Vol 2. Chapter 43. Broken.
Giving the sprawled Alistair a smile, I gave him a small wave with my undamaged arm. "I'll see you soon," I said warmly, before teleporting away into the neighboring room.
The second my feet made contact with the floor, I slumped against the wall, and used my good arm to cover my mouth. Like a dam bursting forth, blood spewed out from my mouth, after having been allowed to accumulate for too long in my lungs, staining my hand red.
Focusing on pumping more Mana into Avalon, I felt the weak magic I had used to stitch my arm back onto my stump recede, causing it to fall off with a splat.
Having a fractured Saint Graph was more painful than I had imagined, as every second my body was deteriorating, tearing itself at the seams. If not for Avalon, and forcefully inscribing binding runes all over my Saint Graph to keep it together, I wouldn't have lasted a minute.
But even with Avalon working overtime to keep my body in one piece, the blood that was spilled every time a new wound opened up still accumulated, and too much had been pooling inside my lungs, making it hard to breathe.
I had suppressed the pain, even pretended to shrug off losing an arm, all to make sure Alistair wouldn't worry too much. But now that I was behind closed doors, I could finally let go of the facade.
Bending forwards, I started coughing up more blood, trying my best to expel all the accumulated extra blood in my system.
After coughing up blood for an entire minute, I removed my hand from my mouth and grimaced at the amount of blood I had coughed up.
Straightening up, I waddled over to a couch, before unceremoniously falling onto it. Conjuring a few runes, I performed a quick self-diagnosis.
The results that returned only caused me to grimace. My Mana rank had dropped down to 'C' Rank, bordering 'D' Rank, thanks to the overexertion in the fight, further splintering my Saint Graph.
That alone was worse news than the news that all of my physical stats had taken another hit, except my Endurance, which had already been at rock bottom.
At this rate, my three-hour deadline would be over in an hour tops. As while my Saint Graph continued to fracture, once my Mana fell down to 'D' Rank, my spell would be unable to keep the Saint Graph together, and I'd die.
My theorized three-hour maximum was now cut to an hour, which was being generous. Realistically, to last that full hour, I'd need to lie down and not strain my body.
While I was unwilling to do such a thing, I knew that I needed to rest for a minute to allow Avalon to work its magic in ideal conditions.
In the meantime, I'd investigate what Gilgamesh's last attack did.
With a mere thought, I created a butterfly construct, which quickly flew out of the room, and headed for the trap that I had sprung on Gilgamesh.
Calmly placing a hand on my chest, I slowly regulated my breath, trying my best to calm my body.
After a few slow inhales, allowing my breath to calm down, along with my body to release some of its pent up tension.
Upon feeling some semblance of calm, I felt a ping from my construct, notifying me of it having completed its task.
Closing my eyes, I connected my vision with it, allowing me to see a small hole in the concrete walls. Frowning slightly, I ordered the butterfly to enter the hole, and follow the path Gilgamesh's weapon had created.
As it flew further down, I started to hear something similar to flowing water. Frowning slightly, I conjured an orb of light in front of the butterfly, illuminating the rocky surroundings.
Continuing forwards, I was met with a small waterfall of Grail Mud clogging the path, but clearly using the tunnel as an irrigation duct.
The sight made me frown, as I had created something similar to a barrel for the Mud to be collected, so as to minimize the damages. But now it had been punctured, and used to transport Mud to someplace.
Using the fact that the tunnel had to be in a straight line, I dispelled the glowing orb and butterfly, and made a mental map of where the 'irrigation duct' would flood the Mud.
A quick overview allowed me to notice an unsettling truth. It was heading straight for the garage where I had set up the Kirei and Kiritsugu fight to happen.
As teleportation was too costly right now, I returned to the basics, and sunk into my shadow, using the amplified speed boost to reach the underground carpark with record speeds.
As I entered, I felt the entire floor having been covered in mud within the short period of time between Gilgamesh's attack and now.
As I was technically under the Mud, I felt a bit of my senses dulled by the interference the Mud gave off, but I could still almost instantly tell that there were two corpses, no, one corpse, and one near corpse in the mud.
Reaching the half dead man, I quickly pulled him into the shadows, causing some Mud to spill in, but it didn't touch me, so it was fine.
Grabbing the form of one Kirei Kotominei, I easily placed a hand on his chest, feeling the Mud trying to revitalise him, probably hoping to use him to fulfill Avenger's wish.
