Sakura & Demon (END)

After offering her affirmation, Okita immediately turned her head to Nobunaga, who by this point was looking at them with a wicked smirk as if they were pigs to the slaughter.

Both ignored that look and prepared to give her a free ticket to Yomi. Archer, of course, didn't mind the disregard. What was important for her was to defeat them and absorb their remnants like she had been doing with the previous Servants. Of course, she had a certain aberration to mix herself with a full God, but those were semantics.

For now, she believed she had left them enough time to finish their little struggle. In that case, the battle was in order.

She swung her left arm to the side with swift precision. Firearms manifested in the hundreds when she finished that motion, all pointed at them. It was going to be a hard-to-dodge barrage, that much Okita could tell. And if she did, naturally her enemy was the same, which is why her smirk grew in proportions.

Mentally giving the command, all the guns fired at the same time in their direction. Before the energy bullets could travel far, though, they were intercepted by red laser-like arrows, stopping them in their tracks without much trouble.

Nobunaga's eyes widened a bit, and even Okita observed Seth from the corner of her vision with a small amount of surprise.

It was true that he had stopped Archer's attack seemingly without effort, but even so, he was still a bit dissatisfied. The reason being; some of the bullets managed to get past his arrows, although those proved no danger to them as they were the ones the farthest from their exact position.

Some would consider what he had done good enough already, and more so if they considered he had only used a bow once in his life and it was to teach his student. He, however, didn't want to settle with 'good enough.' Not when a stray bullet of those mass-produced guns could cause annoyances or outright fatal damage—to him, at least.

Giving one last look at Saber, he spoke, "Go. I will provide cover fire, you make sure she doesn't shoot freely." Okita nodded at that and ran off to face the distant Archer.

He didn't voice the rest of his thoughts, that if worse came to worst, he would find a window to blast her together with Nobunaga. She was not his responsibility, so he had no qualms with claiming victory in such a manner.

Unaware of his thoughts, Saber arrived close to Archer in an instant. The Fool of Owari had a scowl on her face as she retreated a few steps before more guns materialized around her, every one of them pointing at Okita.

The guns immediately fired at the swordswoman, who zigzagged to avoid the bullets before she gave chase to her opponent.

That proved to be unnecessary as multiple arrows of Magical Energy curved around Saber from behind and went directly at Nobunaga.

"Tch. You stay out of this!" She summoned even more guns while snarling, trying to avoid being pierced by the arrows. They fired at her will, obstructing the arrows on their trajectory and pushing her back even more from the winds of the resulting collision.

As neither her beam-like bullets nor his laser-like arrows had much power behind them, Nobunaga's because she was close to the impact, and Seth's because Okita was in range, there was not any type of grand explosion, but more of small blasts than anything.

The pink-haired swordswoman was also pushed back a little bit. Though, compared to Archer, she didn't receive that much of a recoil.

Once she stabilized her foothold, Okita once again jumped at Nobunaga again, something the black-haired woman countered by using her saber.

Both weapons clashed, creating small sparks that joined the ones already there because of the burning hell. Okita had the advantage in terms of swordsmanship, but Nobunaga made up for it with the boost of her Reality Marble and the added support of her floating guns, which prevented the Shinsengumi's leader to keep a continuous assault.

Of course, she didn't forget about her other — and more problematic — enemy. While she kept more of her focus on Saber as she was an 'immediate threat,' she didn't neglect the Divine pest. Most of her guns aimed at him, making sure he was always on the run and couldn't get clear arrows at her.

Seth ran among the crumbling buildings and sea of corpses while shooting arrow after arrow with as much precision as possible. Instead of dodging, Nobunaga opted for a clash of attacks. She couldn't concentrate on dodging both Okita and him, so that's the best solution she was able to find.

As he walked through the fires while providing support, he was made aware of how much of an annoyance the Anti-Divine properties of this place were. For a God of Fire to feel the stinging sensation of his skin burning was something else.

