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Fool's World: The Fool Reversed (ch. 22)
🕑 Added 2022-04-02 15:11:32 +0000 UTCVictory was close at hand. I could almost taste it really, but Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, was one hell of a final boss. A man so blessed by the gods that he was incapable of failure in everything except for telling the gods to get fucked, and technically, not even really that. This was, rather unfortunately, the age of humanity. I was sure the gods were bad, but I couldn’t imagine that they were as bad as things were now.
"Sakura, you should lay low for a bit," I told her, knowing that the others were reacting to Gilgamesh's presence. He was within the bounded field and his intentions were anything but pure. "I'll send that idiot to you, but keep your head down… actually, you should probably leave." I amended, knowing that if it became a fight between three Servants and the King of Heroes, the immediate surroundings were likely to end up somewhere between utterly devastated and obliterated into nonexistence.
"What about you, Majima?" Sakura questioned, giving me a worried look. I looked away from it, my gaze finding the white stitching in my sleeve.
"Eh, I'll be fine. I plan on hiding behind some pretty tough girls," I answered with nothing resembling shame. I started to leave the room. "I'm serious about leaving. I'd say abandon Shinji, but I know you won't. So, as soon as Shirou arrives, I want you gone." What I felt could only be described as concern. A new feeling for me.
Shinji could eat shit and die for all I cared. Shirou was a crazy person that could stay all the way away from me. Sakura, on the other hand, I… wanted her to live through this final battle. To balance out the scales of her life after the terrible hand she was dealt.
"I'll convince him," Sakura promised as I left the room. That was good. Tucking my hands into my jacket pockets, I made my way to the open front door, mentally preparing myself. My experience with Gilgamesh was brief. During the last Grail War, he had been a source of amusement -- his tempting Kirei down the path of darkness and into my embrace had been highly amusing. There had just been something special about watching a lost soul embrace how fucked up he was and going full throttle with it.
However, that opinion changed when Gilgamesh was bathed in my muck. The curses of humanity. Every depravity that had ever been committed, every malicious desire and thought, and every evil conceived by mortal men and women. It made me what I am. Yet, Gilgamesh had laughed in my face about the weight of my burden.
He was a source of inspiration for me. He's the one that gave birth to this entire idea -- Gilgamesh was so egotistical and narcissistic that he had rejected the influence of my curses. If I managed to be like him, then it was possible that I could do the same.
"You," I began, stepping out of the house to see Gilgamesh standing before three Servants without so much as a hint of fear. "Are a serious pain in my ass, Gil. I mean, it's what I like about you, but too much is too much, ya' know?" I said, voicing my issue with the demigod and King. Gilgamesh sneered at my appearance.
"You deformed mongrel, how dare you show that unsightly mug of yours to me," he said, his tone dripping with scorn as he narrowed his eyes.
I gave him a lopsided smile, "Ah, that hurts my feelings. But, I imagine that it hurts you more. You have, what, a bajillion Skills and you're part god, and you still thought that I was one? I mean, I'm flattered, but I gotta imagine it's pretty embarrassing," I said, digging a needle into his pride. Gilgamesh wasn't wrong often. Or ever, really.
Such was the fate of the gods' last hope for influence over the world. They made him so perfect that he couldn't fail.
Yet, he had been wrong. I was no god. I was a nameless sacrifice to the greater good. And he still mistook my stench for divinity. For a normal person, they'd just shrug off the mistake. Gilgamesh was everything but normal.
To drive the point home, I stepped forward and pointedly threw an arm over Saber's shoulders, making her stiffen. "Get ready to make a contract," I told her and Rider in a low whisper. Archer stood off to one side, Rin, Shirou, and Nobara behind him. Saber didn't respond verbally but offered a curt nod. I gave Gilgamesh a thin smile before I leaned in to give Saber a kiss on the cheek.
I was trying to piss Gilgamesh off, and I had to say, worked like a fuckin' charm.
