Fey created her using Arthur's essence as a base." He figured this was the quickest way to have them up to date, rather than trying to explain how Mordred was actually a homunculus clone of Artoria, much less how in his world, the dragon Albion was also Ddraig.
For his part, Lancer hummed while he watched the crimson lightning decimate his stakes. The amused smirk on his face didn't falter. If anything, it grew wider.
"So," he mused to himself, "this must be their trump card. I must admit, I have heard many great legends about the relationship between King Arthur and the Welsh Dragon. I just never imagined it to be so literal, or that it extended towards his son… forgive me, daughter, as well."
"Lancer," Archer's voice called out from behind him. "Are you willing to let me handle her?"
Lancer glanced back at the bowman, his expression calm. "A guest should not need to lift a finger while in my home. Allow me to handle this stray."
Archer chuckled. "Fine by me. But remember that we are not just guests. If you want this meeting to conclude with an alliance, then I am also your ally, and it would detract from that image if we sat back and had you handle everything while we just stand and watched."
Lancer gave a slight nod of agreement. "Fair enough." He then turned his gaze back to where the lightning had struck, his black and silver spear held ready. "But first, let me test out this Saber. I have heard many stories about this one's power from her confrontations against you and Rider. Would you say that she will pose any threat to us?"
"Even if you are in your element and at your strongest, it would be foolish to underestimate her. She is a wild one, and her temper is only surpassed by her power."
"Hahaha! Of course, doubting and underestimating any Heroic Spirit is unbecoming of me. What I meant is, will I have to potentially turn a blind eye to everything else on the field of battle just to focus on her?" he asked with a particular look in his eyes, which Archer managed to understand, and responded with an amused huff.
"Most certainly. Which is exactly why you need me watching your back." Rather than his married blades, his black bow formed in the air beside him. Standing as tall as the Servant himself, Archer held it firmly while looking back at Lancer. "It just so happens that in this battle, I am also in my element."
"Very well then. I'm most eager to see what you are capable of, Archer. Do not disappoint me, and I shall be proud to call you my ally!"
With that, Archer headed straight for the peak of the castle's tallest tower. Landing silently on the stone parapet, his gaze swept over the entire field before him.
The vast forest of stakes covered the land, a grotesque orchard with bodies impaled upon them like overripe fruit. Blood flowed endlessly, creating a sea of crimson that soaked the soil.
'He truly earned his name,' he thought, once again impressed by Lancer's feats. With so many skills stacked on top of one another, especially Demonic Defender of the State, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Lancer was invincible at this stage.
'The Impaler. In a matter of seconds, he has turned this battlefield into his personal hell. The sheer scale of it… creating a physical barrier that eliminates any free ground and makes evasion a fool's hope.' He shifted his weight slightly while his eyes scanned the area for any hidden surprises. 'Had we been enemies, the only best approach would be to keep my distance and never, ever allow a close confrontation. Maybe Caladbolg II would have been enough? Perhaps not; his strongest offense also serves as his greatest defense. To fight him here is to fight the land itself.'
His eyes narrowed, scanning the outskirts of the castle's territory. He spotted her immediately, as the sheer amount of energy radiating off of Saber made her a bonfire in the night.
A figure garbed head to toe in fully plated silver armor with red highlights. The helmet obscured her face, but the destructive energy remained as clear evidence as her short-fused personality. Mordred held Clarent firmly, the latter brimming with a crackling crimson energy just like her body, the tell-tale sign of her Mana Burst skill.
"She's within range," said Archer calmly as he brought his bow up, nocking an arrow that wasn't there yet. Her head snapped in his direction.
She had sensed him.
Those dark slits from the helmet were unable to hide the furious glare from within. Which, in all honesty, he found amusing rather than terrifying. He looked back at her and offered a small, knowing smile — then went a step further by waving his hand at her. An action she most likely interpreted as an insult, for in return, she showed him her middle finger.
"Heh, hard to believe you are Artoria's blood."
