Beta read by Shigiya, Gamercrusher55 and Paragon of Awesomeness
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-Bran Castle-
The True Longinus.
A weapon that Archer personally had never dealt with or faced against in the past. Whose powers could be put along the same rank as even Excalibur and Rhongomyniad. Though perhaps a bit weaker overall than the other two Divine Constructs made by entities not of human origin — but he could never verify that opinion.
Regardless, the last thing he expected today was to face a weapon of a similar caliber in this world. Just like every other legendary weapon encountered so far from this reality, it differed greatly from the one of his origin; powerful in its own right, but not exactly the pinnacle of holy weapons. It gave him the impression of being more akin to a Swiss army knife, with it having so many abilities engraved into its creation rather than having a sole area at which it excelled more than anything else.
Still, it remained a dangerous weapon that he knew could kill almost anyone here in a single blow if not careful.
His eyes went on the ramparts of Bran Castle, where a tense silence had fallen, broken only by the distant howl of the wind. Lancer remained fixed in place, his gaze locked on the man who held Valerie. The spearman responsible met his stare without flinching, a calm smile playing on his lips as he rested the holy weapon against his shoulder.
"Heh, now that's a dangerous look," the man remarked, his voice polite, giving the Heroic Spirit a short, respectful bow, an act that felt most out of place in the current atmosphere he had caused. "Now that I have your attention, let me introduce myself. My name is Cao Cao. It is an honor to meet fellow heroes, and in this particular case, an honor to meet Heroic Spirits from another world who have been given physical form through magic."
"Cao Cao?" Lancer's frown deepened as recognition flickered across his face, though something didn't add up. The Cao Cao recorded in the Throne of Heroes had wielded the Yitian Jian, the Sword of Heaven. Yet this young man carried a spear.
"Regardless of what you call yourself," he pressed on before the other leaders could speak. "I suggest you release the girl at once. Unless you're eager to see for yourself why my class as a Servant is Lancer."
Cao Cao merely chuckled, a light, almost amused sound when faced by the very real threat from the Heroic Spirit. "There is no need for such hostility. I will gladly hand her over to you, so long as things go smoothly." He gestured to his companions, a mage who had teleported them earlier, along with a handful of other people who stood next to him.
A tall and burly man covered in bronze armor, looking down on them arrogantly without even bothering to hide his contempt. A young golden-armored blonde woman who carried a rapier, who kept trying to calm the stressed Valerie. A black-haired man who wore sunglasses despite the current darkness, a young child, and finally—
"Freed!?" Issei shouted from below in disbelief. "Didn't Archer kill you!?"
"…"
The last member, a man with light grey hair and a face that was practically a carbon copy of the late rogue priest, surprised the devils more than anyone else. Though he did not bother to even respond to Issei and kept his silence while standing in place among his comrades with his arms crossed.
"Hahaha! Freed Sellzen," Cao Cao chuckled, shaking his head. "Now there's a name I haven't heard in ages. Though I have to say, this is the first time anyone's confused him with you, Siegfried."
He turned to Issei with a knowing smile. "Don't worry, they may look identical, but that's where it ends. Freed was something of a… failed experiment, let's call it. If you want the details, Michael over there would be the one to ask."
Several heads turned toward the Seraph, who met Siegfried's gaze with an expression that gave nothing away.
"We can get into that later," Azazel said, cutting in, surprising, given his usual distance from his brother. "Right now, we don't need to start unpacking every secret we've been sitting on for centuries."
"He is right," Sirzechs concurred. "While I am curious about this, now that we have allied, answers about matters of import will come to light in due time. After we have dealt with the current crisis."
Seeing all three sides agreeing with one another, the holder of True Longiness couldn't help but clap his hands. "Marvelous! What a truly miraculous sight to see. Fallen angels, angels, and devils all agree on something. Never did I think I would ever be alive to see such a sight. Too bad that all of this is nothing but a sham that will eventually lead to humanity's downfall."
"Hoh, humanity's downfall?" Assassin, who had been listening to the conversation closely, repeated with skeptical curiosity on her face. "Now, why would that be the case, boy?"
To anyone listening, such an accusation could not be so easily ignored, for the very reason behind this alliance was to end most conflicts happening between them, which also affected the human side of the world. Even Archer, who was eavesdropping on the conversation, wondered what that man meant by that — as did Lancer.
"I'll gladly answer that question, Servant Assassin, but first, allow me to introduce my group. We are the Hero Faction, a part of a grander coalition called the Khaos Brigade. My apologies for arriving at your party uninvited."
The Lord of Impalement tilted his head, a single word dripping with scorn. "You call yourselves heroes?"
Archer also shared a similar reaction, though from just hearing it once, he could already tell that this group would be a headache to deal with, just from the fact that the True Longinus was not the only powerful weapon in their possession.
"Indeed," Cao Cao confirmed, his smile unwavering. "We are the reincarnations and descendants of humanity's greatest champions, and have thus renamed ourselves appropriately. To put it in simple terms, we are humans who have inherited the will and power of legendary figures, the very same kind of will that burns within you Heroic Spirits… Or rather, it would be more accurate to say yourself as a whole. We are the proof of humanity's potential, a potential that has been shackled for far too long—"
"I have heard enough," Lancer declared without even waiting for Cao Cao's to finish, his patience long since eroded by the so-called 'hero's' dribble. Raising a hand, his magical energy surged. "I will not listen to pretend heroes who dare use the name of their predecessors for their own gains! Not while they hold my Master hostage, an innocent girl if I ever saw one and in doing so, bring shame to those they claim to emulate!"
With a wave of his hand, his Noble Phantasm activated. The air itself seemed to warp as thousands upon thousands of black stakes materialized, rushing towards the Hero Faction with the force of a biblical plague. Just as before, a flash of light enveloped Cao Cao and his group. They vanished, only to reappear a moment later, this time only a short distance in front of Lancer. The tip of the True Longinus was now held precariously against Valerie's throat, halting the Impaler's attack instantly.
"No need to be hasty," Cao Cao said softly, his calm demeanor a stark contrast to the lethal situation. "We can just have a nice little talk."
"A talk? Hmph! There is nothing to talk about with intruders who dare to besmirch my name and invade my land so wantonly," Lancer snarled.
The Hero Faction leader's expression turned ever so annoyed, though the smile came back quickly to hide that slight change. "If you are unsatisfied with how I had to approach you now to gain your attention, please know that I had no alternative. For what was about to happen today was a mistake that I had to make sure would never occur."
