Chapter 8

For all his strength.

Green lightning thundered above the skies of Orario, writhing and twisting into intermittent flashes of arcing bolts that briefly encompassed a figure traversing the city in a single breath.

Bulged muscles and popped veins pushed against an unwilling foe; a monster thrashing and roaring in resistance. No building or obstacle could stand in their wake.

For all his speed.

Dromeus Komētēs, the Noble Phantasm encompassing the legend of unsurpassed agility that dominated an entire era and human history itself. It was akin to instantaneous movement: God Speed.

Nothing slows him down.

There is no one, either before or after his death, who surpasses him.

Anything that enters his field of vision, is within his strike range.

Time and time again.

Rider's expression twisted, his spear crackling with divine energy.

-He was never there when it mattered.

His name was Achilles.

An exceptional Hero whose level was exceedingly close to that of the Gods that prophecy itself warned mighty Zeus of his birth.

"Rargh!" A war shout reverberated from the heavens.

Palmed in Rider's right hand was the Juggernaut's head smashing through building after building, accelerated forward again and again from feet that tore trenches in their wake.

Faces passed by in a blur, many stunned and frozen in shock through explosions of smoke, debris, and wood.

("What was-")

("Oh my god-")

("Rider?")

Reaching the front of Babel, Rider slammed the Juggernaut onto the ground. Cracks formed and spiraled out into a deep crater, pebbles and stones flying out like shrapnel in the echo of a deafening bang.

Wordlessly, Rider raised his spear.

Sparks grated as a sharpened tail swooped over and clipped Rider on the head before he could strike down.

He flew, smashing into the side of Babel where he left an impression of his body depressed into the stone.

All he did was grunt while pulling himself free.

In the tension, enraged eyes squared up against glowing red.

A strike that would have pierced even steel did little more than leave a deeper scratch over Rider's skin.

Blood dripped over Rider's temples, but he didn't even feel it.

"It tickles," he muttered, expressionlessly brushing the debris off his armour.

His eyes were bloodshot.

The Juggernaut roared in challenge, seemingly confused that it had done so little damage while Rider was just getting started.

In the distance, people ran close, drawn to the violent sounds and propagating reverberations.

Rider threw away his spear.

("M-Madness.")

("Someone, stop him!")

Barehanded, he struck with a speed faster than the blink of an eye and punched the Juggernaut square in the skull.

A shockwave was generated from the sheer impact, the monster recoiling. It was no augmentation magic or strengthening of any sort.

All of it was physical strength.

In pain, the Juggernaut countered with a swipe of its claws, but Rider's hands rose to meet them, grabbing them mid-strike. The sharp edges meant little against Rider's body bathed in the river Styx and quenched in holy fire.

Slow. Too slow.

Rider's present agility was in the realm of God Speed. His strength-

Veins popped over Rider's biceps as he pulled on the Juggernaut and lifted it into the air by the claws.

("W-Who?")

("T-That's not possible.")

Shouting, he swung the Juggernaut against the ground again and again like a sack of potatoes. Each thump shook the very streets of Orario and tilted Babel tower further and further off its axis.

The ground caved as two deep wells were forming on either side of Rider. One final smash had the Juggernaut entrenched into the earth, its hind limbs splayed, and the claws of its forelimbs cracked and shattered.

Letting go of his grip, the Juggernaut tried to respond, but Rider was too quick. His hands quickly found purchase on the horns of the monster atop its head. The sheer size had Rider mounting the top, but nothing the monster could do would shake Rider off.

Slowly, steadily, he began pulling, bending the horns inward.

Howling and thrashing in pain, the Juggernaut slammed the back of its head into nearby buildings. Finally, it knocked Rider off with one final swing of its head, but Rider's dismounting wasn't without value.

An abrupt snapping noise was accompanied by two horns cracking at their base. An anguished low growl escaped the Juggernaut's mouth as it pawed on its missing horns.

