I actually being serious for once as I was referring to Seigi "Living Disaster Man" Nomikata bleeding from overexhersion of magical circuits and, y'know, almost being killed by Berserker and his pilot.Originally Posted by Half-Blood Master
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On the other hand, this wouldn't be Seigi's first H scene after all so we're back where we started.
Quest of Fate
Apocrypha Universe Fate Quest Project
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Subida Caracoles, Valparaíso
Day 04
Morning Phase – 15
Sheer cold (-31°C/-24°F – Thermal Sensation 58°C/136.4°F)
Character Status
(BGM)
“No,” I say conclusively. “I’d say we are all done fighting for now. If that Berserker’s not coming for us, no reason to go looking for trouble with him.”
“No, that makes no sense,” Maria refutes. “We should take him out right now—”
“You just came out of a big fight, didn’t you?” intervenes the tired Senta. “I mean, I feel you’re probably stronger than Berserker, but we honestly don’t know how strong that guy can get, and you look like you could use a rest—”
“Alright, Nazi girl should keep her mouth shut—”
“Alright~” Senta repeats, obviously mimicking Maria’s voice. “I’m fucking done with this shit.”
A second later, Maria has her back on the ground, a bored-looking Senta looming over her after tackling her down.
“Hey, wait—”
“First, I have a name: Senta. Sen-ta. The protagonist of the ‘The Flying Dutchman’. It’s easy to say, isn’t it?”
“Get off me before I punch your head off your shoulders.”
“Yeah, that’s the thing, isn’t it?” Senta retorts, seemingly unbothered by the threat. “Even with Reinforcement, I shouldn’t be able to knock you down like this.”
Maria remains silent. Then, she blinks, and her sight goes a little hazy, as if she is not really looking at Senta or any of us anymore. It is an awkward silence, that Senta uses to push herself off Maria…or at least try.
“Ah—wah!”
Instead, she falls to the side, her groaning form ending up prone on the ground next to Maria.
“Okay, so I still can’t do much of the ‘moving’ thing.”
“Oh, you know that is what you get for using magecraft. You need to rest as much as Miss Saver here.”
The unamused Senta looks at Caster.
“You know, I can’t help but think you’re trying to sweeten me up for some tantric mana transference.”
“Well I’d never,” Caster mumbles while mock-pouting. The one who is really pouting, however, is Liria, still bearing with Nomikata on her back.
“You fuckers really are quick to take it easy. We’re not out of danger yet, and I really would like to check on Sakura, ya know.”
It is as if a magic word was spoken. Maria all but jumps to her feet, stumbling on the spot until she remembers to use her sword to support herself.
“What did you just say?”
Ah, right, she did not know.
“Ah, right, you didn’t know.” Thank you, Liria. “We don’t know the details, but Sakura and the Drake missus ended up in the church somehow. And that’s why we should get moving.”
“I’m gonna need some help with that,” says still-on-the-ground Senta before Caster moves to help her. Maria is obviously struggling against her own pride and against whatever keeps pushing her to fight. At last, however, she relents with a long sigh, as if expelling something noxious out of her body.
“…right. Let’s go. Um, carefully.”
And carefully we go; Maria probably holding to her patience as we move at a snail’s pace compared to her. Because we have the time, we explain to her what we know about Berserker, particularly the fact that there are two beings competing for control of his body.
“Hmm…” Maria does not seem too into it.
“Miss Maria does not seem too interested in Berserker.” Thank you Caster. It’s convenient not having to say everything out loud.
Maria shakes her head.
“Hey, I was the one who was up to beating the shit out of the guy; give me a break.” She sighs, more out of tiredness than anything in the discussion. “I mean, that fake maid implied a whole bunch of shit, but there’s some things she said that don’t really click with me anymore. I’m not very smart, so I won’t figure out anything unless I get enough information. Right now? Not enough.”
She shrugs, her dragging steps kicking around brown slush. A lot of the snow and ice in our way has melted. I think…no, it definitely was because of me. Well, because of the divine flame. It’s truly scary now that I look at it.
“In the end what matters is whether I can beat him or not, and no matter who they are, the Saint Graph belongs to some Nazi chump.”
“Wiligut,” Senta clarifies, and Maria snorts on the spot.
“Wiligut? That lunatic? Seriously?” She laughs.
“Well, he is a Servant who in fact knows and can do all the things Wiligut claimed to know and be able to do. That’s enough to make him a threat,” Caster muses.
“Magic Resistance,” Maria counters smugly.
“…right. Nevertheless, I still wonder about the body snatcher.”
Maria clicks her tongue.
“A part of me wants to believe the idiot maid was bullshitting us, but she doesn’t have a reason to lie to us so blatantly. If that Berserker were an obstacle she can get rid of, then she would just get rid of him, but she really doesn’t want to deal with whoever it is.”
“By any chance, does Miss Maria already know the Lady Maid’s identity?”
“Yeah, I’ve got an idea. No need to say her name; don’t wanna get Saver all hot and bothered.”
“Oh, so you also…!”
“Yeah, I’ve got Saver’s true name. Still call her Saver ‘coz apparently I can’t pronounce her True Name right.”
“Is…is that so…”
What’s with that look on your face, Caster? You look worried; is there something you’re not telling us?
“Javier.” Liria interrupts my observation. “You said something back there; something Lily said?”
“Yeah. I think she was trying to warn me about this whole…weird body-jacking thing.”
“I feel I should know who the hell Lily is, but I don’t.”
I think it is the first time—Liria and I share a chuckle at Maria’s very reasonable comment.
“It’s a long story,” she says. I can only shrug at this.
“Don’t remember most of it, though. Anyway, Lily’s last words were: ”
(BGM STOP)
“In the tale of Tristan and Isolde, there is more than one Isolde.”
