Chapter 79: In God(ess) we trust...?

A man resting peacefully on a golden throne just as opulent and glorious as his armour suddenly has a tiny frown adorn his very much punchable face.

As he opened his eyes to gaze at his lessers he thought, 'Odd. That is the first time a shard of myself that has been summoned has just vanished.' His frown deepened as he continued thinking, 'It's just gone. And I have no idea how; no memories have returned from it.'

His eyes flickered to a certain King of Knights eating at the long table below him, and a smirk disappeared just as fast as it had appeared on his lips. As he shifted his posture to lean on his left fist he said, "Artoria."

Said woman paused in her eating frenzy, which somehow still managed to look regal to him, and glared at him. Taking but a scant few seconds to enjoy your continued defiance of his great self, he asked, "About that incident that happened to you those few hundred years ago." Seeing her lose the glare and tilt her head in confusion he continued, "The one where a piece of you that was summoned vanished."

Understanding filled her eyes as she nodded, "Ah, yes. I remember now, what of it Gilgamesh?"

Fixing his posture to sit straight, he asked, "When it happened, how did it feel? Almost like you... Hmmm. How do I put this?"

Raising an eyebrow, Artoria said, "Like you lost a piece of yourself forever? Like the tiniest spec, insignificant really, is now gone? Forever out of our reach? Even from the ROOTs somehow?"

Nodding gently, Gilgamesh answered, "Yes. It seems you are no longer alone in having experienced said phenomenon."

Artoria crossed her arms and leaned back gently with a thoughtful look. A few moments later she looked back up at Gilgamesh and said, "Something has the power to remove our summoned selves in a way that prevents all connection back to the Throne of Heroes. Something so powerful, not even the ROOT can contend. Absurd as it sounds."

Gilgamesh hummed in thought while nodding his head a few times, "That is a conclusion I agree with." A small smirk appeared as he continued, "As expected of you, Artoria. Why don't we-"

Artoria just glared at the man in defiance for a few seconds before grabbing a plate that held a large cooked bird of some kind, "Don't even start, Gilgamesh. Forever and always, no."

Gilgamesh couldn't help himself as he laughed loudly as she took her food and left the hall.

In a pure pearl-white castle throne room, stood two entities made of pure Light. They had no physical features but had the silhouette of human females.

Both of them were looking into a pool of water, but the surface acted like a window into reality as it displayed the aftermath of the two summoned heroes' attacks.

The one on the right had a voice filled with worry as she said, "Sister. This is turning out to be horrible for us. We should have given the pawn more power."

The one on the left shook her head and answered, "It would not have mattered, Sister. You know just as well as I nothing can resist NULL. The toy was doomed the second it let her unleash it. But, this is also good for us."

Seeing her sister tilt her head in confusion, she clarified, "We now know she CAN use NULL. And..." She gestured to the pool of water, and the long smooth gouge now in the earth, "How much power she has with it, and how it acts under her command. While I very much doubt we could dodge it once released upon us, now we know what to look for."

Nodding her head slowly, and with her voice still filled with unease, the woman on the right said, "True. But I think we need to abandon our original plan. The Wrath of that little Dark Goddess is much stronger than we originally thought, even shackled by our trap."

The woman on the left waved her hand over the water as she said, "On that, we agree Sister. We must adapt, or we will be erased like all the other fools. I have a new plan, one that will even use the corruption the Wrath has spread to our advantage."

~-P.O.V. Artoria Alter Zenon-~

While my rage was still simmering, it had depleted greatly after that last attack, 'It always feels good to kill Gilgamesh. However, I am still not even close to satisfied. I need-'

My thoughts were interrupted when an explosion of sky-blue light erupted from across the city. I narrowed my eyes as I focused on what exactly I was feeling, 'Power of such purity as I've never encountered before. From the school? Did mini-me use Avalon or something?'

With a sigh, I mumbled, "If it's not one thing, it's another." And then teleported to where I felt Rin.

~-P.O.V. Narrator-~

==Several minutes before==

Shirou Emiya still could not believe what had been happening to his school and fellow students for the last hour. It all started normal for him, just another boring day in class, and then it all went to shit. Everyone around him started to scream and rage. Some even transformed! And then the fighting started.

He flinched at the amount of blood and gore that started to fly around him from all the fighting, which was still raging on even now. He would have long joined the dead in their eternal rest if he had not used a command seal to summon Saber to his side.

The two of them have spent the past hour finding and dismantling the spell runes responsible for this tragedy. They had no problem finding them, as they practically screamed out their locations with how much-tainted mana they were releasing. No, what was taking so long was getting past his former classmates and dismantling the things themselves. Much to their annoyance, they heavily resisted all attempts at removal. It took them discovering Avalon in him, and wasn't that just one of the most fucked things ever, to even have a chance.

Yet, even with Avalon, it still took time. The time that came at the price of more dead classmates. Classmates who were getting stronger and stronger as they absorbed more and more of the corrupt mana. And the amount of mana being released seemed to be increasing to accommodate the greater drain from the students. A horrible positive feedback loop!

