Cainabel vs Altera (Patreon)

The Servant of the Shield, Mashu, is currently lying on her bed trying to appear as small as possible. She is sitting down on the bed while holding her legs close to her chest and casting her eyes downward. Quite the miserable picture for a Servant, fitting for a failure like her

“Hey,” A voice that she wanted to hear the least right now called out, “Mashu...”

“Senpai…” - Mashu wanted to call out to Ainz, she wanted to call out to her Senpai... And yet she was not sure that she was qualified to call him that. Her non-existent strengths and her lack of accomplishments made her woefully unqualified to call the Magician as a Senpai. She felt in herself none of the rights to try to even call out to Ainz in such a familiar way. However... She dearly wanted to.

Mashu did not lift her head when Ainz entered her tent, therefore she did not see the wry expression on Ainz’s face, but she did hear his long drawn sigh and felt his presence when he sat next to her. She however could no longer try to pretend that it was simply a figment of her imagination, of her longing, when Ainz put a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of support .

“What happened?” Ainz asked the question well aware of the answer to it. Mashu was unexpectedly ambushed, lost her fight and nearly died, having received several wounds that could easily be fatal to a normal person. After which she was saved solely due to the intervention of Cainabel - the one whom she sincerely disliked and possibly even hated, but a person who could easily, insultingly so, defeat  an enemy who had previously fought with Mashu on an equal footing.

“I lost...” Mashu lifted her head, faced Ainz, and answered with apprehension.

Yup, Ainz was spot on.

“Yes, that indeed happened...,” Ainz sighed. Not that he has much else to say to Mashu without resorting to blatant lies - “But you should not blame yourself. You fought against Altera. I do not think that there would be many other Servants capable of facing her.”

“I didn’t lose to Altera...” Mashu replied glumly, lowering her gaze to the floor again, “I lost to Spartacus.”

“Hmm…” - Ainz sighed, - “Spartacus was the greatest gladiator of Rome, he had dozens of years of fighting experience. After becoming a Servant his strength increased even more. In comparison you were a normal human before becoming a Servant... A month and a half ago? For such a short period of training, you have achieved enough power and experience that you could fight on equal footing with Spartacus. That is worthy of praise…”

Ainz sighed. A month and a half, hmm... If one were to compare that period of time in Yggdrasil a dedicated player could get to level eighty, if he played a lot and knew what to do, not least of course, is his build. The eightieth level and proper build would allow them to defeat Spartacus without any effort. But these were the rules of a game, where in a week a player could reach the fortieth level, and translating the fortieth level into reality... This would mean, at best, a nation-level threat, where a nation would need to deploy their armies to even stand a chance. To compare such things to this reality, where a person who wants to become twice as powerful requires years of training would be simply ridiculous. A month and a half of training, and from an ordinary civilian girl to a Servant who was able to restrain Spartacus and maybe defeat him, a somewhat strong Berserker. It was more than worthy of respect.

“But I could have won,” Mashu shook her head, and then she closed her eyes.

“That is more of a philosophical question than a practical one,” Ainz sighed. Yes, she could. Easily even, if Spartacus had simply stood still Mashu could have easily been able to defeat him - or if Mashu had a powerful offensive Noble Phantasm - or under a dozen other conditions. But this was simply an afterthought - an excellent training tactic, but far from the best thing to mule over for a person’s emotional state.

“If I had turned to you for help…” -Mashu bit her lips.

“Such things happen,” Ainz sighed once more, “In a surprise attack one could easily be overwhelmed, no one blames you for that...”

“I ...” Mashu was going to object with something, but she was silent for a second before blurting out everything at the same time, “I knew about the possibility of asking for help.”

Ainz, hearing this, suddenly froze for a second.

“Hm...” he grunted vaguely.

Mashu... Didn’t forget that she could do it?

It was a strange thought for Ainz.

“Then…” - Ainz felt uncomfortable, it was like he was accusing someone of a crime - “Then why didn’t you do it?”

Mashu, looked at Ainz, and then turned away.

“I...” Mashu’s timid voice slowly leaked out, “I... I thought I could handle it...”

Ainz paused for a second.

“Oh,” - Ainz was silenced for a second, unsure of what reply he could give, - “That's why…”

This was an unexpected discovery, a quite damning one at that.

“This is not my first battle....” Mashu began to speak softly, “ In the last Singularity, I also fought. Against the Witch... Against Chevalier... Against Fafnir... And we won.”

“It was not easy,” Mashu felt tears slowly building up, “But we won. All the time, I won and it seemed to me that it would always be so... That this is just an adventure for me…”

“Oh…” - Ainz sighed.

“Just an adventure” - so, that’s why?

These words resounded like an accusation in Ainz's soul.

