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The Chosen One 07
🕑 Added 2024-03-14 18:58:28 +0000 UTC"You showed up late." Did I though!? I mean, the sun hasn't even begun to set yet! I'm pretty sure it's still morning even! "So Daichi Ryouta do you have anything to say for yourself?" Ah, I might die.
There's no way I can resist Illya's glare. "No ma'am. Sorry."
Shirou gasps. "You definitely have something to say though!" There are no excuses for being late when she was counting on me. Even if we never really established a time limit for my return in the first place.
Illya's glare shifts towards him. "Shut it. You're lucky I haven't ordered Saber to chop your head off yet." So not only is she a Servant, but she's also supposedly of the strongest class? How did Illya get her hands on someone like that!?
Saber frowns. "Um... Master, I was told these were our allies? Why would we be chopping their heads?" I think this poor knight was not ready for Illya's temper, and differently from Berserker she can actually make her confusion known.
Illya scoffs. "Daichi is our ally, this other guy is like... an annoying little rat coming here to spread disease!" She points at Senpai. "Get out of my house Shirou Emiya!" It's my apartment though.
Shirou was clearly not expecting this. "S-sorry for showing up. I guess..." Sorry for inviting you, though I really didn't think she would react like this. "B-but can I ask you some questions before I go...?"
"I mean Daichi had said you referred to me as big brother, and there was also that time where you showed up saying I should summon it already." It should be pretty obvious what the summon is referring to.
So she wanted Shirou to join the Holy Grail War? I know I'm in no position to say anything, but considering Tohsaka apparently beat him up with zero difficulty, a ritual like this would definitely get him killed.
Illya's eye twitches. "First of all, stay out of my family's business." Hah!? Did he lose the big brother position!? "You have been replace by Daichi after all!" He really did!
"And if you're wondering about the summon... I was hoping you would summon a Servant so I could kill you with Berserker, but you didn't, because you're worthless. So I ended up calling Saber over here." So there was still a slot left...
Shirou doesn't know how to respond. "I... Why were you even calling me big br-." And then Illya cuts him off.
"Enough about that! Just be glad you are lucky enough to have been moved from elimination target to observation target!" That makes me feel kind of jealous for same reason.
Shirou lowers his head, having seemingly given up. I definitely can't blame him, but now I might as well question Illya. "H-hey, how did you summon Saber anyways? Does the Grail just let you pull out another Servant?"
She nods. "Yes, since there was a slot left open. My lack of Command Seals is a problem of course, but in the first war those things hadn't even been invented yet. Thankfully I also lucked into a obedient little knight like Saber here." The Servant doesn't deny it.
I nod. "I see... Well, I'm glad you have a Servant now." Our Justice League has expanded. "I'm kinda curious on why you didn't tell me you could summon her though."
She blushes. "W-well, because I had given up, I suppose... The chance of me summoning someone as great as Heracles were incredibly low, and even if I did... You know what happened to Heracles."
"But since my cooler big bro wasn't giving up so easily I decided I might as well throw him a bone. So you better feel thankful." I certainly do. Just having two Servants against Gilgamesh is already making me feel calmer.
Saber sends me a serious glance. "Daichi Ryouta, let me assure you that I will help defeat Gilgamesh to save you and my Master." So Illya told her why she got summoned in the first place, huh?
I send her a thumbs. "Thanks, let's work together, Saber." She nods. "By the way, what's your true name anyways?" It's a reasonable question, but most importantly... Once this whole Gilgamesh thing ends, Illya will be my enemy once again. I better do my best to gather information before that time comes.
Saber looks at her Master, wondering what she should say, and once Illya nods she gazes back at me. "My true name is Arthur Pendragon... Well, Artoria Pendragon, I suppose." F-for real!?
I'm left speechless, so Shirou picks up the slack. "H-how though!? I mean, you're clearly a girl! Your legend would be totally different!" And not just a girl, a very pretty girl... even if she can't compare to Illya.
