"Let's have a little talk. Shall we?"
"..." Seth didn't respond and only kept looking at him in the eye.
Chuckling slightly, Stargazer lifted his arms in mock surrender before taking a step back. "You should relax more, don't be so stiff."
"I have been observing you since the moment you set foot in this world. I must say I'm disappointed with your performance, I'm sure the people that you killed before would be laughing and mocking you if they were to see you right now." Stargazer said while circling Seth and sending provocative looks at him from time to time.
"I don't remember ever worrying about what dead people said about me." Seth retorted with indifference in his voice. He didn't know what the aim of the joker was, but he knew it had nothing to do with whatever he was doing now.
"Haha, I wonder about that. I'm sure I can name a few dead people you would wish to hear at least a word from." Stargazer released a carefree laugh, totally uncaring for the repercussions his words might cause.
"If you claim to know so much about me, you will know that you are testing my patience." Seth's eyes slowly turned golden, making the temperature around the room raise significantly. The more time passed, the more the space would become something close to a boiler.
"Right, right. But wouldn't it be great if you returned to being who you were before? Angry and all that? Killing people left and right, turning the sand red. Ahhh...those were the days." Stargazer said while looking at the ceiling and extending his arms to the side with a face of pure bliss, seemingly remembering the most precious of memories.
"Why would I want to return to be a mindless beast? What would even be the purpose of that?" There was not even a sane person that would willingly fall back into insanity. He might not be the most right-in-the-head God, but that didn't mean he wasn't able to make logical choices.
"And I ask you, what do you mean 'return'? You already are a beast. No matter if the body you are using now is human. But we can discuss the mindless part." Stargazer put his fist in front of his mouth before doing a fake cough to make sure the other party was correctly paying attention. "Now, where was I? Oh, yeah! In the part where you suck! Can you explain to me what was that fight against that girl with mental problems?"
"I don't owe you an explanation. She was better than me at that time, that's all." Seth was still locking eyes with the mysterious individual without moving a single inch.
"Better than you? Really? Did you take me for a four-year-old kid?" He asked with evident displeasure on his face. Getting near Seth, he put his index finger on the ancient God's chest to emphasize his next words. "You are just a coward, a coward who is afraid of being lost in madness once again, a coward who is afraid of his own power—Guh!" He couldn't finish his sentence as a dark figure behind Seth was grabbing him by his neck.
The figure was illusory at the same time it was real. It was covered by a long black robe, the only parts that could be seen were a pair of skeletal hands, one holding a humanoid head and the other clutching Stargazer's neck. Under the hood, two small fireballs, one red and the other golden worked as a pair of eyes for the mysterious figure that revealed a skeletal snout with their illumination.
Stargazer, far from panicking or anything like that, laughed. Even as the figure threw him away, crashing against the floor multiple times, he laughed.
Slowly getting up, he looked at the 'sky' with an expression of ecstasy. "Wonderful! Isn't it wonderful?! Even as you fear it, even as you reject it, even as you don't want to use its power. It still protects you! I'm moved to tears, I really am. Oh, what a fantastic scene!" His exaggerated gestures were gaining no sympathy for him.
Stargazer started walking back to where he had been before being grabbed and thrown. The figure behind Seth was beginning to fade away, not before looking at Stargazer in what appeared to be a menacing way.
"Why thank or save that stupid self-proclaimed queen? She wasn't the one who took control of your body and helped you fight, was she?" He asked with a smile while putting a hand on Seth's shoulder.
"You were not the one who did it, either. Who I thank or save is my business." Seth did not bother to take Stargazer's hand off his shoulder.
"Haha...I guess you are right." He scratched the back of his head while lightly laughing. That was until the air around him changed completely.
Cladding his fist on fire, he punched Seth's face creating a resounding boom in the room. However, the Evil God didn't move from his place, only his face was moved a little to the side. Unfazed by this, Stargazer continued to punch him.