It’s true for him as well... For him, it’s also “just an adventure in which he goes through and wins in the end”. In the first Singularity, he also felt like this, and in this one as well.

He is the Main Character, with all capital letters. He simply walks through this world, fights evil, communicates with interesting characters, solves puzzles and falls into the insidiously set traps of the villains... But he is the Main Character. He will pass all these tests in the end. He will make mistakes, he will lose people, but in the end - this is just an adventure for him.

He is strong, overwhelmingly so, and therefore he could afford to think like that - the extinction of humanity is just another “big questline” that he likes to complete, and the people around him are “NPCs” who also participate in his adventure. And their actions mean little in the general picture of the world.

It was... Natural.

For some reason, it was easy for him to consider all the people around him as “NPCs,” what was happening around him simply as “story events”, and the results as “predetermined”, victory for him is natural.

“I...” Ainz said slowly, “I understand.”

Mashu looked at Ainz. For a few seconds she simply looked at him, and then shook her head, “Senpai... I don’t think you do.”

“I ...” Mashu sighed, “I spent my whole life in Chaldea. I had never seen the world outside of it, and therefore, when I am here, in the Singularities, I... was ecstatic. The fact that I now have a life, a participant in an adventure of a wonderful world outside of Chaldea, not to mention meeting new people…. The thought that all of Humanity is counting on me, or that there are numerous dangers that could kill me…. none of that seemed important to me. It was just... an adventure, a wonderful experience”

“I...” Ainz slowly looked up, glancing up at the sky beyond the roof of the tent. A clear blue sky, over which clouds slowly floated, and the shining midday Sun... And the huge ugly black hole in the very center of this sky, - “I understand you.”

“You know,” Ainz suddenly sighed, “We... are alike.”

“Alike?” Mashu asked again, but Ainz just nodded, keeping his eyes on the roof.

“Yes...” - Ainz shook his head, “I always had few friends in my life... or at least those whom I could call friends, once upon a time…”

Memories of Yggdrasil's carefree days made him smile, “Once upon a time there were many of us. We laughed, had fun, went on crazy adventures... But one day…”

Recollections of the slow end to his guild slowly soured his smile. “One day... it all ended, I lost contact with them all... For a long time I was alone. I engaged in practically meaningless actions, as if to delude myself that now I was left alone... At some point, I just decided that it would always be so…”

“But then I ended up here,” Ainz glanced at Mashu. “These Singularities... Probably one of the main reasons why I participate in these Singularities was because I wanted to relive the days of my past. Again another crazy adventure, another thing to complete, victory or defeat... it does not matter. I guess I also saw it simply as a “ new adventure”. And... I also did not pay attention to the things around me, I thought that now I am again the “ hero” of my own story.”

“Senpai”, - Mashu sighed, - “But you are strong, you are smart, you thoroughly evaluate the situation and act for the good of everyone... Not at all like me…”

“You seriously overestimate me, Mashu,” Ainz grinned, “I also make mistakes. I have made many in the past and will make many more in the future. My strength really means little in the end, there might be those that I could defeat, alone at least. I knew this for sure, there were those whom I could never beat in the past. And I'm not at all as kind and as benevolent as you might think…”

“It's not true, senpai,” Mashu smiled. “You're just trying to cheer me up.”

“Eh,” Ainz sighed. It seems that he has already crossed the line beyond which now people will not believe that his “ingenious plans” are just a series of incredible events, accidents and coincidences. His “strength” was insignificant by the standards of Yggdrasil. He acted only for his selfish desires, not paying any mind to the people around him. Sacrificing his Servants right and left, using the justification that he is saving his trump cards from use simply “just in case”.

Ainz looked closer at Mashu.

She looked at him firmly and confidently - not at all like when she was just sitting in her tent all alone. In her gaze Ainz saw determination, kindness, and something else.

Loyalty.

‘I really want to ask Touch Me how I am supposed to deal with this situation,’ Ainz laughed in his mind. Touch Me was clearly more suitable for the role of “heroic savior of mankind” than Ainz himself. If Touch Me were in the place of Ainz he was sure that Touch Me would have solved all the problems that troubled Ainz in an instant, he would have no problem interacting with the Servants and perhaps already would have resolved all the Singularities in the time it took Ainz to solve one. Yes, it definitely sounded like what Touch Me would do.

But Touch Me was not here, there was only Ainz. A cowardly, narrow-minded, uneducated clerk who did not care about the fate of the whole world at all, but a person simply going through his “adventure”.

Ainz shook his head.

“It seems that you have cheered up,” Ainz smiled at Mashu, after which she, as if realizing something, shook her head.

“And this is also all thanks to you,”.

“You overestimate me way too much,” Ainz sighed, and then rose from his seat. “It seems that Elizabeth is annoying Jeanne for some reason.”

