Fate Of A Gamer

Ritsuka felt relieved when she watched the odd monster finally fall, its body split into two halves of its whole. She could still feel electricity bouncing inside her, lingering excitement from witnessing Shirou battle against an invisible enemy.

But that relief soon turned into dread when Merlin's voice came into her head.

"Ritsuka-chan! Tiamat has appeared at the Northern Gates. Prepare yourselves for teleportation!"

"Mash! Shirou! We need to go!" She didn't bother explaining the situation. She didn't need to. Mash had been with her long enough to notice the dread in her, and Shirou nodded as well, seemingly already knowing of what's happening.

The two demi-servants stepped close to their master, and soon, a pink light lit under them, swallowing them.

Now, here they are, standing just before the northern wall, their faces twisted in horror as they see what has been done. Soldiers lay all over the dirt, most dead, Leonidas' left leg is heavily injured, Ushi is bleeding all over, her eyes wide and feral, and Benkei remains relatively unharmed, but he is shaking, frozen in fear.

And across them all a large beast in the form of a lamia, with the bottom of a serpent and the body of a human girl. Her serpentine part is black, accented by scales of gold. Her hair is a dark purple, each longer than an entire district, coiling and twisting into the shape of snakes. Her eyes are a distinct purple, glowing with predatory glee. And behind her is a pair of large golden wings, wide and large enough to enable flight for such a large being.

Tiamat, primordial deity of the ocean.

Tiamat glowers, her eyes narrowing, and the snakes formed from her hair fire beams down upon them.

Without hesitation, Mash steps forward, slamming her shield down with Leonidas and Ushi behind her. "[Lord Camelot]!" She calls, and the walls of that destined city comes into existence, acting as a barrier against the beam of energy Tiamat fired at them.

Seeing the two protected for the time being, Ritsuka rushes to the terrified Lancer. "Benkei!" Slowly, the white-eyed Lancer turns to her, his skin paler than usual.

"Fujimaru...dono?" He asks, voice shaky and weak, almost as if the indomitable strength he has is no longer present. "Wh, When did you get here…?"

"What happened, Benkei-san?" Shirou asks as he kneels down, his eyes alternating between him and the beast Mash is holding back.

"It...It was so fast." He begins, his shaking fingers reaching for his eyes. "W-We were killing demonic beasts when the ground shook, a-and then s-she appeared, a-a-and-"

"I see." Shirou cuts the man off and goes silent. He looks over to Tiamat, watching her irritation growing as her attacks continue to fail to break past Mash's Noble Phantasm. He narrows his eyes at her, his mind racing to figure out why she seems so familiar.

But that can wait. For now, he has an enemy to defeat.

He stands up and turns, but before he can leave, Benkei latches onto his arm, tightly gripping his arm. "N-No! Please, run Shirou-dono! I-It's impossible!" He shouts, fear and terror and worry bleeding into a mess of emotions.

Shirou turns to him, frowning. "And why should I?" He says back, and Ritsuka turns to him, surprised at the bite his voice carried. "Are you not Benkei? Are you not the one who stood by Ushiwakamaru's side as she fell in battle, living to tell the tale for the generations to hear? Are you not the man who wields a hundred weapons to protect and kill?"

He narrows his eyes at the Lancer. "Or is that all a lie?"

Benkei goes completely pale, his grip on Shirou's arm weakening, and he pulls his arm away, summoning his Noble Phantasm into his hand. "Think of the answer, Benkei." He says, fusing with Okita's spirit before he rushes forward, wind and dust blowing in his wake.

Shirou jumps up to the walls of Mash Noble Phantasm, and leaps, his blade glowing a bright blue as he rears his arm back. Tiamat snarls, lashing her tendrils of hair at him, but he easily dodges, making the hair his platform as he swerves around them. Soon, only an inch remains between him and her head, and with her eyes widening, he stabs his sword forward. .

Three simultaneous strikes are sent, each crashing loudly and drawing blood. However,

"…!"

Under her skin is a layer of scales, and his sword bȧrėly makes it into her forehead. He quickly wrenches his sword back and jumps away, in time to dodge an incoming pair of beams.

But he's far from done. His katana glimmers and fades, and its place appears another blade, this one much longer. He grips it, raises it, and with Tiamat's growing scowl, Shirou makes three swings, sent at the same moment and towards a single point.

