Fate Of A Gamer

"Uh, okay." Ritsuka blinks, shelving that strange quip Saber gave for later. "But, you said he was taken away?" Saber nods, and she continues. "Then how did you get here?"

"Ah, that's…" Saber begins, unsure on where to begin. "I...believe that's a tale better told once we're behind the walls. I doubt I can give my tale with the looming danger upon us."

Ritsuka nods, and they soon head back towards Uruk, with Shirou supporting Leonidas and Benkei carrying the injured Ushi. The travel back is mostly filled with idle chatter, detailing the often funny circumstances Saber and Shirou landed themselves in.

Oddly, Ritsuka learned more about Shirou through those funny drabbles than she had throughout the past several days. Which is somewhat embarrassing actually, considering the many chances she could have used to learn more about the demi-servant she'd contracted with.

She learned that he has a family, an adopted one, and that his cooking skills came from a necessity, mostly because his father was an absolute home wrecker when trying to cook. She learned that he's an apprentice, learning under a magus called Tsunaka Hanami. They didn't explain much about who she is, but they did talk of her astounding skill and strength.

She learned of his love of swords, with him cheerfully retelling the tales of the many swords he'd seen displayed in the museums he visited. She also learned of his skill as a technician, being the one to fix the many appliances that happened to break down as he lived with his adopted family.

They soon reach Uruk's throne however, and their idle chatter comes to a stop as they stop before Gilgamesh, staring at the new individual with interest.

Said individual bȧrėly cares for the inquisitive stare, her eyes instead taken by the figure not too far away, his face pale and dripping with sweat as he slowly backs away.

"A-Ah, hello there!"

"Hello there." She whispers back, her voice dripping with honeyed venom, and Merlin lets out another wary chuckle as he continues to step back. Saber smiles sweetly, taking several steps towards the frightened mage as she brings out her favored sword.

"M-May we talk this out, my k-king?"

"Hmm." Saber hums quietly, before she smiles at him. "No."

"AGH!?"

And so, it was on that day that the famed magus of the Round Table received a very powerful burst of light towards his genitals, one that would render him unmoving for several hours and one that would forever scar him.

"Hmph." Gilgamesh huffs in amusement, before he turns back to the returned master. "Welcome back, master of Chaldea."

She nods and begins to explain what's happened, retelling the mostly uneventful journey towards their target, of the strange invisible monster Shirou fought and slain, and of the battle against the recently identified Gorgon. Gilgamesh listened to it all with a thoughtful frown, thinking of what he'd just heard.

"And she simply disappeared?" He asks, and Ritsuka nods.

"It's similar to what happened with Enkidu." Shirou adds. "No magical energy, no signs, nothing."

"I see." Gilgamesh says, pondering over the things he'd heard. "You are dismissed. Rest and heal." And with those words, they all leave towards their homely cabin, with Saber dragging an aching Merlin back with no care for his being.

There, Leonidas and Ushi are gently laid atop a bed, resting as Shirou uses [Avalon]'s light to heal the injuries they'd garnered from their fight. Benkei drags out a chair and sits, silent and regretful. Mash and Ritsuka take their own seats, and Saber sighs as she takes a seat, ready to begin her tale.

Merlin's left cold on the floor, his groans of pain left unheard. .

"A couple nights ago, Shirou disappeared in a flurry of flowers, carried here by...him." Saber begins, glaring at the groaning magus before continuing. "I'd immediately alerted Hanami as to this, and she soon arrives with Gilgamesh in tow."

"Gilgamesh?" Leonidas asks. "But is the king not there upon the throne?"

"It's...uh, a different Gilgamesh. A female one." She says. Most listening blink, surprised, and Saber explains further. "Just as there are infinite worlds created from the Root, so are there different versions of ourselves, recorded within the Throne of Heroes."

"...I see." Leonidas finally says, frowning thoughtfully as he tries to picture how Gilgamesh would look as a woman.

"Either way, I'm not quite sure on the details myself, but Hanami had explained something about using my connection to Shirou as a reagent to precisely detect this Singularity's locations before Hanami cast a spell that brought us here."

"W-Wait, you mean this Hanami can travel between worlds!?" Romani's shocked shout cackles through the comms, and Saber nods, giving a sympathetic smile.

"I understand the surprise. I myself was when she'd suddenly announced her capability of doing so out of nowhere, but, well, Hanami herself is a rather strange magus, and I've gotten rather used to her antics." Saber smiles slightly, remembering that awkward talk she and Hanami had when they conversed for the first time.