Before Saber can say anything, Illya glares at him. "Who gave you the permission to speak!? Go back to being observed!" She then sends me an angelic smile. "So Daichi, any questions you have for Saber?" What's with the difference in treatment!?
I hesitantly nod. "Y-yeah, the same one he had..." Shirou is looking down while being extremely confused. I'll apologize for bringing him into this mess later.
Saber sighs. "Well... There's no need to think of me as a man or a woman in the first place, think of me as a tool and that's all." Shirou clenches his fists out of anger, but I get what she's saying.
She probably has a similar mindset to my Longinus, but still... "Oh don't worry Saber, I'm not looking down on you." In fact having King Arthur ot all people on our side makes me pretty happy. "Shirou and I are just confused on how your story happened, that's all."
And then I blush. "N-not that you need to tell a stranger your life story of course!" I just realized I was being a bit rude. I must be acting like a stupid fan meeting a celebrity right now...
Saber smiles. "No, it's fine, I understand the confusion. I simply hid my real gender throughout my life." Jeanne D'arc huh? Wait, didn't you get married!? How does that work!?
But I might as well give up on this avenue of conversation, so I extend a hand. "I see. It's good to have you, Artoria."
She shakes it without hesitation. "And I'm glad I have been summoned by such friendly individuals." What about Illya looked friendly to you!? She's... observing Shirou like he's an evil that must be exterminated without hesitation!
Leaving that aside though... "By the way Artoria, how much did Illya tell you about the current circumstances?" I want to make sure so I can properly explain what happened today.
Saber's face morphs into a frown. "Pretty much everything, from your mission to save the world, to your heritage, to the initiative of making an alliance with the objective of eliminating Gilgamesh." Okay then, that's good.
Shirou raises an eyebrow. "Save the world? Are you two talking about Germany and Japan?" Well, I suppose these two nations suddenly disappearing could trigger end of the world scenarios.
But no. "Actually... I didn't tell this to Tohsaka because I didn't want to freak her out, but the reason I got these weapons is that in one year some enemy referred to as a spider will try ending the world." In the end it didn't even mattter, she passed out anyways.
Shirou immediately covers his face with his palms. "What the hell is happening...?" Yeah, that's how I have been feeling recently too.
I clear my throat. "Anyways, the reason why I'm asking is that I want to give a status report on the whole recruitment thing. I got Tohsaka on our side, though I never learnt her Servant's class, much less his name." He looks strong though.
Illya raises an eyebrow. "Only the Tohsaka's? So did the Matou's not summon anything?" I wish that was the case, but either Sakura was acknowledged as a Master, or Zouken was.
And consider the latter is ancient, I imagine that even if he got Command Seals, he would give them to his granddaughter. There's no way he can be active nowadays, and sustaining a Servant is very draining.
I sigh. "They did summon one. Shinji was hanging around with Rider... Do you know who he is?" She nods, probably because of her information network. "Considering he has no magic, he's probably acting as a decoy Master."
Saber interjects. "That's certainly not impossible, but a bit foolish. The point of having one such decoy Master is to have an extra shield, but everyone should be aware he is a fake if he has no magic."
I wave her off. "I guess that information is probably not public knowledge, so Sakura's plan makes sense." Only people as well informed as Illya would know. "Anyways, the Matou rejected the alliance..."
I bow. "And it's my fault, sorry. I don't know where I messed up, but the Matou's decided to kill me. I managed to luck out and hit Rider, but I got taken out of commission for a while and Tohsaka ended up healing me." Basically I was a failure..
Illya's eye twitches. "You... you should have said that before!" Eh? "Now I look like a jerk for scolding you! Now Shirou over here can be smug about being right!" I don't think he can express any emotion outside of shock right now.
I wince. "S-sorry, but like i said, negotiations probably broke down because of me. I think Shinji attacked me over the weapons... and Sakura must have given him permission." A Servant obeys their Master first after all.