The fiery red of its eyes was no longer as potent as before.

"Does it hurt?" Rider asked blankly, tossing the horns in his hands away like garbage.

There was no answer this time. Not even a growl. Unlike upper-level monsters of the Dungeon, the monsters of the lower floors possessed greater instincts and intelligence. Spawned from the lower depths, the Juggernaut possessed its own judgements well enough to see that Rider shrugged attacks off without care.

Without warning, it turned around and chose retreat.

It would not be so easy.

In a blur of God Speed, Rider could appear anywhere in his sight, and that meant appearing directly next to the Juggernaut who could hardly react.

"Where are you going?" Rider grabbed it by the tail, and pulled it to heel.

Putting strength into his arms, Rider spun like a discus thrower and hurled Juggernaut threw the air at unimaginable speed.

Flying overhead, it flew past a gathered crowd and struck Babel tower. The structure creaked and groaned, but it was too much. It crumbled and buried Juggernaut under several tons of rubble, Babel tower finally collapsing on it.

A certain Goddess who lived on Babel was far from happy at the absurd scene.

Rider spit blood on the ground and proceeded forward, just now noticing the presence of a crowd, not that it mattered to him.

Not even the elf who stepped out and those who accompanied her.

Staring at Rider, Riveria shuddered as realization kicked in that, yes, Rider was fighting barehanded.

No. More than anything:

Against such a monster, the man had the audacity to be walking.

Riveria clenched her teeth, eyes narrowing at Rider in protest.

"Y-You…" Even the words would not come out properly.

It wasn't difficult for Riveria to interpret meaning in Rider's actions.

- To prolong its suffering, and then crush it.

Rider was strong to the point where Riveria and many others struggled to determine what level he was, but it was simple recklessness to not decisively put matters to an end when he could do so.

Such irresponsibility was an affront to those that already died, and those that could still die in the process, let alone the collateral damage.

If Riveria had expected Rider to stop at her protest, she was mistaken.

"Out of my way." Rider pushed past her, bumping shoulders to continue his war path.

Taken by surprise, Riveria stumbled back with an uncharacteristic yelp. Unable to catch herself, she fell on her bottom, glared at Rider, but then hurriedly lowered her gaze.

It was unintended, but Rider didn't even register his own rudeness.

All in his way were obstacles. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Ais and the others from Loki Familia bristled, but Bete was different. He blocked the way, veins popping over his temples. In his anger, he missed the panic that flickered across Riveria's face.

"From a minor Familia that was already kicked out!" Bete ground his teeth while staring at the symbol of a star and dolphin emblazed on Rider's back. "How dare you-"

Bete's mouth suddenly clamped shut, finally seeing what Riveria had seen to force her silence.

It was Rider's eyes and the unbridled savagery burning within them.

"…Do you want to die?"

There was no rationality in that fury. No reason.

Bete backed down, instinctively understanding that Rider would follow through with his words at the slightest provocation.

The sight was humbling, especially for those who personally knew Bete.

Not another word was said, but no one dared to move until Rider passed by and the Juggernaut re-oriented itself in the rubble.

Rider reached it in an instant when it tried to flee back into the Dungeon, and quickly re-engaged.

Staring at them, it was difficult to tell who was the real monster.

"Move aside!" Riveria pushed past the growing crowd to stand at the forefront, magic energy gathering into a written chant in the air around her.

"Harbinger of the end, the white snow."

Riveria focused her magic, targeting Juggernaut who Rider was toying with by snapping its bones and breaking its joints.

"Blow with the wind before twilight."

A single moment of carelessness, and the monster that had killed Fin and Tione could get away.

"Closing light, the freezing land."

Riveria had had no hope of victory before, but witnessing Rider's strength and capability, revenge burned with an ever-growing furor within her.

"Blizzard, the three severe winters."

It happened. Like a cowardly lizard, Juggernaut snapped its tail off and fled towards the entrance of the dungeon buried under Babel; Rider roaring in anger as he tossed away the tail.

