EMIYA vs Ronove in a butler contest.
Who is the superior butler?
Who makes better tea?!
Who has mastered the art of subtle trolling more?!?!?
Also, loving this. It seems you have a good idea about Beato's abilities and know what you're doing. I eagerly await new chapters.
Wait whatOriginally Posted by Some guy on Spacebattles posted
GOD DAMN IT
Should we throw Kotomine in? Just for extra trolling~
Artist's block. Bigger bitch than karma, I swear.
And what do you exactly has against the existence? I ask it because I like to exist, mind you.
Spoiler:
...Um, I never said anything against existence. Existing is good.
Artist's block. Bigger bitch than karma, I swear.
Well, the unholy trinity of trolling of EMIYA, Beato and Kotomine would instantly wipe the existance, so...
In a glorious explosion of trollery, that's for sure. But the reality isn't ready to withstand so much trolling.
Spoiler:
Ah, reality could only be that strong...
Artist's block. Bigger bitch than karma, I swear.
Just to prove I haven't forgotten this, here's a snip
---
Facing the pleading eyes of Irisviel, the mocking eyes of Caster, and an extremely comfortable looking chair, the King of Knights was utterly helpless. Sighing, she took the offered chair and slumped into it. Such behavior wasn't really befitting a knight, but the night had been exhausting and confusing, so she allowed herself a somewhat lax.
"There now, isn't that much better?" said the eternally mocking voice of Caster. "Now then, what tea would you like oh Knight of the Sword?"
"...I'm not familiar with tea I'm afraid, just... whatever you have."
"A nice bit of Earl Gray then. And for you Irisviel?"
"Oh I'll have the same if you please."
"Excellent!" The witch exclaimed, then clapped her hands. "Ronove!"
There was a flash of golden light, heralding the appearance both of even more of Caster's vast horde of insect famliars, and of a strange man in a suit (which bore the same gold wing crest as Caster's dress) and monocle. Since he gave off no killing intent, Saber didn't draw her weapon, but both she and Irisviel were nonetheless surprised by the appearance of a person with such a... fishy aroma. He seemed to be almost an 8th Servant.
"At your command I appear milady. And might I say that it's a pleasure to be working again. I thought I'd have to await another summoner for 1000 year in hell," said the man, apparently some sort of summoned butler.
"Oh spare the formalities Ronove, just get my friends here some Earl Gray." As the butler began to make more tea using the same sort of strange magic the witch herself used, Caster introduced him properly. "Lady Pendragon, Irisviel, this is Marquis Ronove, the 32nd Great Demon of the 72 pillars, and my head furniture. He's something of a prized possession, as among witches, employment of him is considered a sign of status and power. Also he makes cookies. Delicious cookies. I only let him bake for myself, my teacher, and my best friend though, so I'm afraid you'll not see that." On that note, Ronove sat the cups in front of the two guests and, with a final bow to Beatrice, vanished.
"So you admit to consorting with demons?" growled Saber, "Your crimes pile up higher and higher, witch. It is only with respect to Irisviel that I don't cut you down right here."
Caster replied with another one of her strange giggles and said, "I'm sorry, I don't speak chestbeating, I'm not a gorilla. Anyway so what if he's a demon? He's a butler, I think the most demonic thing he's ever done is make a cup of tea somewhat bitter. Which, if he did here, doesn't seemed to have stopped you from drinking it."
Saber raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, I hav-" the heroic spirit stopped, realizing something strange. She was holding the teacup. It was empty. Her mind raced at this new phenomena. Enchantment? No, impossible, as Servant Saber and the scion of the Dragons no magic should be that strong. It can only be...
"My!" chirped the homunculus, who'd decided to simply ignore her two tablemates argument, since she'd found both rather pleasant and didn't want to take sides outside the battlefield. "This tea is fantastic! I thought Miss Caster's was lovely, but Mr Ronove's was so good I drank it without even realizing it!"
"Yes that often happens to first timers, always over too quick. The more times you try the Ronove Experience, the longer you last, and the more you get to savor the myriad flavors." The witch's tone was actually rather serious for once, apparently considering this sage advice. "Anyway that's not why I'm here. What I want to know is why exactly you want the Holy Grail. Starting with the Servant I think. King of Knights?"
Saber put down the empty teacup, eyeballing it warily, then responded. "Considering you've refused to even name yourself, I don't see why I should have to answer such a personal question."