"The peace treaty?" Rias spoke up.
"Yes," Cao Cao confirmed, his gaze shifting to Archer, who stood in the distance. "That peace treaty." He looked back at the platinum golden-haired Servant. "Despite the nature of those who summoned you Servants, at the end of the day, you are still heroes for humanity at your cores. You have fought for humanity. So you, of all people, should understand after being summoned into this world, all the challenges and pressures our kind has been subjected to from all sides."
He began to pace, his voice rising after each syllable. "Humanity is oppressed! We are treated no differently than cattle. Our Sacred Gears, our very talents, are stolen by other factions so they can command the powers that humans were given to protect their own kind. We are used as pawns in their endless games, our lives thrown away to fight their wars for them. The angels, the fallen, the devils… you all see us as nothing but resources to be harvested and discarded. The Hero Faction is here to change that. We have come forth to bring back the glory of humanity! If this peace treaty were to happen, it would only legitimize their dominance over us. They would continue to pillage humanity until no talent was left, and eventually, another, more terrible war would occur anyway."
He stopped and extended a hand towards Lancer, a gesture of invitation. "As a fellow hero, you should understand this better than anyone. We are formally inviting you — and Valerie, if she wishes — to become part of the Hero Faction. To fight again for the humans you once spent your life defending."
His gaze then swept across the castle grounds, landing on the other Servants. He looked at the distant Archer, the recovering Saber, and the ever-watchful Assassin.
"The same invitation extends to all of you," Cao Cao declared, his voice echoing across the castle grounds. "Join us. Help us to fight and defeat these evil beings that bring nothing but abuse humans. I have learned from Vladi that you are a man of God, Vlad III. And you know in your heart that working with devils and vampires is nothing less than a sin in His eyes."
Several eyes turned towards Lancer. No matter how powerful or weak one might be, having a Servant at one's disposal was a tremendous game-changer that even gods took great notice of. The mere existence of Berserker had ingrained that idea deep within the minds of all present. And with Lancer's performance from moments and the brutal versatility of his Noble Phantasm, him joining any enemy would be nothing less than a disaster.
"Pft-!"
But then, the tense atmosphere was broken up by something unexpected. For what Cao Cao got in response was not a declaration of war or a thoughtful silence, but instead the sound of melodic laughter. It started low, a quiet sound coming from the beautiful figure of Assassin. But it grew in volume, building until it was a full-blown, unrestrained bellow of laughter that echoed across the courtyard and ramparts.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
At the sound of her unfiltered amusement, Cao Cao's calm expression faltered, caught off guard. He stared down at the woman, his face becoming a blank mask.
"I fail to see what's so funny," he stated, his voice flat.
Assassin finally got her laughter under control, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "Oh, it has been such a long while since I last heard anyone say something so foolishly amusing while wearing such a serious expression. While from a first glance your words have merit, the reasoning behind them is inherently flawed. An alliance hardly inherently means oppression for those not part of it, boy; that is merely a conclusion you have forced upon the matter so that you may paint yourself as humanity's hero."
The Hero Faction leader's gaze bore down upon her as she continued to talk leisurely.
"After all, what is a hero without a villain? Had you truly wished for humanity's safety, then you would have sought a seat at this very table. Perhaps you could have ensured that Sacred Gear users and other unjustly oppressed humans are off limits to such abuse. But you did not — instead, you and your merry band of fools came here declaring war. I should also add that just because another race isn't human, it doesn't necessarily mean that they will stand against humans, as many times they have fought side by side with them. Such delusional self-righteousness is truly a rarity, and the hypocrisy of it all is simply a masterstroke. You have a future as an entertainer, boy. Were I still a queen with an empire, I would have hired you on the spot as my court jester."
Cao Cao's expression darkened, the polite facade cracking to reveal the cold steel beneath.
"You certainly have a keen sense of humor, Assassin, yet even that reflects your insight. I too share your opinion," Lancer said, his spear held loosely at his side. "Had this been any other time, had you taken the effort to genuinely approach us… Then maybe I would have given the offer some thought. Your ambition to help humanity is not foolish in itself, but it is a shame that it is also not your true goal. Unfortunately, your group has already presented itself as enemies. Delusional ones to be certain, but your crimes have nonetheless marked yourselves for execution."
The blond warrior then raised his weapon, the tip pointing directly at Cao Cao's head. "And I am not in the mood for jests. Not while my Master, whom I cherish as though she were my own child, is in your grasp. This is your final chance to hand Valerie to me and earn yourselves some measure of leniency. Refuse, and nowhere in this world will prove safe refuge for you and yours. And I shall personally mount your bodies on stakes as an example to all my enemies of the consequences of invoking my ire."
Hearing this, Cao Cao let out a long, weary sigh. "I truly had higher expectations for you. I thought that, as living spirits of heroes of the past, you would see what I am trying to share with you. To see my goal and understand this is the right way for humanity."
"And just who are you to decide the path that humanity shall walk?" Lancer shot back, his voice booming across the castle's courtyard. "Humanity has gone through countless tribulations! A union between devils, fallen angels, and angels would not bring them to their knees! They aren't as weak as a species that you say they are, and will overcome whatever challenges are presented to them as they always have! Heroes, much like myself in life, will always be there to rise when the need arises to protect those who cannot protect themselves!"
He took a step forward, his gaze burning into those of the Hero Faction's. "What I see before me are not heroes, nor those who have inherited their wills. You are nothing more than a ragtag gathering of immature fools who think standing on the shoulders of true legends gives you the right to power, even as you diminish your namesakes by threatening an innocent life in the name of a self-serving narrative. No true hero would ever align themselves with the likes of you."
Lancer squared his shoulders and looked his enemy dead in the eye as he made a proclamation. "Boy who calls himself Cao Cao, by my title as a Heroic Spirit who has reached the Throne of Heroes, I, Vlad Tepes III, name you and your followers unworthy."
This time, Cao Cao's smile vanished completely, replaced by a look of profound disappointment, while the rest of the Hero Faction stirred among themselves at hearing Lancer's judgment of them. Behind him, a mountain of a man with wild hair smacked his fists together. "Cao Cao, let me handle the old man. I'd say you're wasting your time trying to convince him. Sometimes our fists are the best negotiating tools."
"Calm yourself, Heracles," he said, raising a hand to stop him. "Your interference is not necessary. Hah… It is a shame I was not able to convince you," the spearman continued, his gaze falling to the girl held at his side. "But I considered this from the beginning. I figured that if diplomacy would not work, then I have no other choice but to use persuasion of a different sort."