Giving him another scan, I clicked my tongue, as I received little feedback, thanks to the Mud interfering.
Not wanting to take the risk that Kirei was already conversing with Angra Mainyu, I flooded his body with Mana.
His body twitched at the sudden flow of energy, before his chest exploded, following the rest of his body.
But as that happened, I felt metal piercing my body, like shrapnel, causing me to widen my eyes.
My body burned, as blood leaked from my arms, torso, and legs, as bits and pieces of what could only have been a Noble Phantasm pierced my body.
Fixing my eyes on the deteriorating body of Kirei, I watched on in mild disbelief, as I saw a hilt of a dagger slowly turn into motes of mana, before vanishing.
Gilgamesh must have pumped that dagger with enough Mana to be on the verge of exploding, as the Mana I flooded into Kirei should have only marginally entered the dagger, as it wasn't the main recipient.
As I stared at the dissipating dagger, I felt something burning my arm.
Looking at it, I watched as multiple droplets of Mud landed on my skin, causing it to sizzle.
Looking up, I watched as large gashes in the space above me had been formed, allowing for the Mud to seep through.
Starting up a teleportation spell, I felt an instant pang in my Saint Graph, causing me to cough out more blood.
The damn shards had punctured my body too deeply!
Almost with a resigned air, I watched as a large pool of Mud fell onto me.
The pain was instant, and I shut my eyes.
Avalon could be felt working overtime, as my skin sizzled, and my body further deteriorated.
But in a flash, it all vanished.
Blinking open my eyes, I found myself sitting on a bench, staring into a forest from a lower perspective than I was used to.
"A beautiful sight, isn't it?" Came a voice from next to me, but the familiar tone and gentleness caused me to stiffen.
Slowly turning my head to the side, I was met with a figure I hadn't seen in hundreds of years. Her soft blue eyes staring into the forest, her long and slightly curled black hair, and that gentle face which radiated warmth.
But that sight… no, knowing the person wearing that face, Mom's face, made my heart go cold.
"I wish to die," I said unhesitatingly. I refused to have my wish twisted to help this bastard wearing Mothers face, so I'd rather have mutual destruction on the two of us. Not seeing Alistair again would be painful, but I refuse to give this monster a chance to ruin his life.
He'd search for the Third Magic even without my presence, and I am willing to put my life on the line to bet that he'd bring me back regardless of the outcome of this war.
The creature wearing my Mother's face only sighed, before looking at me from the corner of her eyes, something far too similar to an action Mom would do when disappointed.
"I see… then we'll have to do things the hard way," she said in a resigned tone of voice, before standing up, shaking her head. "I'll let the two of you unite once more then," she said ominously, before vanishing from her spot.
Her words caused my eyes to widen, before I heard another voice, one that had been in my head for too long. "Morgan?"
Slowly focusing back on the forest, I came to notice it was gone, revealing instead a lime green grass field, with gentle hills, and beautiful flowers scattered around.
But in the middle of it all, stood a woman with long golden hair, reaching the grass, large rainbow colored butterfly wings, with large kind blue eyes.
The second our eyes locked, I felt an immense headache… no, it wasn't a headache… the voices.
%Where is Merlin?% [I love flowers.] ^We once danced by moonlight—do you recall?^ ?I miss Lancelot? |Please die.| §I should go on a walk.§ {Morgan, the Rune—} [No one loves you.] %What is my other half doing here?% ?I should visit Merlin?
Before I could think, I was down on one knee, and clutching at my head while panting.
It hurts… It really hurts.
The sound of feet running on grass caused me to look up nervously, allowing me to see a completely blank look on Vivian's face, as she was almost face to face with me, even crouching to look me in the eyes.
%Morgan… we despise your every breath.% [No one will ever love you.] ^Your words once meant something, so why do they only carry lies?^ ?Kill yourself.? |You are a disgrace!| §Why live, when you bring no value?§
I felt my pulse rapidly increase, as I tried to shut out the voices.
They hadn't been this bad since… since my last days alive…
Widening my eyes, I suddenly felt I knew what was about to happen.
Pressing her forehead to mine, I watched as the neutral face of Vivian morphed into one full of malice.
%Kill yourself.% [Return to me.] ^Die for all the sins you have committed!^ ?Kill yourself.? |Filth like you should die!| §Make me whole!?§
The voices' volume quadrupled in noise, causing me to clutch at my head, while trying to block it all out.