Caster's face turned decidedly sour at this, but for once found no counterargument. "Very well then. And you Irisviel?"
The homunculus put down her own empty cup and closed her eyes, mulling over things in here head. She leaned back into her chair and finally said, "My wish is the wish of my dear husband. I want a world without violence, so that our daughter can live without worries, and so my husband can finally rest." Opening her eyes again, she then turned the witch's question around. "And what about you Caster? What's your wish?"
Saber and Irisviel were rather surprised to note the witch's face was actually painted with a genuine smile for once. "Much the same actually. I wish to turn Earth into the Golden Land, the paradise for all souls, living and dead. Essentially the same goal as yours really. Perhaps we don't have to be opponents after all!" The witch glanced up at the sky, then said, "Well this has been a rather pleasantly informative conversation ladies, but I'm afraid I'll have to go. There are other things to attend to this night, and I just can't put them off much longer. Ciao!" With a final farewell, the witch instantly vanished into a cloud of butterflies, which scattered every which way. The only ones remaining were Saber and Irisviel, still seated and staring at the spot Caster once occupied.
Last edited by 2Bad; February 29th, 2012 at 11:41 AM.
Good chapter sir! I enjoyed the tea part and Ronove. There should be an omake with Archer and Ronove going at it in a tea contest.
I repeat, tea-time is important.
great chapter.
I think saber should be more surprised of the fact she didnt seem to remember the taste rather than the fact she finished the tea. cause you know, this is saber...
some of my fanfics:
Refractions (madoka magica) - No matter how one would attempt to keep things the same as they used to be, the bending of a "law" would inevitable cause changes in the direction of their world, and that in turn would refract back to the their very lives, in ways that she never expected.
Reversed Connections (BRS) - reworked the structure and a mix of anime/OVA, has the Otherworld selves replace their human counterpart in the real world instead of the normals taking control of the Otherworld characters.
Excellent update. Ronove is the best butler.I'd like to see more tea-time like this in the future~Some typos are there, but this snippet is interesting nonetheless. .. And why isn't anyone bringing up the fact that Beato and Iri shared the same seiyuu?
Artist's block. Bigger bitch than karma, I swear.
If you bring up typos, please actually point them out.
Last edited by 2Bad; March 16th, 2012 at 02:18 PM.
Ah, yes. Sorry 'bout that. Here I go.
I believe it's supposed to be 'now', not 'no'?"There no, isn't that much better?" said the eternally mocking voice of Caster. "Now then, what tea would you like oh Knight of the Sword?"
Do you mean 'fishy'?Since he gave off no killing intent, Saber didn't draw her weapon, but both she and Irisviel were nonetheless surprised by the appearance of a person with such a... fish aroma
Comma between higher and witch."Your crimes pile up higher and higher witch
Again, comma between 'Yes' and 'that'. Then maybe you should capitalize the 'e' in 'experience'. It seems better, in my opinion..."Yes that often happens to first timers .... Ronove experience
That's all I could find for now. Any other member with better Grammar Fu should take a look,...
Last edited by Ruu-tan; February 29th, 2012 at 11:43 AM.
Artist's block. Bigger bitch than karma, I swear.
This story gets less updates because it's much harder to write than Waver and Alex fucking around in Sekirei-land
---
A golden boot impacted with a trashcan, sending it flying down the empty night street. "Damn that cowardly Tokiomi!" cursed the boot's owner, the Archer class Servant called Gilgamesh. "Who does that wretched human think he is, interrupting the king's divine punishment?" The golden Servant took a swig from his private wine stock, venting his frustration with his summoner's caution and the limits placed upon Servants that prevented him from punishing said summoner. Normally such behavior on his part would be unacceptable, however it seemed this war was filled with mongrels who excelled at riling him.
It was while pondering such irritations that his superior senses as both Heroic Spirit and King of the Beginning heard a strange sound. On a typical day, Gilgamesh would pay no attention to such a thing, but this sound seemed oddly familiar. Twas almost like... the sound of pitched battle. Dispelling the summoned bottle of wine, Gilgamesh jumped on top of a nearby roof and tried taking advantage of the tracking abilities afforded to him by the container of 'Archer.' It was this further examination that led him to a new conclusion.
"No... not battle. A slaughter. One of the other combatants harvesting souls perhaps?" Gilgamesh identified the source of the disturbance, a building fairly close by, one of the dwelling places of those who thought themselves wealthy in this era. The King of Heroes wore a true smile for the first time that night, "Perhaps this night shall entertain me yet." Checking their mental connection to confirm that Tokiomi had gone to sleep and would not disturb his fun, the man called the King of Heroes shot off into the night.