"Ah—!"
Valerie let out a surprised yelp as he grabbed her arm, turning it to expose the back of her hand. The crimson marks of the Command Seals were stark against her pale skin, almost glowing in contrast to the darkened sky.
"Valerie!" Lancer shouted, a note of worry creeping into his voice.
"Who would have thought," Cao Cao mused, his eyes tracing the marks, "that such a simple little thing, a mere mock-up on someone's skin, could hold so much power over the glorious dead. The ability to not only become the owner of a powerful figure from the past, but also where a single command could force upon them anything." He shook his head slowly. "It's a shame that someone like her, a half-vampire of all things, is gifted something so precious. I gave you a chance because of your human side, but you did not take it. This would serve humanity more than she ever would. It would be far more useful for me, I'd reckon."
On the ground, a terrible premonition washed over the Lord of Impalement. He saw exactly what the man was planning to do.
"Don't you dare!" Lancer roared, Kazikli Bey, activating in an instant. A forest of stakes erupted from the ground, all aimed at Cao Cao and his group.
But before they could connect, the man with the golden circlet acted first and shielded the group from the first wave by summoning a powerful barrier with his staff, striking the platform they stood on. "Heh, what a terrifying onslaught! I won't be able to hold them back for long!"
"I'm already done." The mage Georg acted soon after. With a flick of his wrist, the entire group teleported. They reappeared a dozen meters away. Undeterred, Lancer just waved his hand, and the stakes followed, but then they teleported again. Over and over, they vanished and reappeared, the spearman evading the storm of impalement with frustrating ease.
"You are adept at scurrying about like rats, but how long can you maintain that kind of evasion?" Lancer bellowed, his attacks becoming more overwhelming, while Georg began to struggle to perform such a complex spell so many times in quick succession.
Of far greater concern, he could not escape. Teleporting any further would require additional time for the spell to take effect. Lancer's stakes were too fast and too widespread for him to comfortably attempt to escape the Servant's range.
"Do you perhaps require some assistance to lock them in place, Lancer?" Assassin asked, leisurely watching the game of cat and mouse unfold from the ground.
"A mere parlor trick, nothing more. A powerful mage ally he may have, but he does not possess infinite energ—"
That's when a high-pitched voice cut through the area and interrupted him. "K-Koneko, now!"
Lancer and the Hero Faction both turned in surprise towards Rias' group. A certain white-haired Rook held the cross-dressing boy, Gasper, in her arms.
"Go get him." With a grunt of effort, she spun, her whole body coiling like a spring before she released him in a powerful underhand toss. He wasn't just thrown; he was launched, a small projectile soaring through the air directly towards Cao Cao's group.
"Waaaaaaaah!" As he flew, the Bishop left a trail of tears from his terror, but still, he steeled himself enough for his eyes to snap open, glowing a brilliant red as his Sacred Gear activated. "Let Valerie go!" A field of immense power began to expand from the flying boy, engulfing everyone in his line of sight.
"Oh no!"
While the Sacred Gear's effect itself had the power to stop time and anyone within his eyesight, its strength also highly depended on the user's mastery and the gap in power between him and the enemy. Some can break free from its hold after a few moments, and others are capable of outright resisting the effects to the point of immunity.
While the spear protected its user, the same advantage did not extend towards the others who were caught in Gasper's power. Some managed to resist it, but in that small moment where everything froze to a standstill, the perfectly executed formulas to power several high-tier spells failed and broke down instantly.
This resulted in Georg failing to cast the spell, and the stakes from Lancer to finally close in on the group, leaving collective evasion impossible.
"Vali!"
With most of his group frozen, Cao Cao turned his attention towards the silver-haired young man who managed to resist the Forbidden Balor View's effect for the same reason as himself, with Kuroka and Bikou needing several seconds before they could move again, despite their mastery over Senjutsu.
"Don't order me around, I don't work for you, remember?" Despite saying that, Vali still acted and rushed towards the stakes below, his wings spread out, he managed to fold them over himself and use them as shields against the first wave while maintaining their integrity. Expanding them to open wide once more, Vali unleashed several blasts of energy, which he fired from the wings themselves.
"Oi, don't hog all the fun!"
Bikou and Kuroka acted swiftly as well, heading downwards and assisting him.
"Ha!"
They prove to be faster and stronger than anticipated by many. Managing to push back some of those steaks. But as for Gasper…
"Urgh!" Unable to change his trajectory or have enough time to transform into a swarm of bats and escape, a rough hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat.
"Gasper!"
Rias shouted in horror upon seeing the young boy dangling in the air, struggling to move while he was held by the throat by Lord Vladi himself. The action managed to break Gasper's use of his Sacred Gear and dispel the ability on the others.
Gasper's father still had that same expressionless look on his face as every other time he'd acknowledged his son, though this time with a hint of surprise within his eyes.
"So you can control that power after all," he said calmly, while his son looked back at him, unable to understand how the man could have resisted the effect of his powers. Gasper struggled, trying to break free from the hold but unable to so much as budge the fingers around his throat, which were closed around him like metal clamps. "I had my doubts, despite having seen you use it during the Rating Game, it is hard to believe you truly attained full control over your powers. But having witnessed it with my own eyes, I can confirm you really did."
It was hard to tell if Lord Vladi was genuinely impressed or simply stating an observation. Gasper tried to escape, pushing against the man's grasp, but the fingers around his throat closed down like an iron grip, making even breathing an endeavor.
"Let go of Valerie!" the boy managed to choke out, his voice strained. "Don't… Don't you touch her!"
Cao Cao, who had been watching the exchange, shook his head slowly. "The Forbidden Balor View… Truly a Sacred Gear that deserves the moniker of Evil Eye. Its effect turned out to be stronger than I anticipated. Given the information I had, I was led to believe its user was incapable of properly controlling it, having only recently managed to gain some minimal proficiency to use it for a Rating Game of all things."
Gasper ignored him, his glare fixed on his father. "Let… go… of Valerie!"
"Lord Vladi, you truly have an amazing son," Cao Cao remarked, a thin smile returning to his face. He then turned his attention back to Lancer. "Given that he is your blood, I will leave it to you to decide how to deal with him."
Vladi's gaze shifted from his son to the Hero Faction's leader. "Before I do that, I find myself curious about your own efforts. Do you think it is even possible for you to remove Command Seals from someone? I was under the impression they were impossible to remove, being too deeply ingrained into the Master."
