25 The Witch and The Argonauts
"This is not the Grail that is disrupting this era," Romani said darkly as the scan of the Grail appeared on his screen.
"Indeed," acquiesced Da Vinci. "The readings indicate that the Grail belongs to this era, so this is not the Grail that is disrupting the course of history."
"Does that mean that Francis Drake had a Grail during her life?" asked Fujimaru, shocked as his eyes widened.
"It could mean that, yes," replied Da Vinci. "But how did you obtain this Grail, Miss Drake?"
"I obtained it after sinking Atlantis with Poseidon," she said smugly as she started to walk.
Chiron looked at her after she said that.
"I beg your pardon?" he said. "Did you just say that you sunk Atlantis and Poseidon?"
"Are you deaf?" asked the woman. "Yes, I did it. He was not that tough for a god," she added.
"AHAHAH," laughed Gerard. "What a warrior you are!"
"I am not a warrior, big guy. I am an explorer and a pirate foremost," she said, looking at the giant man.
"But if this is not the Grail that you are searching for but another one, I'll help you. This sea is so strange that it's trapping all of us in these waters," she continued.
"We'll gladly take your help, Captain Drake !" replied Ritsuka as their group didn't know how to navigate, they should be able to fly thanks to Gerard but the rest will be complicated
"Atalanta told me that there was another group of servants in the sea, they are the Argonauts " said Starrk as looked in the sky, bored as hell
The mention of the name made Medea freeze and Chiron looked at Starrk ,wanting more
"She said that she couldn't do what they asked of her, they want to capture a God and sacrifice it, I don't know the finality tho" he continued "Ah by the way, their captain is called Jason or something like tha-"
But before Starrk could finish what he wanted to say, Medea's magic aura flared wildly
"JASON !" her voice exploded with the help of her magic
"Hey ! calm yourself " Cu tried to help her but as soon as he came close, a blast of magic sent him flying
"Oh no, Lancer is dead ! " joked Gerard before he used his miracle to enhance his body before coming close to the robed woman
"Hey Magus ! Calm yourself, vengeance is better served with a clear head, I promise you ! " said Gerard as he hugged the body of Medea, dissipating the entire display of magecraft
"Who is this Jason guy anyway ? " asked Gerard, he was looking at the trembling body of Medea with a frown
Atalanta looked at Medea that couldn't respond her body still shaking due to anger and post-traumatic emotions
"He was the Captain of the Argonauts, the ship named Argo contained only heroes from the Greek era. We sailed through the seas to accomplish tasks, and we helped Jason with his own quest," Atalanta explained, looking at the sea, reminiscing old memories.
"First and foremost, Jason wanted to take back his country. With our help, he decided to ask the king that usurped his country to return it back. He accepted under just one condition: that we give the Golden Fleece to him. For that, we needed to travel to Colchis."
"Medea was the princess of Colchis. Her Father was a powerful mage, and he had the Golden Fleece – an extremely powerful artifact at his disposal. When we arrived at Colchis, the king of Colchis, Medea's Father, refused to give it to us. The only problem was that Jason was supported by Aphrodite, and the Goddess mind-controlled Medea so that she fell in love with Jason. Under the mind control, she stole the Golden Fleece, made everyone escape, and she even killed her own brother and diced him in front of their father," she continued. The more she spoke, the more oppressive Starrk's spiritual pressure became on everyone. Ritsuka was already on the ground panting.
Gerard's body started to emit a golden light – far from the gentle light from their fight with Starrk, more of a terrifying light that pulverized everything it touched.
"So, you are telling me that this reject of a Goddess mind-controlled someone and forced her to do these abominations, even killing her own brother?" said Gerard, his face devoid of emotions. "Just like this disgusting PePe!"
"Jason just used her like a tool and not like a friend. How disgusting," said Starrk. "Were you a part of this, Atalanta?"
"I was a part of the Argonauts, yes, but -" she started before the spiritual pressure from Starrk descended on her, making her sit on the ground just like Fujimaru.
