(Ruler's Theme)
Location: Caracas, Venezuela, El-Dorado
For almost 1 hour, the rest of El-Dorado forces led by King of El-Dorado and Chaldea are holding off the five Machine Lords and multiple other war machines in the city of Caracas. The lousily made adamantine shields from the remains of Zeta proved to be effective for the soldiers to defend against the multiple beams. Combined with the massive golden chain defending them from harm, and the incredible performance of Lancelot, there have been no single fatalities on civilians.
However, that doesn’t address the underlying problem, the Machine Lords are still standing. Unless they are destroyed, it is just a matter of time for them to run out of stamina and Od. In which, they have no way to destroy even a single of them.
Lancelot, who has been drained of his magical energy during the fight with Lestari’s group and Machine Lord Zeta, can’t exert more energy to overpower the enemy and solely rely on his unparalleled swordsmanship. Only a Heroic Spirit of his caliber is capable of doing such feats against an army as powerful as SFA.
But even then, a stray beam finally goes through Lancelot’s defense and hits his Master.
“Guh—!!!”
“Damn it! Master–!”
Ritsuka Fujimaru, who has an athlete-level reflect, shields herself with an adamantine shield, but the force is enough to throw her a few meters and land on her back violently.
“It’s okay, focus on your enemy!”
(That being said… my magical energy is reaching its limit… if I lost more than this, Lancelot will…!)
The barely standing Ritsuka looks at the King of El-Dorado, the only Servant here supplied with the mana from Reservoir. Though he is powerful and would be a great help, he focused on slowing down the Machine Lords with his chains. It was big and durable enough to withstand multiple blasts from the Machine Lords, but he can’t fight them back effectively because of that. He has a powerful second Noble Phantasm, yet it is unfortunately useless against non-living beings.
As Lancelot defense begins to crumble, the Machine Lords begin to charge and focus fire on his chain. The combined force of the energy blasts is enough to break the chain into multiple pieces.
Though now his defense has been reduced, the man looked at the robots in front of him with contempt. The sight of these terrible and sadistic machines filled him with rage, he will never forgive what Leader had done, and what Leader had tried to do to his people. He never will.
But are those things more important than the lives of his people? The lives of many people in El-Dorado and South America?
He has done many terrible things. He has failed many things. Both as a king, a human, and an individual. For all this time, he has ruled with the way of conquest, and his kingdom is destroyed in the very same way in the past. And through his vulnerability, he has been manipulated by an unknown being that wished for something far more sinister.
Yet, Caster is willing to give him a second chance.
Yet, Ruler saved his people from being murdered.
Originally Posted by
What Lestari Elliwyn should do? February 15th, 2020, 03:47 AM
1) Stop King of El-Dorado. He is better than this!
Yet, the Master said he is a better person.
If that’s the case, if that’s all true, then this time, he wanted to do something fully right. Something he could be proud of. Something that his real mother could be proud of.
Originally Posted by
Ultimatum! October 7th, 2019, 03:13 AM
2) I will help you if you agree to be my vassals.
And this might be a secret that he never shares with others, but he has a soft spot towards women with a powerful conviction like his real mother. It is the reason why he is amused when Lestari proposed to make him her vassal, or when Kenshin is shown to be an adept tactician, or how Ruler is capable of stopping a Machine Lord with a single strike.
The king declares wholeheartedly- “I will not let you lay a finger on any of them anymore!”
Even so, a mere conviction and change of heart will not be able to help them from the cruel reality.
“...!”
A massive ray shines above the defending forces. What should be a night shrouded with gentle darkness turned into as bright as the daylight. But this is not a light of salvation, this is a light of judgment from someone that has nothing left.
If simply about protecting, their enemy has the same convictions as much as theirs.
Leader is also fully committed to destroying the people that caused harm and grief to his own.
* * *
Location: El-Dorado Base, Cusco, Peru, El-Dorado
Initializing OS… [Failure]
Initializing Widow-maker Self-Autonomy System… [Failure]
Sending Data to SFA Control Room… [Offline]
Begins Booting… 20%... 53%... 71%... 97%...
“...”
He shrinks and zooms his mechanical eyes a few times.
He opens and closes his palm a few times.
He is fully in control of himself. After 2,5 years.
“...!”
