Chapter 153 : Countdown

 

Tetsuya didn't care about the curfew and the fact that martial law was in effect, no man could tell him what to do and what not to do but he certainly had never seen so many people so scared and depressed just by a fallen tower; he had heard somewhere that many were fleeing London for fear of terrorist attacks while the royal family was secured.
On the street you could see soldiers carrying out constant checks and there were fewer people in the subway stations than in a bar. The Clock Tower area was made safe and the government began to blame terrorists: there are those who blamed the Middle East and those who blamed immigrants and, of course, others remembered the good old communists.
Tetsuya was looking for informations on the other Masters who seemed to have completely disappeared from the city since the fall of the Clock Tower. Cleta appeared behind the Master and asserted, preparing to fight:
« We are observed. »
« By who? »
« By me. » Yukiko Kumahira, who was with Berserker, replied.
Tetsuya seeing Yukiko raised a satisfied smile and exclaimed:
« I'm finally meeting you, brat. I knew that sooner or later I would see you again, but I bet you're not here to talk and you want to know something? Me neither! »
Tetsuya threw a punch at the girl but she parried the blow with one hand, moved a little and then counterattacked with a flying kick that broke Tetsuya's nose; Lancer immediately started to attack but was stopped by Berserker who hit her several times with her fists enveloped in fire, Lancer had to move away after the fifth blow but was unable to study a tactic to face the opponent because, in less than two seconds, she was forced again to defend herself against another series of heavy attacks.
Tetsuya got up from the ground and tried to hit Yukiko again but the latter kicked him in the ear and then hit him repeatedly in the face with her boots. 
« Did you really think you had any hope against me, Tetsuya? You're little stronger than a cockroach, I can kill you without a problem. »
Tetsuya promptly got up and punched the girl's chin then, quickly, kicked her, with all his strength, on the chest; the girl fell to the ground, visually she seemed dead but Tetsuya wasn't so stupid as to believe he had won the battle, in fact he had noticed that Berserker and Lancer were still fighting.
« Maybe you won't be a complete waste of time ... » Yukiko said, getting up.
« Fuck you, bitch. LANCER! » Tetsuya yelled.
Lancer moved away from Berserker, jumped and prepared her Noble Phantasm but didn't target Berserker but Yukiko; Berserker, however, didn't stand still: she took a car and threw it at Lancer and then, without a moment's hesitation, used her Noble Phantasm:
« Ashes of Camelot! (My Hell is Eternal) »
Berserker launched a powerful vortex of fire from her hands that hit Lancer and the machine in full, causing an explosion.
Yukiko, with an ironic tone, said:
« Next time I'm sure it'll be better. »
« I know. » Tetsuya answered with an unwarranted smile.
Yukiko, confused, turned around but didn't notice anything strange from the flames, Lancer had not moved but sent Berserker to check; at that moment five yellow astral spears surrounded Yukiko, Lancer was on a roof with the weapon lit, she jumped and used the Noble Phantasm:
« Katadíki Tou Krótona! (My Condemnation of Crotone) »
Lancer threw her spear at Yukiko, the impact of the attack generated a gigantic bright explosion but Tetsuya immediately realized that Berserker had the Master in her arms, she had managed to save her with superhuman speed. Yukiko was taken to safety by Berserker, on the roof of a house, and with an amused tone asserted:
« Do you really think you can beat me, Tetsuya? »
« I think I can kill you easily, brat, you just have to give me the opportunity to get my hands on you again, but I guess you prefer to be up there like a frightened kitten. »
« Okay… you convinced me. » Yukiko nodded to Berserker and she stepped aside.
Yukiko flew off the roof and, once touched the asphalt, did a bit of stretching and then Tetsuya heard a strong bone sound coming from under her long sleeve.
« Oh, this? Don't worry, now I'll fix it right away ... »
Yukiko tore off her sleeve showing that skeletal arm made of solid mercury; Tetsuya, shocked, didn't know what to say and the girl didn't comment, she simply approached him and Lancer to which the man asked, perplexed:
« What do you want to do? Aren't you calling Berserker? »
« Berserker? No, no, you misunderstood ... you misunderstood everything, I will kill you both with my hands. »
« Ah, ah, ah! You're crazy! I like you! It's a real shame that you will die in this battle! »
« Jag är Oövervinnlig. » Yukiko said, illuminated by the Magical Circuits that appeared on her body, then said again: « Jag är Stark.  »
« Are you strengthening yourself? It will not be enough. »
« Let's find out. » She said.
Lancer was the first to attack but Yukiko stopped the spear with one hand and then, with her skeletal hand, she grabbed Lancer; the woman kicked Yukiko but she didn't even move an inch, the girl lifted Lancer and threw her to the ground. Tetsuya, shocked, came to the aid of his Servant but was overturned by a punch in the chest that broke his ribs, the man spat blood and fell on Yukiko who, with a movement of the shoulder, dropped him on the asphalt.
« Don't touch me, worm. I don't want to be stained with your blood. »
« How can you be so strong? Where do you get the magical energy from? »
« Well, Lancer, first of all I'm not human, as you may have noticed, and therefore I can store more magical energy than an ordinary human being , and secondly, I have the pleasure of descending from a very powerful family of magi. As I said before: I'll kill you both with my hands. » 