"I'm not really creative or skilled enough at magic to answer that," Cao Cao answered truthfully with a shrug. "As you may have seen, it is not really my realm of specialty, and the brute force approach, like cutting off her hand, could result in the Command Seals either disappearing or just moving to another place on her body for all I know. But my friend Georg tells me that the way the Command Seals function has some similarities with curses that he's studied. A useful and even desirable one, but a curse all the same, and like most curses, it can be broken. Georg says he has found a way to not only forcefully remove the Command Seals from Masters and break the contract they have with their Servants, but he can then even go so far as giving them to another."
Lord Vladi raised an eyebrow, even as he grit his teeth. "You intend to steal Valerie's Command Seals?"
The man before him answered with a simple nod. Georg stepped forward, moving towards Valerie. "Know that this is not personal," he said to the girl, reaching for her marked hand.
"How long will the extraction take?" asked Cao Cao.
"Given this is my first time doing so, I can't give you an exact answer. But my best estimates put it at around a minute or two, then likely another to graft them onto you. After that, we'll have control of Lancer and can even go for the other Servants." Georg said calmly, looking at the young, frightened girl with an analytical eye. "If it takes too much time, then what do you suppose I should do?"
To that, his leader just shook his head and said with a chilling tone, "Simple, we cut the hand off and see if we can make do with that, and then kill her. While it would be a shame not to have the Command Seals, I would rather have them be lost forever than let something like a vampire or any of the other non-human species maintain control over a Servant."
"No!"
Gasper began to panic and to free himself from his father's hold, but found himself too weak to do so. He struggled again and again, trying to activate his Sacred Gear, only to have it be prevented by the man reaching out and placing his hand over the boy's eyes.
"You can try all you want, but know that the moment you do so, before I become affected, I'll rip your eyes out myself if I have to. So just stay put, you foolish boy."
Normally, Gasper would have been all too happy to sit on the sidelines and keep his mouth shut, but not when someone he cherished was in danger. He was both terrified and ashamed to face this man, much less ignore his command. Yet today, he knew that he could not allow himself to revert to his former self, and so he gathered every bit of courage within his bones and whispered, "Ho-How could… You b-betray her like this?"
"…"
While Georg began the spell to remove the Seals, Lord Vladi then let out a loud huff and withdrew the hand he had over his son's face, showing what could only be described as a tiny smirk.
"So you do have courage within you. Enough to defy me, even. But only when she is in danger… I suppose I can't expect more than this. Good, that is how you should be serving her from here on out."
"Eh?"
It happened far too quickly for anyone in the Hero Faction to react in time when Lord Vladi made his move. His hand shot out towards Georg, nails elongating into claws, which pierced clean through the mage's stomach. Blood splattering everywhere as the bespectacled man looked down in stunned horror at the bloody hand reaching into his guts and disappeared just as quickly — though not before flicking him to the side.
"—!" The action shocked everyone into a stupor. Ignoring their reactions, the vampire lord then grabbed both Gasper and Valerie before his body dissolved into a vast colony of bats. The swarm carried the two of them back down to the castle ramparts, placing them right next to Lancer.
The Servant of the Spear looked down at the man kneeling before him on one knee, head tilted downwards with a clear sign of respect and submission.
"You certainly took your time, Lord Vladi."
The man deepened his bow slightly. "Apologies, my lord. The Hero Faction was intended to only be a way to identify and gauge the threat posed by this Khaos Brigade; their involvement in tonight's events was not anticipated. Forgive me for not acting sooner to protect the Queen… I feared what might happen to her if their guard was not down."
"I will not punish a loyal vassal for lacking omniscience," Lancer said, gently shaking his head. "Let alone one who has risked so much while rooting out the traitors in our midst and dragging their collaborators out into the light. And you even dealt a grave blow to the only one among them with the magical skill to damage my pact with the Queen; your service has been exemplary."
"What?!" Gasper shouted, his confusion evident.
Rias and the other members of her peerage had a similar reaction. As for the three leaders of the biblical factions, their reaction differed, with Azazel starting to laugh like a maniac. "I knew it!" he exclaimed with joy. "You owe me several pictures of Gabriel, Michael!"
The Seraph just looked at him with a displeased face. "I never made such a bet against you."
"Booo~! You're no fun."
"So you were right after all, Ajuka." On the other hand, Sirzechs looked back at his friend, who seemed completely nonplussed at what had just occurred.
"You knew this would happen?" Rias couldn't help but exclaim in disbelief. "How!?"
Lancer turned toward them. "I apologize for keeping my guests in the dark, but we could not afford to risk tipping off the traitors that we were prepared for their scheme. And Lord Vladi's influence was not enough to dissuade them from striking the summit as a statement of their defiance." He gestured vaguely at the chaos around them. "He and a handful of others have been working from the beginning to draw together the vampires whose elitism would have ensured Queen Valerie would never have a prosperous reign, and galvanize them into attempting a coup, only to throw themselves heedlessly onto my stakes. Still, while we knew they had been promised support from the Khaos Brigade in the form of those mages in exchange for their support in future endeavors, the Hero Faction getting involved as well to try and take her Command Seals was most unexpected."
"Ah… S-so I did all of that… for nothing?" Gasper couldn't help but mutter in a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment. His face slowly but surely grew red until it matched the color of a tomato.
Before his condition could worsen anymore, the young woman he'd been trying to rescue went to grab his hand with a beautiful smile on her face. "If it's any consolation, I thought you looked really cool! Um… I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything. I thought I was going to be kidnapped by Lord Vladi with Marius in place of these people…"
"You were in on it from the beginning as well!?"
"This is what I get for trusting a vampire, hah." Cao Cao said as the realization dawned on him as well. He looked back at Lancer, his expression hardening. "We were betrayed from the beginning. I expected better from a hero."
Gasper was just as confused. He looked back at his father, hoping for some answers. But just like always, he got none. The man's focus was entirely on his enemies.
"Traitors and invaders have no business speaking on the injustice of betrayal," sneered Lancer. "Now, I believe the lot of you are still slated for execution. And it has already been delayed for far too long!"
With nothing holding him back anymore, Lancer's figure turned into a blur. Rather than using his Noble Phantasm, the man instead moved personally and appeared right above the group with his spear held firmly in his hand.
Bang!
The weapon descended and was met by the True Longinus held by Cao Cao, who stared back at the Servant, with some frustration finally showing on his face.
