A Nascent Kaleidoscope

Chapter 575:

Artoria POV

The primary concern had been taken care of, but it was far from a settled battle.

I let out a breath as I no longer was needed to act as a shield for my knights. I admit that my limit was starting to approach soon. A Servant I may be, but I could only withstand the Authority of a god for so long.

It was not just me.

Mordred was having a bit of trouble but stood resolute. I was proud of Mordred for doing so well to hold off the assault from the God.

The Majority of the defensive spells had crumbled, and a significant number of our forces had fallen.

"Agravain, what are our losses?" I asked as everyone reorganized quickly.

"179 and still counting, your Majesty." He spoke bluntly.

A certain number of those was from the initial landing, but the majority were from the continuous onslaught by that Godly being.

Wave after wave of power that relentlessly struck down. I knew that logically there was not much that could be accomplished in such a situation. But regardless of that, I felt the loss in my heart.

It had been quite a number of years since my arrival in this time period alongside Rin. Mayhaps, I thought that things would be different, but the loss of those who followed behind me never softened.

Wilhelm's spell looked like it was holding firm, so I focused my attention on the immediate threat still present.

Those large things—those Giants that could become invulnerable to a means utilized against them—they were troublesome.

However, their numbers are what made them truly a threat.

My best Knights held the front, clashing with them head-on to minimize casualties.

And there were many of those large skeleton youkai that were directly keeping many at bay as well. Overall, the situation was much less dire than minutes prior.

I don't know who was flying in that ship, but they had my utmost thanks. Not to mention Yasaka's own personal bodyguard showed utmost courage and strength as well.

"Agravain, we're shifting strategies." I called out, recalling how the same ship handled a giant so easily. "Don't focus on slaying them; bind them and drag them to the ground, sealing their movements."

"Take the ropes from the ships! Magicians, if you're not helping set up the teleportation circles, I want Earth Spells tripping them up!" He started throwing out orders.

Their greatest strength was their combination of large physical stature and ability to negate offensive means. However, it mattered not if they became invulnerable to damage if they were unable to move on the ground. And considering the nature of the bindings, if they were bombarded with magic, their resistance would focus on the aspect attempting to harm them.

It was unfortunate that we could not bring our horses on this first landing due to lack of room, but we would make do.

"Father!" Mordred called out as I joined, focusing on the first giant.

"Mordred, attack it." I ordered, joining the others as many thick ropes were wrapped around its legs.

Mordred's attacks caused it to pause; the combination of her Magical Energy coating her Divine Weapon meant that the giant had to focus on the immediate threat.

Compared to Mordred's attempt to destroy it, what does a mindless creation care about us wrapping it in ropes?

However, these things were still strong, sturdy, and very large.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your highness…"

I gave them nods as I joined them, grabbing the end of the rope. There was no need for courtesy in a situation like this. "On three." I felt the slack of it, finding the right tension. "One, two, three."

Myself and dozens of my knights pulled while Mordred stabbed her Divine Lance into its arm.

The Giant blocked her blow, but its legs buckled, and we pulled it to the ground with a large thump.

Carefully, everyone avoided its falling.

I looked proudly at my Knights. They were but normal humans, yet all around us, more of the Giants were pulled down.

One or two were truly 'killed' by a skilled combination of magic and sword, but the majority of the ones assaulting my people were slowly being brought down.

"Mordred, well done. Let's focus on the next." I quickly called to him as we didn't need to help them work around its known defenses at this point.

They could handle it much easier now that its strengths were minimized.

The second one fell much the same, as did the third and fourth. It was taking them a while to finally slay one, even if it was brought low, but the casualties became near non-existent with this strategy.

Of course, there were still many more that the majority of our forces were having to fight head-on.

The strategy to bring down one took a couple dozen to coordinate; that couldn't be accomplished properly when hundreds of those Giants marched in unison and each of their large fists could create tremors with a swing.

However, a loud horn in the distance made me turn my head and frown.

The Icy Winds returned, and I felt the cold gaze behind it. A powerful entity, perhaps as strong as the God from before, its presence loomed over the world, as if a part of it.

