[Chapter 41] Traveling

Gore ahead. I probably wrote it like shit, but I thought that putting a warning would be for the best.

Maybe horror, as well.

–––

In the air, dozens of spaceships could be seen, blocking light from reaching down below.

"Departing in five minutes!" An officer with a police cap on his head shouted, causing the people entering a portal to move quicker.

...

"Are we ready?" Alex asked Nero who was the pilot.

After all, she had an EX-rank riding skill.

"Umu!" Nero nodded with enthusiasm. "We are ready for take-off!"

"That's good." Alex nodded. "I'll go check on others."

...

After opening the door towards his Servants' room, Alex quickly sighted a specific saint looking outside through a window.

"Is everyone in the ship yet?" He asked as he walked next to her.

"Mhm." Jeanne nodded her head. "Can we go now?"

"You're impatient, aren't you?" Alex chuckled before focusing on his link with Nero. [We're ready to go, Nero.]

[Uh-huh.] Alex could picture her nodding. [In three, two...]

With a loud noise, the spaceships turned towards the sky.

"All passengers, please tie your seatbelts. I repeat. All passengers, please tire your seatbelts." A robotic voice spoke before a blue light appeared behind the thrusters.

[...And one!] And with a flash of blue light, the ships took off.

...

~Time Skip (A Few Minutes)~

"This is much calmer than I expected," Alex said as he sat down between Artoria and Eresh.

He noticed the kids looking out of the windows, including Jack.

He had already made sure that the doors wouldn't open without his permission, as he didn't want people to die.

It was at that moment, however, that he started to get a bad feeling.

It seems Artoria felt it too; as her body tensed. "Master, I feel like something bad is about to happen."

"Indeed." If even his D-Rank instincts were screaming at him, then obviously something was about to happen. [Everyone, come over here.]

After giving out his command, Alex quickly focused on his links with Eresh and Nero. He sent his mana to the links, not wanting to be separated from them.

Fuck no, that would be so cliche.

Afterward, he unfastened his seatbelt before going next to a window.

His Divinity suddenly activated, letting him see beyond what a regular human could.

As Alex surveyed the outside world with his now dark blue eyes that had a shade of yellow, he heard footsteps behind the metal door.

"What happened?" Cu asked, Emiya next to him.

The two had developed a good relationship, occasionally going fishing together.

"Something is about to happen," Alex answered as he summoned Svalinn. If something actually attacked them, he was ready to face its blow(s).

"I see i–" Before he could finish his words, their spaceships were forcefully pulled out of hyperdrive.

BZZZT!

BOOM!

Electricity ravaged the area around them, yet the supernaturals didn't falter.

"GET BEHIND ME!" With a shout, Alex activated Svalinn's unique ability.

BANG!

A mass of green gas was blocked by a golden barrier, sending a massive shockwave outward.

"$½#½#½#$...?" Incomprehensible words were heard by the group, causing them to close their ears with mana.

While the Servants were feeling pain in their ears, Alex was feeling pain in his soul. It was like something deep within telling him that he was inferior.

"£$#½½$...!" With a mad laugh, another wave of green gas hit the barrier, causing cracks to appear on it.

Thinking that being on the defensive would only lead to their death, Alex used Infinity to teleport them out of the spaceship.

It seems that the being didn't care about the passengers, as it followed after them.

"Artoria!"

"Understood!" Nodding her head, Artoria unsheathed her sword. "Ex–"

And swung it down. "–Calibur!"

A wave of golden light touched the green gas, yet the amount it burned kept replenishing.

"What the fuck are you?!" Alex cursed before opening a few hundred gates to his Treasury.

'Go!' He ordered them, causing the weapons to shoot out. The armaments went many times faster than the speed of sound, making contact with the green gas before exploding.

"$#>$>...? WAHWAHWHA>#£>ÆAW#>!" Madly laughing, the being finally showed its complete form.

Well, not that it had one. It looked like a sea of green mist, yet just looking at it caused the group's eyes to bleed.

It seemed especially effective against gods, as Eresh and Alex had to shut their sense of sight off.

Grunting from the pain, Alex summoned Excalibur. Planting his feet to the ground, the boy shot towards the wave of mist.

A bright golden light erupted from within Excalibur, shrouding the boy from the mist.

Then, the pommel of the sword turned into particles of light, the particles forming another blade just under the sword's hilt.

The sword with two blades hummed in the air, discharging an explosion after.

"#>#>?" The Green Mist absorbed the light before pushing Alex out of its body.

BANG!

Flipping in the air, Alex transformed into his serpent form.

Fight big things with big things, his father had said.

Taking those words to heart, Alex shapeshifted into the hugest form he could muster, dwarfing the spaceships my many times.

ROAAAAR!

The white serpent roared like a beast, diving towards the green mist after.

"#½$£$£... /(/(&WA%&AWQ!" The Green Mist laughed before transforming a part of it into tentacles.

However, Alex just coiled around them.

"Su'um Do Revak Zun–!" A silver spear shot out from the serpent's mouth, bringing a wave of golden light with it.

"–Yol!" It then promptly exploded, producing a mushroom cloud.

