章 1052: 66
066 - Power of Human Sacrifice
My lips stretch into a shit-eating grin as the golden portals that just a second ago covered the sky start to flicker out and die, starting with those further away from the Golden Prick but swiftly closing in until not a single one remains.
"What!?" The man in question scowls furiously. "What's the meaning of this!?"
"That would be Rin taking down the Church and your precious mana battery." I (sigh in relief) relief gloat confidently, happy that something is going my way for once. "I don't really care what defenses you pulled out of your Mary Sue Gate of Ex Machina. Nothing you have can hold against Photon Ray, not when it's wielded by Sefar herself."
"Tsk." The frustration in Gilgamesh' face gives way to a contemplative expression that somehow makes me more worried than his previous apoplectic rage. "I suppose I can acknowledge this one act of defiance."
"Huh?" Suddenly feeling like something's about to go horribly wrong, I ask a question I'm fairly sure I won't be happy to have answered. "Why don't you look more… You know, pissed off your ass?"
His relaxed expression turns into a grin to match the one I was sporting a moment ago as a single golden portal slowly takes shape right beside his right hand. Sometimes I hate it when I'm right.
"Just because the King cannot currently access his treasury freely, it doesn't mean the King can't access it at all." He answers calmly, reaching inside the portal with his hand to grab hold of something inside. "And I can still afford to spend more than a stray like you deserves."
"Well… that's just not fair."
"Though I guess congratulations are in order." He continues, the handle of a painfully familiar sword-that-is-not-a-sword peeking out of the portal. "You are the first to ever get the King to pull his mightiest treasure against… without actually earning his respect."
Should I feel proud that he decided to use [Ea] in the end? I think I should feel proud. I'm gonna feel proud. "What can I say… I have a gift."
"Cute."
"Bitch, I'm adorable."
He deigns himself to give me a huff of amusement, the sword already out of the portal and slowly raising upwards. It's funny. If I wasn't this exhausted, I would've sniped the fuck out of him while he was pulling this stunt. The real world is no place for long-drawn attack animations.
Unfortunately, I couldn't conjure colorful sparks if my life depended on it, so I can only watch as the world-destroying Noble Phantasm that symbolizes the separation between God and Man, the very end of the Age of Gods, starts to spin ominously. The three cylindrical segments that make up the 'blade' glow red with increasing intensity as they pick up speed and the voice of Gilgamesh, infuriatingly confident, infuriatingly perfect, echoes through the ruined battlefield of this strange world I doubt ever actually existed.
"I speak of genesis. The elements amalgamate, coalesce,
and bring forth the stars that weave all of creation— —"
Emiya Haku
I can feel the very air change around us as Barbatos falls to her knees and starts bawling her eyes out, babbling about her unwillingness to die with a desperate sincerity that I can't help but feel heart-rending. The mood goes from tense to shocked, only to gradually shift towards discomfort as Masters and Servants look at each other, unsure of how to react to this development.
Before our very eyes, the (thicc thighs and impressive breasts) and impressive breasts mature figure of Barbatos' latest transformation swiftly recedes, shrinking back into the child-like appearance it had at the start of this whole mess. Wow, now I feel even worse.
"Well, it looks like the fight is over?" Medea finally speaks out, voice seemingly stuck somewhere between amusement and bemusement. "The reservoir from the Greater Grail seems to have run out, alongside with her will to fight. Of course, we'll need to restrain her and put her through some slightly invasive study to be sure, but it doesn't seem to pose a threat anymore."
"Or maybe we could simply… you know, kill her?" Illya intervenes. Though, even as she eyes the form of the little girl, her proposal sounds half-hearted at best. "It would be less risky."
"Oh, indeed we could…" Medea agrees easily. "But what sort of magi would we be if we set such a fascinating specimen on fire like a bunch of superstitious ignorant peasants, or worse… like the Spanish Inquisition?"
There's enough 'witches' around to share a collective shudder at that accusation. When nobody else seems willing to raise another objection, Medea gestures for Medusa to follow her to make their way towards the still bawling Barbatos.
"Caster, don't go overboard." I call out, suddenly remembering the vital facts that really, truly matter. "I– *ahem* I mean, Nii-san will want to tap that."
"Such an ambitious, selfless dedication… As expected of the Head Wife, I'll be all kindness." I refuse to look away or blush like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar and– Damnit! "Rider, dear, can you get some more restraints? This cutie shouldn't be capable of breaking them anymore, but I'll enchant them for durability, just in case. For comfort too, since we don't want to go overboard."