The snowstorm manifested again on the horizon, followed by the silhouettes of the faeries return.

It seems the decisive battle was coming.

If they prevented us from establishing this foothold, our offensive would be destroyed before it properly took off. And if we could establish ourselves here, they would be forced back behind their proverbial walls.

The only problem was that there were at least a million of their numbers that I estimated.

@***@

Yasaka POV

I was deeply thankful to Venelena at the moment; the delivery of Phoenix Tears a while ago was now proving invaluable.

I quickly applied one to Soma as his complexion turned for the better.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Stupid boy, sacrificing his life force to forcibly utilize a Balance Breaker. He would be getting the scolding of a lifetime after he recovers!

Combined with the healing we had on hand, well, he wasn't in any danger of dying at least.

These little healing wands that everyone carried were beyond helpful. Sure, they basically stopped being useful beyond moderate wounds and bleeding, but using a few dozen of them all together helped stabilize Soma quickly. Of course, we had other supplies like healing potions and such, but those were less immediate, but still worthwhile.

Very quickly, I had people from the back get him on a stretcher; the few healers we had on hand at this point were already overworked with the casualties we've thus suffered.

Hundreds, well over a thousand, maybe more.

Many of my people had quite literally been turned to dust due to the onslaught of that singular God.

I was furious.

I knew it was a fool's dream to not lose anyone in a war, to invade an entire realm, and have every one of my people come back unscathed.

But this was unacceptable. I was highly doubtful that someone didn't have a hand in what they did here.

Once Soma was taken away, I felt my anger boil over. There was something else too, like something just clicked into place that wasn't there before.

Jinn did say that it usually came about due to emotional response.

My aura came up, golden and radiant, as I stepped past many of my people fighting against those giants.

They were having a little bit better of a time than Artoria's Knight, as we had more means at our disposal.

It was by no means easy, but gradually, through the efforts of quite a few, a handful of the Giants were brought down, but many more still came knocking.

Nurarihyon stepped out of the shadows, matching my stride with a similar look on his face. He also seemed tired, having to defend against the same thing I had before.

I fully admit that I'm exhausted and stressed after that God popped up so suddenly, but I kept a strong front on for everyone who saw us.

His blade was engulfed in his Touki and Youjutsu while my claws were covered in my Fox Fire, and we both leapt at the nearest Giant.

My claws raked over its body, his blade doing the same; no cuts were had, but my foxfire flashed over its flesh while snake-like shadows tore at the opposite side from the old man.

As annoying as it was, our primary strengths lay in physical ability.

I was a daft hand at using my Youjutsu, which effectively operated similarly to magic, but not for large-scale fights or for such a blunt expression. My strengths were always in the more physical application.

However, I had something else, and my Aura answered my call instead.

I felt it again as I pulled on a second manifestation of my aura that I gained from Wilhelm.

It started with a crown of fire that appeared on top of my head. Second was a large ring that appeared behind my back, almost like a chakram. It looked solid at first glance, but it too was made of Fire.

I stepped into the air as little wisps of flames were left in my wake.

Was it my connection to my Goddess that my Semblance manifested this way?

Because it was no normal fire, it was Sunfire.

Sunfire erupted in one hand, and Foxfire in the other.

I looked down on one Giant and released both, obscuring it completely in a torrent of mixed flames.

One of its black arms reached up through the torrent; presumably, it allowed itself to become immune to fire, but even so, its flesh was melting and charred despite still standing.

Quickly, however, its head was completely severed from its body as Nurarihyon finished it off.

He gave me an inquisitive look, but he couldn't invest much time to question me; I simply smiled at his glare.

"Right under three seconds, I measured. That's how long it takes to switch to a different invulnerability." He grunted before disappearing again briefly, his blade slashing at the back of the neck of another giant that barely budged.

I understood his intention, and instinctively, as if my soul knew what to do, I had an understanding of my Semblance and could utilize it properly.

I held my hand out, and talismans appeared between my fingers. Though they weren't made of solid matter, but made of my Sunfire.

Jinn said that people name their Semblances.

Would it be on the nose if I named mine Sun Priestess?

