Fate/Zero:Act 10 Part 2
-86:30:16
Archer looked down towards the distant, waveborne battle of Heroic Spirits from high in the air.
"What a disgraceful sight..."
The King of Heroes rode upon a shining bright ‘ark’ made of gold and emerald, 500 meters above the ground.
Gate of Babylon – the treasury of Gilgamesh, the primeval hero who once owned all of the treasures in the world, stored within it the original forms of many treasures that were praised by the legends and myths of latter men.
The golden ark that he is using to float in the air is also one of those 'divine secret treasures'. Indeed, this is the flying contraption that was passed from Babylon to India and recorded in the two epic sagas Ramayana and Mahabharata as the "Vimana".
"Although they’re mongrels, they are famous warriors at the very least... I wouldn’t have thought that they’ve fallen as low as joining together to finish that filthy thing. There should be a limit to deplorability. Don’t you think so, Tokiomi?"
In contrast with the languid and heedless Archer, Tōsaka Tokiomi, who was permitted to share a seat on the ark, had a heart full of anger and anxiety.
For the most part, magecraft has to be used in secret – it was indeed due to the need to obey this basic principle that the Tōsaka lineage was appointed this land's Second Owner by the Association. Caster's rampage not only threatens the progress of the Holy Grail War, it wholly tramples over even Tokiomi’s own prestige.
It would be a horrid tragedy if the liberated beast were to go mad again. If that happens, then the problem would no longer be a simple matter of finishing Caster's bounty, or properly conducting the Heaven’s Feel. Right now, this monster must be eliminated as soon as possible. The dignity of the Tōsaka name would be at stake if the number of witnesses increased.
"O King, that monster is an evil creature laying waste to your garden. A sinner that deserves death by any means!"
"That’s the work of the gardener."
Archer immediately rebuked Tokiomi’s request.
"Could it be, Tokiomi, that you regard this great treasure of mine as a gardener's hoe?"
"That is not what I meant! But as you can see – they won't be able to hold on much longer."
In truth, it is evident that the battle is progressing towards despair.
Although Saber and Rider’s blades continued to slash the sea demon’s gigantic body with no respite, it showed no signs of being wounded.
Of course, it wasn’t that the Servants were holding back. The unyielding sword that clove rocks and the iron hooves that brought forth roaring thunder; they ruthlessly carved out the sea demon’s flesh, scattering them about in waves of blood and decay. However, the shredded wounds would be filled up by new flesh in the blink of an eye.
The demonic monsters that Caster summoned and commanded previously also had physical regeneration abilities, so it was not surprising. However, the giant sea demon this time was indeed enormous in size. It was as if they were digging a hole in a marsh; the damage of the two Servants combined cannot keep pace with the monster's regeneration.
Even the utmost effort and combined attacks of the King of Knights and King of Conquerors could only slow down the sea demon's progress towards the river bank by a little.
"This is a great opportunity to display the majesty of a true hero. Please, give the command!"
The King of Heroes gave Tokiomi a glance of displeasure. Then he swung his right hand, which was propping up his chin on the edge of the ship. Four swords and spears appeared in the air next to him. The shining primeval Noble Phantasms unleashed a thunderous roar, and flew to impale the filthy mountain of meat that wriggled down below.
Saber and Rider reacted immediately and jumped away to avoid being caught in the attack, but Caster’s sea monster was in no ways so agile. The four Noble Phantasms hit it head on. Their power, enough to split mountains, blew one-third of the giant beast’s body into nothingness.
It was an unprecedentedly mighty impact, but Caster laughed out loud with an even more piercing sound.
"How can it be...?"
Tokiomi was dumbfounded. Beneath him, the wriggling meat mountain swelled up like a balloon, and repaired the damaged parts as he watched.
The physical structure of the giant meat lump was perhaps as simple as an amoeba. It has no bones or organs, and thus no weaknesses. Its movement won’t be impaired no matter which body part is destroyed, and it will speedily restore the destroyed parts relying on its mighty regeneration ability.
