Chapter 24 - 1

Quick Author's Note to answer some questions. (Sorry this is mostly FFN because we can't reply there)

To SentinelSlice, Sakura does have control over herself- not the curse. She can at least direct her intentions even if they are corrupted. Sakura has a strong mentality because of her experience with the Matou magecraft, but not strong enough to shake off the influence of something as powerful as All the World's Evil. I could've had them try to help remove the curse from Sakura using the Clocktower, but they would've probably just killed her off to see if they could do it with less resources before focusing on really purging the tainted Grail itself. Also, it would've made my plot a little harder to progress with Skadi. (Yes, future Seaborn plot ftw)

Shirou doesn't have Avalon anymore. I just wrote that he can only trace the sheath as a copy. The original is back with Saber...Alter.

As for why Shirou has a Holy Grail? He won the HGW and just stored it away. It's cursed and any wish would turn into a disaster. Think of it like the FGO Holy Grail instead where they are used like batteries to make servants stronger...or like miracle generators thingy. Shirou, Rin, and Sakura did some experiments and research using it as a battery instead. Rin made sure that Zelretch warned the Clocktower not to try anything "dangerous" with the trio or else risk destabilizing Sakura's Minor Grail- which is a lazy reason for me to stop the Clocktower from trying to use the Grail. Ehe...

===

0500 Hours, Chernobog.

The frozen figure in front of her wouldn't be moving. Not even after the ice melted. The man inside would die a slow painful death, freezing until his heart stopped.

FrostNova didn't want to do it, but the enemies ahead of her were diehard fanatics loyal to Talulah.

They threw themselves at the Yetis and Shieldguards under her command like wolves, doing everything they can to slow her down from reaching the engines. There were hundreds of them, clogging up the service passages and tunnels that led down to the engine bay underneath the city plate.

The two hundred-strong force that accompanied her down were split into five squadrons to find access to the engine deck.

"There's hundreds of tunnels down here. Can't we find any to break through?!" FrostNova couldn't believe how many loyalists Talulah ordered below. There were so many that tunnels clogged up no matter which direction they pushed.

"Only a few service tunnels can fit groups of up to a hundred workers passing. We're sending out smaller teams to check every other branch we find, but so far none have found one that isn't defended." The veteran soldier grunted. It was hell, every checked route had enemies spilling out to defend them. They couldn't push through even if they beat Talulah's loyalists because the bodies would clog up the tunnel.

FrostNova pressed her lips together hesitantly. It was hard coming up with a strategy to breach the heavily defended engine decks below. Talulah's loyalists were fighting with a tenacity her fighters couldn't match.

"I have an idea." She spoke.

The captain looked at her.

"I'm going to freeze them below, but..." She bit her lip.

It had been a long time since FrostNova used her powers to such a large degree. It was difficult and painful when her Oripathy was untreated, but Shirou's mana potions helped tone down the sickness.

"You don't have to worry about us. We can handle it." The Yeti squad and the Shieldguards were better equipped and experienced when it came to FrostNova's ice magic. They had been around since the very start when the girl began using it. Oripathy did not help the girl, making her power vastly increase at the cost of control and health.

"It's just..." She shook her head. These were veterans. They were accustomed to enduring hardship. Her arts had caused them suffering before, but she had better control now. If she didn't try every option to break through, then time and lives would be lost.

"Okay...here I go." FrostNova reached down to the ground and touched the floor. It was made of metal, a good conductor of heat- or in this case- ice. The thing about FrostNova's arts was that it didn't only expand to creating ice. It could also alter the temperature around her.

FrostNova gathered the cold sensation brought forward at the tips of her fingers. It was reminiscent of the times she used it before.

"Can you stand behind the wall and tell me what you see? I need to know what happens when I use my ice now." She looked at the captain. FrostNova was going to test if she could produce the effect she wanted. If the attempt backfired, she wanted to know that it wouldn't hurt them.

He walked to a nearby doorway and looked inside before flashing her a thumbs up. FrostNova lifted her hand and placed it flat against the wall, feeling the warmth it gave off from the engines below- something she had long forgotten when her Oripathy went rampant- along with the ice magic she had. Thanks to the events in the past few months, the sensation of warmth was something FrostNova found herself attracted to.

The Cautus commander kept gathering power at the edge of her hand until a certain amount was held. With one instruction, she pushed the power outwards- not into the air as she usually did- but into the wall itself. A coating of ice quickly spread across the wall from her fingers. It travelled a few meters in a radial direction until it stopped.