"Are you okay with using people as tools? I thought that I found someone I could relate to, but I see that was not the case, Huntress."
Medea stopped trembling, sensing the two people coming to her defense. She looked at both of them before speaking.
"Why are you coming to my defense? I am just a monster." she asked, her voice with a tinge a sadness
"A monster ?!" Gerard was bewildered that she thought that everything was her fault "Don't you dare think that ! It was all this Goddess faults not yours"
"Indeed, Miss Medea, it was she who used you like an unwilling pawn in her pitiful game. I propose, and I think Gerard will agree with me, to dispose of the Argonauts," Starrk suggested, his eyes never leaving Atalanta.
Atalanta looked back at him, growling. Starrk looked at her before turning away. Atalanta widened her eyes.
"Wait?" she exclaimed. "Let me explain myself, Starrk!"
He looked back at her, his face devoid of emotions.
"I know what you want to say, that you didn't have a say or that, for you, it wasn't that bad what she endured." he said
"No, I didn't know that she was cursed by Aphrodite. I truly didn't know. I thought that she was just like that from the beginning," she added, her voice breaking. "Please, you're the only person here that knows, like me, what it means to be alone. Don't leave me!" she pleaded as Starrk sighed as he came near her.
Then prove that you want her happiness. Help us dispose of the Argo," he proposed to her, giving her a hand to help her to her feet.
She looked at his hand before clasping it. As he helped her on her feet, Starrk looked right into her eyes.
"I'll help you," she said.
"Master!" called Medea, "could you please tell Gerard to let me go? I dislike men with such overwhelming muscles!"
Ritsuka tried to speak, but Cu put his hand on his mouth, silencing him. Ritsuka looked at Cu, and he saw him with stars in his eyes and a smile.
"How can you say that about my muscles? A man without muscles is just a boy!" declared Gerard as he let her go to flex his muscles with a smile.
"Hmmph!" Medea pouted behind her capuche, but she still had a smile behind it. "Muscles remind me of JASON, so I'll never like anyone with bulging muscles like that."
"HAHAHA, as if your like or dislike of me was of any importance to me!" he declared. As he said this, everybody could hear a glass-cracking sound, as if something was just broken.
"Let's go, Master!" he shouted to the young boy that Cu was still clasping his mouth. "I have some people to kill!"
Everybody started to depart toward the boat as Drake shouted to them to go. Medea stayed in the same place with a smile plastered on her face.
"Dumbass, you really are an idiot, Gerard," she murmured as she started to follow the group.
"Hey, Master, if we all survive, I think Chaldea will be in the love season," murmured Cu into Ritsuka's ear.
"What are you talking about, Cu?" replied Ritsuka. Cu looked at him, furrowing his brows.
"You don't see anything peculiar between those four?" asked Cu again.
"No, why? Was there something the matter, Cu?" replied Ritsuka, still looking oblivious.
Cu smiled while his brows made some movement. 'He is so dense that lights bend around him,' he thought. 'Poor Mash, it will be hard to gain the heart of this boy.'
"Nothing, Master. I was just joking with you," said Cu as he runned toward Chiron to escape the cringe of the whole interaction between them.
Ritsuka and Mordred looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders at the strange demeanor of Cu. They both remained oblivious to the hidden dynamics among their companions.
The group boarded the ship as Drake was giving them a tour of the ship.
"You don't need to do anything, all of you, well, except Chiron," she pointed at him with her finger. "You can see very far, right?" she asked.
"Yes, I believe I have the best eyes in the group for long-distance vision," he replied as he promptly took the position she assigned him.
"Everyone, raise the anchor, we sail!" Drake shouted, and her entire crew began to work together like a well-oiled machine.
"I've never seen the sea, Senpai. I'm truly grateful to witness it now. I only read about it back in Chaldea when I was younger," said Mash as her shield started to disappear in blue light.