To my surprise Artoria scowls. "No matter the reason, attacking the other party during a negotiation is foul. It is both wrong morally, and stupid in general." I can see that. Nobody will try diplomacy with them from now on... At least if my story gets out.
Illya grits her teeth. "Indeed..." She then smiles. "But there is an easy solution for our problems." We have a problem in the first place? "I was wondering what I could do tonight..."
"And I've decided! Saber and I will march upon the Matou manor and destroy it completely. She may not be Heracles, but my Saber will completely crush this Sakura and her worthless little decoy." That's...!
Saber nods. "A good idea. And considering this Rider was hit by a inexperienced human she will be easy to kill." You're going along with this!?
I object of course. "W-why are we focusing on attacking people right now of all times!? We need to be making more allies, not enemies!" Not that I know where other Masters are...
Shirou quickly agrees. "Yeah! A-and Shinji isn't a bad guy and Sakura is a very sweet girl, and... and...!" He clenches his fists. "They both hurt Daichi to the point of almost killing him. We should put a stop to them." Hah?
"Killing them is too far, not when there's no need to do so. We should definitely eliminate this Rider though, specially when she could show up to mess things up later." He scowls. "I don't know what's gotten into Sakura's head, but as her Senpai... It's my duty to discipline her." W-wow, I wasn't expecting that...
Illya seems impressed. "Huh, and I was about to tell you to shut up again, but you actually gained some points." She crosses her arms. "And I'll admit that cutting Sakura and Shinji down brings no benefit."
"It's not like they can summon a new Servant anymore, so I suppose that as long as the girl or the boy don't stupidly challenge me I would be willing to spare them." Still...
Saber interjects. "Master please remember that sometimes eliminating only the Servant is not enough. She could make a contract with another Servant should she live." Well, aren't you bloodthirsty...
Illya waves her off. "That would only matter if there were ever was a situation where I only killed a Master and let their Servant run wild. It seems unlikely for one such as I. Killing the Matou does sound fun though." Ah, I don't like this.
But why...? "Illya wait. Let's leave Rider alive. She didn't join us now, but maybe once she sees our alliance expanding Sakura will change her mind." The power of peer pressure.
Illya shakes her head. "No. While that could indeed happen... Letting someone spit on our friendly hand will do us no good, it sets a bad precedent." She smirks. "Which is why Saber and I... and you and the idiot over there if he wants to come... will be raiding the Matou's tonight." I...
I guess I can't argue with that. "F-fine... and I'll go." I can't let Illya get hurt... Sure Saber is a far better bodyguard than me, but it's always better to have extra hands, right? I could at least hold Rider down for a while.
Shirou frowns. "I'll go too... I need to have a talk with Sakura." He looks at his supposed sister. "Hey Illya, Tohsaka didn't explain much but from what I gather Masters have red marks on their hands, right?"
Illya nods. "Yes, though nothing stops you from having a Servant without one. In the first Holy Grail War they didn't even have them at all." And that war was an absolute failure...
Shirou mumbles to himself. "A bruise on the hand from Shinji huh? I'm such a damn moron...!" I have no idea what he's talking about, but it's clear that he is angry with himself.
I pat his shoulder. "Don't sweat about it, I'm one too..." For real. "Anyways, since we are only gonna act once it's night time, I guess I'll train until then." Since Rin healed me, it should be fine.
Illya glares at me. "Are you a moron?" I just said I was. "You need to stay in the best shape possible for our eventual attack... Though I guess as long as you don't hurt yourself too bad I can heal you."
Saber raises a hand. "And I wouldn't mind teaching him a thing or two. I'm curious about these legendary weapons as well." I hope they stack well to Excalibur.
Shirou interjects. "Hey, if you're gonna train Daichi, could you give me some lessons as well? I want to be as prepared as I can..." It would be nice to have a training buddy, though I doubt he will be getting a legendary weapon anytime soon.
