Chapter 101: Mysterious Power
It was certainly a good plan from Hector's part. The moment the spear impacted on the ship, it would either blow it into pieces or leave a hole and continue going down to the ocean's floor. No matter the outcome, they would be in for a lot of trouble.
The hit will create a shockwave that would also affect Blackbeard's ship. However, being the "mount" of a Rider Servant, besides getting some pieces of wood get blown out, nothing else of relevance would happen. It could be said that his attacks were all pros and just a small number of cons.
Even so, there was something strange about his decision. If he wanted to capture Stheno or Euryale alive, why would he purposely use an attack with an area of effect that big? The answer was simple.
Not so long ago, his Master received an oracle, a revelation of sorts. The options to make their plan succeed had not increased only by one, but by two. That meant they had now three chances to succeed instead of one.
The Trojan Hero could do with capturing either of three people. The first, Euryale. The second, Stheno. As for the third...it was Seth. No matter if he killed one or two, as long as he had one remaining, all was good.
If Seth got closer and tried to stop him, he would change his weapon to a sword and use it to attack him. As much as he preferred the spear form, drastic situations required drastic measures. He didn't know if that would kill him or not, but for sure would buy him enough time to get the other two.
On the other hand, if the black-haired man decided to do nothing, he would blast every other Servant on the ship, including Chaldea's other Master. At that point, it would only be a matter of retreating, joining forces with "him," and then capturing the Egyptian God.
Of course, there was also the additional option of Seth going down to stop his Noble Phantasm and him ending up dying or wounded together with the rest, either one worked for him. That said, this was one thing Hector doubted it would happen, but if it did, it was something welcomed. After all, if he left Chaldea without Masters, then they would also succeed. It was like an alternative condition for victory.
So, without delay, Hector's Magical Energy began rising at incredible speeds. From that point to throwing, only one second would pass, a second that would leave time for nothing. It was a second that would spell the demise of the Chaldeans.
『Durindana!!』That was it. With the brown-haired man's shout, the spear traveled like a missile toward the ship below where most of the Chaldea's forces were.
The world seemed to turn gray, with the only light being that of Hector's spear coming crashing down at them. When everyone looked up, it was too late.
The Ultimate Unbroken Spear collided with the ship, creating an explosion that erased the lives of everyone who was on it. Nothing remained other than broken pieces of a once-legendary ship.
The hopes to fix the future, to restore the world to what once was, all lost. This attack marked the end of Human History.
...Or so it should have been. "Aren't you underestimating me too much, Hector?" If there was one thing the Trojan Hero failed to take into account when he made his plan, it was that Seth would do neither of what he thought he would.
Hector might have known the black-haired man was a God, but not his name. Or maybe he did, who knows? One thing was clear, though. Had he been, even if it was only a bit, aware of his most, or rather second most famous legend, perhaps his plan would have been different.
No matter who he was up against or what they tried to do, as long as he was on any kind of boat, no one was going to target anyone but him. It was a bit ironic that being a God who attracts all sorts of negativities would come in handy in a place like this.
Like rewinding a video, everything turned back to how it was before Hector had thrown his spear, only for it to happen again. However, different from last time, the weapon didn't go down but went to Seth's direction instead.
The Egyptian God jumped back to the top of the mast before jumping again with as much strength as possible to the sky. He had to be careful not to damage the ship while doing so, though.
As if the spear was a hunter chasing its prey, it kept following him as he went higher and higher. Suddenly, Seth's momentum came to an end. He began to observe the yellow streak of light that was heading in his direction as gravity soon pulled him down.
'You would have to do more than that if your Noble Phantasm is just you throwing a spear, Hero of Troy.' The Egyptian God thought as he looked at his spear. It seemed it was also ready to go. 'Oh, right. You were also the competitive type, weren't you?'
It wouldn't do well to waste time as even he didn't know the outcome of being hit by Durindana. Although he spoke of it as merely a spear throw, the Mystery behind it couldn't be more real.
Seth's Mana manifested itself in reality as multiple streaks of red lightning surrounding him and his weapon. The spear got coated in an ethereal, energy-like substance of the same color.