" – We're leaving, Tokiomi. I can’t watch that filthy thing a second longer."
Archer spat out while his crimson irises expressed his revulsion.
"But... please wait, King of Heroes!"
"Tokiomi, I used four Noble Phantasms for your honor. I don’t want to take them back now that they’ve been touched and stained by that thing. Don’t take my leniency so cheaply."
"You are the only one who can defeat that monster!"
Tokiomi desperately persisted. As it had progressed into such a situation, he had no time to think about the prudence a liege should have.
"With a regeneration ability of this level, we can only destroy it entirely with one blow. The only one who can do this is you, the King of Heroes, and the Sword of Rupture – "
"Fool!"
This time it was Archer who raged, his pupils a burning crimson.
"Draw my greatest treasure, Ea, here? You are senseless, Tokiomi! I should take your head for speaking such rash words to the King!"
"..."
Tokiomi lowered his gaze, grinding his teeth, and stayed silent.
Indeed, it is impossible. With Gilgamesh's pride, he would only draw his his trump card, his cherished blade, when facing an opponent whom he recognizes as 'fitting.'
However, there was no other way to completely destroy Caster’s sea demon. That was also the truth.
He was forcibly reminded of the Command Seals on his right hand. Even if he uses one here, he can obtain another one from the Holy Church as the reward for defeating Caster. However – this kind of choice would definitely cause the relationship between the King of Heroes and himself to shatter.
Since that’s the case, he could only place his hope on other Servants.
...And if Caster is successfully destroyed by the other Servants, Masters other than Tokiomi would gain the additional Command Seals held by Father Risei.
The constrained anger caused Tokiomi to clutch his hands into fists. His nails dug into his palm.
Why did things progress toward such an unexpected direction? It was supposed to be a perfectly planned and prepared Heaven’s Feel, so how did it turn into such a mad and chaotic situation?
At that moment, a thunderous sound tore apart the sky. Tokiomi lifted his head stiffly.
The lightless thunder could only be the residual noise of a sonic boom. The paired lights that flew across the night sky, north to south, were the identification lights of jet-propelled fighter aircraft.
"Damn it..."
The situation was deteriorating rapidly with every passing moment. For Tōsaka Tokiomi, the Second Owner of Fuyuki, there was nothing he could do except to look on.
The strange scene spread below them shocked the two Eagles speechless.
"... What, is that...?"
Captain Ōgi raked his brain and considered the possibility that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Beyond that, he was doubting even his own sanity.
"And there's some strange lights at six o’clock. It's not a helicopter... is it a UFO or something?"
The stunned voice of his wingman, 2nd Lieutenant Kobayashi, coming through the wireless made the situation clear. This wasn’t an illusion that only Captain Ōgi could see.
"Control to Diablo I. Situation report."
"The situation – it's, uh – "
How can he explain this?
Disaster? Unknown craft? Airspace intrusion?
Monster – no, that can’t be considered. There isn't a codeword for that.
In order to explain this, it must be built upon the foundation of current knowledge. However, such knowledge far surpassed Captain Ōgi's capacity of thought.
"I’ll go a bit lower to look at it closely."
"Wait – Kobayashi, hold it!"
A nameless evil chill descended upon his back; Captain Ōgi reflexively tried to stop his wingman. However, Kobayashi's F15 had moved from circling to actual descent.
"Pull back! Diablo II!"
"If we observe it a bit closer, then we can know – "
At this moment, the two fighter jets were no longer onlookers.
The opponent wasn’t a modern weapon like anti-aircraft artillery or missiles, so Lieutenant Kobayashi had no way to estimate the range of the enemy’s attacks. And first of all, it would be impossible to react to tentacles that can stretch over 100 meters in the blink of an eye.