Displaying great maturity by not acknowledging these words, I leave the two of them to approach the curled-up form of Barbatos. Medea kneels in front of her, reaching with a hand to gently rub her head while cooing soft words of reassurance. Meanwhile, Medusa produces another set of chains from somewhere to gently tie up her unresisting body. It's a bit of a bizarre sight, they really look like—
I never finish that thought. A sense of urgency floods me, like a bow drawn to the limit and about to snap. I know what this is, it's what I've been planning since the War started, what I've been expecting since Nii-san disappeared from the face of Earth.
"It's starting." The words escape my lips unbidden, making me wince a bit when everyone turns to face me. "I shouldn't have said that."
"Eh?" Facing the source of the confused question, my eyes land on Little Big Sis.
I only have a moment before my trump card triggers. A moment to leave some choice words behind before I leave this world behind. There's so much I want to say… but I have so little time to say it.
To Little Big Sis, whom I've just finally started getting to know after all these years.
To Sakura, the best kouhai in the whole world and my favorite pillow.
To Medea, my sometimes magecraft teacher and the first woman I ever shared Nii-san with.
To Ecchan, always quiet and closed off, but devoted and loyal like none else. The best Servant a girl like me could wish for.
My mind is made.
"Ecchan." Have I made the right choice? Maybe I should've remained silent instead? "If I don't come back… know that I'm glad to have met you, and that there's no hero I'd rather call my Servant."
"What? No!" Swift as lightning, Ecchan turns around to reach for me, dainty and deceitfully strong fingers wrapping around my wrists in a pointless attempt to keep me from doing what I must do. "Master!"
In the back of my head, I can only think of how all this drama will end up being rather embarrassing if I do survive my stunt. That doesn't matter right now, though. There are more pressing matters.
It's time to unleash it… My world, my heart, my very being!
"My Nii-san is amazing!
He saved me, who was burnt down to her very core,
and claimed me for himself!"
The first chant goes off. A chain that's less matter or magecraft and more a truth of the universe tugs at my heart from a direction that doesn't exist. I am not where I should be… but I'm always where I should be. Because there's only a place where I belong.
"My Nii-san is amazing!
He could climb to the top of a very tall tree in no time,
then threw me a persimmon!"
The second chant goes off. With it, the world swims and distorts, a sensation of vertigo that lasts an eternal instant marking my travel through impossible directions as reality corrects itself and I'm back where I should be. I try not to think of Ecchan's expression when I vanish from between her fingers.
"My Nii-san is amazing!
On the veranda, he told me about a new world,
that I could never even think of!"
The third chant goes off. My hand grips at an elbow, preventing something so very wrong from taking place. Nii-san is invincible. He cannot lose, he cannot die. I'll make that truth come to pass with my very body if that's what it takes!
"My Nii-san is amazing!
He taught me about warfare,
that someone like me can't even imagine about!"
The fourth chant goes off. The ENEMY turns towards me, blood-red eyes locking into mine as a perfectly trimmed eyebrow arches in askance.
"How did you get here, little treasure?" The ENEMY speaks lines of idle interest. But they don't interest me. "No, rather… you never left."
"My Nii-san is amazing!
Some don't seem to understand his greatness,
but someday they surely will!"
The fifth chant goes off. My grip tightens, not quite enough to crush the bones of the ENEMY, but certainly enough to keep him pinned in place.
"Why do you obsess like this with a pathetic Stray?" The ENEMY growls, frustration and a hint of pain sneaking into his voice. Not that I'm paying any attention. "A treasure like you belongs to a real King!"
"My Nii-san is amazing!
Why can't you guys understand that?
Why the heck would you say that someone like me would be more valuable than him!?"
The sixth and last chant goes off. But I'm not done yet.
A bone-white mask emerges from my chest. Round, with equally round holes for eyes. Creepily blackened holes that don't show what's on the other side but the hungering darkness within.
Spoiler
"Ohh I see, I finally got it, you guys are, right, idiots, that's why!
People like you are not fit to breathe the same air as Nii-san, of course, neither am I!"
I release the penultimate restraint and my breath hitches, the darkness constrained within taking the chance to try and break loose. It hurts, like something is trying to burst out of my chest and pour out of my eyes and ears. Something searing hot, something full of claws and nails, that grinds like sandpaper and rakes like a plow.