*** ***
In front of the Parish of Saint Aloysius de Gonzaga, Cerro Alegre, Valparaíso
Sheer cold (-31°C/-24°F – Thermal Sensation 58°C/136.4°F)
The time for discussion ends when we step into the somewhat broader space in front of the Jesuit church. It is too small to call it a square or a plaza, though. The discussion ends not because we are done talking, but because we stepped into a war zone. A former one, at least.
With the sole exception of the church, which stands out like a sore thumb—a bastion of wholeness amidst the devastation—, not a single building was spared. It is a disaster. Somehow, the most intimidating part of it is the utter absence of odors. There are none of the scents you would expect to find in such an scene of devastation—smoke, gas, burnt flesh or the likes—, only an ominous quietude that raises more questions than answers.
That ominous stillness, however, is rendered null when a figure rises from a pile of debris and what at one point was a car. The moment she lifts her body, however, she whimpers and slumps back down.
“Shielder!” Senta tries to hasten her steps, but she is still clinging to Caster because she needs to, so it is Maria who moves ahead of the rest of us and reaches the fallen Servant.
“You alright?”
“I won~” The Herald declares with a swaying voice. “Big blue guy was tough, but I did it~”
(BGM)
“Big blue guy?”
“Um.” The Herald cannot even nod. She is an unmoving log atop a pile of debris. “He smelled kind of like you but different, like a little spoiled. And he also smelled kinda new, but it felt like he should smell older. He smelled really weird, but there’s a bunch of them weird smells around, like that big snake in the sea, and the guy that looks kinda like brother Nidhogg but not really.”
Well that was a stream of words.
“Shielder,” repeats Senta once she catches up, falling to her knees next to the Servant. “You’ve made a mess of yourself, just look at you.”
“But Master, I was right,” replies the Herald. “There was a friend of lion guy. So I beat him up.”
“Lion guy…” murmurs Maria. “That’s Ugallu. And the ‘big blue guy’ is yet another one. With the Bašmu, that makes five. Hell, are all of them here?” She shakes her head. “No, no, no, we’d have already seen a Laḫmu wrecking shit around. But, if this is his Noble Phantasm, then why the fuck…?”
“Maria?”
The girl is in fact startled by my calling out. She winces.
“Ah, haha, I’m just wrecking myself here. I really can’t think right now.”
Before I can do or say anything about it, Maria’s full weight rests on my side. I hurry to wrap an arm around her, until I realize my arms, just like the rest of my body, are still on fire.
“Hey, Maria, watch the fire—”
“Javier, your wimpy fire can’t do shit to me. If anything, this is kinda comfy~”
“There’s hope for your sex life, Javier! Hallelujah!”
“Shut up, Senta.”
I pointedly ignore the rather baffled-looking Maria because it seems the Herald just noticed I am here as well. Can you place stop staring at me as if I’m a piece of meat?
“You smell tasty now.”
That’s really dangerous when you’re the one saying it!
“I’m hungry.”
“I’m Javier.”
She blinks, clearly confused for a moment. Her mind works in weird ways, but she apparently gets it in the end and replies with the dumbest grin I’ve ever seen on a person. I think she is not entirely here, this Herald.
“Nobody’s eating anybody in non-figurative ways.”
“Owie,” complains (?) the Herald when Senta flicks her forehead.
“You’re really laying it thick with the innuendo today.” This comment is definitely a mistake, me.
“I almost died, okay!?” retorts the homunculus girl. “Several times! It’s the urge to breed, you know!? If anything, why the fuck aren’t you horny!?”
“You have some really weird ideas about humans!”
“Can you even breed?” murmurs Liria, and Caster shakes their head.
“It’s the principle of the thing!”
“She can’t,” Caster reveals.
“Ah, so she’s just a desperate virgin.”
“That really hurts when it’s the former whore who says it!”
“The hell you mean, ‘former’!? I’d still have a job if your goddamned mother and her goddamned Nazi friends hadn’t fucking kidnapped me!”
“I’m hungry,” repeats the Herald, making perhaps the most relevant comment in the last minute.
“Uh, we should just…get inside the church…?”
No sign of additional soldiers, and the tanks seemed to have stopped their deployment. They must be still out there, because we never heard them pulling back. For all we know, they might be preparing to rain shells on the church, but we don’t have a better plan right now. Of course, the most telling thing is that Berserker never came after us. Somehow, it does not feel very relieving. What the hell happened to that guy? Who won the battle of personalities?
“By the way, when do you plan to put out that fire?” Liria wonders. “It’s nice to have some warmth around, but the smoke is really annoying.”
“I’m…not sure I can, to be honest.”
I did not really try very hard—it’s cold out here, after all—, but it feels strange. Now that there is a constant outward flow of divine power, I’m a little wary of what will happen if I try to shut it off. I really don’t want to start another tug-of-war with the flame.
“Eh? Isn’t that bad?” Maria worries, but Senta clicks her tongue and shakes her head.
“Nah, it’s fine. Let’s just get inside.”
Senta and an expectant-looking Herald help each other back up. Free of her former burden, Caster moves to aid Maria, but the latter quickly refuses it and walks up the last stairs to the church’s door on her own. Liria shoots worried glances at Senta and me, but she is also carrying the still Nomikata upstairs.
(BGM)
Something does happen the moment I set foot into the building. A wave of utter weightlessness, like the startup of an elevator, accompanied by abrupt and brief vertigo. Something washes over me, and the only reason I don’t freak out is because I’m already used to Maria’s crazy aura.
And the fire is gone. It is a terrible, scary feeling—all of a sudden, I’m just an ordinary guy. Also, it’s fucking cold.
“You get it?” speaks Senta in her uncontrollably venomous voice. Truly, so much bile in that husky voice. “This is the house of the Lord. The local spirits have no power here.”Status Change
Huh. The Lord is mighty indeed—no, wait.
“But, I used the flame no problem in the Lutheran church.”
“The power of faith comes from the faithful, not from the building. As long as there is a single person with true faith, the church receives divine protection.”
“Maria…!”
It is a gasp more than an exclamation. Sakura Edelfelt detaches herself from Marco Ahrens and stumbles her way across the church to trap Maria in a hearty hug.