The three swings come upon the wound he's made, and a painful cry escapes Tiamat's mouth as blood explodes from her head, accompanied by several scales Shirou's combined strikes had pulled out.

Shirou lands and leaps back as beams ȧssault the earth, raining down and digging chunks into the air. He makes it behind Mash's shield, and she deploys her Noble Phantasm again, the walls of Camelot coming to existence to block the incoming beams.

He looks up, staring at the pained goddess, and the Monohoshi Zao fades as Okita's sword returns to his hands. He bends his knees, ready to leap forward and he sees Tiamat's eyes flash red-

"Shirou-!"

'Got it!'

Immediately, he feels an unseen weight push down on him, trying to pin him down, but he moves in front of Mash's still active Noble Phantasm and calls upon [Avalon].

Golden light glows from all around him as the sheath manifests before him, deflecting the effects of the curse Tiamat's eyes had just set upon them. He, Ritsuka, and all the servants remain unharmed, protected by Avalon's light, but the rest of the still living soldiers are left to the curse's whims.

There are only a few beings capable of turning things into stone.

Behind him, Leonidas huffs as his lips curve to a smirk. "You are no Tiamat." The man says confidently, staring past Mash's shield towards the so-called 'Tiamat', seeing those purple eyes widening in alarm. "I too am of a Greek origin, and there is only one beast whose gaze can turn those within it into stone."

"Isn't that right, Gorgon?"

The world seems to freeze as that name is said, and the now identified Gorgon growls, her hair lashing violently as anger and horror coils out of her.

"DO NOT CALL ME THAT!"

Her voice echoes throughout the world as she roars at them, her eyes now fully glowing a feral red, and Shirou winces, his magic circuit straining as the curse reappears, returning to try and pierce through [Avalon]'s light. But Shirou remains in place, hand held out as he maintains his grip over [Avalon], making sure the Noble Phantasm remains in place even as blood begins to seep out of his skin.

Gorgon continues to shout as the snakes formed of her hair gather, snarling as they fire off concentrated beams of energy. They make impact against [Avalon] as well, beginning to pierce through its holy light, and Shirou sinks into the earth as the dirt cracks under him, his foundation slowly breaking.

Then,

"[Shirou, hold your ground and protect everyone]!" Ritsuka's command filters into his mind as the Command Seals on her hand glows. One of the limbs of the seal slowly fades to a dull maroon, and Shirou feels his power spike, his magic circuit burning as prana suddenly courses through his system like lightning.

'So this is what a command seal feels like…'

Three chances to twist the world in your favor, three commands capable to be said to turn the tide of battle. The marking that ties the master to the servant, the one that signifies the bond between them.

It feels nostalgic really, reminiscent of his time as Saber's direct master.

'Mari, are you ready?'

"Thought you'd never ask, Shirou-kun!" Mari's voice sounds in his mind, and he continues to maintain [Avalon] as he watches a bright pink light glow from under Gorgon.

Gorgon notices the glow far too late, and she snarls in pain as beams of light rise from the ground, piercing through her body and curving, almost forming into a birdcage that stabs right through Gorgon's body. The damage dealt is superficial at best, the scales hidden under Gorgon's skin protecting most of her internal self,

But that matters not. The cage is made.

"[Blooming Casket]."

And the spell is cast.

It's a simple spell really, one where the caster creates a small boundary that quickly fills with purifying magical energy. A fairly average spell, but against a beast created from the tainted mud of the gods?

The effects are immediate.

The spell lasts for but a second, but the damage is done. Much of Gorgon is burnt, parts of her skin and scales turned a charred grey, and she looks visibly weakened.

However,

Gorgon's eyes remain red, glowing with ferocity and fury, and he feels his skin crawl as he sees the quickly building energy within her, glowing outwards as an ominous dark purple glow. The energy soon forms into a shroud, boiling and lashing out, tearing pieces of the earth as it rampages.

Shirou readies himself, [Avalon] glowing to defend.

Truthfully, he doesn't need to, for he hears a distant shout, one coming from an individual he knows very well.

"[EXCALIBUR]!"

Down from the sky comes a burst of light, crashing upon Gorgon and breaking through the building shroud of energy she was forming. Gorgon cries out, pained and weary as the light falls upon her, breaking her being, the mud she'd built herself from burning from the light's purity.