He puts his legs forwards, with his own will.
He took his half-broken railgun, with his own will.
“Wait, shit! The white horse is moving again!”
A few soldiers noticed him, but he put the barrages no mind.
“...our true leader… Ben…”
Unbeknownst to the El-Dorado soldiers, Benjamin Franklin used his galvanism to SFA Archer, in the hope he can run away once he wakes up. Benjamin knows that the man inside the metal armor always fights for the right thing, he wants to believe in his lingering humanity. He knows that he has no free will upon all those bombardments he had done as the feared trojan horse. He knows that he is also a victim of Leader's atrocity.
Yet, he still can't forgive himself.
How can he do? With his own hand! With his prized Noble Phantasm! He has taken the lives of many people!
He should have just killed himself before he can destroy more.
But that person said…
Originally Posted by
What Lestari Elliwyn should do? February 15th, 2020, 03:47 AM
1) Stop King of El-Dorado. He is better than this!
I believe no matter what happens, we should never give up our conscience.
If that’s the case, he too will not give up his conscience. He too will not give up to do good. He will continue to believe in his heart that Benjamin continues to believe.
That person’s action, despite it was not done out of sympathy, has inspired him to continue his life as a Servant. If someone that caused so much harm like El-Dorado Lancer should continue to move forward, so does he.
Perhaps many people will not forgive him, neither do himself, but…
He too is still a man worthy to be called a hero.
* * *
Location: Victoria, Pacific Ocean
Ferdinand Magellan has completely beaten up.
Stormalong continues to bludgeon her with his massive fist. The difference in strength between a young woman and a 4 meter tall giant is obvious, and she can’t go all out as she continues to protect Caster from being killed. And despite that, she continues to exert her energy to open her mouth and taunt her opponents.
“Heh… I will not… lose against you… Sgt. Frog…!”
“This is gettin’ tiresome! As long as she is not dead, it’s fine, right?!” He squeezed Magellan with his giant arms with a strength that could crush a building. “...!!!!!!” she jolted as her entire bones were crushed to bits. Her energy is so gone, that she leans her body to the enemy’s.
At last, Magellan is finally defeated. It will take a lot of Magical Energy before she can heal herself. It only took a second for EC Lancer to finally be able to slash Caster with his lance.
“Lady Fernan- Ugh!”
“I’m sorry, Magellan, Las Casas. But I must do this. Both of you never listen, after all.”
EC Lancer fully intends to bring Magellan back, but he can’t help but to feel sorry for the person he once admired. The Saint Graph he was summoned is his ambitious but naive young man side, the time when Magellan inspired him with her plan to find the Spice Route, that admiration feels just like yesterday to him. If he could convince her with words, he will gladly do so already.
But even so, he is still a king. He will hurt someone that he admires for the needs of the kingdom if necessary.
“‘I must do this’… eh? That’s exactly why… this world is so boring…!”
“...?” What she said brought attention to both Stormalong and EC Lancer.
“Because it is essentially… a story about lesser evil won against a greater evil, same crap as always, history always repeats the same story again and again… But Lestari-chan… she seeks a golden world where everyone can be happy, despite how cruel everyone is to her… no matter what happens to her, she will not say such boring things as that, heh…!”
EC Lancer listens to her words.
“A golden world… I suppose you are still a conquistador that seeks such a thing. But Magellan…”
Ferdinand Magellan is not a good person and she never thought of herself as one. No matter how pleasant, supportive, and positive she is, she is still a person willing to invade and cause harm to others for her own interest. As someone that knows her back when she was alive and a comrade in arms during the Greece Raid, EC Lancer understood that honest and dark side of her.
“You should know such a pretty world has no place for people like you,” she didn’t deny his declaration.
Yet she grins.
Originally Posted by
Servant Battle! January 29th, 2021, 01:03 AM
3] Prioritize defending Caster from Lancer.
2] FIghts defensively.
And as if fate itself laughs at this war, the ray fired from Omega that should grant SFA its spiteful victory shifts the battle to a different turn.
The blast causes the sea to turn turbulent and shakes Victoria, in turn, this makes Stormalong and EC Lancer lose their footing for a moment.
“What is that big energy…? It’s coming from SFA…?” said EC Lancer, stunned from the implication of that blast.
