Beta read by Shigiya, Paragon of Awesomeness and GamerCrusher55
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-Romania, Bran Castle-
Things just couldn't have gotten any worse for Sona.
She had initially planned to use this summit as an opportunity to get more involved with important matters that would dictate the future of the three factions.
All she had to do was prove herself as a reliable person to both the Satans and the other faction leaders.
She'd felt confident. Especially since she had a Servant by her side.
'Then again, it's not that far off from what I wanted,' the girl mused while she ran through the castle courtyard, her shoes clicking against the cold stone with her peerage following behind along with Grayfia. "Tsubaki, take the left wing! Momo, secure the rear! Saji, don't get distracted and stay close!"
True to her instruction, the remnants of the rebel vampire forces were being systematically dismantled by her peerage, as they demonstrated the fruits of their brutal training at the hands of her Servant.
"Tsubaki!" Sona shouted, spotting a sphere of pure devil energy hurtling towards her Queen from a side passage.
"Roger," the bespectacled Queen replied calmly, not even turning her head fully. With a graceful sweep of her arm, she commanded, "Mirror Alice!" A giant, ornate mirror materialized from thin air, its surface shimmering. The blast struck the mirror dead center and was instantly absorbed. A moment later, the mirror shot the exact same attack back, twice as fast and powerful. "Argh!" The vampire who had fired it barely had time to widen his eyes before his own energy engulfed him. He was sent flying backwards at a great distance, only to be skewered by one of the stakes that jutted from the ground, summoned by Lancer. The stake impaled him through the side, making everyone flinch at the wet, crunching sound.
Even with the regenerative factor of the bounded field, he wouldn't get out of there so easily.
"This is terrifying," Saji muttered, watching the stakes twitch. "Even if they're on our side, I can't help but feel scared that he'll use those stakes on us. It feels like those things have a mind of their own, and they know you're there."
Momo elbowed him hard in the ribs. "Don't say that! You're making this even more scary than it already is!"
"Enough! Focus!" Sona berated them, but it was too late.
A vampire with a furious face, his clothes torn and covered in dirt and blood from his comrades, appeared behind them. "I may die today," he hissed, "but I will bring the Sitri family with me to the grave!" With a clawed hand, the vampire launched himself forward, aiming for the person closest to him, Sona.
Tsubaki was already moving, stepping in front of her King, her naginata turning into a blur of dark wood and glinting steel. The vampire's claws, swiping down in a deadly arc, met the shaft of her weapon with a loud crack. Instead of trying to overpower her opponent with brute force, Tsubaki twisted her wrists, using the vampire's own momentum against him to deflect his arm to the side. The creature snarled, surprised by the smooth redirection, and immediately followed up with a kick aimed at her midsection.
Clang!
The Queen of the Sitri Peerage flowed with the attack, dropping her stance, the naginata's butt end sweeping low to trip the vampire's extended leg.
"Tch, d-don't get cocky!" He leaped over it, his speed impressive, but Tsubaki was already anticipating it. As he was airborne, she spun the naginata in a tight circle, the blade rising in a vertical arc. The vampire twisted his body to avoid the lethal point, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge the blunt haft of the weapon as it slammed into his ribs. A sickening crack echoed in the hall. He stumbled back, gasping, his guard wide open. Tsubaki didn't hesitate. She took one step forward, her grip shifting on the pole-arm. The naginata's blade shot out, not in a wide slash, but in a straight, precise thrust. It pierced the vampire's chest with a wet, tearing sound, the sharp tip exiting from his back.
"Urgh!" Blood flowed and in a single move, she cut the rest of his upper torso up.
As the vampire fell to the ground, everyone was surprised by her abilities. Saji looked at her with starstruck eyes. "That was so cool!"
"Impressive." Even Grayfia made no effort to hide it. "You have certainly improved your skill in wielding the naginata, Miss Shinra."
Sona crossed her arms, a look of both pride and intrigue on her face. "When did you get so good?"
"Ah… I-It was all thanks to Rider and Archer," Tsubaki stated, a faint blush reaching her face as she got a bit overwhelmed by the group's reaction. "I still have a lot to learn. Even compared to someone like Yuuto, this isn't that impressive."
"Not impressive my ass." In the background, Tomoe muttered with a pout, "It would have been really helpful if you could have shown such a level of skill during our spars against Rider."
Tsubaki gave a small smile. "It was pointless to try to fight offensively against Rider. I was mostly focused on defense and not having several bones in my body break."
"This is not the time to be talking about it," Sona said, clapping her hands and regaining their attention. "We need to find the seals quickly. The vampires we have taken down so far won't stay down forever, as you may recall, and even those who are gravely wounded will soon recover, and we will have to deal with them once again." She raised her voice. "Rider! Have you found something?"
The purple-haired Servant manifested next to her. "Yes Master. There are seals in different rooms inside the castle that I can sense. Unfortunately, it will take time if we have to find and destroy them one by one. The closest one is inside the ballroom."
The ballroom… she should have known. Sona nodded her acknowledgement.
"How would we even destroy the formation even if we were to find all the anchors? Would a simple attack suffice? And won't this place be guarded by a ton of vampires?" Meguri muttered with uncertainty. "I am confident in my skills, but we are talking about vampires with a healing buff and we're in a formation actively weakening us. I already lost a third of my demonic energy from just getting here."
"Do you really think there are any more of the enemy vampires left alive?" Saji asked, waving a hand at the surroundings. They were surrounded by pierced bodies of vampires, all of them impaled by Lancer's Noble Phantasm, and no doubt wishing they were dead if they weren't already.
"This is a situation where we would be lucky to find anyone willing to put up a fight against us rather than run away! These stakes just keep on killing them over and over again!"
"While that is true, we should not let our guard down," Sona countered. "I didn't see these stakes go inside the castle, so there may still be some alive and fit to fight. As for the anchors, a simple attack to destroy them should suffice… Saji, how much energy do you have left?"
"Um, not much… Kaichou," the young man looked away in embarrassment. "B-But I'll be useful! I can still use my Sacred Gear to restrain and drain any enemies we come across!"
Grayfia stepped forward and extended her hands towards the boy, "If I understand correctly, your Sacred Gear has the ability to siphon the energy of your enemies into yourself and even share it amongst your allies, right? I am not much affected by this field, so you can take some of my demonic energy. I believe that's what you wanted to do, Lady Sitri?"
"Ah, y-yes, but I was initially going to have him take my energy. Wait, how do you know so much about Absorption Line?"
"Because it is my duty to know." The head maid of the Gremory house shook her head after giving her a not so satisfying answer, "also, as the King of the peerage, you should not waste your own energy in such a manner, especially when I understand your own is essential for providing for your Servant. Since I am here, do not hesitate to treat me as another member of your peerage and as a tool."