Berserker vs Lancer by Bikowolf

 

Still working on the new chapter

I'm still working on the new chapter. I will publish it soon! It took longer than usual mainly due to several problems in the family, nothing to worry about. 👌 However, I take this opportunity to thank my readers as always for their availability. You're wonderful and my love goes to you.

Girl's Frontline : EXPIATIO

 If you want to read something else I've written you can click on the link below to take a look at Girl's Frontline: EXPIATIO a fanfiction that I started writing in June and finished a while ago. A quick and easy five hour read.

Girl's Frontline : EXPIATIO

Chapter 152 : Farewell, prince

 

Sheol, the Devourer-class Servant, stood in front of the advertising signs Archer had collided with. The woman rubbed her fingers on the hand with which she had slapped Archer as if to remove dirt then, with a bored look, turned to Hisae, who was pale and paralyzed like a Greek statue, and asked her:
« Is your familiar alive or dead? I don't have time to wait for him. » Then she turned to Specter. « What do you say, Glasya? In your opinion is he dead or alive? I bet he's dead. »
Both Specter and Hisae remained mute. Sheol shrugged and looked back at the signs that were emitting sparks left and right. An arrow was shot at Sheol's head; the woman grabbed the arrow in midair with one hand and, sighing, said:
« And of course I lost the bet to myself. »
Archer returned to the battlefield and without a word fired three more arrows which were disintegrated by a wall of black fire that rose in front of Sheol.
« You know you're not fighting, right? You're just digging your own grave and believe me, I love when others do the dirty work, that is, don't get me wrong, I love the dead but I prefer to just bury them, I generally don't deal with graves but only with corpses, I don't know if I you do understand. »
Archer, wet an arrow with his blood and shot it; the magic arrow made it through the wall of fire and when it hit Sheol it exploded; Specter secured Friedrich while Hisae hid behind a car so as not to be hit by the explosion.
The battle seemed to be over, more than thirty seconds had passed and nothing had moved, there was only an immense curtain of smoke and dust, but Sheol was gone: she was not on the ground and she was not even in the sky and therefore the battle it was apparently over. Archer, relieved, commented:
« You talk too much, Devourer. »
« And you don't listen. »
It was Sheol's voice but the woman couldn't be seen, where had she gone? Archer, looked around and eventually found the rival on the roof of a building. 
« This isn't a fight, Thomas de Camoys… or Archer… or whatever familiars like you are called. Do you think a Servant can somehow defeat me? »
« How did you survive that blow? »
« I literally survived your painful Noble Phantasm and you worry about that spit from before? You're really pathetic, even Glasya-Labolas would be able to make me have more fun than you and she's just a President of Hell and… well, that's saying something. So, are you done wasting my time? »