“No… that can’t be! That is a Machine Lord blast, it can be fired from afar?!” even Stormalong is in disbelief that such a dangerous thing is fired from their base.
All these give El-Dorado Caster his long-awaited opening to activate his Noble Phantasm.
“Sublimis Deus
The Sublime God Blesses All Mankind
. From now on, God will strictly judge any of our actions simply as fellow human beings.”
Caster holds a piece of papyrus paper in his hand. It is obvious that he already used his Noble Phantasm, but curiously, nothing happened yet.
“Crap he used it!”
EC Lancer, who knows Caster’s True Name and therefore his Noble Phantasm power, quickly retreats and jumps off from Victoria.
“Hmm?” Meanwhile, Stormalong doesn’t understand the danger of the Noble Phantasm.
As she hears the activation of the Noble Phantasm, Magellan has the widest grin plastered on her face.
She fires her matchlock pistol straight on his belly. It pierced through his defense just like human flesh, he immediately lost control of his grip and released her, something unlikely for someone with giant physiology.
With the last strength she had, she slams her matchlock pistol to the giant’s face. He immediately coughed blood and lost multiple of his teeth, something that shouldn’t be possible to his layers of thick muscles that have been enhanced by Readvent of Legends.
“How?!”
“Thanks, priest! It seems fate still favors me, after all…!”
Just like what EC Lancer addressed him, Caster’s True Name is Bartolomé de las Casas, a Spanish priest that preached for the human rights of the natives during the age of exploration.
He originally came to the Americas looking to make a fortune, but he soon realized that the natives should be treated humanely, and spent his entire life preaching for their rights. His effort culminated in a papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III that became his Noble Phantasm - the Sublimis Deus.
The bull stated that the natives are just as human and people as anyone they have encountered. Even if they were born in a continent removed from history, even if they haven’t heard the teaching of Christ, that doesn’t mean they are descendants or worshipers of the devil. They should be treated lawfully and equally, and their rights and freedom should be respected. Las Casas strongly believes that in the eye of God Almighty, all men are equal.
This crystallized into a Noble Phantasm is to bring all the subjects he chooses within the area as equals. There is no one more superior than the others, there is no one more inferior than the others. And so does a race, and so does a continent. Divinity, Demonic Blood, Phantasmal Race, Dragon Core, Innocent Monsters, none of those status matters, everyone is human.
This means that it removes all the advantages and disadvantages granted from those skills, including the advantage of Saint Graph Enhancement granted from Readvent of Legends to SFA Rider. Even if he looks like a monstrous giant, he is still a human. It is also why he is considered as the trump card to defeat SFA, as the Noble Phantasm could cripple the effect of Readvent of Legends. This is also how he could meld the Singularity with the real world, as the Singularity messes nothing with the past. He compares the Singularity and the real world that is connected by Magellan’s Estrecho de Todos Los Santos and brings them into an equal in history.
In other words, as long Sublimis Deus is activated, SFA Rider reverts back to just the human Heroic Spirit Zachary Taylor. He lost access to all the fantastical giant strength of Bulltop Stormalong granted by Readvent.
“You rely on your Saint Graph upgrade so much, there is no way you can defeat a completely human Servant like me! Victoria!”
The moment Magellan calls her name, all the cannons on the ship directs themselves to Zachary. They focus fire on him at the same time, and the force from the lightning speed cannonballs launches him out of the ship, plunging him to the depth of the ocean.
After using all of her energy, Magellan finally drops to the ground, unable to move after her body has been crushed. It seems that her monstrous adrenaline granted by Battle Continuation and Undying Will has reached her limit.
“You saved my ass, priest.”
“Nah, it’s all because of you shielding me so persistently.”
They shared a fistbump. Although Magellan's noodle arm immediately cracks from the impact.
“Ah…”
* * *
Location: Caracas, Venezuela, El-Dorado
The light of destruction descended to the city of Caracas. Multiple buildings and flying war machines are engulfed without discrimination.
Both El-Dorado Lancer and Lancelot have no more Magical Energy to defend against it.
“Master!” Lancelot rushes to Fujimaru Ritsuka, drops his Arondight, and shields his Master with his body.
Ritsuka’s vision is completely blocked with his armor, and Lancelot can only close his eyes as he resigns to his fate.
And yet, the blast they anticipated never comes.