But, if there was a positive aspect he could point out about all of this, then that would be the extra insight he gained in the making of his own Reality Marble. It might be because it was made to fight Divine beings or maybe for its fire nature, but he could safely say that being here was more helpful than in EMIYA's Unlimited Blade Works.

Stopping his idle thoughts for a moment, Seth shot another barrage of arrows at Nobunaga. He had to time them just right as to not hit Okita otherwise it would be pointless. The Saber Servant had been doing a good job at knowing when to retreat for him to do the most harm against Archer.

His job of keeping her in check was going relatively smoothly save for the increasing pressure against him. Not to mention that his presence was also being a little detrimental to the fight. His status as a God allowed Nobunaga to increase her Parameters to new heights; enough to keep up with Okita, who wasn't suffering from her illness, which meant the swordswoman was on a whole new level. Yet even then, the black-haired woman was able to reach a standstill.

As their swords clashed, it was clear that no one would come out victorious any time soon. What Nobunaga lacked in technique, she complimented with superiors 'stats.' Even with the support of her companion, who helped her by intercepting Archer's beam-like bullets, Okita still had to dodge some of them that managed to slip through. It was certainly frustrating, but the cold killer within her knew better than to make hasty decisions in the middle of combat.

That sentiment was not shared by Nobunaga, though. Her annoyance was increasing with each passing second. Her exchanges with Okita had been going for around ten minutes, and nothing seemed to be changing. Fights against Servants equal in strength were quite rare. Most usually they always had one side which was clearly superior to the other, and so, even if the fight could last an hour or even more, a change would be noticeable, be it through wounds, tiredness, shifting on one's mental state, and so on. In this fight, however, everything remained the same as when they began, and that's what bothered her the most.

That's what compelled her to make a change. The moment when their swords met was when she decided to precisely shift the balance.

Nobunaga let the weight of Okita's own attack push her back, causing the said Servant to momentarily stumble forward due to the nonexistent resistance from her opponent. Taking advantage of this, Archer kicked her in the stomach, making the pink-haired woman fly back a couple of meters before stabilizing herself.

She acted with swiftness, knowing that the small distance she had created would also work against her since the God would take advantage of it to shoot arrows relentlessly at her.

Nobunaga's Magical Energy flared to life as a red aura began to envelop her, mixing itself with the already fiery landscape. It didn't take a genius to know her intentions. Naturally, her enemies knew what she was planning.

'She hasn't used her Noble Phantasm in the previous fights, but I am not interested in knowing what it is either.' Seth thought with narrowed eyes. Nobunaga pointed most of her guns at him, already knowing he would try to stop her and fired.

The Kingslayer clicked his tongue and started moving around once again. Instead of shooting instantly like he had been doing, he decided to charge his arrow with his Mana for a greater burst.

Meanwhile, Okita was having the same thoughts about stopping Nobunaga's Noble Phantasm. She had been dodging some of the bullets meant as a distraction thanks to her Mind's Eye Skill, but just being on the defensive wouldn't cut it.

Taking a deep breath, Saber activated another one of her Skills, disappearing amidst a rain of projectiles. There was no sound, no air movement, no danger sensation; nothing that could give someone a guess of where she had gone to.

Not until Nobunaga felt a presence behind her. Quickly turning around, she was met with Okita after she had used Reduced Earth; a Skill that could be simplified as 'instant movement'. She had never used it before, preferring to keep it as a surprise factor—something that seemed to have worked in the end.

Her eyes were ice cold, and her intention clear. She wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than Nobunaga's head. Her arm retracted a little as the tip of the sword was slowly pointing at Archer's neck.

The Fool of Owari was flanked from both sides, and there was seemingly nothing she could do. If she focused too much on dodging Saber, her other foe would have an easy shot at her; while if she did the opposite, the same would thing would happen but with Okita instead.

