Reappearing in a forested area, Mordred wasted no time. She held Incursio in front of her.
'Should I force Incursio to evolve? On one hand, I get a power boost and wings, on the other, I might potentially turn into a dragon, and my body will merge with it. But that only happened in the manga, in the anime the armor just became a better armor. But then again, Tatsumi died right after he forced evolve Incursio so maybe it could have happened anyway.'
'Tatsumi also never managed to tame his teigu, not like how Esdeath forcefully tamed hers. So as long as I have enough willpower, I don't have to worry about being merged with Incursio and losing my sense of self.'
'I think...'
'Oh well, I guess I won't find out unless I try.'
A torrent of energy erupted around her, the red gem inserted in the hilt of the sword began to glow bright. Both Mordred's and Incursio's energies seemed to be fighting for dominance as both clashed violently as the true form of Incursio, the danger beast known as Tyrant began to take shape around Mordred.
Its maws opened above Mordred, intent to devour her at the slightest sign of weakness. But Mordred was smiling the entire time. In her eyes, this was nothing compared to getting thrown around by the Herrscher or even her father.
She didn't need to tame this beast like a traditional wild animal. No, the most optimal way to tame it, was to beat it into submission!
...
The entire city was covered in thick clouds of ash and smoke. Everyone who was watching couldn't help but remain tense as the minutes passed. They didn't know whether the nuclear attack worked or not.
They couldn't even detect the Herrscher with just how dense the Honkai radiation that was released by the two nukes.
Yet Fire Moth did not remain idle. Every nuclear launch site under their command was primed and ready at any given second. They didn't want to sacrifice an entire continent, but at this point, they had no other options available to them.
Meanwhile, the ruined city had become deathly quiet. With no sounds other than the harsh wind.
Until finally, movement was detected. The immense cloud of smoke and ash that covered the crater was blown away with a raging inferno, revealing the still living Herrscher.
The Herrscher's body was battered and wounded, the nukes seemed to have caused heavy damage. But those wounds were healing at a visible rate, within an hour or two, it will be as if it didn't just tank two nuclear detonations at point blank.
It flew out of the crater and looked toward the untouched parts of the continent. But instead of flying there to destroy it, the Herrscher chose another option. It began to gather large amounts of Honkai energy into a massive fireball that kept growing every second. Just as humanity chose to drop a bomb to kill it, it would return the favor. Adopting their strategy, the Herrscher would create a ball of fire, capable of scorching the entire continent.
But, on a distant skyscraper that still managed to stand upright, a figure clad in armor stood, eyeing the Herrscher like a hawk. Mordred stood on the edge of the building, her armor noticeably different than before. Now sleeker and more dragon like, with the gauntlets appearing like claws. And the most noticeable difference was the pair of dragon-like wings on her back.
"Ava, I'm going to do something really stupid, so I need you to have the teleport ready."
[Do you have a specific destination in mind?]
"Um, not really. Just pick any world I've been to so far. Oh, and make sure I'm teleported to an unpopulated area."
She began flexing her wings, getting used to the weight and balance of them. Despite never having flown before, she could feel that she knew how. The only explanation she could think of was that it was Incursio's doing.
On the very edge of the buildings, she crouched into a position, as if she was about to start a sprint. She took a single deep breath, before her mana flared up around her.
On her back, parts of the armor shifted into what resembled thrusts, now powering up with her mana.
The Herrscher noticed this spike in energy nearby, but it didn't have time to act on it, as in the next second, Mordred shot forth with unprecedented speed.
In the blink of an eye, she had already crossed the gap between them, but instead of attacking the Herrscher, her arms grabbed the Herrscher into what was basically a bear hug.
'Now Ava!'
The familiar magic circle appeared around them before their bodies disappeared from sight in a bright flash. Now the city was truly devoid of life...
And like a fiery meteor, both crashed down into a icy wasteland, the sun was low and there was no sign of civilization in sight.