“Ugah!” That’s not the way to welcome a hug from a beautiful woman, Maria.
“I was really worried…!”
“I’m the one who’s supposed to say that! Where’ve you been all this time!?”
Yeah, you tell her. When she disappeared on Nomikata and me, it was the start of one hell of a mess.
“Ah, sorry, sorry; I got ahead of myself~”
“You don’t sound sorry at all!”
“Seigi!”
Naturally, Marco is already fluttering around Liria, concerned about the man on her back. Caster acts quickly to reassure the man.
“His condition is stable, but we need to keep him warm; it would be dangerous to use healing magecraft on him while his bodily functions are slowed down by the cold.”
“Right. There are plenty of bed and blankets in the parish house. Miss Forvedge is also there.”
“Um, Sakura. It’s hard to move like this,” Maria meanwhile complains. Certainly, Sakura’s hold on her has not relented in the slightest.
“No, it isn’t; you are a Servant.”
“Get off me, Sakura.” Indeed, straightforward is best, Maria.
“Nobody worries about me,” murmurs Senta to my right. “Why does nobody worry about me?”
“I worry about you, Master.”
“…fuck, you’re such a good puppy.”
“Muuu, I’m not a puppy…ehehehe~”
The mighty Herald of Fimbulwinter loses all credibility upon easily succumbing to a Nazi homunculus’ headpats.
“Those should be my words,” I retort, and Senta for some reason finds it very funny.
“Pfft, no, no, Javier, you have to care about people before you can hope for them to care about you. You humans are all about give-and-take.”
“Then why the hell are you complaining?”
“Ah, no, you see; not to toot my own horn, but, well, I’m a cute girl. That means I should be above that rule.”
Are all artificial humans this shameless?
Our eyes turn in response to new movement on the Nomikata side—the man himself appears to have regained consciousness.
“Wait, Mr. Seigi, you shouldn’t—”
“I’m fine, I’m fine, I don’t need to be carried any—wah!” His attempt to ignore Caster’s warnings ends with a stumble. Fortunately, there are plenty of empty church seats on which to steady himself.
“…alright, maybe not so fine. I think I’ll just sit down here. Um, thanks for the ride, um, Liria.”
“Seigi,” insists Marco. “Let’s go to the parish house, have Miss Forvedge look at you—”
Nomikata shoves away the other man’s hand before it can reach his shoulder. If he can react that quickly, I guess he is not dying at least, but Marco looks almost too surprised by the gesture.
“Nah, nah, nah, I’d really would rather just stay here. Just need to catch my breath, perhaps…you know, think for a bit.”
“Mr. Seigi, you also need to dry your clothes—”
“Ah, I can handle that no problem.”
He—I think he is using magecraft to dry his clothes? His clothes are moving unnaturally, as if there is some localized air current blowing over them.
“I know it’s not very magus-like. Don’t tell anybody,” jokes the man. Marco is still frowning, staring at Nomikata for several quiet seconds before acquiescing.
“…I’ll ask Miss Forvedge to come over here to take a look at you.” The guy’s a real mother hen, huh.
Nomikata nods vaguely.
“Sure, sure.”
Thus, we leave Nomikata behind when we make our way to the parish house behind the church. I lived there for a while, so I naturally take the lead—not that anybody could ever get lost in there. Sakura is no longer clinging to Maria. I look like the leader of a procession of the damned: everybody looks absolutely wrecked.
As soon as we reach the room, we all become witness to an even more emotional reunion. A Maria I have never seen before falls to her knees next to the bed currently holding Alicia Drake, mixed guilt and relief creating a painful-looking mask on her face.
“I left you behind…”
“No, no, Miss Maria,” Alicia gently takes the hands of the girl wrecking herself with her own feelings. “You are the only one who can end this crisis, right? You’re working hard, aren’t you? You don’t have to worry for a powerless woman like me.”
“Alicia—” A displeased husband is about to intervene, but—
“Like hell I wouldn’t worry! Of course I would! I can’t stop thinking ‘bout how many people have already died! What’s the point of winning if the whole city is razed by the end!?”
Alicia’s eyes glimmer with unshed tears. One hand lets go of Maria to rest on her head, stroking it gently.
“Ah, you really are her granddaughter.”
While Maria looks up at the convalescent woman with whole new eyes, Fiore Forvedge walks around the bed to regard Liria, her eyes softening at the sheer amount of wounds still lingering on her superhuman body.
“You all right?”
“Hmph. I’ll be.”
Is Liria trying to act tough in front of all these people? That’s kinda cute, and from the look on Fiore’s face, not very convincing. The woman’s a physician, you know.
Marco Ahrens stands on his own by the corner, looking thoughtful, while Caster is already pushing Sakura back to the second bed to begin their examination of the wounded. It is a little interesting, having both an ancient and a modern medic around.
“Maria, by this point, you are fighting for something far greater than the fate of a single city,” Sakura points out. I nod at that for no real reason.
“We’re still the third wheels, Senta,” I murmur jokingly at the woman, who merely raises her eyebrow.
“We? Speak for yourself, I have a dog to keep myself busy.”
“Eheheheh~” The headpats do not cease. Anyway, where is the master of the house—ah, there he is…
(BGM)
Father Scherer walks past me like I’m not there, taking a moment only to hand over a jug of water to Fiore before addressing Marco Ahrens. He looks worried, and his voice reflects this.
“What is going on?” He asks. “Six people came in, then suddenly there was a seventh person, and now that person just left.”
Marco’s eyes widen in realization.
“You didn’t detect him because he was being carried…! Damn it!”
I don’t have to think twice before chasing after Father and Ahrens. I barely catch Fiore warning the wounded women to stay where they are. Senta dispatches the Herald to follow me, but isn’t the Herald wounded and tired as well? Well, we all are, but—
“Seigi!” calls out Marco the moment he steps into the church, but, as we all already suspected on the way here, he speaks to an empty chamber.