"Wait. But where are they now?" Shirou asks, worry bleeding into his expression. "Are they okay?"

"Do not worry, Hanami and Gilgamesh should be fine. Hanami had sensed a threat enclosing upon you and offered to send me in early. She mentioned that it'd take her a couple more days before she'll finally manage to make her way here." She says, before adding, "Oh, and she extends a hello to you as well, Fujimaru-san."

"...eh?" Ritsuka blinks. 'How did she know my name?' Ritsuka is fairly sure she'd never actually introduced herself to the Saber, which is rather rude, now that she thinks about it.

"Believe me, I do not know how Hanami knows you either. I presume it's a product of her capability to travel between worlds." Saber shrugs, used to the strangeness.

"Ah…" Ritsuka nods, the thought that a true magician knows of her still processing through her brain.

The conversation falls into a lull, all recovering and resting from the recent burst of adrenaline, with only the gentle hum of [Avalon]'s magic filling the silence. Silently, Ritsuka takes a glance at Benkei, her lips curling to a slow frown as she watches him. He's remained unmoving throughout the entire journey back, and the expression of guilt and regret in those blank eyes of his are clearer than ever.

She frowns, wondering why Shirou's words had struck him so hard.

"...Alright." Shirou says, letting [Avalon]'s light fade as he heals the last cut on Ushi, giving the Rider one last check before he sighs. "I...Does anyone want to eat?"

"Yes!" Everyone unanimously agrees, with Saber being the loudest, her eyes already sparkling at the prospect.

Shirou smiles. "Alright then. Saber, do you mind helping?"

"Not at all!" She answers eagerly, rising from her seat and following her partner out of the cabin.

~~~

"They're an interesting bunch, aren't they?" Saber says as she washes the vegetables in her hands. "Even with the looming threat of human extinction, their spirits remain bright."

"Yeah." Shirou smiles. "They're all amazing."

"They indeed are."

Shirou's smile grows just a tad playful. "Even Merlin?"

"Hey!" He hears Mari shout in his mind. Shirou dutifully ignores her.

Saber's smile falls. "I retract my statement. Most of them are amazing."

"How rude!" Mari says, and Shirou chuckles. He never really did understand why Saber held so much annoyance for the magus of flowers, but considering who Merlin is and how much of a prankster he is, Shirou could see the stoic Saber getting very annoyed at the cheery magus.

Finished with the vegetables, Saber hands over the cleaned vegetable to him. "Saber, did Hanami say anything about what we're facing?" Shirou asks, placing the vegetables down and chopping them into smaller chunks.

Saber frowns. "I...believe she did." She says slowly, and Shirou stops and looks to her, confused. "I remember seeing her say something as we travelled, but my memories are...hazy. The best I can do is recall Tiamat, but I'm sure that's something you've already found out." She sighs, brows furrowing in slight frustration.

Shirou blinks, an old memory surfacing. "I think Hanami mentioned something about that." He begins. Saber turns to him and blinks. "She'd mentioned something about the [Dimensional Gap] and how dangerous it is to enter it. Maybe your travel through it caused some of your memory to blur?"

"Maybe…" Saber says, understand but clearly unsatisfied.

"It's fine." He smiles encouragingly. "Hanami and Gilgamesh will be here in a couple days, right? We can just wait."

"We can, but," She frowns. "What if something happens before they do arrive? What if we're overwhelmed?"

Shirou opens his mouth, words ready to be spoken, but he holds himself back. For as much as he can encourage that it'll be fine, it won't. At this moment, they're grasping at straws, trying to prepare for an enemy whose power and scale they have no clue about. Tiamat could very well appear tomorrow, and they won't be able to do anything.

But in the end, worrying constantly won't bring anything, will it?

"If it happens, then it happens." He finally says. "We can't control fate."

"But," He then adds. "We might not have control over fate, but fate doesn't have a hold over us either. We've broken past that, pushed against it."

Saber stares at him, and slowly, she smiles. "...I suppose that's the best we can do, isn't it?"

Shirou smiles back.

"Shirou, I believe the stock's ready." Mari says, and he nods, smiling internally.

'You're getting better at counting.'

"Are you saying I can't count, Shirou-kun?" Mari whispers, her voice taking a slight edge. Shirou grins.

'Why, did you not ask me why 2 minutes is 120 seconds some time ago?'

He can't quite hold back a small laugh as he hears Mari stutter, quickly giving out as many excuses as she can to convince him otherwise. Saber looks at him weirdly, wondering why he suddenly laughed, but he waved his hand. "It's nothing." He says. "Oh, Saber, can you go take out the meat? The soup's ready."

"Ah! Will do!"

"You are the worst." Mari says.

'Learned it from you.'