"It seems I may have underestimated you, Dracula. You are just as shrewd and deceitful as your other self from this world."
Lancer didn't fall for the clear taunt; instead, he just huffed through his nose before breaking the weapon lock, then bringing his spear back in a powerful thrust, one that was dodged at the last second but still managed to graze the boy's clothes. Then he proceeded to use the other end of his weapon, swinging it around and smacking away the attempted counter.
"But of course, as any king who stands in vigilant defence of his land should be."
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.
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"That bastard doesn't know when to shut up. He deserved what happened, should have just gone along with the original plan rather than spending the whole time mouthing off. This is not a theater show, fucking dumbass." Saber uttered while her face morphed into a sneer. Archer looked back at the Knight of Treachery without letting down his guard around her. Just from that earlier attack and her current comment, it wasn't hard to figure out that she did work with these newcomers willingly.
"Is that your Master up there?" he asked, though he was fairly certain it wasn't. The summoner of Saber didn't match his expectations—not even close. Based on what little he'd witnessed, Saber's Master was… emotional. They'd broken down just from being shouted at by the blonde spitfire. Neither Cao Cao nor the mage with the impressive teleportation skills had reacted that way, and besides, neither of them was female.
The same went for the one with the golden circlet around his forehead, who wielded a staff his Unlimited Blade Works identified as Ruyi Jingu Bang.
'If this Cao Cao is truly the current incarnation or descendant of his namesake, and the same applies to the others if they go by the names Georg, Siegfried, and Heracles, then just from his appearance, that one must be Sun Wukong. Hmm, I would have expected the Monkey King to still be alive in this world if his legend and immortality also translated to similar boons here, yet he doesn't seem to have the kind of power I'd expect from one such as him. A descendant? Or did he manage to steal or create a replica of Wukong's famed weapon? Then again, Vali's presence among them is proof that there are other elements of this Khaos Brigade at work here.'
So many questions, but too few answers.
"What's it to you if he's my Master or not? Could be. Could also not be. Who knows?" she shrugged, not giving him a crumb of information.
"I was actually talking about that black-haired woman in the kimono with cat ears. This is the second time I've seen you two together, and you gave away your Master's gender the first time we met."
"Urgh!" The reaction she got from hearing that almost seemed like she was about to vomit at the mere idea of Kuroka being her Master. "Fucking disgusting! Er… I mean, I ain't telling ya, bastard! We are in the middle of a fight, not a conversation! Besides, you have quite the nerve shooting me like that. I almost had him! Just for that, I'll make sure to crush your head beneath my boots."
Facing such a threat, Archer smirked. "I am not surprised. It'd be too much to expect any special treatment or even a thank you, given I saved you from Berserker's Noble Phantasm last time we met. Not to mention the food I gave you the time before that."
"Tch," clicking her tongue, a burst of red magical energy emanated from her body like a tidal wave. "Why the hell would I thank you since you also tried to kill me in the end as well! As for the food, that's frankly the least you could have done to compensate me for getting rid of that fake Excalibur."
Saber drowned the area in an intense crimson light before attempting to close the distance between them. To any regular eye, her speed would be impossible to track as anything more than a crimson blur, but he was prepared for that and met her advance with a single shot that flew at a similar speed and clashed against Saber's sword.
Bang!
Steel met steel, his reinforced arrow shattering upon impact, but it also proved more than enough to push her back to the ground despite her having tried to dodge it at the last second. "You gotta be fucking kidding me." Buried under several tons of rock, the blonde pushed them aside as if they weighed nothing and sprang back up with an irritated look on her face.
Being on the receiving end of a murderous glare, he just raised an eyebrow. "What's with the look? You didn't expect me to clash swords against a Saber-class Servant, right? I am an Archer at the end of the day."
Was he taunting her? Yes, he most definitely was. Despite her short temper, her parameters and skills made her no different from a sane Berserker. While he could afford a short clash at close range and even stay alive without necessarily getting hurt, he could not guarantee emerging victorious so soon. It was a pointless waste of energy and would snatch his attention away from his surroundings and other people around the castle who were just as dangerous.
"Damn it all!" Saber cursed, shattering another massive slab of stone that fell upon her with a casual backhand swing. The impact from Archer's shot had packed a punch, but her armor had easily taken the brunt of it.
As far as he was aware, aside from the helmet that concealed her identity, the rest of the armor did not have any particularly special qualities aside from being very durable, but that was clearly a job it excelled at.
Her eyes burned with frustration, then locked onto the distant figure on the walls.
"I'll crush you!"
She shot forward again, a crimson comet aimed at her foe.
"Hmph."
Evidently, her stubbornness would not be curbed so easily by that most recent demonstration.
Another arrow streaked through the air, forcing her to twist her body violently, the shaft grazing her pauldron with a screech of metal. Several more were either cleaved or blocked by her sword in an impressive show of dexterity and quick reflexes. She didn't stop, pushing her speed even higher, her boots kicking up dirt and shattered rock.
A third volley came, and this time she was ready, ducking under the majority of it and deflecting the few that targeted the gaps in her armor. "Heh!" A small, triumphant smirk touched her lips.
"Adapting already?" Archer muttered under his breath. "Given who you are, that's the bare minimum."
"You can't keep this going forever!" she roared, her voice echoing across the battlefield. "I'll catch you, and when I do, I'm gonna beat you black and blue! And then shove that bow of yours up your ass!"
Archer ignored the threat entirely. 'She's enraged, good,' he thought, notching another arrow. 'Unlike Berserker, she can't suddenly give herself a Protection from Arrows skill. But that doesn't mean I can underestimate her.'
Saber, seeing the next arrow being drawn, abandoned her straight charge. She instead began to weave, using feints and bursts of mana to gain a brief speed boost and increase her chances of evasion. She'd dart left, then right, her path becoming an unpredictable zigzag meant to throw off his aim. One arrow whizzed past her head, another slammed into the ground where she'd been a split-second before.
"Hahahaha! Can't hit a target that isn't moving in a straight line? Some Archer you are!" She laughed loudly, even getting enough confidence to begin taunting him — which he found adorable.
Still, she was doing it, doing a lot to close the gap between them. Even using her surroundings as cover.
Unfortunately for her, that meant he just had to use something more… effective. Seconds later, her laughter died in her throat.