Saber smiles. "I wouldn't mind, though be aware that as a normal human you will never match a Servant." I guess I don't count as normal anymore. "And that most of my focus will go towards Daichi as well."
Shirou nods. "I would be grateful for any training to be honest... Actually as my way of saying thanks we could train on my house, it has a pretty big dojo." That definitely sounds better than training in the park...
"Normally Taiga and... Sakura would be there, but they will only show up once school is done anyways. So once that happens we will need to move elsewhere." He frowns. "Or we could confront Sakura right there and then..."
Illya shakes her head. "Nah. I prefer attacking their base and crushing them once and for all... Also, since we will need to move locations you three might as well where Daichi normally trains. Wherever that is."
Ah, there goes my dreams of training in a good place. "Normally I train on the Fuyuki Park... It's pretty empty since nobody goes there... For fairly obvious reasons." I would appreciate if Illya raised a bounded field though.
"But speaking of school..." I look at Shirou. "Are you sure they're just gonna let you lose the entire day?" I don't particularly care, but maybe Shirou doesn't want his normal life being affected by this.
Shirou shrugs. "I don't know. The supposed story is that you felt bad, so Tohsaka and I were tasked with taking you to a hospital." So that's the story she came up with? I suppose it's okay enough.
"Well, alright then, let's go get ripped."
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I'm getting ripped apart.
While I can hold my head in pride and say I lasted longer than Shirou, there is no denying that Saber is absolutely dominating me. Even with my enhanced strength she ends overpowering me quite easily.
I step back and try to gather my thoughts, taking a deep breath. "Man, I wasn't planning on getting cocky after beating Rider or anything, but this.... I'm becoming like... anti-cocky." It isn't fair that her sword is invisible!
She smiles. "I'm just happy my opponent for the night will be weak." I guess so... "And these weapons are truly incredible, they give off the same aura of majesty as my sword." Thanks, but no compliment for me!?
She smirks. "But I was lead to believe you had awakened a new one in your fight with Rider?" It goes without saying, but I described how that fight went. Artoria could use the information after all.
I smile back. "Well, I don't think using three weapons is good for my body, but..." I look down to my axe. "What do you think, Regulus? Can Illya heal the damage?" If she can't then I shouldn't use on a training session.
The axe talks, at this point nobody is surprised by it. "Don't worry, your body shouldn't explode or anything... but your stamina will be drained incredibly fast." Got it, then it's okay.
I hold my axe tighter. "Then here I come, Saber." I use the same tactic I did to approach Rider, Absolute Demise freezing the ground to both attack Artoria, and to let me dash my way into battle.
At this point Saber has already seen this, so she simply flexes her mana and the ice closing in breaks. Nonetheless I managed to get close enough to swing my axe...
And then Saber grabs my axe with her gauntlets. That's just how big the difference in strength between us is... Even with Regulus Nemea helping me. Artoria might be a match for Heracles in that department.
But I did say I would be using my third Longinus. "Dog." He is summoned, but not from my body as usual. Instead he appears from Saber's own shadow.
With swords growing out of his body he attacks Saber as a hedgehog. The knight however, simply pushes me back a little, and dodges the attack of something that literally appeared from her shadow.
That's unnatural, maybe it's a skill of hers? Or maybe she's just that good...
She raises an eyebrow. "A dog that grows out of shadows? That's useful." Condoning such methods feels surprising when it comes from a knight. "At your current strength relying on sneak attacks is wise." I see...
I'm panting, just this short moment with three Longinus is already tiring me. "I'll keep that in mind." And I have been basically wasting my stamina too, since I didn't press on the attack with Absolute Demise.
I won't make the same mistake again, I have to overwhelm my opponent when I'm in this state, press on attack after attack, puzzle after puzzle, so that he has no idea what to do. That's the advantage of having many weapons.