But I hold it down. Tears of black darkness drop from the bone mask instead, tainting it black as the eyes start glowing in with a dull white light.
Spoiler
It's not yet the time, the chant is not over. If it breaks free before I'm done giving it shape…
Focus Haku. You need to give it focus, before it runs wild.
"So let's reach for those who endanger Nii-san's world
and sink them into darkness, me included!
Finally, I will die for you,
for someone empty who has filled herself with Nii-san,
this is the ultimate happiness!"
Nii-san's eyes widen in horrified realization. It hurts to know that I caused that, that I'll be the reason he'll be sad and hurt. But not doing it would hurt way more.
"Haku, don't you dare!"
"―――Nii-san, thank you so much!"
… It can't be helped.
"[Void Heart of the Abyss - Devour the Radiance]"
I can only watch, powerless, helpless, as Haku summons what's hands down the most dangerous artifact of Hallownest. An artifact designed to bind and consume gods, an artifact designed to be wielded by a willing sacrifice. With the true name revealed, the projected fake Noble Phantasm activates in truth. The darkness tainting the bone mask comes alive, tendrils of inky black spreading towards Haku, blindly reaching and wrapping her form until they turn it into a cocoon.
Out of all the crazy, demented stunts… Is Haku trying to become the Shade Lord? Hallownest's Void God? Idiot! She's not a bug, she's not a vessel! A projected forgery doesn't actually hold the power of the original, in the first place! This foolishness cannot succeed!
And, even if by some strange twist of fate she achieves the transformation, Gods have no place in this world! She'll be either consumed or kicked into the reverse side as soon as this fake reality collapses!
As I'm busy panicking and having what feels like three heart attacks at the same time, Gilgamesh tries to break free. Unfortunately, the point of contact between him and Haku is covered by Void, and the hungering Void won't ever let anything escape its grasp once it has—
Wait, that's… that's not Void.
That's Cursed Mud! Where did she even get Cursed Mud!?
Medea? Sakura? I sure hope Haku did this on her own, because I'm going to tan the hide of whoever decided it was a good idea to assit her in this overly-convoluted suicidal stunt otherwise!
In the source material, it's never made clear what happens to the Little Vessel after going through this transformation. Whether it becomes a fully ascended god or descends into madness under the hungering influence of the primordial void it brings into focus.
But that doesn't matter here, because she's not using actual void, but an equally hungering replacement that's incredibly effective against Servants but also actually distilled hatred towards humanity!
Damn it! There's no way she'll survive that. Damn it!
And I… I can't do anything!
Haku's darkness-covered form expands, the cocoon bursting open to make way for a humongous dark shape. It's not pure black like the true Shade Lord would have been, with its whole body covered in the glowing red marks that characterize the Grail's Mud.
A pair of four fingered hands, tipped in sharp claws, wrap around Gilgamesh, as a four horned head lowers so its eight eyes can examine him. Beside the enormous figure, the Shining Golden King of Uruk looks like nothing more than a toy. A toy that squirms and writhes screaming in indignation until another pair of hands join the first two, fully covering the Heroic Spirit in the darkness of the pseudo-divinity's grasp.
And I can only watch as the King of Heroes is drowned by darkness, as his voice gets replaced by oppressing silence. I would say it's anticlimactic, but it's still more than the prick deserves.
Not that I feel up to cheering and gloating, either. Too exhausted, too useless, all my tricks and traps and preparations crushed in front of true, overwhelming power, toyed with and made to dance for a man child's sick entertainment until I'm nothing more than a wrung-up rag… Useless and resourceless as his dear sister walks to her own death.
Unless…
"Now now, Master." A hand lands gently on my shoulder as a calm, confident voice breaks my downward spiral. "Before doing something drastic, allow your loyal Caster a first try, okay?"
My heart skips a beat, my first attempt at answering coming out as a pathetic squeak. Licking my lips, I try again. This time my voice comes out. Weak and pathetic and full of baseless, unfair relief. "Medea?"
"It took me a while to discover what Haku-chan was planning." She hums idly, a confident smirk on her lips as she walks past me, her hand shifting on my shoulder to follow the motion. "Honestly, I went absolutely crazy looking for legends or myths that matched what I knew of her plan. But of course, that wouldn't work."