They were on the third rune, and by now Shirou had noticed a horrifying trend that all but cemented itself. He looked over at Saber as she cut down yet another monster, removing its head from the rest of its body. It pained him greatly that they could not save them anymore, but Saber was right. Death is the only mercy they can give now, and they must work to prevent this from spreading. It hurt him, it hurt him so much knowing he can do nothing for them. But his will was hardened, and he was determined to prevent this tragedy from claiming more lives.

A pulse from the rune snapped him out of his thoughts, and reminded him of the horrible conclusion he came to, "Saber! We have a huge problem! The runes are resisting more harshly as we remove more! There is a very good chance Avalon will not be strong enough to remove the final one! At least, in my hands anyway!"

Before she could answer, she was forced to block an enormous clawed hand. The ground cratered beneath her due to the strength of the attack. With a grunt, she pushed the hand off her sword and retaliated faster than the former human could react to. Its body didn't even hit the ground before she yelled back, "We have to try nonetheless, Shirou! You are the only one who can stop this! If you and Avalon really can not purify it, we might have to accept more deaths, and I'll use my Noble Phantasm... though I desperately hope we will not be forced into such a situation. The current one is horrible enough as it is!"

Shirou nodded his head as he returned his focus on purifying the rune. Minutes later it shattered and he yelled, "It's done! Quick, to the next one Saber!"

With a yell, she pushed back the small horde with a mana burst before quickly dashing to her master and throwing him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She tensed her legs briefly, before pushing off the ground causing it to crater below her.

As they cleared school high in the sky, they both looked at the last rune and sighed in relief. A small mercy as it was clear of all monsters. With grace, the small girl landed gently and set her master down on his own two feet. As he ran to the rune she turned around, drew her sword and prepared for the final push.

Shirou skidded to a stop on his knees and focused on the last rune with Avalon's purifying power. Sadly, to both of their dismay, a colossal pulse of corrupt mana erupted out of the rune the moment Avalon tried to connect to it. It was so strong that it ended up shoving Shirou away several metres.

Saber was by his side in a flash, looking over him with worried eyes as she asked, "Shirou! Are you okay?"

He grunted while nodding his head as he answered, "Yeah. But I was right. I can't cleanse this one, Saber. I don't even need to be connected to it to tell its output has just skyrocketed as well. What are we going to-"

His question died in his throat as the world around them turned grey. Only he and Saber had colour, and from their quick observation were able to move.

They both looked on in confusion at all the frozen monsters that had just started to emerge from the school, drained of all colour much like the world. Before they could question anything, two bright balls of light appeared before them. Shirou blinked away the blind spots as he stood up and moved behind Saber.

As he was about to ask her what was going on, they both heard a soft, soothing voice in their minds, "Greetings, champions of the Light. We have been summoned by the protectors of Humanity and the Earth, respectively, to help in your darkest day. You both have done well to hold back this immense darkness, and yet with a heavy heart we must ask more of you."

The two glanced at each other before turning back to the floating balls, and Shirou asked, "What do you need of us? How can you help?"

A new voice, yet just as silky smooth as the previous one answered, "The Darkness you are fighting is not normal. It doesn't belong in our world. As such, it will take extreme measures to remove it. You have done well, but sadly the limits a mortal can go in pushing back this Darkness has been reached. The sacrifice we ask of you will be great; A cost most terrible. But it must be asked if our world will live on."

Master and Servant both steeled their resolve and gave a nod to each other. Saber then asked, "Please, ask."

The original voice answered, "Shirou Emyia, Artoria Pendragon, we ask this terrible and unfair burden of you thus. Shirou Emyia, of you we ask that you give up your soul to us, so that one of us may use your body as a host to fully enter your world to defend it. This act will kill you, ending your dream to become a hero before it can fully manifest.

Artoria Pendragon, of you we ask thus: Give up your right to this grail war and offer your shell to us so one of us may use your body as a host. Know the depth of our plea. Without this outside force assaulting your world, you would have won the grail and have been granted your wish."

The other voice continued, "We understand the burden we have placed on you. The unfairness of it, and the tragedy of it. But-"

However, the voice was interrupted by Shirou as he said, "I accept."

Saber turned around to her master and asked, "Shirou?!"

He gave Saber a wry and pained smile as he answered her, "They are giving us a choice, Saber. But, honestly? We don't have one. I have not known you for long, Saber, no, Artoria. Yet I firmly believe you are like me, and will not let our world be taken by this darkness, this Evil. They have asked much of us, yes. But our sacrifice will save our world!"

Artoria Lily sighed, and with a nod of her head, she said, "Right you are. Oh well, there will be other grail wars. But only if there is an Earth with people to start them."

She turned to the floating balls of lights and asked, "Do I have your Oath, both of you, that you will save our world?"

Both voices answered at the same time, "We swear to purge this Darkness from our world, and slay the one who is responsible."

She nodded her head and said, "Then I also accept."

Their world was suddenly filled with a sky-blue light, and their screams of pain.

[author] A new chappy for you all! Did you see the twist coming? Was it even a twist? Hmm.... Anyway, hope you liked it~!♥[/author]