But Lancer had no intention of letting this sudden intruder get so close without facing any kind of resistance or repercussions for her rudeness. From his position atop the wall, he waved his hand.
"—!"
The ground around Mordred exploded anew. A fresh volley of stakes from Kazikli Bey shot up, all aimed for the Saber, intending to impale her from every conceivable angle just like what it had done to every other opposing vampire and mage.
But Saber was on a completely different level from the likes of them, and that became evident rather quickly.
A torrent of red lightning erupted around her as she activated her Mana Burst again, turning her into a living streak of crimson energy. She weaved through the forest of rising spikes with impossible speed, her armor scraping against the stakes as she dodged and twisted, a true testament to her prowess as a Saber-class Servant with a speed comparable to both Rider and even a certain Irish hound. One stake shot up where her foot had been a split second before, another grazed her pauldron, sparking against the enchanted steel. She was a phantom of red and silver, leaving trails of light in the air as she danced through the deathtrap.
"Quite impressive armor, to be able to tank such attacks in the rare event her speed fails her. Even my regular arrows won't be able to leave a crack on it after several shots." He analyzed her carefully; her movement reminded him of Berserker. Fortunately, she did not have Imperial Privilege to adapt in the middle of a battle.
Archer's ears twitched, hearing Lancer's voice reach him.
"Impressive, as expected from such a legendary knight who held a seat at the Round Table! It is a shame that fate should decree we end up on the opposing sides of this fight, Knight of Treachery!"
Lancer's back remained ramrod straight.
With another wave of his hand, the density of the stakes doubled in an instant. The air was filled with them, a solid wall of sharpened death that was as plentiful as grass. Dodging them was no longer an option. And so Saber rocketed upwards, a single leap pushing her so far up that she ended up practically at eye level with Lancer. Twisting in midair to gain height and put herself in the perfect position with her greatsword held next to her, ready to swing with full force.
Crackle!
Red lightning crackled violently around Clarent as she raised it high.
"Raaaaah!" she roared, her voice echoing across the land despite being so far away. She smashed the wave of pure destructive power down upon the rising tide of stakes. The explosion was immense, a crimson sun that vaporized hundreds of them in a single, brilliant blast, leaving a smoking crater in their wake.
Lancer scoffed from his perch. "So powerful, and yet so impulsive."
By now, Archer figured she would have sensed something was wrong. Saber had focused entirely on the wave in front of her, the most immediate and obvious threat. The other stakes, the ones she had dodged, the ones that had been behind her all along, finally came back. They weren't able to pierce her armor, but the sheer force of the many impacts was immense. They slammed into her back and legs like battering rams, creating a shower of sparks. Her flight was cut short as she was sent hurtling towards the ground, crashing with a deafening bang into the blood-soaked ground.
Boom!
A crater formed at the site of impact, sending a cloud of dust into the sky.
Before the dust could even settle, the ground around her erupted again. Stakes shot up from the crater walls, aiming to trap her where she'd fallen.
"Raaah! I'm getting fucking tired of this shit!" With a furious snarl, Saber exploded from the crater, her Mana Burst flaring violently once more. She made it feel like there was just no end to the amount of energy she could produce. Whoever her Master was, Archer had to admit to being impressed at their ability to support their Servant to such an extent.
She didn't bother trying to dodge this time, and simply charged ahead furiously like a bull, her greatsword held horizontal. She sliced through the stakes that blocked her path with herculean strength, the spikes shattering against her blade, and closed the distance to the castle walls even further. And even as new stakes formed from those she destroyed, they were left chasing after the sparks she left behind.
"Stop hiding behind a wall and come down to fight me like a warrior!" She leaped, her body a red comet, and brought Clarent down in a powerful overhead slash aimed at Lancer himself. Mid-leap, her helmet retracted back into the armor and left her face fully exposed as a torrent of energy erupted from her blade.
"Clarent Blood Arthur!"
The pillar of crimson light descended for a third time, just as destructive as the last ones and nearing Lancer.
