Hisoka grunted as he watched the Castle's shape twist and distort, taking on a smaller form. Assassin stayed in a defensive stance as this transformation occured, defending his Master in the event a catastrophic attack followed this Castle's transformation...

It was then that it took a new form, one that entailed its own interesting revelation. A form of... a man. With black hair. Judging by the appearance of the man, as well as the form he had previously taken at the beginning of the battle, Hisoka kept note that this, indeed, was the Black-Haired Man that had been plaguing this War.

The other Servants began to act, with Lancer first appearing to use her Noble Phantasm...

It appears that Lancer is none other than the Bravest Warrior of Japan, herself... I'm a bit surprised that he's a woman, though. Hisoka communicated with his Servant. He recognized the fortress very well, having been born and raised in Japan. Lancer's armor only further added backing to Hisoka's guess, as there's only one hero of notable fame from the Clan That Bears Six Coins.

Interesting, Assassin replied, She may prove to be a formidable opponent in the future. It's best for us to discuss this later, however, when out lives aren't on the line. Make your way to the fortress. I will defend you."

Hisoka nodded as Assassin stepped foreward just a bit, maintaining his stance. Hisoka ran for the Sanada Maru, trusting in the defense of his Servant that he isn't attacked by this Black-Haired Man. He was not alone in this regard, as he saw the other Masters making way for the castle, as well. The girl, in particular, ran with a strange, supernatural speed, without apearing to use any sort of Magecraft. Whether it's due to reaching athletic peaks that Hisoka himself isn't able to make at this time or another reason entirely, it was still a good idea to keep that young Master in mind, in the future.

---

Archer grinned as the Black-Haired man had finally shown himself. He needed to appear sooner or later, and Archer was glad he made his appearance in this fight, outnumbered and with most of the other Servants of the Holy Grail War here. He didn't have to worry about facing this man alone, one rumored to even take out Knight-class Servants with a blink of an eye.

While the Masters ran off to Lancer's interesting Castle Noble Phantasm, Archer drew another arrow. That Rider, Rostam, charged forward to attack the man, giving Archer a perfect enough opportunity to prepare another strong attack for that Black-Haired Man. His attack did a fair number on the Golem's shields, after all, and with them down, this may lead to a decisive victory. Archer adjusts his aim for the man's center mass for an assured shot, pulling his arrow back and causing his oaken bow to slowly bend back.

Archer was just about to release his shot until...

That Sword appeared.

Its appearance caught Archer off guard. It was leaking with an astounding amount of prana as it flared up, charging with a nigh infinite amount of power. The flash of multicolored light bursts towards Rider, causing Archer to let loose his shot rather abruptly, almost blinded by the flash...

---

Assassin watched, wide-eyed as the attack devastated Rider, leaving nothing in its wake. The sudden surge in power earlier had already caused Hisoka to glance at the scene, almost stumbling over and freezing at the spot. That Jeweled Sword... a Mystic Code that can compare to the power of a Noble Phantasm. The others certainly weren't joking when they said this Black-Haired Man was a true threat to the foundation of this War...

What was left in the aftermath of the clash between the brave Rider atop his trusty steed and the mysterious interloper who had began to meddle with a large-scale crremony was only a man... the interloper, this time, with both his hands glowing.

Assassin quickly snapped towards his Master, seeing him frozen in... shock, or was it awe? That fool... he'll get himself killed if he stood out in the open like that! Assassin sheathed his sword as he dashes for his Master, towards the recently conjured fortress. Hopefully the sudden leap will bring him back to his senses...

---

Archer had a look of alarm on his face once the dust settled. The burst of light consumed Rostam with ease. According to his Master, Rostam sported excellent endurance scores and was quite hardy, so a blast like that was no laughing matter, not even at the slightest...



What caught Archer's eye was the man's hands... this time, they were both glowing. If he was able to take out a singular Servant of Rostam's constitution with just one blast, it was unlikely that he was making a stronger blast... so it was likely that this man was preparing a larger blast, or he aiming to create two attacks...

