-Sabers PoV-
-Sixth Day of the Grail War, 9:38pm-
Artoria gently squeezed the brakes on her bike and slowed to a stop in front of the back up house that Kiritsugu was using after the mansion had been destroyed. She frowned as she remembered that night, how her entire reign had been called a farce, and her wish for the grail slandered. She clenched her fist and savored the feeling of her nails digging into her palm before she took off her helmet and walked up to the front door and opened it walking into the house.
It was a traditional Japanese mansion which meant lots of sliding doors, tatami mats, and the like. Artoria eventually found her master and her husband in the living room talking only to stop when she entered making her narrow her eyes,
"Should I come back later?"
"No! No, its fine Saber," Irisveil said smiling at her, "We were just talking about where the grail might manifest."
Artoria moved to a chair and sat down tilting her head a bit,
"And? Have we narrowed it down?"
Kiritsugu grunted and drummed his fingers against his thigh, "Its either going to be Ryudo or the Fuyuki Civic Center."
Artoria went back into her memories to review the map of Fuyuki she had memorized and frowned,
"Thats on opposite sides of the city. We can't be in both places at once."
Kiritsugu nodded and smirked, "Which is why we are going to force it to manifest in the civic center."
Artorias eyes widened,
"How are you going to do that? I thought-"
"Saber." Irisveil said gently causing her to look at the white haired woman, "I am the grail."
Artoria eyes widened and for once she was speechless.
"In the previous wars there was a physical cup that would take in the souls of the dead servants and then turn that into fuel for the grail. What this meant is that the cup could be taken by any party at any point in time. After the debacle that was the third war the Einzberns decided that they would create a homunculus to take the place of the cup," Irisveil explained holding up her hand so Artoria could see it shaking from where she was sitting, "I was never meant to see the end of the war Artoria."
Artoria turned her head to look at Kiritsugu and saw him hanging his head in defeat,
"And there's nothing we can do to stop this. The plan is to plant Irisveil in the civic center to force the grail to appear there. She is not some damn object Kiritsugu. She is your WIFE." Artoria started shouting, "YOU WOULD LET YOUR WIFE DIE FOR YOUR WISH? THE WISH SHE TOOK FOR HERSELF THAT SHE WON'T EVEN BE ABLE TO SEE FULFILLED?"
"SABER. ENOUGH." Kiritsugu shouted back as he stood up suddenly. He glared at her his hands shaking with barely controlled anger, "I know this. I knew this the entire time…." he finally said his voice cracking before he shook his head and walked out of the room.
Irisveil suddenly coughed causing Saber to rush to her side as she held a hand in front of her face. When she pulled her hand away Saber saw that it had blood on it. Irisveil grimaced and looked at Artoria with a smile,
"Odds are I have four or five days left at most." she said smiling sadly.
"Surely the Einzberns could do...something." Artoria said worriedly only for Irisveil to shake her head, "They designed me this way. I am to die, become the holy grail, and fulfill both Kiritsugu and the Einzberns wish."
Artoria gripped the back of Irisveils chair hard enough to make the wood creak. She stood up resolutely and extended her hand to Irisveil who looked from it to her as Artoria nodded her face determined,
"Then as your knight I will escort and protect you where ever you want to go."
Irisveil started giggling a bit causing Artoria to firm her lips but put her hand in hers.
"Then I am in your care Artoria Pendragon... although we should take care of the rune at Ryudo before we do anything fun."
~~~~~
-Sixth day of the Grail War, 11:57pm-
"If I walk up any more stairs...it will be too soon." panted Irisveil as she reached the top of the stairs that led to Ryudo temple as clouds flowed over the moon overhead briefly draping them in darkness. Saber smiled and shook her head a bit as she looked at the gate leading into the temple and frowned. Her sixth sense kept nagging her like an itch that just wouldn't go away. She summoned her sword and stepped in front of Irisveil who looked up sharply, "Is it enemies?"
"I..don't know but something is off about the temple...Is Kiritsugu in position? The head priest never answered the phone correct?"
Irisveil hummed a no and walked up just behind Saber, "Kiritsugu should be ready in the next minute or so."