"- my name is Alf."

Riveria's eyes shone with a blue hue as the Falna of the Loki Familia on her back emitted light.

The coppery taste of blood spread through Riveria's mouth from how tightly she clenched her jaw.

The entirety of her focus was on the monster trying to flee.

'Don't even think of escaping!'

"Wynn Fimbulvetr!"

The air in front of the Juggernaut rapidly condensed and froze, creating a wall that wrapped around its body and anchored itself on the ground. A roar escaped its lips, and the ice immediately began to crack due to its anti-magic shell.

Riveria staggered, a splitting headache disorienting her, but her efforts weren't in vain.

All at once, the ice shattered.

The monster didn't stop for long, but it was enough.

An unrelenting force gripped around the Juggernaut's ankle tight enough to depress bone over clamped fingers.

Juggernaut was dragged backwards, its limbs thrashing.

In the crowd, Archer frowned when Rider continued another pummeling instead of ending it. The legend of Achilles that qualified Rider for Berserker was known even to Archer.

"Rider," Archer suddenly called, his voice barely piercing through Rider's haze. "Enough," he warned.

"Tch." Rider paused, glancing to Archer then finally to Shirou in the crowd before he clicked his tongue.

He threw Juggernaut beneath him, and pressed it down with his foot.

"Balios, Xanthus, Pedasus."

A chariot was re-summoned beside Rider, pulled by three divine horses. Expressionless, Rider took ropes attached to his chariot and wordlessly bound the struggling Juggernaut within them.

Mounting his chariot, Rider took the reins, the personification of rage itself.

"Run!"

It was something that he never took pride in.

Rider whipped the reins, spurring his mounts into a sprint across the starry heavens, and dragging Juggernaut with it. They took to the skies, pressure building with each turn that created the symbol of infinity.

"RUUN!"

It was something that he instead came to regret.

The ropes dug into bone, tighter and tighter through the growing acceleration as growls turned into excruciating high-pitched wails.

What had once been visible was rapidly shifting into a green blur over the horizon, giving reason to Rider's summoning as the Servant of the Mount.

"RUUUN!"

Nonetheless, it was part of who he was.

Cracks turned into splinters that began snapping off entire fragments of bone quickly reduced to dust under the pressure of God Speed. That dust ignited through friction, illuminating the symbol of infinity with a trailing blaze of glowing orange.

An anger beyond reason.

The red light of the juggernaut's eyes soon faded in their entirety, utterly reduced to ashes scattered in the wind.

The wrath of a Demi-God.

An overwhelming silence befell Orario.

/-/

As the anger subsided, Rider felt nothing as he dismissed his chariot, his emotions muted as he turned back to those he'd left waiting somewhere in the wreckage of a broken down tavern and travel lodge.

He knew the way even beyond the rubble, and yet he trudged slowly onward.

His speed was a snail's pace to what he'd displayed prior, but there was no one to question him. Rather, it was difficult to say whether he would have responded anyway.

A path was cleared wherever he walked, crowds peeking their heads to check if the danger was gone only to see Rider walking by and a silent crowd tentatively following behind him.

Why the crowd was following was anyone's guess.

Curiosity, awe, or even trepidation, it was a miracle that someone of Rider's capabilities was relatively unknown in Orario, and to think he was from a Familia that was once kicked out was baffling.

Rider glanced up as droplets of water hit his face in a sudden downpour.

Thetis was a Goddess of water. It wasn't to the extent of hegemonic sea deities, but it was enough to reflect her influence over the lower world in a state of emotional imbalance, unmindful of the rules.

It was raining, dark clouds overhead condensed over a single location.

Rider's expression hardened, but he continued on, the pitter patter of rain clinking over his armour and creating a rhythmic drone.

His damp hair matted over his darkened features, his gaze growing clouded while the crowd trailing behind him finally got a grasp for Rider's fury.