"Stop it," I murmured meekly, feeling the pain flair at my demand.
Feeling my nails dig into the side of my head, and the voices return in an even louder chorus, I yelled back. "STOP IT!"
"Morgan?"
Alistair's worried tone caused me to snap open my eyes, and my mind instantly cleared up.
Looking around, I lowered my hand as I gave our workshop a once-over.
On the table lay a sleeping Sakura, who was recovering from the worm removal, along with Alistair standing across from me, while giving me a warm, but worried look.
"Are you alright?" He continued, and I only dumbly nodded while looking around.
What was I doing?
Before this, I aws ihnitggf gAanr uasyMni nauecnilf, I was healing Sakura, and let it slip that I wanted to stay after the war.
Seemingly seeing that I was alright, Alistair asked the question once more.
"What is your wish, Morgan?"
It was not quite the question he had posed to me earlier, but he was clearly only asking for a more fulfilling answer.
"I–I," I started nervously, not quite sure if he'd accept. "I wish to be truly incarnated, I want to live fully, and properly in this modern age," I explained, and a soft, genuine smile spread over Alistair's face.
"Your wish is granted."
Huh?
~~Fate/False Order~~
It burns… everything burns…
Cracking open my eyes, I was met with falling debris, thick, smog-like air, and unbearable pain concentrated on my leg, along with the feeling of being dragged.
Turning my head slightly around, I gave the crumbling walls and small fires a once-over.
How did I end up h—!?
With a painful squeeze on my left leg, I felt the haze clouding my mind vanish, and my head snapped up. The action caused my whole body to shake, and my back to cry with protest… but all notions of pain vanished at the sight in front of me.
What the fuck!?
In the room that once was 'Caster's' workshop, now lay in ruins, but something else had taken up residence. In the center, where the Grail had eroded a hole, now towered a giant black fleshy embryo, with four eyes, surrounded by something resembling a see-through fleshy egg. Giant roots seemed to sprout out from the bottom, and one of them had snaked itself around my leg.
I was quickly drawn out of my stupor, as the root gripping my leg squeezed my leg even harder, causing me to wince.
Using my left arm, I threw it backwards, and slammed it into the concrete, using my fingers to dig into it to slow my kidnapping.
The action only slowed my dragging by a fraction, as my fingers dug trenches into the concrete below, causing me to feel my nails slowly flaking off.
Gritting my teeth, I channeled even more strength into my grip, pushing my entire hand into the concrete.
This one action caused me to stop moving, but the root locked around my leg continued to pull, and I could feel the strength it used to do so slowly increase.
Ignoring the painful sensation, I locked eyes on the abomination a few dozen meters away from me, which stared back at me with its four eyes.
How the fuck had this disgusting thing been reborn? No one had touched the Grail, hell, Morgan and I had ensured no-one would be around the Grail, nor its mud to ensure that no-one experienced something similar to what Kiritsugu did in Fate/Zero.
But the abomination being born in front of me proved that we hadn't been careful enough.
Focusing hard, I tried to connect to Morgan's bounded field, ignoring the slight pang of emptiness I felt at not feeling our connection.
As I felt the connection, I instantly knew it was too broken to work. From my prone position, I could barely even see any walls still standing where Morgan had inscribed her runes, the lack of an activation was the final nail in the coffin.
If it hadn't been for that Excal— no, I didn't have time to think about that now… I didn't have time to spare to think back on it… I—I couldn't waste the chance I was given.
Raising my other arm, I shakily pointed it in the direction of the freak of nature ahead of me.
Slowly motes of light congealed around my hand, before elongating and forming my lance.
Gripping onto the featherlight material, I watched as practically all four of the monster's eyes squinted.
The root around my leg started to move up my leg, before trying to burrow itself into the open wound, from Gilgamesh's swords that had reopened.
The sudden attack caused me to almost loosen my grip on Rhongomyniad, only for me to grit my teeth and ignore the pain.
"Sacred Lance," I gritted out, feeling the sudden increase of mana in the surroundings at my words. "Removing Restraints!"
[Activation valid, procedure initiated.] Chimed the voice of the magus Morgan hated the most.
[Bedivere: The Enemy Must Be More Powerful Than Oneself.] Said the voice in my head, before the sound of multiple voices spoke at once. [Condition Met.]
[Palamedes: The Battle Must Be One-On-One.] It continued, before another choir of voices spoke. [Condition Met.]
With two restraints being removed, the lance started to glow, particles of light erupting from between the interlocked metal on the lance.
