Illya coughed with a hand over her chest, struggling to breathe as she tried to think of why this was happening to her. As a homunculus, there was no chance of her catching some sort of sickness and even if the incompetent Tohsaka was learned in curses, she hadn't noticed any sort of magecraft.
She cast a glance at the newly arrived individual and used servant sight but it failed, making it clear that he wasn't a summoned servant. How was he doing all he was then? This was well beyond the level of magi.. No matter.
Arrogantly confident in her servant's power, Illya spoke in a hushed whisper, "Berserker, kill them both." He most certainly could, the Lancer was a one trick pony that Heracles would soon gain immunity to and the newly arrived person's weapons couldn't even warm him.
"Preposterous, two dogs to kill one such as I? Mongrel, your death won't be an easy one." Gilgamesh for his part seemed relaxed, a grin adorned his face but it wasn't one of a human, it was that of an arrogant God's.
"I've no problems with sitting this one out.." Aston raised his hand, conveying his thoughts but sighed in defeat when Gilgamesh launched a slew of weapons at him. Concurrently, Heracles swung his cleaver at him too, "Have I ever faulted you?" He asked curiously, appearing several metres away from the both of them, spear drawn and pointed at Gilgamesh.
Golden ripples behind the pseudo-archer servant moved to face Aston, "Your mere presence nauseates me, mongrel." He pursed his lips and launched another volley, this time far far faster than before. Fast enough that the Lancer had to use his spear to deflect one or two to the side lest they pierce him.
"Such a beautiful world, why does it detest me so?" The knight lamented his lack of power in an almost mute voice, disappointed by everything constantly attempting to weaken him and succeeding more often than not, "It matters not." He placed a hand over his helmet and removed it before throwing it to the side.
The rain really was pleasant, as was the lightning storm and the mud beneath his feet.
"What a great day!" He held his hands out to either side, smiling widely as lightning crashed down all around, tearing the ground asunder and setting alight the forest surrounding them, "Glory to the venerable King of Britain!"
It would be fine if he didn't come through this, Artoria could have the wish.
His dull blue eyes began clouding, and an ominous air started permeating the mountainside.
"GRRRRAHHHHHHH!!!" Giving him no time to act, Berserker shot at Aston and brought down his cleaver only for the knight to hit it at an angle with his spear, making it slide off the metal. He made use of the opportunity and momentum generated to spin and slam his sabaton into the demigod's chin.
It didn't have the intended effect.
Baring his jagged teeth, the Berserker bit down on his foot and moved his head from side to side, ragdolling the knight before grabbing onto him and throwing him to the sky.
That too didn't have the intended effect.
Aston fixed his posture midair and shot down like a blazing meteor, drilling through the Berserker's stomach before shoving his spear through his head. He then tore it out, spilling the Demigod's brains all over the muddy ground.
"Ho? Amusing." Gilgamesh observed the spectacle with curious eyes, his grin ever-present. He hoped to see something interesting because without a Master, the Lancer was supposed to be pathetically weak.
Had he been saving up his magical energy? Implausible.
Red lines, similar to magic circuits, spread out from the knight's eyes, strangely moving over his armour and taking a firm place as the spikes situated at different points over his figure extended.
The Knight of Atrocity was meant to be a vile monstrosity that slaughtered all in the name of King Arthur, committing acts that would shake even the strongest of hearts with a grin on his face.
A harbinger of turmoil and ruin.
A beast shrouded in darkness.
This all was grounds for a skill, a skill commonly found among Berserkers.
Seeing Heracles shake and reanimate, a grin crossed the Knight's face, revealing rows of sharp teeth and the miasma over his face rolled away to reveal bloodshot eyes releasing scarlet currents, with blood seeping from his hands.
"Disgusting." Gilgamesh's tone betrayed his words as he continued to observe, deciding to derive amusement from two rabid dogs biting at each other, both under the same effect as the dog he'd faced about ten years ago.
"GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" Roaring loudly, Heracles clenched the hilt of his cleaver just as Aston came to and grabbed his elbow, grinning and in a display of insane levels of strength, ripping away the arm before shoving into Heracles' own cleaver, cutting it to bits.
"Ene....ENEMY." As if a different person entirely, the Knight of Atrocity howled like a wild beast and slashed at his own arm, cutting deep enough into his own flesh that blood sprayed out like water from a hose. He held out his hand in a claw-like manner and the blood convulsed, shining for a moment before swirling into his hand just as the wound sewed itself close.
While the spear he used was insufficient as a noble phantasm, Aston no- the gruesome Knight of Atrocity instinctually grasped that he himself was not and so, fashioned weapons out of himself. Discarding his jagged spear for a blood red lance and sword.
Heracles displayed no care for his severed arm and lunged at what he recognised as a Beast, leaning back to avoid 'it's' spear thrust and coming up with his cleaver held out. He disregarded the blood sword cutting through his shoulder tendons and slashed his cleaver, 'cleaving' apart the Lancer's armour and almost dissecting him entirely.
Instead of screaming in pain, Aston grinned wider than before smashed his elbow into blade, freezing up his blood using haemokinesis and employing it as a makeshift shield to shove away the cleaver, overpowering even the likes of Heracles, a servant with straight As across the board when it came to parameters.
"HAHAHAHAH!!" Roaring in laughter, the Knight of Atrocity repeatedly thrust his spear, blowing numerous holes through Berserker's torso before he could even react as lightning coursed through his veins and came bursting through his armour, supercharging his movements and attacks.
Gilgamesh raised a brow at the exhibited speed, recognising it to far surpass anything he'd seen in other servants. Speed also enhanced the power of anything and everything and with a high strength parameter, moving at hundreds, if not thousands of times, the speed of sound increased his strength to the point where he could level cities, perhaps states.
It was understandable then that Heracles, despite being a Demigod, was struggling to fight him equally, "The dog becomes an actual dog." He chuckled to himself, glancing at the ground with a smirk. There was a leyline underneath and with Medea out of commission, it was pretty much up for grabs.
Something the Knight of Atrocity noticed immediately and drew his actual spear, jamming it into the ground with a mad grin, "T..TOO BAD!" Leaving the weapon to siphon magical energy from the ground, he shot at Berserker. (A/N: Any servant can siphon magical energy from appropriate sources. An example is Assassin and Mount Ryuudou.)
Heracles readied himself to meet the blow but was estranged when the Lancer shot right past him, far faster than before. Fast enough that they barely managed to precieve a blur.
"W...WEAK!!!"
Headed straight for a barely standing Illyasviel.
He shoved a clawed hand into the ground under his feet and ripped out a massive chunk before throwing it at Berserker.
* * *
The Knight of Atrocity. A monster that slaughters and destroys with a grin on his face regardless of damage to himself, as the legend interprets it.
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Camelot arc has begun.