There swept up in the downpour of rain and surrounded by broken debris was a crying Thetis. She was on her knees and hunched over the body of a man whose head she was cradling over her lap. A shield was haphazardly held up on the side.

To many, Rider's affiliation to the Thetis Familia was a given considering the symbols on his back that represented a Falna in the eyes of those in this world.

The correlation between mother and son was outside their considerations. But so too would they not understand that the Divinity Rider carried in his blood was the reagent catalyzing the response of the Thetis Familia's Falna.

It was an uncontested claim, a mark of heritage.

Everything suddenly made sense to everyone.

Rider's unrelenting wrath beyond rhyme or reason, had to have come from a source, and that source was here.

A crying Thetis.

What Familia would be able to maintain reason when their Goddess was pushed to the point of tears?

At least for those watching in silence, few if any could claim that they would remain rational.

Rider continued onward, and only then did the crowd focus on the other two near Thetis frozen stiff at the sight of Rider returning triumphant.

-A green star that shone over the sky of Orario, there was no way that the two hadn't seen it.

Iris hung her head low with mixed feelings while Ryuu just kept staring at the man who did the impossible.

Apart from the heel Rider had guarded, there were scratches, bruises, and blood over the rest of his body, all washed away and healed by the rain. It was a level that was far beyond ordinary.

Iris and Ryuu, by association, were privy to a secret revelation.

Rider was the son of Thetis.

A bonafide son of a Goddess.

'Demi-God,' half man, half god, a term wholly unfamiliar yet nonetheless, most fitting.

Iris and Ryuu hesitantly stepped out of Rider's way at his approach, standing solemnly on the side despite numerous questions in their hearts. Now just wasn't the time.

There was only one person in Rider's eyes right now, and it wasn't them, his Master, or the spectating crowd.

He stood silently like a statue a few feet away from Thetis, watching her sob over a corpse that had long since bled out.

She flinched as she registered his presence, and the reality she had to acknowledge.

"He's dead." Tired, flat, grief stricken, the voice was hollow.

Thetis couldn't even glance up at Rider. She didn't dare to.

She had an idea of what expression Rider was making, and she didn't want to see it for fear of pushing her further over the edge.

The rain continued to pour, a distant echo in the two's ears.

"Sorry."

The word struck Thetis like thunder, a shudder traveling through her body.

"Don't apologize." She cried harder, her voice dangerously warbled. She hunched her shoulders. "It wasn't your fault."

"I could have-"

"Please." Thetis's face finally twisted into a pitiful furrow as she craned her neck up at Rider. She sobbed, hugging Peleus closer, and burying her face into the groove of his neck, body trembling. "I don't know how much more I can take."

Did he not know, not understand? That as a mother, the grief and self-blame in his eyes only hurt her more? If anything, it was her fault.

If she had never come to Orario, if she hadn't insisted on staying so long, Peleus wouldn't have been in danger, and her son wouldn't have that sort of expression on his face.

"…"

Rider balled his hands into fists. Thetis couldn't even meet his gaze. His guts felt like they were twisting into shambles. Soon, resolve bled into his demeanor. In life, he'd already endured tragedy. In death and materialization, enough was enough.

"Wait here." Rider ground the words out.

In a flash of green, he leapt into the air and vanished into his chariot under the confused stares of all. Only Shirou and Archer had an idea of what Rider had in mind, and Shirou wasn't about to deny Rider's freedom and choice. The worst way to handle a Servant was to one-sidedly impose on them.

Not a few moments later, Rider returned with a frowning Caster caught in his grip. That frowned only deepened when Rider dismissed his chariot and forced Caster to the ground with him.

Caster's appearance turned many eyes.

Considering Rider's capabilities, it was difficult not to make assumptions about the skills of his allies. In this case, it would be warranted.

It was a cranky figure that was bound to reshape Orario's entire dynamic.

"This was not part of the arrangement," Caster said flatly, dusting himself off after Rider raided his medical ward and kidnapped him.