"What 'my business' bullshit?! Where is your pride as one of the five strongest gods?! What is the remorse you feel?! What is the guilt you feel?! I can't stand it! Humans are such stupid creatures! They are arrogant, despicable, greedy, vengeful, maddening, unfair, lazy, tyrants, indecent and corrupt! What's so good about them to risk your life for?! It isn't even your wish! You are just doing this to honor the memory of your supposed friends!" He kept punching and punching for every word he said with extreme rage.
"..." For a moment, they both stayed in the same position, without doing anything. That was until Seth grabbed Stargazer's wrist and threw his fist aside from his face. When it looked that everything was over, Seth kneed Stargazer in the stomach before grabbing his face and slamming it into the ground, again and again, the exact same number of times he was punched by him.
"It may be true that humans are such creatures. However, contrary to everyone's belief, it's the job of the Gods that govern Evil, Darkness, and Chaos to protect them. As long as they continue to be the way they are, we will get stronger and stronger. So why shouldn't I protect them, instead of those self-righteous Gods?" Seth sighed, not understanding why he should explain something that was common sense.
"You don't understand... There is only one thing that you should trust and that is the wickedness within you, it's the only thing that will not betray you. Even after you have fallen this low, it didn't abandon you..." Stargazer slowly said with some tiredness. "... You trusted that old hag, and look where it got you? Your meaningless death and continuous life of torturous reincarnations that only made you weaker. Did you think for a moment that she will side with you, who killed half of the Egyptian Gods, instead of her remaining children?" Stargazer slowly released a sigh of his own, suddenly finding himself with no energy left to complain.
The Kingslayer slowly let go of his grip. "It was my mistake to trust her, I admit. We made a deal and I ended up getting screwed over, but so what? What is done is done. Returning to that time would only make the bad decisions I did repeat themselves again."
"That's why you should hate them, you must drown them in terror." Stargazer got up slowly, once again matching the Storm God's height. "You were the ultimate weapon, then shouldn't it be obvious that your spear points at them when they betray you? Even that lioness was a failed product that couldn't even compare to you. It's only fair you pay them back for what they did."
"Don't get the wrong idea. At the end of my journey, I am not going to sit down with them to talk about life while we laugh and drink. I will put an end to them. However, I will do it my way. It won't be as a mindless beast, but as a sane warrior." It was no secret that he hated the members of his Pantheon with the core of his being, but he still wanted to go about resolving it in his own way.
"Somehow, I doubt that." The mysterious entity watched Seth disappear as he said those words, most likely returning to the real world after being called by his so-called companions.
"..." He stayed silent for a long while, observing the place where it used to be someone. Snapping his fingers, the ruined place returned to normal, even the throne that he had destroyed before. He slowly walked to it, finally sitting with his legs dangling from the armrest.
"Ahhhh this sucks..." A sigh of frustration followed his words. "I was hoping he would make my job easier, but in the end, I achieved nothing. Such a fool... If you listen to me, you can avoid so much suffering. Why must you always choose the option that ends with your suffering? The Successor, the Bane Of Advancement, the Killer Of Giants, and finally... The One-Eyed King. Everything you hold dear, fate is going to take it away from you. Then why? Why do you resist the power than can help you fight fate? I don't understand..."
"You are still on time. It's better if you heed my words. After all, I can't always look out for you. I have my hands tied while keeping the eyes of that vixen away as it is." The tired man closed his eyes to rest. In the end, he couldn't say if his intervention had been something productive or not. He really couldn't...
On the outside world, the sun was slowly making its way out of the horizon. Seth opened his eyes before reviewing the events that transpired in that dream. "... I have a lot to think about." He muttered to himself with some frustration mixed in his voice.
Shaking his head, he got up from his resting place and began to make his way to the camp. Once he got there, he noticed everyone was ready to depart for the final battle. Jeanne and Siegfried looked a little haggard. He didn't get there on time but he was sure Stargazer wasn't very kind to them.
'Forget what happened before, I already took care of it.' Seth sent a mental message to his two Servants who looked at him for a second before nodding. However, it will be a lie if they said they could forget what happened from one day to another.
"Okay, this is it. The last battle, are you guys ready?" Dr. Roman asked the group of Servants and Masters.