« Damn you, witch! » Archer yelled, firing another arrow.
Sheol deflected it using only one finger of her hand.
« Witch? It's easy for you to insult me, even knowing that the body I'm wearing is that of a woman who would probably have easily given you a night of sex. But I guess I can't talk about hormones and sexuality with a familiar… or maybe you too experience those things that mortals love? I find it odd considering you don't need to reproduce because… technically you aren't even alive. But I'm digressing ...  let's end this "fight". »
Friedrich was shocked to see Sheol in action, not because she was much more powerful than any Servant but because she was treating the battle as a game, it was clear that she was not taking the fight seriously; when he looked into her eyes he saw a woman who knew she had victory in hand, it wasn't banal pride it was absolute certainty and this terrified him.
Specter approached Friedrich and said:
« Get a car and let's go. I don't want to be here. »
« We have to wait for Alessandro and Saber, I can't leave them here. »
« I can track him, I recognize his magical energy. I'll take you to them, but we have to leave now. »
« What will become of Hisae? » Friedrich asked, worried.
« You already know the answer. »
There was an explosion, Archer had just fired another explosive arrow. Sheol stepped down to the ground and summoned a coal-black broadsword that was surrounded by black, red and purple flames; Friedrich immediately understood that this was her Noble Phantasm and exclaimed, turning to Hisae:
« Run! You have to run! You can't win this war! »
« I will win this war! I'm not afraid of this Servant, I'll find a way to defeat her! I must do it! »
« Idiot, you'll die! »
Sheol appeared next to Hisae, took her by the throat and lifted her off the ground with immense ease and replied to Friedrich:
« Correction: she's already dead. »
Archer decided to go into hand-to-hand combat: he kicked Sheol away, then saved Hisae and finally shot two more arrows. Sheol created another wall of fire and then, moving the sword, she began to strike several blows against the wall which caused several half moons of fire to be launched that flew in every direction cutting everything that stood in their way.
Specter took Friedrich with her and persuaded him to steal a car and leave, but in the meantime Sheol's attack was destroying everything.
« Left Wing of Agincourt! (Great Battle of Azincourt) » Archer suddenly exclaimed.
Thousands of spiritual arrows hit Sheol at the same time, this time she was badly wounded. The arrows had pierced her and she was on her knees and dying, with a trembling hand she tried to reach for the sword but eventually she passed out. Hisae let out a sigh of relief and complimented Archer:
« I told you you could do it ... I gave you a lot of magical energy but it was worth it! »
« Master … »
Hisae was staggering a bit.
« Are you all right, Master? You shouldn't have given me all that magical support, now you will be weak. »
« You don't have to worry about me, Archer, it's nothing. » 