So, in the end, she settled for neither. She waited until the last moment before tilting her head. The blade grazed the flesh of her neck and even managed to insert itself a little in.

In an act that could be considered fearless, Nobunaga grabbed Okita by the arm, causing her sword to shake under Archer's skin, all with an insane grin.

Saber momentarily widened her eyes before she was lifted off the ground and thrown behind her, taking a chunk of flesh from Nobunaga in the process.

The direction where she flew off was the same one as the incoming attack from Seth. He had taken advantage of the small moment of distraction Archer had when Okita sneaked up on her to release an attack powerful enough to wound her greatly if it landed.

A spiral of red and orange was heading Saber's way and there was no chance of dodging it as she was still in mid-air. She didn't think Nobunaga would take that risk just to come out alive from her surprise attack. It was a blunder on her part.

There was no way her ally would be able to stop the attack as it was already launched. Besides, despite not being Devine, she could feel how the restrictions against that kind were increasing little by little if the growing heat produced by the fire surrounding them was anything to go by.

That only left her and her alone to search for a way to come out safe and sound from this... or at least alive. And as much as she racked her brain in the small timeframe she had, Okita could only come to a single conclusion.

She quickly spun to try and better her posture as much as she could. The attack was almost upon her, so she didn't have time to dilly-dally and had to act at that moment; no two ways about it.

'One silent step...' Taking a deep breath, she brought her katana to eye-level, pointing it at the fiery spiral.

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'Two steps infinite...' Her kimono disappeared and taking its place was her Shinsengumi uniform. Once again, she had forcefully ascended, albeit this time, without her illness plaguing her, she didn't suffer any adverse effects.

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'Three steps, a sword absolute!' A white aura began to surround her as if trying to fight the scorching light from the attack with pure nothingness.

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And finally... she lunged her sword forward.

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"『Mumyou Sandan-Zuki!』"

A bright flash engulfed her as well as Seth's attack. From the distance, the black-haired man observed with rapt attention what would the outcome be.

He had to admit they didn't have the best synergy considering Nobunaga was able to push them into this situation, but for people who were fighting together properly for the first time, they had been doing all right so far.

From his position, he was able to see clearly how Okita deployed her Noble Phantasm. It brought up a thought in him after he witnessed the technique. 'Without a doubt, it is similar to the attack of that samurai I fought back then when that bimbo Goddess stole those stupid sweets. Considering it's more of a sword skill than anything, I should be able to replicate it as I did with Tsubame Gaeshi.'

A sudden gust of wind snapped his attention back to the battlefield. He watched as his attack didn't get to explode; it just disappeared in a wave of fire to the sides. He might not be the best Archer out there—scratch that, he sucked at archery, but to stop one of his arrows without suffering any consequences was something worthy of praise.

A buzzing sound was heard next to the piece of the broken wall he was standing on. Okita appeared panting a bit more from mental tiredness than physical. That was a really close call for her.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't have time to exchange words. In the time Saber had unleashed her Noble Phantasm, Nobunaga had already invoked her own.

If before she had only summoned guns in the hundreds, now she had done so in the thousands. These ones, however, were clearly stronger than the previous ones, evidenced by the red miasma coating them.

Additionally to her Noble Phantasm, Archer had activated her Skill Tenka Fubu A. It granted her attacks more power against those of Divine nature. And if that weren't enough, her Noble Phantasm also became stronger against those possessing the Riding Skill as Okita did.

"Are you prepared, maggots?" Her echoing voice was all it took for every arquebus to point at them. From an outsider's perspective, it looked like a hopeless situation with no escape whatsoever. Obviously, Saber as a Servant and Seth as a God would never throw the towel just because the odds were seemingly against them.

The black-haired man made his makeshift bow disappear as he currently was only able to use two Authorities inside this Reality Marble, and one was already occupying that space. Fire was not known for its defensive capabilities, so it would only be a hindrance.