Seigi Nomikata is gone.
“The hell’s his deal…?”
The priest still has it in himself to slap the back of my head.
“Language, Javier.”
“No…” Marco murmurs to himself in that low tone of his. Shit, the guy looks like he wants to throttle someone.
And then he says something absolutely incomprehensible.
“Was that really Seigi…?”
END OF MORNING PHASE
Catalog of Somewhat Original Servants
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Iiiiiiiiiinteresting!
Not much else to add to that, really.
By the way, Daneel, I think there was a typo?
"Can you place stop staring at me as if I’m a piece of meat?" - I guess that should be "please" instead of "place".
Also:
"“Can you even breed?” murmurs Liria, and Caster shakes their head.
“It’s the principle of the thing!”
“She can’t,” Caster reveals."
It feels like Caster's words should come before Senta's reply.
Place your bets, who is piloting Seigi?“Was that really Seigi…?”
Quest of Fate
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heh“Ah, so she’s just a desperate virgin.”
rip nigredo man
Sorry, Daneel, found something else:
"If that Berserker were an obstacle she can get rid of" - Shouldn't that "can" be "could"?
Beyond Their Sight – 08
An Unknown Location Near the Coast, Valparaíso
(BGM)
Hexensoldaten II, Codename Isolde, has lived a simple life determined by the commands of others. Always doing as told, fulfilling simple duties for which they feel no joy nor fulfillment. Simply obeying. Obeying, and existing.
It is therefore very sad that, the first time they choose to act on their own, they are met with a situation they are powerless to face.
“Elisabeth…”
The youngest of the six squirms and groans on a bed, spasms wrecking her body. The beads of sweat gleaming on her face match her pained expression, and her dark uniform absorbs that same sweat before it freezes.
Isolde’s healing magic does not work, which means that there is nothing wrong with Elisabeth.
“This is…this is, fine…”
“How could it be…?” cries out the blonde one, paralyzed by an utter lack of ideas. If their magecraft does not work, then Elisabeth does not need a doctor or any other healer. Then what can they do for her? What if the Sovereign—no, what if that one is already looking for them? They have to stay on the move, hoping for the impossible.
Elisabeth breathes heavily, panting as if she were giving birth. Her single uncovered eye looks for Isolde, who cannot begin to imagine the look on their own face. Pity? No, Isolde probably does not even know pity. They are just afraid.
“I guess…you get it now.”
Isolde closes their eyes at the other’s words, grimacing as if they had taken a gunshot.
“…are you…going to kill me?”
“Are you…going to run away…?”
The question breaks them, and they collapse next to the bed, sinking their face on the mattress to hide tears that cannot be hidden.
When they hear the yelling voice calling out her name, little Isolde only whimpers and covers their ears to drown the world away. When a single, gentle hand drops on her fair hair in a pathetic attempt at comfort, little Isolde only keeps sobbing, for the gentleness of others is another blow to the heart of one who has nothing.
(BGM STOP)
*** ***
Department of Immigration and Migration, Melgarejo 669, Valparaíso
It was a public building. When the city froze to stillness, it became a warehouse where human beings were stored in blocks of ice. Right now, it is just a place of death, littered by well over two dozen dead bodies. All of them frozen, albeit not by the singularity’s ice prisons.
“Here, have some water.”
(BGM)
Diego Vyhmeister drinks desperately the water poured into his mouth by his sister’s hand. His body is cold. It is the first time he has experienced such a thing, and the first time María Magdalena sees him so weak. Javier Lucero stole his inner flame, the chthonic fire from the aspect of the Cherufe implanted into his body when he was still in his mother’s womb. However, there is no way that can be permanent, right? He just has to rest and recover, and that inner flame will come alive again…right?
Breathing heavily, Diego clings to his sister like a frightened child. Panting, shivering, he looks so small.
“It’s cold…it’s so cold, Magda…”
“It is.”
“This is wrong….this is all wrong….this cannot be right…”
“Are you asking me to comfort you?”
Her words are cold and devoid of compassion. It is not the affection of a sister, but the rigidity of a scion of the Vyhmeister family. Diego is startled, and somewhat wider eyes look up at his sister, who returns the look with coldness to match her voice.
“Do you need to be comforted, brother?”
Her severity inflames him with something. His body is still shivering, but his breathing eases down and he pulls himself away from the girl.
“No…of course not,” he declares, his voice slowly regaining a boastful tone. “Only the weak need to be comforted.”
“And you are not weak, right.” María Magdalena’s voice is perfectly even, devoid of the nuances of intonation.
“Of course not,” he replies with a voice just as flat.
“You are the triumph of our family. The strongest mage in the world.”
“The strongest mage in the world.”
They stay silent for a while, as if letting the words sink in and worm themselves into their souls.
“Those things called ‘Servants’…” Magdalena speaks after a while. “They’re not human. They are spirits, advanced ghosts. There’s no need to measure yourself against them. There is no need to fight them.”
“…right…”
“We could just stay hidden and endure until those monsters kill each other and the weather returns to normal…but you would not be satisfied with that, would you?”
Diego sighs and leans back to rest on the row of uncomfortable seats.
“Damn right I wouldn’t. There’s no way I can do nothing now that I know he is here.”
“So you’re going after Javier after all—”
“Of fucking course I am!” roars the male sibling. “I’m going to char him to ashes, just like he—!”
Diego stops himself; he is tired and dehydrated, so that burst of emotion is enough to trigger a stinging ache in his head.
“…whatever. We’ll be careful. Even if I’m the strongest, I’m not going to charge in with all his allies around. And before that…”
A new, passionate gleam gives unexpected luster to eyes that should show tiredness instead.
“…I need magical energy. I need warmth. I need a virgin, Magda.”
“…right.”
He is a Cherufe, after all.
As María Magdalena slowly takes off her clothes, her mind drifts away from her brother and the building itself, reaching out to the great outdoors and the vastness of the ocean to the north, currently hidden beneath a layer of ice. She reaches into those depths, where a gargantuan serpent lurks. A supernatural creature, for no ordinary serpent should be able to survive in waters that cold.
