I continued my steps, Sir Wiggles watched in my arm, not fretting over the situation. He was a strong rabbit; he would easily recover from this little setback and be stronger for it later.
My Staff glowed bright, the accumulated Magical Energy a constant outpour onto the surroundings. Behind me were dozens of Spell Circles on the ground, each spot I had passed by briefly until coming to a stop a little bit away from the others.
"What's going on!" A voice shouted, coming from a large entrance deeper into the castle. He held himself upright, a cane in his hand as he swept his gaze around the area. Flanked by his sides were people in some-what matching uniforms and behind him was the familiar figure of Siegfried's master.
Vlad shot him a look. "We have agreed to a cease fire while we retrieve the Grail." He said plainly, though the way they looked at each other, I could guess a mental link, meaning this man was Lancer's master. Vlad was no doubt giving him a more in depth explanation.
"You're Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, head of the Yggdmillennia family." I met his eyes.
"You are Wilhelm 'Schweinorg'." He emphasized my name, perhaps even witha tone of respect.
"You don't have to look so afraid, my Grandfather isn't going to interfere in this war." The pensive look on his face when he spoke could easily be understood if I placed myself in his shoes.
The Yggdmillennia family broke away from the Mages Association, and if Zelretch wanted to move on them, there was frankly nothing they could realistically do.
"Now." I raised my Staff up, beginning the important bits of the spell sequence. "I need to concentrate." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raikou look more alert. Despite being a Berserker and having some weird version of Mad Enhancement, she was undoubtedly a warrior. Funnily enough, even Mordred appeared to be keeping an eye on the others while also watching me intently.
Well, if my Son was watching, I had to show off a bit.
I swiped the Staff against the ground, creating many more Magic Circles, dozens upon dozens began to cover the ground all around me.
Stabbing the Staff of Magnus into the ground, I let go and withdrew a handful of Talismans from my ring. "Metal Enriches Water. Water Nurtures Wood. Wood Feeds Fire. Fire Dries Earth. Earth Refines Metal." They shot out, forming a pentagram that covered the entire courtyard.
The Five Elements Mutual Generation. It was the creation cycle from most Eastern Cosmologies. Usually, this spell had the effect of doubling the output of most other spells, but in this particular instance, it went even further.
I began the next step, Runes all began to form around me with a flick of my wrist. They shot out and formed a large Runic Circle using the Pentagram as the base. The sequence was reminiscent of the Skyrim Runic spells I had come across and thus repurposed for my own use.
I wasn't done.
Holding my hand up, I steadily began to draw more Runes – Primordial Runes.
The very air around the castle shuddered at the actualization of these spells that were created during the Age of Gods. This system of symbols that could reach the truth of the world with their hidden meanings.
Overlapped, my Primordial Runes that represented the Elements overlaid with my Five Elements Mutual Generation.
Putting my hand over the Orb on my Staff of Magnus I continued. "One gives birth to Nine." The ground around the castle shook, as if an earthquake overtook the area. The Magical Energy in the air stirred, and the stars above began to glow just a little bit brighter.
My Spell Circles lit up immediately, all encompassed by the larger one that began to shine brighter and brighter.
Two different systems of world creation, two different cosmologies. The Eastern creation cycle bolstered the Norse's version of origins, the beginnings of their Nine Realms.
I felt a swelling in my chest, and I couldn't help but smile. This was the first time I attempted to cast this spell, and now, the Blessing of Odin burned within me, as if reacting to my intent.
I was pulling massively on concepts connected to the Norse Cosmology, and who better defined that than the All-Father himself? Who hung himself upon the branches of Yggdrasil to gain wisdom? The Blessing synchronized with the casting, adding 'weight' to my spell, pulling further upon the concepts.
"And Nine embraces One." I held my hands out, something began to grow out of the ground. At a visible speed, they came together, merged and expanded.
A tree.
The World Tree.
It grew, shooting up towards the sky, immediately eclipsing the height of the Castle, towering above everything within a hundred miles.
I finished and the final pieces of the Tree sprouted, its form taking a solidified shape unto the world. Something not seen in millennia, not born of this age. It was fake, a broken image of the past, but for a moment, it would exist again.
"Blessings of the World Tree – Yggdrasil."
Still, the flying fortress sat above the clouds, continuing to look down upon us.
"W-what is that!?" It was Saber's master who spoke, pointing at the new addition to the landscape.
"The air…." Archer spoke. "It's nostalgic."
"I feel good." Mordred said idly, holding her hands up.