Gilgamesh's expression twisted into one of pure rage. I wasn't even cucking him, but the fact that I had laid a hand on one of his toys was the ultimate insult to the egomaniac. "Truly, you are an impressive creature, Angra Mainyu. Never before have I suffered such an insult. You deserve a reward -- I will dedicate the next thousand years to making you suffer in ways you never thought possible. Your current curse will look like a blessing. This I promise you," Gilgamesh swore, and I could feel the sincerity in his words. The whispers in his ears were all his own. I couldn't influence him.
This was already a fight for my life, but the stakes just got higher for me. Gilgamesh was the one person that could find a way to follow through with that threat.
"I am the bone of my sword," I heard Archer utter, making himself known as his stats made a sharp increase as man's swelled around him. Two swords formed in his hands, Chinese falcons. Without so much as another word, Archer was the one to go on the offense, prompting Gilgamesh to launch a half dozen Noble Phantasms from the rippling golden space behind him. Crystalized legends made manifest and he was treating them like the trash you get rid of during spring cleaning.
Instantly, the courtyard became a battlefield as the Noble Phantasms met their match when Archer produced his own. It was kinda amazing to see -- two one trick ponies that mastered the same trick.
While dust was getting kicked up in the air, I moved, sprinting to Shirou, Rin, and Nobara. In that same moment, Saber and Rider darted forward to support Archer as the two one trick ponies clashed. "Shirou, get Sakura and Shinji out of here." I told him, projecting a baseball bat into my hand. I should try to pick up some tricks from Archer while I still could. I suspect that he wouldn't be around too much longer.
"But-" Shirou began, determined to stay as he watched the clash between three top tier Servants and the King of Heroes. Well, ‘watch’ was a bit of an exaggeration. All there were was flashing lights and plumes of dust.
I cut him off by grabbing him by the shirt, and bringing him close until our noses were practically touching. "You want to be a hero? Then go save someone you can actually help." I snapped at him, shoving him in the direction of the door. Nobara watched me carefully, giving me a careful look.
Shirou struggled with himself for a moment, but it was when a stray Noble Phantasm slammed into the roof of his house and exploded as if a bomb had gone off, he made his decision. "Right. Leave them to me," Shirou decided, turning on his heel to go rescue Sakura, Shinji. And probably Illiya, knowing him.
"She's in love with you, you know," I told him as I turned to face Gilgamesh, my bat resting on my shoulder so I couldn't see his reaction. "So, you had better prove worthy of it," I told him, striding forward. It wasn't my secret to tell but I had made a promise to Sakura that I'd work to set them up. It was a little heavy handed, but while Shirou was a crazy person, he wasn't crazy enough to not realize that Sakura was all the way out of his league.
"You aren't as different as you think," Nobara remarked as I moved forward, about to enter the fight in earnest. I reinforced my body, strengthening myself as a whole -- my muscles became more powerful, my tendons more elastic, my bones sturdier. With it, I was almost as strong as I had been when I was Avenger. Things weren't so desperate I had to kick things into overdrive just yet.
I didn't respond to that as I strode through a cloud of dust and I witnessed the glory of the King of Heroes. His hands were in his pockets, a bored expression on his face as the space behind him rippled continuously, sending Noble Phantasm after Noble Phantasm at the trio of Servants. Archer was keeping up in terms of volume, but it wasn't enough for either Rider or Saber to get close. The latter clearly not willing to use her Noble Phantasm in a dense housing district.
It wasn't an exaggeration at all to say that he was easily worth three Servants.
But Archer was the one that was looking to put his thumb on the scales of power. "Steel is my body. Fire is my blood," he continued, sending a halberd to clash against one of Gilgamesh's, allowing Saber to advance a half step before she was forced to deflect a dagger. I heard the whispers in Gilgamesh's mind.