The Herrscher shoved Mordred away with a quick blast to her chest, sending both of them skidding across the ice. The Herrscher stood up and noticed something was different. This place gave off a very uncomfortable feeling, like it shouldn't be here.
Mordred straightened slowly. One wing hung at an awkward angle, scorched and torn, but it didn't matter. Seeing the Herrscher's confused state, she could only assume her stupid plan she came up with in a second actually worked, or had some affect.
The plan revolved around something she had read on a forum about Herrscher's. The core is powered by Honkai energy which is a form of imaginary energy that is obtained through a sort of connection with the imaginary tree.
It was complicated and she could hardly understand. Didn't help that everyone in the forum was arguing over whose way of explaining it was right.
But what she knew is that this connection gave the Herrscher a pretty much limitless source of energy to run rampant. So, what if she cut that connection? And more importantly, could she cut it?
Even the slightest connection to the tree would power the Herrscher, so what if you moved the Herrscher from the Hoyoverse to a completely different universe where the concept of Imaginary energy doesn't exist.
With zero connection, there would be nothing to continuously power the Herrscher core. The idea was so brilliant, she would kiss herself if she could.
'Now on to the next step of the plan.'
Mordred reached into her inventory and pulled out a syringe with a strange gold liquid inside it. And then she switched to her status page.
[Class: Saber --> Berserker]
[Class Skill Obtained: Mad Enhancement D-Rank]
And with zero hesitation, she brought the syringe to her neck and injected the gold liquid into herself.
[Enhancement drug: All stats increase by 50% for 10 minutes. After the timer ends, leaves the user in a weakened state]
The gold liquid burned through her veins as if her blood was on fire. Her whole body seized up, muscles tore and were knit back together in the same instant.
Once the effect had fully taken, she used [Mad Enhancement]. Her thoughts narrowed down to simple impulses, her mana flared around her as [Mana Burst] was driven to its limit.
Her body lunged forward.
The damaged left wing screeched as it snapped off. Thrusters along her back and legs flared bright crimson. Holding Clarent in her right hand, the blade trailing red lightning that crackled against the cold air.
The Herrscher met her charge.
Why didn't Mordred just leave the Herrscher? She didn't know how much energy the Herrscher had, but she made an overestimate and assumed they were running on a full tank.
And with that much energy, she couldn't just let the Herrscher run rampant unchecked in this world. And the fastest way to get the Herrscher to use up all that energy, was combat.
Besides, she had glanced at the quest tab earlier and saw that a quest for defeating the Herrscher. Problem was, it had to be through combat. And the rewards, were very good, how could she not resist. So, what if she got beaten up? So, what if she was at a near death state? It wouldn't be the first time.
When it came to combat, Mordred was the type of throw hands first rather than wait and strategize. Perhaps her past self, still stuck on that ruined world would be cautious about every fight, preparing everything to make sure if something went wrong, she could adapt.
But after getting this power, and her memories as Mordred returning to her. Her fighting habits that had been ingrained through campaigns, returned.
Now, both of them were running on borrowed time.
Either way, the Herrscher loses, it's just a matter of when.
...
...
On the bridge of the Fraxinus, Kotori Itsuka sat with her legs crossed, chin resting on her hand as she watched the bridge's main monitor with her signature lollipop. Her expression was bored, as Tohka was laughing at something Shiori said, her cheeks puffed out with a mouthful of kinako bread. The date was going perfectly normal, there was no need to interfere in anyway. Shiori had enough experience to at least do dates with Tohka without assistance. Though then again, Tohka was quite a simple girl.
Kotori allowed herself a small smile around her lollipop stick.
Then every alarm on the bridge went off at once.
Red lights flashed across the bridge and warning sirens wailed. Officers quickly snapped to their stations.
"Major spatial distortion detected!" Kawagoe shouted from his seat. "Antarctic region, magnitude comparable to a large-scale spacequake! Two distinct signatures broadcasting!"
