Medea was a Mage, not a brute, who could keep losing arms and legs and remain unaffected.
Yet, in this Holy Grail War, she had been through these mutilations many times already.
As the shadow of a corrupt Divine Spirit loomed over all, blanketing the starry sky, she crawled on the ground, inching away from the battlefield.
She had no Command Spells to power her anymore.
She had no Mana to use Rule Breaker anymore.
She had no strength to do anything…
Her nails came apart as she grabbed a stone and pulled herself away as Gorgon annihilated the wretches who thought they had defeated her.
All that majestic display of power for nothing!
For a moment, Medea even contemplated just… letting go. Why must she suffer like a common wench, bleeding and aching all over? Hadn't she done enough already? She was the Grand Witch, not a foot soldier!
"… Fuck you, Black!" Medea cursed, her eyes spewing murder. "It was you! You made me fall in love with you!! Fuck you!!!"
A hand reached out from nowhere and pulled her down.
Other than letting out a gasp, Medea couldn't even feel pain as the hand dragged her body at the speed of a bullet into a pit.
It was Berserker.
Not the same black, beastly one, but a handsome one, wearing a white suit and pants.
"… For a fucking Berserker, you sure like to hide too much, don't you?!" Medea hissed, grinding her teeth.
Kai's mouth twitched.
In Caster's opinion, Kai and Black weren't the same, despite being connected somehow.
Other than the Deep Ones, seeing someone's Source wasn't a common thing, no matter how powerful a Heroic Spirit one was.
If it wasn't for Black's exclusive command to follow Berserker's every order without questioning them, Medea would have left Kai ages ago… and died as a consequence.
The only thing that was keeping Medea from succumbing to her fate in this timeline was Kai and Kai alone.
Because, at this moment, even Black wasn't privy to the secrets Kai carried in his heart.
Right after seeing the future through Blood Prophecy and beginning his plan, Kai had unsynchronized himself from Black.
Kai could keep acting like Berserker, a Servant, not affecting the plan that he had put into motion.
Meanwhile, Black needed to actively act as if there was no plan at all.
It wouldn't have happened if Kai and Black's AIs had kept sharing data.
Not to mention, during Kai's battle with Lancer, and as Black and others were fighting Jeanne d'Arc to save Sakura, the Ad Infinitum had strengthened that Unsynchronization as well.
So, at this moment, seeing the Gorgon surviving the blow that was enough to take down any other Servant many times over, Black was as shocked as any other Character.
Kai… wasn't.
Because he remembered that he was still — Unlucky.
"The Greater Grail was using Sakura as its core," Kai explained as the ground quaked with Gorgon's tiniest slither. "Now that it has lost Sakura, it has planted its eyes on Gorgon. It wasn't like Ruler, Saber, and Rider's Noble Phantasms failed. It was just… before Gorgon could have died, she received Angra Mainyu's full attention, becoming Shadow Gorgon."
Medea's eyes gained a hard look.
"… How do you know all this?!" she asked, refusing to believe that a Berserker would know things that even she couldn't figure out. Not instantly, at least. "And you are wrong. A Heroic Spirit cannot become a Core…"
"I never said she would become a Core," Kai countered. "With Gorgon receiving all the powers from the Greater Grail's curses, it's natural that it needs a Mage to stabilize itself and continue Angra Mainyu's incarnation."
"… Who?!" Medea gasped.
She remembered everyone on the battlefield.
Among the Mages, only the Lich and Kirei Kotomine were remaining on the battlefield from the enemy side. The Greater Grail wouldn't choose Lich because it was a creature like her Master — someone from outside. And Kirei Kotomine was already corrupt, with a heart made of Curses. He had never even been alive, per se. So…
"… Sigh…" Kai sighed. "If the Greater Grail needs a Core, it will find it, one way or another."
"… WHY?!" Medea shouted, blood trickling down her chin as she remembered Black.
"Because…" Kai smirked, commanding Selene to keep gossiping about him, "… everything that can go wrong — will go wrong."
…
Black had rarely felt weak.
But the Key Fate timeline had, for once, put him in his place.
As he looked at the towering Avenger Class Servant, Gorgon, being directly connected to Angra Mainyu, Black remembered the time when he had been lying nonchalantly on a sofa in Gryffindor's Common Room two years ago.
Bored. Lazy. Contemplating separating himself into chunks of flesh to make things exciting.
Now, as his lips dried, Black… chuckled, sensing the irony.
At the end of the day, Kai was just a Contestant and he was still an Item.
Even if the Grail Heart within him had been allowing him to continuously use Skills after Skills, without worrying about the lack of Mana, there was only that much he could do to a Servant that… made even him feel fear.
Black laughed, involuntarily devouring that fear to push his HP to maximum.
What could go wrong now? He asked himself, holding his head. Wasn't it… already the worst?
And then, as if the thought itself was a cursed one, a scream echoed in the surroundings.
Black and a pale-faced Shirou suddenly snapped their heads toward Betty Shaw. Even in the darkness, they could see his chest rising — as if something was trying to burst out…
Black's pupils widened, seeing a cursed fate.
"SHIROU!!!" He shouted, booming toward Betty Shaw.
Just as Black blurred into existence over the Order's Contestant, raising his leg high, a fist landed on his side.
With a CRACK, Black was sent flying, Kirei Kotomine letting out a corrupt breath.
His entire body was spewing wisps of blackness, and even his corrupt heart was visible, pulsating like an ugly alien creature.
Then, with one stomp, Kirei trampled Betty Shaw's chest, blood splattering everywhere.
"Dear audience…" From the mutilated body, an evil worm came flying out… carrying a Video Camera on its back. "… guess, who's back?! Haha!!!"
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