I threw them out as they took up a formation under the legs of the Giant and snapped my fingers.

A flower of fire bloomed under it, consuming it directly and turning it to cinders.

As happy as I was that I finally had my Semblance, I couldn't dwell on it too much. Noticeably, my Aura was draining to utilize it in such a manner, and I wouldn't be able to sustain it indefinitely.

I grabbed the 'Ring' behind my back, a bit larger than I was, and I threw it down at another Giant that was having the advantage in a fight with several of my people.

Three Tengu, a Kitsune, and a Kamaitachi were fighting it, doing an admirable job with just that few of them.

The ring spun in the air, and with each rotation, flames were generated around it.

It had no true edge, but it seared right through the Giant as if it were made of paper, the Sunfire melting the ground as it lodged itself deep into the earth from the force.

They looked up at me, tired and weary of their battle with expressions of gratitude.

That was until I heard a horn in the distance and the snowstorm that had ceased previously began again in earnest.

Very quickly, I could see them coming again, but in much greater numbers.

Hundreds of thousands at a glance, some in the sky, some on the ground, but they were marching right towards us.

"Jinn!" I immediately shouted. "We need the teleportation circle up!"

"Working on it, I need a few minutes!" I could hear her.

A few minutes….

"General Ogai!"

"I'm here!" I heard the reply without even looking back.

"Set up the best defense you can. Our priority is for the teleportation circles to be set up."

"Fall in line, pull back, and set up the Turtle Shell!" He roared. "I don't want a single person getting through, do you hear me!?"

Everyone immediately began to shift at the arrival of so many Fae marching upon us.

The sky above roared as well, thunder and lightning summoned, and I looked towards where Wilhelm was.

He was the first to make a move, with full authority to act without anything in his way.

The lightning began to fall; quite a few crashed into the distance and into the enemies' lines. Even if I couldn't make out the details from this distance, I could see that damage was being done.

However, the thunderous booming ceased as a chilling wind swept through the sky, as if snuffing it out.

The thunder resumed a moment later, but the snowstorm fought against it, and no more lightning fell down from overhead.

She was strong enough to hold off Wilhelm's Divine Lightning; that was impressive, but also understandable considering we were right in her domain.

The Queen herself was acting directly, it seems.

"Old Man." I looked around, noticing him hop over to my side at my call. "We need to buy a few minutes of time."

Battles in our world were strange sometimes. A single individual would warp the battlefield due to their strength, but likewise, that many enemies could threaten individuals. Not to mention, they only had to destroy our foothold, and we would be forced to retreat with quite a few losses.

I frowned because there were also plenty of strong individuals in that army.

Nurarihyon was tired; it was obvious before, even more so now.

The Golems hadn't been cleaned up just yet; they were an annoyance that continued to persevere.

"Whatever decision you make, I'll come along." He grunted. "My old bones can manage a bit more."

I smiled knowing that despite our differences over the years, we were allies regardless.

"Girls…"

"We're here as well." Raikou came to my side quickly.

"It has been many years since I have fought so many enemies at once." Scáthach had a grin on her face.

I wasn't oblivious to the fact that my faction could even stand on this stage because I had them at my side.

Once more, I needed their help.

"Artoria!" She was far away; I wanted her attention quickly.

She looked my way and nodded, standing next to Mordred.

Did she know my plans without me even saying anything? Well, I supposed that's as expected from someone like her. Despite being so old, I was less experienced in situations like this comparatively.

The sound of a dragon roar reverberated, and the black dragon that I was familiar with at this point emerged from Wilhelm's position, and it dove right into the enemy's formations.

I suppose we didn't need a signal.

I threw caution away and transformed into my Fox Form, towering over everyone else.

My semblance still activated, it seemed to enlarge with me as the large ring still hovered behind me protectively, as well as the strange crown of fire.

With my Semblance came an instinctive usage of it, but that didn't mean I had mastered every facet; I was sure there were some secrets about it that I still had to uncover.

Regardless, the Sunfire enveloped my body, and I ran forward, stomping across the battlefield with my mouth full of Fox Fire. I released it in a large wave as I continued forward, crashing right into the uncountable number of Fae.