---
Gilgamesh opened the front doors of the gloomy mansion, and stepped into what would, to ordinary humans, no doubt be considered hell. The front hallway was filled with corpses, a sloppy arrangement indicating the murderer's haste. "Ha, a desperate dog attempting to feed itself perhaps?" To the golden king, the thought of one of the so called heroes who had so irritated him that night starving for prana and committing such an act was high comedy. Carefully avoiding dirtying his boots with commoner blood, the king moved forward, following the trail to yet another large set of doors, which he again opened without a hint of fear.
A massive ballroom spread out before him, a great banquet being held. It should go without saying that that banquet was a feast of souls for not human, harvested from a gathering of the rich and their servants. The stench was an overpowering one, with corpses practically carpeting the room. But what drew Gilgamesh's eye was not the center of the slaughter, but something on the room's back wall. An epitaph, written in blood. Though Gilgamesh was not to know it, the writing there was merely a piece of a poem whose true meaning was lost in this battleground of Fuyuki. To him, it was merely a signature.
My beloved hometown, the sweetfish river running through it.
You who seek the Golden Land, follow its path downstream and seek the key.
If you follow the river downstream, you will find a village.
In the village, look for the shore the two will tell you of.
There sleeps the key to the Golden Land.
It was as Gilgamesh examined this inscription of blood, that the first strike against the barrier of 'reality' was made. Behind the king, the doors blew shut, causing him to whirl around, drawing his weapons from the gate as his did so... only to find nobody there. "Coward!" he shouted, "Do you scurry before my radiant presence, like a rat in the dark?" As if in answer to his taunt, the floor beneath him glowed, causing him to jump back. Suddenly, all the corpses melted away, revealing a great etching on the floor of the room. Twas an almost alien thing, as if someone had lain an image of stained glass on the ground, subtitled "Now Begins the Golden Nocturne." And the image, to Gilgamesh's fury, was none other than that of the witch Caster! Before he could destroy it however, it shattered by itself, fragments of the image flying through the air, blinding him. And what the king saw when the air cleared, left even the haughty Gilgamesh silent.
It was a garden, and clearly not the one outside the mansion he'd been in previously Though quaint by his standards, his presence in it spoke immediately of high thaumaturgy, of his falling into a trap. He snarled and scoffed, "Not sacrifices for mere survival, but for ritual eh? Sloppy of me."
A lilting voice from behind the king answered the rhetorical question. "Indeed, King of Uruk."
Surprisingly, the one who Gilgamesh saw there was not, as he'd assumed it would be, Caster. Rather than the haughty witch of gold who taunted and danced around wildly, the one who sat in the garden's gazebo was a somber silver witch. Though though clearly an older mage by the prana she emitted and the air of experience held by all practiced warriors, her beauty had not faded slightly with the years, long silver tresses running down her shoulders, topped with an elegant bonnet. Her wear was also rather frillier than the golden witch from the pier, not that Gilgamesh cared enough to note such things. What caught his eye was more the fact that her own eyes remained completely shut. "And who are you, witch, if not the Caster I saw earlier this night? And what exactly has your sacrifice accomplished in bringing me... wherever this place is?"
The witch smiled, "I am called 'Virgilia,' oh King of Gold. I was the previous Beatrice before passing on that title to my apprentice, the wild child you met earlier. As for where you are, this place is normally supposed to be imposed on the outside. But it is much easier to gather the magical energy needed to draw someone inside, particularly if one such as myself is to manifest."
Gilgamesh sneered, "So that witch crawls to her teacher after witnessing my power? Well I suppose it's good that she knows her place, but do you think you will fare any better against my Gate of Babylon?"
Virgilia was silent for a moment, then unleashed a wave of killing intent, opening a single eye and revealing a truly twisted smile. "Oh, I believe I can handle one uppity golden brat just as well as another." The hail of Noble Phantasms unleashed by Gilgamesh in response to this was dodged easily, with the silver witch simply vanishing from the soon-destroyed gazebo, reappearing floating over the forest behind it. High above the trees, Virgilia threw her arms into the air and cried, "Rise shoulder towers! Rain destruction upon my foolish foe!" At the witch's chant, two enormous towers shut up above the treeline, and rained down blasts of energy upon the King of Heroes, who tossed out a collection of shields in response. The legendary defenses from the Gate kept Gilgamesh safe even as the garden around him was destroyed.