Saber nodded and began to walk towards the gate the feeling of unease growing stronger until it peaked as she passed through the gate. She looked around turning in place only to hiss as the wound on her side flared painfully. Still alert Saber walked forward a few steps only to stop when she smelled a sweet sickly scent in the air.
The scent of death is strong…
Looking around she looked for the source of the smell and raised her sword to be ready. She heard Irisveil chanting behind her and then felt herself become lighter on her feet as Irisveil cast an enchantment. She nodded her thanks back to her master and continued walking forward.
"I know its the middle of the night but shouldn't there be some priests walking around?" Irisveil asked looking around nervously, "Its like-"
"They're dead." Came a voice to Sabers left and she whirled on her heel to see Diarmud leaning against a building watching them with a smirk on his face. He walked forward and summoned his spears into his hand, "We finally get to finish our duel Saber…"
"Irisveil get back." Saber warned as Diarmud planted his red spear into the ground and gathered mana onto his index finger. Saber watched as he drew runes in the air and her eyes widened as soon as he finished and she felt pressure settle over her. She glared at Diarmud who smiled evilly as he pulled his spear out of the ground and settled into a fighting stance.
"….What happened to you Lancer." Saber said as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "Something...changed you."
"That would be a change of Masters my dear Saber," Diarmud said as he began to emit mana that made Sabers skin crawl, "My first master died at the hands of Caster. His wife was my second Master...but she lasted two days in Casters tender care before she was burnt to death…"
"So who is your master now Lancer," Saber asked as she settled into a fighting stance and felt the wound on her hip. She narrowed her eyes at Diarmud Ua Duibhne as the mana cascading off of him surged.
"My master...is the Holy Grail itself," Lancer said laughing with dark mirth. He looked at Saber with mad eyes as he spun his spears experimentally, "Its shown me the truth of the grail war. There can never be any winner. The war itself will always end in misery and death."
Saber watched feeling more and more unnerved as lancer threw his head back to laugh madly. When he lowered it to look at her she shuddered involuntarily. His eyes had turned solid black and he began to crackle with red lightning as his skin began to swell. She once again felt that part of her begin to twist and contort momentarily causing her vision to swim as she saw another Excalibur overlaid on the one she held in her hands. It was black and red and seemed to pulse with unrestrained power. She shook her head clear right as Lancer dropped into a fighting stance
"Now Saber…. You'll at least entertain me before you die… won't you?"
Lancer vanished into thin air causing Saber to blink only for her sixth sense to scream at her, She ducked forward twisting in place as Lancer appeared out of thin air behind her swinging his red spear at her faster than she thought possible. She parried the red spear only to have to use invisible air to shoot backwards to avoid the yellow spear as it slashed at her so fast it appeared to be a blur in her vision. She landed and ignited her magic core realizing that she couldn't afford to hold back this time.
How is he moving so quickly… He wasn't this fast before.
Lancer laughed insanely and threw his yellow spear before leaning forward into a runners stance. Saber grit her teeth and deflected the yellow spear right as the air around Lancer cracked and he shot forward at supersonic speeds. She activated Mana burst and swung upwards at an angle as she dodged to the side cutting off Lancers arm at the elbow as he flew past her crashing through several of the buildings in the temple. Saber felt sweat trickle down her back as her magic core hummed with energy and she turned to look at the building that Lancer had landed in through only for it to be blown apart.
Saber suddenly felt something grab her ankle and she looked down to see Lancers severed arm had latched into her leg. She noticed that something black and viscous was flowing out of the stump. As she stared at the liquid she felt that part of her twist even further and she clutched her head as she felt as though another set of memories were being overlaid on her own. She planted the tip of Exacalibur into the stones beneath her as she screamed, nails digging into her scalp hard enough to draw blood, trying to focus back on the duel.
I feel.. powerful.
Incredibly powerful….
Maybe even powerful enough to change how my kingdom ended.