He couldn’t figure out what was happening even after the he lost control of the stick. It was as if he smacked into an invisible wall and spiralled into a fall. All he could do was scream.
Although he died this way, it may still be somewhat fortunate compared to what Captain Ōgi was seeing.
Numerous thick and robust web-like extensions stretched out from the surface of the meat lump on the river and entangled Kobayashi's craft, forcibly dragging the plane down despite the turbofan engine's thrust. Such a scene can only be called a nightmare.
The plane didn’t explode when it smashed into the meat lump. The F15, reduced into scrap iron, sank deeply into the gigantic primeval creature and was swallowed with not a single fragment left.
"Kobayashi – "
Having witnessed everything, Captain Ōgi's mind had gone over the ultimate limit of thought and comprehension, and was left solely with a perception alien to common sense.
Aah, it – was swallowed.
"Control to Diablo I. What's going on?! Report!"
"Eyes, it has eyes, so many eyes..."
Despite the thick mist Captain Ōgi still saw, very clearly, those wart-like eyes that emerged on the surface of the meat lump, which all opened at the same time and stared at the prey in the air above them.
Captain Ōgi could feel that ‘gaze’ even in the airtight cockpit.
That was it. That thing was unimaginably hungry. It focused on the next prey after it swallowed Diablo II, and kept a death glare on it...
However, overwhelming horror instead exploded into violent anger.
" – Diablo I, engaging!"
"W-wait, Ōgi! Just what is – "
He forcibly turned off the noisy radio communication and disengaged all safeties. 4 AIM-7F/M Sparrows. 4 AIM-9 Sidewinders. 940 rounds for the M61 Vulcan. All in premium condition.
Kill it before he gets swallowed.
Ōgi's lips twisted with mad laughter, having lost all normal capacities of thought. At the control column of a F15, the most powerful fighter jet in the world, he was the true God of Death.
Must avenge Kobayashi... rip that thing to shreds, then burn it to ashes.
He turned the plane around, locking onto the target with the HUD reticle. He would never miss with such a giant enemy. A saturation run, firing all weapons at once –
Powerful tremors rocked the plane’s body.
Right behind him – Ōgi battle instincts, pushed to the limit, told him this. However, judging from its results, his sudden turn to look behind him delivered the final blow to his already half-shattered consciousness.
An inky-black figure suddenly appeared on the other side of the cockpit roof, fully exposed to the subsonic convection currents on the back of the plane. He wore a helmet, his gleaming eyes emanated blazing fire, and his gaze harbored endless hatred and madness as he stared intently into the cockpit.
In the sealed, radio-silent iron coffin, First Class Lieutenant Ōgi gave his final hoarse scream. However, no one was able to hear.
“That’s…?”
Tōsaka Tokiomi’s sight, reinforced with magecraft, saw the fighter jet streaking through the air.
That inky black figure suddenly appearing on the back of the plane and clad in a Titanian armor shimmering with the glow of coal… only Berserker can do something like that. Judging from appearances, it was indeed the Berserker mentioned in Kirei’s reports.
The blackness on the armor corrupted the fighter jet’s outer shell drop by drop as if it was ink.
Indeed, it was Berserker’s special ability that once robbed Archer’s Noble Phantasms away and transformed scrap iron into demonic swords and spears – for him, who can command all things on earth, would the normal concept of ‘weapon’ still apply?
The black prana again corroded the silver sonic wings that were the epitome of modern science, and instantly changed it into a monstrous form.
“ ----------!”
Berserker, fully in control of the 20-meter-long plane, gripped its back tightly like the dragon-riders of legend. His howl, full of vengeance, reverberated throughout the night sky.
Tokiomi had already been informed by Kirei’s advice about whom the target Berserker and its Master first attacked.
In the blink of an eye, the ferocious iron beast that was completely corroded by the pitch-black prana turned, and rushed towards Archer’s air-borne brilliant ark.
“Hohoho, is it that mad dog again? … Interesting.”