"$>#<1"2'6'..." Unfortunately for the serpent, the green mist ignored his blow and used its tentacles to hold him tight.

ROAR!

No matter how much the snake roared, the being ignored it before using his body as a club to crush his Servants.

BANG!

The space around them trembled as the group tried to evade the mist's blows.

The keyword is 'tried,' as only some of them could avoid it.

Cu, EMIYA, and Jack were crushed by their Master's body, their souls being automatically picked up by Alex's Divinity.

The white beast roared, yet his words went unnoticed as the green mist continued to use him like a beating stick.

[Jeanne!] Alex spoke to the woman, getting her out of her shock.

She placed one of her feet forward before planting her flag to the ground. "Luminosité Eternelle!"

Golden particles formed a shield in front of her, surprisingly being able to take the blow.

"#£#>#>...!" Seemingly angry, the mist sent out an ear-piercing noise, causing Jeanne to flinch.

She could feel her brain going haywire, giving the woman an intense headache.

Then, the thing struck again, causing the blonde to take several steps back.

Seeing another blow coming, Jeanne tried to compose herself, only to fail it as her shield was crushed, sending her flying.

The people behind her were picked up by the shockwave, too, much to her objection.

ROAR!

Alex roared before shooting out another weapon from within his mouth.

Finally free from the thing's grip, the white beast rotated in the air before a massive shield appeared behind him, protecting his Servants.

He then used his Divinity to the maximum, causing him great pain yet doing its job.

"Do you even know who you're fighting against, lowly reptile?!" The Green Mist said with a mocking laugh.

"I don't," Alex spoke. "I only know that you're an enemy."

"So you finally understand me, huh." The thing changed its shape, now looking like a serpent. "I didn't expect to encounter that thing's spawn here."

"Come and fight me, you lowly reptile!" GM (Green Mist) said with a crazy laugh, diving to the boy despite its words.

BANG!

The two serpents clashed, the area around them rupturing from the sheer power they were releasing.

It's worth noting that they were in the Void, a place that had both nothing and everything. (A/N: I also don't know what it means, but most novels say it, so I wrote it too.)

By rupturing, the author meant opening portals to other worlds. Unstable portals, if I may add.

"Shinra Tensei!" An unknown voice said as a wave of rock and debris came from within a crack in space.

That debris hit the white beast but barely caused any damage.

"–HAMEHA!" A giant blue beam of energy came from a portal, hitting the GM, causing a hole to appear in its form that was filled immediately after.

"Take this, mongrel!" A voice known to many said as hundreds of weapons shot out from the portal, piercing both Alex's flesh and GM's form.

"ROADA ROLLA DA!" A yellow road roller hit the white beast, causing him to curse. 'What the fuck is happening?!'

He felt a piercing pain in his mind, causing the GM to take advantage of it and bite his neck.

Alex, despite flinching from the pain, used the opportunity to fire a particular lance.

'Rhongomyniad!' A golden beam of light shot out from his mouth, separating the head of the serpent from its body.

However, more mist appeared, the damage he had done disappearing.

"Tsss. That's the sound you reptiles make, no?" The thing grinned before coiling around him. "Time for round 2!" It bit the serpent's head off, revealing a white-haired boy with scales as his skin. His teeth were sharp, like vampire fangs.

The GM bit the boy's chest, throwing him to Svalinn that was behind him.

BANG!

The hole on his chest quickly disappeared, scaled flesh replacing it. His yellowish blue eyes glowed as he gazed at the towering serpent up above.

Longinus appeared in his hand, the twin blades of the spear having a transparent bubble in between

That bubble was a replica of his Treasury, a place he had created just now. Everything there was a replica of the original.

'Go!'

The red spear was thrown at an insane speed, seemingly teleporting.

BOOM!

An explosion of weapons happened when the spear made contact with the mist's head, causing the GM to release a piercing cry.

"That hurt, you dinosaur!" The GM cried out before diving towards him. However, when its body was about to meet the boy, its serpentine body discharged into a cloud of mist.

That same mist entered the bodies of everyone in the group, including Alex.

~In the Illusion~

[Artoria POV]

What the hell is happening? Where am I?! I remember Master fighting with that thing– AGH!

What is this piercing pain!

*Artoria falls to the ground, her hands holding her head.*

Stop it!

*Artoria thrashes around for a few minutes, only stopping the struggle after hearing a voice.*

"Fufu, how nice it is to see you again, little sister." No, it can't be!

*Artoria turns towards the woman who called her little sister.*

"Morgan...!"

"Correct!" Why is she of all people here!

"How nice it is to meet you again~" Nononononononononononono...

*Artoria searches for her sword yet doesn't find it.*

"ARGH!"

...

[EMIYA POV]

Hmmm...? How interesting.

*EMIYA looks around, a carefree smile on his face.*

Huh...? Is that Rin? And Saber?

*He inspects them.*

Quite a good illusion, I have to give the man that. Now, let's see what will happen.

...

[Jeanne POV]

What is this place?

*Jeanne turns around, only to see herself burning.*

Is that me...? But that happened years ago.

