Chapter thirty eight- End of the Line

Saber and Lancer had been circling the area around the park while their masters talked, making sure no outsiders or other masters disturbed them in the process. It just so happened that the two had run into each other when Sinbad launched his attack.

"Watch where you're going, numbskull!" Saber hollered at Lancer.

"You're the one who ran into me!" Lancer growled back.

Both servants froze as a bolt of magic energy shot past them. "Shit," Saber swore, waving for Lancer to follow him as he ran to where their masters were. Saber ran up to the now-closed barrier and pounded on it to no avail, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." He looked back to Lancer, "Hey! Do you have a way to get rid of this?!"

Lancer shook his head, "None at all." He placed a hand on the translucent barrier. "This is extremely powerful magic. I bet it's built to keep out servants."

"Dammit! And Sinbad's in there!" Saber sighed, resting his head and fist against the barrier.

"If he's there, Archer is most likely with him," Lancer added. "We need to figure out how to release the barrier as quickly as possible." Both servants knew their masters were strong, but not nearly strong enough to take on a servant like Archer and an experienced mage like Sinbad.

~

Alibaba, Hakuryuu, and Morgiana ran around like children from the shower of swords and axes from Gilgamesh, the males not wanting to waste all of their energy right away. They'd tried to break through the barrier several times, to no avail. Not Hakuryuu's plants, nor Alibaba's fire could break through it. Not even stray swords from Archer. Their only option was to fight, and the odds were not in their favor.

While thinking of their odds, Alibaba realized he couldn't find Sinbad amongst the chaos. "Hey, Hakuryuu! Where did Sinbad go?!"

Glancing around as he blocked another wave of swords Hakuryuu replied, "No idea!"

Had the purple haired master left just as the barrier closed? This angered the masters trapped within the barrier. He was underestimating their skills, wasn't he? He assumed they were going to get slaughtered by Archer, and left to avoid getting his hands too dirty. A bit of a contradiction to what he'd told Alibaba earlier.

Morgiana picked up her speed, catching up to the male masters. "Who's attacking us?! A servant?!"

"It's Archer!" Alibaba called back.

"He's not using a bow!"

Hakuyuu chuckled, "No, but he is using projectiles of a sort. His real name is Gilgamesh- the King of Heroes." He stopped running and cast 'Zaug Al-Adhra' again. "Cover me, Alibaba!"

"Right!" Alibaba skidded to a halt and whirled around, creating a sword out of fire and striking the ground in front of Hakuryuu while shouting, "Honō no Kabe!"

Hakuryuu drew back his bow, snapping, "Idiot! How am I supposed to see what I'm doing?! Fire's not going to block swords, either! It just makes them worse!" Nonetheless he fired, the arrow catching fire and soaring towards Archer, who barely flinched as it whizzed past his head.

"This guy's not scared of us at all!" Alibaba growled. Dammit! How are we going to beat him?! He looked around the clearing, searching for something that could aid them. His eyes landed on a discarded golden sword Gilgamesh had yet to retrieve. The blond ran over to it and picked it up.

It was heavier than he expected, but he was determined to make it work. Instead of using his magic to create an entire sword, he coated Gilgamesh's sword in flames. It took significantly less mana, meaning Alibaba could focus more fire onto it, resulting in even stronger attacks.

Gilgamesh had watched Alibaba grab the sword, and was thoroughly disgusted, "You dare lay your filthy hands on my sacred treasures?" His eyes narrowed in rage at the blond, watching his every move.

With Archer's attention on Alibaba, Morgiana had maneuvered around the servant, planning to attack him from behind. She desperately wanted to be useful to the mages, and she knew she was strong enough. She'd taken martial arts classes along with track for years, and was highly skilled. Though she didn't know much about servants and their strength, she was certain a successful kick in the head would affect anyone not paying attention, no matter their power level.

Hakuryuu could see what Morgiana was doing, and it worried him. He kept an eye on her, as well as Alibaba who was still holding Gilgamesh's attention. Just as Morgiana was in-range of Archer, the situation changed.

Gilgamesh's gaze darted to behind him, his head turning slightly as Morgiana ran at him. Without flinching, the servant summoned a portal behind him, launching a sword at the girl at high speeds.

"Morgiana!" Hakuryuu yelled, pushing the teen back as he ran in front of her. The sword that was targeting her hit Hakuryuu instead, slicing through his arm at such intense speeds it took half of his left arm with it. Screaming, the male clutched at his arm- or what was left of it.

"H-Hakuyruu-san!" Morgiana's eyes widened as blood splattered everywhere. A large quantity of it fell on her, staining her face and white dress red. Hakuryuu fell to his knees, panic setting in. Archer turned to the pair fully, neither amused nor surprised at the black haired mage's actions.

"Hakuryuu!" Alibaba called, holding Archer's sword in one hand as he ran over to the teen. Just as he passed Gilgamesh the servant turned, a sword hurtling towards the blond. With zero time to react the blond took the attack head on, the sword stabbing through his shoulder. The sword fell from his hands, and Alibaba dropped to his knees. Clutching his shoulder he glared up at Archer, "You asshole..."

Gilgamesh paid no mind to him, summoning another portal and drawing a simple sword from it. He pointed the sword at Alibaba, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Don't touch him!" Archer's eyes widened as Morgiana ran past him, standing over Alibaba with her arms spread. She was panting and covered in blood, yet held her head high.

"You humans never give up, do you?" Gilgamesh regained his composure. He raised his sword, stabbing the teen girl in the stomach with little effort. She gasped and fell backwards onto Alibaba, who caught her.

"M-Morgiana!" Alibaba panicked, trying to stop the blood from pouring out of the girl's stomach. Meanwhile, Archer walked over to Hakuryuu, who lied on the ground in similarly pitiful way. How could Sinbad let Gilgamesh do something like this? It was flat out murder. Brutal, heartless, murder. This is the Holy Grail War...? Alibaba couldn't stop his racing thoughts as he watched Archer approach his friend. "Hakuryuu! Run!"

Hakuryuu held his bleeding left arm, trying to squirm away from Gilgamesh. It was a futile fight, and the servant caught up to him in mere moments. Hakuryuu searched his gaze, trying to figure out his intentions. Was he going to kill him instantly? Or let him suffer? Either way, Hakuryuu was sure this was the end of the line. He had so many regrets, but no time to address all of them as Gilgamesh sliced his right leg off in one swift motion.

~