Magdalena knows it is out there, and it knows she knows when their minds touch for a moment.
She smiles. Her brother will take it the wrong way, but she cares not about that.
*** ***
Ruins of Bismarck Square, Avenida Alemania 5255, Valparaíso
(BGM)
The Maid does not need her eyes to see, nor her ears to hear. Even if you plucked her eyes out and pierced through her eardrums, the world would still reveal itself to her, for it loves her as much as she loves it. Even with her eyes closed, basking in the breeze any reasonable person would find painfully cold, she knows everything she needs to know.
“So that was the result,” she says not to the air. “I knew I would be disappointed, but that does not make it less disheartening.”
It is true that she set things up for their meeting, but she in no way influenced the final result, except perhaps through the bolstering effect of the crown of her Authorities.
“I can understand why you changed bodies upon realizing that Mad Enhancement is too much of a liability. Furthermore, the integrity of his soul is compromised by its multipartite constitution, making it susceptible to such powers. As a vessel for you, he is almost perfect,” posits The Maid. “However, that is only within the territory defined by the singularity, where the Big Sister is limited in action. Once she catches wind of what happened, well…”
The Maid shakes her head.
“What keeps bothering me is that you are not using the innate powers I gave you, but a completely different technique that achieves a similar effect. Where and how exactly did you learn to wield the Holy Tyrant’s attribute of usurpation in that way?”
Naturally, she already has several hypotheses, but they will never cease to be that without the means to verify them.
“Now, do not misunderstand me. I am not trying to manipulate you. I told you, all of you, that you are free to live your life however you desire. My feelings have not changed, and I do not have any desire to fight you.”
Her easygoing seating posture, one leg elegantly resting atop the other, dos not match the severity of her words.
“However, should you choose to stand in my way, do not doubt for a moment that I will not hold back.”
She says that, but she also knows the target of those words will not, cannot stop.
“You want the Grail, do you not? Moreover, no matter how good that body is, it is not the body you truly want, right?”
The Maid requests knowledge from the world and the world grants it. Within this frozen garden, nothing escapes her awareness.
“This is your opportunity to think very well about what you want, and how you intend to take it.”
A pause.
“No, I do not have favorites. Hopefully soon you will understand, why that girl demanded so much of my attention.”
Seated on one of the many large pieces of pillar left behind by Archer’s barrages and the fight between Saver and Lancer, she gazes at the immensity of Valparaíso and the frozen ocean beyond. At the lives still struggling there, after most of them have been turned into sacrifices at the altar of the Fourth Reich. That is unmistakably her sin, but if there is somebody who can bear with the weight of thousands of deaths, it is she.
“I cannot just hand over to Grail to anybody. That would be unfair to everybody else. The Grail will be used by the one who claims it, as I claimed it in the Pyrenees. That is how it has always been, right?”
The wind dances. Her hair flutters wildly. Jumping off the block of stone, The Maid pointlessly stretches her arms and back.
“To think, I put so much effort into protecting that boy all those years ago, and now I may have to bear witness to his death. It is a little sad.”
With those words, she disappears, spatial translocation magic executed flawlessly and instantaneously. It is not magecraft she wielded in life, yet it is a trivial miracle in her current form. She leaves behind yet another ruined landmark in the frozen city of hills, a silent witness to misery past and ongoing. A layer of frost will soon cover the spot where she sat.
However, if she was truly alone in Bismarck Square, then who was she talking to all this time?
*** ***
Ruins of Errázuriz Avenue, Valparaíso
(BGM)
“I am the King…I am the King…the King…the inheritor of…the eternal bloodline…lasting two hundred thousand years…”
He is the king of an empty, silent kingdom. He walks with uneasy steps, like a drunken man. He meets a faceless soldier here and there, but without proper instructions, they are unmoving dolls, standing purposelessly like props in a stage of ice and debris. The Berserker of the Black Sun is the king of a realm of lifeless automata.
“…the King…the King…nobody else…I am the King, and only the King…this world…this world is my birthright…”
The tanks never advanced because they did not receive the order to do so. The rocketeers did not fire their artillery at the church atop the hill because they did not receive the order to do so. The one supposed to deliver those soldiers, Hexensoldat IV Ortrud, is silent. The radios in the military trucks release only noise.
Even if all these soldiers kneeled, it would mean nothing. They are just machines, after all. None of those who should kneel before him is there to do so. Brünnhilde, Isolde, Ortrud, Elisabeth; even Archer, his own Servant, whose active and latent connection he can feel, has the insolence not to answer his calls. The chosen people, those who endured the great freezing and are thus meant to become the subjects of his eternal kingdom, have instead stood in defiance.
The Sovereign of the Fourth Reich, Karl Maria Wiligut, stands truly alone.
“Why…whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy!?” He howls, and a lash of lightning surges out of his body, spearing through the torso of a hapless soldier. “Do they not understand…do they not understand!?”
His shouts become potent pressure waves that push even armored vehicles away.
“What does it take to make those fools understand!?”
Gravity abruptly increases thirtyfold around Berserker, crushing the street beneath him, the debris around him, a handful of frost-covered corpses, and one unfortunate soldier who happened to be standing there.
“That they stand in the presence! Of their one and only King!”
His mind is fire. His eyes see only red. He is alone, surrounded by fools and rebels. His very mind was invaded, his body taken over by that freak of all people. He is free now, but not without consequence. Nobody needs the Servant Skill Mad Enhancement to become insane.
He wants to rampage, to crush everything around him with gun and spell. His body twitches, his muscles are taut; Berserker is a coiled spring ready to let go.
However, he cannot. There remains a single sliver of composure, a lone thread holding his mind at the brink of madness devoid of thought.
“…yes, the King…I am the King…”
Yes, he is the King.
A mindless animal cannot be a King.