Beyond his irritation, Caster was already taking in his surroundings, first to the crowd, then pausing as his sights landed on Peleus.

"Please." Rider bowed his head on the side.

Caster knew exactly what Rider was asking of him.

Beyond Caster's capabilities to reject even death, he had no plans of ousting himself as the perpetrator of a revival skill to prevent drawing undue attention. Rather, he intended to use Archer as a proxy to not be disturbed in his duties and aspirations as a doctor.

To heed Rider's request was to put himself outside his intended calculations and into a spotlight, no; not a spotlight, a beacon. The fact that he was here was already outside his calculations.

Rider would have known of this. It was the reason Caster was absent throughout the entire incident until now.

An inconsequential doctor would be far less hounded than an influential one.

Caster had long since learned this sentiment in his former life, and yet, this and that were different things. It was annoying that Rider couldn't have brought the patient to a less conspicuous location, but Caster supposed Rider's mental state wasn't quite as sharp as it should be.

Thetis's sobbing gave Caster a good idea as to why.

Rider was bowing his head.

It was hard to refuse even if Caster wanted to reason for a better time and place. Rider would likely hear none of it, and Rider wasn't the same when swayed by emotion.

Hector and his corpse were proof of that.

"To think there'd be a day a warrior so renowned would be so humble." Caster grumbled, but relented in his own way. "Tch. Very well."

Caster could no longer stand idle.

He had his own principles, and as a doctor with his skill-set, reviving the recently departed required far less effort than those he'd revived in the Dungeon. More so with intact bodies and resonating bloodlines of the patient all conveniently gathered in front of him. Even Rider could help by donating blood as he was a mix of both parents.

Though the scenario was less than satisfactory, the conditions were ripe for Caster. The opportunity was before him.

No. More than that…Rider wasn't the only one swayed by benign emotion.

"Reckless as always, Peleus." Caster murmured.

Memories of the Argo and its crew came unbidden.

Peleus may not be entirely the same as the one Caster knew, but they were comrades, brothers, all led by an oddball in over his head.

"You were no Herakles," Caster closed his eyes, reminiscing. "But you were braver than any other."

Caster opened his eyes, coming to a decision and staring at Shirou and Archer in the spectating crowd.

"Master," Caster called, gesturing to his empty hand.

The patients revived from the Dungeon have yet to achieve true resurrection, so their conditions were maintained by Caster's staff, forcing him to leave it behind. Obviously, Caster could not possess more than one, but his current Master created a convenient loophole.

As others began looking for whoever Caster referred to as 'Master' a copy of the Staff of Asclepius appeared in the air in front of Caster.

Only Hestia and a scant few that had been near Shirou witnessed the process of circuit-like patterns flaring over his skin, and the heat of a forge.

"Hn." Caster grunted after taking his Traced staff.

The staff served as a conduit to focus his energy and was a key point in establishing his divine mystery spoken of in legend.

"Step aside Rider." Caster instructed as he moved towards Peleus.

Thetis immediately grew defensive, her eyes threatening mutual destruction if he so much as dared to-

Rider motioned to Thetis that it was okay, her pupils dilating with turmoil. She neither wanted to ignore Rider's insistence or to give up Peleus.

In the end, Thetis was coaxed to release her hold on Peleus before the two backed off to give Caster space.

Silence stretched as Caster laid Peleus down in front of him.

For a second, disgust crossed Caster's eyes before even that was washed away by necessity and acknowledgment.

As good a doctor as Caster was, the miracles he performed were not without the aid of the divine, especially when the patient was beyond mortal help.

Planting his staff next to Peleus, the serpent entwined around the base of the staff hissed and slithered. A white bounded field was released, steadily propagating outward with Caster at its center.

Caster focused inward on the divinity flowing through him and reluctantly let it loose.

"O radiant sun who knows not of folly's treacherous bane."