Weapons shattered on my fur, and armor and steel melted as it tried to touch me. Each of my tails whipped around, sending the weaker of their numbers flying through the air.

If it was time that Jinn needed, it was time she would get.

@***@

Wilhelm POV

Part of my attention was held by the Evil God still pressed under my sealing spell. It was fighting against my spell with everything it had, and I had to put a significant amount of my magical energy into sustaining it.

Secondly, I was fighting with the Winter Queen in the sky as she continuously tried to snuff out my Thunderstorms with her own snowstorms.

I felt her gaze and her presence looming overhead.

Quite literally, we were inside her domain, and she had an advantage in this aspect.

Ddraig asked me to be let free, and I had no reason to reject him. His fake body immediately belly flopped onto the nearest group of Fae. His large body swung around and rampaged right in the middle of their numbers.

I let out a tired sigh thinking about Captain Hook.

It seems obvious in hindsight when he talked about 'one last adventure,' but I could see it in his eyes; he never intended to make it out of here alive. I don't know what kept him going for so long before.

Spite?

But after living so long, this was the moment he chose.

He did good by me; the least I could do is let everyone know who he was afterwards. 

Yasaka quickly joined in as well, fully in her massive fox form, which was bigger than even Ddraig's fake body.

I admit, I wanted to push my face into her soft fur.

Raikou's signature Purple Lightning landed not far away as well, crashing down with a thunderous roar as his blade swept out, decapitating dozens in a single fluid motion.

Her movements were always so elegant and graceful; her swordsmanship was the definition of an art.

With a flick of her sword, all oncoming weapons were diverted, deflected, and parried without the chance to recover, with fresh blood sprayed everywhere she passed.

Nurarihyon, surprisingly, joined right next to her. The two of them, Youkai Slayer and Youkai, both fought back to back. Two swordsmen of unparalleled skill took on thousands upon thousands of enemies by themselves.

Boss filled in a gap in Raikou's defenses. She was overwhelmingly skilled to the point where I could only envy her in my heart, but she could be overwhelmed with enough fodder.

Every time that threatened to happen, Nurarihyon was there, his sword appeared, skipping through their sight, their senses, their perception, and quickly giving Raikou a degree of freedom to move within this onslaught.

Artoria and Mordred quickly joined as well.

Mordred led, her new Divine Lance and Shield in each hand as she charged right in, shield blown away, defensive spells shattered, and any swords and spears blown away as she became a juggernaut.

Artoria was much more graceful, the bright golden light of her sword revealed to the world once more.

She didn't hold it back as Excalibur shined brightly in this dreary weather. It was enough to momentarily cause everyone to pause to stare, but the edge becoming covered in blood seemed to make them regain their senses regardless of the many questions they must have had.

Unlike Mordred, who became a tornado wherever she went, Artoria was more like a gentle breeze.

She wasn't wild and untamed, but every swing of her sword was with purpose and as minimalistic as possible. She didn't have the same flair as Raikou despite being someone in the same realm of skill, but every time she made a dedicated move, bodies were split, and blood was spilled.

Lastly, I could see Scáthach far to the right side, a bit more distant than the others between each other.

If needed, the others could easily come to the aid of each other if forced, but Scáthach seemed to take on an entire side far away by herself.

If Raikou's movements were like a dance, elegant and graceful—artwork in all but name, then Scáthach's methods of killing were the same.

She held similar principles to Artoria; each of her movements was precise with the intention of killing with as minimal effort as needed.

This wasn't Scáthach lost in her battle, even if she had that wide grin filled with satisfaction as she began her slaughter.

Each of her actions was calculated and with meaning. As her spear shot through the head of one armored Fae, she retracted it with a swift jerk of her hand, the butt of her spear slamming into the throat of one behind her who attempted to stab their side into her back.

She stabbed her spear into the ground and used it to push herself up off the ground as dozens of spears and bladed weapons had swung and stabbed at her spot previously.

With a gentle twist of her body, she landed forward, her spear flung up from the back, the tip of it slicing the jugular of the previous Fae, who she had smacked in the throat a moment prior as she continued to leave bodies in her wake.