So she said, but this was still Grayfia, and the last thing Sona wanted to do was treat this woman like a tool of all things. Just standing next to her was nerve-wracking enough, given she tried her best to now show weakness. "We'll split into four groups. Saji, once you've taken as much power as you need, you will be accompanying Meguri along with Tsubasa to take out one of the anchors. Tsubaki and I will handle another, while Grayfia will be taking a spot on her own, then the fourth anchor will be Reya and the rest. Rider will be keeping an eye on everyone. If someone needs help, she will go over to aid them."
She commanded them, knowing full well that putting the Queen of Annihilation in any group would be a waste. The rest were capable of fighting against regular vampires, so she did not worry much.
"Alright, let's do this. We will reunite at this same spot after destroying an anchor."
"Yes, Kaichou!" they all shouted in unison. With everyone agreeing, Sona and Tsubaki headed towards the ballroom where one of the anchors was located.
Sona and her partner rushed into the closest building where the ball took place yesterday. They ran through the halls, with the ground beneath their feet shaking from all the commotion happening outside. "Enemies ahead." She mentioned after seeing several giant flying bats in the distance, familiars to their masters, tasked to either keep watch or defend the hallways.
"I'll take care of them."
Just like earlier, Tsubaki went ahead and cut them down with relative ease, to the point Sona did not even need to cast a single spell the entire time.
The more she saw, the more apparent it became that the recent improvements to her naginatajutsu were not by a small margin. The Sitri heiress couldn't help but ask, "Just how effective was your tutelage under Archer? Is it the same kind of pain we went through during the training session before Rias's Rating Game against Riser Phenex?"
Tsubaki shuddered and shook her head. "Thankfully, it is not as painful as those ten days were. But it's a different kind of pain."
"Elaborate."
"His sparring sessions make one's eyesight and past experience practically useless, or even a double-edged sword," Tsubaki explained. "It becomes hard to see where and when his attacks come from, even if he is fighting in close quarters with a sword. The style he uses makes it seem as though you're like fighting another version of yourself, but… perfected. It makes you both motivated and, at the same time, demotivated when you find out just how big the gap is."
"The entire time you were fighting against Archer, he used a naginata as well?" Sona asked.
"Yes," Tsubaki confirmed. "Against Yuuto, he would use a single long sword."
This made Sona hum in thought. "I wonder what it would be like if I were to go up against him."
Tsubaki looked surprised. "Kaichou… you want to also join in? But you don't use any weapons."
"I know that," Sona replied. "But it isn't too late for me to pick up a weapon. Every Servant has one, and I can see how advantageous such a tool could provide in combat. Even a spell-focused Servant like Assassin has her chains. Tell me Tsubaki, what weapon do you think would go well with me?"
Tsubaki looked uncertain. "I cannot answer that. Maybe something that could go along well with your water-based spells? I would personally suggest a long \-ranged one since you rarely go to the front lines, and as a King it's not wise of you to do so. Of course, a close-quarters weapon would also be useful in case someone does manage to reach you."
"Hmm. Nothing specific comes to mind at the moment," Sona mused. "I'll ask Archer later. Perhaps if I were to adopt a weapon, it would give me a good advantage against Rias in the future when we compete in a Rating Game of our own."
Their conversation came to a halt when they reached the ballroom. They immediately found several vampires looking outside nervously, clearly having not expected their coup to go this badly. But before Sona could start casting her spells, one of the vampire women with silver hair — most likely the Carmilla faction — shouted, "Wait!"
This surprised both of them, stopping them mid-action. "What's going on?" Sona wondered.
"Ah, the heir to the Sitri clan, good. This will make the conversation easier. Listen, there is no point in fighting this pointless rebellion anymore," the vampire said, her hands held up in a gesture of surrender. "I, Andressa, am willing to surrender and offer my full allegiance to Queen Valerie, as long as you plead my case before Lord Dracula."
"What!?"
"Andressa you dare betray your kind!?"
"W-Wait, I also don't want to die!"
In the background, there was a myriad of reactions among her kin, with some of the vampires calling her a traitor for giving up so easily, while others clearly were of the same mindset now that one of them had voiced a path to survival.
Still, this woman could not just be so easily trusted regardless of her plea. Individuals willing to not only kill their own kind in such a way to avoid peace, but to also kill them without mercy were not exactly those Sona Sitri would call trustworthy.
"What makes you say I have a say in any of this? If you want to negotiate your life or surrender, then you had best approach Queen Valerie or her Servant yourself."
Seeing Sona's hesitation, the woman continued, "Oh please, Valerie is as much of a puppet for Lord Dracula as she was previously under Prince Marius. You're another of those Masters, right? Only you actually command your Servant. Then you should have some authority and negotiation power to speak to Lord Dracula. I am a high-ranking member of the Carmilla faction. Having me on your side would be an opportunity that no one can de—kurgh!"
Whoosh!
But before she could finish her words, a black stake suddenly pierced through the wall and impaled her right through the chest.
"Kaichou, take cover!"
This shocked and frightened both sides with the devils immediately creating some distance between them and the people ahead. The remaining vampires started to scatter, only for more black stakes to pierce through the walls and floor.
"Aaaah!"
"M-Mercy, my lord!"
"Nooo!"
Each one found its mark, piercing the vampires either through the heart or their heads in a vicious manner and killing them instantly. One vampire had his head completely skewered by a stake, spraying bone fragments and dark blood across the marble floor. Another was pinned to the ceiling by three stakes, her limbs twitching as red ichor dripped down their sides. Because of the formation, some of them that hadn't been pierced through the head managed to remain conscious as the bounded field worked its regenerative magic, but the stakes kept them all pinned in place, making any sort of movement impossible.
Their eyes collectively begged for mercy. Even if it came in the form of death's embrace.
"…"
Tsubaki, who witnessed all of this along with Sona, let out an uncomfortable chuckle. "Perhaps Saji had a point. This does resemble something one would find in a horror movie."
Her King nodded in morbid agreement. "Lord Vlad definitely earned his title. We should hurry. My head is starting to feel light as well." She went over to see that the anchor was nothing more than a violin that had a droplet of blood within it. It was destroyed with a single swing of Tsubaki's naginata.
"Good… This should be enough to weaken the effect," Sona said, but as she spoke, they felt the sound of painful moaning behind them subside. Turning to see the vampires slowly but surely turning weaker until their recovery could no longer keep up. She sighed in relief. "The others must have reached the anchors as well. Hopefully we made things a bit easier on Lancer, or at least ended the vampires' suffering. They are our enemies, but they don't deserve that kind of brutal torture."