"I do hope that fireworks display isn't all of your power witch," taunted Gilgamesh. "Or else my hopes of entertainment have been well and truly dashed! Ahah- wait what?" The golden Archer's arrogant laughter was cut short when his shield collection was utterly decimated, causing him to leap back to avoid being crushed. This caused him to take several wounds from the tower's fire before he could get clear of the danger zone and reassess the situation. What he saw at his previous location left him utterly baffled. "Impossible... that is a treasure that can only be wielded by one!"
Imbedded into the ground where Gilgamesh and his shields had once been was an enormous war hammer. No hero could possibly mistake it as anything other than Mjölnir, the weapon forged and wielded by the Norse God of the Thunder, Thor, and held by nobody else. It was one of the few treasures with no basis in Gilgamesh's vault. Virgilia laughed from her position between her towers. "Pitiful barbarian king who only ever rebelled against the heavens. It is your arrogance which prevented you from connecting to your divine ancestors. I can call upon this sacred hammer due to my friendship with the hosts of the heaven, while you have only your relics collected long ago. You carelessly toss them about, calling them your birthright, but all you hold is outdated junk long ago abandoned by human history."
Praise for the gods and insults for the treasury. Two things Gilgamesh would never stand for, no matter whatever else he let run off him like water off a duck's back. This witch would have to learn respect. The golden archer slumped over for a moment, and then his whole body began to shake. "Ha... hahaha!" He straightened up suddenly, looking at the silver witch with manic eyes as he filled the garden with the laughter of a lunatic. "Junk? Junk? Junk? You presume too much, foolish witch!" The air behind him distorted once more, and this time delivered unto Gilgamesh one of two items in his treasury that were well and truly his. "I shall show you the power I held as the ruler of mankind before the race scattered from its origin!" He grasped the hilt of his 'sword,' Ea, the Star of Creation, causing the 'blade' to rotate in several places, stirring up a vast hurricane of magical energy. Yes, this was the EX class, anti-world Noble Phantasm with power so great that even though Gilgamesh himself could wield only part of it, it could still surpass attacks from even the strongest of holy and demonic blades in history and wound even Ultimate Ones.
But even as he fired that show-stopping attack, Virgilia did not move. Even as Gilgamesh lost the witch from sight, vanishing behind the vast hurricane of magical power, she showed no signs of resisting. And soon, he knew why.
A vast tower, so impossibly large it blotted out the sky, tumbled down from the clouds. This was one of Virgilia's trump cards, the mighty Fallen Tower, a piece of Heaven's Fortress, whose walls could not be broken until the end of days. Nothing until that promised day, especially not an attack whose origin was the dawn of history, could pierce it. Ea's cataclysmic power, Enuma Elish, crashed against the tower uselessly, as if a mere wave breaking against a tall cliff. And when the tower hit the ground, it revealed behind it something which spelled the end for the King of Heroes who reigned at the beginning of time. The shoulder towers which had begun Virgilia's assault were now gone, and in their stead, the witch had called something far worse. With one armed raised to the sky, ready to sent it forward, Virgilia had called for none other than the weapon which should only appear in the hands of Odin, king of the northern gods, at the final battle of the world. There in the sky floated the gigantic blue spear Gungnir, the ultimate weapon of Heaven, so massive it matched the Fallen Tower whose crashing revealed it. And with a single wave, Virgilia unleashed it.
It happened so fast, Gilgamesh did not truly perceive it until it was too late. In that hidden garden, the King of Heroes was felled by Odin's spear, impaled to the ground without a chance of resistance. With the death of its master soon to come, Ea could no longer be sustained, and simply vanished.
With a wave of her hand, Virgilia dismissed the fallen Mjölnir and crashed Tower, floating down in front of the dying king who even now heaved up blood, struggling to survive despite the futility of it. Her eyes had closed once more, and the air of hostility was replaced with the somber, motherly air of a woman trying to calm of a child. "Cease your struggle, Archer of Uruk. It is the duty of all men to face their end with dignity, that is one of the lessons of your own myth, is it not?"
But the king paid her no attention, still clawing at the air to the very end, "Cannot... not here... idu..." His last words mangled by gasps for air and coughs filled with blood, the King of Heroes faded away, with none to witness it save for his killer...
