"Hmph~ that's fine and all, but one question to you." The Archer-lookalike rested the blade on his shoulder and gave me a smirk that reminded me so much of that fellow. "Think you can keep up with me?"
… Even his tone and words were alike damn it!
...
"More like you having to keep up with us! Let's get moving!" As one all six of 'me' rushed forward towards Kokabiel and attacked at different angles. From the get-go, I could tell that the similarities with the Servants I had encountered in my world and others were not limited to their clothes; there was a certain element in their fighting styles that were reminiscent of the Servants and it seemed to reflect the type of swords they were in possession of. The one I dubbed 'Assassin EMIYA' seemed to favor using Excalibur [Nightmare] to create ghostly apparitions of himself to confuse the Fallen Angel while the one wielding [Blessing] seemed to be reflecting the Caster Class more, given the amount of spells he was using in conjunction with the Noble Phantasms he was calling out.
"HAH! You will need a lot more than cheap parlour tricks boy!" Kokabiel momentarily wrapped his wings around him before opening them violently, the sudden burst of wind pushing us back a distance.
"Well then, try this up for size!" The 'me' wielding Excalbur [Rapidly] make it float behind him and created a few spears around him from [Hell's Trident], then with a ferocity that could match Cu Chulain, pounced towards Kokabiel and started alternating through the different spears in his arsenal, differing greatly in his use from fire to ice to phantasm summons.
"Ha~ you would have to do better than~ WHOA!" Kokabiel narrowly dodged an attack from the version of me wielding Excalibur Destruction and for whatever reason was sporting a rather aggressive expression and a glowing red eye.
"Well then, how about a bit of bone crushing?" That version growled before using an abnormal amount of strength to swing and hit Kokabiel, sending him flying from a wave of holy energy and crashing through a wall. He then proceeded to call upon a pair of gauntlets and greaves before going to town with the fallen angel, constantly laying down the heavy attacks with reckless abandonment before finishing it with an uppercut that sent him flying upwards. He then jumped straight up and used both his arms to slam Kokabiel back into the ground, creating a small crater.
Okay, I think I know which Servant this guy represented.
"My turn!" The one I dubbed 'Caster EMIYA' called forth several swords of different properties and elements by the dozens and arranged them in a pattern I recalled from an opponent I have fought a few years back, before using a charm to connect them through rays of light to create a huge magic circle with runes of different cultures and periods. "The righteous king that stands in the East, the virtuous queen that hails from the West, the knight that rides from the North, and the guard that defends the South, aid me in my quest to take down the enemy that threatens thy kingdom! Grant me the lances that topples mountains, shakes the heavens and smother nations!" The magic circle shone brightly in a wide array of colors, before a multitude of elemental powers shot down upon the field and concentrated on the Fallen Angel that was just barely getting out of the rubble.
"What?!"
"BOOM! BMB! CRKGK!"
I stabbed the sword into the ground and held on for dear life as the shockwave from the explosions shook the ground like a 4.2 earthquake and created more cracks in the ground. This time I could tell that these explosions might be a bit much for the illusion charms, as I could see in the distance cracks forming on the barrier surrounding the school. At the rate it was going, it would be a miracle if we could hold it together. Even if the illusions held firm, there was no way of explaining the shudders.
"HHAAAAAHHHHH!"
That yell was followed shortly by a wave of energy that actually forced back the rain of energy spears and shatter the magic circle, releasing a torrent of heat and wind that threw us all off our feet and sent us to the ground. In the midst of all the dust and gravel, I could see my clones dispersing into gold dust and I could feel the Prana used for the clones returned to me partially alongside the shards.
The sound of chains was the only indicator I had before a yell drew my attention to Ise who was currently gripping onto a piece of steel with his gauntlet while the other was entangled in chains made of light, his arm starting to burn and darken from the holy energy.
"Not bad magician, not bad at all." Kokabiel said in a tone that spoke of both frustration and excitement at the same time. The smoke cleared enough to show a battered and bruised Kokabiel who was still trapped within the barrier, one arm holding up the chain that was trying to pull Ise in. "I admit, this is something totally new to me. In all the years I could recall and what offhand knowledge from scholars, none indicated Excalibur having the ability to split the owner into several copies. But I will not be taken down so easily, not while one of your own can be used as a way out!"
"Like hell you are taking me you dumbass!" Ise yelled as he strained to keep his hold on the bar and resisting the holy energy. "I would rather cut my own arm off than to let you escape from that trap!" Before I could remark on that, someone beat me to it.
"That is fine, you can go right ahead if you wish to do so, but before that could you take a step to your right?"
"Huh?" Ise momentarily turned his to see who talked, just in time to avoid a sword shot past his face and right at Kokabiel, who barely had time to move before it connected with his hand, exploding spectacularly and destroying the barrier in the process.
"Whoa!" Ise flew off from his spot having been thrown off from the blast. I forced my way to him and grabbed him by the collar in time to avoid a collision with some of the sharper debris.
"Thanks." Ise panted as he gave his thanks before directing a glare at the doppelganger wielding a bow. "Hey, the 'Shirou' over there, you nearly killed me!"