"It's been so long since I came with my family to see the sea," replied Ritsuka to Mash. "Despite the dire situation of Humanity, I am truly grateful to the prior director. She saw that I had the skills to be a Master, and now I live this life where I can visit so many different places in different eras and encounter so many unique people." Ritsuka smiled throughout the whole speech.
"During the Fuyuki Singularity, I was so scared of everything, lost sight of the objective. But now, with all these heroes here to help us, I feel like my life is not endangered anymore," he conceded to Mash.
He looked back at the servants of Chaldea. Medea was with Gerard, talking and laughing together. Starrk had his eyes closed as he leaned against one of the cabin walls of the ship, while Atalanta slept nearby like a cat.
Chiron gazed at the horizon, and Mordred and Cu were bickering. Mordred was shouting at Cu, who covered his ears while mimicking her mouth movements, which, to be fair, enraged her even more. Drake was near them, laughing and enjoying the situation.
Ritsuka, observing all of this, smiled fondly. "You see, Mash, this is what I like about all of this—heroes from lost ages, banding together, making friends, and everything."
"But we still have opponents to defeat to save Humanity, Senpai," remarked Mash.
"I know, Mash, but if I could, I would've wanted to rest here and enjoy this forever," replied Ritsuka, turning toward his friend.
Mash pondered Ritsuka's words for a moment before smiling.
"We could just do that with Chaldea; the number of servants that we have will only grow if they don't die in the Singularity. We could offer them a place where they would socialize with each other. As we finish all of this madness, as soon as Humanity is restored, we could organize events or other things like that," Mash proposed to Ritsuka as she watched the blue water.
"That could indeed be great, Mash," replied Ritsuka, smiling after hearing Mash's idea.
The trip continued for half a day without any accidents, but soon Starrk opened his eyes, frowning at the sea.
"Captain!" exclaimed Starrk lazily, "There is someone else from my faction in the sea right in front of us. I suggest you dodge it, or do you want to fight it?"
"As if I'd shy away from a fight. Is he strong like you?" Drake asked, her eyes narrowing in anticipation.
"No," he replied before closing his eyes again
"Then if he is an enemy, we crush him ! " exclaimed Drake as she continued to move the ship toward the horizon. Soon a sonic boom was heard in the distance as a figure rushed toward the ship and in a second landed on it without causing any damage.
Then the figure of a man could be seen, the man was slim with scruffy black hair, a short braided ponytail, golden eyes and a youthful face. His mask resembles the skull of a saber-tooth cat.
"Greetings to you all, my name is Ggio Vega, Fracción of Lord Barragan, rightful ruler of Hueco Mundo" the young man introduced himself to the ship as he scanned the ship, his eyes met the body of Starrk.
"You are here too, Starrk ? " He excitedly said as he came closer to the man that had his eyes closed, " So tell me, in the battle did Lord Barragan slaughter all of the Shinigamis ?"
"He lost and died, the first of us three," replied Starrk nonchalantly, his expression clouded
with a frown.
Ggio stopped dead in his tracks before he sighed. "So we lost?" he asked in a murmur.
"Yeah, we did, and quite heavily to boot. We didn't even kill a captain before I died. Perhaps Lord Aizen finished the job; you can ask the quincy. He must know." Starrk's words carried a hint of resignation as he pointed at Gerard that was looking at them
"Aizen didn't kill any captain either. He was defeated by Ichigo Kurosaki and imprisoned in the Muken for a long time," explained Gerard to Ggio.
"I see," said Ggio, looking at the rest of the group before seeing Drake. "Are you the leader here?" he asked the woman.
"Indeed, I am. Do you want to be part of my crew too?" she asked.
"Yes, I want to bring honor to Lord Baraggan once again, so I'll follow you, but I will be part of no crew," replied Ggio, his determination evident in his voice
.
Drake smiled as she looked at Ggio. "Then welcome aboard. One person more means we'll put up a better fight against the Argonauts."