“Elizabeth?” Jeanne looked up.

“Yes, there were three other Servants on this island,” Ainz sighed. “The elder sister of Medusa, Elizabeth Bathory, and another one... Which, I really haven’t seen yet.”

Ainz sighed, after which he nodded to Mashu. “Yeah, I think I should go.”

Mashu just nodded at this, after which she looked into Ainz's eyes.

Alone…

This word clearly did not come to mind when looking at Ainz.

He was kind, funny, strong and smart. Servants were always gathering around him - of both genders, from some came blind adoration to him, from others - a gloomy recognition of his merits. And yet Ainz considered himself lonely.

Was it that “at the top you are always alone”?

Even if everyone around him supported him... No one could understand what he have experienced. No one could really understand his pain and his troubles. No one could stand next to him.

“Good champ, this Ainz-fellow,” a voice next to Mashu made her blink and turn suddenly.

“Calm down, partner!” smiled the girl standing next to her, “I'm here to talk, smile and eat ~ woof.”

Mashu blinked from the addition at the end, after which she stared at the girl.

Her pink hair, fashioned in a disheveled high tail, light brown eyes with a twinkle of mischief inside, a red kimono that ended much higher than her knees, a fluffy light brown tail, arms and legs, turning from the forearm into large fluffy paws covered with fur, rather similar in appearance to that of a pair of gloves. last but not least the slippers that the girl is wearing, and the red fox ears sticking out on her head did not at all make her look like a dog.

“Oh, what a forceful gaze!” The girl smiled, and then stepped back, “Tamamo! Nice to meet you!”

After that the very animated girl held out her hand as if asking for a handshake. Mashu, not seeing any problem with answering the offer, held out her hand in response, that is of course a mistake. The peppy girl then endeavoured to rip Mashu’s hand from her shoulder, at least that is what Mashu assumed she is doing, with the speed and force that she is shaking her hand 

“Tamamo... Tamamo-no Mae?” - after suffering through the very enthusiastic handshake, Mashu was able to question the new Servant, while rubbing her shoulder.

“One of...” Tamamo vaguely waved her hand in the air, and then immediately brought forward her hand with a cupcake held in it, “Cupcake?”

***

Altera struck blow after blow. Cainabel, continuing only to smile, blocked each one with unearthly ease.

Altera was not the most powerful Servant in terms of physical strength. Even Spartacus surpassed her in this parameter. Of course Altera was much faster, agile, and perhaps even more experienced. But not stronger.

If a battle is simply a contest of parameters, then it is no surprise that Cainabel is able to deflect blow after blow from Altera. But this is not Altera’s full strength, it would be a disgrace for the Scourge of God to not have any cards to play to balance the battlefield. Using any one of them would be devastating against any other Servant.The Star Emblem was one of them.

The Star Emblem, Mark of her origin. A small “gift” from her “progenitor”. The chains linking her current body to her real one.

Altera's whole body was covered in strange white lines, covering it like a circulatory system originating from her heart. Of course, among the Servants, this small quirk of her appearance was barely a trifle when compared with the strange appearance of the other Servants who had horns, wings, four additional legs or even snakes instead of hair. However, unlike these examples, the symbols on her body meant something. And they meant a lot.

Magi had the “Magic Circuits,” a second nervous system responsible for channeling their Mana. In some ways, the lines on Altera’s could also be considered as her “Magic Circuits' ' created only to strengthen her body. Of course comparing the two of them is like comparing a major highway to that of a dirt path, perhaps they serve the same function but they are world aparts in quality.

Using this ability, Altera could surpass Spartacus in terms of physical strength as much as Spartacus exceeded the strength of an average person.

This made the fact Cainabel continued to easily repel Altera’s attacks so unbelievable.

Altera dealt out another series of attacks.

Two, four, six, twelve, twenty...

The blade in her hands flashed so fast that if Altera had been fighting against the great swordswoman of the accursed Excalibur - Arthuria - she would stand no chance against the onslaught of attacks. Even the King of Knights’ stalwart defense would be pierced, and her death would soon follow. However, Cainabel, yawning, continued to repel her attacks, continuing only to look at her with a faint patronizing grin.

“Fight it all you want. In the end, your fate was a foregone conclusion the moment I decided to have fun with you.”

Cainabel did not speak, but she accurately conveyed all the emotions that she felt with just one grin.

Altera continued to fight, striking blow after blow. Cainabel fought back with her small umbrella, easily deflecting her attacks into different directions.

Each strike of Altera failed to reach its goal, biting into the Cainabel’s umbrella instead. Even assuming that her umbrella was actually a powerful artifact, similar to the blade of Altera herself created from the scales of an ancient dragon from the Age of Gods, this would not explain how she could withstand her attacks.