He wasn't just dumping his splendor from the Gates of Babylon. Each Noble Phantasm was being specifically chosen to be used against the Servants. That much was proven when the dagger passed through Saber's invisible blade, striking her armor and the mana fueled protection began to rot. Rust spread over its surface, leaving Saber to abandon her armor entirely.
"I have created over a thousand blades," Archer began to intone while Rider flanked out. Her mask was off, revealing her brilliant violet eyes. Stone began to form on Gilgamesh's jacket- or, rather, his jacket started to become stone. Rider was Medusa and her Mystic eyes of Petrification was her greatest weapon, equalling her Noble Phantasm. "Unknown to Death, nor known to life. Have withstood pain to create many weapons…!"
Gilgamesh dropped a token into his hand and the encroaching stone was halted. Gilgamesh turned his attention to Rider, giving her a baleful glare. "How dare you look upon me with those eyes. I'll carve them out of your skull," he warned while Archer pressed forward.
"Yet these hands will never hold anything. So I pray," Archer shouted, Gilgamesh's attention snapping to him as his mana surged, the ground under him cracking from it. Rin stilled at the mantra, understanding its meaning in earnest, but said nothing as Archer continued. "Unlimited Bladeworks!"
With his shout, I felt us being transported. Planes of existence were pretty finicky when you come right down to it. All it took was enough power and being fucking insane, and you could create your own easy peasy. A Reality Marble as the Magi called it. Something to be envied and coveted. They didn't care about the context behind their creation, only the power that they offered.
"What a depressing place," I muttered as the Reality Marble took full form. The fighting paused for a moment as everyone oriented themselves. Archer stood atop of a hill that seemed to be the only one in an endless plane of red dirt and sand, countless weapons plunged into its surface as if they were gravestones. Up above was a clouded sky with massive gears slowly turning, the stench of smog and dust heavy in the Reality Marble.
This was Archer's inner world. This was the truest manifestation of who he was as a person. A machine that could do nothing but create corpses and lament their deaths, offering a meager token of remembrance for them.
"This place…" Rin muttered quietly to herself, stricken by the sight. "How could Shirou ever…" she trailed off, and it seemed that she had put the pieces together. Not sure when, but she had puzzled out that Archer was Shirou himself. Who he had better not become because this wasn't worthy of Sakura's affections.
"It's my reward for being a Hero of Justice," Archer picked up where she left off. "Don't pity me, Rin. I was a fool to choose this fate, but I chose it all the same." He told her, his back turned towards us. I didn't fail to notice that we were significantly further away than the others.
"Self aware or not, a fool shall remain a fool," Gilgamesh remarked, his tone uncaring, a key falling into his hand that he used to open the Gates of Babylon in full. Archer raised his hands up, the sky beginning to darken by the second. Looking up, I saw that it was weapons. Perfect copies of Noble Phantasms. So many that they completely blotted out the sky.
I had underestimated Archer, I could admit. I wouldn't call him Gilgamesh's equal, but if it came to a fight, then I would need both Saber and Rider to kill him.
The two clashed with thunderous force, the sound of screeching metal as it was sundered drove itself into my ears with needle points, making them ring. The scale of the clash was completely beyond everything prior, enough that both Saber and Rider kept their distance. Nobara was eyeing shards of destroyed weapons, but she knew it was fruitless. Gilgamesh wasn't attached enough to any of his treasures that they could be used on him.
"Rider, Saber -- I offer a contract," I spoke, my Command Seals flashing. I wasn't a magus. I didn't need a half minute speech to enact the contract between Servant and Master. I had been on both sides of the deal, after all.
Rider crouched low, as if preparing herself to enter the battle. "I accept. Your will shall become mine, my Master," Rider agreed and the connection was restored between us. Mana surged to her as she instantly began to prepare her Noble Phantasm.