"Everyone, get ready to move out of the way!" Archer yelled, snapping another arrow towards Nagato before preparing to leap out of the way from the man's next attack, whatever it may be.

---

Alex continued to watch the battle, staring in awe as the the demonic tower changed its very shape in a way that made his skin crawl. As a human form emerged from what had formerly been a structure larger than a house, Alex realized that he was dealing with something, or someone, who defied the very limits of magecraft itself.

Awe however, had only so much power to paralyze a mage, and Alex Bradan had already rallied himself from the shock of the demon castle. However powerful he was, a human form was a human form. It was something that he could at least conceive of fighting.

With nervous willpower he mentally directed his seagull familiar to circle closer to the newly emergent figure, while his other familiars, three other gulls who had been perched on various other buildings in the city, lifted their wings and took off. As little effect as he expected any of them to have, he still wished that he had deployed his snakes today, but the distance between the docks and the battlefield was simply too great. His other familiars would take far to long as it was, scattered as they were miles from the scene.

Archer, I will provide you with what distraction I can. For now, take as much prana as you are able from me, I give you free reign, as long as you don't paralyze me.

---

@Cu Chulainn

The homunculus was left flabbergasted, nay, even speechless as her servant, whom she had only had some time around until this point, charged into the enemy and was obliterated in one shot by the enemy. In. One. Shot. It was telltale of the enemy's true power, something that was able to fight servant, and seemed to be firing attacks of pure sheer prana able to wipe out a high-class servant in one shot. Not only this, but she had told her servant to stay back, and he had still run in to his death, as reckless as...well, as reckless as a hero of old could be against such a foe. Truly, the entire situation left her feeling an amount numb inside as she felt the contract with her servant disappear in a literal "flash" and the gravity of the situation set in as she saw the enemy focus, into two hands this time, the same attack that had killed Rostam with only one hand.

"Everyone run the hell away from there, now!!!" the homunculus yelled at the top of her lungs towards those who had gathered behind the fort walls of a certain Lancer, this being all she felt she could do at this point. She could only heal, and what good could a homunculus like her do in the face of this monstrosity that had destroyed her own servant in one shot? What desperate, pathetic attempt could she make at attacking?

Well...there was one thing. Stupid, but something. On her person was a couple of her grenades, gathered from her base of operations before coming here to the now smoking crater of a meeting place. Heart pounding in her chest, and hoping to maybe distract the enemy for a moment for others to escape, Lorelei grabbed one of her grenades, activating the single-action spell to start the weapon's timer before throwing it at the enemy with two glowing hands as hard as she could throw it. She did the same process for the second grenade on her person, except perhaps a tad faster from the adrenaline pumping in her system.

Her brain and body, however, were then able to scream in unison when it came to deciding her next action. Instinctively, Lorelei scrambled back and away from the area of the grenades, and to get out of sight of the enemy golem...person...martial artist...light shooting....thing that was charging an attack. Luckily she was already away from the direction that thing seemed to be aiming its next volley of attacks, though her heart was pounding in her chest as she attempted to conceal herself physically from sight after having just attacked it in some sense. It was all she could do to try to be of some use, though the terrible fear of having possibly secured her own death in the process rang within the walls of her skull.

This Grail War had devolved into a kind of hell right now, and if she or anyone else managed to live this it would be a miracle of its own. Much less if any of them lived to acquire the Holy Grail at this rate...

---

Even as Chi-You raised her bow with another arrow knocked and ready to fire, Rostam charged into the fray and was obliterated by the enemy, horse, giant body, and all in the literal flash of a light. A rainbow light. A Kaliedoscopic light. Other tried to seemingly huddle behind one other servant's fortress that stood to try to overcome the enemy's attacks and protect the master and others, yet Chi-You did not feel that such a defense would be safe right now. Not if the enemy could kill an entire servant of Rostam's caliber in one shot...with one hand even. And now he was charging up a second wave of attack like he had used against Rostam, using two hands this time instead of one. Two hands, and one to her was already comparable to an A rank Noble Phantasm. Even if that Lancer had a great fortress she had summoned, what would such do against double the attacks than before? What use would it be?