Doing a movement similar to Hector's when the Trojan Hero threw his weapon, Seth sent his spear down like a meteorite to clash with the brown-haired man's own.
Someone far away would only see a red line going down and a yellow one going up. The result would show itself the moment the two collided, but the "spectators" couldn't just sit down and wait. Even though the impact will happen high up in the air, the aftermath would affect them as well.
"Shield girl...!" The moment Caster saw what was going to happen, he immediately turned to Mash. Among them, she was the one with the most defensive capabilities, or better said, the only one who had them.
"Right! Senpai, please!" Briefly turning to look at Fujimaru, who nodded in return, Mash pointed her shield at the sky. As the Magical Energy her Master was providing her was increasing, a faint, green shield made of light began manifesting above them.
'Here I go...Noble Phantasm deployment!' With those words as a way of self-encouragement, Mash used all her reserves in unleashing her defense.
『Lord...Chaldeas!』 Just as she finished with her chant, the two spears finally made contact. Different from what one might expect, there was no explosion. There was no loud sound, nothing.
However, when everyone was questioning the strangeness of the situation, that's when it happened. The space around the two weapons began to draw in the air, and particles of Mana floating around.
What started as something peaceful and slow, soon turned violent and chaotic. The ordinary people, Drake's and Blackbeard's crew plus Fujimaru, had to hold onto something as not to get pulled by the attraction force. Eventually, it got to a point where the two spears were clashing like two animals of the same species trying to show dominance over the other.
'Do they even know what holding back is?!' An exasperated EMIYA thought while looking at the sky. There was no point in continuing his confrontation with Anne anymore, which led to the next matter at hand, "Assassin, fall back! You don't want to be there when this is over!"
The Executioner understood Archer's worries. Without any kind of support from the other Servants in the Golden Hind, things could get pretty bad for him. So, without hesitation, he used his sword like a blunt weapon to gain some distance between him and Mary before turning back to return.
Without his awareness in this chaotic situation, a shadow sneaked up behind him. Just as that shadow was about to wound, or possibly kill Sanson, an arrow flew past it, stopping it in its tracks.
"Woah. That was so close, Mistah Archer. You should be careful from now on. What'd have happened if I died? You never know when there can be a mad scientist looking for my DNA to do experiments. My life is valuable!" Blackbeard said with a cheeky smile on his face, one that EMIYA didn't buy for a second. Had he not acted, Teach would have killed Sanson on the spot.
"Hmph. Experiments would be the last thing you would be worried about when I pierce your head with an arrow." He was sure this time Anne would not interfere, judging by the face that invited him to do so. She seemed to be one hell of a bipolar woman. Still, he doubted it would be that easy to kill him, even without the blond-haired woman interfering.
"Oh? You mad? You mad bro? Too bad! As long as I have my Goddess' smile, I can go to infinity and beyond! A playboy like you wouldn't understand what true love is anyway!" If he wanted to increase Archer's desire to kill him, he was successful.
"Act like that while you can—" Before EMIYA could finish threatening the ever-so-annoying Blackbeard, gales so strong they inclined both ships shot out in all directions from the place the two weapons were. Now, not only the people were being affected, but the water too.
The previously calm ocean turned agitated. Enormous waves carried both ships up and down in quick succession. If this continued, it would end up damaging the Golden Hind. Fortunately, it didn't.
Not long after those strong winds were produced, everything magically stopped without any sort of flashy ending.
When it ended, the weapons, as well as their users, were nowhere to be seen.
"Wha-What the hell was that...?!" Even after rubbing her eyes to make sure she was not dreaming, that picture still looked surreal. Something strange coming from someone who "fought Poseidon" before being in this situation. If it was one thing to be glad about, though, it was the fact that Blackbeard stopped sending his pirates and opted to cut the ropes tying both ships together instead.
"Is it finally over...?" Stheno had never been so mentally tired in her entire life. What she had done today deserved a year—No, a lifetime of not doing anything anymore!
"Well, if he can't do something of this caliber, then it is not worth calling him Papa." The tsundere middle-sister said, displaying a sort of smug look that was usually present on her sister. She had started this as more of a joke with Stheno than anything, but it might not be that bad to consider him like that if he were able to protect them the way a true father would.