~~~

Thankfully, everyone liked the simple soup he cooked.

Unfortunately, Saber caught him trying to leave and train, and forced him back.

Shirou could only sigh as he was blasted by Mari's rambunctious laugh.

~~~

So life goes on. The next day arrives, and Ritsuka and Mash return to their daily work, now joined by Arthuria and a very much pained Merlin as she dragged the man around. Ushi and Leonidas remain at the cabin to rest, with Benkei as their guardian, watching silently.

And Shirou continues his work in the large kitchen, helping the citizens of Uruk cook their meals. The expectant, and even revenant stares from the people made him slightly uncomfortable, but he busied himself with the cooking, doing his best to ignore the many taunts Mari gave him along the way.

Worry still grips his heart however. After the retreat of Gorgon, the number of sieging demonic beasts suddenly spiked, and now the Dingirs mounted upon Uruk's walls are being used near constantly, firing many of the magical weapons Gilgamesh had lent to the people.

The concern for an ever decreasing ammunition is higher than ever.

Which is why when Gilgamesh had asked him to aid the blacksmiths in creating more weapons to fire, Shirou obliged. Of course, he'd never forged anything in his life before, and no matter how similar his magecraft comes to it, the true process is still very much different.

But he became used to it quickly, aided by Yorrmir's knowledge of the craft. Again, he asked how the titan came to know of said knowledge, and he merely laughed and waved it away.

A problem soon arose however.

Forging weapons from iron would be easy, but ultimately useless. Iron weapons would bȧrėly pierce through a demonic beast's hide, if they even made it out of the Dingirs in the first place, considering the ancient weapon's latent magical potential would most likely destroy the iron weapons before they could be launched.

And as skilled Mari was, there was only so much she could do.

So she presented an alternative.

"Why let the demonic beasts' blood go to waste?"

It sounded insane, but the more he thought of it, the more sense it began to make. If they could somehow solidify demonic blood, it'd be an incredibly potent magical conduit. Perhaps not a metal best used for a weapon, but surely one that would suit to be fired from a magical cannon.

An idea in mind, he suggested the idea to Gilgamesh, and with a wide smirk, he gave his affirmation.

So, after he helped make lunch for the citizens, he left the walls, a large enchanted gallon Gilgamesh lent strapped onto his back. He'd find roaming demonic beasts, injure them, and place the gallon under them as they slowly bled out. It sounded somewhat barbaric, which it was, but it worked.

Gallon easily filled, he returned to the space the blacksmiths had lent to him,

And here he now is, pouring the demonic blood in rectangular molds to prepare for the steps ahead. Overall, the single enchanted gallon filled roughly 34 rectangular moulds, enough for maybe the same number of weapons if he manages to turn the liquid blood into a solid material to make use of.

Taking a deep breath, Shirou takes a step back and brings forth Mari's staff into his hands. He lets his prana flow, his magic circuits thrumming as he connects with the magical staff in his hands. Wind picks up, the smell of blooming flowers waft into the room, and Shirou closes his eyes as he lets his magic reach out into the corrupted demonic blood.

Slowly, aided by Mari's guidance, he begins drawing away the corruption within the blood, pushing them into the air and letting them flow out of the windows in the room and out into the sky, dispersing them. Glowing, the purple color of the blood begins to change, shifting to a brighter red.

And just like that, it is over.

Shirou opens his eyes and sighs in relief over a job well done. The demonic blood is now a bright red, pulsing with magic of ancient Mesopotamia, ready to be remade. Smiling slightly, his magic circuits flare as he casts another spell, binding the blood together into a solid, a metallic material that glows even in the darkness of the forge.

"Nicely done." Mari congratulates as she inspects the new materials. "Extremely durable, greatly sėnsɨtɨvė to magical energy, and created from an abundant resource. Hmph, had Arthur found this out, he'd immediately be taken."

Of course, their task is far from done. The materials may be procured, but he still needed to forge them into usable ammunition for the Dingirs. So Shirou returned to work, popping the new metal out of their molds and began forging them into weapons, with Yorrmir's guiding hand as his helper.

Forging felt oddly relaxing actually, similar to how he feels if he was spending his time cooking. It let his mind wander slightly, thinking of odd things and reminiscing over the memories he holds.

Soon, 34 newly created javelins are lined up before him, their red sheen glowing with magical energy.

It doesn't take long to realise that he's essentially made 34 similar magical weapons, with no previous experience.

It didn't even take all that long.

With a wry smile, he placed all the newly forged javelins into the gallon and carried them up into the castle's throne room.

There, he sees Saber growling at a very much terrified Merlin, Ritsuka and Mash watching from the side in exasperated amusement, and Gilgamesh mostly ignoring it all, his eyes instead set on Shirou and the weapons he carried in the gallon in his hands.

"So you've come back." The king begins, and the others turn their eyes to him. Shirou nods, walking forward and placing the gallon down, pulling out one of the javelins he'd forged. Gilgamesh stares at it, inspecting it, and he nods in approval. "Yes. These should do."

"Um, Gilgamesh-sama, what are those?" Mash asks, staring at the glowing red javelin Shirou has.

"They are new Noble Phantasms to be fired from the walls." He says. Shirou blinks silently, wondering why the man had called them Noble Phantasms.

He idly wondered why Mari sighed when he thought that.

"How many can you make?"

"A gallon makes about 34." Shirou answers.

"And two hours are needed." Gilgamesh finishes, and Shirou nods. The king hums in thought, before golden portals shimmer to life, dropping several hundred of those enchanted gallons he'd lent. "Very well. I will have my men gather the needed blood."

"Mm." Shirou nods.

If he's to make more, then he'll need to ask for more molds to use. With his next task in mind, he turns and leaves, not hearing Saber's sigh and her whisper of how he and Hanami are a perfect fit with one another.

