=== Godrick ===
“Care to tell me why you destroyed my chapel?” Shirou asked as he turned toward Godrick.
The Juggernaut offered no reply.
His helmet remained fixed straight ahead, staring past Shirou with an intensity that made even the former Ruler glance over his shoulder.
Standing upon one of the upper galleries overlooking the chapel was William Shakespeare, who instinctively took a nervous step backward beneath the knight’s unwavering gaze.
“While we were on our way here, we felt our Masters change,” Atalanta said, her sharp eyes never leaving Shirou.
“What did you do?”
“It’s quite simple, really.” Shirou spread his arms as though welcoming honored guests instead of enemies.
“Every Servant of Red now serves me.”
Achilles reacted before the words had even finished leaving Shirou’s mouth.
He exploded forward, spear aimed directly at the former Ruler’s heart, only for Semiramis to intercept him with a delighted grin.
Black scales spread across her forearms just before the spear struck, the impact shattering them and forcing her several steps backward, yet stopping the blow all the same.
At nearly the same instant Atalanta loosed an arrow toward Shirou’s head, but Karna calmly intercepted it with his own hand, catching the shaft only inches from Semiramis’ face before lowering it without so much as a change in expression.
“My, my…” Semiramis mused with an amused smile.
“Such short tempers. I cannot allow any of you to kill our Master.”
“Lancer!” Atalanta shouted.
“Do you truly accept what he’s done? He murdered our Masters!”
“That may be true,” Karna answered calmly, “but there are still questions that deserve answers before we turn our weapons upon one another.”
“Before any of that,” Shirou interrupted smoothly, “I believe the Black Faction should surrender. It would save everyone a great deal of unnecessary bloodshed.”
“Surrender?” Archer of Black scoffed.
“I didn’t realize you were a fool.”
Shirou merely smiled.
“You are hopelessly outnumbered. That is simply a reality.”
Caster of Black stepped forward, as he regarded Shirou thoughtfully.
“If you would hear me, I have a proposal.”
“Speak.”
“You appear to possess extensive knowledge regarding the Holy Grail. My own wish has nothing to do with claiming it, and I believe our goals may align.”
Shirou’s smile widened.
“You wish to defect?”
“On one condition. My Master is nothing more than a child caught in a war he never should have entered. Swear that you will not harm him.”
“A reasonable request. Very well… I shall spare the boy.”
Turning back toward Jeanne, Shirou’s expression softened with something resembling genuine regret.
“I’m afraid this leaves your position rather hopeless. I truly am sorry, but I will have to kill you tonight.”
The instant the words left his mouth, Caster of Black snapped his fingers.
Stone groaned throughout the chapel as dozens of massive golems forced themselves from the walls and floor, surrounding every Servant in the room.
Godrick never even acknowledged them.
The moment the first golem emerged, his arm moved.
His halberd became a silver blur that screamed across the chapel before anyone could react.
William Shakespeare barely had time to widen his eyes before the enormous weapon punched through his shoulder and buried itself deep into the stone wall behind him.
His scream echoed through the cathedral as blood splashed across the marble, but it had scarcely begun before Godrick was already on him.
One thunderous leap carried the giant knight onto the gallery.
His fist crashed into Shakespeare’s ribs with enough force to fold the man’s body around it before driving him through the wall behind him.
Bones shattered audibly throughout the chapel, and Shakespeare crumpled against the stone, barely conscious as Godrick ripped his halberd free in a shower of blood.
Without breaking stride, the Juggernaut spun and hurled the weapon once more.
The spinning halberd tore through the advancing golems as though they were made of wet clay, reducing one after another to clouds of shattered stone before embedding itself in the opposite wall with a deafening explosion.
Godrick turned back toward Shakespeare.
The Caster had fallen onto his hands and knees, desperately trying to crawl away while clutching his ruined shoulder, but a single armored hand descended upon him and wrapped around the mangled joint.