"How does it look?" FrostNova pulled away from the wall to look at her magic. It was controlled compared to the wild effects she used to produce. She was still coming to terms with the change to her arts and had been practicing a lot recently.

"...this could work." The Shieldguard's voice was a little shaken, which told FrostNova something was up. When she reached his position and looked at the other side, even she was stunned at the result.

On the opposite side of the wall, a large fragment of ice protruded from it. Somehow, it had done exactly as she hoped. Most of her arts penetrated the wall and released itself on the other side. It was a bit similar to how she could create icicles in the air and launch them at enemies, but she couldn't do that when there was an object blocking the space between her and the ice she wanted to create. Once the ice was on the other side, FrostNova could just launch them without control.

They finally had something to work with.

===

Once again, Patriot was on his way to march against another former ally.

The last time he did was before he left Ursus. The loss of his son was too great and it opened his eyes. His son died fighting for the infected, a dream that Patriot now carried for him. He was too late last time. This time, he hoped he wasn't.

Just like his old liege, he was marching against Talulah for putting unnecessary lives at risk.

The large impact zone that set one avenue ablaze marked the location of the Reunion's dragon- Talulah Artorius. It was a bright red blaze in the sky, a target marker for the strongest fighter in the Reunion- Patriot. Since Talulah was proactively taking the fight to them early, it was Patriot's responsibility to face down the dragon in combat and buy his forces time to maneuver around. The key to taking Chernobog was to wrench it from her forces and surround the dragon on all sides.

Patriot marched alone. He ordered his forces to focus on the objective and to leave the rampaging Draco to him. The loyalists and Reunion fighters that dared challenge him were swiftly brought under heel when Patriot brutally executed them for attempting to slow him down- a message that soon spread when the others watched their comrades turn into bloody smears on the ground and whatever surface they impacted after the Wendigo Commander threw them.

By the time he reached Timiryazeva Street, the blaze had toned down a bit. The fires were still there, but not much material could continue to support them as fuel. The concrete surfaces didn't help either and the fires were weakening at a good pace. Enough for Patriot to march forward comfortably until Talulah was within sight.

He stopped to look at the scorched corpses of his Shieldguards scattered about. Many of them had turned to ashes, leaving behind metallic slag after Talulah's fire burned them to a crisp.

"This is what happens to people who get in my way."

His eyes laid on his fallen comrades for a few seconds longer before he turned them on to the cause. Standing alone in the middle of the street, Talulah Artorius of Victoria held a clean visage in a street of carnage.

"Lungmen isn't in your way."

"They are a part of the problem, and therefore an enemy. Their destruction will make the world treat the Reunion properly."

Patriot locked his gaze to eyes of burning embers. The intent behind them was unwavering like steel- as if Talulah lived to see the world burn.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. The destruction of a city will kill countless lives." He didn't have to mention Shirou's theory. Even if Talulah was being controlled, Patriot's priority was to take Chernobog's key from her. It didn't matter if she was dead or alive by the end of it.

The air in front of him warped as heat increased rapidly. By then, Patriot was already leapt to the side as the quick fireball from Talulah flew past his earlier location.

Conversation was over. It was time for battle.

The shaft in his grip changed position and the general launched the heavy steel spear at Talulah. The speed was just as fast as the fireball, prompting Talulah to jerk sideways with wide eyes. The left side of her dress was caught by the spear and torn- any slower and the weapons would've ripped apart her body.

Several fireballs appeared around her, intent on showering the Wendigo in a barrage of flame. It was a distraction as Talulah prepared another one of her cards for the upcoming fight. Her arts were powerful, and the Draco could set aflame to the city if need be, but too much and it would burn her alive as well. She knew that Patriot would grudgingly accept burning to death if it meant taking her out.

Endurance and strength was his in spades. Talulah's arts wouldn't cut down that advantage without killing herself, so she needed to end the fight quickly in other ways.

Patriot surged forwards like a bull, putting all his weight behind his shield as the fireballs crashed into it, heating up the metal. It would survive for a few minutes before the constant barrage of fire would start melting it- enough time for Patriot to reach Talulah.

The Draco retreated with haste between burning cars and building debris as the Wendigo hunted after her. Talulah threw fireballs to cut his sight of her, streets melted in her wake to force Patriot on longer routes, large explosions ripped nearby buildings and flung debris between them to slow down the unstoppable force that was the Great Ursus General.

'She's hiding something.'

It was clear to the general that Talulah appeared far too calm. He was only a few dozen meters away- a distance that could be cleared in under a minute. His shield was at the end of its lifespan- the husk of metal barely holding together from completely melting after the beating it took.