Altera's mind, created only for battle, analyzed Cainabel’s every action looking closely at her face, she looked relaxed, at worse disdainful.

“Are you tired already?” Cainabel glanced back at Altera’s next blow with a false sympathy. “I don’t blame you. It has been quite a while and I’m slowly getting bored…”

Seven minutes. For seven minutes, Cainabel continued to fight Altera. There was not even a drop of sweat on Altera's face - her other skill, Natural Body, provided her with endless endurance - as befits the perfect avatar of destruction. However, for the entire duration of the battle, Cainabel didnt even change her expression. Is it possible that her stamina was endless too?

Altera concentrated on the battle.

“Well, little tin toy,” Cainabel called out, completely unhappy with the ongoing battle, boring almost to tears, “I thought you could amuse me. Has my mind failed me? Oh how shameful it is!”

Altera studied Cainabel‘s every movement.

Her blade struck forward again, striking the umbrella that arose in its path.

Altera's blows did not become weaker, this Altera could easily determine. Her Natural Body was one of the skills that defined her as one of the strongest Servants. This skill meant that “whatever conditions surround her body — every physical trait of her body will always be perfect.” In other words, whatever that is countering her strength it was not a debilitating effect.

“Hmm, you know... Even Spartacus achieved more in this battle than you do,” Cainabel smiled, looking at Altera’s cold focused gaze, analyzing her every move, “At least he seriously tried to hurt me... Oh, wait, is this really all that you can do?”

Cainabel’s taunts passed over Altera's focus.

Cainabel did not hold the umbrella in her hands in the same way as people who relied on their strength would hold it. She repulsed her attacks head on, but instead of putting her strength into blocking the blow, she instead received only a tenth of it. But where did the remaining nine-tenths disappear to?

After easily blocking yet another of Altera’s attack, Cainabel lifted her left hand to her mouth, yawning. Cainabel’s disregard toward Altera actually causes her to yawn in boredom, closing her eyes.

“Oh, it’s getting boring...” Cainabel sighed and looked at Altera, “Don't you think so?”

Altera answered with yet another blow.

Her attacks were as strong as it always was, but only a part of the power of her blow was repelled by Cainabel. In such a case, there was only one possible reason as to why Cainabel was able to easily repel Altera’s attacks.

“Protection from physical damage,” Altera emotionlessly said, and then abruptly leaped away from Cainabel.

Cainabel, watching this, only shook her head.

“That is your skill,” Altera finally said, looking straight into Cainabel’s eyes. “Like Magic Resistance, your skill weakens physical attacks.”

“Hm,” Cainabel sighed, after which she looked patronizingly at Altera, “It seems that your head was not just decoration after all. What a twist…”

As before Altera simply stayed silent against the insult causing Cainabel to simply shake her head in response.

“So?” Cainabel planted her umbrella into the ground and leaned on it like that of a cane. “So what if your brutish head managed to figure out one of my skills. Nothing you can do, nor any of your skill will be able to capitalize on it. Hmmmm.…”

“Or is there?” Cainabel suddenly stared at Altera with interest, “Oh, that would be an interesting thing to see!”

No, Altera did not have a skill that would bypass Cainabel’s skill. But now that she had an understanding of Cainabel’s abilities, strategies that could be are available to her .

Altera slowly raised her blade.

“Well, are you already resorting to your Noble Phantasms?” Cainabel sighed, looking at the gesture, “Oh, this Singularity was such a big disappointment...”

A second later, Altera rushed forward. Cainabel bored out of her mind, stopped leaning on her umbrella.

Altera’s approach was so fast that an ordinary person would not even notice the moment of flickering - however, for Cainabel, this ‘battle’ seemed trivially slow. Altera finally reached a striking distance.

“Maybe I should finish this farce already and return to Ainz?” - Cainabel sighed again waiting for Altera to reach her. Altera’s blade was swung and Cainabel moved to intercept, but in the instant before impact Altera suddenly jumped and instead struck from overhead.

Cainabel disinterestedly moved her umbrella to block from the new attack vector, rendering the feint moot.

“You racked your empty head for so long - and you could only come up with this plan?” - Cainabel sighed in disappointment - “Jump and hit me from above, what an unexpected strategy...”

However, instead of attacking Altera instead used Cainabel’s umbrella as a platform to jump even further away.

“Hmm, running away?” - Cainabel looked disappointedly at the girl - “Run, run... I can just teleport to you wherever you go - so you should know that such a course of action was doomed from the very beginning...”

However, Altera was not thinking of running away. In the blink of an eye, she found herself next to Spartacus’ dead body. A moment later, her hand touched the dead Servant.

After a moment, Spartacus' body, torn to pieces by his last Phantasm, suddenly jerked to life.

