Part 35: Update XXXII - What is burned in

Update XXXII - What is burned in

Music: Breach


Well the thread has chosen.



And we're saving Rani!

Music: Battle - Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea


Power surges through my feet, electrifying the air and bending the floor. Space warps around me. The distortion rips a hole in the screen. My Servant leaps toward it and the world melts into streaks. My vision goes black from the rapid acceleration. My hand tingles where the Command Seal burned off.

Sound: Heartbeats
Sound: Energy charging


When I open my eyes, I find myself in the Arena. Out of the frying pan into the fire, literally. The air sparks as the Arena begins to melt around Rani.



You...?!

Neither of them have the slightest clue about what's going on.

The magic swirling around Rani's body ebbs a bit in response to her surprise at the sudden intruder.



Before I can so much as blink, Rani's hulking Servant has turned his spear on me...!

Unfortunately, Berserker doesn't care.



Rani's order falls on deaf ears. I expected as much. Since her Servant is a Berserker, he can probably only see other Masters as enemies.

The downside to Mad Enhancement is that it makes Berserkers exceptionally poor to a sudden change in situation. They have two settings: Rip, and Tear.



Use another Command Seal, Master! If we can defend against them, the SE.RA.PH should intervene!





Stay Night, and Extra by extension, use these kinds of erratic lines for a Berserker's roars. It helps sells the 'wordless screaming' angle much better when they don't even use letters, let alone full words.



Alright, Berserker was dealing 600 damage a hit against Cu, so he'd two shot Caster's nonexistant health pool. Plus, the fact that we don't have an Info Matrix on him means we don't get any of his actions revealed.



So hell yeah I'm burning a second!





Burning a Command Seal gives a useless full heal, but it also shows every action he has.

On the plus side, we only have to survive one turn before the SE.RA.PH breaks us up.

And before you ask, no, saving a Command Seal and surviving anyways does not give you an option to use it down the line. As far as the plot is concerned, Hakuno's Command Seals cease to exist after this.



I eat a hit to see what Berserker's damage is like, and he also brings in a new command type to the fray.

Wait makes him skip his action, as the name implies. He gets the Slaking deal, where he deals massive damage but loses actions to balance it out. Caster in particular hates Wait, as it means you can't use a Curse to stun him out of his next action. Berserker decides to go Wait -> Skill? Too bad, you're eating a hit.



Yeah, this would be a lot riskier if I didn't know all his actions for the round.



The hilarious thing is that the game is treating this like a normal Master battle, so Rani chimes in even though she tried to stop Berserker five seconds ago.



Even the chip damage from Guarding an attack is high.



His Skill would probably kill me, so I pop a heal and set up with Aphotic Cave.



Aphotic Cave gives 75% damage reduction vs Skills.

That would have dealt 1200 damage if it landed cleanly! Caster doesn't even have four digits worth of health!



Thankfully, the fight ends with that.

Music: None






Cu rushes in.





Shame we can't actually, you know, show it.

CCC gets much, much better about dynamic cutscenes, but Extra is stuck with canned animations with occasional sound bites, even on major things like this.





The giant gives a bestial roar and charges at the lance wielder who impaled his Master's chest. However-



That counts as a loss, so the barrier goes up.





An impassible barrier drops down between Rin and Rani. Maybe it's because of my intrusion, or because the SE.RA.PH declared a victor.



The barrier also blocks sound for no reason, for the first and only time in the game.

Rin is shouting something, but the barrier prevents me from hearing it. She points at me, frightened— No! She's not pointing at me, but behind me at Rani! Hooked on the end of the red lance that pierced Rani is an energy core on the verge of exploding!

Music: Duel - Prelude to Confrontation


On the plus side, at least the explosion will get us before the deletion does!



We'll die if we're hit by that! We'll dieee!

Log out— I know that's what I have to do. If I just give in to the pressure wrapping around my body, I'll be back on campus soon. But, then, what about her? What about that girl who's lying wounded on the ground? A barrier separates her and Rin. I, who had fought with Berserker, was suddenly by the fallen girl— by Rani...!



She's alive...! Even though her chest is pierced through, Rani's still alive!

Yeeagh! I knew it! I knew you'd end up doing that!

Suddenly, I realize I'm running. Toward Rani, the lance that pierced her a few meters away, where the core is about to explode.

Music: Stops


I'm not listening. I gather Rani in my arms and run, waiting for the SE.RA.PH to kick me out. ...It doesn't happen in time. Faster than the SE.RA.PH can log me out, Rani's heart liguifies the area—







Sound: Explosions


Rani's Servant's body breaks apart, becoming a sort of shield for us as he runs toward the heart. I don't know if he did it to protect his Master, or simply because he saw the explosion as an "enemy." But, right before he disappears, he turns toward us with a gentle smile on his face.