"Split the Heavens," I chanted, while hearing the next set of conditions.
[Lancelot: The Enemy Must Not Be An Elemental.] Merlin spoke, followed only by a choir of affirmation. [Condition Met.]
[Mordred: The Battle Must Be Against Evil.] He continued. [Condition Met.] The voices said in unison.
"And tether the Earth," I gritted out, pointedly not looking down at the root, which I felt entered my leg.
[Galahad: The Battle Must Not Be For Personal Gain.] Merlin said in a calm tone of voice, but with the pain coursing through my body, I felt that he was speaking too slowly. [Condition Met.]
Tightening my grip to the concrete, I gritted my teeth as I tried not to lose concentration to the pain. [Gaheris: The Battle Must Not Be Against Humanity.] I heard, before the choir answered. [Condition Met.]
"Anchor of the Storm!" I bit out, though my voice sounded incredibly strained.
[Gareth: The Battle Must Not be Inhumane.] Merin continued. [Condition Met.]
As the seventh restraint was released, a ripple effect happened, and all the coils and metal stands on the lance loosened, spilling out a near-blinding amount of light.
I felt a wave of calm encompass me, and the pain momentarily dulled.
The foul evil in front of me seemed to feel that something had changed, as now multiple roots extended from beneath the embryo, and slithered towards me.
[Agravain: The Battle Must Be For Truth.] He said in his calm, and incredibly slow tone of voice. [Condition Met.]
"O'Light!" I spat, glaring at the roots that had almost crossed the distance in a second.
[Kay: The Battle Must Be To Live.] Merlin said, as the roots reached me. One latched onto my other leg, quickly trying to burrow into my other open wound, while another tried to get close to the lance. [Condition Met.]
With that, more light spewed out, and the root that was getting close to the lance, practically atomized as it got too close to the burning light.
I could barely hear Merlin's next condition, as another root wrapped itself around my midsection. [Percival: The Battle Must Be An Honorable One.]
[Condition Met.] Sounded the choir, just as the roots managed to start pulling me closer to the terrifying embryo.
"May you be released from the Ends of the World!" I said with all my remaining might, as the pain I was receiving was finally starting to register properly.
[Tristan: The Battle Must Not Be Against One Pure Of Heart.] [Condition Met.]
[Merlin: The Battle Must Be To Defend Human Order.] Said the Magus of Flowers, followed by only his own voice dealing out the verdict. [Condition Met.]
"Rhongo—" I started, as I felt the last condition make itself known in my head.
This time, an all too well known voice spoke up. [Arthur: The Battle Must Be To Save The World.] Followed by the same stern feminine voice speaking once more. [Condition Met.]
Rhongomyniad started to tremble in my grip, its tightly knitted steel exterior bubbling like hot water, almost spilling out light from within.
[All Seals Have Been Removed, Good Luck.] Spoke Merlin in a grave tone, before the Lance's light became blinding.
Strength flooded my body, causing me to feel almost invincible for a moment. Leaning my body more upwards, I thrusted forwards with my lance. "MYNIAAAAAD!"
Light burst, illuminating the entire room. I could even feel the roots burrowing into me, and dragging me disintegrate in an instant.
In a flash, the Rhongomyniad's light vanished, and with it, the lance disappeared.
Blinking my eyes, I looked at my hand with disbelief, as it was empty, before looking at the untouched incarnation of evil.
It… faile—
Before I could finish my depressing thought, light illuminated the night sky, causing me to look up.
Saber's Excalibur blast had blown away the roof, allowing me to see the cloudy night sky suddenly part.
A giant lance—no. A giant tower of light descended from the sky, turning night into day in an instant.
It was beautiful.
Forcing my eyes to stay open, I watched as the light impacted the embryo, not even receiving a hint of resistance, as it continued its descent.
I could feel its impact, as the building started to violently shake, followed by a giant boom, causing the walls and roof surrounding me to fall apart.
Cracks littered the ground, and I could see multiple places where the floor had already given way.
The sight of everything shaking caused me to panic.
Raising my shaking hand towards the giant pillar of light, I focused on it, beginning—no, ordering it to return to me.
Heeding my command, the pillar burst like a balloon, causing a near-infinite amount of particles of light to burst from the once solid tower.
As the light fell, they quickly formed a river of brilliant energy, before rushing at me.
I didn't have a moment to react as I felt the light enter me.
Pain.