Soon, the two walked out of the ballroom and headed back to the rendezvous point where Grayfia and the others were already present.
"I see things went well on your side," the Sitri heiress said, visibly impressed by their teamwork, only for the next words out of Saji's mouth to dampen her pride.
"Eh, all of the vampires were already impaled by Lancer. So we didn't need to do much more than just… walk around the impaled bodies I guess. Still very creepy seeing them all twitching like that."
"Oh."
At least they had still accomplished their tasks.
"Since we're done here. It would be best for us to rejoin Rias and the others… Eh?" That was supposed to be the plan, yet it got immediately thrown to the back of her mind when a large crimson pillar of energy rose in the distance.
Sona recognized it immediately. "That's Saber's power!" Memories of that particular Servant nearly killed Rider surfaced; a walking juggernaut with a fiery temper.
She panicked. "Rider!"
The Heroic Spirit appeared beside her in an instant. "I know," she said, her voice tight. "Saber is currently facing Archer."
"Archer?" Sona's gaze snapped in the distance where the Servant in question was atop the walls surrounding the castle. Seeing him all by himself when facing that monster in armor, she searched for Lancer, and noticed him engaging in combat against a man wielding a spear, meaning Lancer would be too preoccupied to help. "That means Archer will be forced to fight Saber on his own," she figured, a knot of dread forming in her stomach. "Will he be able to handle it?"
"Archer is a very capable Servant," Rider stated, her blindfolded eyes fixed on the battle ahead. "In most cases, the worst opponent for many Servants would be a Saber. But against a close quarters combatant like Saber, an Archer is always the best solution."
"I… I suppose you're right." Would the same swords he wielded and the arrows he fired be able to penetrate Saber's armor? Rider managed to do it, but even that required a lot of effort. She worried that perhaps he would face a similar problem. "Um, I know I am your Master. Yet I should still ask you this, are you okay with facing Saber again?"
Rider gave a slight shrug. "That shouldn't even be a question. I'll fight whatever you point me at, Master." A pause. The faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Although... I won't pretend I haven't thought about paying Saber back for our last encounter. She left quite the impression on me." Her hand drifted unconsciously to her nails, a bit of blood lust leaking from the Servant. "I'd very much like to return the favor."
So even someone as mature and graceful as Rider could hold a grudge.
Not that Sona could possibly think less of her for that, given how their last confrontation with the blonde nearly killed her Servant. Furthermore, she also shared the same sentiment to some degree and wanted to get some form of payback against Saber herself, regardless of how absurd that kind of thinking was.
"Rider, get me up there so I can have a better view of the battle." Not wanting to just stay on the ground and do nothing, Sona wanted to see what was going on. But before that, her attention turned towards Grayfia who was also gazing at the confrontation between the two Servants. "I'm afraid I must trouble you to look after the members of my peerage."
Rider gave a slight shrug. "That shouldn't even be a question. I'll fight whatever you point me at, Master." A pause. The faintest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Although... I won't pretend I haven't thought about paying Saber back for our last encounter. She left quite the impression on me." Her hand drifted unconsciously toward her side, where the worst of the wounds had been. "I'd very much like to return the favor."
The more Sona witnessed, the more stunned she became at the equally horrific and awe-inspiring sights on display.
"This is Lancer's Noble Phantasm?" Despite being here to observe Archer and step in if needed, Sona couldn't stop herself from gazing at the carnage over the walls, caught between shock and disbelief at the sight below. The courtyard and the ground beyond had been turned into a forest of stakes, each one holding a body. The entirety of the renegade vampires who had turned traitor were now left hanging there, creating a grim scene that didn't spare anyone who had to look at it, ally or enemy.
"He really does live up to his legend of the Impaler," Rider said, her voice devoid of any particular inflection over what was in front of them.
Suddenly the young devil found herself envying Rider's wearing of a blindfold, only to blanch at the thought of what her Servant's other, more attuned senses had to be telling her far more than her eyes.
Still, Sona nodded, not knowing what to say and instead choosing to look at Archer as he kept firing arrows. Each one of them hit Saber, pushing her backwards, right back to where she started.
"I shouldn't be thinking about this at this moment," Sona murmured, "but this is a prime opportunity for us to have a better understanding of Archer's abilities, especially if we are to face him in the future. I didn't get a good look at what he can do before when he faced Assassin or Berserker."
"You do not need to feel ashamed about it," Rider replied. "Archer himself would most likely approve of your mindset."
Right as she said that, one of Archer's arrows turned out to be a sword, twisted into a vicious projectile that spun across the air. It struck Saber so viciously that the aftermath resulted in her armor getting almost completely destroyed.
"I… don't recognise that weapon. It's different from the one he used against Riser. And much more destructive from the looks of it." Sona winced, just imagining being on the receiving end of either projectile felt like a nightmare. "No matter what, in future Rating Games, we should absolutely not allow Archer to get in position to shoot at us."
"He is an Archer after all," Rider stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The best method to fight against him is not a matter of strategy, since he will undoubtedly see it coming. Your best odds are to just overpower him."
"Speaking from experience, I presume?" Aware that the two Servants shared some kind of history with each other, she figured this woman would have the answers.
"You don't need to have past experience to know that, Master. A skill such as his True Mind's Eye can be troublesome in all scenarios."
Hard to argue against that; an ability that could only be described as calculating the near future and being able to take the best course of action. An ability she considered much more dangerous than any weapon to be found in a Servant's arsenal.
They continued to spectate the battle until things started to fall more towards Archer's advantage. "He doesn't need our help from the looks of it," she said with a sigh.
She had to eat her words when both of them noticed a shadow rush at Archer. This made Sona gasp as she heard Rias and Akeno shout, "Archer!" Trying to get his attention to warn him of the sneak attack. Thankfully enough, he managed to block the attacker, who turned out to be a black-haired nekoshou.
Sona recognised her as the SSS-class stray devil, Kuroka.
"She's with Saber!?" Her eyes widened as she quickly started to get worried. "Kuroka is trying to distract him!"
"Do you want to go there and help him?" Rider asked.
Sona shook her head. "I cannot leave my peerage behind. We still need to guard the courtyard in case something unexpected happens, even if Grayfia is with us." She looked at the other Servants, who were visibly occupied with the members of the Hero Faction. This made her more frustrated, and that frustration soon turned into horror when she spotted a streak of light in the air heading towards Saber. "Oh no! She's getting reinforcements!"
Just as she feared, not a minute later did the streak of light emerge back into the sky after descending near Saber. This time, the Servant was visible atop the armored form of the White Dragon Emperor. She then activated her Noble Phantasm, and a pillar of crimson lightning lit up the sky and bathed the entire area in a red hue.