« Well. »
It was Sheol's voice.
Hisae and Archer turned and saw the woman stand up. Her wounds disappeared in an instant and she was as good as new. The two shocked and frightened as children didn't know how to react to what they had just seen.
« How is ... such a thing possible? What are you? » Hisae asked in a swaying voice.
« Do you want to kill me? Well, you'll have a lot of work to do. A world disappears only when no one inhabits it anymore and I'm inhabited by the dead, you cannot kill what is already dead. »
« A world? »
« The simple explanation is that I'm the consciousness of the afterlife that has reincarnated in this body, but technically speaking I'm something more than just "consciousness"... I'm Hades, I'm Hell ... I'm Sheol. I'm not a deity, I am the tomb of the deities. »
« What are you talking about? No ... I can't believe you. This is all madness! » Hisae exclaimed.
« No, the madness is that you agreed to face me. »
Sheol prepared to deliver the final blow but Archer defended Hisae, getting his stomach pierced.
« THOMAS! » Hisae yelled, shocked.
« No! RUN! Run… Hisae… don't… don't worry about me… you have to live! »
« So you really want to sacrifice yourself for that human? You're a really good Servant but… » Sheol grabbed Archer's face, held it steady and then pulled the blade from the body and decapitated the Servant making him disappear in an instant.
The girl tried to escape but Sheol managed to grab her by the hair and threw her to the ground like a sack of potatoes. She approached Hisae and prepared to give her the last blow, the girl in tears prayed for the safety of her little brother. Sheol raised a pleased smile and proceeded to deliver the coup de grace. Hisae closed her eyes. She heard a metallic sound, nothing had hit her, she was still alive and there was a girl in front of her who had parried the blow with her sword.
Sheol was face to face with Saber.
« And you are ... Gaius Julius Caesar? What an interesting Heroic Spirit ... »
« I like it when people recognize me, yet I have little time for you. I have to save this Master without Servant. »
« Really? »
A car approached, driven by Friedrich, inside were Specter and Alessandro Serpi. Sheol immediately aimed at the vehicle but Saber got in her way and urged Hisae to join the others.
« Really very noble of you, Saber, but don't think about…! »
Sheol had struck a blow but Saber had been able to parry it and then the latter responded with an attack that wounded the woman in the belly. Sheol immediately recognized the blade and exclaimed, surprised:
« So now you own the Holy Sword, huh? »
Saber kicked Sheol and then jumped onto the roof of the car which accelerated leaving the woman behind. Sheol didn't follow them, her wound healed immediately but she was intrigued, she was determined to face Saber again.

 

Sheol by Bikowolf

Chapter 151 : Thomas de Camoys

 

I was born in a noble family, from a young age I was destined to become an important man and therefore nothing was ever denied me, God had blessed me with a comfortable life and I did nothing but follow the path that was built for me . After becoming a knight I dedicated myself to the protection of the weakest, I didn't do it for fame but because I knew it was the right thing to do; knights live and die serving those who cannot defend themselves, this has always been my belief and yet my first wife, Elizabeth Louches, accused me of being naive, a man with a child's head, for her only money and popularity had a real value because being noble meant that to her.
I, who was noble, couldn't treat the people as a means to increase my fame, I just wanted to be a knight worthy of memory.
I placed myself in the service of both the arrogant King Richard II and the service of King Henry IV, a man of great foresight and benevolence, and never doubted my way of being a knight, even my wife's words couldn't make me doubt, even if they hurt me more than a sword.
It was the illustrious Edmund Mortimer who changed my life forever, the rebellion of Henry Percy had recently occurred who wanted to rebel against Henry IV and the unfortunate Percy had been killed in battle, so I was proposed to marry the widow: Elizabeth Mortimer. I accepted, after all my wife had died recently and I wanted to have a new woman to keep me company, when I saw that woman I was shocked to see her straight in the eyes ... she had the look of a ravenous tiger, she seemed to be an Amazon ready to fight and for some strange reason I liked it, something attracted me to that look.
Elizabeth Mortimer was a unique woman: intelligent  but at the same time romantic and sweet, strong but graceful. The first thing she said to me when I let her into my manor was:
« I don't love you, the man I loved is dead. You can have my body but my soul will never be yours. » Those words, spoken with so much courage and pride left me stunned, how could I seduce such a strong woman?
After we got married, it took me months to get to talk to her. Elizabeth Mortimer was a woman of few words and yet she was very tender with me and admired the way I behaved.
« Protect the weak… yes, my husband believed in those values just like you. You look a little like him, Thomas. »
She told me these words before my departure for the Battle of Azincourt which I won easily by showing more courage than many other knights, but glory wasn't important, it comes and goes, what mattered was to become a symbol of justice and equality, values that Elizabeth supported until the day of her death; at that woman's grave I thought, in tears, that never again would I be able to meet a special woman like her.
But I was wrong ... 