She wrenched her gaze away from the liquid and pulled her sword out of the ground in a reverse grip and stabbed down at the hand wrapped around her leg blowing it apart from the force alone. She flicked her eyes towards Lancer and saw him watching her grinning madly as that power coursed through her body while she felt herself twist and contort,
"I see you too have felt the Grails call… Feel it Saber! Feel the power to change your own Fate!"
Lancer bellowed as he shot forward again cracking the air as he extended the red spear to run her through. She flared her mana, filling her core, and used the dark power that she felt flowing through her. Time seemed to slow down and she easily sidestepped Lancer as he flew past her in slow motion. She activated her mana burst and swung down at his leg in a two handed grip noticing that the mana that encased Excalibur during Mana Burst wasn't its normal color. It appeared blackened and the mana itself felt heavier as it wrapped around the blade.
As though her mana was tainted.
She slashed down and took off one of Lancers legs at the mid thigh and time went back to normal as Saber suddenly felt immense pain in her chest causing her to cough up black blood and fall to one knee planting her sword in the ground to hold herself up as a crash sounded to her right. She glanced up and saw through blurred vision that Lancers severed leg was beginning to glow. She realized what was happening and dashed backwards right as the limb detonated. She landed a ways away, panting and hunched over.
She glanced at her off hand and could have sworn the gauntlet was pitch black through her blurred vision and not its usual silver. She blinked the sweat out of her eyes and shook her head refocusing on her gauntlet, turning it over seeing it was its normal silver and steel. She felt mana flare to her right and whipped her head to the side to see that Lancer was holding his red spear in a way to suggest a thrust while his leg and arm had been replaced by that black liquid. He then suddenly snapped his head the direction that Saber assumed Kiritsugu would be and called out, "Don't try it Fake Mage. I've invoked the Ath nGabla. If you interfere-" He pointed his red spear at Saber, "She instantly dies."
Saber ground her teeth together as she realized her enemy had just saved her life.
"So even as corrupted as you are there is still a shred of honor left in you Diarmud," Saber said settling into a stance as Lancer did the same.
He grinned madly at her, "Only in the sense that I will kill you long before your blade reaches me."
Saber narrowed her eyes as the air pulsed off of Lancer and his grin grew demonic as he summoned his yellow spear and snapped it in half causing it to dissolve into particles. Immediately the wound on Sabers hip began to knit itself back together. She widened her eyes as Lancer adopted a stance meant for thrusting again.
Except he was easily thirty meters away. She glared at Lancer as mana began to pour off the tip of his red spear and for a split second she saw a man in a blue skintight bodysuit with red eyes and a blue ponytail standing in place of Lancer. She shook her head right as the mana coming off the spear peaked and he thrust forward as a beam shot from the tip of the lance. Saber deflected it and then felt a strange sensation along with her sixth sense telling her to dodge to the right. As she did this she felt the beam she had just deflected pierce her chest regardless to graze her lung making her cough more of that black blood as she staggered under the blow.
"So THATS what Gae Bolg feels like…" Lancer said laughing madly unaware of his skin tearing itself apart under his growing muscles, "Lets see what else I can use-" Lancer suddenly spewed black blood from his mouth and fell forward planting his spear into the ground to hold himself up as he coughed more blood while the liquid that formed his replacement limbs splashed to the ground under him seeming to move on its own,
"Saber-" Artoria whipped her head up and saw Diarmuds clear eyes looking at her with desperation, "-Kill me. Kill me now before its too late. KILL ME SABER. KILL ME NOW."
Artoria bit her lip and hesitated a second too long as the muscles under Diarmuds skin began to convulse forcing him to walk forwards toward her as that liquid formed another leg. She tried to move but that dark power was now rooting her in place as Diarmud Ua Duibhne slowly began to fall apart in his slow walk over to her. She watched as the arm holding the spear sloughed off his body steam coming from where it had been attached and yet he kept moving forward.
She did her best to move, to strike, to do anything but that power kept her rooted in place as the Lancer servant finally came to a stop right in front of her. He leaned down to her eye level right as his lower jaw detached from his skull with a sickening squelch. She stared horrified into his eyes which were a pale yellow as the skin on his face began to decay only for him to fall to the ground in front of her. She watched in horror as he dissolved into ash and even still that power prevented her from moving.