The Tree just existing is a boon to those who I choose to shelter beneath it.
"That is impressive Magecraft, to call upon the Sacred Tree in this era like so." Siegfried spoke with praise, I and forgotten that he grew up in a time where the Norse were still adhered to, their teachings followed.
{Master, I feel energized, and my wounds are healing rapidly.} Raikou spoke through the link. {I feel stronger as well.}
I wanted to respond, but something caught my attention up into the sky. The flying fortress shifted, and I saw colorful symbols alight around its exterior. Even with Reinforcing my eyesight, I could just barely make out massive Spell Circles charging up.
"You! Do something." Saber's master shouted, pointing towards the sky. "Can this stupid Tree stop that!?"
"Did you think I cast this spell just for aesthetic purposes?" I scoffed, withdrawing Gae Bolg from my ring and stabbing it into the ground. "I call upon the Realm of Gods. The Halls of Immortals, and the All-Father."
The Tree shuddered and Nine figures appeared around it, located at the same places they existed along with the Tree. These symbols, each representing their realm, glowed bright, but the one up top glowed the brightest.
A floating city of gold – the Symbol of the Godly Realm.
"Asgard." I commanded, tossing Gae Bolg up into it.
Gae Bolg, it was a spear crafted by Scathach, who was taught her Runic prowess by Odin himself. But that wasn't all. Gae Bolg could be said to be descended from a certain spear, one wielded by the All-Father, a symbol of his Authority as the King of Gods in this particular world-view.
Gae Bolg that always strikes the heart, it made for a wonderful Anchor to call upon the image of another spear, supported by my fake Yggdrasil.
"The Spear which strikes anywhere within the Nine-Realms. Reveal yourself."
My Gae Bolg filled with power, overlapping its existence with another phantasm, another memory and legend. Odin's blessing thrummed within my body, the spear solidified, a golden sheen now adorning the night sky, scaled up several fold from its normal size.
The power of Asgard upon my spell, it gave everything to form this spear. This was the final form of Asgard as represented in my Nine-Realms.
I looked up, completely unafraid as I watched the flying fortress gather power. It was clear it thought my spell was a threat, perhaps unknowing of what it does, but the absolute amount of power it radiated probably causes them to worry.
And I'm sure whoever sat upon the throne within that fortress assumed they held the advantage, that they didn't even consider themselves in danger.
I smiled while running a hand through Sir Wiggles fur.
The Spell Circles reached their peak above the clouds, and a handful of Beams of destruction fired down upon us. Each one would be enough to vaporize the castle in full. I heard shouts behind me to bring back up the shield, to use what spells they could to defend.
Mordred cast a glance at me, I could tell she was a bit hesitant, but I just winked her way, earning a scoff, but she settled down.
Raikou did not fret one iota, her faith in me was a warm welcome.
"Strike with Absolution -- Gungnir." I commanded.
It moved, faster than one would perceive normally. A golden line ascended to the sky, jutting out in directions and moving in ways that should be impossible under the normal laws of the world.
My Spear and the fired magical beams collided with an explosion of Magical Energy. There was no epic stalemate, no fighting between spells, a Golden Spear returned to my side without resistance, the night sky becoming serene once again.
My Nine-Realms spells, they take an aspect of the corresponding realm I imbued them with. I chose Asgard for defense, to have a shield to defend with in using the basic application. But here, Asgard takes on its true principal – The best Defense, is a good offense.
What better defense was there then Odin's spear that strikes anywhere and never misses? I could use the spear to strike at them, but it perhaps would not do much, it was not something for wide-speared destruction.
No, I had something else in mind.
While I called this my final form of my Nine-Realms, the truth was, there was still much left to do to complete it. At the moment, I was comfortable calling upon two of the Realms within.
Asgard was the first – the Manifestation of Odin's spear using Gae Bolg as an anchor and Odin's blessing to help facilitate the Fake Phantasm.
"The Fires of Destruction – Muspelheim" I called out, the second Symbol ignited, quite literally. I didn't require anything to bring forth my concept of Muspelheim, I could do so with everything I had provided into this spell. But at the same time, I was a bit worried because this next one would be a bit…..aggressive.
I withdrew the Sword of Destruction, and tossed it into the raging fires.
My sword that held the concept of destruction synergized with my spell that practically shouted with joy. My original application, the lesser version, the Fire Of Muspelheim. It was meant as a purely destructive force, and this completed form would not be much different
The flames swirled around my sword, changing shape, overlaying it like Gae Bolg and Gungnir. It took a moment for them to solidify into the shape I desired, the False Phantasm that I would be drawing upon.