“I’ll show them…I’ll teach them…they will learn…and then they will kneel…”
It is infuriating that this necessary. It is unbearable that he actually needs to remind those fools of who they must serve and revere. He is the King of the World; he should not need to lift a single finger to make people fall to their knees in worship. That is what it means to be the Pinnacle of Man.
However, if a reminder is needed, then a reminder is what they shall have.
“The vats…” he murmurs. “I have to reach the vats…”
Indeed, the foundation of every autocrat is strong, loyal military power. The standard soldiers, while unfailingly obedient, simply will not cut it anymore.
The time has come for the Fourth Reich to reveal the deplorable depths of its arcane engineering.
Last edited by Daneel Rush; July 21st, 2023 at 05:06 PM.
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So whoever was possessing Berserker has jumped ship onto Seigi after all and is assuming direct control after all.
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I’m always impressed that even late game there’s still hints of plot elements that haven’t even come to the surface still because of the choices made.
Given how the Maid talks to that figure, part of me does wonder if it’s Dumuzid the deadbeat ex-boyfriend. Mostly because the usurpation reference and Tiamat spawn makes me think of Marduk, yet it’s not actually Marduk she seems to be speaking to and her tone has some affection but also disappointment. Plus there’s some precedent for Dumuzid and Marduk syncretism via Bel. Hum.
Not really confident in that guess though and still trying to parse the Isolde hint.
Whoever it is wearing a Seigi suit now, I hope nothing goes wrong...
A Seigi suit which apparently has a connection to the Root somewhere inside it, to boot.
If whoever is in control of Seigi now is either a Human-God OC in my opinion or as you've aptly suggested Dumuzid and Marduk (given the flashes of misogyny shown it could also be the living Karl who jumped ship before his body died maybe? Either way it's definitely not Maria's grandma making a last minute appearence) Either Seigi and Aoi will need to wrestle control back or the pilot whomever they are may cause them both to bite it.
Here is my theory on the Isolde hint:
Lancer Lily was the priestess Enheduanna in her youth before she became a Human-God. Alter-Ego is Enheduanna-Ishtar whom merged with and used her as a vessel however when the synchronisation began she was clearly more divine leaning than mortal. Therefore 'Ishtar' who is in control is speaking to her Enheduanna who is in her head.
I have to commend you for the rhyme alone at least.
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Parish of Saint Aloysius de Gonzaga, Cerro Alegre, Valparaíso
Day 04
Midday Phase
Sheer cold (-31°C/-24°F)
Character Status
(BGM)
“Guys, guys, let me figure out things here.”
It is Senta, of all people, who breaks through the cloud of noise this small parish bedroom has become. Everybody was talking at the same time, but Senta’s throaty voice has a way to grab attention. Perhaps because she always sounds like she is hexing someone.
“I mean, I get it; the guy’s a looker, and you’ve got reason to worry about him. But you cannot be seriously thinking of going back out there to look for him. I mean, have you guys taken a look at each other? We’re wrecked as shit here.”
Yeah, I guess we all needed to hear that. The reminder that we are all tired, most of us are hungry and thirsty, and some of us are even wounded. The cloud of gloom floating over us is just exhaustion.
“We have to go out anyway,” points out Father Scherer, and he is right. There is not enough food in the parish for all the people here—at least the ones who do need to eat. However, if I look at this group…Senta and Mrs. Drake are in no condition to leave on a scavenging expedition. Sakura looks the type that will push herself too hard, but it would be better to have her rest some more. The three Servants here…they both look tired, but Liria and the Herald both look like she’s taken some wounds—hell, I can see them slowly regenerating right in front of my eyes. It is a bit creepy. Fiore and Caster are the medics, so at least one of them would have to stay. Basically, the ones faring the best here are the guys, but Marco Ahrens is the only one among the others who apparently knows how to fight supernatural bullshit, I’ve been running on adrenaline and Divine Flame doping this whole morning, and I feel I will drop dead if I as much as sit on one of those beds.
“We’ll figure out how to split up in a moment,” I propose with unfounded confidence. “Before that, what were you saying back there, Mr. Ahrens? About Nomikata?”
“Ah, just Marco is fine,” he says, and I acknowledge it with a nod.
“You seriously think something’s happened to him? Something like that crazy Sovereign or whatever?”
“I wouldn’t know that much; I still haven’t heard the full details,” he points out. “The thing is…”
The so-called “Nazi hunter” shakes his head.
“To be honest, I just met Seigi when we made the trip to Chile. Most of what I know about him is what Lily told me. But I think I have lived long enough to get a decent grasp of people in a couple of days, and there was something about the Seigi that came here with you that did not quite match the Seigi I know.”
I wish I knew what you are talking about, but I guess I should trust the one who has actually interacted with the guy.
“The words he used, his overall attitude and gestures…they lacked something…his rigid self-awareness and self-care. Well, call it intuition or whatever, but once you bring up things like possession and body-stealing, it is obvious to connect the dots.”
“Yeah, but how and when did that happen?” Senta ponders. “You guys were all together, right?“
She is looking at Liria and me.
“I think you would have noticed somebody taking control of redhead’s body. There wasn’t anybody else there, was there?”
“No, there wasn’t—”
“Unless the person who was possessing Berserker has now switched to Seigi’s body,” Liria points out. “Why would they switch from a Servant to a mere human, though?”
“Because it was a Berserker,” Fiore and Caster propose at the same time. It is strange that it is the Servant who shoots an uncertain glance at the former mage, who returns it with unflappable serenity. Fiore does look a bit pale, though. Then again, so does everybody else.
“If this…’body-stealer’ was truly in control of Berserker, then it was subjected to the effect of Mad Enhancement. Maybe it decided that the advantages of having a Servant’s body were not worth the deterioration of sanity. Maybe it will try to use Seigi until it gets the chance to take over another Servant.”
“Not me, that’s for sure,” Caster idly comments. “Whoever they are, they definitely know I am mostly powerless by myself.”