Excruciating pain flooded each of my nerves, my entire body felt as if it was on fire.
I could feel my body thrash at the sudden feeling, but I felt not a hint of control of the action. I felt my throat grow hoarse, as I screamed, not finding the strength to stop it.
As I thrashed, I felt a wave of cool energy pervade my body, causing me to stop spasming, allowing me to take a deep breath.
Though my head felt murky, almost like a deep haze muddling my mind.
"—IR!" I registered a voice coming from the surroundings, causing me to slightly turn my head in the direction.
Flying through the air, I saw a very familiar veil clad woman, though her erratic body language was very unlike her.
"ALISTAIR!" She yelled, as she bridged the distance in an instant, kneeling down the second she arrived next to me.
Gently, she pulled my body closer to her, causing me to give a relieved sigh.
She was alive… and somehow with a second arm?
Regardless, I felt a lot of stress leave my body as she practically cradled my head.
I was in good hands…
~~Fate/False Order~~
Blinking open my eyes, I studied the odd surroundings. A viscous, corrosive black liquid surrounded my body, and I felt it attempting to merge with myself. Not that it would be able to do such a thing with Avalon protecting me.
Pushing myself up from the filthy floor, I floated up, easily expelling the corrosive liquid before it could damage me.
Looking at it, I gave a contemplative hum.
I was unsure on how I had been summoned, but I felt… almost too powerful. Nor was my summoner anywhere nearby, which is understandable, as they seemed to have tried to corrupt me.
Frowning slightly, I closed my eyes and performed a scan of myself.
…
What?!
Snapping open my eyes, I scanned my body once more.
Not believing my spell, I raised a hand, and pressed it against my chest, allowing me to feel the rhythmic beat of my heart.
…I was alive… no, I was truly incarnated from the Throne of Heroes.
The only question was, how?
Removing the hand from my chest, I used it to cup my chin, lightly rubbing it.
The obvious answer was that the Third Magician had incarnated me, but I found such a notion incredibly unlikely.
Using the innate connection I now had to the Throne, I checked if I had any second hand records, only finding one under the Ruler Class.
That was… Odd.
Ruler was the least likely Class for me to be summoned under, and the one with the lowest chance of me getting a wish under.
But it was the only one that had been used.
Feeling the record, I raised my eyebrows with surprise, as the single record was over six months long, which should be impossible.
If a Ruler is summoned, it tends to be due to it being a Great Holy Grail War, and that would last a month at most, not six.
Hesitating slightly, I assimilated the record.
Instantly, I felt six months of memories, feelings and thoughts flood my mind, all playing out in slow motion.
For me, six months had once more passed, but upon finishing the record, only a second had transpired.
Panting slightly, I felt a bone deep sense of panic grow.
Where was Angra Mainyu?!
And more importantly, where was Alastair?
Recognising this place as the garage I had entered before being consumed by the Grail's Mud, I spread out my senses, allowing me to feel a giant Mana signature, that radiated malice on an unprecedented scale.
The bastard was about to be born!
Quickly calculating the coordinates, I was about to teleport, as I felt another, but much larger, signature appear in the sky.
Re-rooting my teleportation, I appeared atop the garage in time to see a giant tower of light crash onto the burning building, skewering it, before crashing into the earth.
The attack completely eviscerated the signature of Angra Mainyu, but as that happened, the entire city began to quake, as buildings started to shake, including the one I stood upon.
Covering my eyes from the blinding light, I felt intense worry, as what I assumed to be Rhongomyniad burrowed deeper and deeper into the Earth's crust, only worsening the earthquake it was creating.
As if answering my prayers, the tower of light burst into golden particles, before disappearing.
Removing the hand, I felt some calm wash over me, before I felt it.
The deep hole the lance had created radiated with True Ether, which meant only one thing… Alistair had punched a small hole into the reverse side.
This was a catastrophe, if allowed to stay open, Phantasmal Beasts would emerge, and Alaya would likely send in Counter Guardians to erase the entire city off the map to ensure the continued wellbeing of the world.
Knowing that time was of the essence, I spread a giant bounded field over the entire shopping district, blocking any scrying or observant eyes from trying to locate the disturbance, blinding them, and hopefully the world.
Teleporting right above the hole, I hesitated. I could feel something trying to enter through the hole Alistair had created, but I needed to check in on him.