"I… accept," Saber said after a moment of hesitation, yet the connection didn't form between us. Her jaw clenched as she watched the battle between Archer and Gilgamesh. She didn't feel the connection either. It was obvious why. She didn't want there to be a connection. "I do not trust you, Angra Mainyu. Not as I did Majima. I have no reason to and you haven't given me any."
That was fair, I thought, looking up at the near unending torrent of sparks as countless blades clashed into one another. Shards of metal fell to the ground before dissipating, crystalized legends being used and abused like third rate trash. Rin was starting to feel it. I sensed it. She was a mana battery, but that didn't make her a limitless one. Meaning that if this became a battle of endurance then we would lose.
"I hate humans," I repeated once again, stressing the words. I did. Hate was what defined me for so long. "But I forgive them for what they did to me. And I have never once stopped loving this world." I spoke slowly and deliberately, meeting Saber's gaze and finding her shocked by the sincerity in my voice. She searched my face for any sign of deceit but found none for none was there.
The world would be better without humans, but it would also be lesser.
"I accept, my Master," Saber spoke, and this time the contract was formed. The invisibility around her blade faded, revealing the holy sword Excalibur. A golden longsword that any Servant would recognize instantly. Mana surged through the blade, drawing upon my strength. I was a mana battery myself, but between the two of them, I was already feeling a drain. Both were soaring to heights beyond anything they had reached before, bolstered by the command seals I had placed on them before.
Then they moved. Part of me wanted to join them, but I would be dead weight in the battle. It was just so far beyond anything that I was capable of.
Saber brought down her blade to unleash a tidal wave of brilliant golden energy that carved through the waves of Noble Phantasms like a stone crashing through a stream. Rider darted forward, a white pegasus materializing underneath her as she seized the initiative and surged towards Gilgamesh. The King of Heroes scowled as he was forced to defend himself, holding up a hand before some kind of barrier placed itself between him and Rider.
"You mongrels," Gilgamesh snapped, feeling the pressure now. It was a testament to his ability that he wasn't immediately defeated. I don't think there was another Servant in the Throne of Heroes that would be able to boast the same feat. He was a vain asshole, but his bite backed up his bark.
The Servants responded with actions rather than words, ramping up their fight. Archer darted forward, his barrage of weapons tying up Gilgamesh's Gates of Babylon, two twin blades in his hands. Rider gazed upon the trinket that formed the barrier, making it crack as it was reduced to stone, letting Saber unleash another tidal wave of pure energy. The sight of it was daunting. The landscape was devastated beyond repair, and the sheer scope of the battle was beyond anything I was capable of.
Still, sitting back with my thumbs jammed up my ass really didn't suit me.
Nor Rin or Nobara.
"Gather up some shards," I said, crouching down and grabbing a piece of a longsword. One that had been wielded by the great Beowulf. The shard responded to my touch when its sharp edge bit into my soft flesh, a drop of my blood coating its edge. The taint of my curses began to twist the shard into something unrecognizable, but the core of it remained -- a blade that would forever hunt its prey.
The reason Archer could keep up was because of his Magecraft -- Structural Analysis. He was copying everything that Gilgamesh was throwing at him, then projecting nearly perfect copies right back at him. With a glance, I was able to steal the ability from him, but it wasn't as easy as it seemed. I pushed my mana to my eyes and brain, demanding that I analyze the shards around me, but it was incomplete.
It was good enough all the same.
The shards came from Gilgamesh's weapons and the two gathered up what they could as fast as they could. Structural Analysis gave me an idea of what the shards did, and even greatly weakened, they were still parts of a Noble Phantasm. Each piece was fitted into an expanding whole, mismatched together with my curses binding them into one piece like glue. My creation was a deeply hideous thing, I could admit to myself.
The handle of a knife that let the bearer step silently in the night. A shard of Gram, the legendary blade that slew the dragon Fafnir. The tip of Tonbogiri, a spear made by the blacksmith Muramasa that would never miss a thrust. And more. The pieces were ill fitted together, pulsing with a dark power. The legends twisted into a horrid abomination that would make anyone that understood what I had just done weep.