“Oh...” - Cainabel looked at the phenomenon a little more interestedly - “Necromancy?”

The body of Spartacus, torn into two, barely able to keep itself upright, slowly rose from the ground. The smile that Spartacus always wore on his face was still present even in his death. Of course the fact that half of his face is missing due to his Noble Phantasm made the visage very ghastly indeed.

“Hm, no...” - Cainabel blinked. “That is not necromancy... Something else...”

Spartacus' body slowly rising from the ground then turned towards Cainabel, presenting the dead Sevant’s half-grin to the bored Servant.

“An interesting skill...” - Cainabel studied the movements of the dead Spartacus - “This is... A special ability - but it did not create undead... This is something else...”

Spartacus, as in dead as in life simply rushed forward toward Cainabel with Altera close on his heels.

“Even so 2 on 1 or perhaps 1½ on 1, this is an insignificant advantage - nothing more” - Cainabel easily blocked Spartacus' charge. Even his strength as a living Servant was unlikely to overpower Cainabel - not to mention his current miserable condition. His blow powerlessly crashed against the Cainabel’s umbrella. Of course, she could simply ignore the dead Servant’s attack and simply let the ineffectual attack land on her body - however, she was simply too proud to let what to her is less than worms to touch her dress.

Altera was counting on this fact.

In an instant the ground under Cainabel suddenly shifted, allowing Spartacus’ attack to struck Cainabel. Spartacus’ head left his body not a moment later. And a moment of distraction is all that Altera needed.

Altera's blade pierced Cainabel’s torso.

“You do not hide your character or intention,” Altera answered as coldly as she had always done before. But for the first time in the long battle, something else is present in her voice, Joy. The joy of victory.

In the battle with Altera, Cainabel demonstrated her skill - protection from physical attack. And yet - she continued to block attack after attack with her umbrella. Though with no hurry and even lazily, but, she defended herself. Because her defense against physical attacks could not absorb the full force of Altera's blow. She used the umbrella because some of Altera’s strength could still break through her skill and perhaps even injure her. In other words, all Altera needed to do to win was to distract her, to cause her to misplace her umbrella. For example, by using it to discard the dirty corpse of Spartacus that is falling towards her. Cainabel did not bother to hide her character especially her disgust toward ‘lower’ lifeforms. She could not allow the dilapidated corpse of Spartacus to touch her, her pride wouldn’t allow it. She would not deign to use her own hands to touch such ‘filth’, her umbrella instead would suffice. Of course Altera would not miss such an opening.

“Your skill could not absorb all the damage from my attacks,” Altera said again, “and it’s easy to provoke you. You never considered me as an opponent, my attacks are not dangerous to you. But , your arrogance is your doom. Rather than let a ‘worm’ touch you, you let your only source of protection be let ajar. A moment of distraction sealed your fate. I win.”

After a second, Altera pulled her blade out of Cainabel’s body.

Altera could not defeat Cainabel in a head on battle. But, all she had to do to remedy the situation was use tactics. And Attila was nothing if not a good tactician.

Altera shook Cainabel’s blood off her blade, and then glanced at Cainabel’s body, which remained standing.

“Oh, are we giving each other advices now?” Cainabel sighed, looking unconcernedly at the hole made by Altera’s blade in her chest, “Then let me give you one.”

In a blink of an eye Cainabel reached Altera and struck with her umbrella. It took all of Altera’s speed and instinct to block the attack. To Altera’s surprise the ground under her began to crack and she was barely able to receive the attack.

“Before you start gloating on the corpse of your enemy, make sure that they are dead first!” At the surprise in Altera’s face, Cainabel smiled.

Altera's gaze focused on the huge hole in Cainabel’s chest, but Altera did not see a drop of blood flowing through the wound.

“Hm, surprised?” Cainabel smiled, catching Altera’s disbelief , “Oh, it's just one of my skills. After all, what kind of Divine Ancestor would I be if I could not control my own blood?”

In the corner of her eyes, Altera spotted movement.

Slowly, as if in contradiction to the laws of gravity, blood is flowing on the ground. A single stream of blood flowed from the body of the deceased Spartacus toward Cainabel. Having reached a distance of several meters, as if a snake sensing its prey, the blood slowly rose from the ground, after which it rushed forward to Cainabel.

Aletra, wary of a possible attack, leaped away. But the stream of blood ignored Altera and rushed into Cainabel. The stream of blood then congealed in the hole in Cainabel’s torso and slowly the hole disappeared. Even Cainabel’s ruined dress was fixed. After a second it was as if the gory wound was never there in the first place .

“Hmmph what low quality blood” Cainabel sighed, completely oblivious to Altera’s shock. She cast a glance at Spartacus’ body, which had turned into a withered mummy, “But I guess it will do...”