Instead, he made materialized his trident, bringing the three tips down to the scorched earth. Water slowly began to pour down all around them, chasing away the vivid flames that were surrounding them. Though, as they were part of this place meant to counter the Divine, the effects weren't that great.

Okita momentarily took her attention from the incoming attack to observe the weapon and then him. Raising a curious eyebrow, she asked the first question that came to her mind, "Are you by any chance Poseidon?"

Seth's face contorted a bit in disgust as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. "Not at all."

Okita merely nodded, choosing to believe in his words going by his expression alone, although that weapon was a little suspicious in her books.

"Get behind me. I will protect us and then we will counter-attack." The Egyptian God said with a low enough voice for only her to hear. Her brows furrowed as if trying to protest against the decision, but one look was all it took to know that it wasn't up to discussion.

"Begone once and for all! This is the Demon King's 『Three Line Formation: Three Thousand Worlds!』" Nobunaga gave them no time to plan for more. With one hand clutching her neck to stop the bleeding and the other holding her saber aimed at them, she finally released her Noble Phantasm.

At her command, every gun fired at the same time, clouding their view with nothing more than multiple flashes of incandescent light.

Seth wasted no time. He spun his trident at fast speeds before making it point skyward, quickly activating one of the Noble Phantasms engraved on the weapon itself. 'Treasure of the Underwater Temple!'

Water immediately coiled around the trident, tuning itself with the weapon; followed by a blue barrier surrounding them in the shape of a dome.

The effect was instantaneous. As soon as the thousands of beam-like bullets collided with the barrier, the two of them felt their world shake.

Seth had to pour more of his Magical Energy into their protection way more sooner than he had expected. 'As I thought... Anti-Divine Servants are the biggest thorn in my side.'

Saber watched with bated breath, wondering if he would hold on. It has been only a few seconds after Nobunaga's attack on the barrier had begun, and their protection already showed hints of breaking.

"Oi... Are you sure you can hold on?" She wasn't trying to mock him with her question. In fact, she was a bit concerned. For what would happen if they failed, and for him, since he was the person who granted her wish, as temporary as it might be.

The Egyptian God only gave her a glance before focusing forward again. As much as he would like to have the leisure to answer, he didn't. Saying he underestimated her threat level would be an understatement.

As if that were not enough, Nobunaga's Alignment didn't resonate with any of his Skills at all, so she was most likely Neutral. If Lawful, True, or Chaotic, he didn't know.

With no other option left in hand, he decided to went for the only Skill that could help him in this situation, which was, ironically, Affection of the Goddess (Sun) EX. Shapeshift A wouldn't work as it only would increase his physical defense, and he was not that dumb to let himself be hit by those bullets.

Now surrounded by a vibrant yellow aura, Seth was able to sustain the barrier with more ease. The cracks spreading through the blue dome stopped spreading and began to mend themselves instead.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Nobunaga watched her Noble Phantasm's assault play out with a wicked grin on her face. She wasn't hearing the sound of something hitting the ground after her attack, but rather a deep sound as if her bullets were impacting a wet surface. Nevertheless, she thought nothing of it.

She couldn't perfectly see the outcome as thousands of blinding flashes of light impeded her vision. Even so, she could make out a smoke cloud forming around the location where her attacks were landing.

Just like that, a few minutes went by, her Noble Phantasm not once stopping, until she considered it was enough. As much as she wished her Magical Energy was inexhaustible, that wasn't the case. Besides, what she did was already overkill as it was.

At her command, the arquebuses stopped firing before disappearing shortly after.

With nothing to block her view any longer, she was able to see the destruction her attack had caused. The smoke cloud was now more visible and bigger in size. The ground was filled with holes the size of a car, and even the cracking of fire seemed to be muted. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a dead zone.

"Wahahaha! See that?! I am invincible—ouch!" Nobunaga laughed madly, albeit with joy. That didn't stop the pain in her neck when she did so, though.