If anything, she was being much more reserved than normal, conserving her energy. The occasional spell was actualized when needed, but she kept the fighting contained around her.

I considered my own circumstances, with my attention pulled two ways at the moment, but I was more than capable of contributing as well.

I let my devil nature take precedence through the Hogyoku; my wings sprouted behind my back, and I flew quickly towards the fighting, landing somewhere in the middle so as not to overlap with the others.

The purpose was to stall for time, not overexert myself to exhaustion when I was busy keeping two powerful foes at bay.

Likewise, my Power of Destruction was the best tool for this. It required little 'thought' or proper coordination to handle.

I simply grabbed the nearest Fae and disintegrated their head with the crackling of my Devil Bloodline.

Activating my Semblance, my arms turned completely into the same destructive power, and I just started throwing it around haphazardly.

If I were completely surrounded by enemies, then I need not care about where I'm attacking!

One particularly strong one barreled through its comrades, wielding a spear thrust at me in my blind spot.

I could pick it up through my perception and dodged it quickly, but it was a very sharp and precise spear.

Covered in the Wild Hunt's armor, it wasn't some cannon fodder, perhaps one of their leaders or something?

He made no words, simply looking at me with glowing eyes.

His spear thrust out at very quick speeds, but it was far from my level. With one hand, I pushed against the side of the spear tip; with the other, I slammed my palm against the wooden shaft, shattering the top end of the spear.

I grabbed it before it fell to the ground and threw it back at the original owner.

Credit where it was due, he had already dropped his spear and unsheathed a sword from his waist, deflecting the spearhead I had thrown and swiping down at me with quite a bit of strength.

But I didn't quite get the chance to finish him off; both he and I were still, as were the many around us, due to an overwhelming bloodlust that enveloped the area.

Followed by it was a blonde blur that crashed down on the Fae, turning him into a puddle of blood.

Arc came without a warning; her claws were waved, and hundreds were sliced into pieces.

There was something primal about it, like a tickling in the back of your mind that told you there was a predator standing right in front of you.

If even I felt like this, I could only imagine the weaker ones around me.

I was expecting a roar of fury, a continued bloodlust to satiate her anger and rage, but when Arc turned around to look at me, instead, there were tears on her face.

Despite being in the middle of a battle, with a literal army surrounding us, I took my Staff of Magnus out and slammed it onto the ground, creating a Bounded Field to keep everyone out and focused on Arc.

She didn't seem to care that her hands were covered in blood, nor the bodies around her, or really any of the other Fae that were more than willing to kill her.

She just looked at me, almost like she wanted to cry, but it wasn't something utterly foreign to her.

She swung her head back and forth to answer. "Why does my heart hurt?"

Jesus, what am I supposed to say to that?

She wasn't an idiot even if she were an idiot. She knew what Death was; she killed probably more than I have. Hell, she acknowledged her existence as a weapon to kill Dead Apostles.

But throughout her entire life, she has never once had someone she liked die on her.

She wasn't human; she never pretended to be, and she didn't understand humans the majority of the time.

"I told him I would take him home. I told him about my favorite things in the human world when he said he hadn't been home for a long time. I told him I would show him all the fun things I've found." She raised her palm to her face, rubbing her eyes a little. "I liked riding on his boat. I liked this big crocodile. I liked his hat."

It sounded infantile when spoken, but Arc didn't know how to express what she was feeling properly.

There was no hidden depth, simply…She liked him for various reasons, something Arc normally doesn't express.

She's very detached from nearly everyone around her, bar one or two like Gramps.

Because of this, she had never lost someone she cared about, nor ever had to consider that as a possibility.

"...he made me the first mate."

"What do you want to do?" I asked her.

"I want…" Her claws were there, as inconspicuous as they were, ready to lash out. Violence she knew; she had shown her fury and anger in the past. She knew how to be angry, but she didn't know how to mourn. "I want revenge."

"You want to kill the ones responsible?"

"Yes." She intoned. "I want to tear them apart... I... will it make this feeling go away?"

"No." I was honest. "It might make you feel a little better, but it's going to take a long time to grieve someone." I had Scáthach by my side, but even still, it hurts thinking about what happened.