Shakespeare shrieked as the Juggernaut’s fingers tightened like a steel vise, pulverizing what little remained of the bones beneath them before Godrick shifted his grip lower.
One violent pull ripped the entire arm free.
Blood sprayed across the chapel as flesh and tendon tore apart with a sickening sound.
Shakespeare collapsed onto the floor screaming, clutching helplessly at the stump while Godrick simply looked down at the arm still held in his gauntlet.
“Godrick!” Jeanne called from the doorway.
“We need to leave. Now!”
The Juggernaut looked toward her for only a moment before glancing back at the writhing Caster.
Without the slightest hint of mercy, he swung the severed arm like a club, smashing it across Shakespeare’s face hard enough to send him tumbling across the floor.
The ruined limb landed beside him, followed immediately by Godrick’s boot, which came crashing down upon both of Shakespeare’s legs with a pair of wet cracks.
No one moved.
Even Servants accustomed to bloodshed found themselves staring at the scene in stunned silence.
Only Semiramis smiled.
“My…” she purred, her golden eyes following the towering knight with open fascination.
“How wonderfully savage.”
Godrick recalled his halberd with a sharp metallic whistle before turning toward the shattered doorway where Jeanne waited.
“You are quite vicious for a Knight of the Round Table, Godrick Pendragon,” Shirou called after him, his voice laced with contempt.
“I wonder what your mother, or your sister would think if they saw what you’ve become. A beast who tortures and destroys?”
Godrick stopped before shifting his grip upon the haft of his halberd, raising the massive weapon high overhead.
Shirou’s expression changed instantly.
“No…”
“No!”
Godrick brought the halberd down with all his strength, pushing his strength stat to EX with as much energy at it would take.
The impact shook the Hanging Gardens as every ounce of kinetic force stored within the weapon erupted at once, sending a catastrophic shockwave racing through the chapel. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
Marble columns exploded into dust, stained-glass windows vaporized, and the floor beneath them disintegrated as enormous cracks raced through the surrounding structure.
Entire sections of the Hanging Gardens tore themselves apart, collapsing into the open sky while Servants struggled to keep their footing amidst the destruction.
Throwing himself through the collapsing doorway, Godrick sprinted after Jeanne and Archer of Black while the fortress died behind him.
The corridor buckled and split beneath his feet, ceilings collapsing around them in waves, yet he never slowed.
Catching Jeanne beneath one arm and Archer beneath the other without breaking stride, he accelerated even further, carrying them both as if they weighed nothing.
Chunks of the Hanging Gardens crashed around them as he reached the hole he had blasted through earlier during his pursuit of Vlad.
Without so much as slowing, he launched himself into the open sky.
Jeanne couldn’t help laughing as they soared high above the collapsing fortress.
Archer of Black’s reaction was considerably less dignified.
“A little warning would’ve been nice!”
Godrick landed outside the castle of Yggdmillennia with an earth-shaking impact before carefully setting both of them down.
Waiting nearby was Archer’s young Master, who immediately wheeled herself toward them as quickly as the broken terrain allowed.
“Chiron!” she called.
The centaur quickly crossed the distance and rested his hands upon the wheelchair.
“Master,” he said gently, “please be more careful. It isn’t safe here.”
Together, the four of them turned back toward the sky just as the Hanging Gardens finally surrendered to gravity.
The colossal fortress descended in ruin before striking the earth with a deafening crash that echoed across the valley, sending an immense wall of dust rolling toward the horizon.
Jeanne watched the destruction for a long moment before smiling faintly and reaching over to pat Godrick’s armored forearm.
“That,” she said with quiet satisfaction, “is going to take them quite a while to fix.”
Godrick remained silent, watching the broken fortress settle into the earth as dust slowly swallowed what had once been the greatest flying citadel in the world.
=== Avicebron ===
As the Juggernaut and the surviving Servants of Black escaped the ruined chapel, they left the Servants of Red to fend for themselves.
