Dio took a deep breath as he slowly walked down the stairs towards the first floor of the school, unable to help his hands from clenching up and feeling a bit clammy.
It was the 7th Day.
The day of the first true battle, where he would enter the Arena and only one living person would walk out of that arena alive- him or Shinji with their respective servant.
Even for all his power, Dio couldn't help but feel... Anxious. Perhaps it was because his power hadn't truly settled in his mind yet, but even with his absolute faith in Nobunaga he still felt a bit nervous for what was to come.
He shook his head, banishing the thoughts from his mind. Feeling nervous would do him nothing right now- he had to fight, and he had to win. He'd walked through hell, and this Grail War? It was perhaps his only chance of seeing Heaven within this world.
And, even if he lost, he could just go to someone else's world. His soul was also immortal; the Moon Cell couldn't erase him if it tried.
Dio tapped into Buddha's Enlightenment and forced himself to calm, keeping himself focused. He was the master of himself, and he wouldn't let himself die at the starting line.
He stood in front of Kotomine Kirei- something like the head NPC- who smiled and nodded at him. "Welcome, Challenger," he stepped aside, revealing the door to the Elevator they would need to go down that was covered in a purple barrier. "In order to open this door, you will require the Two Cipher Keys from within the Arena. Now, present the proof of your conquest and the battle can begin."
Dio reached out with his Terminal, and two fragments of green light emerged- transforming into Key Cards. They slot themselves into place within the barrier. It glowed brilliantly before shattering, the doors sliding open to reveal the Elevator they would be travelling down.
"Let's go, Archer."
"Yes, Master."
They both stepped into the Elevator, the doors closing behind them, before it began to descend.
The wall of the elevator became invisible, revealing Shinji standing with Drake on the other side.
Shinji didn't look smug; he didn't look happy; he looked angry and a bit nervous as he glared daggers at Dio. "You... You hacked the Arena after I did and replaced the Treasure, didn't you?"
"You think I'd let you power up your Rider so easily?" Dio smirked at him and cast his gaze over to the busty Rider. "Francis Drake, it's an honour... Though, that won't stop my Servant from taking you out."
Drake smirked in amusement. "I'd expect nothing less... You played this war well- damaging my Golden Hind like that..."
"You mean the Pelican?"
Her smile faded and she glared. "It is NOT the Pelican!" She snapped, a blush of embarrassment coming to her face.
Dio merely laughed, finding Drake's reaction to the original name of her flagship to be adorable. "Alright, alright, I was just teasing you. I feel bad for you, being stuck with this seaweed head for a Master... If you'd ended up in someone else's hands, like mine, you'd be strong enough to conquer the war by the second week."
"Oi! Don't insult me!" Shinji's eyes narrowed, disgruntled and even more nervous now that he knew Dio knew his Servant's True Name. "Even without the treasure, Drake will still defeat you!"
"We'll see," Dio told him dismissively.
"You...! I was even going to offer you a chance to quit while you're ahead, but I'll just go ahead and crush you!"
Dio just smiled at him as the elevator finally came to a halt.
The four of them stepped out of their exits and turned to face one another in the middle of the arena- Nobu with Dio supporting her on one side, and Drake with Shinji supporting her on the other.
Their eyes both narrowed at one another...
And then, Nobu and Drake aimed their guns at the other and fired without hesitation.
Bullets met bullets in a violent explosion as both Dio and Shinji backed up, the two servants charging in and starting their brutal clash.
The opening of the match was a contest of ranged attacks. Drake summoned her Culverin, while Nobu called forth dozens of muskets as they began to bombard one another with raw gunfire- trying to establish authority in ranged combat between the two.
"Code Cast: Gain_Omni."
Dio's hacking activated in full force, rainbow light surging around Nobu as all her stats leapt in strength.
The Demon King's grin widened as more muskets manifested, and Drake was forced to grab Shinji and jump away to avoid the force behind her attacks as they crashed against where Drake had been standing- leaving craters in the ground.
"Uwahh!" Shinji cried out and began typing furiously. "T- Take this! Code Cast: Shock!"
A beam of yellow light fired like a bullet, aimed straight at Nobunaga!
She just laughed and sliced the attack in two with a swing of her sword, charging straight at Drake once again.
Drake tossed Shinji away to safety and charged right back at Nobu, attacking at close range with her guns and trying to get a clean shot on the Archer- but failing at every turn.
It wasn't looking good for Drake, not at all. With Dio's buffs to Nobu, her stats were now either equal or Greater to Drake's own with the exception of her Luck Stat.
The only thing helping Drake keep up was the fact that she was faster than Nobu- her B-Rank Agility helped her keep slightly ahead, even though Nobu's agility had also been buffed to B-Rank.
"Tch, this isn't working," Shinji murmured. "Code Cast: Shock!"
Another yellow bullet unleashed, this one forcing Nobu to leap back in order dodge. It created distance between her and Drake once again.
"Rider, enough messing around! Unleash it! Bring out the Armada!"
Drake's eyes narrowed, but she knew Shinji was right. With Nobu having superior stats or equal stats to her, and her self-strengthening skill offline thanks to having no treasure, the only chance they had was pinning their hopes on Drake's Noble Phantasm being stronger.
Nobunaga... No, Dio Vincenzo was simply too powerful of an enemy. It was time for an all or nothing gamble.
"Remember my name by the death from my passing!"