It would be stupid to compare the situation, as I literally loved Scáthach compared to Arc simply liking him non-romantically, but it was still her first time feeling like this.

"...Can you open a way back home for me, cousin?" She finally asked.

"Are you going to do something stupid?"

"Yes."

Normally, she would deny it, from the interactions I've had with her thus far, but I didn't have the heart to deny her.

"I suppose it's fine. Our family does stupid things regularly, especially when we're grieving." Did I like the idea of opening a portal back home and connecting from the Fae Realm? Nope, but at this moment, I was throwing caution to the wind.

As I said, our family is full of idiots.

My calculations didn't need to be precise; she wanted to connect back with the planet, presumably to get reinforcements or reinvigorate herself. Without her connection, her 'reserves' were limited, even if she were still an absolute monster.

The portal opened, and Arc stared at it expressionlessly, even as the thousands of Fae around us continuously roared and attacked the barrier I had erected.

Something was happening to her even if I couldn't perceive it.

It wouldn't last much longer, but it was enough.

"Fine, I agree." She breathed out.

"Arc?" I furrowed my brow, confused at what was happening.

"I promised to come back home if I was given permission." She said with a simple smile.

I am absolutely positive that what just transpired as she interfaced with the world was not that simple, even if that was probably an accurate summarization.

"...Permission for what?" I dared to ask.

Arc's hand raised up, her sharp claws still present as she pushed them into her own chest and, in one fluid motion, pulled her own heart out.

I admit, I was taken completely off guard as she seemingly ripped her own heart from her chest without so much as a scream.

Truthfully, it was only an inconvenience for Arc. Her chest even began to heal quickly. At worst, she is weakened for a while and needs to sleep for a bit.

Blood did pour from her mouth for a moment before she wiped it away, and she very clearly felt the pain from it even if she didn't react as she should have.

I let out a sigh because I knew what Arc was doing.

"We really are a family of idiots, aren't we?" I sighed again.

"Hehe." She chuckled despite herself, holding the heart up as it slowly dissipated into motes of mana.

Arc's Heart, well, it wouldn't be wrong to call it the equivalent of a Mini-Grail.

Her blood was so astonishingly conductive of magical energy that if it didn't have vampiric properties, it would be the most sought-after material for fields needing such.

Hell, calling her Heart the equivalent to a Dragon's Core in output wouldn't be wrong.

And she just sacrificed it without a second thought.

There was a second meaning.

She is the most important Terminal of the world. She who can mantle the Ultimate One of the Earth. The Last True Ancestor – An Elemental of the highest creation that holds a higher 'authority' in world access than even the Gods of the past.

Ignoring her power, ignoring the bullshit of her existence. Everything else aside, she is the terminal connected to Gaia and Alaya—the Counter Force in general, with the highest access.

That is to say, as a terminal of the world, the world also accesses her as its 'sense.'.

Things recorded by Arc are likewise recorded by the World.

As the last bits of her heart faded, a bright light enveloped the area.

There was no need for a ritual circle. No need for a Holy Grail.

Arc's hand lit up with Command Seals because she was supported by the world itself due to her status. And from the world, the ritual of summoning was derived, so it all came back around.

"Our family really is bad about letting people go." I didn't say anything to dissuade her.

I had to shield my eyes as the bright light became too much. The accumulation of magical energy could be felt for miles as the ether gathered into solid form. My shield shattered from the magical energy that pushed through, causing the spell sequence to fail.

A few courageous Fae worked through the blinding light and the sound of metal swung through the air, some at me, some at Arc, but I didn't need to make a move.

Quicker than they could swing down, another blade swept through the air, decapitating them with ease.

A rapier with a golden guard.

A large red hat with an impressive feather swayed in the breeze. The owner of which took it off and bowed in front of Arc with grace and elegance, a hook where his left hand should be.

And not a wrinkle or gray hair in sight on his clean-shaven face—bar a well-kept mustache.

"I have answered your summons—Servant Rider, Captain James Bartholomew Hook. From here to Neverland and everywhere in between, I am at your service."

@***@

A/N

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