Before starting this chapter, I want to apologize for something, and it's about Saber's Servant, Yamato Takeru, and it has to do with his personality.
There might be someone who really likes this Servant, and that's why I'm doing this, because, first, I haven't obtained him in Fate/GO, and second, I haven't played Fate/Samurai Remnant. In fact, I wasn't going to use Takeru as my Saber, but rather Kondō Isami, but that guy is still alive.
Since I didn't know much about Yamato Takeru, I started researching, and his personality suggests one thing, but when I watch Fate videos, his dialogues, and all that, I feel like he's something else entirely, which is why I didn't know how to portray his personality.
In the end, I ended up using the Samurai Principle, Glory, and Pride traits, since it's not very focused on what he is, his history, or what the wiki says, but that's it.
Well, that's all; let's begin the chapter.
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Chaos was unfolding in various corners of Fuyuki. Three masters were tracking another master whose whereabouts and identity were unknown; only one thing was certain: they were searching for Berserker's master.
"Tch, nothing," Albus grumbled as he contacted one of his familiars, providing a report on the searched area.
"He must have a pretty high level of mastery over barriers to make fools of others like this," Kenji remarked.
"Or maybe he's just never left this place," Akane chimed in.
"That's possible. With a Servant like that, perhaps I'd also lock myself away and stay put until the war was over, knowing that no one could defeat him—or at least that's what he thinks," Albus added.
They had already searched the entire Fuyuki area and found nothing, no trace of prana, barriers, or any familiars.
She couldn't be far away, so the only option left was to get closer to Fuyuki, but there was a problem.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake violently for a few seconds before stopping.
"I think we're too close to Fuyuki," Akane complained.
Fuyuki was currently facing two Servants, destroying the entire area beyond recognition, or at least beyond a village's.
"Well, at least she can rebuild the whole village when this is over," Akane told Kenji.
He just stared blankly at his temporary ally.
"If he's not in the immediate vicinity, then he can only be in one place," Albus said, surveying the chaos of the village from afar.
But the entire place was being destroyed; it was impossible for the guy to be there; he would have been discovered or vanished from the scene by now. And if he were, he would have left a trace.
Albus snapped his fingers, arriving at the core of his hypothesis.
"Underground," Albus realized, causing the other two to look at him.
"Underground, that's possible, like a mole," Akane said, imagining a man creating mole-like claws with his sorcery and digging a hole.
"When did this happen?" Kenji complained, since this was his territory; for a sorcerer to do something like that was an insult. Berserker's master could have been right under his nose all this time and he hadn't noticed.
"There's no other option, except that we can't enter the village right now," Albus announced as the three of them surveyed the destruction left by the battle between the two Servants from afar.
...
In Fuyuki Village, it could be said that 95% of the place was pure rubble and destruction.
This happened because both Saber and Berserker were giving it their all. Thanks to the use of a Command Seal, Saber could use everything without worrying about the consequences; her only mission was to defeat Berserker.
Water flooded half of Fuyuki, and in the middle of it all was Berserker, seemingly unharmed, though his clothes were torn and soaked with blood. That blood was his, but because he regenerated at an astounding speed, it was as if he didn't have a single wound on his body.
Multiple water spheres formed around Berserker, each spewing a torrent of pressurized water capable of cutting through anything.
Instead of defending or dodging, the Berserker attacked.
Using his staff, he spun and extended it, destroying all the water spheres. However, the attack still reached him, slashing his chest and an arm, which reattached immediately.
But the water attack didn't end there, as an eight-meter-long wave suddenly appeared in front of Berserker, sweeping him away with the full force of the sea.
The wave dragged him, slamming him against various pieces of debris, before coming to a stop on a large, interlocking pile of rubble.
Once the water receded, Berserker tried to reposition himself, summoning his staff to intercept an attack from Saber.
Saber was already behind Berserker when his wave attack ended. With his sword enveloped in a wind capable of splitting the sky, he attempted to slash Berserker, but Berserker reacted in time.
Berserker wasted no time and tried to attack Saber; he extended his staff at him.
Saber leaped, dodging the staff and running around it, ready to attack Berserker. Berserker attempted to strike, but Saber's agility allowed her to evade her opponent's next attack, effortlessly severing his arm.
Frustrated by this, Saber launched a powerful retreat to create distance from Berserker.
Saber's condition was dire; she had multiple wounds all over her body, her clothes were torn, and, most tragically, her entire left arm was missing.
This was a lapse in judgment, because in an attack against Berserker, he quickly extended his staff, and Saber couldn't dodge properly, tearing off his arm in one swift motion.
"This can't go on," Saber told himself, because in a battle of attrition, he knew he would lose, so it was time to give it his all or nothing.
Berserker was already growing bored with this fight; his opponent was practically dead; just one well-placed blow and he would have him back on the throne of heroes. For his part, he was unharmed; perhaps he was a little low on mana, but his master had already taken care of that.