Taking action without dwelling on things, Chi-You fired her next arrow at the enemy's head, before then accelerating at the ridiculous speeds servants can in order to move away from the area the enemy with two rainbow glowing hands now seemed to be targeting. She wanted to be away from the enemy's attacks, to distance herself from the target area if nothing else. As she zoomed away at max speed, the Saber-class servant simultaneously summoned her shield onto her other free arm, whilst her bow was clutched in the other hand. Other were shouting for the group behind the fortress to get the hell away from there, and she did not want to waste actions attempting to yell at the others as well. No, she had to try to move away so that if things went south, she at least would be able to escape the devastation and try to get in another shot at the enemy.

As she ran, the servant kept her eyes on where the enemy was facing and such, just to be safe. Though considering what they were facing, was there any place that could be called safe? Yet at the same time, she could not deny the thrill of battle that ran through her veins right now. Even in this desperate situation, she felt so very alive.

@Moonlit Sonata

---

Knowing that an attack may be coming, Lancer moved at the speeds only a Servant can to get out of the firing line, circle from the side. And jump if she had to. But the best thing would be to move away from her Fort. While she'd like to stay and defend the masters, from the way the enemy spoke earlier it sounded like they'd be safer if no servants were near them. There was only so much they could do in the face of such a powerful attack. Unless they had an attack of an equal level to offset it. She knew that at most she had her other Noble Phantasm, but she had no proof it would be strong enough.

What she really needed was for another servant to come forth with such an attack. Thus as she moved to stay out of the direction his hands would release those attacks, she called out.

"If anyone has an attack strong enough to offset what we have seen, use it now if you think it shall work!" It was less a request and more of an order. She was in no position to order others but it was the best idea that had formed within her head. The spear in her hands felt warm, but perhaps that was the tension catching up to her. If someone elses move wouldn't work she knew she'd have to use her other Noble Phantasm right off. It was risky to use it without powering it up, but that would require a near fatal injury. Thus she instead kept moving, to not get hit by those attacks, going on her full defensive at the moment.

---

Infinite light. This, suffice to say, changed the situation drastically. Norton did not understand the finer points of Magecraft, let alone Magic, but this was a phenomenon beyond understanding. Running back to meet up with Airi, he didn't need to turn around. Something more visceral than even his own senses gave the much more direct instruction: Run as fast as you can. Get away. Get out of here.

True Magic was unfathomable. Mortal danger was simple! Rostam was dead. A hero far greater than he had been incinerated by that light.

He had to be faster than fast, as the death of Rostam made clear, but he also had to account for not endangering Airi with the sudden change of velocity. He hooked a tight curve towards her, actually passing her by, before digging his feet down into the earth, gouging the soil. A fissure opened, as dry bedrock and wetter topsoil violently disagreed on how to react to the force. Soil was kicked up as per before, but this time, the prana he released in the act of completely reversing his trajectory at high speed...there was a split second of delay.

Then, the plume of dirt smoldered, particles igniting. The amount of energy he'd released into the point of contact was obscene, and it had forced the ground into a fine vapor. Crop fertilizers, chaff, dead grass...these were rural fields, after all. The friction heat was intense enough to raise the carbon-rich plant matter to flash point. There was no time to say any words, except the necessary ones.

"By-"

And he kicked back the way he'd come, behind Airi, accelerating with her now. Adding his growing momentum rather than intercepting hers. Even moving below the speed of sound, the air displacement of his body blew the ignited soil outwards behind him.