Altera looked at Cainabel warily. Cainabel just smiled in response.

“Oh, dear child,” Cainabel showed a smile. A real, friendly smile - “Did you delude yourself into thinking that you have a chance of victory?”

After the remark Cainabel’s smile continued to grow in intensity. Slowly the smile began to distort Cainabel’s beautiful face, slowly turning it into the visage of a monster. The beatific smile turned into the jaws of a monster.

“All that you can achieve in this battle is to shed more blood,” Cainabel’s youthful voice slowly turned into the low guttural voice of a monster, “And I do love when blood is spilled!”

Cainabel’s jaw then became distended, then it fell open showing row and rows of splintered teeth. The opening extended to her very innards, no perhaps into the unknown darkness of a strange and terrible world. All similarity to that of a human is completely lost.

Altera felt another new emotion.

Fear.

For a second, the avatar of destruction, looking at her inhuman opponent, felt fear.

The creature before her was more dangerous than Altera could ever imagine. More dangerous than Romulus, more dangerous than Altera herself, more dangerous even than her master, Baal... It was an alien creature similar to the horror from the depths of human fantasies, taking shape only to invade a hundred new nightmares generated by its thoughts, actions, forces... Appearance.

Altera squeezed her blade, and then pointed it forward. It could exist no longer.

“Photon Ray,” she said instantly, “Sword of the War God.”

A second later, what was the crossguard of her blade unraveled, as if the weapon that had previously disguised itself as a strange, soldered blade from multi-colored crystals, unraveled into its true form.

Perhaps, if one would give this form a scientific description, the most appropriate word would be that of a “railgun” or perhaps a “drill”.

Photon Ray - Sword of the War God. The personal blade of Ares, the Greek God of War. One of the very first Noble Phantoms ever created in the world. Even the writer would hardly have the vocabulary to describe how perfect this weapon was.

It was the first Divine Construct. It was a blade that embodied a God. It was a blade that embodied War.

Every drop of blood spilled. Every blow of a soldier’s blade. Every step taken by an army. Everyone who died from a blade. Every order of the general. Every facet of a war. Past. Present. Future.

Invested in the power of one blow, bringing the combined strength of all the wars, battles, victories and defeats that have ever taken place. In other words, the absolute power of destruction.

Unfortunately, unlike many other heroes who received divine blessing, strength, weapons - this blade Ares did not give to Altera. Altera had to take it by force.

Although Altera considered Ares as her, if not friend, then colleague - the God of War on the other hand did not appreciate his defeat by Altera’s hand, because of which he prevented the use of the full strength of his blade in Altera's hands. However, even without utilising its full strength, it was still a weapon capable of destroying a civilization, cities, countries - like war itself. Few Servants could survive this attack.

Of course, few are nowhere near to none.

A second later, Altera struck. Moving at a speed exceeding the limits of what is possible. Altera broke through the sound barrier in such an insignificant fraction of a second that even a scientist studying this phenomenon would deemed such a value as instantaneous, in an instant Altera reached Cainabel.

***

“Auch!” Elizabeth swayed for a second. A wave of tremors passed across the island where she was, distracting the girl for a second from her acquaintance.

“Hm…” - however, an instant later the wave ceased, after which Elizabeth turned her attention back to Jeanne, who before that stoically endured all the problems of communicating with the enthusiastic Lancer, “So... You were saying that Kiyo is now in Chaldea...”

***

Altera slowly lowered her blade. The force of her blow passed across the earth, spreading like a blast wave. The remains of the city that were still around after the Spartacus’ Noble Phantasm were now swept away and scattered, like a sand castle washed away by a tidal wave.

Altera closed her eyes and sighed. There were no limits to her physical endurance, but even the mana that Baal gave her had a limit.

Altera slowly opened her eyes.

“Is that all?” Cainabel smiled. “I'm not impressed.” There stood Cainabel but a few steps away from Altera. She was now back to her original appearance, but not because she was forced to revert her transformation due to damage sustained, her dress isn’t even ruffled by Altera’s full strength.

There was no obstacle in the path of Altera's blow. It would seem that Altera should have congratulated herself on this - her attack was carried out at such a speed that Cainabel could not respond to it at all, but Altera did not feel any joy. Not because she did not feel emotion.

But because her blade did not touch Cainabel’s body.

Her blade passed over a few centimeters from Cainabel’s body, without even touching her dress. It was as if an invisible force field had prevented Altera’s blade from touching her.

“Flashy,” Cainabel grinned. “But unproductive.”

Altera felt a new emotion wash over her.

Despair.

For the first time in her life, she felt something alien.

Despair.

Slowly, Altera lowered her blade and raised her gaze.

The gaze of her unblinking red eyes stared into the unblinking red gaze of Cainabel.