All that changed when he saw Saber begin to accumulate mana in his body and his sword; this made Berserker smile.
He knew his opponent never dodged, so he had an opportunity. Her sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, a weapon comparable to the Japanese Excalibur, is capable of a divine cut, a cut that can slice through anything; there are no exceptions.
The water surrounding Saber began to swirl, forming eight serpent heads.
Berserker saw this, recalling Saber's previous attacks from their first encounter and later, but this time the power was more concentrated and amplified than before.
Generally, he would have accepted the attack head-on without any defense, but something within him told him to be careful this time, just as he had been when he first saw Assassin's scythe. This was thanks to his Golden Eyes That See Truth ability, which functions as both a detector and a predatory instinct.
"Let's end our encounter and accept my most powerful attack, Special Technique: Eight Streams Furious Storm," Saber announced, launching her sword forward, causing the eight serpents to swirl and attack the Berserker.
He was barely inches from the attack when he realized he had held back. Every time he had launched the attack, he hadn't completed it for fear of the collateral damage it could cause to his master, the ruler of these lands.
But this time, he had permission to even destroy the entire place in exchange for the Holy Grail, so he didn't hold back and completed his Noble Phantasm to its fullest extent.
Saber's final attack struck Berserker directly, severely injuring him, but it wasn't over yet.
Berserker, with his great resistance and defense, managed to withstand the full power and pressure of the divine water and looked to the side, seeing that Saber already had her sword drawn, ready to strike.
"Go and cut down everything that stands in your way, Amenomurakumo-no-Tsurugi," Saber said, using the Kusanagi with all its power, both individual and elemental, to empower.
In response, Berserker activated her Noble Phantasm, but it had no effect, as Saber's sword slashed through even the very space around her. No matter how strong her defenses were, if she could cut through the sky—space being, by definition, space—the division would occur no matter how invincible the material.
Berserker was sliced in two as if she were butter cut by a hot knife, only for Saber's special technique to create a massive source of light similar to Excalibur's, only this one was bluer due to the effect of the divine water.
The pillar of power created a shockwave that displaced everything around it, sending everything that was still intact flying for about 20 meters around her, including Saber herself, who was nearly exhausted by the attack.
After a few minutes, the pillar of power vanished, leaving the entire area in silence.
Saber stood, utterly exhausted, and walked slowly to the epicenter of his attack. After a few steps, he stared at the heart of the destruction, his eyes widening in horror as he saw Berserker standing there unharmed, or something like that.
He was split in two, but there was no further damage.
"You were able to pierce my Noble Phantasm, Indestructible Body Refined in the Celestial Furnace. hahahahaha," Berserker muttered, now a being of two pieces that hadn't yet rejoined, since the split had been so clean that his body hadn't registered it as a wound or damage.
To reunite, he needed to injure both parts of himself so that his body would react, heal, and regenerate. But right now, his Noble Phantasm was still active, and he couldn't deactivate it without harming himself. However, for Berserker, this was somewhat of an advantage.
"As a sign of respect, I will do this," Berserker said, throwing his staff as high as he could. Saber remained on guard, but his body was already giving way, and he couldn't move as he wished. "Do as I will, Pillar of Heaven, Ruyi Jingu Bang!"
At that, the staff increased in size, becoming capable of covering almost all of Fuyuki.
"Damn it," Akane said, turning and running, as did Albus. Kenji watched for a few seconds as the staff began to fall faster and faster to the ground. At that speed, it would not only destroy all of Fuyuki, but the impact would also cause widespread devastation, perhaps comparable to the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Saber gazed at the sky, watching one end of the staff fall like a pillar, a death sentence for the hapless swordsman.
Berserker remained remarkably calm, knowing his body would nullify any damage he received, so no matter how devastating his attack, he would emerge unscathed.
Knowing there was no other way and his fate already sealed, he resolved not to grant his opponent the satisfaction of things going his way.
Clenching his teeth and gripping his Kusanagi, Saber looked to the sky and, using all his remaining strength, gathered his divine water and launched himself at the staff.
"Special Technique: Eight Streams Furious Storm," Saber declared; with eight serpents swirling around him, he attacked the pillar of the sky.
Using everything, even her body, Saber collided with Berserker's staff, which triggered her Noble Phantasm. She managed to stop the attack in its tracks thanks to the resulting explosion, which, while not as powerful as the first, served its purpose by also deflecting the attack.
As a result, the staff fell only to one side of Fuyuki with 10% of its original fall damage, destroying only what lay beneath it—mostly fragments of forest—and saving Fuyuki from total destruction.
But this salvation came at a price: Saber's body, now devoid of mana, was engulfed in the explosion and destroyed, including her Saint Graph.
Kenji watched from a distance, glancing at the back of his hand. He saw the last Command Seal he had stored disappear, confirming that Saber had returned to the throne of heroes and making him the third Servant to withdraw from this Holy Grail War.
After about five minutes, the staff returned to normal, raising a large cloud of smoke.