"Hmm, I wouldn't worry too much." The one I dubbed 'Archer EMIYA' shrugged without a care to the world. "You are too stubborn and perverted to die from a shot like that."
"…" Ise looked at him in disbelief before turning to me. "Shirou, per chance are you…"
"No, that is not the real me, it is just some other version of me." I replied while massaging my temple. Technically he was me, so was Archer since he was my future version, but this was getting ridiculous. As I was thinking this, 'Archer EMIYA' dropped next to us.
"So then, looks like we have to share this dance partner." My doppelganger quipped as we watched Kokabiel get back up with his left arm destroyed again. "Think we can take him?"
"Let's have some hunting to do." I gripped the sword before we spilt up to attack him at both sides. We immediately release our hold on our respective shards to free our hands for more comfortable weapons, in which case was our favorite set of weapons.
"You and your trinkets!" Kokabiel spread his wings again to make a temporary barrier to protect his weak spots while parrying our attacks. We took turns to strike at his limbs and head, but it was very slow and the worst part was Kokabiel not even reacting to those attacks as much as I hoped. If anything, he was getting his high from those hits if the steadily rising levels of Prana were of any indication. I caught the eye of 'Archer EMIYA' and we silently exchanged an idea.
Time to do our favorite move.
"Spirit and technique, flawless and firm."
We threw our blades at Kokabiel at the same time before we rushed forward with a fresh set. Kokabiel for his part was able to parry three of the blades while twisting his body to avoid the fourth, using the momentum to prevent any of our blades from hitting him. His wings made it doubly difficulty to get a good fix on his next spot.
"Our strength rips the mountains."
"Our swords split the water."
'Archer EMIYA' threw Kanshou at Kokabiel while I threw Bakuya, the two blades getting attracted to each other and flew straight at the fallen angel. With a snarl, Kokabiel lept and spun his body to avoid them, only to yell out at the other two that we both threw and hit his wings, clipping him and sending him stumbling to the ground.
"Our names reach the imperial villa."
"Trace…" 'Archer EMIYA' called forth a third set of Kanshou and Bakuya, the blades showing the familiar signs of Prana overloading the structure.
"Overedge." I readied the elongated blades in my hands and started at Kokabiel, who only started to get to his feet and realized the situation he was placed in.
"The two of us cannot hold the heavens together."
"CRANE WING!" 'Archer EMIYA' reached Kokabiel at the same time as me and raised his set above his head.
"SIX REALMS!" I yelled out as I lashed out my swords at the sides while my doppelganger swung at Kokabiel's head, our blades meeting at the same moment as the other swords in the air, making every one of them shatter into tiny shards that went straight at Kokabiel and forced him back into the ground with multiple explosions that shook the area.
"Ha~ Hah~ Hah~" I panted while grabbing my legs. The amount of Prana that was used to create the clones was seriously ridiculous, I don't think I had this much trouble trying to supply Prana to some of my more gluttonous weapons.
"Well, that ought to do it." I turned my head lightly to find a similarly pale-faced doppelganger in a similar state. "Even if he is not yet dead, he should be sporting some injuries." I was about to comment on that when the smoke stirred, then…
'SHRING! STABH!'
"GARRHGGG!" I let out a yell when a light spear pierced my right arm, making me fall to the ground in agony. Through hazy eyes, I saw 'Archer EMIYA' glowing and disappearing in a cloud of dust, the spear that was lodged in his chest clattered to the ground noisily. With a grunt and a grimace, I grabbed the spear and pulled it out of me.
"Now that, little boy, really hurt me a lot." I turned my head and groan at the sight of Kokabiel getting out of the crater and looking every bit excited and angry at the attacks. "Now I am royally pissed at the pain you gave me."
I merely snorted and got to my feet using Excalibur as a makeshift crutch, focusing on healing the wound on my arm while checking Kokabiel for any signs of weakness. It was harder than I thought, the drain of my Prana was getting more intense by the minute and I was not sure how long I had left to maintain it.
At least now he was sporting some wounds, mostly due to him being distracted from all the clones attacking him at once. I could see how the magic attacks were able to affect him from 'Caster Emiya' and the surgical attacks from 'Lancer' and 'Assassin' were enough to slow him down, and quite obviously were the ones done by the combination attack and 'Berserker EMIYA…
'Hmm, there is an idea.'
I placed the sword in my left hand and lifted my arm in a manner that would have the sword above and somewhat behind me while grabbing the image in my head.
"Trace On."
The sword let out another heartbeat before glowing brightly, its form enlarging and distorting to the point of being double my size, until settling on a form that resembled the weapon that Berserker used in the war.
"Trigger off."
In my mind's eye, the targets were set. Upper right arm, collar bone, the windpipe, the temple, diaphragm, ribs, groin and the thighs. Eight targets before the final blow to the heart.
"Firing…"
The image of a Greek Giant that fought against Saber…
'Be faster, be stronger. Be like a Berserker."
"Ba~ Bump!"
"Nine Strikes Excalibur Works."
For a moment there, it felt like I was actually very angry.
...
A/N : The Story Needs More Power Stones ;)
PS : if we can reach 400 Stones by the end of the week, I will throw you an extra chapter
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can go to my p atreon :
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