Chapter 253: Teaser: The Spider of The End
Third POV:
Ritsuka's heavy breathing was drowned by the sound of destruction around.
Mash was sitting right by his side, preparing to go out again to do as much damage to ORT as possible. Director Musik was driving the Shadow Boarder as Kadoc and Teapu helped him with navigation.
Looking outside the window, Ritsuka couldn't stop himself from physically flinching as he saw the entirety of Mictlan covered in Trees of Emptiness, their seeds destroying everything.
They had failed to prevent ORT from waking up, and now they were in a struggle with very little chance of success, even though they had the entirety of Chaldea's Saint Graph records helping them.
"(Well... not all of them,)" Ritsuka thought as his gaze turned to front window.
Far in the distance, beyond even the Sun which ORT was targeting was the other reason their chances of survival were low.
Zack, or as he revealed himself, Type Earth: Green Earth, was slowly walking down Mictlan as a giant made of red energy, destroying everything around it.
As he looked at the red giant, Ritsuka's thoughts went back to what Zack told them.
"I have seen Chaldea do the impossible. As such, I will give you one chance to defeat ORT. However, you are on a deadline. If you fail to defeat ORT before me and it reach each other, I will take things into my own hands. The all out battle with ORT, while it would not destroy the planet, would still make it uninhabitable for humans, and it won't matter if you reverse the Bleaching of the surface. There are three possible outcomes for this. The first, ORT kills you and you fail. The second, you don't do things fast enough, and you die in the crossfire between two Ultimate Ones. The last possibility is the only one where you survive, and it's about you actually succeeding."
Ritsuka shook his head, clearing his mind of any possibility of failure. They could not fail now, or everything would be for nothing.
Deciding that he got enough rest, Ritsuka stood up. "Let's go back out there, Mash."
"Right!" The Shielder immediately was on her feet.
Somewhere Else:
In the distance, high in the air, Kukulcan watched as Chaldea struggled against ORT, trying desperately to bring down the alien spider.
Kukulcan's face was completely devoid of emotions. This was the long awaited end of her world. The Deinos, the Malla, and Mictlan with all its layers. They all leave today.
"Not even going to say goodbye to the people that lived under your light?" Kukuclan turned her head and saw Zack's puppet, an equally emotionless expression on their face, standing behind her.
"What's there to say?" Kukulcan's eyes narrowed slightly. "They all knew this was coming. They all accepted it. What is there for me to say to a species that views their own death as nothing more than another normal day."
"Acting professional doesn't suit you. Creatures like us should enjoy whatever moments of emotions we have in this endless existence of ours," Zack replied, his tone bland.
"Hmm," Kukulcan hummed as she focused on Zack's face. "You're expression... has changed."
"Did it?" Zack tilted his head, his face still emotionless.
"Yes," Kukulcan's own emotionless face broke into a savage smile. "You look pleased... I suppose deciding to kill a Foreign Threat like me would put such an ugly expression on your face. I bet you even hope Chaldea fails so you can have the pleasure of ripping ORT apart yourself."
"I am Green Earth. Of course I'll hate Foreign Threats like you," Zack's face remained emotionless, despite Kukulcan's claims about his mood.
Chapter 254: FSN: 11
Third POV:
"What are they doing down there?" Rin questioned, anxiously tapping her finger on her elbow.
"Calm down, sis, I'm sure dad is reasoning with Archer," Sakura patted her sister's shoulder.
They were all waiting outside the door to the arena Zack created. It had been some time since then and they heard nor felt anything, though most dubbed that a product on how many percussions that Zack placed.
"Man, Tohsaka, figures you would get the most troublesome Servant in this War," Shinji commented, looking away.
"What was that, Makiri?" Rin gave Shinji the stink eye. "For your information, your Servant hasn't been a delight either."
"Woah, woah, woah, leave me out of your lovers' quarrel," Assassin raised his hands in mock surrender with a smirk.
"We're not lovers!" Both yelled back at him.
"You two sure are... competitive," Shirou commented, seeing his friends argue.
"Most Magus families are," Sakura began explaining, putting a hand on her chin. "In fact, it's rare to see Magus families being friendly to each other. Worst case, there's an actual blood feud between the families, and in the best case, they're work acquaintances."
"That sounds really dangerous as a system," Shirou commented before thinking on how to get the two Magus' attention away from . "So... Rin, why do you want the Grail?"
Rin blinked at Shirou's question before huffing. "Listen, Shirou, you're new to this, so you don't know what I'm about to tell you. Never ask a Magus for their motives or intentions. Magus value their secrets heavily, and will either refuse to reveal anything or lie."