'She's waiting for me to get close...?'

Patriot instantly switched tactics. He kept within a few dozen meters, but his approach slowed down. Instead, he picked up a piece of debris and hurled the projectile at her.

===

Talulah was athletic. Most of the Reunion were. They had to be, surviving in the wilderness and moving from destination to destination on a weekly basis. She was by no means special, average by Reunion standards.

So, it took her a lot of effort to dodge Patriot's projectiles.

Talulah hissed as the block of debris whizzed past her head. She felt the small shock wave as it barely missed from decapitating her. One wrong move and she was dead. That was her problem. Facing off Patriot was like looking death in the face. Her attacks were crippling when hit, but his were catastrophic. The plan to grind down his defenses during the chase had been successful, but the general didn't close in.

Talulah glanced at the hidden weapon she brought along just for the fight. The sawed-off shotgun she snuck under her dress was dragging her down. It was meant to be the close range card when Patriot was nearly within melee range, but the debris he was throwing her way told her he changed his plans.

Time to change hers.

Her hand wrapped around a small cylinder and flicked the top, throwing the object his way.

If he wasn't going to get close, then she would.

Talulah closed her eyes before the blinding flash washed over them. It was for a brief moment, enough to catch anyone off guard with the move. Especially when it was unexpected for her of all people to use them. Her reputation as the Reunion's strongest arts user was built atop the ash and destruction brought with her magic. For years, her fire was the only thing the Reunion saw her use. It was her strongest weapon- only matched by one other in the Reunion. FrostNova's ice magic could counter her fire given the right circumstances, but Talulah was confident she could overpower the younger rabbit.

Patriot was the bigger threat.

A threat she needed gone.

Talulah changed her course and dashed in the Wendigo's direction while bringing up the shotgun. She flicked the safety off as she watched Patriot rub his eyes desperately. The flashbang she used was one of many the Reunion raided off Chernobog's stockpiles after the invasion. The city's guard had been swept aside before they could even muster a reaction or use much of the resources at their disposal to defend. Resources that were now in the Reunion'd hands instead.

It only took a second to raise up the gun at point blank and fire.

Only for the barrel to swing up just as Talulah pulled the trigger. The blast brought a loud ringing to her ears, only matched by the shock on her face as Patriot pulled his hand away to show his eyes bright and clear, staring down at her with a resolve as strong as steel.

He played me.

Talulah assumed the flashbang was successful, but the trap was turned against her. With her trump card revealed, the general now had the advantage.

A knee brutally folded her body in half, sending her crashing into a pile of debris. Blood caked the charred and ruined wall she slammed into, a result of tanking one hit from the famed Patriot.

It was already enough to concuss her, the world shaking in a bleary haze as Talulah tried to recover.

Patriot looked at the fallen figure of the Draco and eyed the weapon in his hands. The flashbang had been a surprise, but not one he fell for. They were rare on the battlefield since such utility weren't common. Flashbangs were single-use utility, not a consistent tool that stayed useful in prolonged battles like wars. Talulah must've browsed the gear they ransacked from Chernobog. It was the only place to find such rare equipment. She was prepared for their fight and it showed. It was a commendable effort on her part, pulling off the unexpected.

With little effort, the gargantuan Wendigo grabbed both ends of the gun and bent the weapon out of shape and rendered it useless.

Just like that, Talulah's trump card was gone.

"I'm sorry...old friend."

Talulah felt the heavy footsteps approach her. They were slow and methodical, on guard should she have any more surprises.

"Your madness stops here."

He stopped in front of her. Patriot would make it quick. The old Talulah was a friend, someone he respected for taking a stand against Ursus with her little band of infected. That girl was gone, lost in her ways.

Talulah looked at Patriot's form above her. She couldn't escape him, not this close. Her eyes darted around while her mind whirled for something- anything that she could do.

She would die here- with nothing between her and Patriot. Just another corpse in a forgotten city at the edge of the wilderness- atop a pile of debris.

Nothing between her and Patriot...but a pile of debris.

Talulah tore into her pockets and ripped out the leftover shotgun shells before Patriot could wrap his hand around her neck. The cloth ripped effortlessly as she tossed up as many rounds as she could grab, setting aflame to the ripped fabric and the bullets along with them. The fire would ignite the gunpowder, firing off the rounds every which way. With monstrous effort, Talulah hurled her aching body behind the pile of debris she was thrown at earlier.

Patriot fled the other way...where there was no cover to be had.

The sound of erupting gunpowder was both bloody and deafening