This time I swing at Saber using only one hand. She completely exceeds my strength anyways, so there's no real point to using two hands. And as expected her method to counter me is the same.
This time however, I also order Absolute Demise to make an ice wall behind her. She can force me to step back, but I won't give her the ability to do the same... Though she could break it in other ways of course.
This time, even as she holds my axe, I have a hand free, so I order Dog to turn himself into a sword and come to me. As I grab the black blade, I swing at Saber.
Her own invisible sword clashed against mine, and for a second I see a gold shine, but then...! Saber sends me flying back, and she actually keeps my axe too. The difference in strength is way too high...
But she seems impressed at least. "That sword... dog... thing can cut through magic?" Now that she says it, I was slowly revealing her sword. That invisible schtick is definitely magic...
I nod. "His gimmick is that he can cut through anything and everything." I look at the dog blade in my hand. "You better keep living up to the hype, Dog." It's the least he can do for giving me such ominous dreams.
Leaving that aside however... "Hey Saber, I'm taking a break." That is to say, I'm joining the being passed out on the floor group together with Shirou. "My stamina is way too drained from all that." I dismiss all my weapons.
Saber looks at her hand which was previously holding Regulus. "The stamina drain of using so many weapons must be quite large, but the benefits are great. Try to keep it as a last trump card to overwhelm your foes." That was my idea too.
I nod... and then fall to the ground. "Got it, I'll just quick swap between them." Like a video game character...
Absolute Demise is good for controlling the battlefield, Regulus Nemea gives me the raw power I need, and Canis Lykaon is great both for sneak attacks, and to counter mages... Overall this is a pretty good skillset.
Not good enough to beat a Heroic Spirit though. "Sorry for being a shitty pupil Saber." I close my eyes, I guess I'll be taking a nap. Sleeping here of all places feels like a bad idea for some reason though...
"Worry not, both you and Shirou are quite talented for humans of this era." That feels like a hidden insult...
And considering that Illya has decided to break her silence to start laughing, it definitely is!
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"We are here." Illya grins. "Is everybody ready? Or does Shirou need to cry and vomit a bit to calm down his nerves?" We are now in front of the Matou manor... I guess we really are about to do this.
Shirou pouts. "Why are you...!? Nevermind." He looks at me. "I'm ready, just waiting for my weapon." He did bring a bokken sword as an extra, but that isn't exactly super useful.
Thankfully he and I came up with a solution for that. "Canis Lykaon." The dog emerges from his shadow, and a black blade grows from its back.
Shirou takes it. "Thanks Daichi." And then the dog returns to the shadows. This is a trick we ended up figuring out... I guess I sort of have a shadow Gilgamesh dog.
The blades quality isn't as great as the dog himself turning into a weapon, but Illya did say it's better than any sword a modern magus can make. And I can make more if they break anyways.
I send him a smile. "No worries..." And then I take a deep breath. "And I'm ready too." Regulus appears on my hands, and Absolute Demise appears behind me. I'll keep Canis Lykaon as a hidden weapon.
Illya rips out a few strands of her hair. "Well then..." Those strands become birds and them they fly away. She must be putting up a bounded field. "That's good, but it seems those bugs don't want to come and say hello..."
Now that she says it, if Rider is here, she would have definitely have felt Saber at this point. Which must mean that either she is out, or she's waiting for us to walk-in. It makes sense, I have repeated this many times at this point, but a mage's home is his fortress.
Illya giggles. "How rude of them, and now I have to pay them back for two affronts. Saber..." The knight tenses. "There is no need to hide your true name, I didn't bother with Heracles, I won't bother with you. Mana isn't a concern either, so use that and blow them away!" She doesn't mean...!
Saber dashes forward before Shirou or I can say anything. She stomps the ground, cracking it, and raises her invisible sword. "Strike Air!" Once she lowers it, it's invisible no more.
A hurricane hits the mansion.
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AN: Hopefully the Prince of Stars survived...