Kotori's smile had vanished, and she leaned forward at her own console. "Show it."
The main screen changed from a camera feed of Shiori's date, to data on the spacequake. Her eyes narrowed at the screen. "Knight?"
Why was knight in the Arctic? There has never been a case of a spacequake appearing in that region. In recent time, they've all been occurring in Japan, so why there?
Then she saw the second signature. Just like Knight, an unknown energy signature was emitted off this spirit that normal spirits didn't have, yet it was also different from Knight.
"Commander, energy spikes are constant and violent. Both signatures are clashing repeatedly!" Kotori could see it in the data, she could already guess what was going on. When trained for this role, she was made aware of how to read all the data before her, and her guess, both spirits were fighting.
Who? Well, each other obviously. DEM had no known facilities in the Arctic, and even if they did, it would be small and hidden and definitely wouldn't have the personnel to make two spirits fluctuate such high energy levels.
As of right now, they had no eyes in the region. And could only rely on advanced sensors.
Kotori hit the comm switch to communicate with her sister.
"Onee-san, date's over. An emergency has happened, we're going to teleport you and Tohka back on the Fraxinus."
On the ground, Shiori blinked as the usual teleport effect happened around her and Tohka. Tohka swallowed her bread in surprise, quickly grabbing as much as she could in her arms before she was transported on the ship's teleportation room.
"Eh? Kotori?"
"A new spirit has showed up, and Knight is currently in battle with them. Based on the readings, it's not looking good, so I'm pulling everyone on board."
"Mordred-san? Is she okay?" She asked.
Kotori replied. "That remains unknown. Now that everyone is aboard, we're setting sail." As soon as she finished speaking, the ship's engines roared and began moving the ship at an accelerated pace.
"Where?"
"Antarctica." Origami stared at the information before her, she had already geared up before everyone else, ready to deploy at anytime.
Ryouko Kusakabe walked up behind her and smacked the top of her head with a clipboard. "Don't even think about it."
"But why? There are two spirits!"
Ryouko let out a heavy sigh, this girl was too hot headed when it came to spirits. "The spirits appeared in Antarctica, the AST is a part of the JSDF. We have no jurisdiction to operate outside of Japan, and I doubt we will ever get the approval to do so."
Ryouko was grateful the spirits appeared outside of Japan, leave the problem to someone else, we are still licking our wounds.
"Commander!" A girl dressed similarly to Origami ran up to the commander. "The high-ups called for you." She said as she held out a communication device to Ryouko.
"Great, what do they want now." She muttered before taking the device and putting it to her ear.
She maintained an expression of professionalism, then it became disbelief, then finally anger. "Are you out of your mind?! Court martial me if you want, we aren't going!" She threw the device against the wall, leaving the two girls watching surprised.
Ryouko turned to face them. "We aren't deploying, everyone is to go home. Am I clear?"
""Yes"" both replied right away.
Meanwhile, DEM had also detected the two spirits in the Arctic. Normally they wouldn't deploy their own forces, but now that two spirits with completely different energies were fighting in a region outside of Ratatoskr's influence, it was the best time to move.
An airship similar to the Fraxinus was quickly loaded with wizards before setting off to the ice.
...
The fight dragged on.
The Herrscher who had initially dominated the fight by remaining in the sky and raining down hell with large scale attacks, was now grounded and struggling to keep up in melee.
But it wasn't enough. Mordred's timer was already halfway up, and the Herrscher still looked like it could keep going. At this rate, Mordred would lose.
She had thought up of a plan B, but acting on that plan would be exceedingly difficult. Under the effects of [Mad Enhancement] just keeping a somewhat level head was a heavy task.
All she needed was an opening, just a few seconds and she was confident she would win.
But how could she create the opening she needed?
'I've got enough mana for one more Noble Phantasm...'