"Soon enough Artoria Pendragon….You'll join me soon enough…"
Her eyes widened as she felt half of her face morph into an evil grin as she heard herself speak . That power briefly surged before diminishing right as she found she could move again as she clapped her hand to her face. She pulled her hand away and watched it shake as she came to terms with just happened. She had felt someone take control of-
No… Not "Someone"….
I felt… myself take control from myself….
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves Saber watched as the corpse of Diarmud Ua Duibhne finally fully dissolved into ashes that were carried away on the wind. She shook her head clear as best as she could and immediately went to go find Irisveil only to panic when she couldn't find her immediately. She tore from building to building until eventually she found her walking in a trance on a path that seemed to lead to the mountain behind the temple. Saber ran forward and grabbed the womans shoulder causing her to jump a bit and then look at her eyes wide.
"Sorry Saber- I…." She shook her head and held a hand to her forehead as she stared at the dirt path, "We're….still at Ryudo temple...right?"
Saber looked at her master concernedly,
"Yes…. Lancer is dead. We are still at the temple. Whats wrong?"
Irisveil shook her head, glancing at the mountain and rubbing her forehead with her hand. She tried to smile as she looked at Saber,
"Its nothing. We should go tell everyone else that Lancer and his master are dead."
Irisveil walked back towards the temple as Saber followed her.
The feeling of that part of her being contorted and twisted remained and Saber didn't stop feeling it even after she had gotten into the car and driven away from the temple entirely as the sun came over the horizon.
-Seventh Day of the Grail war, 11:26am-
-Amelias PoV-
"Well you're certainly tall." Amelia said as she opened the door to see a mountain of a man standing on the houses front steps, "You must be Rider which means that the kid behind you must be your Master."
The man laughed heartily and slammed a fist into his chest, "I am Iskandar, King of Conquerers, To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"
"Amelia Lafaire, Brand of the Clock Tower, the Queen of Unbroken Stone, and the Modern Asclepius as well as Micheals mother." Amelia rattled off tiredly and stood to the side, "They're in the living room. Saber and her group have already come back."
She watched as Iskandar ducked a bit to get under the doorframe and raised her eyebrow at the squirt of a kid that followed him. She watched them until they turned the corner of the hallway and then frowned remembering what her son had been like when she finally saw him that morning. She had been in the living room talking with Jeanne when he opened the door and his eyes met Jeannes as she turned her head towards the sound of the door opening. They both froze only for Micheal to break eye contact first and slowly move to a chair. He fell backwards into it and stared at the floor. It had taken both herself and Jeanne to make him partially snap out of whatever was going on in his head.
Regret and shame had seemed to cascade off of him and he only really talked to Jeanne when she prompted him and even then he visibly flinched while trying to hide in his shoulders every time she tried to include him in the conversation. This led to Jeanne getting frustrated and storming off which clearly only made him feel worse. Right then was when Saber and her group had rang the doorbell which Amelia had gotten up to answer since her son was in no position to do much of anything.
"What am I going to do with him," Amelia muttered as she walked back to the living room to hear Iskandars voice echo loudly from further in the house
"And who are you little lady?"
Amelia froze and then began to run to the living room. It had fallen to her to take care of little Sakura since Micheal clearly wasn't able to do so and Jeanne, by her own admission, would be the worst possible choice. Which left Amelia to take care of her for now. She rounded the corner and heard childlike laughter from the living room causing her to slow down to a walk. She paused outside the living room and opened it to see Sakura sitting on Iskandars shoulders laughing as he carried her around the room. Everyone seemed to smile at this, even Micheal who she could see was fighting the twitch of his lips. Smiling a bit herself, Amelia cleared her throat and everyone turned to look at her,
"So what would everyone like to eat? I feel like we're going to need some snacks before this meeting starts."
Everyone nodded and she quickly got everyones orders right as Jeanne got back. She had changed back into her armor and the glare she sent Micheal could have blown straight through a tank. Micheal looked up when Jeanne had entered and practically shrunk into himself when he saw her look. Amelia sighed and walked over to her son grabbing his arm. She looked pointedly at Jeanne as she addressed the room,
"I think I'll need my sons help making the food so we'll be right back."