"Yes! We will bring smiles to the people of France once again." Marie said with her signature pose. The others, more healthy ones mental-wise shook their heads at the antics they were already used to.
"I'm glad you are enthusiastic about this but remember to be cautious on the battlefield." St. Geroge gave her his heartfelt advice. He didn't really want to say it out loud, but if she kept that attitude of taking everything lightly, something bad was bound to happen.
"Leave her to me, I'm used to getting her out of troubles," Amadeus reassured the Saint as if he already saw through him. Honestly, it wasn't the first time someone got that impression of the ashen-haired Queen, and he couldn't blame them.
A little calmer than before, Siegfried spoke. "The enemy is probably aware of our location so the only thing we can do is a frontal attack. In other words, all or nothing."
"They will have bigger forces than us but we have a numerical advantage in terms of Servants." Jeanne also offered her piece once she got out of the shock same as Saber did.
"You don't have to worry about the cannon fodder, I will be the one to eliminate them. Siegfried will face Fafnir and the rest of you the remaining Servants." Seth proposed. He was the one who had the most attacks with a wide area, it was natural that eliminating the mob would be his job. Of course, if worst comes to worst, he will lend a hand.
"I will be the one who kills Carmilla, I will help you with the other Servants once I'm done." Elizabeth said while grinding her teeth. She had already reserved a special place for the Countess in her concert.
"And I will eliminate those who get in the way of my love." No one knew what Kiyohime was talking about, or why she had a pink hue on her cheeks, but nobody was going to question it. They had already unanimously that they would not bother to ask a thing when it came to them.
"W-Well... Best of luck, make sure to defeat the Dragon Witch!" Romani said while scratching his cheek with an awkward smile.
'Indeed...I will defeat her.' Saber's thoughts were far from peaceful. She had been silently holding onto her anger for the treatment the Knight of the Lake received, but the moment she met that woman, she was going to let that anger out in full force.
In the Castle of Orleans, Jeanne was sitting with her eyes closed on the throne that belonged to the now-deceased King of France. She looked nothing like the previous her, the mad aura that surrounded her before was now replaced by a tranquil one.
Berserker Saber approached her to relay information. "It seems the French Army, as well as the other group of Servants, is planning to do a frontal attack against Orleans soon."
"I see... I guess it is time to end this once and for all." The Black Saint said while slowly opening her eyes, eyes that didn't seem to hold the hate displayed previously.
"What are your orders, Jeanne?" Gilles asked from the side with a smile but only he knew how he hated this new Jeanne, he wanted to see her hate the world and be lost in the madness. He was going to torture and kill the person who made this to her, to the Jeanne he had wished for!
"Deploy the whole army of Wyverns, skeletons, and zombies we have at our disposal. Also, summon Shadow Servants from the ones we had lost previously. We will face them with all we have." She got up after saying that and started walking out of the castle to lead the army.
D'Eon looked at her back wondering what happened to her before simply following her out of the room, leaving Gilles alone to do his work.
Exiting the castle, Jeanne called for Berserker Archer who materialized beside her in a few seconds. showing the figure of a woman with a green dress and blond-green hair. She also has the ears and tail of a lion. "What did you need?"
"Intercept the group of Servants, your job will be to distract them to give Gilles time to summon as many Shadow Servants as possible." Jeanne ordered. With a feral glint in her golden eyes, Berserker Archer turned around and left to accomplish her orders.
"Do you think we have a chance of winning?" D'Eon asked the girl beside her.
Jeanne closed her eyes before responding. "Who knows? We are just the beginning. Even if they defeat us, more difficulties lie ahead of them. Who is to say they will overcome them all?"
The spy raised an eyebrow at her comment. "You seem calmer than before, what exactly happened?" Berserker Saber truly had no clue.
Jeanne opened her eyes and locked them with D'Eon's. "Don't get the wrong idea, my hatred didn't disappear. I just learned to hide it so others don't take advantage of it."
'Is it a good or a bad thing, I wonder...?' Berserker Saber thought in his/her mind before looking at the approaching army.