What followed next was not merely a handful of arrows, as the sky seemed to suddenly rain them down. Where there had been one, there were now two, then three, all converging on her from different angles. "Damn it!" Her weaving path, once an advantage, was now being used against her to direct and contain her movements, and soon even that wasn't enough. She was struck in the shoulder, the thigh, and the side, the force of the impacts sending her tumbling and rolling across the ground, all her progress erased in an instant.
"It was a good effort," Archer's voice carried across the distance, his tone devoid of praise or scorn. "But you were mistaken to believe my arrows could only travel in a single line."
He watched her push herself up, her form radiating pure fury. 'That should be enough to enrage her even further. Any second now…'
Right on cue, the ornate helmet that encased her head began to disassemble, the plates retracting to rearrange into parts of the chestplate and pauldrons with a series of soft clicks to reveal her furious, snarling face.
The moment he saw it, he acted. His bow was already drawn, a spiraled sword materializing in his mind's eye.
"—!"
He fired again without hesitation—not at her head or chest this time, but at her hands. The impact broke her grip on Clarent instantly.
And so the stunned Heroic Spirit watched as her sword was dislodged from her grasp, while Archer was already preparing his next shot with the weapon he'd just envisioned.
Placing it on the bowstring and pulling back, the spiral drill-shaped sword thinned out and became elongated, and red energy began to flow and writhe around him. The blade twisted further into itself, beginning to warp and shriek as Archer pushed it to its utmost limit. Cracks were already starting to form on its surface as the weapon reached a crucial stage and became a Broken Phantasm.
"Your helmet is a huge weakness," he murmured to himself, knowing she couldn't hear. "Removing it just screams your next move to any Archer worth their salt."
He didn't hesitate, loosening the arrow not at her body, but at her sword-wielding hand. It flew with blinding speed, a metallic streak aimed to break her grip before she could focus her energy.
"Caladbolg II," he intoned.
Whoosh!
The projectile flew faster than any of his prior attacks. Reaching its target with a speed that even many Servants would struggle to react to
Saber was completely unarmed, utterly exposed. The red spiral of energy grew larger in her vision, and then it struck her dead center.
"Damn you!" Saber let out a scream of pure rage, forced to protect herself with her own gauntlets, she tried to raise her arm to act as another layer of protection, but her actions were too slow. The arrow shattered her left gauntlet, and she was left to endure the force of this attack as she did her utmost to muster a strong enough Mana Burst to counter it or throw it off course.
But Caladbolg II would not be denied so easily. It was not merely a projectile carrying a great amount of energy; it twisted and warped physical matter, magic… even space, as Medea had once learned the hard way. All at a level of power that not even Heroic Spirits, the likes of Heracles, could ignore.
A deafening roar split the air as a massive explosion consumed the spot where Saber stood, a pillar of fire and smoke rising high into the sky that culminated in a small mushroom cloud.
When the displaced air eventually reached him, Archer observed the aftermath with a hint of suspicion. While not possessing a durability on the level of Heracles that required Noble Phantasms at A rank or above to so much as scratch him, Saber had also proven herself to be incredibly durable in her own right.
""Archer!""
Akeno's and Rias' voices, laced with panic, cut through his inner thoughts.
"Hm?" He spun around, his eyes widening just in time to see a blur of motion. His vision whited out for a second as he brought his bow up instinctively, blocking a punch that sent a powerful shockwave across the battlements, rustling his hair and clothes. "What?" The man stared, stunned, at the black-haired Nekoshou who stood before him, her joyful expression from before gone, replaced by one of intense confrontation.
"You're being mean, bullying Saber like that," she pouted, though her eyes were hard.
At that moment, Archer was floored. 'How… did she get so close?'
He hadn't sensed her at all.
She had slipped through his perception completely. Before he could process it, the woman was on him again. Her movements were a blur, her fists impossibly fast. Each punch was packed with ridiculous power behind it, forcing him to block and dodge, the impacts creating small shockwaves with each connection. Forcing him to create distance, leaping back several meters so as not to have this end up in a full-on brawl.
"Were you also part of the Hero Faction this entire time?" he asked, his mind racing. He didn't recognize her as any hero from his world. No particular Heroic Spirit with cat-like features came to mind… unless he took a wild guess. "Atalanta?"
Kuroka just laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Atlanta? No, no, I'm not part of that bunch of weirdos. I'm just Kuroka, Shirone's loving older sister, nya~!" Her two cat tails swished behind her. "And as much as you're handsome, you're also very dangerous. So I have to keep you occupied while the rest finish what they came here to do."
Her words made Archer's attention snap back towards Lancer. He had to quickly gauge how things were going on the other side of this mess.
{Break}
(Around the same time)
The clanging of steel on steel echoed across the ramparts as Lancer's spear repeatedly met the True Longinus. Despite holding one of the most powerful holy weapons, Cao Cao was being forced to give ground more often than the reverse. The sheer force of the Servant's blows sent ringing impacts traveling up his arms; such was his strength, and his skill was just as great.
"Hn!" the young man grunted, adjusting his footing. Even pressed as he was, Cao Cao proved himself to possess enough skill and talent with the spear and strength of body that he was able to keep up with Lancer's attacks.
"Hoh, you're not bad, boy, and stronger than I expected to find any human living in this era. Does your Sacred Gear grant you a form of body reinforcement? Most interesting!" He was a human, yet somehow he was taking the brunt of a Servant's blows without being overwhelmed. He lacked Lancer's raw speed, but his reactions were quick enough to keep him from getting impaled by both the spear and the stakes working in unison, his body twisting to avoid a sweeping strike aimed at his legs.
"But I'm afraid you'll need to do far better than that!" Lancer taunted, his spear a blur with each thrust aimed at a different vital spot, the last attack arcing for Cao Cao's heart. The Hero Faction leader sidestepped, the spear passing inches from his chest, though managing to tear through his clothes and leave a clear cut on his skin. With blood starting to pool down, he gritted his teeth and countered with a quick jab of his own.
"Good counter," Lancer parried it effortlessly, the impact ringing out. "But it's still too slow." He then smacked the tip of Cao Cao's weapon down and spun, using the momentum to bring the butt of his spear around in a wide arc.
"Gah!"
It slammed into Cao Cao's chest with a solid thud, sending the man skidding backward and creating distance.
"Cough! Cough… Le-Leonardo!" Cao Cao screamed, his voice tight with blood dribbling down his lips. The sigh of which, as he whipped it with the back of his hand, made his eyes turn frigid.