With the adversary gone, the battlefield falls into silence, and Shirou lets [Avalon] fade back into him as he lets out a sigh, his lips curling to a small smile as he watches a familiar blond drop from the air, a regal sword held within her armored hands. She twirls, slowing her fall and lands gracefully, a small puff of dust brought up as she lands.

And as she stands, she smiles at him. "I hope I'm not too late, Shirou."

He smiles back. "Don't worry." He says, relief flooding within him. "You're not."

~~~

[Avalon], the sheath of King Arthur, the everdistant utopia from where hence she shall return.

Ritsuka had only heard it mentioned offhandedly, taught of its significance, but this is the very first time she'd seen what the divine artifact can do.

It's quite amazing really. For how strong [Lord Camelot] is, magical curses are perhaps the thing it defends the worst against. Gorgon's eyes turned red, and Ritsuka immediately felt her strength leave her, her magic circuits dulling as they froze. It was only when Shirou rushed forward and overlapped [Lord Camelot] with [Avalon] that the curse was stopped, and Ritsuka found her breath again.

Then, she found her breath stolen again as a pillar of light slammed down from the sky, one made from so much purifying magic that it was almost suffocating.

If she felt as so, how would've been for Gorgon, whose very essence clashes against such magic?

Of course, she'd questioned where the attack came from, but the girl who'd gracefully landed before them answered that.

And what a familiar girl it is.

"T-That's-!" She hears Romani's shocked gasp from her comms, but she ignores it, instead staring at the girl. She sees her bright blonde hair, her sharp green eyes, the regal armour she wore over her blue garb, and the glowing sword she held in her hands.

She is, without a shred of a doubt, King Arthur.

Ritsuka smiles wryly, feeling somewhat awkward as she tries to push away the thought of the other King Arthur she's met, the one who wields a sword glowing an ominous black, her weapon swung with the conviction and strength of a lonely tyrant. Both servants are different, complete opposites to one another, but she can't help but feel a shiver of fear as she stares at the Saber that'd just fallen from the sky.

"Shirou! Your hand!"

"...huh?" At Saber's words, Shirou takes a glance at his hand, seeing the cracks lining up his arm and the blood running down from it. "...Huh." He repeats, before a golden glow begins to shroud the wounded arm. Threads of light begin to weave into the wounds, patching them, and before long, the injuries are healed.

"There." He says, before wincing at a sudden spike of pain.

Saber is instantly by his side, her brows furrowed in worry. Shirou gives her a small smile. "My arm's healed, but the nerves are still somewhat frayed. Gorgon's curse did quite a number on me. I'll be fine."

Saber is clearly unamused. Slowly, she gives him a smile, but Shirou can only shiver slightly as he stares at those eyes that promised pain. "Hmm? 'I'll be fine' you say? Last time you said that you collapsed and slept for two days." She says sweetly, tightening her grip on the boy's shoulder. "I find myself unconvinced, Shirou."

"U-Uh." He coughs lightly. "I-"

"No heavy fighting or training for two days."

"Ack!?" Shirou recoils, the sheer thought seeming to hurt him. "But-!"

"Not hearing it!"

Ritsuka can't help but chuckle awkwardly as she watches Saber strike Shirou down with her words. It's almost as if she's back in Chaldea, watching some random romcom she and Romani had found on the internet.

She looks over to the rest of her contracted servants, and she sees similar expressions of confusion and amusement, with Leonidas being particularly interested in watching the two's dynamics, chuckling all the while.

In the end, Saber ultimately wins, with her threat of booting Excalibur up his bottom being the one to finally end the conversation.

"Um." Ritsuka tries, and Saber finally notices her, blinking in surprise before she walks over to her with a smile.

"Sorry, I...lost myself slightly. I am Arthuria Pendragon, though I prefer to be called Saber. I am Shirou's ser-, partner." She coughs lightly at the mistake. "We were separated when my charge was...taken away by a mage I very much need to kick in his bollocks."

~~~

Distantly, in the throne room of Uruk, Merlin feels a chill climb up his spine, followed by the unexplainable urge to apply protection spells upon his genitals.

~~~

And upon the tower within the everdistant gardens, Mari chuckles warily, enclosing the many windows upon her tower with layers of spells.