"-this-"

The result was a dust explosion, and the air current behind him as he moved, shredding the topsoil each step, created a vortex tunnel effect. Not only a fiery explosion, but a burning contrail behind the Berserker and his Master. There was no time to apologize, or even warn Airi of what he was about to do, the extreme risk he was about to take. But given his Master's bravery this far, he hoped she could forgive this. He was relying on the servant who had created the fortress to save her from his own recklessness. @Ijoyen They'd showed the altruism to use a Noble Phantasm to protect the others, and so he would trust her... If not, he had a backup strategy to follow up with, but that would require him surviving this. He wasn't going to make it to the Fortress in time, from their starting point.

"-Command Spell-"

The Emperor wasn't sure he could make that assumption. A far grander hero had been vaporized by that infinite, impossible light. He didn't even know how it'd work.

At the very worst, this would buy the others some time. If this cost him his life, if this cost the dreams and hopes that had been entrusted to him, it was still better than letting it happen while he did nothing. His true wish, one he had not admitted to either of his Masters, practically mandated it.

"-upon-"

Now he utilized the same principle that had doomed Rostam, albeit in reverse. His burst speed, especially as a Berserker, was immense. Virtually all Servants could move at inhuman speed, but a body pushed beyond its mortal limits, beyond the nature of its legends, was something else. Higher parameters than his could achieve greater net velocity, of course, but the restraints subconsciously imposed by the human mind, even as a Servant, existed for a reason. To be greater than he once was, on account of madness, was highly in-tune with his being.

"-myself!"

Norton's voice became lower, as nearing the sound barrier imposed an extreme Doppler effect. Much of it was just a low-pitch roar, intermingled with the howling wind. But there was a bright, unmistakable, red glow from his hand, even as his speed scattered his voice in his wake.

No longer a rocket, but a shooting star across the field, as he flung his arms upward at the last moment, crucially.

"BE THERE!"

The engraved miracle of the Matou elder, a Command Spell, was being pit against Nagato Tohsaka and the Jeweled Sword. Were Norton aware of how fitting that was, he might have appreciated it. But there was no gap from one moment to the next, in his perception.

He was carrying Airi. And then, he wasn't. Airi was now launched up into the air, her servant's speed and strength having hopefully catapulted her from imminent, moments-away danger to slightly less imminent danger however high up in the air she ended up as a result of this. He hadn't even spared the time to estimate that.

Emperor Norton, Berserker, was now displaced. Right beside Nagato, plowing straight for him from immediately behind...

Maybe it would be faster than the black-haired man could even sense or react in time! But the Emperor himself wasn't the full payload. Oh no, he was the missile. The warhead was the prana released by the act of Spatial Transportation, from the spent Command Spell that had been part of his body.

Absolutely saturated in the concept of Discordance, his personal skill.

He had no idea what this "Chaos Warhead" would do, but he certainly hoped it would do something.

---

For the briefest of moments, the green grass was above me, and the blue sky underneath my feet.

Moving my legs just a bit, in that short moment, it almost felt like I was walking on a cloud.

It was...the first time I saw the world spin.

---

Airi was used to moving quickly. When she really pushed her body to its limits, even her own perception of the world was distorted in that instant. The familiar tug on her stomach, the smell of scorched rubber as the soles of her shoes were worn further and further down.

But that...was nothing compared to this. A spinning world was replaced with darkness, as the G-forces took their toll on her. The smell of burning rubber was replaced with the stench of scorched earth.

That familiar experience was taken from her, pulled and warped into something outside of the realm of common sense.

The sky beneath her feet...looked the same as it did on that day, five years ago, perhaps six. But what she was seeing wasn't a memory, but reality, as her wind-shot eyes opened with a start.


Craning her neck against the clouds and screaming wind, she saw the field beneath her emerge, along with a good deal of Northern Shinto. There was nothing to jump from. Nothing to kick off of, nothing to grab onto. Just air, sky, and a smoldering, red-hot ground, which was rapidly falling away before her eyes.


Her hoodie rippled in the wind currents, whipping at her sides as the worn drawstrings unraveled that much more. Even if she had been a magus, she might still not have understood what was going on beneath her, or even what had just happened.


Of course, this, this, was a Berserker's idea of keeping his Master safe.