The destruction Godrick had unleashed continued to ripple through the Hanging Gardens as entire sections of the floating fortress collapsed inward.
Marble pillars cracked apart beneath impossible strain, vaulted ceilings caved in, and the once-proud palace groaned like a dying beast as it began its long descent toward the earth.
There was no thought of pursuing the enemy now.
Every Servant present understood that survival had become the only priority.
“This way!” Semiramis shouted, her normally composed voice edged with urgency as she led the others through a concealed doorway hidden within the corridor walls.
The hidden passage twisted downward before opening into a heavily reinforced chamber built deep within the Gardens, a final refuge designed to withstand catastrophe.
Achilles carried the barely conscious Shakespeare over one shoulder while Karna supported the injured Semiramis, whose usually immaculate appearance had been marred by cuts, dust, and cracked armor.
Even Shirou abandoned his calm demeanor, quickly taking position against one of the walls as the violent shaking intensified.
“Brace yourselves!” he commanded.
Only moments later the entire fortress slammed into the earth.
Everyone inside the chamber was hurled from their feet as the room shook violently, stone splitting apart overhead while dust and debris poured from the ceiling.
For several long seconds it felt as though the world itself was being torn apart, until the trembling gradually subsided and silence finally settled over the bunker.
One by one they picked themselves up from the floor, bruised and battered but alive before making their way back through the ruined passages and out into the open air.
The sight that greeted them left even Semiramis speechless.
Her masterpiece no longer floated proudly above the battlefield.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon now lay half-buried across the countryside, its magnificent towers shattered, entire wings collapsed into heaps of broken marble and twisted stone.
“No…” Semiramis whispered before her voice rose into an anguished cry.
“No!”
She stared at the wreckage as though someone had torn away a piece of her soul.
“This will take me at least a week to repair, Master.”
Shirou studied the fallen fortress with narrowed eyes before nodding slowly.
“That’s unfortunate… but not the worst case. We aren’t going anywhere, and neither is our enemy.” His gaze drifted toward the enormous mound of rubble covering the heart of the Gardens.
“The Greater Grail, however… is another matter. We can’t reach it while it’s buried beneath all of this.”
Turning toward the assembled Servants, his expression regained its usual composure.
“Begin clearing the rubble. Every moment we waste gives the Black Faction more time to recover. We must find the Grail first.”
Caster of Black quietly stepped forward.
“I must ask permission to leave for a short while.”
Shirou turned toward him.
“My project must be completed immediately. The Black Faction will soon discover my betrayal, and once they do, they will undoubtedly attempt to stop me. If I finish my Golem now, it will buy us the time we need while you search for the Grail.”
Shirou considered the request for only a moment before nodding.
“Very well. Complete your work.”
“Thank you.”
“And Semiramis,” Shirou continued, glancing toward the exhausted queen, “remain here with Shakespeare while you begin repairs. Restore what you can.”
Semiramis reluctantly tore her eyes away from the broken Gardens and bowed her head.
“As you wish.”
Without another word, Avicebron departed.
===
The forest was quiet by the time he reached the secluded lake where his unfinished masterpiece waited.
Adam stood motionless beneath the dark water, only the upper half of its enormous body visible above the surface, its blank stone face staring endlessly into the distance as though patiently awaiting the moment of its birth.
Waiting upon the shore was Roche.
The young boy bounced excitedly from foot to foot the moment he spotted his Servant approaching, clutching a carefully wrapped bundle against his chest with both hands.
“Master!” he called happily.
“Is it finally time? Are we really going to finish him?”
“Yes,” Avicebron answered simply.
Roche’s eyes lit up.
“I knew it! I knew we’d do it!”
The child hurried toward the water’s edge, smiling so brightly that Avicebron found himself unable to meet his gaze for more than a moment.
“I’m ready!” Roche said proudly.
“I’ve got the core right here.”
For several long seconds Avicebron remained silent.
Then he stepped forward.