"Don't mind her, she's just trying to sound sophisticated," Shinji waved off Rin's words, making her glare at him. "She probably wants the Grail for funding. Her family's Mage-craft relies on jewellery, the more expensive and pure, the better, so they always have to watch their spendings."
Rin's glare intensified. "Another thing you should know, Shirou, is that we despise anyone that reveals our secrets without permission, which is why we hate Shinji and his family," Seeing Shirou's confusion, Rin decides to elaborate. "The Makiri family are like information brokers. They use bugs to gather Intel and dirt on other families. They're hated by a lot of Magus families. Blackmail is probably the only reason other families haven't hunted them down yet," Rin smirked at Shinji. "Is that why you want the Grail? Protection in case someone decides to take the risk at attacking your family?"
Shinji glared at Rin, but his lack of response was confirmation enough. Shirou turned to his underclassmen. "What about you, Sakura?"
"Oh, I don't really care about the Grail," Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, having it would be nice, but stuff like this... they're usually more trouble than they're worth. What about you, Senpai?"
"Honestly, I just wanted to make sure the Grail doesn't fall into the wrong hands after I found out that's possible," Shirou replied. "But, now that I know everyone who's competing, I guess my reason is to help Saber. She must have a wish for the Grail, and I ended up being her master despite not knowing anything. The least I can do is help her."
"You shouldn't feel any obligation to help me, Master," Saber stated, walking close by. "If you want, I'm sure Zack can-"
"Saber, I'm not turning away from this," Shirou stated firmly. "I... I like helping people. You need my help, and I'm giving it because I WANT to help you, not because I feel like I need to."
Saber sighed in defeat while Sakura giggled. "That's just like you, Senpai."
"Urgh," Rin suddenly groaned and held her hand. "What the-?!" Her eyes widened in shock as she saw her Command Spell slowly vanish. "W-What's going on!?"
The door to the stairs that led to the arena opened and Zack walked out. "Alright, let's get things going."
"You! What did you do?! Where's Archer?!" Rin questioned, stomping towards Zack.
Zack merely raised an eyebrow at her. "He went back to the Throne."
"You took out my Servant?!" Rin cried out, raising her hands and looking ready to strangle someone.
"He went back on his own violation. All we did was catch up," Zack deadpanned at her and crossed his arms.
"What did you say!?" Rin asked.
Zack sighed and shook his head. "Look, you really think I, or anyone for that matter, can tell Gilgamesh what to do? He does whatever the hell he wants. If he wanted to stay, he would have. He left because he wanted to. Frankly, you should be honored, the King of Heroes approved of you enough to humour one fight. Most Magus in the world, including the Clock Tower lords, wouldn't even get him to get off his throne."
"But... He... You...," Rin struggled to find what to say before slowly walking back until she reached one of the chairs and sat down.
A part of Rin wanted to be angry, be it at Zack, Archer, or herself. Anyone, really. But, on the other hand, a part of her felt relieved, as if a weight was off her shoulders now.
"Okay, now, the next arena is ready. Let's get going," Zack stated before looking at Rin. "You can stay or leave if you want. Same goes for you, Illya, even though you lost."
"That fight was rigged! Berserker could have won this war for me!" Illya complained, causing her mother to giggle while her father sighed with a smile.
"Who is fighting next?" Bazett asked as they all, minus Rin, walked down the stairs.
"Next up is Caster and Saber," Zack stated as the gates in the end opened again. "This is the field they'll be fighting in."
The field was very different from the previous one. Instead of a large arena, it looked like the entire area had been reshaped as a battlefield.
It was a flat stone field with large pillars rising high in the air. The area this time was rather dark, not enough to hinder the vision, but enough to give it an ominous feeling.
Zack turned and looked at the two fighters. "Well, let's get the second fight started!".
Chapter 255: FSN: 12
Third POV:
"Be careful, Saber," Shirou said as the reached the battle arena. Saber smiled and nodded.
"Just come back alive, Caster," Souichirou said his own words to his servant.
Caster chuckled. "Just 'alive'? Have you very little faith in me?"
"I don't truly care about the Grail. Your safety is my priority," Souichirou clarified.
The only part of Caster's face available, her lips, formed to a warm smile. "I'll return victorious. That's what you need to know."
"Alright, step forward!" Zack called out and the two Servants did as he requested. "I'm gonna send you each to a different part of the arena. The fight will begin as soon as you reach it. The fight will end when one of you returns to the Throne or surrenders. Understand?"
Both Servants nodded. Zack took out a piece of silver colored chalk and and began writing Runes on the air. When the Runes were completed, the Servants vanished.
Saber saw the area around her change in in a short flash of light. Looking around, the visibility didn't seem bad, but the pillars didn't make it easy for her to spot her opponent.