"...I have several questions I want to ask about that, but for the time being, you should consider retreating. We don't know where Kuro is, and Hector is also missing. I would worry more about him than Blackbeard considering that he is many times stronger just because he is a Heroic Spirit from the Age of the Gods." Romani's prompt advice came as quickly as everything calmed down.
Although he "belittled" Teach, that didn't mean he was not wary of him, quite the contrary. Until now, he had only displayed a...weird behavior but has not fought even once. Plus, a Servant powered by the Holy Grail was not a laughing matter. He still gets nightmares to this day, thinking about Jeanne Alter.
Altera, having that special connection with Seth, could feel precisely where he was. 'But that does not make sense. Why would he be in—?'
'Whew! What was that? Life is so unfair with this old man, always having trouble with Divine Spirits. Still...I didn't think he could do something like that. It looked as if he rewound time, but it was different. It was like...he rejected what I did. Good grief. Talk about unfairness; Gods are in one league of their own.' Hector was next to the rudder of Drake's ship in his Spirit Form to avoid detection. He was waiting for a chance to sneak back in and get a consolation prize or something. At this point, he would settle even with someone of little Divine Blood.
To make matters worse, his spear was currently sinking to the depths of the ocean—Wait. It was going back up?! 'That means...?! Oh, shit!' Before Hector could react adequately, a hand emerged from the waters and pulled him down.
The fact he was in Spirit Form didn't matter. The only thing he could see was a pair of shining red eyes prior to being dragged to the depths.
"Let's go, scoundrels! We are retreating! We'll come for this bastard's head another day!" With the pink-haired woman's orders, her crew and even some Servants got to work and helped mobilize the ship as quickly as possible. EMIYA stayed on the back to make sure they didn't receive an attack while escaping.
Blackbeard's pirates watched them retreat while doing nothing. "Sure we can let them go just like that?" Marie asked, a little puzzled.
"Oya? Does Missy Marie miss them already? So it's as they said, small vessels can handle big things! Duhuhuhu!" The smile of a pervert coupled with rosy cheeks earned him some gunshots from Anne. Marie just looked at him with disgust.
"You are the worst scum to ever exist in these seas, aren't you, Master?" One would expect that at this point, the blond-haired woman would be accustomed to his behavior, but that couldn't be much far from the truth.
"I was talking about love! If you misunderstand me, aren't you the pervert here?! It doesn't matter. I like you anyway!" He spoke in a wronged tone while dodging the bullets.
'As much as I want to get that the Old Hag's Holy Grail, it's too dangerous. Without that bastard Hector and with the other one missing, I can't take risks. I better put mine to use and summon some new Servants that are capable enough...or little girls work too. Bufufufu!'
"Captain, your face went from serious to disgusting in mere seconds. Are you planning something that will make you the enemy of women...again?" Even though her face was carefree and looked as if it didn't involve her, inside she wanted for Teach to use a Command Spell and order her to kill herself.
"Wha-?! My thoughts are as pure as me! Stop accusing me, or I will dream with you tonight♪♪" Blackbeard used creepiness, it was super effective on Anne!
Leaving his teasing aside, they now had to replenish their forces and come back for more. If Hector was alive, then fine, and if not, it was all good as well.
Meanwhile, the Chaldeans had safely retreated. Archer went back now that there was no option of an attack, and Sanson was tending to the wounds some of Drake's crewmates suffered in the confrontation.
"I certainly prefer fighting on land..." Mash said, and the other couldn't agree more. The only one who had it the easiest was EMIYA.
Just as they were taking a breath, something jumped out of the water and landed on the ship. Everyone was alert until they realized it was Seth all soggy from being inside the water. It was a comical sight, seeing his hair covering his face like some monster from folklore.
'I hate the ocean...'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FinalPath
FinalPath Happy (late) Father's Day, Seth! I definitely didn't forget, definitely.
Good luck to those rolling for Napoleon, Sigurd, or Bryn. May Kotomine stay away from your rolls! :)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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