"Sun-like Sword that Becomes a Calamity." I called upon the new sword, the bane of all Norse Gods. The Sword which seared away the textures that was the Norse Cosmology from the layers of the World – the Sword which brought about Ragnarök. Wielded by the Fire Giant – Surtr.
Fake as it was, a mere image of a Phantasm that no longer exists, it still held much weight in this state. The Concepts that brought it together are some that have thoroughly disappeared from the world.
This ridiculous sword that could match the Pillar that fastens together the layers of reality.
Distance did not matter.
An absolute authority over life – well this version was significantly weaker, but certain concepts still applied to it. And with my Sword of Destruction acting was a wonderful container for the spell to bring about the true sword's effects, even severely diminished as they were.
The space around the sword was burned away. The flame that threatened to spew out was forcibly contained at the swords edge, but still, everything in the vicinity became significantly hotter. If I lapsed in focus for even a moment, this spell would run rampant in all directions.
It floated high up, my arm raising along with it.
This one is for you, Sir Wiggles.
"Twilight of the Gods – Laevatein." I swiped my hand through the air.
The space between the sword and the flying fortress was immaterial, it was all burned away in an instant. A white streak extended from the point of the slash, all the way up to the sky, colliding with the defensive capabilities of the Noble Phantasm
They lasted only for a moment before a chunk of the Fortress was incinerated, and the rest of it began falling from the sky.
***
Omake – Dracula is only a second-rate vampire.
"You are one tough bastard." I grit my teeth, meeting each of Vlad's strikes head on.
He had blood running out the corners of his mouth, but that smile on his face revealed how much he was enjoying this. "To survive against my enhance abilities while in my territory, you are praiseworthy." He swung his spear out.
"Well, I just need to stall for time, while you're here, my Servant can take out your companions." I began pushing back, my blade flashing out with increased speed.
Vlad's brow furrowed. "No, I simply have to deal with you quickly and go assist in retaking the Grail."
"Ha, like I'll let you leave me like that!" My other sword shot out, flying at him from all angles. He was forced to back off, the pressure of his attacks lessing.
"Annoyinng pest!" He growled, jerking his hand up and summoning hundreds of stakes to pierce towards me. They did nothing infront of my many sword, all of which shot out to defend me.
The attack abruptly stooped, Vlad looking dazed. "NO!" He shouted, spear planting in the ground. "Darnic, don't you dare!" His voice filled with rage.
He clutched his head, gritting his teeth. "I forbid you from making me use this Noble Phantasm! Darnic you back stabbing fool!"
"What the hell is going on?" I blurted out.
"I'm not him! I can't be, this isn't true." Vlad shouted out with increasing frenzy.
"No…" I whispered in horror, realizing what was happening. "The legend that attached itself to Vlad the Impaler, that carried itself over to modern times. I didn't think it was possible..."
Vlad growled, his features shifting visibly on what appeared to be a Noble Phantasm centered on himself.
He changed, eyes bloodshot, fangs visible in his simile, and three words that brought sheer horror to every fiber of my being. "It's Morbin Time."
***
Couldn't resist the Morbin Omake, I'm sorry.
So, Mc reveals the completed form of his Nine-Realms, and Semiramis's day takes a turn for the worse.
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It was a beautiful sight, the flaming wreckage of a Noble Phantasm fortress falling from the heavens. How ironic that my fake Laevatein took out a fortress that could almost be like Asgard if you squint hard enough.
A reenactment of Myth?
It was possible that such an action had an effect on the actualization of the Phantasm, to produce a more powerful attack.
This was my first time casting this spell, there were many things I needed to go over and tweak for the future. It was actually Scáthach who helped me theorize this completed form in the first place, back when I was training.
The others around didn't speak as we all watched the fireworks in the distance, the moment the Fortress hit the ground, a colossal wave of Magical Energy cascaded out in every direction, enough that my hair was blown to the side.
It certainly did bring a smile to my face as I pet Sir Wiggles.
"Well then, I guess my head isn't going to end up on a spike anymore?" I said as I turned around towards Vlad. He flinched at my sudden address, maybe shocked a bit at my magical display. "Perhaps we should negotiate the terms of our 'ceasefire', hmm?" I raised my hand up and both the Spear and the Sword turned to point towards them.
All the Servants quickly regained their wits, immediately prepared for battle.
I just let out a laugh, waiving my hand and dismissing the spell. The Massive tree, my Yggdrasil started to wither.