Different from the initial battle at the warehouse street, Archer smiled wickedly and rose to Berserker’s challenge. Tokiomi had no idea about what may have changed concerning the King of Heroes’s thoughts, and he didn’t want to ponder about it either.
After all, Tokiomi had already vowed in the past to defeat that enemy with his own hands. He wasn’t put off with doing it himself as the other man was an opponent who had more or less troubled him personally.
Standing at the edge of the ark, Tokiomi looked about him towards the nearest tall vintage point, which would be the ideal spot to spy upon Tokiomi’s group – on the high-rise apartment complex that he locked his gaze on, the opponent appeared.
That man stood there, and had no intentions of concealing himself.
The left side of his face was like a zombie, distorted and stiff with pain, while his right eye that burnt with the flames of hatred was like a demon of malice.
His eyes crossed with Tokiomi’s and soundlessly declared battle.
“King, let me be the Master’s opponent.”
“Alright, I’ll let you play a little.”
The brilliant ark glided in air and brought Tokiomi right above his target. There were approximately 80 meters between him and his landing spot. For magi, such a distance is nothing to be afraid of.
“Then, good luck.”
Tokiomi took his staff, smoothed the edge of his jacket, and fearlessly leapt down from the sky.
Archer, remaining on the brilliant ark, once again ignited the fire of slaughter in his eyes and stared at the iron fighter jet that loomed near.
“A despicable and lowly dog only fitting to crouch on the ground now dreams of rushing into the heavens where kings soar… who do you think you are, mongrel?!”
Releasing “Gate of Babylon”, throwing out six continuous hits of Noble Phantasms. Sparking with blinding brilliance, spears and blades confronted Berserker like comets with trails of light.
The twin turbo engine that received prana gave off a roar like demonic birds. The black F15 used its thrust force to increase its relative speed exponentially, and broke free of the screen of bullets formed by Noble Phantasms.
However, Archer’s Noble Phantasms were not things that would lose its effect once dodged. Three out of the six – an axe, a scythe, and a scimitar immediately spun and changed direction, looming towards the F15’s tail.
As they were about to hit, the black F15 flapped its vertical stabilizers and tailplane like a living creature and escaped from the blade edges of Archer’s Noble Phantasms with a dodge impossible in aerodynamics. An intensive horizontal spin, repeated twice – thrice – made all the chasing attacks of the Noble Phantasms scatter away into the sky.
At the same time that it dodged all the attacks, the F15 forcibly did an Immelmann Turn and aimed its head towards Archer, emitting tongues of flame from the missile launchers attached to its wings. The two Sparrow missiles raided towards Archer’s Vimana as if they were gifts being returned.
Although this is a battle in which ordinary weapons are useless, the weapons that Berserker corroded were of a different caliber. Carrying the prana of hatred, every single shot of the 26 pound dynamite has an annihilating might.
“You don’t know your depth…”
Archer smiled contemptuously and placed his hand on Vimana’s helm. Then, the ark of light suddenly accelerated and dodged the missiles’ attack with an elegance that the fighter jet, which Berserker controlled with brutal force, can never compare with. The movements of the flying Noble Phantasm that soared in the sky with a speed described in the sagas had already surpassed the laws of physics.
“------------!!”
The mad black knight roared. As if echoing his malicious growl, the paddle-like wings of the second Sparrow missile suddenly turned and twisted and once again leapt towards Vimana, which had evaded one attack. The electronic guided missile that was originally led by radio waves had now turned into a magic tracer that chased after Berserker’s target of hatred like a hound.
However, Archer sneered at the threat that again loomed near. He deployed ‘Gate of Babylon’ and took out two shields and stood them in the sky, striking down the missile that had been transformed into a curse. Within the ark that shook with the impact of the explosion, the twin red eyes of the King of Heroes were gradually stained with a shade of madness.
“Interesting… I haven’t played like this for a long time. Even a mere wild beast can make me so pleased!”