As all the groups restarted to do their own things, Ggio took a place near the helm of the ship, gazing at the horizon with both his eyes and his spiritual scan. Three hours later, the sun began to set, and the moon took its place. Ritsuka and Mash went to bed in the cabin.
The night passed without incident. Ggio remained vigilant, scanning the horizon continuously. As the sun set, Ggio's voice echoed across the ship, enhanced by his reiatsu. "Enemies!" The entire crew woke instantly, servants materializing and Starrk opening his eyes with a dark expression.
'They are strong,' Starrk thought, using his spiritual sense to gauge their strength.
"One of them is a god," Chiron declared. "At this distance, it seems to be Euryale fleeing from the Argonauts."
"Engage in combat!" Drake commanded. Cannons materialized behind her, blasting toward the Argo. Chiron and Atalanta drew their bows, sending a volley of arrows toward the Argo. Ggio generated a cero, firing it toward the ship. His magenta-colored cero sailed above the water, exceptionally fast.
A colossal figure, wielding a club-like sword, leaped from the Argo. With a swing, he parried Ggio's cero. Meanwhile, a green blur destroyed incoming arrows, and a purple magical shield enveloped the Argo, rendering the cannon shots ineffective.
"What?!" exclaimed Medea, recognizing her own magecraft. "It seems that there's a young Medea on the Argo," remarked Chiron, eyeing the ship. "Jason is there too, and Caenis."
"This man is here?" asked Gerard before leaping toward the Argo. His enormous strength carried him across the distance, landing him on the ship's helm. All the Argonauts turned their attention to him.
"You dare set foot on my ship?" the blond-haired man demanded violently. "A mere nobody daring to set foot on the Argo. Heracles, kill him." The enormous mountain of muscle raised his club-like sword to strike Gerard but his shield parried the strike, making his feet sink in the Argo's wood, a large crack appearing
"You are strong, big guy. Finally, a worthy opponent," declared Gerard Valkyrie, The Miracle. He fixed his gaze on the colossal figure. "What is your name, mortal?"
The only thing that responded to him was a deafening roar coming from Heracles, as his fist collided with Gerard's head, sending him flying high above the clouds
'What strength! ' Gerard thought, ' How good will our fight be ? ' as he thought the last part, Gerard aimed his sword toward the boat as he let the gravity do her work and make him fall like a meteor toward the Argo
On the ship, Heracles was looking at his fist that had a bruise where he'd hit Gerard
"Good job, Heracles. Now we just have to finish off the other trash, and we should have the Goddess to sacrifice," said Jason as he looked at Drake's ship. Another magenta-colored Cero came their way.
"Caenis, Achilles, take down whoever is making these attacks and—" Before he could finish his sentence, Caenis's spear crashed down near Jason.
"Don't order me, bastard!" Caenis shouted as she departed the Argo.
"Yeah, just like she said!" added Achilles, disappearing in a flash of green lightning.
"Then, Heracles, we already took down one of them. You can go and—" Again, as he wanted to finish his sentence, an enormous explosion rang at the rear of the Argo, sending Jason and Medea flying. However, Heracles was fast enough to catch the two of them.
"Who dares??!" exclaimed Jason. As he saw Heracles take a defensive stance, looking at the other colossus, Gerard spoke up.
"Well, you are Jason, right?" Gerard asked as he picked up Hoffnung from the ground. "Now, you'll pay for what you did, but first, I have a bone to pick with you, big guy!"
"Heracles, pulverize this guy!" cried out Jason as he withdrew behind the colossal figure.
"Let's fight!" grinned Gerard as he faced Heracles. "I hope you bring more joy than the Shinigami back then!"
The two dashed toward each other, and their weapons clashed, generating a shockwave that pulverized everything in its vicinity.
"You are strong!" declared Gerard. The only thing that answered him was the roar of rage from Heracles.
"Yeah, me too. I want to fight!" said Gerard with determination.
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Well cliffhanger for all of ya, the fight will be tommorow
So who do you think will win in these fights ?
See you soon :)