The Sword and Spear began to shrink, their 'presence' that weighed down upon everyone was receding with the fading of the World Tree.
Both my Spear and my Sword dropped to the ground, returned to their true forms, -- the Sword of Destruction and Gae Bolg. I retrieved them quickly enough, and returned them to my ring.
I cast one last gaze towards my Tree, its entirety dissipating back into Magical Energy and dispersing back into the world.
"I'm kidding." I raised my hand up to show no hostility. "I don't go back on my word." Once again, my pride would not allow it. Technically, we only agreed to allow me to bring that thing down, but it was the principal of the matter.
"H-how!" Saber's master fell to his large butt, pointing at me. "How is that possible! That was a Noble Phantasm and you destroyed it with Magecraft!? There shouldn't be any Mysteries like that left in the world!"
That man was the only one to speak, but the expressions on the other Mages there seemed to mirror his own. The horror on their faces, and the sheer bewilderment at what they saw.
Well, his statement wasn't entirely accurate. The Queen of the Clock Tower has Magecraft that's only a hairs breath away from True Magic. While she probably couldn't have done same thing as my spell, a different set of circumstances and she could have managed something similar.
"No, it wasn't just a spell." Siegfried spoke up.
"Quiet! I commanded you not to speak unless I ordered it!" His master snapped at him.
"Yeah, Siegfried, you don't want to give away any secretive information." I also spoke up.
His master turned to me, mouth agape.
"But I'm curious at what you have to say, Dragon Slayer." I ignored his Master.
"That was Gungnir, the spear of the All Father, you somehow managed to create an image of it, one that possessed the same properties, if diminished." Siegfried spoke, and his Master seemed cowled by a few glares. "And the Sword…."
"That's impossible in this Age." The large Master spat out. "There had to be some other trick to it."
"Primordial Runes." Siegfried closed his eyes, earning the undivided attention of everyone here.
My lips curled up. "You noticed, huh?"
"I thought those were gone from the world?" Archer muttered. "You seem to have many things that should be 'impossible' in this era, young man."
"Not impossible if you know where to look." I grinned. "And I had the best teacher."
"Strange, I don't recall you being my student." Archer flashed a little smile, an obvious joking tone in his voice.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "You know, that really just revealed your identity."
Archer just laughed. "You focused solely on us Servants when you had opportunities to kill a Master. It's clear where you stand in this fight, I don't regret giving my identity, young warrior." He pushed his fist against his chest. "I am Chiron." He said without any fanfare. "Can I know the name of the one who was able to teach you?"
Surprisingly the other Servants didn't raise a fuss, even though they were on the same 'team'. Though, the Masters looked annoyed at him. Different mindsets beget different ideals and priorities I suppose.
Yeah, his identity made a lot of sense now. He had a little Horse Tail as well, no idea on his situation there since he's supposed to be a Centaur, but whatever. "Clearly Greek with those kind of Bow Skills and a tail like that, I probably would have guessed it eventually."
The Trainer of Heroes, I guess I shouldn't be surprised he wanted to know about my teacher. Maybe his own pride as a teacher was poking through.
He shrugged good-naturedly. "It's as you say."
"The Immortal Witch of Dun Scaith." I answered, and it wasn't much of a secret. Besides, he appealed to my pride like that, how could I not answer in kind?
There was a look of understanding that flashed across his face, accepting my answer. "I'll look forward to seeing how well she taught you."
"Yeah, well, I don't look forward to those predictive arrows of yours." I grumbled.
He laughed happily, and it was becoming difficult to dislike these Servants.
{Master, are you planning to fight?} Raikou asked.
{No. I proposed the Ceasefire, and I will honor it for the night.} I shook my head.
{Then perhaps we should withdraw?} Raikou questioned.
{We'll see how this plays out.} I wanted to see how this went and perhaps the smart thing to do would be to have my spell still going.....except I was at my limit with it. I chose to dissipate it willingly instead of it fading by itself.
Made my position seem stronger.
And it wasn't fully as fleshed out as I had thought. Many things I need to tweak here and there like I initially thought. Truthfully, I was a bit exhausted after casting that thing, I wanted nothing more than to lay my head on her thighs and go to sleep.
There was a woman holding a whip to the side of Darnic, she looked pensive, her eyes roaming all around me. "Eastern Onmyoji and even Runecraft." She spoke up, clutching her whip tightly. "You combined them somehow to form the basis of that Spell.....along with those 'Primordial Runes'." She bit her lip.