Wind began blowing, pushing down the hood of Caster's cloak to reveal silver hair and solemn features both familiar yet distant in the eyes of all.

"Thy regret and thy sorrow linger anew."

Someone choked, but Caster cared little.

"Guileless mother, wayward son, I do not forgive. I will not forget."

He stretched his arms forward, marking a boundary in his mind as the light surrounding him intensified with Divinity.

Whispers grew louder as divine mysteries manifest.

"Killer of love in false betrayal, thy mark remains in mortal flesh."

Light pierced down through the clouded skies, shining over Caster and reflecting the image of a bow and arrow.

"Though rejection bounds, thy blood flows in a cherished vessel."

Caster grimaced from the light that resonated from within.

"Unworthy father, sing Asclepius a song of your grace."

The playing of a lyre echoed with the soft neighing of sheep, as the God, Apollo, stumbled out of the crowd in a daze; the divinity within him surging and giving him mixed feelings beyond his own control and understanding.

The unmistakable sigils of Apollo appeared over Caster's body, illuminating the sclera of his eyes in a tranquil golden divinity.

A mark of validation and heritage higher in rank than even Rider's.

[Child of Apollo: A]

"May proof of the Divine Secret create a boundary here."

The white bounded field released from Caster's staff flickered and altered the environment. A holy temple that embodied the mysteries of the Divine Cult of Asclepius appeared through the Caster-class skill, Territory Creation.

The body Caster had laid on the floor was erected over a small altar.

"Time to operate."

Caster lifted his hands forward and revealed a vial hidden in his long sleeves.

"Fuha, fuhahaha! God of the underworld, take a look! Your role is done!"

The liquid bubbled and condensed into a floating sphere in front of his outstretched arms. It shone with a radiance beyond what any mortal could hope to achieve. It was neither potion nor tonic, but something that could only be recognized by the Gods as a Divine Elixir.

"Humans have conquered death!"

Asclepius, he who heals even death.

"Resurrection Fraught Hades!"

The liquid was poured unbidden onto Peleus's corpse, the elixir spreading across visible wounds and mending them in real time. Rigid muscles slackened, bones snapping in place or regrowing, as a pale complexion grew ruddy.

Most of all, the rhythmic contractions of the chest, up and down, left little else to the imagination.

It was breath.

The dead do not breathe, and so-

"P-Peleus?" Thetis felt her knees grow weak as she stumbled forward, only sparing a glance at Caster who let her through.

There was no answer. She didn't expect one, rather, she quickly pressed her ear to his chest and wept at the steady sound of a heartbeat.

She cried; hugging Peleus close while everyone just stared in muted silence as thoughts and speculation abounded.

Caster retrieved his Traced staff, the bounded field dissipating along with it.

Caster paused when Rider suddenly placed a hand over his shoulder to convey gratitude.

Grunting, Caster glanced at Rider who only now realized that he hadn't been thinking clearly by bringing Caster directly into the spotlight.

Rider even looked guilty, causing the edges of Caster's lips to curl up in amusement.

It was already too late anyway.

Caster was annoyed, but he wasn't one to dwell over what had already transpired. That was Jason's thing.

Rider started to walk away, but it was a mistake to turn his back from a mother that was too caught up in emotion to care about anything else.

"Achilles!"

An arm wrapped around Rider's neck, pulling him down to where Thetis clung to him on one side, and Peleus on the other. She was hugging both of them tightly to her chest, as if too scared to let either of them go even if it looked unsightly.

"Uwaaa, t-thank goodness, hic, thank goodne..ss hic...D-Don't leave me..."

Rider's expression softened.

The gazes of the crowd meant nothing to Thetis. Many would have lost friends or family in the sudden attack, but Thetis was too caught up in her own happy ending to be mindful.

She was sobbing while laughing despite the destruction and grief that surrounded Orario.

Thetis wiped at her eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop.

.

.

Caster was immediately accosted when he tried to leave.