"Your anger makes you predictable, Saber," Lancer stated calmly, his voice cutting through her snarls. Twisting his spear, another wave of spikes burst from the wall, these ones not acting as an offensive attack, intending to take down his opponent, but rather as a shield. Hundreds of them were tightly compacted around Lancer to create a solid wall that took the brunt of the damage.
Bang!
He didn't even flinch, keeping a combat-ready stance while Saber's Noble Phantasm kept breaking through the first layer. Yet once more, the Servant of the spear proved the extent of not only his raw power, but the utility of his skills in his home territory.
In this particular instance, Tactics. Part of which involved countering opposing anti-army Noble Phantasms.
The reinforced stakes resisted the attack and showcased a similar level of defensive capabilities as a barrier-type Noble Phantasm.
Saber's teeth ground against each other at the sight, while Lancer pointed his spear at the ground.
"Did you forget who controls this stage? I am honoured to meet a Knight of the Round Table in battle, but unfortunately, I cannot allow myself to be distracted by facing you alone. So, as a fellow Heroic Spirit, let's agree to end this for now. I have an entire castle to clean up from festering leeches."
Clarent Blood Arthur dissipated, and with another wave of Lancer's hand, hundreds of stakes jutted from the ground around Mordred. Serving as a warning more than anything else, "Your armor is powerful, I will give you that. It is not every day I get to see someone capable of taking on so many attacks from Kazikli Bey head-on. But it is not invulnerable, and like any armor, it will eventually break. Then you will have nothing to protect, dear knight."
Surprisingly, Mordred did not rush towards Lancer as she had earlier.
Instead, the red sword pierced the ground below, and the blonde woman leaned against its hilt while letting out a deep sigh. "Fucking hell, I am getting a headache just from hearing you talk like that. Hugh, someone should really knock your teeth out, old man. Besides, I've done what I had to do. My job here is done for today, so all of you can fuck off!"
"What?"
"Eh?"
Both Lancer and Archer froze for a split second after hearing those words. Their weapons remained raised, yet the pressure behind their movements eased without them realizing it. The shift from open combat to casual dismissal felt utterly wrong. Lancer lowered his spear slightly, the weapon's tip digging into the stone as his brows pulled together, with Archer doing the same with his bow. This did not match the conduct of someone fighting so ferociously a second earlier,
The realization came to both of them a second too late.
"Shit, a diversio—"
"Watch out, Buchou!"
The warning shout came from Yuuto below and behind them.
The sound of several loud gasps and cries of outrage followed at once. A ripple of shock spread through the courtyard. Archer's head snapped downward toward the source, Lancer following his line of sight immediately.
Where Rias and her peerage had been standing with Valerie, another presence now stood among them, behind the young vampire queen. Where there had been unoccupied space, there now stood a tall young man with dark blue hair as if he had always belonged in that spot, along with another person wearing robes and a pair of rectangular glasses.
The first one's clothing consisted of a plain blue Chinese hanfu, and what honestly looked like a high school uniform underneath. No armor of any kind. His companion had an identical uniform underneath a set of mage robes similar to the ones who'd already been impaled.
The most eye-catching thing about either of them was the weapon the taller man held in his hand, a long spear.
Its shape looked simple at first glance, but the moment the devils felt it, their expressions changed. A pressure crawled along their skin, for the weapon emanated holy energy in waves, far more intense than any other weapons they had witnessed before.
The spearman ignored every stare directed at him. Without haste, he stepped closer to Valerie and casually wrapped an arm around her waist — much to the young woman's distress.
"Hello, don't mind me, I'll just be taking her for a bit," he said.
Even his tone sounded very casual. Not even bothering to introduce himself, as if he were stating that they were going for a short walk.
Valerie stiffened in his grasp, her hands pushing weakly against his arm.
Around her, killing intent erupted.
Assassin moved first. "Such insolence." Her hand raised towards this newcomer, a green magic circle forming, emitting a bone-chilling miasma that rapidly condensed into a concentrated orb of energy.