Seeing that Archer's chances of winning were quickly dropping with those three joining the fight, Sona turned her attention towards Rider. "I can't go up there myself, least of all with the others. Even if we did not have anything to look after, we would still not be much help against a Servant. I have accepted that. But I can still send you to protect him!"
This made Rider smile as she looked in the sky. "I can do more than protect Archer, Master. I can easily confront Saber up there myself."
This made Sona confused. "How can you do that?"
"Have you forgotten, Master? About my Noble Phantasm?"
Sona's eyes widened. Then proceeded to activate her ability to see Rider's status page and glanced towards the section that mentioned her Noble Phantasm. At the same time, Rider asked, "Do I have your permission to act freely?"
Seeing the crimson pillar about to descend upon Archer, Sona immediately shouted, "Yes! Just do it!"
Rider accepted and slowly raised her hand as her chain-link nail appeared in her grasp. In a quick motion, she cut through her right palm, spraying blood everywhere. The brief action lasted less than a second before she smacked her palm onto the ground.
"Get behind me, Master."
The droplets of blood hanging in the air stilled, then began to spread, drawing together until they formed a wide, floating sphere around Rider. Sona felt it at once, a steady pull on her reserves, Rider's use of her Noble Phantasm siphoning far more demonic energy than anything in the past — just like that time she faced Archer right after her summoning. She watched, unable to look away, as the sphere thinned and stretched into a glowing crimson circle beneath Rider's feet. Intricate lines and markings etched themselves across it, forming a clear image of the Gorgon. The light grew stronger with each second.
Sona raised an arm to shield her eyes, stepping back.
"Come!"
A low groan slipped out of her as the air shifted and more of her energy was being pulled. The wind picked up, tugging at her clothes and hair. In the center of it all, Rider reached down and grasped something emerging from the circle. It looked like a golden set of reins. She pulled upon them, and from the other side a majestic beast began to emerge.
A distant cry answered her.
From the circle, a shape began to rise. First came the head, then the powerful body of a majestic horse, followed by a pair of large wings that unfolded as they broke free. The creature carried itself with an almost unreal presence, its form outlined by a pale glow that pushed back against the red light around it.
'It looks so angelic… So this is the legendary Pegasus…'
Rider was already seated on its back, holding the reins as if she had done so countless times before.
The area, once drowned in crimson, now flickered between red and white as the creature's beautiful light spread outward.
"Bellerophon!"
Rider's voice rang out as the name left her lips. The next moment, she and her mount surged forward. The speed was enough to blur her form, and for an instant, Sona lost sight of them entirely.
By the time she looked up, Rider was already high above, cutting through the clouds and diving straight toward Saber and the White Dragon Emperor. There was no pause, no hesitation. The distance separating them vanished in a heartbeat.
The condensed yet chaotic power of Clarent Blood Arthur met her charge head-on, the clash lighting up the sky as both attacks collided with a thunderous boom.
Then Sona sensed something touching her feet. "This is…" She glanced down to see the blindfold that was usually around Rider's face now on the ground. Her eyes went wide as she looked back up with shock, realising what had happened.
{Break}
(A few minutes earlier)
This was pure humiliation for the golden-haired Knight of the Round Table. Not only was she being turned into a fucking target against that Archer, unable to gain any sort of ground, but her armor was also destroyed.
Most annoyingly, that annoying Master of hers kept pestering her in her head.
Le Fay was practically shouting in her ears…
'Saber, you can't keep going like this! Please, stop being stubborn for a second and let Arthur come in and help you by using his sword to open a portal so you can reach Archer more easily!'
"Stop shouting into my ears you fucking crybaby twig! And don't bring up that shithead's name without permission or else I'll break his face again!" Saber cursed Le Fay and Arthur. "I do not need any sort of help from him, let alone that disgusting sword! I'd rather die than anything else!"
A sword that mocked the legacy left by her father, such an abomination… Even if it was from another world, it still did not deserve to exist!
Despite her firm stance on the matter, her Master practically begged her. 'Just look past it this once! With how many times you keep going, I won't be able to keep supplying you with magical energy before running out! Your armor is also ruined, another one of those arrows and you'll die for goodness sake!'
"Then just drink one of those potions for all I care!" Saber shouted back. "Otherwise, just shut up and let me handle this!"
The argument between them kept escalating until the other side finally snapped. 'Why are you being so stubborn!? Why did I have to summon such a hard-headed Servant!? If you won't listen, I will use my Command Seals!'
This snapped Saber as well into a bigger burst of anger. "Whatever, do it for all I care! But I swear if you do that, I'll do everything in my power to force you to use the last one as well!"
'Aaaaah, you idiot!'
"Crybaby!"
'B-Brute!'
"Spoiled brat!"
'Stupid gorilla!'
"Useless, flat ass, short stumped, half-hagged witch!"
'I-I'm not flat—'
Try as she might to convince her and threaten her, none of it would work and Saber just zoned her out. She realised that Kuroka had appeared next to Archer, most likely trying to buy her time.
She cursed under her breath. "That annoying cat." She realised that, as much as she wanted to deny it, this could help her. But still, Archer was not an idiot, nor was Kuroka strong enough to keep him occupied.
"The bastard is most likely waiting for me to start running and shoot me again just to humiliate me even more!" she growled, ripping off whatever armor was left on her body. for it was mostly an inconvenience at this point. Leaving her front bare with only a single red cloth around her chest.
She had already gotten a faint idea of his reaction time and firing speed, already playing out several scenarios in her head. Out of all of them, her only chance of succeeding was if Kuroka could keep him occupied for much longer than she was capable of.
"Damn it!" she screamed, punching the earth underneath her with enough strength to form a small crater. She may need to listen to her Master, but every fiber of her being did not want to receive any help from that mockery of a sword, least of all while that brat was the one wielding it.
Her musings came to a stop when she noticed a bright light descend next to her, revealing itself to be none other than Vali in his fully armored Balance Breaker form. "Tch, it's the wannabe pretty boy again. Fuck off! I'm not in the mood to deal with you."
He landed in front of her with his arms crossed. "What a pitiful sight this is. It doesn't feel as great being at the mercy of someone else, does it? Here I thought you would be better than Archer."
"Fuck you!" Saber growled at him, flipping him the bird while resisting the urge to beat his face into ground meat. Even with the mask, one could still feel the sheer smugness emanating from the Longinus wielder. "What the hell are you doing here? If you just came here to mock me, then I'm gonna to shove my sword so far up your ass, you'll be able to taste it."
"Cute but no," Vali said, not seeming even a little intimidated by the angry blonde. "I just came to check up on you while making sure Kuroka doesn't end up dead. And seeing you up close makes me realise that the one I need to truly aim for is not you, but Archer and Lancer. In fact, I'm starting to realize that you truly are nothing more than a one trick pony with a vicious right hook." He turned his back against her and was about to fly off into the distance.