Still, that wouldn't damp her mood. However, the realization that came next would. She didn't feel their power becoming hers. In fact, she didn't spot any change. It was as if...

'Shit...!' Widening her eyes in understanding, she turned her head again to the smoke cloud only to notice a little white flash of light, something she immediately recognized as the reflection of a sword.

Nobunaga was too late to react. She briefly saw a blur and, in an instant, a good part of the right side of her waist was gone.

Her assailant didn't stop and continued their path with a difficult-to-follow speed. She cocked her head their way, trying to see who was the one that injured her like this. Alas, in doing so, she neglected her other enemy. A mistake that would cost her dearly.

Before she could even begin to process the events that transformed her from the winner to a dying loser, something pierced her back, going all the way to her front.

Looking down, she saw three tips coming out of her chest area. In a fit of masterful precision, each one of them had pierced her two lungs and heart.

'My ambition... It sure was short-lived...' She wouldn't give the satisfaction to her opponent to see her in this state, so she decided to fade away on her own accord. The last thing in her vision was the black clouds from her Reality Marble parting to reveal the clear blue sky of the real world.

With the Reality Marble gone, the other two could finally take a short break. Seth exited the smoke cloud while extending his hand forward. The trident that was lying on the ground after Nobunaga's disappearance immediately went to him. Catching it, the black-haired man began to look around, trying to spot his temporary companion.

He spotted her a couple of hundred meters away, making her way to him while swaying from side to side like a drunkard. When she neared his location, she couldn't help but blurt out, "Please don't do that again, I feel like I traveled to a parallel world just with that speed."

"But throwing you at her worked in the end, didn't it? We should have done so from the beginning." He said, much to her dismay.

"You finally got out! I was tired of waiting!" An all-too-familiar voice interrupted them, causing both to let a groan of frustration.

"Didn't we just kill you? Why can't you stay dead?" Okita asked after a sigh. She didn't feel like doing this anymore.

"Hey! What you just fought was my evil side! She escaped from me while I was in the bathroom and knocked me out cold! Can you believe it?! The nerve of that idiot!" 'Good' Nobunaga huffed while folding her arms with a pout on her face.

"Did you just call yourself an idiot? Anyway, it seems that you were the cause of all this mumbo jumbo, or rather, that evil side of yours. So I guess my work here it's done. Let's not see each other again, ever." Seth waved his hand dismissively without any regard for her feelings on the matter. He just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Hmph. I was planning to take it from where my other self left off, but I don't want to anymore! And it's not like I want to see your face either, you old hipster." Saying so with a voice that wouldn't be out of place in a whining little kid, she began to fade away in motes of light.

The only answer he got from him was a twitch on his eyebrows, but going by her ever-growing smirk, it was enough. Okita sighed at her antics, although she would admit, they had grown on her by this point.

"Well, her problems with you aside, I would gladly lend you my sword once again. You gave me the greatest gifts of all, so repaying it wouldn't be much of a problem for me." Saber gave him a small but appreciative smile.

"If you are done with your lovers' farewell, we can all go now." Nobunaga rolled her eyes at all the sappy and melodramatic words.

"Stop saying nonsense. Gratitude doesn't mean love." Okita hit the back of Archer's head while shaking her head.

'Well, if anything, she can teach Fujimaru sword forms while I teach him to use his instincts, so I guess it's not a bad idea.' The Egyptian God ignored the rest of the bickering while focusing on the important parts.

As he didn't plan to stick around anymore, he disappeared shortly after. Going by the information Romani gave him in passing, the next Singularity had been spotted, and so, they didn't have time to waste anymore. They had to go and now.

With that said, he wouldn't consider this mess to be meaningless. He learned a lot in many areas.

'My own instincts are screaming so loud they look like they have a real voice now. What could be possibly waiting ahead I wonder...?'

With such thoughts, he returned to Chaldea.