At the same time, Sirzechs' gaze hardened. A sphere of dense crimson power formed in his palm. The Power of Destruction gathered without delay, compressing into a contained mass meant to erase whatever it touched.
Neither attack ever reached the intruder, though, as a flash of white cut across the courtyard.
Vali suddenly stood between them, one hand raised.
"[DIVIDE]!"
"Damn it, Vali, you can't be serious!" Azazel shouted in outrage.
The effects of Vali's Sacred Gear took hold of both of them immediately; the energy in Sirzechs' attack thinned; the force behind Assassin's strike weakened mid-flight. The pressure that had built around them faltered, like flames losing air.
The blue-haired man did not even glance at Vali.
He shifted his spear in one hand, swung it in a wide arc, and struck the space between them. With the spear glowing a deep golden colour as it cut through both magical spheres, now with only half their original bite.
He finally looked toward Vali, though if anything, he seemed irritated that the host of Albion had thought he needed the assistance.
Then he glanced down at Valerie, who continued struggling in his grip, but her movements were limited.
"Alright, Georg, take us away," he said.
There was no chant. Instead, a single visible formation beneath their feet came from the man behind them. Yet its activation speed alone proved to be no different from instant teleportation.
"Grandfa—!"
In the next instant, light swallowed them. Vali, the blue-haired man, the caster, and Valerie disappeared together, leaving behind only an empty spot where they had stood. They then reappeared in the sky above, where several bats converged in one location and took the form of the now visibly weakened Lord Vladi, who stood next to the newcomer.
"You weren't supposed to be here, Cao Cao. This was not part of the agreement!"
"Heh, you can't expect us to let you bloodsuckers hog all the fun. Besides, I helped you out here, so shouldn't you be grateful?" the one known as Cao Cao said casually, shifting his grip on his spear right before he suddenly dashed away at an impressive speed from several hundreds of stakes aimed for him. "Aaah, looks like I pissed off a certain someone."
As per his words, Lancer's murderous gaze was fixed on him. "Valerie!"
But that in itself was a mistake, for his focus left Saber, leaving the latter to use that small window of opportunity to push herself towards Lancer with a bloodthirsty grin on her face. Her sword slashed horizontally at Lancer with crimson energy coating the blade, close enough that even if he tried to send a barrage of stakes at her, it would already be too late.
"Got yo—guh!" Before the sword could fully close in on Lancer, a white streak of light fired off from the peak of Bran Castle's tallest tower and immediately struck Saber, who just barely managed to bring her sword in front of her face.
The impact still sent her flying a long distance away from the castle itself.
Several more arrows were fired in a continuous barrage to cover any blind spots left by Lancer's rain of stakes, all of them aimed at Cao Cao. The man in question intended to most likely teleport away, yet Vali acted, a full suit of armor manifesting upon his body and blitzing through Archer's arrows, while another figure appeared and intercepted Lancer's stakes with a polearm that he spun so quickly it resembled a helicopter blade.
"Hah, just got here in time! Sheesh, almost lost track of those stakes, they're faster than a bullet and damn if there aren't a lot of them!"
Another figure landed beside Vali, a black-haired woman wearing a revealing kimono, who looked back at Archer in the distance and, strangely enough, made sure to wink at him.
"Hello~! So nice to see you again! I've been looking forward to meeting you properly, nya!"
Archer ignored her and instead focused on Valerie, who was still in the hands of this new group. But soon, his eyes glanced at the spear held within Cao Cao's hand, and immediately, a floodgate of information rushed into his mind.
And immediately he realized this was bad news.
Never did he imagine that he would be facing the weapon that once belonged to Lucius Longinus and later wielded as one of the strongest weapons. The same spear that was used to pierce Christ himself, with his blood turning the weapon into a holy artifact to rival Rhongomyniad.
"True Longinus."
In the depths of his Reality Marble, a single spear materialized, piercing the ground and joining the collection of an ever-growing wasteland filled with blades.
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.