Holding her invisible sword, Saber began cautiously walking forward, keeping her senses sharp for anything around, she especially kept an eye on the pillars, for they can be used for hiding.
After walking for a few moments, Saber stopped as her ears picked a sound. It sounded like the rattling of bones. Looking around, something moved from behind one of the pillars and charged at her.
Avoiding a downward swing, Saber saw that her attacker was a Skeleton made of dark bones, holding a weapon made bones. Swinging her weapon upwards, Saber shattered the Skeleton to pieces.
The rattling of bone continued. This time, it was a hound made of the same kind of bones as the Skeleton charging at her. Saber, who still had her sword in the air from the previous swing, brought it down on the hound, cleaving it clean in half.
Another Skeleton warrior came out of hiding behind the pillar besides her and tried to stab Saber in the back, but she swiftly turned around and cut it from the middle, letting the top half fall on the ground.
Instinct took over and Saber jumped away just as a blast of purple magical energy struck the place she was standing on a moment ago.
Saber barely had time to see Caster in the air, their cloak looking like a pair of sinister wings, surrounded by magical circles that began firing at her. Dodging the blasts, Saber jumped to the side of one of the pillars and used it to jump further to reach Caster.
Caster barely dodged, a piece of their cloak being cut by Saber, and floated away. As soon as Saber landed back on the ground, she immediately began dodging magical blasts again.
Saber hid behind one of the pillars from the blasts. As she was thinking through her choices, she heard the sound of rattling bones again. Looking at her side, she saw a Skeleton warrior running towards her and swinging down a sword.
Jumping back, Saber didn't have time to counterattack the Skeleton as she had to start dodging blasts again. Hiding behind a different pillar, she noticed that more Skeletons were coming at her.
Breaking another hound with an upward swing, Saber charged between Skeletons, dodging blasts and attacks while taking down as many as she could.
Saber hid behind a pillar again and thought over her strategy. Coming up with an idea, she took a deep breath and jumped out of hiding.
Immediately, she began dodging blasts left and right again. The Skeletons that attacked her were also dodged, but unlikely before, she didn't attack them back.
Instead, Saber focused on dodging, getting closer and closer to where Caster was before jumping to one of the pillars again and using it to reach Caster like before.
And, also like before, Caster dodged. However, she then realised Saber had purposely picked the pillar and angle so that her jump would send her to another pillar.
Using the second pillar, Saber quickly jumped back towards Caster. Before Caster can dodge, the sword in Saber's hold glowed brightly, and as Saber swung down, it sent an arc of light with it.
Caster cried out as she was cut across her chest. Both Servant fell but only Saber landed on her feet. Caster landed harshly and all the Skeletons around fell ceased their movement before falling apart.
Taking deep breaths, Saber looked at Caster and closed her eyes. "(3...2...1...)" she counted on her head before swiftly turning around swinging her sword upwards.
She knocked away the attack that almost struck her in the back. Her attacker was revealed to be Caster, who had a crooked, red glowing knife in their hand. Swiftly, Saber brought back her invisible weapon and pressed it on Caster's neck.
"Say it," Saber demanded.
Caster stood silent. Saber made sure to press the blade of her invisible sword on her neck, and Caster sighed in defeat.
"I... surrender," Caster stated.
The area lit up as the pillars began sinking to the ground. The 'Caster' on the ground broke apart and revealed it was made up of stone, bones, and other materials.
"Tell me, how did you know about my attack?" Caster asked.
"To be honest, you almost had me," Saber confessed, dropping her stance. "The only thing that saved me was the fact I have some experience with witches."
When coming up with her plan, Saber asked herself 'what would my sister do?'. She believed that was the only reason she foresaw Caster's sneak attack.
"Alright, and that's the winner of round two!" Zack came in, clapping his hands.
"Saber! You won!" Shirou cheered as he walked up to his servant.
"Are you alright, Caster?" Souichirou asked, concern on his face.
"Wounded pride and a sore neck, at most," Caster rubbed the place where Saber was pressing her weapon. She then turned to Zack. "You won't off me now that I lost like you did to Archer, will you?"
"Oh, for the love of..." Zack groaned. "For the last time, I didn't do anything to Archer. He wanted to leave so he left. Besides, with that logic, wouldn't it make more sense for me to get rid of Berserker?"
"Just making sure," Caster's smile turned teasing before she became serious as Berserker walked closer. He looked her over and grunted with a nod. "Heh, even in that state you concern yourself for me? I'd be lying to say it didn't make me feel better," Caster said, emotions slipping through her voice.
"Now that the second fight is over," Zack drew their attention again as he smiled. "Time for the third, and sense you all know who's left, it's gonna be between Assassin and Lancer."