This pushed Saber, who was already furious, right over the edge.
"You wanna die, shit head!?" Her temper flared up as she did the first thing that came to mind. She instantly pushed herself off her feet with all her strength and leaped into the air right as Vali flew above. She managed to reach him in time and took hold of his armor, her grip wrapping around his ankle.
This destabilised Vali for a bit. With genuine shock, he looked downwards at her. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Shut it!" Saber told him, starting to climb further up. Her hands, almost like claws, grasped into his armor with enough strength to practically make the metal around him creak.
"You stubborn idiot!" Vali ended up doing some complex manoeuvres in the air to throw her off. "Get the hell off of me!" he yelled.
But it failed. The Heroic Spirit managed to keep her hold and got all the way up to his back. Her fist then slammed into the back of his head with enough force to momentarily stun him.
"Shut the fuck up!" she screamed at him. "You will be my steed for this fight, whether you like it or not! So know your fucking place and get me to him or else I'll rip your dick off and shove it down your throat and into your ass!" She tightened her hold around his neck even further, tiny cracks starting to appear on his armor from the sheer force of her grip.
"You fucking psycho bitch!" Vali, for the first time in a long while, felt a surge of genuine, unadulterated annoyance. This was not a battle of pride or a test of strength against a worthy foe. This was a pest, a stubborn, screaming gnat clinging to his back. "You dare…!" he began, his voice a low growl that vibrated through his armor. He attempted to shake her off with a violent, spinning barrel roll, but the woman held on, her knuckles white, her body pressed flush against his back, her legs locking around his waist. She was like a barnacle, impossible to dislodge.
"Is that all you've got, you overgrown lizard in a tin can!?" she shrieked in his ear. "I've faced rougher turbulence on a drunken horse! Now FLY or else we both die!"
As Saber finished threatening Vali, the expression on her face instantly changed with surprise as she then proceeded to headbutt him "Oi, look out, you useless metal lizard!"
"Ouch!" Before Vali could even process the nonsensical command, she wrenched his head to the side with a violent pull on his armor's collar. The sudden shift in trajectory caused a glowing arrow to pass by the spot where they were flying just a moment before, its heat singeing the edge of his armor. More arrows followed, each a deadly streak of light.
"Stop fucking around!" she yelled at him, pulling on the collar of his armor with enough strength to practically choke the guy. Somehow, it worked. His body shot upwards, the wings on his back growing brighter. With great speed, each attack managed to get avoided. The arrows sometimes missed them entirely, or she used her sword to block them if dodging was impossible. Her prior anger began to turn into smugness.
"AHAHAHA! NOW THAT'S MORE LIKE IT! I'M BACK IN BUSINESS!" she laughed out loud, waving her sword around with one hand while manoeuvring Vali with the other.
Then the wings started to shine as another voice started to speak.
It was Albion. Rather than being furious like Vali, he laughed. A loud, booming laugh that further annoyed Vali. "Hahahaha! Saber, you are a very competent Servant, able to control Vali like this. Even I have struggled to do the same for the past decade."
"Albion, stop encouraging her and do something!" Vali shouted in anger, still being forced to move by Mordred's monstrous strength.
"I can't do anything right now! It's all up to you, partner!" Albion replied, his tone sounding anything but sincere. "If you do not want to die from a hole appearing in your chest, you would best comply with her! Our current enemy is firing several arrows at us, each one as deadly as the other! Put your differences to the side and focus on victory."
"Easy for you to say that when I'm the one being used as a damn horse!"
"You're about to be a dead horse if you keep bucking!"
As much as he hated it, Vali was forced to comply as he spotted another volley fly from Archer's bow. He clicked his tongue and spread his wings. "Fine! But I plan to get you back for this!" He activated his ability, Half Dimension. Instantly, the arrows flying towards them suddenly began to shrink in mid-air. Their velocity and power remained the same though — much to his dismay.
"What the hell are you doing, Vali? You just made those things harder to deflect!"
"Fuck! I know, Albion! I was aiming for something else which didn't work! Damn it!" This made it harder for him to also strike them with his fists and shatter them, or use his Divine Dividing ability to weaken them further until they dissolved into nothing.
Still, he managed to do it while pushing himself to his limit.
"Good horsey," Saber grinned from atop him.
"Don't push it!"
"Yeah, yeah," Saber just said. "Just get me closer to him and I'll be off your back, literally."
After that, both continued this cycle and managed to get closer and closer. Albion commented again. "It is strange. She's using us like a steed, something which should have made me just as angry as Vali, but I'm not. Instead, I feel rather calm, even accepting of the situation. It's as if the very instinct inside me is telling me that she is not an enemy, or even a foreign entity. It would seem Ddraig spoke true when he claimed your heart is that of my counterpart from your world."
"Who the fuck cares!" Saber shouted. They were now close enough to Archer for him to be in range of her Noble Phantasm. "Descend as fast as you can!" she yelled at Vali. More magical energy gathered around her sword.
And with a single swing and calling out her Noble Phantasm's name, Mordred unleashed once again the full might of Clarent Blood Arthur. The devastating crimson lightning descending right as Archer fired another shot using an arrow made from the Hound of the Red Plains.
Both attacks clashed headfirst, momentarily entering a stalemate as both strived to overpower one another. "RRRRRRRRRRaaaaaaaaah!"
Pushing more energy into her sword, she gained ground until the projectile began breaking down.
But before she could do anything else, Albion suddenly shouted at both of them, "Be careful! I am sensing another dragonkin!"
"A dragon?" Both were surprised. They saw a flash of light from the castle before it travelled straight towards them like a shooting star. "That's no dragon!"
It slammed into the crimson pillar of Clarent Blood Arthur, the impact sending light spilling across the sky. "Shit!" Just like against the precious projectile, the two attacks held against each other, neither giving way. But this stalemate did not even last a second, Rider's charge began to push forward with great speed. The red beam faltered at such a rate that no matter how much more energy she poured into it; nothing worked. Its surface breaking apart as the figure behind it forced its way through.
The shape burst out of the light; a winged horse, its form fully revealed as it carried Rider straight through the fading pillar.
"Watch out, Vali!" Albion shouted with a rare moment of worry. Something Vali did not ignore and raised his arms and braced, crossing them in front of him just as the Pegasus closed in.
"Eurgh!" The creature struck him head-on. The impact didn't stop. His guard held for less than a second before it gave way, his body driven back as the Pegasus barged through his defense.
"Oof!" The blow landed squarely against his torso. His armor cracked under the pressure, fragments breaking off as he was pushed further up, dragged across the clouds by the force behind the charge. The air and clouds around them split as they moved.