But before I could make up my mind, I saw the slightest shimmer of a kaleidoscopic range of colors at the bottom of the hole Alistair had made, and with it, the feeling of the True Ether retracted like the tide, and the connection to the Reverse Side vanished.
Seeing it, I couldn't help but curse under my breath.
Only one man would be able to close such a tear in reality in this day and age, and he was not one to be trifled with.
He was among the few I was afraid of catching wind of this situation, but I suppose such a tear in reality would catch the eyes of the Kaleidoscope before I could do anything to hide it.
Teleporting up to the floor where the Grail had been kept, I was dragged out of my thoughts by an agonising scream, from a voice all too familiar.
Snapping my head in its direction, I could barely make sight of a man further into the building, thrashing around, screaming, while his mangled legs leaked blood at an astonishing rate as he was surrounded by the fire which was all too prevalent on this floor.
Feeling my blood go cold at the sight, I cast a dozen pain relief spells on him, before flying towards him. "ALISTAIR!" I yelled, though he barely seemed to register, as he seemed to collapse from the sudden relief of pain.
Quickly, I casted a slew of stabilization spells on the building, and the floor we were on, as the small earthquake Alistair had created continued to ebb away at the surrounding infrastructure.
The slight turn of his head to look in my direction was the only response I got, as I met a pair of incredibly hollow yellow eyes.
I almost tumbled at the look in his eyes, but instead bridged the gap between us in an instant. "ALISTAIR!" I yelled once more as I got close, scraping my knees against the scoring hot concrete below, while trying to lower myself to get a good look at him.
As I gently raised his head to get it more comfortable, I watched as his eyes seemed to soften upon recognizing me.
I felt my heart sink at the look, as I did not deserve such a look. Not after claiming the Grail, and being the key reason behind his crippled state.
Alistair opened his mouth, but only a rasp came out, causing me to place a finger over his mouth. "Shhh…" I gently said, before placing a hand on my chest, forcing out Avalon, and quickly placing it into him.
His skin was scorching to the touch, but that really didn't matter right now.
I waited for a moment for the effects to start, but to my continued horror, nothing happened.
Seeing his eyelids start to wobble close, I placed a hand on his chest, trying to find out the cause.
Scanning his body, I felt Avalon, but with it, I felt the distinct lack of Od entering it. Instead, I felt something else completely hog all of his available Od, not allowing any of it into Avalon.
Rhongomyniad.
It was leaching off his core like some parasite, overheating his body, but more importantly, not allowing Avalon to work its magic.
Feeling panic well up inside me, I leaned forwards, placed my other hand on his chest, and poured as much Mana as I could into the sheath.
Now hovering over him, Alistair raised a shaky hand, and placed it on the side of my face, causing me to look at him.
He looked so tired.
His body was wrecked. His legs alone would have had to be amputated hadn't I been here, that's without mentioning the myriad of black marks, and small veins extending from them, littering his body.
He'd be a corpse within a few minutes.
As he moved his hand, he lightly gripped at the veil, which I didn't resist, before letting gravity do the work for him. Pulling both my veil, and tiara off in one go, allowing the two to clatter to the floor with a clang.
This was not how I wanted it to happen, but right now, I'm more relieved that it happened.
With our eyes meeting properly for the first time, the smallest of smiles graced his deathly pale face, before a hoarse chuckle escaped his lips.
"Alistair… take a break, your body needs to recover," I said gently, while focusing on pumping as much Mana into Avalon.
I could see its effects taking place, as the dark splodges on his body started to disappear, while leaking out Grail Mud.
The whole ordeal was clearly still taking its toll on Alistair, as he subtly nodded his head as his eyes slowly fluttered close, which was followed quickly by deep rhythmic breaths.
Now that Alistair was out of commission, I allowed the bitterness I was feeling on the inside to show onto my face.
Performing a quick diagnosis over Alistair, I felt my stomach churn at the information I was getting in return.
I could feel the faintest of Saint Graphs in his body, one that clearly wasn't his own, but that of Artoria… And it was so hideously corrupted.
The effects hadn't truly been given the chance to take place, but Angra Mainyu was clearly banking on their compatibility to create a Pseudo-Servant, either using his corpse, or his living body, for Artoria.
Though with the shape of his legs, it looked more like Avenger was going to use his corpse.
It explained the change in Alistair's physical appearance, his hair had changed too. It was too soon to tell if his skin had turned as white as 'Alter Artoria', as he was low on blood, but it seemed a safe guess…
Crushing the Saint Graph, I started to focus on the surroundings.