There wasn't much wind, so the smoke didn't dissipate as quickly as usual, but a figure appeared out of nowhere.
It was Berserker, now reassembled, his clothes partially torn.
He sighed as he emerged; it was just smoke. He looked at his body, as his mana reserves had dwindled considerably. Using the staff and his Noble Phantasm consumed a lot of his mana, along with all the mana he had regenerated from the fight.
Berserker was almost invincible, but that didn't mean he couldn't disappear by overusing his power and running out of mana. In fact, it was quite possible that would happen before he was brought down.
As he walked through what remained of the ghost town, he began to detect any signs of an enemy.
The fight against Saber hadn't quelled his thirst for battle; on the contrary, it had intensified it. But now he was alone, so he was searching for the slightest trace of the other Servants in this war.
"If I'm not mistaken, I sensed a confrontation in that forest; I think I can still feel that guy's energy." As he looked toward the Einzbern castle, he sensed a large surge of mana in one direction.
When he looked in the direction the flames were coming from, he saw a massive chakram hurtling toward him, bringing everything crashing down in an almost infernal blaze.
The attack hit its mark, and Berserker was dragged along by the spinning weapon, which seemed to have a life of its own, and flung to the side, engulfed in flames.
He spun through the air and landed on his feet, covered in burns and areas where the fire hadn't yet reached, only to feel a large wolf bite his shoulder, tearing at it.
Berserker stared at the wolf in surprise, as he had never seen such a creature before; for a moment he thought it was a Servant, but then he realized it didn't have a Saint Graph.
Just as he was about to grab the wolf's tail and slam it violently into the ground, he saw a bright light in the corner of his eye next to him.
It was Archer, his full armor engulfed in flames.
"DIE!" he shouted, punching him in the ribs, which unleashed a torrent of fire in his knuckles, devastating the berserker himself.
Engulfed in flames, Berserker flew through the air, crashing into debris to regain control and grab hold of the ground, preventing himself from being dragged down by the force of the Berserker's attack.
At that moment, several balls of residual water from Saber's attacks appeared around Berserker.
"Let me put out that fire for you," a female voice said as the water balls rained down on Berserker like sniper fire.
Staring at the attack, he turned to see a woman riding the wolf he had seen earlier, recognizing her as the new Servant. She slashed him with her katana in a flash, and the wolf bit his foot, forcing him to his knees.
At that moment, Archer, with unstoppable fury, appeared and delivered an uppercut to his enemy, lifting him into the air and kicking him in the stomach. The wolf slammed him to the ground, sending him bouncing and crashing into a partially destroyed house.
"Don't get in my way; this is me against that monkey," Archer scolded.
"Stupid, he may be exhausted, but he's unharmed, and we've barely done anything to him so far; don't get cocky," she retorted, making Archer click his tongue, knowing she was right.
Archer wanted a one-on-one, but he knew he couldn't; if he couldn't do it before, what did he say he could do now?
At that moment, Berserker emerged from the area fully healed, his staff slung over his shoulder, saying nothing. He simply analyzed his new opponents. Knowing his mana was dwindling, he would have to be more serious to make the most of what little he had left.
He had heeded his master's warning: it wasn't worth going all out now; daylight was almost upon us, it wasn't worth it, just don't die.
Generally, he wouldn't have listened, but, to be honest, there was someone he wanted to fight, someone who had sensed his full power, which he had never used against them. He didn't know where he was, and he didn't think he would appear now, so he had to survive until the following night if he wanted to face him.
Archer and Rider tensed up as they watched Berserker assume a rather striking, yet familiar, fighting stance—a Buddhist fighting style.
"This is bad," Rider said as Archer stared intently at his opponent.
In a blur of speed, Berserker was already in front of Archer, ready to throw a punch at his face. Archer, in response, shielded his face with both hands as he braced for the impact, but this was a feint by Berserker, who stopped the punch.
With his other palm, he made a light touch on Archer's chest, barely grazing him, but the impact was still there.
Archer's armor shattered into pieces as he was flung away, blood gushing from his body.
Archer, fueled by all the fury he had been building up inside, found it did little to prevent Berserker's attack, especially since it was more internal than external.
It was a clean, devastating blow that ignored any defense or armor his opponent might have.
This momentarily left him one-on-one with Rider.
She stared fearfully at her enemy, believing she wouldn't survive such a blow.
But the best defense is a good offense.
Above Berserker, eight pearls appeared, raining down like meteorites and destroying the area around him. He blocked almost all of them with his staff, but one struck his arm; it didn't sever it completely, but it had enough force to break a bone.
In response, she slashed with her staff, which Yatsufusa countered by ducking and Rider leaped to land beside her guardian dog.
Seeing that Archer might remain on the ground for a while, Rider had no choice but to stall, knowing she couldn't defeat this monster. With her pearls on her back, her katana in hand, and her guardian dog by her side, she was ready.
The question was how long she could hold out.