From the sky above the Hero Faction, a young boy descended, landing softly on the ground a good distance away. Lancer glanced at him, a flicker of disgust on his face. "How could anyone who calls himself a warrior force a young child into combat?"
"As if the devils are any better. At least I gave him a choice on how to use his power instead of forcing him to abandon his humanity so he could fight wars that were never his. He may be young, but he is a warrior and a hero at heart," Cao Cao shot back. "Besides, do not look down upon him."
The boy, Leonardo, proved his leader's words. He slammed his hands on the ground, and the earth shifted and groaned as his shadow grew to a gargantuan size.
"Put some distance between him and me!" Cao Cao ordered.
Before Lancer's eyes, strange puppet-like creations made of what appeared to be blackened rock emerged from the boy's elongated shadow. They were taller than men, shaped like crude golems, and they rose in their hundreds. All of them turned their faces — featureless except for their singular red gleaming eyes — towards the Servant and charged, their heavy footfalls shaking the castle wall.
This only made Lancer chuckle in open derision. "Have you learned nothing!?" he exclaimed. With another wave of his hand, his Noble Phantasm surged. More stakes erupted from the ground, spreading across the battlefield like a deadly tide. They shot upwards, impaling the golem creations with ease. The constructs were lifted off the ground, their bodies pierced through multiple areas before they disintegrated back into wisps of shadow.
Some proved to be more durable and held on with their eyes that gleamed brighter in a clear charging sequence, just as their limbs and movements were completely sealed by many more stakes locking around their bodies in a makeshift prison.
All the while, Lancer continued to trade blows with Cao Cao, the human barely holding his ground as the duel went on.
"I have to admit, had you not been on the opposing side, you would have been a formidable warrior. A true credit to your namesake, had you chosen a different path," complimented the Servant of the Spear, a look of disappointment befalling upon his face.
In the distance, Leonardo's face, which had previously been expressionless, began to grow frustrated and then show signs of panic as Lancer continued to impale his monstrous creations as fast as the boy could spawn them. Lancer had no desire to kill a child if he could avoid it, and so for now he settled for rendering the boy's otherwise formidable power useless in this fight.
Seeing that circumstances were only growing more dire for their leader, others from the Hero Faction decided to join the fight. Heracles, the mountain of a man, leaped into the fray with a large grin on his face.
"Let me help! I'll crush the old man into paste!" He charged, his fist cocked back, aiming for a surprise attack while Lancer was focused on Cao Cao.
"Such arrogance!"
Lancer didn't even turn his head fully, giving the giant of a man a sidelong glance before raising his arm. The armored figure bathed in a golden aura descended with both hands raised in the air and brought them down in a hammerblow to create a thunderous explosion.
Bam!
Smoke rose in the air, and the ground trembled. Heracles smirked with satisfaction. "Hehehe, a single hit from me was all it took to kill him? You're getting soft, Cao C—hm!?" A powerful grip tightened around his fists. As the dust cleared, Heracles stared in disbelief at the old man who had caught his blow in his open palm. Lancer's knees were buckled slightly, the stone beneath his feet cratering from the force, but he held firm.
Heracles stared in pure shock, clearly having not expected the old man to match him in the realm of raw physical might.
"Impressive, your strength rivals that of the highest of Servants. But with my Demonic Defender of the State skill, I am more powerful than even that. Like every other invader, you will find no victory so long as you are in my domain," Lancer stated, looking the larger man in the eyes. "Whether it be might or magic, I shall never know the sting of defeat so long as I stand in defence of my home."
"—!"
A circle of stakes materialized around Heracles, all aimed at his chest. "Aaaargh!" The man roared and crossed his arms in front of him, the bracers on his body glowing with power to block the attack. Despite holding firm, the force was too much, and his body was sent flying upwards into the air.
"Gah!"
Lancer vanished with a jump, appearing above him with a speed that was akin to teleportation. Swinging his spear like a club, he smacked the flat of his blade against the descending Heracles' back, driving him back towards the ground. Upon landing gracefully, his spear instantly pierced the massive man's shoulder and pinned him to the stone.
"Aaah!"
"While you do possess tremendous strength, your morals are not up to par, and neither is your heart. You do a great disservice to the hero whose name you wear," Lancer said, looking down at him. "And you understand nothing of his will."
"Shut the hell up, old man!" Heracles looked back with pure fury in his eyes, growling as he tried to push himself up.
"I did not give you permission to rise."
"Urgh!"
Lancer responded by smashing his foot into the man's face, driving it back into the stone and forming wide spiderweb cracks. Leonardo, in the distance, tried to help, but no matter how many of his creations he made, the constructs were impaled the moment they appeared. As for Cao Cao, he'd already taken advantage of Heracles' doomed intervention to back up and heal himself.
As Lancer prepared to deliver the killing blow, a black shadow shot up in front of Heracles. His spear passed through it harmlessly. The tip of his weapon disappeared, and a sharp pain erupted in Lancer's arm. "Hm?" He looked at his wound in surprise, seeing a spear tip sticking through his bicep. A strange, tangible shadow was engulfing the area bit by bit. He looked in the distance to see a young man wearing a visor staring back at him.
"Don't get too cocky, old man," the boy said. "Sure, you're strong, but you betray your own arrogance by underestimating us."
Lancer didn't answer immediately. He looked at his arm, then at his own spear, at the blood dripping from it. "Your power… it must be to create portal-like constructs to redirect attacks?" he said aloud, rubbing his chin.
"Connla, keep him busy!" Cao Cao commanded, making a beeline towards Valerie and the others.
This elicited a snarl from Lancer. "You will not touch her again!" he roared. The rate of stakes suddenly increased drastically, appearing in greater quantities than ever before. They were all aimed at a different member of the Hero Faction, including the blonde girl who had been trying to sneak up on him, who froze upon realizing he'd been aware of her the entire time.
Connla tried to use his shadow to redirect the trajectory of the stakes aimed at him back at Lancer, only to realize the projectiles stopped moving the moment they entered his shadow. Lancer reappeared behind the boy.
"Your power is dangerous, but you are still far too slow. By failing to turn that strike into a killing blow, you only revealed yourself as a priority target."
Before he could react, Lancer pierced him in the stomach with his spear.
"Connla!" Jeanne screamed. Lancer had seized the boy, wrenched his spear free, and hurled him from the castle wall so fast he might as well have been a comet tearing through the sky. "Oh shit!" She momentarily took her attention off the stakes, which proved to be a deadly mistake. Her arms, stomach, and legs were left with long gashes as she was pinned to the ground and almost impaled before her power summoned a myriad of blades, each emanating a holy aura, which erupted from the ground and shattered Lancer's stakes, freeing her.