The seas trembled as a massive ship- her flagship, the Golden Hind- leapt out from underneath her, lifting her high up into the air. She aimed her gun down at Nobu, ripples manifesting in the air behind her.
"The King of Ghosts, a Storm of Night!"
Out of those ripples emerged a fleet of ghost ships, crawling out from the depths as they were called forth by the King of Storms who conquered the seas.
"Nobu," Dio spoke up. "Do it."
Nobunaga grinned widely as she sheathed her sword, a rifle manifesting in her hand as she aimed both at Drake. Her crimson eyes glowed with pure joy as the mana within her body surged.
"Run. Fear for your lives- for you are about to witness what Hell truly is."
The ground around Nobu burned and spread out behind her, the image of a mountain burning in the distance appearing. From the ground emerged a horrifying, massive skeleton- charred black and yet shiny with crimson flames burning in its eyes as gigantic muskets manifested around it aimed straight at Drake.
"Return the Gods, Buddha, and the three realms to Dust!"
The Skeleton, the land around Nobu, the guns... They all burned. Burned in the flames of the Hell Nobunaga, the Demon King, had created.
Drake's eyes narrowed as every ship readied their cannons- ready for what would either be Drake's winning move... Or her losing one.
"I am the woman who set the sun!"
The two heroic spirit's eyes met.
"Papiyas Metamorphosis - Demon King of the Sixth Heaven!"
"Golden Wild Hunt!"
From the muskets unleashed crimson red blasts of pure power, surging through the sea and burning land like evil incarnate.
From the cannons unleashed beams of pure white, like starlight soaring through the skies.
Starlight met Evil.
A shockwave rippled through the area, Dio only just able to hold his ground while Shinji cried out as he was sent flying and crashed against the wall of the Arena.
Shinji typed like a madman, trying to buff Drake with as many Code Casts as he could- trying to make her just that little bit more powerful in order to win.
Dio? He merely lifted tapped a single button on the virtual keyboard.
"Code Cast: Rider_Advantage."
The symbol of the Rider Class manifested as a temporary tattoo on Nobunaga's body.
The stalemate between them came to an end.
Evil tore through Starlight, surging towards Drake and her fleet without any signs of stopping.
Drake merely closed her eyes, tilting her head up. She didn't try to run... What Captain would flee while the ship fell? If she died- then she would die with her ship.
"What a shame..." She murmured as her figure was shrouded in a crimson glow. "It was really fun..."
BOOOOOOOOOM!
Smoke filled the ocean as the fleet of ships exploded into a violent display. The burning land behind Nobu vanished, along with the giant skeleton and muskets- disappearing as Nobu dispelled the partial release of her Reality Marble.
"No..." Shinji whispered. "Th- this is a joke, right? Oi, El Draque! Answer me! Stop playing around! ANSWER ME DAMN IT!"
But no matter how much he screamed, he received no answer.
"Let's go," Dio told Nobu, turning and heading back towards the Elevator.
"You...!" Shinji roared. "Damn you! Damn you!! Just wait until I get back to the real world! I'll find all your information, I'll spread it everywhere! You'll be-!"
A red wall of data emerged between them, and Shinji gasped in pain as his body began to blacken- a sickly void started to coat his body like a second skin.
"W- What the hell's going on!?" He cried out. "I- I've never logged off like this!"
"You really thought this was a game, huh?" Dio looked back at him with pure apathy. "Sadly, for you, Shinji, it wasn't lore... The loser is erased. Killed. They die. And the Winner moves on."
Shinji's eyes widened with horror. "N- No! This can't be happening!" He tried typing on his keyboard, but it would no longer manifest for him. The Moon Cell already considered him dead.
He began to cry as he writhed around. "No! Please! This can't be! I'm only eight-years-old! I can't die yet!! I'm a winner! I'M A WINNER!"
"UWWWWAAHHHHHHHH!!"
With a final, desperate cry, Shinji Matou vanished into the ether...
The red barrier wall vanished as though it had never been there in the first place, no longer having a purpose now that the loser had been punished.
Dio stared for a moment at the place where Shinji had been. His first victim, with six more left to go.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, centering himself. Not because he felt bad for what he did to Shinji, but because- with Shinji and Rider's deaths- he felt a wave of relief rush through his body. It felt as though he had pushed past and cleared a difficult obstacle- a mental barrier that was now washed away.
"Nobu," he glanced at her. "Was it fun?"
She looked at him and then grinned slowly. "Yeah, Master. It was a ton of fun."
"Is that so...?" He closed his eyes with a smile. "Then I'm glad. Let's go and have dinner."
Nobunaga cheered as the two of them stepped back into the elevator, leaving behind the battlefield of broken ships and delusional dreams.
When the two stepped out, Rin was waiting for them, a hand on her hips as she eyed Dio with a hint of relief in her eyes. "So, you managed to survive," she noted.
"Don't sound so surprised," he told her. "I plan to win. No matter who gets in my way. I made that choice the second I joined the Holy Grail War."
"You're right," she nodded. "I would say don't forget it, but given who you are... You're the least likely one to forget such a thing."
He smiled in wry amusement. "You are, indeed, correct."
Rin smirked. "I'll see you around... Oh, and congratulations," she made her way over to the stairs and walked up them, a soft sway in her hips as she left.
Dio took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reaching out and patting Nobu's head as they headed up the stairs towards their own room.
One down... Six to go.
***
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