---
Moments later, the Endless Witch, Beatrice the Golden stood in the ballroom, her butterflies gathering all the corpses into that one room, along with all the keys to said room. Her breath was shallow, but nonetheless she continued to exert herself in order to create the closed room. "As I thought, Teacher and her toys are a bit too much even 'inside,' I don't know if I can create enough rumors or gather enough prana for her again this War... but I did gain two things at least..."
Ronove appeared beside her, carrying a few captured souls to feed to his mistress in order to restore her energy. "Two milady? Certainly one is the elimination of that barbarian Archer, but what is the other?" A genuine question without a hint of mockery, rare from the demon butler.
Beatrice laughed, although she immediately regretted it, wheezing a bit and hurriedly gathering the souls offered by Ronove. "I have ascertained the nature of this war. Gilgamesh's soul, it did not pass on after his death, but was taken somewhere else. This gathering of heroic spirits is not an invitation to a tournament, but as much of a trap for our souls as the banquet hall we stand in was for Gilgamesh (or whoever happened to come, though I'm happy it was him). If the prize was indeed Christ's Cup, a treasure granted by victory, I would continue to fight normally so that I might place it in Kuwadorian and create the Golden Land with it. But I do not believe that is the case. I think that the so called Grail is in fact a vulgar construct of inferior magic users, formed by defeat of others. I shall not trust such a thing." With a final wave of her pipe, the last corpse and key was piled into the center of the ballroom, and the entrance to the room was sealed from the inside, forming a perfect closed room.
Though already aware of the answer, Ronove considered it a mark of professional pride to allow his mistress room for a more dramatic declaration. "Then milady, what shall you do?"
Beatrice opened the path to the tearoom intent on leaving to rest, "Why, the same thing we did once long ago my dear Ronove. Slaughter and sacrifice! I shall create countless closed room murders, corrupt the other heroic spirits, raise high the keys, and force all the praise my glorious name! I shall turn this land of Fuyuki into a city of demons, and bring down the Golden Land myself!" Having thrown down the figurative gauntlet, the witch vanished into her sealed off room, her demon butler trailing just behind her, and left that hall of the dead behind.
---
I'll write up something on Virgilia in awhile.
So, as a counter guardian and servant of the world, isn't EMIYA technically Beatrices greatest foe? Sure there is a big power difference, but I can see it happening. EMIYA manipulating the "game" to match Beatrice would be beast!!!
Whoa, that was one heck of a battle. Hmm still I can't help but feel that Gilgamesh was pitifully crushed a bit too easily. I can see that Gil was trapped in a bound field/reality marble of sorts that greatly amplified Virgilla's power, but Enuma Elish's destructive power is great enough that any reality marble/bound field would be utterly destroyed by the torrent of immense reality-breaking earth-shattering raw power Enuma Elish can bring. The Fallen Tower was really hax though. It's on the level of Avalon in terms of defensive power haha. Overall it was a pretty interesting chapter, although I can see your anti-gil bias leaking out all over the place hahahaha.
Go check out some awesome fan fiction!
http://forums.nrvnqsr.com/forumdisplay.php/5-Fanfics
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph.../FateStayNight
Because the remaining ten percent is worth dieing for.
Fortissimo EXA//Akkord:Bsusvier, Magi locked in a deadly battle royal. Sounds familiar right? Familiar and AWESOME.
http://forums.nrvnqsr.com/showthread...eo-Walkthrough
I may not have much knowledge on Umineko, but I do agree that Ea should have decimated the witch's garden like it did Rider's RM since that's the function of the NP being an anti-world weapon and all. Is there an explanation for why that didn't happen?
Spoiler:
What Fate/Stay Night character are you?
Kotomine Kirei
You are Kirei. You've always been a little different from the rest. You probably have low social skills. Whatever, it's not like what they think matters anyway. Ever searching for something missing within you, you probably don't experience the same happiness as everyone else. Good and evil are just labels, you are who you are.
Because they were not in a properly manifested reality marble, i.e. one that is overwriting the Earth. Or, if you don't like that, consider that Alex had no way to block Gil's attack, while Virgilia does.
Anyway, as far as taking Gil out goes, it took care of a couple things I wanted to do. Firstly just because nobody ever takes out Gil first, and secondly because I wanted Beato to play Virgilia, by far her strongest piece, early so that some stuff later on is more on level.
...
[Sign: Me likes it. A lot. Even though Virgilia was a bit overpowered there...]
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