Not waiting for his answer she pulled him from the chair and dragged him out of the room towards the kitchen. It was concerning that he didn't even try to fight back, instead just limply letting her drag him into the kitchen where she pointed at a chair,
"Sit."
Not saying a word Micheal sat in the chair as Amelia sat across the table and gave him a look,
"I don't care what happened but you need to get your damn act together Micheal Lafaire."
Micheal looked up at her and she saw right then how broken her son was. She grit her teeth, feeling herself get angry, and stood up. She walked around the table, stood in front of Micheal, and smacked him across the face with the back of her hand. Immediately his eyes went wide and she could see his combat instinct kick in as he shot upright,
"Good. You're not completely broken."
"That fucking hurt. What the hell were you think-"
"You are an idiot. As in a genuine, legitimate, idiot. What the hell do you think you're doing? You are a master in a Holy Grail War. I don't know what happened last night and frankly I don't care. You have a god damn job to do and sitting there feeling miserable for yourself doesn't do anyone any favors." Amelia said angrily as her son rubbed his cheek and stared up at her, "You summoned an Avenger servant Micheal Lafaire. The most powerful class of Servant bar none. Capable of leveling entire cities or even burning the entire planet and you not only summoned one. You summoned one that respects you."
Amelia glared down at her son as she folded her arms remembering her promise to Jeanne Alter. She would keep what Jeanne had told her a secret between the two of them but that also meant that it would be up to her to tell Micheal how she felt.
Which couldn't happen if they were both was acting the way they were.
"Right now she is just as lost as you are. She doesn't know how to feel about last night but do you know what she's doing?" Amelia leaned down to glare into Micheals eyes, "She was knocked down, yes. However she got back up and is trying her best to win the war. For you. So you're going to get your fucking act together and act like the son I know you are and the Master that Jeanne D'Arc Alter deserves. Do I make myself clear?"
She watched as Micheal firmed his jaw and his eyes shown brighter. There was still that hurt lingering in the back of them but she had gotten through to him. She stood upright and nodded,
"Now get back there and do what you do best. You have a war to win."
She watched as Micheal nodded and stood up gingerly rubbing his cheek,
"Thanks mom."
"You're welcome, now go and do the Lafaire name proud."
Micheal nodded and as he left the kitchen his shoulders were straighter and full of purpose.
Okay Jeanne. The rest is up to you.
Amelia thought to herself, smiling as she walked over to the pantry to search for snacks and coffee.
-Micheals poV-
Micheal stopped just outside the door and took a breath to steady his nerves as he felt his cheek continue to sting. He closed his eyes and focused on breathing for a few seconds before opening his eyes, firming his jaw and sliding open the door. Everyone turned to look at him including Jeanne. He looked at her and tried to tell her with his eyes that he was done moping around. She firmed her lips and nodded subtly at him before focusing on the map again while Micheal moved to the table,
"Okay. Did everyone manage to get their amplifier?"
Iskandar frowned as he stared at the map, "We found the amplifying rune, at least thats what my Master said, and destroyed it. However…" he trailed off as Waver picked up the sentence,
"It was too easy. It was essentially out in the open for us to find. Archer should have seen it being placed and there's no way Tokiomi wouldn't have known about it." He said shaking his head, "This is a theory but given that Archers have the Indepedent Action skill on top of knowing Gilgameshs temper…."
"There is a good chance that Tokiomi is dead then." Kiritsugu stated, "In fact I'd bet money on it."
Micheal looked at the man, "Explain your reasoning then."
Kiritsugu sighed and folded his arms, "Honestly I shouldn't be telling you any of this…" He groaned and ran a hand down his face as Saber elbowed him in the side while glaring at him. He looked down at her and sighed, "I have dossiers on almost every master in the war. Barring Casters original Master and you, Micheal Lafaire. The most detailed ones I had were on El Melloi and Tokiyomi. So I can say with certainty that if Caster placed an amplifying rune in a place that open on Tokiyomi's property then he is absolutely dead given that he wouldn't let anybody, servant or not, mess with anything he owns. He's too prideful and arrogant to let something like that go on unchallenged."