With my curses acting as the core of the twisted sword, I knew that I had a silver bullet for Gilgamesh. It was just a question of delivering it to him. "Nobara, Rin," I started, bouncing my nameless blade made out of legends far greater than I, "Stay back. You've done enough."
I didn't think they would listen to me. The opposite, really. Meaning I had to end this before either of them could get themselves killed. Despite the demand on my mana, I channeled some to my legs to reinforce them, letting me dig my foot into the ground before launching myself forward. I sailed to the thick of the fight, the noise was a senseless symphony of clashing metal and destructive attacks. Saber seemed to know I was up to something because she pressed the attack hard.
Gilgamesh parried her with a blade that looked eerily like Excalibur. There was a bloodthirsty smile on his face as he was being pushed back, letting me arrive next to Archer.
"When he pulls out his trump card, I need you to do something for me," I told Archer, landing in a low crouch. He spared me a look, his full gray eyes measuring me carefully for the briefest of seconds. His gaze flickered to the weapon in my hand, and while he didn't weep, his lips did curl.
I could tell that he didn't want to even consider it, but now wasn't the time to dig his heels in. "What?" He asked curly, a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead as he wielded his swords with white knuckles.
I told him. Predictably, he wasn't happy about it.
"You're asking me to die for you," Archer pointed out, a clash of blades happening just before us as his concentration slipped for a fraction of a second.
"Not for me," I corrected. To that, he frowned. I could feel his inner conflict. While I wasn't a source of his self loathing, I was a source of his desire to escape his predicament. To kill Shirou Emiya in the hopes that it would cause a paradox.
Archer let out a small sigh, nodding in agreement. "So long as it works. I have no attachment to this timeline," Archer decided, striding forward without fear. The kind of fearlessness that only belonged to those that had died countless times before. It was a tragic thing, really. The moment that Archer realized that this was without a doubt not his timeline, his investment dwindled. Maybe one day he would be free of his self-inflicted curse, but right now I had to focus on getting rid of my own.
The battle ramped up to the point I wasn't even sure what was happening. Mana surged through my body, strengthening it to what I had faced Lancer with, and I was still clueless. Archer carried out his end, however, choosing to go into melee with Gilgamesh. Archer was far more skilled, but Gilgamesh had the raw stats that it just didn't matter. All the while, Archer covered me. In the utter bombardment that Gilgamesh released from every angle, I found myself protected by Archer as I got into position.
Rider dove in to aid Archer, her spikes flashing out but Gilgamesh side stepped or fired off a Noble Phantasm to block her attacks. His footing remained light, but I could see the frustration brewing in him as he constantly gave ground to the unyielding assault. However, it wouldn't come to a breaking point until Saber joined in. Using an opening that Archer and Rider provided, Excalibur darted out, drawing a thin line across Gilgamesh's cheek. A slow drop of blood rolled down his cheek and his expression was completely disproportionate to the injury inflicted.
"You were meant to be mine, Saber," Gilgamesh snarled at her. "In time, you would have understood the gift I had given you by offering the honor of becoming my woman. Your fate will not be so kind now," Gilgamesh swore and I could feel his vile thoughts. Thoughts that were all his. As he spoke, he held out a palm that his divine weapon fell into unceremoniously simply because he was being pressed at all angles.
It was a powerful weapon. One capable of destroying the world with but a single swing. Ea, the ultimate tool of destruction. Its blade was three black cylinders that each had red runes etched into their surface, the guard was overlapping plates of gold. Malevolent red energy began to gather as the cylinders spun, Gilgamesh shifting to thrust the weapon to take out everything before him.
Archer threw himself forward. His gaze met mine for the briefest seconds, a silent request in them, even if he did claim to not have any attachment to this timeline. His gray eyes were filled with a grim resolve when I offered the barest nod. There were no grand speeches as Archer made his sacrifice.