"Argh! Hahaha! Is that all you've got!?" Vali clenched his teeth and reached out, his hand pressing against the Pegasus as his Divide ability activated. The glow around the creature dulled, while the wings along his body lit up in response.
He didn't get the chance to follow through.
Rider moved first, darting forward off her mount and striking , her foot connecting with the side of his face. The impact shattered the armor covering it, pieces breaking away as Vali's head was snapped to the side. Blood spilled from his mouth, a tooth thrown free into the air.
For a brief moment, his vision blacked out from the force of the blow. "Gah!" He was only brought back to reality as Saber shouted at him to duck. He did so right in time for her to block an attack from Rider's nail with her sword. While standing behind him on top of his back, Saber glared at Rider.
"I was able to take you down back in Japan, and I'll do it again!"
Visibly getting more and more frustrated, Saber tried to swing her sword around. She was unable to use her other hand, which was holding on to Vali, as they were in the sky and letting go would mean she would fall. Rider proved to be quite flexible and agile, managing to dodge each swing with relative ease and even blocking Saber's attacks outright in some instances.
Then, as Saber tried to swing again, Rider opened her eyes. She stared right back at Saber, her Mystic Eyes shining brightly.
"Cybele!"
To Saber, it almost looked like two stars shining in the sky as she looked up at her opponent. She instantly felt her body growing weaker as the effects of the Mystic Eyes took hold.
"This again!?" Saber shouted, feeling that her parameters had all dropped by one rank. Though a relatively small change in power for a Servant as strong as she was, it was still enough for Rider to take advantage of the situation. She forcefully kicked Saber right in the stomach. Without her armor, the impact was enough to force every bit of air out of the young woman's lungs. The force detached her from Vali, who continued to fly upwards as the Pegasus continued to ram into his chest.
For a moment, both of them hung in the air before gravity took hold and pulled them down. Saber tried to steady herself, but there was nothing to stand on, nothing to push against.
"Damn it!" she snapped, scanning the sky. "Stop hiding! I know you're here somewhere! I'll kill you before we even hit the ground!"
The only answer was the faint sound of chains.
She barely had time to react before one slipped out from the cloud behind her. It looped around her neck and tightened at once. Her hands shot up, forcing her fingers between the metal and her throat to keep it from crushing her windpipe.
The pull came next.
Her body jerked downward, dragged below Rider, who was still falling above her. Saber clenched her jaw, forcing out a laugh despite the pressure on her neck. "It doesn't matter! This won't kill me! I'll rip your head off and drop it at your Master's feet!"
"Is that so?" Rider's expression didn't change much, but there was a faint curve to her lips. "It won't be the first time someone said that to me."
Saber's eyes flicked upward. A light broke through the clouds behind Rider, growing larger in an instant. The Pegasus returned, cutting through the air and reaching Rider without slowing. She settled onto its back in one smooth motion as it continued its descent.
It passed the blonde in a blur, giving her the illusion that it missed. That was until her mind quickly picked up on the real reason behind the chain wrapped around her neck. "Shit! Urgh!"
The chain snapped tight again, the force yanking her along as Rider held the other end. The fall turned into a controlled dive, the ground rushing up faster than before. From that height, the distance vanished almost instantly.
Just before impact, Rider moved her arm and swung the chain downward.
Saber was thrown straight into the ground.
The impact hit with enough force to send a shockwave of displaced air through the area. The ground gave way on contact, and a heavy burst of dust and debris shot upward, rising into a thick cloud that spread out wide enough to be seen from the castle's tallest towers and far beyond.
As the dust started to clear, Saber could be seen at the centre of the crater. She was lying in the middle without motion, staring absent-mindedly at the sky. Her body was in such a bad state from this fall that it seemed half the bones in her body were broken. Blood was pouring out of her mouth. Her sword had fallen right next to her, piercing the ground. She could only just look at it, trying to move her hand intending to grab it but not having the strength to do so. She cursed.
"Fucking… bitch…"
She lay where she had fallen, her body refusing to respond, but she didn't accept it. "It's not… a fall that's going to make me lose." These words were forced out of her mouth, her voice rough and barely audible.
With herculean effort that showed on her face, she tried to move. Her broken arm shifted, and the sound of bone grinding followed. Each motion dragged a strained cry out of her, pain and anger mixing as she pushed herself forward. Inch by inch, she crawled, leaving faint marks in the ground until she got close enough to see Clarent lying just ahead. Her fingers stretched toward the hilt, shaking as they tried to close around it.
Footsteps reached her before she could fully grasp it.
Turning her head, the movement sent a jolt through her neck, the girl saw Kuroka land beside her. The nekoshou was marked with cuts and bruises, but she still was alive at the very least. The worry on her face was clear.
"Don't move," Kuroka said quickly, her hands lighting up as she reached out. "Just stay still."
The energy spread over Saber's body, but nothing changed.
"Please… Saber, don't die. Just hold on."
Saber coughed, blood spilling from her mouth. "Shut the hell up you horny cat. I'm not dying from this." She drew a breath, forcing the words out. "I just… can't move right now and just need some time to recover."
Her eyes narrowed as something clicked. "What are you doing here? And where is—"
"I'm right here."
The voice cut in before she could finish.
Both of them looked up. A man stood a short distance away, holding Clarent in his hand. Saber's expression hardened at once, anger showing through the pain. "Archer…"
He stood there without any sign of strain, glancing down at the sword before shifting his attention to the side. Rider landed nearby a moment later. "Thanks for the help," he said with genuine gratitude.
Rider gave a small shrug. "I was following my Master's order. And I owe you for saving my life from this one back in Kuoh… as well as wanting a little payback."
Archer nodded once, then looked back at the fallen knight.
She met his gaze without backing down. "I'm not begging for anything," she said. "So don't expect it."
He just raised an eyebrow. "Why would I ask for such a thing in the first place? Regardless, it's over. Even if you tried to beg for your life, it wouldn't change the outcome." The Servant of the Bow proceeded to advance, Clarent held in his hand.
Only for Kuroka to get up and stand in between him and Saber, much to the latter's disbelief. "What the hell are you doing!? Get the fuck out of here, you idiot cat!"
Kuroka's lips pulled into a small pout, her brows drawing together as she looked down at Saber. "You could at least try to be a little grateful. I'm the one trying to keep you alive here."
Saber didn't even hesitate. "I don't need your help," she snapped, her voice not as rough but still carrying a bite. "And even if I did, you wouldn't make a difference against those two."
"I know that," the black-haired stray devil admitted without flinching. "I'm not pretending I can beat them. But I'm still not leaving you. We're partners. That means I stay right by your side, even when things go bad. Even if you're too stubborn to appreciate it, or if it gets me killed."