Chapter 150 : Hell on earth

 

The sun was going down. Friedrich was with Specter and he was waiting impatiently for Alessandro and Saber, he was worrying about their health and a part of him was thinking of going to save them but at that moment he saw Hisae Sunahara arrive with Archer. Specter prepared for battle but Friedrich stopped her and asked his rival:
« Do you really want to go on fighting? Don't you care what Yukiko said? »
« I'm not going to play your games, you just want to have the Grail for yourself, don't you? »
« You're crazy. The Clock Tower has fallen, the Mage's Association has been destroyed, London is in chaos and you still think about the Grail? The Holy Grail no longer matters ... can't you see? Here and there is only death. Listen to me, Hisae, leave now. »
« These are tragedies that can happen in a war. I don't care and now I want to fight you! That's why I'm here, that's why I've joined this war. »
Hisae was really determined to face Friedrich but the latter wanted to leave London, he had no intention of wasting time in a foolish fight and so he tried to persuade Hisae again:
« If we fight, we will both die. There's the army and there are hit men everywhere. The organizations want us dead, for them the Holy Grail War of Yggdrasil is too dangerous to continue. Abandon this war if you want to live, you are not forced to fight ... »

« SHUT UP! » She screamed. « You just have to keep quiet. You have no idea what it means to have a father who demands perfection from you and blackmails you using your brother… you have no idea what my situation is. I can't just go back there and risk losing Hiro… I can't and I won't. I'll kill you and end this damn war! »

« Please, you don't have to ... »

Archer nocked the arrow. Friedrich resigned himself and turned to Specter who, however, had her eyes wide open and terrified like those of a deer in front of the hunter, she was looking at something further and then Friedrich glimpsed these blue and transparent skeletons that walked without following a path precise with their heads turned downwards. A female figure appeared among those skeletons. Friedrich didn't know her but he heard Specter utter:
« Sheol ... »

Hisae and Archer turned and saw Hell arrive with his souls. When Archer saw Sheol he recognized her immediately, his bow fell from his hands and Hisae, worried, turned to her Servant to make sure he was okay and saw him cry.
« Archer? What's wrong? Why are you crying? » Hisae was bewildered, she didn't think a Servant could cry.
« Princess ... » Archer muttered in amazement.
« Archer what are you talking about? Who is the princess? Thomas de Camoys, answer me! »
« Harumi ... Fukano ... it's her ... I remember her ... I promised ... »

« Fukano Harumi? Who is it? »
« Nobody. » Sheol replied in an authoritative voice. « Fukano Harumi is nobody, I'm the only reality. He, seeing me, remembers everything that happened in every world he existed in as I transcend the concept of  "end" imposed by the Holy Grail of Yggdrasil. » Sheol then turned her eyes to Specter. «You. You, Glasya-Labolas do you serve a human with complacency or compulsion? Well, actually you may as well not answer, I'd kill you anyway. »
Specter trembled hearing those words and hid behind Friedrich, suggesting:
« We have to run, Master. I have no hope of winning against her. »
While Friedrich was planning a way to escape, Hisae was ready to fight Sheol and ordered Archer using a Command Seal:
« Kill that Servant, Archer! »
Archer obeyed and immediately used his Noble Phantasm: thousands of spiritual archers appeared and aimed their bows and then the man shouted:
« Left Wing of Agincourt! (Great Battle of Azincourt) »
All the archers shot their arrows with him, which hit Sheol in full. The impact of the Noble Phantasm raised an immense smokescreen. When it dissipated Sheol was gone and Hisae let out a sigh of relief.

But while Hisae and Archer were pleased to have eliminated the enemy, Specter looked at them both like crazy and commented:
« You've just made the mistake of your life. »
« What are you talking about? » Friedrich asked, worried.
Specter pointed to the sky. Friedrich raised his gaze and saw Sheol with her arms crossed and with a furious look. When the other two also realized that she was still alive they were frightened. Sheol didn't waste words, didn't comment on the fact that she had come out unscathed from the opponent's attack, didn't boast and didn't even snort. With those fiery eyes she lowered herself to the ground a few steps from Archer and with an elegant but decisive movement she slapped him so hard that the man crashed against the advertising signs, destroying them.
« You've enraged Hell itself. » Specter said.

 

Sheol and Archer by Bikowolf