Throwing himself forward, Ea punched through Archer's chest, his hands reaching out and grabbing Gilgamesh by the shoulders, using his body to prevent him from finishing the thrust. Blood erupted from the hole that tore through Archer, who didn't do much as grunt when he was pierced. I couldn't see Gilgamesh's face, but I heard him speak, "You-"
He cut himself off, his head jerking to the side to look over his shoulder. I guess he had some skill that prevented surprise attacks or something.
It just wasn't warning enough. Stepping forward, I thrusted my pieced together blade through his back, a cruel smile tugging at my lips as my sword pierced his heart. The sheer outrage in Gilgamesh's eyes was something to behold. It really was. The fury in them rivaled the hate of all mankind. Blood dripped down from the corners of his lips, my curses carving their way through his body. "Angra… Mainyu…!"
"That," I decided, twisting the blade, "is not my name!" A master swordsman I was not, but even as the Reality Marble collapsed upon itself because of Archer's death, I slashed my sword down, cutting through ribs and organs alike. The world went white for the briefest of moments before there was a burst of color of every kind, blinding me…
And when the light faded, I saw that I was back in front of Shirou's house, my cursed sword still in hand. There was blood on the soil directly in front of me.
Yet, there was no Gilgamesh.
"Master?!" Saber shouted, looking around for our foe, only to come up short as I looked at the blood dripping from my sword. I looked to her just in time to see Nobara sprinting for me, a straw doll in hand. She let the blood fall on the doll before taking out a hammer and nail, using her sorcery to drive the nail into the doll exactly where the blood landed.
"He's gone," Nobara provided an answer for us, answering our unspoken question. "There was no reaction to my resonance. That jerk with a bad attitude is done for," Nobara continued, confirming it. She sounded like she believed it. Saber and Rider also instantly lowered their guards.
I didn't believe it. Not for a second. Gilgamesh was not the kind of guy that dies without a trace. He was the kind of guy that made sure their death was a big show, normally with him getting the last laugh. He was too egotistical to do anything less. Meaning that he wasn't dead. He couldn't be. Which left…
Gilgamesh had run with his tail tucked between his legs. Far enough that Nobara's resonance couldn't work on him.
"He's gone," I said, shouldering my nameless weapon. Not dead, but gone. He wouldn't bother us for a time. He would lick his wounds, swear vengeance, and pop back up eventually. I was certain of it. My gaze slid over to Rin, who wore an expressionless mask as she regarded me coldly.
"Archer is dead," Rin spoke, her tone firm but there was the barest hint of a lip quiver there. "I suppose that makes you the winner of the Grail War, huh, Angra Mainyu?" She was mad at me. She knew exactly what had transpired. I got Archer killed.
I met her gaze for a moment, something welling in my chest. It took a moment to recognize it as guilt. "It's what he wanted."
"To die?" Rin snapped at me, her hands curling into fists.
"To protect you," I responded, scratching at my mane of red hair. Hate, I knew how to handle, guilt, not so much. "You were the only thing he cared about in this timeline." I could see it on Rin's face that she was tapped dry in terms of mana. The fight barely lasted three minutes, but it had been intensive. She knew it too -- if the fight hadn't ended when it did, then her mana would have run dry and Unlimited Bladeworks would have collapsed.
Then we would have all died.
Rin's face twisted, her emotions clear to see -- rage, sorrow, grief, anger, before her expression settled on a wistful sadness. A sigh escaped her as she looked away from me, "That idiot," she muttered to herself.
"What now?" Nobara questioned, looking to me. Saber and Rider tensed, ready to face off until there was only one Servant remaining. It was a good question.
"Now, we pick up the Lower Grail," I answered, wondering where Sakura and Illya had gotten off to. They contained catalysts to summon the Holy Grail. We would need to get Avalon back because it means digging around in their guts. The end was drawing near. I could feel it.
"Then… I make my wish."