*She approaches the cross, feeling up her body.*

Why am I here again? I have long accepted that this was all Lord's will.

Is this one of those 'illusion' abilities that Master talked about?

Weird...

...

[Cu Chulainn POV]

Where the fuck am I.

*Cu turns around, only to see someone similar to his Shishou.*

"Shishou?" Why is she here?

"Hoh. I'm not your Shishou, kid." Why do you have Gae Bolg, then?!

"Well, I'm her. Not from your universe, though." That bastard had talked to me about this; multiverse theory or something.

"I wonder if you will last as long as the Cu in my universe." Why are you smiling like that, bastard!

"Okay. Now, let's see if you remember the things I taught you."

*Cu screams, trying his best to run away from the man with a bloodthirsty smile.*

...

[Jack POV]

T-This place!

*Jack quickly turns around, paling when she notices the area she is in.*

"Why am I here! Where is big brother?!"

*She runs around, only to see one of her victim's corpses stepping up.*

"Wwahwhaha!" NO!

"C'mere, Jackie~." Go away, go away! I want to see my big brother!

*Jack frantically turns back, only to see another one of her victims closing in on her.*

"G-Go away!"

"PLEASE GO AWAY!"

...

[Scathach POV]

"Hahaha! Come at me!"

*Scathach exchanges blows with a fake version of Cu, thinking that she was finally going to lose and die.*

*Hours pass, Scathach eventually dropping to the ground.*

"Come on, kill me!"

"I refuse." Wait, what?

*Fake Cu withdraws his spear away from Scathach's neck.*

"Are you deaf? I said I refuse!"

"This is your fate. You will live until the end of time, no matter what you do."

"I see." What a bummer.

...

[Nero POV]

Cough! Where am I? that mist stank so bad....

*Nero looks around, only to see a certain someone.*

"Alex?" It's good that he is here. Shouldn't he be fighting with that green thing, though?

*Fake Alex slowly turns towards her, almost robotically.*

Something isn't right. "Alex?"

*Fake Alex rips his skin off, revealing a dark, sticky substance.*

"Come here, Nero~."

"You aren't Alex!" Where do I go?!

"Awww, I'm hurt, darling."

*He says in a glitchy voice, slowly walking to her.*

"Go away, you faker!"

...

[Ereshkigal POV]

My head, my head!

*Ereshkigal wipes her bleeding eyes with her hand. However, at that moment–*

"Get off me!"

*Eresh screams as black chains wrap themselves around her limbs, pulling her down to a crack below.*

"Alex?" Yes, he is here!

*Fake Alex crouches down to the pleading Eresh who only had her arms and head above the ground.*

*He then gets up, pressing on her hand*

"AH!"

*Eresh cries out in pain, losing her grip and falling down.*

"WHY!"

...

(A/N: Merlin and Myrddin won't have a part since I couldn't find a fear for them. Also, my hands fucking hurt.)

[Alex POV]

That piece of shit, I'm going to kill it!

*Alex raises his hands, only to abruptly stop.*

"Jack?" Why is she laying like that? Normally, she would come and jump on m–

"JACK!"

*Alex runs next to the girl, only to see her limbless, a black liquid dripping from her mouth.*

"Nononoononono. NO!" Why is she of all peo–

*Alex's train of thought stops as two muddy hands touch his shoulders.*

"Come with us, love~."

"Everyone is waiting for you~."

"Get off me!" Were they Nero and Eresh?!

"Come on~"

*Fake Eresh sits on top of him.*

"You killed us, after all."

"I didn't!"

*Alex shoves them away.*

"WAHWHAAWHA!" That's definitely not Eresh!

"You want proof~? There you go." T-This!

*Alex stutters as he watches Eresh forcefully dragged to Kur, Artoria getting tortured by Morgan, Cu getting tortured by a male Scathach, and Nero frantically running from an evil version of himself.*

"N-No..." Why them?

"Come and accept your punishment, dear."

I'm a terrible Master, am I not?

*Alex collapses to the ground, seeing his beast-like version reflecting on the rainwater. He touches his scaled flesh before his conversation with Jormun comes to his mind.*

"What would you do for them..." Everything.

[What would you do for them?]

"Everything."

[Good choice. Now, this will hurt a bit.]

*Alex doesn't even react as a white tentacle burst out from his chest.*

"What is that thing thinking!" I have no idea, you faker.

"ARGH!"

*Alex screams in pain as the space around him shatters.*

...

[Third Person POV]

Within the Void, two god-like presences could be seen. One of them was a wave of green mist, one of the weaker Outer Gods.

The other, however, was a giant white creature with strangely bent limbs, claw-like hands with long fingers, a mass of tentacles instead of a lower-body, folded wings behind his back, a skeletal structure instead of a torso that had a golden core in the middle, tentacles coming out of his nape, and a head split in half.

"½#½½#$#£$£$£>½$#{..." The white creature spoke, turning behind to look at his Servants.

"P...R...O...T...E...C...T"

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2,736 words.

One more chapter (I think) before the MCU arc.

I'm 100% gonna cringe at this in a few chapters.

Good night.