Saber's jaw tightened, frustration rising. "That doesn't make any sense. Just stop talking and get out of here while you still can!"
Kuroka didn't move. Instead, she turned her attention past Saber and toward Archer, her expression shifting into an apologetic one. "It was fun, you know, even if we didn't get to talk much. We still got to trade a few hits, at least, nya." She gave a faint, tired smile. "But I can't let you kill her. I promised Le Fay I'd watch over her. And… she's my friend."
Archer's gaze lingered on her. "You're willing to go this far for a Servant. Admirable, but I would still advise that you listen to her instead. If you die here, you won't get the chance to see your sister again."
That stopped her.
The words landed hard, and it showed. Kuroka's smile faltered, the corners of her lips dropping as her eyes shifted slightly, unfocused for a moment. The confidence she had been holding onto cracked just enough to be seen. She hesitated, shoulders lowering as doubt crept in.
"…You really had to bring that up," she muttered under her breath, letting out a long sigh. Her ears twitched faintly as she looked off to the side, then back at him. "You know, if you'd just agreed to give me a few kittens earlier, I might've been more willing to walk away." A weak attempt at humor slipped in despite everything. "Actually… we could still make that deal, you know."
Rider glanced between them, confused. "Kittens?"
Archer shook his head once. "Ignore her. Just some nonsense she brought up that has nothing to do with our current situation." His grip on Clarent tightened as he raised the blade. "If you won't step aside, then that's your decision."
Kuroka's hesitation widened, but she still didn't move. Slowly, she lifted both hands, settling into a defensive stance as Touki gathered around her palms, faint energy flickering over her fingers. Her expression steadied, though the earlier doubt hadn't fully disappeared. "If that's how it is…" she said quietly. "Then tell Shirone… tell her her big sister loves her."
"Tell her yourself, you horny bitch."
The voice came from behind her.
"Ah!" Kuroka's eyes widened in surprise as she turned her head. Saber was standing.
Before she could react, the Servant's hand shot out, gripping her shoulder and spinning her around and in the same motion, Saber drove her fist straight into Kuroka's stomach.
The impact was devastating. The air left Kuroka's lungs in an instant, her body folding slightly from the hit as a small shockwave rippled outward from the point of contact. Her eyes went unfocused, the strength leaving her limbs as she lost consciousness on the spot.
Saber didn't pause. With a short move, she flung Kuroka away, sending her out of the crater entirely.
The moment the latter was gone, Saber's body gave out. Dropping to her knees, one hand bracing against the ground as the other trembled at her side. Blood slipped from her mouth again, dripping onto the dirt below. Her breathing came heavier now, uneven, but she still forced her head up.
Her eyes locked onto Archer. "Just get on with it."
Archer studied her quietly, his expression unchanged. "So there is some knightly chivalry underneath all that anger after all," he said. "My Master is extending a proposition, if you're interested. In exchange, I'll let you live."
"Don't even start," Saber replied flatly.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if weighing something, then opened them again. "I'm still considering whether not killing you is truly wise," he admitted. "Berserker was too dangerous and wild to be left alone, but we still don't understand why or how we Servants were summoned to this world, or what happens if enough of us are killed. The system that summoned and maintains us is a foreign matter we have yet to look into. This night doesn't have to end with your death."
"Fuck off," Saber shot back without delay. "I'm not agreeing to anything like that. No peace, no alliances. If you let me walk away and I recover, the next time we meet, I'll go straight for your throat. Hers too. I won't stop until one of us is dead."
"You really are a stubborn one," Archer noted.
"Tell me something I don't know."
He gave a quiet hum, accepting the answer. Then he stepped forward.
There was no rush in his movement, no wasted motion. He raised Clarent above his head, the blade catching what little light remained in the air. For a brief second, everything seemed still.
Then he brought it down.
Just before the blade could reach her neck, a loud noise rang out, cutting through the moment.
Clang!
Saber's eyes snapped open. A second blade had intercepted the strike. It was larger, a two-handed sword with a round pommel, a wide cross-shaped guard, and a long blade edged in gold, holding Clarent firmly in place.
Holding the sword was a man with blonde hair braided in a short ponytail and who wore glasses. Garbed in a tailored suit akin to a butler's, he faced Archer while giving him a respectful nod. "Sorry. I cannot allow you to kill Saber yet. Unsophisticated, foul-mouth brute she may be, she's a powerful ally and my sister still needs her."
Around the same time, a girl in an oversized witch hat appeared flying over to Saber atop a broomstick, panicking. "You look like you're half dead! Saber, you should have listened when I told you to be teleported away!" She turned her attention to the man. "Arthur, quickly open up a portal!"
Arthur had already moved, jumping back to create distance, then swung his sword in a clean arc. The air split open where the blade passed, forming a golden portal that hovered just behind Saber.
"I don't need help!" Saber snapped, forcing herself to stay upright despite how her body shook. "I'm not going through that!"
Arthur didn't argue back. "Not your place to decide, Servant." He stepped in and drove his foot forward, kicking her straight into the portal, getting a yelp from the blonde knight. His expression didn't change as she disappeared through it, all the while she cursed him out.
The newcomer turned back to Archer, giving a short, respectful bow, then stepped through the opening himself without another word.
The blonde girl with a witch hat was the only one left.
She stood calmly, as if the situation hadn't just happened moments ago. "Hello~! My name is Le Fay! I'm Saber's Master," she said, her tone polite. "It's nice to meet both of you, and… I also apologize for the trouble Saber caused. We agreed to assist Cao Cao for a short time, mostly to keep your side occupied. I didn't expect it to escalate like this…"
"So you're not against the peace treaty?"
"Eh? Oh that, I don't really care about it~! I just owed Georg a favour for helping me with a spell and had to help him with this in order to make us even. Anyways, I'll be going now!" She gave a small nod, then turned toward the portal. "I hope we can meet again. Maybe over tea and cake?"
With that, she stepped through. The golden light folded in on itself and vanished, leaving the space empty.
Silence settled over the area.
Rider glanced at the sword still in Archer's hand. "They left it behind," she said. "She'll be coming back for it once she realizes, won't she? Or would she just dematerialize it?"
"Given her pride… she'll more than likely want to retrieve it by herself rather than taking the easy way out," Archer replied. His gaze shifted toward the castle in the distance. "And it appears that Lancer's finished on his end too."
As they started to make their way back to the castle, Rider had one last point to bring up. "You wouldn't have killed her, that Kuroka woman."
He didn't answer her at first, the silence lasting for a few seconds until he finally opened his mouth. "I didn't need to kill her just to get to Saber. And… she still has some unresolved matters with Koneko. It is not my place to take that away from her."