Enough for only one more and nothing else. Releasing her Noble Phantasm would leave her helpless. It doesn't matter if the timer on the enhancement drug wasn't up yet, her mana would be depleted.
She dodged a scorching flame whip, before closing the distance and beginning a one-handed over-head swing with her sword. The Herrscher responded with flames blossoming into a compact shield, enough to block the blow.
But the sword never connected with the shield as it never came down. Instead, a powerful fist slammed into the Herrscher's gut. Air burst from them in a soundless gasp as their body folded around the impact.
Then without wasting a second, the sword in Mordred's hand disappeared into motes of light and with her now free hand, seizing the Herrscher by the head, and wrenching them down into her rising knee strengthened by mana.
The impact snapped their head back, a sharp crack echoing through the air. The world seemed to tilt, its' vision blurring as they staggered in place, flames flickering erratically around their body at the momentarily loss of control.
Clarent appeared in Mordred's hands, now two handing the greatsword. Holding the sword low at her side, the blade pointing behind her. Crimson lightning violently erupted around her.
"CLARENT!"
The blade was covered in a bright crimson.
"BLOOD ARTHUR!"
Swinging her sword horizontally, a beam of concentrated mana was released, racing at the still dazed Herrscher, who after regaining some vision, looked up to see nothing but crimson red.
BOOM
In an instant, torrents of molten energy met the frozen ground, and the surrounding ice vaporized violently, erupting in a towering geyser of steam. The air was ripped apart from the pressure, throwing chunks of ice flying in all directions.
Within seconds, the entire area was covered in a dense rolling mist of steam, visibility dropped to mere meters, and then... a deathly silence.
The Herrscher laid on the icy floor, struggling to get up.
Then, the crunching of ice under heavy boots.
The Herrscher looked toward the source of the sound, as it slowly got closer and closer.
And from the dense mist, a horned figure emerged.
The Herrscher weakly raised its hand, a ball of fire gathering. Mordred grabbed its wrist and the fire ball was launched into the sky.
Within her other hand, held a syringe which she stabbed into the Herrscher's neck.
"Take a nap for me." Mordred said, then injected the contents inside the Herrscher. Taking a step back, she watched it work its magic instantly.
The Herrscher screamed in pain.
Its body arched violently, fingers clawing at the ice hard enough to crack it. Flames flickered wildly around it, unstable, lashing out in short bursts before collapsing in on themselves.
From the Herrscher's chest, strands of energy pushed their way out, stretching into the open air, forming a tangled mass that kept expanding.
Gazing at it, it looked like a nervous system, pulsing in pain.
The sight made Mordred uncomfortable. She had a feeling something like this would happen, she had watched the Final Lesson and saw what happened to Kiana when the serum was used on her. But seeing it in person, was a very different feeling.
'There goes all my points... I'm dirt broke now...' She could only hope that the quest completion would give her plenty of points.
Then suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her body. The enhancement drug had finally worn off. She collapsed to her knees, her breathing was ragged and short, every breathe she took was painful. Mordred had no doubts that her lungs were damaged, most likely from the broken bones in her body.
She felt so weak, like she would pass out at any moment.
Her body was a mess. Her left arm was broken and limp. It had been broken during the fight, but she kept using it without care, worsening the damage. Her right eye was closed. Every time she opened it, all she saw was red through it. Burns, bruises and cuts all over her body. And the internal injuries which she couldn't see but feel.
'I feel like shit... I don't think I've ever been in a state as bad as this... no wait, I have... twice.'
Then, she heard the roaring of engines. Gazing up, she saw a massive warship descend from the clouds, and from the hanger of the ship, multiple people flew out like bees from a hive.
'That's... AST? No, DEM. So, I'm in the world of Date A Live?' When she brought the Herrscher over, she didn't care what world she ended up in, but now, she was regretting that careless choice.
'Vultures...' Was what she thought of them. Like third partier's that show up out of nowhere in battle royal games, she hated them, even though she also participated in the act. But now... now, she was all the more eager to drive Clarent through Isaac's chest.