"Okay then," Jeanne said standing up and walking over to the map, "So we assume that Tokiyomi is dead and Gilgamesh is masterless. For someone who burns through mana as quickly as him, even with Independent Action, I don't see how he could stay masterless for too long. The question is who is his new master…."
Irisveil coughed into her hand and got everyones attention, "As of earlier this morning Lancer died fighting Saber. Although…." She trailed off and looked at Saber who sighed herself,
"El Melloi and his wife are dead. I am certain of it. Lancer… Lancer claimed that the grail itself was his new master and while fighting him he used a Noble Phantasm that isn't his own."
Waver furrowed his brow, "Wait. I thought his Noble Phantasm was his two spears. Did he have a third one hidden somewhere?"
Saber shook her head, "No. I mean that he was able to use the Noble Phantasm of an entirely different servant. While fighting him he seemed...completely insane. His movements were beast like and he moved fast enough that he seemed to vanish into thin air. His power was...unnatural. The more I fought him the more insane he became as though…" Saber gripped her arm with a hand, "It felt as though there was more than one servant inside his body."
The room fell silent with the exception of the ticking of the clock. Eventually Jeanne broke the silence,
"So…. The Grail is… corrupting the servants."
Saber nodded her head, "That is the conclusion I came to as well. For the grail to do all of that-"
"Then it has to be cursed." Kiritsugu spat angrily. Irisveil touched his shoulder worriedly and he stiffened before relaxing and giving her a thankful smile reaching up to touch her fingers. Micheal pointedly did not look at Jeanne as this happened, still feeling raw from the night before. He shook his head and refocused on the task at hand
"Jeanne and I stormed the Matou manner last night as well. We found the rune and destroyed it. Saber did your group find the rune?"
Saber shook her head, "No. We didn't. Nothing about the temple seemed to be close enough to the leyline for the rune to be placed."
Micheal groaned and looked at the map on the table mentally overlaying the leylines onto it. As he did this something stuck out to him,
"...The mountain behind the temple." He muttered more to himself than anyone else. Jeanne heard him however and turned to look at him,
"You think it could be inside the mountain?" She asked, tilting her head.
Micheal nodded and grabbed a blue marker to draw where the leylines were around Fuyuki. He finished and then dragged the back of the marker across the leyline that ran under the temple and then directly under the mountain close by.
"If I had to place a rune onto a leyline, I'd get it as close as I could if not putting it on the leyline itself."
Saber stared at the map and narrowed her eyes before nodding, "Then my job is still unfinished. We will return when we have destroyed the rune." She turned on her heel and left as Irisveil jumped a bit and quickly made to follow her. Kiritsugu shook his head and then looked at Jeanne,
"You know him better than most. Assuming we get this rune how much longer do we have until his summons his Noble Phantasm."
He asked this neutrally but Micheal quickly stifled the urge to come to Jeannes defense regardless. He took a few breaths as Jeanne spoke,
"I'd have to make a lot of assumptions to give a time range."
"Make them." Kiritsugu said and folded his arms as Jeanne arched an eyebrow at him before leaning her head back and closing her eyes to think.
Micheal caught himself staring at her and quickly looked away as he and everyone else waited for Jeanne to finish thinking. After a minute or two she opened her eyes and looked at them all,
"If we assume he didn't place them until he started abducting kids for this….. then he's had at least 80 hours to set up the runes between then and now. Thats operating on the assumption that the same day Rider and Waver found his workshop is the same day he started the abductions. There is also the chance that he did this as soon as Saber cut his Master in half before hand. So we're looking at a Caster thats had between 80 and at least 128 hours of free reign to suck up as much mana as he wants from the leylines."