Archer laughed loudly, and increased Vimana’s altitude rapidly. Berserker’s F15 also kept up right behind him. The two of them broke through the sound barrier and sprang into the cloud layer in the night sky, unfolding an intensive battle to the death.
The thick evening mist enveloped the icy air as Tōsaka Tokiomi descended from the sky.
For a proficient magus, a controlled descent done with manipulating gravity and air flow is nothing too difficult.
Or, it should be said that the degree of proficiency is determined according to the degree of the pose’s elegance.
Maintaining an absolutely vertical and straight path, landing as lightly as feather with his clothes and hair completely unruffled – an ordinary magus would definitely give a heartfelt praise upon seeing such an exemplary and skilled move like Tokiomi’s.
But Matō Kariya had already transformed into something else. There were absolutely no respect or admiration towards magecraft in his heart.
Respect had turned into hatred, admiration had turned into anger. For Kariya, whose body was twisted into a thing ugly beyond comparison, Tokiomi’s elegance and flamboyance deserve to be cursed.
“You bastard – you are always like this no matter when.”
His speech, his manners, and that royal disposition: this man has been ‘perfect’ ever since the day he appeared before Aoi and Kariya. That elegance and ease had always made Kariya feel a ‘difference’.
However, that is only limited to tonight.
Elegance, something that this man paid the most attention to, is nothing on the battlefield where every man slaughtered one other. The family creed that the Tōsakas held in pride must be thoroughly trampled, destroyed…
Kariya began to mercilessly instil all the prana he had into Berserker, who had already started fighting. The agonizing pain caused by the maddening activity of the Crest Worms inside him was as if his hands and feet were being slashed by razors; it pierced into his bone marrow and for many times almost caused him to faint.
However, such a pain is nothing when compared to the hatred that tore and gnawed at Kariya’s heart.
The sharp look that emanated from Tōsaka Tokiomi’s narrowed eyes showed his ease before battle and taunted Kariya.
“Discarding the way of magecraft, yet still longing after the Holy Grail and even returning to it in a form like this… your personal disgrace is enough to humiliate the entire Matō family.”
Kariya replied with a mocking tone. The sound that emerged from his mouth sounded like the chirping of insects even to himself.
“Tōsaka Tokiomi, I’ll only ask you one thing… why did you hand Sakura to Zōken?”
“…What?”
Tokiomi furrowed his brows when he heard this unexpected question.
“Is this a question you should care about at this time?”
“Answer me, Tokiomi!”
Tokiomi sighed, and said to the agitated Kariya.
“– You should know it without needing to ask. I only want my beloved daughter to have a happy future.”
“Wh… at?”
Upon receiving this incomprehensible reply, Kariya’s brain momentarily blanked out. While Kariya froze, Tokiomi continued with an even tone.
“All magi who have twin children would be troubled – the secret craft can only be passed on to one of them. This is a lose-lose situation with one of the children falling into mediocrity no matter what.”
Mediocrity –
That word echoed in Kariya’s empty mind. Sakura, who’s lost her smiles, and the image of Rin playing with Aoi… Tokiomi’s words mixed into his few happy memories.
The way the mother and daughter were like so long ago – did this man cleave it apart and discarded it just with the word ‘mediocrity’?
“This is especially so since my wife is very outstanding as a mothering body. Both Rin and Sakura are born with equal and rare natural talents. Both daughters must have the protection of a famous house of magi.
Robbing away one’s potential for the other’s future – no father would hope for such a tragedy to occur.”
Kariya couldn’t completely understand the reasons that Tokiomi endlessly spurted out – no, he didn’t want to understand. He felt that he was going to start throwing up on the spot if he only understood a small part of this magus’s philosophy.