With what little physical strength he possessed, he lifted the surprised boy into the air and hurled him toward Adam’s open chest.
Roche barely had time to yelp before his body struck the stone construct.
The instant he made contact, thick black vines burst outward from within Adam’s chest, wrapping themselves around his arms, legs, and torso before dragging him inexorably inward.
“W-What…?” Roche gasped, panic replacing his excitement.
“Master… what is this?”
Avicebron lowered his head.
“I’m sorry child. But you… are the core.”
Roche froze.
“No…”
“You always were.”
The bundle slipped from the boy’s hands, tumbling harmlessly into the lake before disappearing beneath its dark surface.
He stared after it in disbelief.
“No… no…”
His frightened eyes returned to Avicebron.
“But… I have the core…” he whispered desperately.
“It’s right there…”
His Servant closed his eyes.
“In order to fulfill my wish… you must die.”
“No…”
The vines continued dragging Roche deeper into Adam’s chest.
“No! Please!”
His terrified screams echoed across the lake as he reached desperately toward the shore, but no hand reached back for him.
Avicebron simply began reciting his incantation, each word carrying the ritual closer to completion while the child’s cries gradually weakened beneath the crushing embrace of the black vines.
The final scream tore through the forest before suddenly falling silent.
A moment later an immense surge of magical energy erupted from Adam.
Golden light ignited within the giant’s eyes.
The colossal Golem stirred for the first time before slowly rising from the lake, water cascading from its enormous body as it stepped onto solid ground with earth-shaking footsteps.
Avicebron looked up at his completed masterpiece, a rare smile spreading across his normally emotionless face.
“At last…”
Leaping effortlessly onto Adam’s shoulder, he extended one arm toward the distant silhouette of Yggdmillennia Castle.
“Go.”
The giant obeyed immediately.
“March upon the castle and keep the Black Faction occupied. We require time… and you shall buy it for us.”
With each thunderous step, the enormous Golem began its march toward the battlefield.
=== Godrick ===
After watching the Hanging Gardens crash into the earth, the small group finally turned back toward Yggdmillennia Castle.
The walk was surprisingly quiet, but Chiron eventually spoke, carefully explaining the events inside the Hanging Gardens to his young Master while Jeanne occasionally filled in the details that only she had witnessed.
“So… Caster really betrayed us?” Fiore asked quietly.
“Yes,” Chiron replied with a solemn nod.
“He has sided completely with the Red Faction.”
Fiore lowered her eyes in thought.
“That changes everything.”
Jeanne nodded.
“It does.”
For several minutes they continued walking before Fiore spoke again, her voice considerably more serious than before.
“Ruler… you’ve seen what we’re facing now. If Shirou truly is who you believe he is, then the odds are overwhelmingly against us. The Black Faction can’t survive this alone.”
She looked directly at Jeanne.
“We need your help.”
Jeanne remained silent for a moment before glancing up toward Godrick.
The giant knight simply shrugged.
If she wanted to help them, then so would he.
Fiore smiled faintly before continuing.
“In return… I’d like to help the two of you.”
Jeanne tilted her head curiously.
“What do you mean?”
Fiore looked between the silent knight and the saint standing beside him.
“I can teach you both telepathy magecraft. It’s one of my unfinished projects. I originally designed it so a magus could coordinate with a familiar or a battlefield ally without speaking aloud. It creates a bridge between two people who willingly establish the connection. Once the spell has been imprinted, the link can be invoked whenever both parties desire it.”
“You’ve both already become very good at understanding one another,” Fiore continued gently.
“But this would let you have actual conversations. Its still in it’s early stages of development, but… if you’re willing, I’d be happy to imprint it onto you both?”
Jeanne looked back toward Godrick before a genuine smile crossed her face.
“I think…” she said softly, reaching over to pat his armored forearm, “…we would like that very much.”
Godrick looked between the two women before giving a single, firm nod.
===
I promise I’ll take good care of them:)