"So we're too late then to stop him outright." Kiritsugu ground out between clenched teeth as Micheal spoke up,
"Remember this is a Caster servant. They might use less mana due to their inherent nature but that that also means there is the chance that he's gathering all those kids because the only way to sustain his existence is via a leyline. He can't sustain his existence and use the leyline to improve his Noble Phantasm. There's not enough mana in them to do both. So destroying the runes did do something helpful in that we cut off one of the ways he's most likely been sustaining his existence or empowering his Noble Phantasm."
Jeanne nodded in agreement as Kiritsugu considered his words. Eventually nodding,
"Which means that we need to find that rune as fast as possible." he said flatly. He nodded at both Micheal and Waver then left.
Waver blew out his cheeks after a few seconds had passed and looked at Micheal arching an eyebrow, "Interesting to think that about a week ago I was warning you not to get involved with the war Micheal."
Micheal grunted and looked at his command seals once again feeling the shame from the night before alongside something new: a sense of duty to see this through for his servant. He looked at Waver and grinned,
"If its just down to the two of us…"
Waver nodded and smirked back,
"No holding back. I know."
-Intermission-
-Sixth day of the Grail war, 1:32am-
Gilles de Ray looked at the matrix he was creating in blood and smiled happily as he stood up from his kneeling position. Truly it had been a stroke of luck to find this undersea cave that was large enough for the ritual he was performing. He took a step back and rubbed his hand over his chin as he examined his mana levels.
"60% I'd say…." He ground his teeth together and clenched his fingers into a fist, "I would have more if they hadn't found my runes….although the Master of Archer being dead at the hands of his apprentice proved to be a happy coincidence. It made placing the rune easier. I will say that I have much respect for the Worm though. To think you could twist and tear your own soul to that degree yet still remain yourself…. something to experiment with later then."
He walked over to one side of the cavern that contained his current workshop. He summoned his book, flipped open to a page, and tore it out. It floated into the air and disintegrated into a cloud of ash that formed a circle inside of which an image formed of Berserker standing completely still on top of the third rune. Lying on the ground in front of him carved into pieces and lying in a puddle of blood was a woman with short black hair. In the background of the image a giant orb easily 50 meters wide floated inside a cave just as large as the one Gilles was in.
"To think I would find something that could match Prelati in the modern era in raw power… Although it consists mainly of divine curses they as a collective maintain a certain degree of sapient thought. Which made negotiating with them… fruitful."
Gilles then heard groaning from his left and looked over to see where he had chained Master of Berserker to the wall. He walked over and smacked him across the face waking him up instantly with a cry of pain as Gilles burst some of the bugs under his skin,
"I am truly grateful for the head of your house loaning you to me… I'd ask you to pass on my thanks however-" Gilles grabbed the mans chin in one hand forcing him to look up at him. Gilles smiled at the empty holes where the mans eyes would have been as the bugs continued to move under his skin, "It seems as though you won't live long enough to do so."
Gilles stood up and glared at the command seals on the mans wrist.
"I could ease your suffering you know if you agreed to give me your command seals. I've already severed your ability to command your servant with the help of the Greater Grail so they functionally have no purpose anymore." Gilles stated matter-of-factly only for the man to spit on his shoe and lift his head to glare up at him.
"These seals are a reminder of my promise to-"
"Yes, Yes, Yes. You and your silly deal with the Worm." Gilles said exasperated and rolling his eyes as he broke one of the mans fingers as if he was snapping a twig. He basked in the mans screams and then sighed sadly,
"Still not as beautiful a song as those who are pure… its a shame." He moved away from the man and did the mental calculations on the time left for the ritual. He frowned and realized it would take roughly 72 hours or so before it was complete assuming he didn't divert the mana from the remaining rune to fuel it instead of sustain his existence. Sighing he went over to another part of his workshop to stop in front of a series of cages. He stared at the occupants, savoring the looks of abject terror on their young faces, and then reached in to grab one at random by the head. He pulled them out of the cage and snapped their neck in one fluid motion as he moved back to the matrix to reinforce it further.
"I have had my wish granted… and yet the world did not end with her death." he said as he stabbed a nail into the torso of the child and then pulled out more paint, "Truly sorrowful….and yet if God will not end this world full of sin… then I must do it for him."
He leaned down to brush fresh blood onto the cavern floor humming happily.