Leonardo, meanwhile, was completely overwhelmed, unable to create more constructs to attack and instead forced to use his power to spawn a pair of stronger monsters that were barely able to protect themselves from Lancer's onslaught. For with this most recent attempt on his Master, the Heroic Spirit had lost all patience.
"Cao Cao! We can't keep going like this any longer!" Jeanne shouted.
Leonardo was left defenceless as his final monster was felled by the stakes, and he fell backwards in a panic as they approached, though the boy was saved at the last second as a black greatsword glowing with crimson energy slashed them into pieces before its wielder grabbed the young boy and carried him to safety.
Unlike the rest, Siegfried fully focused on retreat and dodging, not giving a single thought to even attempting to attack Lancer.
"Hmm, that one at least seems to show some sense in the face of overwhelming power. But the others, they follow their leader unto death even as he abandons them."
Such words stopped the blue-haired man in his tracks. Cao Cao looked towards Valerie in the distance, being escorted by Lord Vladi, then at his friends in the back who were getting overwhelmed. He himself had to dodge multiple stakes, some of which had already formed a protective dome around the rest of his allies to cut them off from any avenue of escape, much less a pursuit of Valerie. He realized they were all at Lancer's mercy and cursed under his breath, turning his full attention back to the Servant.
"It seems we have to take you down after all," Cao Cao said, his voice low. "We could have done great things together, as Master and Servant."
Lancer chuckled with dark amusement. "I'm afraid I do not share that sentiment. Besides, do you really think you can kill me?"
Cao Cao just raised his spear, the True Longinus beginning to glow with an immense, holy light. "Truth be told, I had no plans to use this so early on, much less against a Heroic Spirit. Our objective here was to find allies, not kill those who have our utmost respect. But that goal has turned out to be a failure. And now you have forced my hand. Lancer, as a man of faith, surely you must know the name True Longinus?"
The name hung in the air for several seconds. Lancer's eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock crossing his features before it was stamped out by a cold fury. He narrowed his gaze, his eyes boring into Cao Cao.
"The True Longinus," the Servant repeated, his voice low. "Such a sacred and mighty weapon… Yet I find its light is diminished when held by your hand." He tightened his grip on his own spear, the shaft creaking under the pressure. "I had reason enough to kill you for daring to lay a hand on my Master. Now, you give me another. For tainting that most holy spear, a weapon blessed by God's son himself with his sacrifice and blood, I shall wrench it from your grasp and ensure it is never again used for such evil."
"Weilders are born with their Sacred Gear, Lancer. Fate itself gave me this power."
"Then allow me to demonstrate just how fickle fate can be, arrogant child!"
Around the same time, several black spheres began to materialize behind Cao Cao's back. The spear in his hands started to shift, its form flowing as if it were almost alive, exuding a staggering amount of holy energy. One that was so potent it even put Lancer on edge.
But before either of them could launch their next attack, a light brighter than even the holy spear erupted from above, momentarily turning the night sky into that of brilliant daybreak.
"[Vanishing Dragon, Balance Breaker]!"
The voice of the Vanishing Dragon echoed across the sky, a sound of immense power that made every single soul around the castle flinch.
From the ground, several streaks of light emerged, a torrent of projectiles fired in great numbers, all aimed at the single white-armored figure.
"[Half Dimension!]"
The figure that Lancer recognized from the wings alone, Vali, instantly flew away at a breakneck speed while the space around him started to contort, shrinking and weakening everything around him to the point that he could even tank some of the attacks that were a bit too fast to avoid. The rest, he managed to evade with relative ease — though some stubbornly tracked his flying figure like a homing missile, which were countered by powerful blasts of energy shot from his wings. What made the scene even more unbelievable was not the transformation itself, or the great many swords fired into the sky with numbers enough to seemingly rival the stars in the sky.
It was Lancer himself who voiced the confusion. "Is that… Saber riding on top of the White Dragon Emperor?"
An incredulous sight to be certain, yet the truth before his eyes could not be denied — especially when she made no attempts to hide herself. On top of that, it did not look like the boy was helping her willingly, given the brief moment of struggle as he tried to throw her off.
Her armor was gone, leaving only a few pieces of shattered vambraces and leggings still attached to her body. And even that much appeared to be burned, while the woman herself wasn't looking much better. Blood streamed down her face, with nothing else covering her upper torso other than a narrow red cloth wrapped around her chest.
Nonetheless, Saber stood tall on Vali's back and raised her sword.
"Clarent…"
A pillar of crimson lightning formed around her blade, which she brought down with all the power her arms could generate. It shattered another powerful projectile that was twisting the very air itself as it headed straight towards them, a blinding light spreading across the area.
"…Blood Arthur!"
Both Lancer and Cao Cao looked up to see the White Heavenly Dragon soaring through the sky, with the Knight of Betrayal standing upon his back and bringing down her sword against Archer's attacks.
This cycle happened several times. No matter what the Servant of the Bow threw at them, Saber just destroyed anything within her range with a pillar of crimson lightning while Vali gave her the speed and maneuverability to avoid some of the faster shots.
With each passing moment, the duo kept getting closer and closer. The clouds long since dispersed by the clash of Noble Phantasms between Saber and Archer.
"Clarent…" She screamed out her Noble Phantasm's name again, a maddened smirk plastered on her face. Eyes fully focused on the lone figure standing on top of the wall, calmly looking back as he just went along with the motion by Tracing another sword. Unlike the spiraled sword from before, this one was longer and narrower with a tapering blade formed from interwoven metal, featuring several evenly spaced oval cutouts along its center.
The edges curved smoothly around the openings. The hilt was straight and thin, while exuding a demonic feeling even in its most passive state.
All of which transformed the moment it started to twist and turn, turning into an arrow-shaped item just like every other weapon. But this one had its edges harshly serrated.
Yet before he could fire that particular arrow, Lancer felt another powerful burst of Magical Energy coming from the castle's courtyard itself. A brilliant white light that turned into a shooting star ascended into the sky within a heartbeat and headed straight for Saber faster than even Vali could react.
But Saber just continued to smirk and changed her aim to what Lancer finally glimpsed to be a majestic horse with angelic wings, ridden by none other than Rider.
"…Blood Arthur!"
"Bellerophon!"
-------------------------
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.