"You can just say that you didn't want Koneko to be sad."
"…"
The sounds of her chuckles resounded a good distance across the destroyed forest, his unwillingness to answer being an answer in itself.
{Break}
Back with Lancer, the Servant looked at the sky in the distance where the cloud of dust started to disperse. "Looks like things have wrapped up over there as well," he commented. "And it seems we have more guests that have shown themselves, but who are not polite enough to introduce themselves. Friends of yours?"
Cao Cao wore a not-so-pleased expression, especially after a golden light appeared in the distance with a faint presence of holy energy, only for it to disappear soon after alongside Saber's presence. "Something like that," he said. "Though it doesn't seem like this alliance will be working as I expected."
Lancer hummed loudly. "If your attempts to coerce me to your cause are any indication, you are fundamentally incapable of creating true alliances or even a team where loyalty can remain unbroken for long. You trust no one but yourself, thus those wise enough to understand you do not find you trustworthy."
This made Cao Cao stare at him with a cold expression. "Are you suggesting that someone in my group will betray me, someone who bears the name of a hero that fights for humanity?"
Lancer replied with a contemptuous sneer. "By joining your cause, they have already betrayed humanity, showing themselves to be more concerned with self-gratification. But, if they are truly heroes as you say, it would be more accurate to say that they will seek redemption for what they have done, should they have any desire to truly honor their namesakes."
Then Lancer shook his head. "Speaking any further with one so consumed by his own delusions of grandeur is pointless. It's high time that we finish this battle. Out of respect for your prowess as a warrior if nothing else, I will make sure to give you a proper burial."
Cao Cao sneered. "That's some big talk coming from the ghost of a man who is already long past his time and needs to return to the grave where he belongs." He then raised his spear as more mana started to gather around him. "Whatever. I'm getting bored of this, so let's get this over with once and for all. It would be an issue if two more Servants were to join the battle."
As he prepared to attack with the power of his Balance Breaker, Lancer just stood there calmly, something that surprisingly irked Cao Cao. The fact that Lancer acted as if he had already won, that there was no point for him to make an attack, that he wasn't even a threat, made Cao Cao's anger resurface. His expression of calmness slipped into one of enraged indignation as he rushed ahead, intending to pierce Lancer in the chest.
But before he could even make it halfway across, Lancer raised his empty hand and clenched it into a fist, and stakes suddenly sprouted from inside Cao Cao's stomach and erupted outwards. The black points tore through his flesh and clothes with a wet, ripping sound.
Psht!
Blood sprayed from his mouth and the multiple new wounds in his torso, a dark crimson that painted the ground at his feet. His eyes, once narrowed in fury, widened in pure, unadulterated shock. He looked down at the spikes protruding from his abdomen, a grotesque forest growing from within his own body. The pain was immense, a network of agony spreading through his entire being, but the shock was greater still. His mind struggled to comprehend how his own body had become a weapon for Lancer to use against him.
Cao Cao staggered, nearly falling to the ground but managing to use his spear as a crutch. He looked at Lancer and asked in a low voice, "…H-How?"
Lancer shrugged. "The power of my Noble Phantasm is far more than merely the stakes. It is the very concept of impalement. And once my spear has tasted an opponent's flesh, their own body falls under the power of my domain, allowing me to manifest my stakes even from their own body. The moment you challenged me, boy, this battle's conclusion was cemented."
This made Cao Cao laugh, a wet, gurgling sound accompanied by a cough of more blood. He fell onto his knees. "Heh, I definitely miscalculated," he whispered. "I underestimated you a great deal, Lancer. Next time, there will not be such a mistake."
Lancer raised an eyebrow. "You are either very clever or utterly mad, if you still think there will be a next time."
Before Cao Cao could answer, a golden portal opened behind him. A person walked out, it being none other than Arthur, half of his face rapidly growing swollen, as if he had just been punched. Cao Cao looked at him, and Arthur looked back at Cao Cao. "You look half dead," Arthur said.
"And you look like someone who got decked in the face," Cao Cao replied. Arthur grabbed Cao Cao, trying to bring the rest of the Hero Faction into the portal. "Get me out of here. This battle is over."
But Lancer bared his teeth in anger. "I did not give you permission to step away from this king's presence!" he roared, launching ahead, intending to cut down both Cao Cao and the new arrival. Only for a figure to appear in front of him. It was none other than Georg, who had evidently healed himself from Lord Vladi's attack, and created a defensive spell intending to block Lancer. But with a single swing of his spear, the weapon cleaved through the barrier and shattered it in an instant. The blade continued its path, cleaving through Georg. The mage's eyes widened as the spear bit into his flesh, and his torso was bisected into two.
In the background, Cao Cao watched the death of his closest comrade with a tight expression, but ultimately left through the portal regardless, stepping through with Arthur as it snapped shut.
After that, the two halves of Georg's body fell to the ground with an audible squelch, with Lancer gazing at the corpse for a few seconds before turning his attention to the side where both Archer and Rider returned.
"Archer!" Rias made no effort to hide her worry and immediately rushed to her Servant, throwing herself at him as he managed to catch her at the last second. "You're okay!"
"But of course, I had everything under control just like I promised," he said while Rider went back to Sona's side, with even the faction leaders stepping forward to talk to them.
Seeing this, Lancer clapped his hands once, sharp and deliberate, drawing every eye in the courtyard. "Before we go any further, I owe everyone here an apology. What should have been a moment of history was instead met with treachery from within and violence from without. And yet—" he let his gaze sweep the gathered faces, "—here we stand. Our enemies fled with nothing to show for their trouble but the wounds we gave them. I have had the privilege today of watching three factions who have spent centuries at each other's throats choose, instead, to stand together. So I put it to the leaders assembled here: shall we call it four sides now, and make this alliance official?"
Lancer's words resonated across the courtyard, and were met with varying reactions, but the most prominent one was easily one of solidarity. Though some were more casual in how they displayed it, such as Azazel stretching his arms while looking as calm as ever.
"Well, I'm glad that I'm not being persecuted by having Vali change sides, given he was my ward… but yes, the fallen angels of the Grigori agree to sign this peace treaty!"
"So do we," Michael and Sirzechs added in unison.
Lancer dismissed his spear with a slow, deliberate motion and let the silence settle before he spoke. "Magnificent. Tonight does not end with bloodshed, it ends with wine. Queen Valerie's own, if her cellars are still intact." He glanced briefly at the castle around them. "There is much yet to be done. This place needs rebuilding, and the Khaos Brigade will not give us long before they remind us of that. But before we scatter to our respective corners of the world, I would have us sit together for one last hour and drink to what we have made here tonight."
To that, no one had any objections.
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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.