Where had this all gone wrong?
Looking around the room, I tried to piece things together.
Alistair had been given clear ways to extract Avenger, so even if I was captured by him, and manipulated into saying my wish, he should have had more than enough time to pull him out, and finish him.
Spreading my senses around the room, I was mostly met with residue from Rhongomyniad, and all the curses from Avenger.
As I continued this, I felt an uneasy feeling was over me, as I felt an energy signature far too familiar… one that shouldn't be here.
Excalibur?!
…Impossible, she wouldn't have returned even if she survived Lancelot…
She had promised.
Studying the room once more, I ignored the giant thirty meters in diameter hole Rhongomyniad had made, and looked to see if there were any other signs of struggle.
Upon further study, I could track a singular slash, leading from a point in the sealing, overlapping with the giant hole of Rhongomyniad, and slicing through the building, splitting it in two.
The sight made my heart go cold.
She had ruined this…
The mere thought of what had just gone down almost caused me to stop supplying Avalon with Mana, as I stared daggers into the giant gash Excalibur had carved in the walls.
She promised…
She promised… she promised… promised…
I had to calm my raging emotions, as I watched the shadows of the room rage together with me, almost destroying a few of the stabilisation spells I had used to keep the building together.
As I continued to try to piece things together, I finally noticed something… or rather, the distinct lack of something.
Stiffening up, I hesitantly removed my hands from Alistair, and shakily looked over the building's floor.
Rosalind wasn't here…
Biting my lip, I tried once more.
But not a trace of her was here.
Peacing a few things together, I looked down at Alistair's position, before looking straight at where the Grail had once been.
Alistair was too far away from the Grail, and looking at the surrounding walls was enough to deduce that he was thrown through them, and I was starting to suspect that he wasn't solely thrown back due to the explosion of the Grail.
Taking all that into account, only a single hypothesis crystallized into my head.
Biting my lip, I felt my body start to subtly tremble at the conclusion.
Looking at Alistair, I was starting to question myself. As not only had I failed terrifically, but thanks to being captured by Avenger, I had allowed Rosalind to be implicated in all of this.
Worst of all… there was no body.
Alistair would be burying an empty coffin.
…
…
…
It was not fair.
Rosalind was kind. She had done nothing wrong. Only looking out for others, and even bothering with me.
Lowering my trembling hands, I continued with my treatment, but I couldn't muster the strength to look at his face.
I could feel the slight prickles of water droplets land on my hands, moistening them, along with Alistiar's torn shirt, as I hovered above him.
How could I look at him with a straight face after being the cause of his mother's death, along with holding responsibility for the reason she'd only receive an empty casket?
NO! I was not the only one at fault…
It was her… that foul, ungrateful, thieving, conniving wretch's fault!
She ruined everything…
I'll kill her…
"Artoria…"
—
3 Hours, 23 Minutes And 3 Seconds Until Zero
—
Alistair Pendragon:
Strength: C
Endurance: E (C, currently in critical condition.)
Agility: C+
Mana: A
Luck: N/A (Not quantifiable for a non-servant)
Noble Phantasm: A+++ --> EX (Rhongomyniad)
Magic resistance: A (Ring, otherwise 'B')
Magecraft: B+ --> Age Of Gods Magecraft: E (Rank reflects current mastery, otherwise: A+++)
Dragon's Reactor Core: A
Pure Eyes of Infinite Comprehension: EX
Mana Burst: B (Not yet capable of 'A' Rank)
Protection of the Ends of the World: E --> C++
Divinity: D++
Rhongomyniad: (Unsealed)
Type: Anti-Fortress
Rank: EX
----
A/N
Welcome back, my reader Overlords, please add this to your library and give me some comments, stones and reviews, as it would be much appreciated.
Here we have a short, 6K word chapter... what is my life coming to, this is suddenly considered short...
Oooh! Another small thing, I am happy to announce that with this chapter, Fate False Order, is officially over the 300k word mark! Who would have thought!
Now, there are probably plenty of concerns and questions, leave them here, and I'll try to answer them.
I would wright more, but I want to release this before 6 PM, my time, which is an hour late to when the next day starts on Webnovel for me.
Anyways, hope that this chapter has been satisfactory, and I'll see you all in the Epilogue.
https://discord.gg/HAPhryp5M2
Now, hand over those Power Stones, can't you see they are lonely when not used? Give them to me, and allow them to socialize, its for their best... I swear...