“How?” She asked.

“Hm,” Cainabel just grinned in response, and then shook her head, “Just because you were able to grasp a function of my ability doesn’t mean that you had uncovered it in its entirety.”

Cainabel sighed, and then slowly extended her hand toward Altera. In any other circumstances, Altera would have instantly reacted to this gesture, but not now. Now, she doesn’ have an inkling on what to do.

Cainabel only laid a hand on Altera’s shoulders, almost in a sincere and amiable way, - “Let me explain one crucial thing. You Servants, no matter how alien your appearance, are still only the products of human influences. Their emotions, personalities, aspirations and thoughts. You are poisoned by humanity from the very beginning - defective dolls of humanity’s faith. And all people have one disgusting thought.”

Cainabel smiled beatifically at that moment, and then shook her head, “We are weak individually, but together we make the mountains crumble and drain the seas. The obstacles that were insurmountable for us yesterday will be destroyed by us today - by diligence, by labor. We will be the winners at the end.”

“Indeed,” Cainabel grinned. “If you punch a wall with a fist, you will only damage your hands. But if thousands of thousands of people stand in your place, continuing to hit the wall, then one day it will crumble. Even one sub-atomic particle can give rise to a chain reaction, giving rise to an incredible explosion. This is what all of humanity thinks.”

“But what if you are even less than that?” Cainabel sighed. “If you are less than even an ant. If you are smaller than a molecule. If you are less than a quark. If you are so small that you simply can’t influence even the smallest part of the barrier?”

Cainabel grinned. “My answer is that.” No matter what the wall will remain.”

“By repeating your attempt you will not succeed,” Cainabel sighed, shaking her head, “Neither doing this a thousand times, nor trying for hundreds of years, nor bringing thousands of thousands of followers with you. In the end, you will encounter an obstacle that you cannot overcome. And, the best part?”

Cainabel stopped, enjoying the words that she was about to say before staring straight at Altera - “You will not overcome it. And I am such an obstacle.”

“Yes, you correctly guessed that all the attacks that you strike against me lose some of their strength,” Cainabel smiled, “But you misunderstood why that such a thing happens. There is a certain threshold of power below which no attacks will affect me. None. Regardless of the abilities or strength behind them. Regardless of the legend that reinforces them. It makes no difference, whether it is an attack by a young man blazing with anger and nobility or a hired killer hiding in the shadows. None would reach me simply because their existence is too insignificant to affect me.”

“Of course, you might think that Noble Phantasms are excluded from this rule,” Cainabel sighed, as if a teacher that was preparing to teach a frustrating student, “But this is not so. It is subject to this barrier twice. For the first time - there is a judgement of its "rank". The legend, mysticism, magic behind it’s existence. A Phantasm must be of a certain rank in order to even try to reach me. The second time - is in its strength. Even the greatest legend will not touch me if it is divided among hundreds . And you know what?”

Cainabel sighed, - “You failed in one. But that was enough.”

Altera lowered her blade. Her gaze fixed on the ground..

“Oh, no need to be so distraught,” Cainabel laughed, enjoying the effect. “You are not the first nor will you  be the last to break your teeth trying to bite me. You have simply become one of hundreds of thousands. Although, I have to thank you. The bright flash of light distracted me - what was I thinking? To think that I began to transform in such conditions! Oh, what shame, what a shame…”

Cainabel shook her head, after which she smiled at Altera, “Although, admittedly, your skill intrigued me a little. At first it seemed to me that it was necromancy but then you did that trick with the ground... What an interesting skill. I’m sure that My Lord would have liked to see it.”

“Hmm, maybe in this case we can make a deal?” Cainabel looked at Altera, and then took a step back, shaking her head in mock thought, “I can introduce you as my new... Pet doggie. I am sure that My Lord will allow you to run alongside me. If you don’t bite, of course.”

Altera froze.

A new feeling.

Another feeling she had never experienced before.

She walked toward her goal. Killed. Fought. Won. Lost. And she got up and went into battle again.

But she never experienced this feeling.

This determination.

Altera looked up.

‘If I passed one barrier out of two, it means that the Phantasm itself was too weak... My Noble Phantasm parameter is one of the highest, then the problem lies in the strength of the Noble Phantasm itself. It means... that I have to resort to the second one.”

Cainabel saw the determination in Altera's eyes. Frankly, she was expecting it, but one could dream... Altera was not bad at all... Keeping her as a tame dog could even be fun.

A second later, chains of bones pierced the ground beneath Altera’s feet, breaking through the ground like snakes woven from bones, instantly wrapping their arms around Altera’s body.

Altera jerked forward intending to break it, but a new set of bone snakes burst from the ground, then another and another.