~~~

Shirou let out a sigh as he dropped back against the wall, weakly raising his arm to wipe away some of the sweat that'd pooled on his forehead.

He'd...slightly underestimated how enthusiastic the people of Uruk became when they heard Gilgamesh's order. In mere minutes, gallons after gallons of demonic blood were being dropped off by his doorstep, and he found himself subjugated to a constant stream of materials to forge into ammunition.

Shirou didn't mind it really. It was both a nice way to slowly accustom working by the forge and help the people of Uruk survive against the rising tide of monsters.

Still, working so constantly was rather ċumbersome as well. Three hours in, and he found his shirt completely soaked in his sweat. So, he took it off, letting the shirt slowly dry outside. He'd also missed dinner, politely denying the food Ritsuka offered him when she entered hours ago.

She then proceeded to leave with a massive blush.

He wondered why.

Totaling his progress, from noon until midnight, he'd managed to forge a couple thousand javelins, enough to maybe last Uruk a week or more.

But, in the end, he didn't manage to make use of all the [Demon Steel], as Mari called it. There are still several hundred bars left to be forged into javelins, and ten gallons or so that he still needs to turn into the usable material. He would've continued, but it was far too deep into the night now, with even Mari forcing him to stop and rest.

Well, he'll continue tomorrow.

If tomorrow comes around that is.

Ultimately, Uruk will be destroyed, Gilgamesh had said it himself. The demonic beasts will continue to come, relentless and tireless in their pursuit, and soon, the walls will crumble. The true Tiamat still lingers in the shadows, an unknown but undeniable threat. Gorgon and Enkidu still remain as well, along with Fuji-nee and the goddess she works under.

And then there is that strange invisible monster he'd fought just a day ago. He doesn't know what it is, Gilgamesh and Merlin don't know what it is, but the being was clearly divine, created from a taint similar to Angra Mainyu.

He dearly hopes the one he slayed is the only one, but he knows that won't be true. Gilgamesh recounted that he'd heard of a similar monster, one that'd slain one of the servants he'd summoned using his own Holy Grail and said that its abilities had been completely different, capable of twisting and contorting impossibly.

There are too many variables, too many enemies, and Uruk was battered, tired.

Yet despite that, they still hold on, guarding the walls and manning the Dingirs installed upon Uruk's walls to fend off the incoming horde. Even in the face of looming extinction, they continue to struggle.

It's admirable, and familiar, and Shirou can't help but smile as he lets his eyes close.

~~~

"But simply struggling would do nothing, would it not?"

"No matter what you do, worms that crawl upon this tainted earth would only reach damnation at the end."

"What would you do then?"