"Interesting, does the Yggdmillennia family study such things?" That was a bit of a surprise. Both arts are looked down upon by the greater Magus community.
"I've never seen someone utilize Runes like you did." She added, sidestepping my question.
"It was an impressive display." Darnic stepped forward, hushing his companion. "Truly you are the Kaleidoscopes Grandson." He praised.
Ah, brownnosing, how annoyingly familiar. "Is this the part where you invite me to join you?" I raised an eyebrow, earning a snicker from Mordred. Amusingly, Lancer – Vlad, looked annoyed at the thought.
"There's no need to fight, we don't wish to –"
I cut him off. "Let's stop right there and clear up some misconceptions." I held my hand up. "First, I'm not here on behest of the Association to 'crush you' or any other nonsense. I don't actually disapprove of your faction or your ideals on paper, and I can say with some certainty, neither does my Grandfather."
"Then why are you – "
"The Grail, obviously." I rolled my eyes. "Why else would tubby over there still be alive when I literally had him in the palms of my hands." I jerked my thumbs towards Saber's master. I simply did not like killing If I had no reason to do so. I'll fight their Servants all day though.
"Tubby!?" Saber's master shouted indignantly.
"Enough, this is getting nowhere." Vlad interjected, sighing and closing his eyes. "I agreed to your terms before, and my word still stands." He didn't appear as though he was going to initiate a fight. "Unless you want to extend them further?"
Well, he had a better temperament than his master. "Siege the Fortress?" I asked, earning a node from him but I merely shook my head. "There's no point." I turned around to look at the sun just peaking over the horizon.
Vlad scowled but said nothing. He knew the rules and the abilities that Ruler had to enforce them. "Return, we're done for the night." He threw his hand to the side, commanding everyone.
"Oh well, it was fun while it lasted." Rider held their hands behind their head, casually strolling by, not even concerned about what was going on.
What a casual person.
Still can't tell if they're a boy or girl. It's not that I cared either way, even if they wanted to identify as a neither or some other variation. I was just annoyed I couldn't figure it out!
"We're leaving." I looked towards Mordred and Raikou.
Raikou was quiet, but she didn't speak to others unless she was forced to, her attention was almost always on me. Mordred though…..she was oddly quiet. She wouldn't hesitate to throw words at anyone here if she felt like it, but she instead opted to stand by me, menacingly, and deter the others.
Well, it would be rude to stay here any longer now that the Sun was coming up.
With a wave of my hand, I opened a portal and they followed me through.
***
"Master~" Raikou immediately grabbed onto me, pushing me between her breasts. "I was so worried. And you were so dashing, momma is proud."
"You stupid cow, stop it." Mordred spat out.
"Fufufu." Raikou ignored Mordred. "Master is going to be spoiled."
"Raikou." I patted her on the head.
"Mou." She pouted, but accepted me leaving her embrace.
And my heart strings are constantly tugged around her. That's seriously not fair.
"You going back to your master?" I asked Mordred.
"That Necromancer is fine....but I should go make sure." Mordred looked away, towards the direction I assume he was hiding in. "That was impressive….." She muttered.
"Pardon?" I blinked in confusion.
She scowled, crossing her arms. "Your spell was cool." She huffed. "Taking down that Noble Phantasm and everything."
"Is my son praising me?" I couldn't help but grin.
"Fuck you." She spat out.
"Someone's testy." I pursed my lips. "What's got you all twisted up? You're usually less...contained than you are now from what I've see so far. And you didn't even speak when we were at the castle."
"What's it to you?" She frowned.
"Fine, fine." I raised my free hand up. I wouldn't push her if she had something on her mind. "But you were great out there."
"What?" She looked confused.
"You did good." I praised her. "Taking on multiple Servants and even removing that Berserker, you did an amazing job."
"O-of course I did, who the hell do you think I am?" She clearly preened under my words, even if she tried to appear nonchalant. "And don't you dare forget what I said." She raised her sword up, pointing at me. "I want some answers later, and you're going to give them to me." She declared before Astralizing and disappearing.
"Haaah." I let out a long breath. "What a handful she is." I wonder how Artoria will react. I'll be sure to contact her in a few hours and get her opinion.
In the mean time, I was exhausted and there was an empty lap for me to lay down on.
I could think about the important bits after a couple hours of sleep. Definitely going to have a chat with Raikou later as well.
***
So I've separated this specific Arc into three parts, and this about wraps up the second part of it. The third will take part during the next day, then back onto the fighting. Will show some POVS next chapter.
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