“Chains of Unlife,” Cainabel declared, looking at the trapped Servant. Altera could easily break one chain, two, three, even from a dozen... However, the Yggdrasil spell reformed over and over again, creating new chains. Ten, twenty, thirty...

After a few moments, the chains wrapped around the whole body of Altera, depriving her of the ability to even budge her body. Cainabel looked at Altera almost regretfully.

“I didn’t even fight with the hundredth of a thousandth of my strength” - Cainabel shook her head - “Why are you all so stubborn and stupid?”

After a second, all the chains on Altera suddenly disappeared, turning into pure mana. After another second, the mana from the chains suddenly began to be absorbed into Altera's body, restoring her strength.

“Oh, again another interesting skill” - Cainabel correctly understood the reason for the chain’s disappearance.

“Teardrop…” -Altera reversed her grip on her blade, pointing the hilt of the blade at Cainabel. She just sighed.

“You don’t learn, do you?” - looking at the red crystal slowly glowing in the hilt of the blade, Cainabel grabbed her umbrella. It seems that this is the end...

Altera understood that these were her last seconds. Even if she manages to kill Cainabel, her second Phantasm will strike at her as well. There was no path to salvation.

“Photon...” Altera looked Cainabel in the eye.

After a second, Cainabel was blasted away.

Altera, the perfect war machine, capable of waging any battle no matter the the environment... She experienced yet another new emotion.

Surprise.

Altera blinked in surprise at the blade that had knocked Cainabel from her place.

It was a huge, two-handed blade made of black metal and decorated with gold. However, what was even stranger is that this huge blade was held with one hand.

Holding the blade was a man three meters tall, dressed in ornate armor made of black metal and gold, a man with bronze skin and red pupils on a black sclera.

“Sorry for the wait!” Boudica's voice made Altera blink and look away. Next to the huge Servant was her deputy, Boudica, smiling at Altera.

New emotion. A whole whirlwind of new emotions.

Joy. Relief. Hope.

“Oh, you’ve got no tact at all!” - however, Cainabel, for whom the blow of the new Servant was akin to a light slap in the face, again made herself known. Rising slowly from the ground, where she had been thrown back to, Cainabel shook her head.

A new emotion, though now familiar to Altera, rose again in her. Despair.

“Why did you come here?” Altera glanced at Boudica. It was a lost battle and Boudica should not have...

“Where else?” Boudica was indignant for a second at Altera’s question. “We are allies. Yes, and probably... Friends. So, leader?”

Allies. Yes. Logical.

Friends... Illogical. Absolutely illogical. It makes no sense in these conditions. The battle was lost.

New emotion.

Gratitude.

Altera felt her lips tremble.

“Is that a... Smile?!” Boudica looked in horror at Altera's face.

Altera, realizing what had happened, fixed her expression, returning to cold professionalism once again.

“Distract her,” Altera answered coldly, “I need time... then run away.”

“Oh, it’s vomit-inducing,” Cainabel said slowly, after which she looked at Boudica, then at the new Servant, “Oh, what a pity that I will not be able to enjoy killing you separately... But such is life.”

“And when you already made such an effort to get me to kill you,” Cainabel sighed, then slowly extended her hand forward.

Altera felt goosebumps running down her back.

So many new emotions in this battle. So many new sensations...

“Then let me show you a trick,” Cainabel sighed. “My first Phantasm...”

Altera got ready to strike. Boudica pulled her blade from its sheath. The new Servant braced his hand on his sword for a new strike. Cainabel only grinned even more.

“Lord…” - and in an instant when the battle was to go to its final phase, Cainabel suddenly froze in place. She bowed instantly.

The unexpected actions made Altera wary of a surprise attack.

For several incredibly long seconds, Cainabel was silent before she stood up.

“Hmm, you can live,” Cainabel said aloud, after which a moment later she disappeared in the radiance of light.

Altera was silent for a second, trying to comprehend what had just happened, before She slowly allowed her lips to form a smile

When Cainabel teleported away, her hair was a bit disheveled.

***

High Tier Immunity

Perhaps this could be called one of the defining principles of Yggdrasil instead of a skill.

“There are obstacles that are simply impossible to be overcomed.”

It doesn’t matter how strong, smart and prepared you are - some things simply cannot be done. If you attack someone who is immune to physical damage - even if the parameter of your physical attack is off the charts, and the enemy is only a weak ghost - if he is immune to physical damage - then you will not inflict any damage on him. Simply because these are the rules.

As applied to the owner of this ‘ability’, this set of circumstances will be interpreted differently.

This is a certain principle of the existence of life "power is everything." It is possible to be smart. It’s possible to be clever. It is possible to be prepared. But in the end, it all comes down only to power and to whether or not you possess enough power . “Might makes right” - and nothing more nothing less.