Fiore’s explanation makes sense. Somehow, I’m beginning to realize that Fiore is in fact the most knowledgeable among the mages in here.
“Well, yeah. I think we’d have been screwed if he had a bit more control of himself,” Liria admits, and I guess I have to agree.
Maria reacts to that with a bitter grimace.
Goddammit, girl, I know what you are thinking, and I hate it. I hate that you are thinking it, and I hate being aware of it.
“Even if that was what happened, you still don’t know when it happened—”
“The lightning,” Liria abruptly brings up. Wait, are you serious?
“He is the only one who took a direct hit,” she points out. “It definitely couldn’t have been earlier than that.”
“Yea, but none of that tells us who the hell was in Berserker’s body in the first place!” Senta complains to nobody. “’coz let me tell you, Javier, I may only have been around for a year, but I’m pretty confident I’d have noticed if there were more than one Isolde running around!”
“…right.”
“Wait, there’s this thing,” Sakura then speaks. “Where’s the body snatcher’s original body?”
“From what The Maid explained, it was originally possessing Mis…um, Miss Isolde,” Caster explains. “At some point it appears to have moved to Berserker, according to the testimony of Liria and Javier.”
“And now it’s taken Nomikata, if Marco here is right,” Sakura finishes. “Nobody has seen a hint of the body stealer, then. I mean, they’ve got to have a body of their own somewhere. In fact, we do not even know if it is actual possession, and not some form of remote domination.”
“What if it’s a Servant?” Fiore ponders. “With an ability to take control of bodies when in Spirit Form, or something like that.”
“That would be rough,” Maria mutters. Her eyes tell me she is already thinking how she could even fight such a Servant. She is being rather quiet right now. Maybe she’d like to share her thoughts on the matter?
“A penny for your thoughts, Maria?”
“People don’t say that anymore, grandpa.” Maria’s retorts are harsh when she’s in a foul mood. “I guess I am thinking about something…but, I’d rather not embarrass myself and throw out a wild theory. I’ll know when I meet that Nomikata guy…or whoever ends up taken over next.”
“You’re not thinking of—”
“I want to,” Maria interrupts Senta. “But I’m not gonna leave you guys alone just to chase after one guy.”
(BGM STOP)
“And that, child, is why you deserve better than that filthy demon you are burdened with.”
As it’s always been the case in the past few days, everybody moves faster than I can keep up. Before I can do or say anything, I’ve been pushed against the wall and two people—Liria and Father Scherer—make a wall of flesh between me and the person appearing shamelessly in the very center of the room. The Herald, standing of all fours on the bed, also acts as a guardian for the convalescent Senta. Maria’s golden aura engulfs half the room, Fiore somehow put both members of the Drake couple behind herself, and Sakura, who I’m pretty sure was resting on the second bed, is now blocking the sole entrance in a boxer’s stance.
The only one who did not move in the slightest, was Caster. Despite being a Servant, they’re the one who just stands there like a deer in headlights.
(BGM)
“My, such belligerence,” speaks my ever-calm teacher. “If I did not know better, I would think you intend to fight me. That cannot possibly be the case; we are in a temple, after all. Who would dare draw weapons in a holy building?”
Her eyes set on Maria, who in return tightens her grip on her large sword.
“Well, I guess that tactless dancer would do it. Congratulations on your victory against Lancer, child. It was a commendable effort, and a triumph well earned.”
“Yeah, whatever. Don’t give two shits about your praise.”
“So?” continues The Maid, unbothered by Maria’s harsh words. “How do you feel after slaying a hero?”
Everybody can tell Maria is visibly shaken by those words. It is like watching a person going through all the stages of grief in a matter of seconds, except that acceptance at the end is replaced by barely-restrained rage.
“You bitch…! I could take you on, right now…!”
“No, you could not,” dismisses The Maid. “As much as it pains me to admit it, that demon inside you could fight me. You, girl, most certainly cannot.”
“You’re surrounded!” Maria insists, and Garmr grunts her agreement.
“No, I am not. Is it not tiring, constantly saying things that are patently not true?”
Her unflappable calm is an obvious taunt to all the people here.
“The woman behind me,” she starts, referring to Sakura. “Is most certainly not an obstacle.”
“Oh, you would be surprised,” Sakura taunts back, her voice all but daring The Maid to try to leave through that door. However…
“Ah, you mean your Hollow Element,” The Maid retorts, and Sakura all but stumbles on the spot. “Of course I know of it. Woman, you cannot be so arrogant as to believe you can challenge me with such unpolished magecraft.”
She then turns in my direction, and I feel my heart stop for the split instant when her intense red eyes meet my own. However, her attention is not on me.
“Liria’s Noble Phantasm is fearsome, and she could probably kill me with it, but she would also slay everybody in this room who is not a Servant.”
Liria can only click her tongue, and thus we all know The Maid speaks the truth.
“And then there is Caster. She will not fight me, for to do so would be blasphemy. Ah, and she would die to Liria’s Noble Phantasm as well, by the way.”
The Servant in question only drops her head in silent acquiescence.
“Neither would Senta, for that matter. She knows better than to raise her hand against her mother.”
“You wouldn’t know what I’m capable of doing when my life’s at stake, ‘Mom’.”
For a chance, The Maid seems to halt at that, taken aback by the words for a moment.
Just for a moment.
“…you make a valid point. I guess I do not know after all. My apologies.”
It becomes Senta’s turn to be surprised by The Maid’s apparent yielding.
“Ma’am, if you have not come here to fight us, then what is the purpose of your presence?” As expected, Father Scherer can handle these kinds of situations with a cooler head, or perhaps he feels he has to because this is his house—more precisely, the house of his God.
“Ah, yes, thank you for the proper cue, Father. I do appreciate people who know how to direct a conversation.”
Before anybody can do anything about it, she has already drawn her cuneiform signs of sparkling golden radiance with the tips of her fingers.