"That is…" My voice comes out weakly as I try to explain, trailing off before I actually say anything.
"Modern fiction. Modern fiction not borne from this world, even." She continues talking, not even acknowledging my attempts at speech. "That's what fuels your sister's [Unlimited Dreamworks], do you have any idea how hard it made things for me?"
"... Sorry?"
"Oh, don't worry, Master, it only made it all the most sweet when I finally found what it all was about." She continues, that staff of hers materializing on her free hand out of nowhere as small magic circles start filling the air around us. "Quite ingenious, to fill a projected [Kingsoul] with the Taint of the Grail. It's not exactly Void, but it's certainly mindless and all-consuming. It can even be given focus, if the existence of the Third War's Avenger is something to go by. Particularly effective against Servants, too."
I bit my lips trying to keep my expectations low. The Mud has a crushing, absolute advantage over Servants. Even those with a darker alignment are only slightly less crushed by an equally absolute advantage. The options Medea has to actually intervene here… Are close to nil.
"Now… How did the words go?" She frowns slightly, as if trying to remember something she's not familiar with. "God and Void? Root and Wyrm?"
"A Vessel!?" I blurt out, the shock helping me get over my previous hesitation and weakness. "Are you trying to turn Haku into a Vessel?"
I mean, that could work. But one could argue that's a fate worse than death.
No mind to think.
No will to break.
No voice to cry suffering.
"Oh, I did think about it." Medea easily waves away my worries. "Fiddling things a bit, I could've replaced the original components for something else and maybe made it work. But it was a bit of a stretch. No, it was your peculiar brand of magecraft that gave me the solution"
"My… [Corrosion]?"
"Indeed. If you can draw the attention of Gaia so it would erode Mystery at an accelerated rate, shouldn't it be possible to distract it so the erosion stops, maybe even temporarily enforcing a deeper world texture over the Age of Man?"
"How does that even help with…?"
"Tell me, dear master." She cuts me off. "Isn't there something inside our dear head wife that could reject all harm? Something tangible and real that can heal any injury and doesn't obey the conceptual rules of advantage and disadvantage that us Servants are bound by?"
"[Avalon]? But only King Arthur–!"
"Of course, that was half a plan at best." She continues, interrupting me again. "It's not like that thing works for just anyone and I certainly didn't have enough time to figure out how it worked. So I had to… let's say I called customer service."
With nothing left to say and a feeling of vaguely worried awe, I watch in a daze as the multitude of spell circles realign at Medea's gesture, starting to emit a soft glow.
"You better keep your end of the deal, you shitty dick wizard…"
A gentle breeze blows out of nowhere, pulling off Medea's hood and messing her beautiful pale blue hair.
To right the countless wrongs of our time
We sing this song of true redemption
That this place shall become like paradise
Oh, what a wonderful world such would be.
In spite of her [High-Speed Divine Language], I have never had any trouble catching Medea's invocations. Maybe that's one of those secret nifty advantages from a Master/Servant's bond? Like Mashu's granting poison immunity?
[Reflowering Utopia!]
There's a blinding flash of purple light as her spell circles explode and Medea falls to her knees, looking utterly exhausted. At first, nothing seems to happen beyond an ominous silence descending into this place again, but soon enough...
An unearthly screech that seems to hurt my brain without having the consideration of first going through my ears makes me look at the titanic shape of the Cursed Shade Lord, which suddenly seems intent on clawing at its own chest as it swells bizarrely.
Its cries and efforts grow in pitch and urgency as the swell increases, slowly giving the dark giant a distinctly spherical shape.
A hint of golden light escapes from inside, rapidly followed by many more. As the creature of shade and hate stretches out and unravels, the source of the swelling is revealed: A sphere of golden light steadily growing from inside.
And, at the very center, Haku's body. Naked like the day she was born and seemingly unconscious, but looking just as beautiful as ever. With a last, pained groan, the Cursed Shade Lord burst into nothingness, the sphere of light popping like a bubble immediately afterwards.
"Well Master?" Medea asks smugly as Haku's body slowly floats towards us. "Do I do good work or what?"
I answer the only way I can, with incredulousness. "'Reflowering'?"
There's only one Magus of Flowers, after all. And he does happen to be related to the Arthurian legends.
Medea looks away, cheeks painted red. "... I feel dirty just by working with that man."
… I'm sure there's a great story there, but I'll let Medea enjoy her victory for now and save my questions for later.
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