...I come to in the Multimedia Room. The Command Seal on my left hand is now smaller, but my exhausted Servant and Rani are by my side.



Those words are all she can manage. She blacks out. ...The wound on her chest seems to have healed already. And somehow, she's still alive without her heart. I always sensed she was special, even among Masters. As I tend to Rani, I glance at the screen. It's dark—probably because of the earlier explosion.

What a coincidence, she happened to heal up just in time to avoid having to make a new character model!



According to the doctor, she awoke briefly, but immediately fell back into a comatose state. They say her body is fine, so she must be mentally exhausted. After nearly an hour, Rani's long eyelashes flutter open.

Music: School IV


She blinks twice, three times.



Her voice is small and her words are spoken flatly. She stares blankly into thin air, her eyes glassy and distant. She reminds me of— Yeah, of a broken doll.



Talk to her.

I try to meet Rani's eyes as I begin speaking to her.



Rani is in rather rough shape, understandably.

She doesn't respond. Without the faint breathing and blinking, she's so lifeless she could pass for dead.

~

Hold her hand.

I gently press the delicate wrist as it rests on the bed.

...

My first impression of Rani's hand is that it's soft and very, very cold, and so thin— Feeble, like it would snap if I accidentally squeezed too hard.

...

Even after I've held her hand for a while, her fingers remain icy. Faint breathing and the occasional blink is all that identifies her as a human being.

~

Call her name.

I lean down to her pillow and whisper her name.

...

I think- I think her eyes moved. But now, she's staring blankly at the ceiling again.

~~



Hopefully she'll be a bit better tomorrow.

Come to think of it, I haven't heard a peep out of my Servant in a while. They must be angry...



I was just thinking really hard. Would you feel better if we talked? I always do! Let's see, something to talk about...

The tone of her voice is the same, but her words seem forced. What's really on her mind?

Knowing Caster? She's worried Hakuno might catch feelings for Rani.



I was just thinking how valuable that woman must be for you to have used a Command Seal for her.

Nailed it.

But, no matter how you look at it, that girl is broken. You wouldn't abandon her, would you, Master?

I wonder, if that had been me, would you have done the same...?

...Oops. Silly me! I shouldn't think about me when my Master is the one who's really valuable. My Master could use a hundred—no, two hundred Command Seals and still deserve to use more!

Seemingly satisfied, Caster leaves. Too nervous to call Caster back, I decide to leave for now.

Music: School I


Rin, being significantly less impaled and with zero self destruct attempts, is in much better condition.

I look up to see Rin Tohsaka leaning casually against a wall. She's obviously waiting for me...



We did break a hell of a lot of rules there, huh...

Just her glare is enough to convey all of the anger and hostility she has towards me. Not that I blame her. If I had interfered in the Coliseum, we all would have died. Considering her powers as a Wizard, Rin could just drag me somewhere to fight like Julius did. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that her curiosity is the only thing keeping me alive.

If Masters can start teaming up, it'll completely destroy the balance of the Holy Grail War. Even the most skillful use of a Command Seal shouldn't be enough to bypass the Coliseum's security. To be blunt, you don't seem like that great of a Wizard. How did you pull off the impossible? ...And before you answer, remember that I reward truth and reason, and punish lies and stupidity. Don't be naive enough to think Julius is the only who knows how to circumvent the rules. I'm willing to risk drawing the ire of the system to deal with a threat of this magnitude.

Rin complaining about Masters teaming up is hysterical, considering that was one of the first things she did back in Stay Night.





I mean, it's not like we intentionally teamed up. He just set up the doohickey and didn't take it down when he left.

As no real battle information was exposed, the identity of Rin's Servant remains unknown. Though she would never admit it, it's obvious that she's more than a little relieved by the thought. Of course, Rin being Rin, her facade of suspicion and hostility didn't disappear entirely.

But if Julius wasn't able to break through the security, how did you manage to pull it off? Trying to break through the firewall would have caused the system to fry your brain.

Well there's an explanation for Julius not trying to kill us again. Why do all the work when there's a perfect trap that can do the job for him?



That can't be right. Even if your body is safe, your brain wouldn't be able to handle the strain...

...ah hell.



We're a ghost, aren't we?

I could see the bewilderment in her eyes. Her confusion ALMOST overcame her normal animosity.



That's why Alice kept calling us the same.

However, if you choose to continue fighting, we will remain enemies. Keep that in mind. One last thing: DO NOT spy on me again. Should you try, your suffering will be legendary...





Who names their kid Twice?

Do they have an older sibling named Once?

Twice? I can't recall hearing the name. I might have heard the name before, but... Why bring him up now?

We have heard of him, actually!


Waaaaaaaaay back during the prologue.

No reason, really. You kind of remind me of him. Never mind, just forget I asked.

I am left alone with my thoughts as she turns and walks away.





Next time: We meet a holy warrior.