Using her sword as support, she slowly rose to her feet.
"I've got one last fight in me..."
In reality, she had zero confidence in winning this fight. With how weakened and injured she was, on top of her mana reserves being depleted, her only real option was just to grab Himeko and teleport again. Though that came with a risk, she wasn't sure if her injuries would worsen from the teleportation since it did have a physical effect on her. Evidence of her first few teleports that always made her throw up. And even if she did teleport, she was sure that she would have no strength to move. Even now, standing on her feet and remaining conscious was a monumental task. How would she get help? She and the Herrscher, wherever they ended up, would just lay there and die from their wounds.
She was really out of options.
But before she could even take a step, a sudden storm was approaching...
Hurricane like winds erupted around DEM forces, and two figures shot out from the dark clouds and began attacking them.
Then a bright flash appeared behind Mordred, catching her attention. She turned around and saw three familiar figures. Shiori, Tohka and Yoshino.
"Mordred!" Yelled out Shiori as she ran up to Mordred, no longer using formalities.
Disbelief filled her, then she accepted it."...Heh, hehe... ahahaha!" She couldn't help but laugh, 'Should I consider myself fortunate or unfortunate that my luck only seems to kick in when I'm on the verge of death?'
"Mordred?"
"Shiori, I would say you're late to the party, but..." Looking up to the skies where the two airships were now exchanging fire and the two spirits who she assumed were the twins fighting DEM wizards. "It seems you brought a party of your own..."
As soon as Shiori got close, Mordred collapsed in front of her. Shiori reached out to catch her but underestimated just how heavy Mordred was in armor. Causing her to nearly fall as well.
"...Sorry to do this too you... but I'm going to leave the rest to you... if that hot-headed woman over there wakes up before me, just knock her out..."
"What?" Shiori wanted to ask more, but Mordred had already fell unconscious. The armor around Mordred disappeared as Incursio returned to its sword state, plunging into the snow next to them.
'Is this, her angel?' Shiori thought, but her thoughts were ended by Kotori who suddenly spoke loudly in the earpiece.
"Onee-san! Secure Knight and the unknown spirit now! We'll teleport you back onboard. We have to leave before reinforcements show up!"
Shiori nodded, and lifted Mordred's body, which was surprisingly light. Tohka carried the Himeko the former Herrscher, and Yoshino, picked up Incursio, but given the Tyrant's personality, it didn't like being held by someone it didn't like. It gave off an oppressive aura, as if the Tyrant would lunge out of the sword and devour the girl. Yoshino who could feel this aura, was terrified and had a look like she was about to cry, but she still pushed on.
As the three gathered, they were teleported back onboard. The Yamai sisters had already started retreating after dealing some damage.
With everyone back, Kotori wasted no time and ordered her crew to retreat at full speed.
Despite the speed of the Fraxinus, it would be a while before they were out of weapons range of the DEM airship. And they had to worry about potentially being intercepted by another airship, so the pressure on the crew was very high.
Meanwhile, Mordred and Himeko were moved to the med-bay. Shiori watched as the doctors started working to stabilize both spirits. And from what Shiori had heard from one of the doctors, both of them had fought to such an extent that their bodies were broken. Had they been normal humans, they easily would have died several times over from such injuries.
Now, all anyone could do now, was wait.
...
...
[A/N] I'm not going to lie, I had a hard time writing this chapter. I rewrote it probably three times now over a month. I kept getting different ideas of how I wanted the chapter to go, but then I realized how hard it would be to actually incorporate those things in, and the chapter was already very long at this point.
As for the fight, I can only describe it as throwing random bullshit at the problem until its solved.
Is it lore accurate? Probably not.
Is it fun to read? Well, I think it is.
Anyway, don't bully me for lore inconsistencies. This was really the only way I could think of Mordred beating a Herrscher. I have small brain.