“...?”
The bright sky is still there, but it has not poured down to the ground even after more than a minute.
Then, they looked above.
“Isn’t that…”
And they see a lone figure in the sky, all of his body darkened from the sheer brightness of the ray, using all his might to defend those below.
“The trojan…!” mutters the king.
SFA Archer, Pecos Bill, William Rufus Shafter.
A symbol of fear for El-Dorado. This Servant was considered to be SFA’s greatest weapon, and for 2,5 years terrorized El-Dorado with his orbital bombardment. Until half a day ago, this Servant has wrecked their alliance single-handedly. The king and the rest of El-Dorado have all the right to hate him and want him dead.
And yet, the man is the only reason they are still alive.
The railgun that William wields is capable of firing and withstanding the Noble Phantasm - Star Shooter. Though Omega is a far more dangerous weapon strategically as it can be fired from another continent, it is still an imitation of the real deal with a lower Rank and output. William uses his computer calculation to reverse engineer the weapon, and absorbs the blast fired by Omega.
“----!” But still, the sheer kinetic force and his ill-fitting condition continue to push him down, he also will soon be overwhelmed by the blast.
And then his back felt a relief. A giant golden chain supported his back and gave him an extra push. This allows him to channel all of his energy to use his nitrogen Mana Burst, allowing him to gain momentum to push back.
“Noble Phantasm: Star Shooter!”
The blast is continuously absorbed by the railgun and aimed back to the sky. It continues to beam to the stars above like a tower of light.
Star Shooter, like its name implies, is a Noble Phantasm that is supposed to be about shooting the sky. Ever since he bombarded El-Dorado base 2,5 years ago, he never used it for the intended uses.
This time, it is not a perverted version with the intent to harm another.
But a technique used to protect the lives of many befitting of a hero.
Soon, the night returns, only leaving faint lights like glittering snow. Everyone present stopped struggling to see the majestic sight they had never seen before. A sight that is genuinely beautiful without anyone needing to suffer from it.
The city is still intact.
But still, they can’t celebrate just yet. The Machine Lords are still around, and they resume their attacks immediately. As the king decided to support William with his chain, the Machine Lords are now unhindered. Their barrages on Lancelot who is currently defending his Master, and the beams pierce through his body.
“Ugh!!!” Lancelot falls to his knee.
“Lancelot! Crap- Kyaah!” once again, Ritsuka is thrown away from avoiding and shielding the Machine Lords’ barrages. It is to the point that she has no choice but to violently dodge them and sprain her limbs, even dodging causes harm to her body. Her breathing was heavy, her heart beating faster than ever, and her sight was heavy.
But she will continue to stand still, no matter what.
“I am not a hero or whatever that people keep saying but…” she slams her fist to her own palm, declaring that she will not go down until the very end. “---I am Ritsuka Fujimaru, the 49th Master of Chaldea! As long as I’m here, I will not let Chaldea’s effort to protect our future go to waste!”
And as multiple rays were about to slice her, it was deflected with another fine display of swordsmanship, a fine display in the way of katana not dissimilar with Kenshin’s.
“Hey, hey, it’s too early to be so dramatic, young lass.”
“This voice…!”
“I'm laughing my ass off when we figure out you have been sent to the present time of all things, you can’t imagine the face Da Vinci makes.”
Ritsuka has been saved by an old warrior dressed in blood red. The man is another Chaldean Servant, the most senior next to Da Vinci. He quickly rushes to their rescue using Chaldea’s private helicopter once Da Vinci figures out Ritsuka and Lancelot have been transported to the present day.
“Ahhhh, commander, it's you!” Ritsuka hugged the man affectionately.
“Sorry for the wait, it must be hard being just the two of you.”
He patted the young Master gently in the head. He then handed over what appears to be multiple portable mana batteries, the Craft Essence.
“Well, I learned a lot of things today… hm?” Ritsuka takes a close look at the commander Servant. “She really does look like you…”
“She?”
“Lestari’s ninja. She is like you but purple.”
“I’m happy that we are reunited, but can we save that until we finish them all?” reminds Lancelot as he is still on his knee.
“Yeah, yeah, you knights really have no chill! Learn more from the ninjas like the commander, geez.” she begins using the Craft Essence, and she can feel magical energy run through and energize her entire body.