“The only thing to do in order to continue both sisters’ talents is to give one away as an adopted daughter. Therefore, Matō-san’s request was no less than a god-send. As that is a house that knows of the Holy Grail’s existence, the possibility of reaching ‘Akasha’ is even higher. Even if I can’t complete it, there’s still Rin, and if Rin fails there’s still Sakura; someone will always inherit the Tōsaka family’s wish.”
How can he speak of such a despairing truth with such an even face?
If they both have ‘Akasha’ as the target at the end of their roads, then that means –
“… Fighting each other? Between two sisters?!”
Faced with Kariya’s accusation, Tokiomi laughed briefly and nodded with a cold expression.
“Even if such a situation is to result, it is still happiness to the remnants of my house. If we succeed, the glory belongs to ourselves, and even if we lose the glory will still belong to our ancestors. Such a combat without concerns is what we would dream to have.”
“You bastard – you are already mad!”
Face with Kariya, who was gritting his teeth, Tokiomi merely gave a cold glance and called out mockingly.
“It’s a waste to tell you anyways. You are someone who doesn’t understand the nobility of the way of magecraft at all, and had left the way and betrayed the art.”
“Stop saying nonsense!”
Hatred and anger, surpassing their uttermost limit, stimulated the Crest Worms within Kariya into life. An evil chill and agonizing pain passed through his entire body. Even so, it is a blessing for the current Kariya.
Erode me, devor my body. All the prana created thus will become curses for the nemesis…
Worms slithered out from the shadows around them like galloping waves and gathered to one place. These are disgusting crawling worms that looked like maggots and have the size of mice. All this was the fangs Kariya took from Matō Zōken before Kariya became a Master – weapons to deal with battles outside the laws of the ordinary world.
“I won’t let you go… you despicable magus!
I’ll kill you! And Zōken! Kill until none of you are left!!”
The worms that took in Kariya’s hatred twitched and twisted together in agony. Then shells and wings, shimmering with the black gleam of steel, emerged from a crack opened on their backs.
One by one – the slithering worms metamorphosed into giant beetles, which buzzed as they spread their wings and formed battalions as they flew around Kariya. A giant group amassed in the blink of an eye. These ‘blade wing worms’ adjusted into their battle position as they continuously clacked their sharp jaws and displayed their true cruel nature. As a worm-user, this is Matō Kariya’s most powerful attack.
Tōsaka Tokiomi’s expression was still impassive even when faced with a mass of carnivorous worms that can chew up a cow in an instant. His level as a magus was far above Kariya, after all. Therefore, the secret craft that Kariya released at the risk of his life was neither awe-inspiring nor threatening for Tokiomi. He could even spite this mockery of fate with ease in this battle to decide the victor between two former rival suitors.
“– From the moment a magus is born, he is someone that has ‘power’. Also, some day he will achieve ‘a greater power’. This responsibility was already flowing in his ‘blood’ before he realized this destiny. That is what being born into this world as the child of a magus is all about.”
Tokiomi said coldly as he lifted his staff and unleashed the craft of fire from the giant ruby embedded into its head. The defensive form that traced the Tōsaka family crest in the air turned into crimson flames and burned the night air. This is an aggressive defense that will burn everything it touches to ashes. Although this seems a bit childish when facing an enemy that is pretty much a layman, it wasn’t that he wanted to go easy.
Because –
“The magecraft of the Matōs was passed into Sakura’s hands because you refused to inherit the family business. I have to thank you on that point… however, I would never forgive you.
Escaping from the responsibility of your blood is a weakness, a vile behavior that can’t be amended no matter what. Matō Kariya, you are a shame of the way of magecraft. Since I met you again, I will have to destroy you again.”
“Stop saying nonsense… you inhumane bastard.”
“You’re wrong. Being responsible for yourself is the first requirement of being human. If you can’t even do this, then you’re not fitting to be human, but only as a dog. Do you understand, Kariya?”
“O worms, devor him, tear him apart!”
The dancing, scorching flames confronted the hive of insects that poured out.
The third battle to the death of the night had already begun.
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