“—oh, watch that,” The Maid scolds, swatting away Maria’s piercing sword like one would an annoying fly.Arḫuš šaneša igi barbar šaguru giri šu ĝal zakamMercy, compassion, care, lenience and homage are yours
The signs of light scatter into countless points that wash over everybody. I can see how the Herald’s healing accelerates, and our small scratches and swellings quickly fade away.
“I can heal simple wounds, but no healing spell can reverse physical exhaustion or fill a man’s stomach,” The Maid points out before turning her hard gaze upon Maria. “However, if I am going to be attacked every time I chant an incantation, I guess I should cast everything silently from now on.”Status Change
“As expected of a mage from the Age of Gods, I guess…” Fiore murmurs to the side, sounding a little dejected. Did she say those words as a physician, or as magus?
“Ah, do not misunderstand me, last scion of Yggdmillennia,” The Maid quickly corrects. “I was summoned at a stage of the original’s life in which she still had to cast most spells like every other mortal. When I claim to cast spells silently, it is not really spellcasting in the way humans do, but tapping into my crown of divine authority.”
“So you’re a Divine Spirit…”
“Hmm, that is not entirely correct, but we can have that conversation tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes,” The Maid blandly responds to Sakura’s one-word question. “I have come here to invite you all to dine with me tonight.”
What the hell is this person saying?
“Everybody will make their final push for the Grail tomorrow, so today will be our one and only chance to have a proper conversation. I have no need to learn anything from you, but I am confident there is something each and every single one of you would like to ask me.”
A pause.
“No, this is not only about me. There are plenty of things you need to tell each other, no? Might as well do so in a pleasant environment, while enjoying a hearty meal.”
Her eyes gleam thanks to the light of Maria’s demonic radiance.
“It might very well be your last, after all.”
It is not a threat. She is not claiming she intends to take our lives. After all, there are plenty of things out to kill us in this frozen world. What she is saying…is that everything will end tomorrow, in one way or another.
“Who else is invited to this…dinner?” Sakura asks that of all things. No, actually, it makes complete sense; why did I assume this was just for us here?
“I will invite everybody, but I do not expect everybody to attend,” The Maid admits. “Furthermore, I intend for this to be a peaceful affair, and I will be very cross with anybody who shows up with other ideas.”
It sounds terrifying. All of a sudden, every single word that comes out of her mouth sounds terrifying. What the hell? Why does her presence—she was always impressive, humbling and attention grabbing, but now she is just plain intimidating. What has changed? No, is it I? Am I the one who has changed somehow?
“With that said, I will be waiting for you all at the Club Alemán tonight. I have to extend invitations to everybody else, so I will be taking my leave.”
“Wait, Sigrun!”
It is the loudest Marco Ahrens has spoken today. The hint of a smile forms on the corner of The Maid’s lips.
“I have not been called that in a very long time.”
“Why are you doing this?” asks the man, his usually harsh eyes now filled with anguish. The smile disappears from my fearsome teacher’s face. Now she just looks bored and disappointed.
“Otto, you already asked me that question on the 22nd day of September, 1938. The answer has not changed.”
Everyone is now staring at Marco with varying degrees of surprise, but I have the feeling some people are doing it for different reasons. The Maid frowns.
“Could it be, that you are still trying to pin the blame for everything on me? Do you still carry the hope that I was ‘the vile witch who poisoned your beautiful German nation and its leaders’?”
She shakes her head.
“You are making the same mistake the British prime minister made that day, Otto,” she continues. “Adolf is long dead and gone, yet you are still underestimating him.”
The words are heavy, and render everybody in the room utterly speechless. It is as if she had invoked the name of a bogeyman and awakened all the fears of our childhood.
“I feel sorry for you, to be so incapable of seeing the facts as they were. Although, it may be that the Burial Mound Group did not include enough processing ability in your design; I would not know. In any case, if you still want to talk about those boring years, I guess I can indulge you tonight after I drink enough. Have a pleasant afternoon.”
(BGM STOP)
As if taking advantage of our silent impotence, her body fades out of existence until it completely disappears, leaving just as abruptly and unabashedly as she arrived. She does as she wishes, stirring people’s hearts at her whim and leaving us to deal with the consequences. The teacher that looked rigid, cold and severe that night I first met her is actually very flighty.
The silence is broken by a sigh.
(BGM)
“Haa, whatever,” spits out Maria as she makes her way outside, all but shoving her way past a forlorn Sakura.
“Maria—”
“Look, I know I’m an idiot, but right now I want some time to think, alright? I need to be alone.”
She is not just running away from this uncomfortable scene. She must indeed have plenty in her mind. Unfortunately, for the ones who remain, we cannot afford that luxury. The Maid said it herself: she healed our wounds, but we are still tired, hungry and thirsty, and it would be unwise to endure until tonight, if we even intend to attend that intimidating invitation.
We still need food and water. We still have a long afternoon ahead of us.
END OF MIDDAY PHASE
*** ***
DAY 4 – AFTERNOON PHASE SETUP
Character StatusJavier’s Afternoon Action
Last edited by Daneel Rush; June 23rd, 2020 at 01:48 PM.
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Oh, damn, I'm torn! I want to save and reload and pick ALL the choices!
Anyway, I vote:
Ruins of Errázuriz - Go with Liria.
Talk with Maria about Saver (Special event with Maria, Ṣāltum, and Caster)
I'm pretty curious to see how the two will interact now that Saver has acknowledged Maria, and I'm also kind of curious on if she's still completely fine working with us especially since the end game is almost here.
2A
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finally all caught up
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The Act of dozing off in the afternoon is a luxury indeed.
Coffee would be nice, though.
[Collection of my Servant Sheets]
Now Revamped!
I want all of these but let’s go with Try to remember Villarica
If we start with anything it should be our backstory
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True Rider
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A wise and beautiful woman who exudes an aura of grace. She is a sly, cunning, manipulative person who always gets what she wants, whether through trickery or ruthlessness. Her own fighting abilities are low, but she should not be trifled with. What does she ride? Men, of course!