Upon regaining her od, Lancelot does not take time to fire his Noble Phantasm and wipes out all five Machine Lords with a single swing.
This is the true strength of the vanguard of humanity. And they will not yield to any kind of evil anytime soon.
* * *
Year: 2022
Location: Pentagon, Washington DC, US, SFA
Daytime: Night
We can’t process what happened, we can’t accept this outcome.
I just stood there, watching the death ray cut through the sky.
We have used every choice available to us, yet they simply used the nanomachine Noble Phantasm to rebuild the cannon and still fired its ray.
This is just like in Cusco again, we can’t stop their second wave of attack despite our best efforts.
“Anyone! Hello! Anyone! Please copy!”
I can hear a faint voice from my pocket.
“A comm…?”
It continues to vibrate on my skin which I realized was coming from the phone Ruler provided to us.
“Miss Lestari, thank god, you can hear me! Da Vinci-chan hacking is the best! It’s me, Ritsuka! The blast from earlier, I’m sure it’s coming from your side, right?”
This is Miss Fujimaru’s voice…! It can get through Bell’s jammer?
“Earlier…? Wait, what happened there?!”
She survived that blast…? Does that mean everyone is safe?
“The white horse Archer shielded us! Listen, we need you guys there to stop the source!”
“You said that… but how…?”
I’m glad everyone is safe right now, but…
That nanomachine Noble Phantasm they have will continue to repair that cannon. We can’t even locate where Joe Magarac is to stop him from using it. And with the size of the Pentagon, there will be enough adamantine to repair it, again and again, perhaps more than five times.
I look at Kenshin again, who is as stunned as me.
Even if I use my Command Spell and use her Noble Phantasm again, it will not be enough to exhaust the nanomachine.
Unless…
We destroy the entire Pentagon alongside the people inside it.
“No… what is the difference between me and those people that harmed me then…?”
If I killed the people inside the Pentagon to stop the blast, I would use the same excuse.
But if I let it be, the blast might kill Miss Fujimaru and many civilians.
No, no, that choice can’t be right.
I gritted my teeth and squeezed my chest.
“...Miss Lestari.” even she can practically hear my frustration.
This is not fair, this is not fair at all.
Why always me?
Why do people that I don’t even know keep having their fates on my decision?
Please... just no...
“Let’s just hinder the charge with Victoria de Tucapel for now...” Leftraru already does so before I finish to tell him.
And then what? They can just replace the jammed cannon with another like before.
There is no option left...!!!
“Calm down.”
A metal arm pats my shoulder.
“This is not like you. You have been resisting that for five years, remember?”
As I tilt my face backward, I see a familiar helmet.
But this time, there is a crack on his visor, showing me his eye for the first time.
“Bell…?”
Both Kenshin, Assassin, and Leftraru quickly enter a combat position, but Bell simply raises his left arm, signaling he has no intention to combat them.
Of course, Leftraru doesn’t buy it and continues to rush to him. But then, Benjamin Franklin appears and grabs his arm from behind.
“Benjamin…?”
“The young miss, she won.”
Leftraru quickly stopped his advance the moment he heard that.
Bell continues to walk to the cannon, the Machine Lords never once minded his presence as they have been programmed to.
“Magarac, come out.”
The tone he uses to call his name is not his usual indifferent tone, his voice is low, almost like a plea.
A man entirely made of adamantine sprouted from the cannon. He looked at Bell, silently.
“Leader, enough.” As the cannon charges, the bright magical energy is reflected in Bell's broken helmet.
it almost looks like a tear.
“You have done enough for us.”
He looks at me, and I bring out all the 16 geomantic figures, knowing what he wants me to do.
Originally Posted by
Bell's Bond
Reach Bond level 3
“Lestari, please, remove Leader’s programming from him.”
“Yeah… Recursion.”
Once more, my Recursion easily breaks down Leader’s programming.
Alongside it, the cannon slowly crumbles and becomes a mountain of adamantine.
After that, all Machine Lords and other machines followed Bell's command to stop attacking.
The attacking soldiers are also asked to put down their weapons by Benjamin and Leftraru.
This battle has finally come to an end.
(Ruler's Theme Ended)
ARC OBJECTIVE: RESOLVE THE WEST WAR COMPLETED