Act 4, Scene 8
Out of all my companions to the Pleiades watchtower, Ram probably had the most 'potential'. The story, as far Rem told me, goes like this; in the village of the Oni, where power was respected above all, it was the common practice to kill twins, since they would only possess one horn for each twin. That rule, as far as she knew, was broken only once - at the birth of Ram and Rem, when Ram, even as a newborn, was able to call forth such power that she deflected the killing blow.
In short, she was a natural-born monster, as much as someone like Heracles or Benkei. They called her "the second coming of the Oni God", and it was a foregone conclusion that she would stand at the head of the Oni tribe when she reached adulthood. Rem, on the other hand, possessed only a fraction of her sister's talent, and always knew that it was because of her older sister that her life was allowed to continue.
And then, one day, the roles were finally reversed. The Witch Cult fell upon the Oni village with the intent to exterminate those living there, and Ram flew into a rampage, intending to kill every one of them in order to protect her sister. She was still just a kid at the time, though, and so the combined might of dozens of cultists with strange powers was enough to overcome her, and shatter her horn.
…The greatest sin Rem ever committed, at least in her own mind, occurred in that moment. When she saw her sister laid low, crippled and near-certain to die, her response, the thought that came to mind was-
"Ah, it finally broke."
-Well, at that point the two were rescued by Roswaal, but that's another story.
In the present day, Ram is a cripple. The destruction of her horn left her unable to properly cycle mana, and causes her body to be wracked with unbearable pain that only grows worse the more stamina she expends. With that being said, with the use of [Cor Leonis], I can suppress her pain - and now that it seems to have evolved to directly share injury, I guess I can probably push her even closer to the heights of her capability before. And that's without getting into the details of what having her sister around will do to help Rem - if Wallachia's intent revolves around wounding Rem's heart, then having Ram around should foil it. The other summons would hurt her, but, if it's Ram, it would have to be fine, right?
If the person summoned is the Ram of the present day, anyway.
But, this Mystic Code is one that conjures Figments, spirits born of the expectations and fears of those caught within the TATARI.
That's why I had to try this alone, even putting aside the potential for the Mystic Code just being some kind of bomb. Because, if what was called forth was a Figment, then, there was potential for…
A bulky black kimono with many layers tied by a thick crimson obi, the ends of its sleeves and skirt patterned with red that evokes a field of spider-lilies. A cascade of pink hair, flowing down to the wearer's ankles. With a mix of curiosity and disdain, she extends a slender hand from one of the bulky sleeves, examining the long, sharp nails of her fingers, glittering red in the light shining from the two long, crystalline horns rising from her forehead.
A lightning bolt strikes forth from Ivan's staff and is effortlessly smacked from the air as the Oni God turns her gaze my way. Deep pink eyes, dilated with the frenzy of the mana rushing through her horns, soften ever so slightly as a sigh escapes her lips. "Barusu, it should go without saying, but if you tell Rem - no, if you tell anyone about this, I'll tear it off."
"You'll tear what off, exactly!?" Her personality is the same as usual, at least.
Like she said, though, it goes without saying - Rem must not see this version of her sister. Her existence is an indictment of Rem's birth, evidence, illusory and false though it may be, that Rem is only a burden upon her sister. It's her deepest fear, her most unbearable insecurity, even more than her feelings regarding me - the thought of a Ram who does not need Rem.
"Skadi," Ritsuka's voice rings out, snapping me back to reality as a new servant joins the battle. A beautiful woman in a fancy purple dress - Miyako said she enhanced Ivan to a pretty incredible degree so-
"Ram-" I start to say.
"Barusu, I'll be going all-out from the start, so try not to die. [Al Fura]," Ram gestures towards Ivan, Skadi, and Ritsuka, and a storm erupts.
Wind, blades of wind, countless flying forth near-invisibly like the blade of a reaper. The change in air pressure pops my eardrums, and the shockwave as Ivan shoots forward with impossible speed to meet it knocks me on my back. The fury of a cyclone meets a living mountain, and mountain gives way. Ivan's shape changes, growing to vast proportions. The shape of a mammoth, but larger, impossible vast, flensed away in seconds as the almighty force of the Oni God bears down on him.
Ram's eyes grow wider, her teeth grinding in effort as she maintains the spell to the last, as Ivan's vast shape, firing lightning in futility - for how can lightning harm a storm? - is stripped away, inch by painstaking inch, red mist filling the air-
"[Gate of-" A woman's voice calls out over the howling gale - only to be cut off by the sound of flesh tearing. Ram, although seemingly present in front of me, directing her spell, is also there, behind Ivan's sturdy barrier, piercing Skadi's spirit origin with a knife hand plunged into the goddess's chest.
The illusion directing the spell dissolves into a hazy mist - wait, didn't she need to use airborne drugs to pull this off before…? Or was that a crutch she was using to help her crippled magic? Regardless, Ivan turns towards her, lunging forward as what remains of his tusks extend to try to impale her, but Ram's form again dissolves into mist, leaving Ivan with his back turned to the still ongoing storm of [Al Fura] which finally completes its task, tearing him to shreds.
Ram fades into view again, missing Ritsuka with a punch as his [Emergency Evade] flings him backwards, his Command Spells shining. That 'smoke' didn't happen, huh? Is it because I didn't use a command spell, or because that smoke might not work with this much wind?
Regardless, this is another moment of truth. If Qin Shi Huang comes out, I think Ram wins - even with him actively suppressing her mana, her horns allow her to cycle mana so quickly that I can't imagine it being an issue. Arjuna, on the other hand, is an issue. Pepe said he blew up the whole simulator before, so basically we have to kill him pretty much the second he comes out.
But then, Ram could probably pull that off, in this state. Ritsuka is on the back foot, and Ram will basically have a free shot on whoever Ritsuka summons.
So, the question is, does Ritsuka have a Servant who can actually take a hit from Ram and remain combat capable?
"-Heracles."
…
"Oh COME ON!" I scream in outrage.
***
Class: Avenger
True Name: Fujimaru Ritsuka
Armaments: Mystic Code
Alignment: Neutral Good
Manifestation Cost: Impossible (Mitigated by Simulator Outsourcing - Low)
Bio: A Figment conjured from the rumors of another master of Chaldea. A boy who 'does not exist in this world', the Last Master of Chaldea who cleared not only the seven singularities but also the seven Lostbelts. Ordinarily, the TATARI could not support his manifestation - the reproduction of certain figures called by his Noble Phantasm is simply too costly. However, by outsourcing these summons to Chaldea's simulator, his manifestation was made possible.
Parameters
Strength: D
Endurance: C
Agility: E+
Mana: C
Luck: A
NP: EX
Class Skills:
Self Replenishment: D
Avenger: -
Oblivion Correction: A
No matter what, those worlds must not be forgotten. Even if they were wrong, even if they were not meant to be - those things that were erased still hold meaning.
Since Ritsuka's consciousness is currently suppressed by the Simulator, this skill has no effect.
Personal Skills:
Martial Arts (Mixed): A-
Having received training from the greatest heroes, Ritsuka's Martial Arts skill is, technically speaking, 'the best' - however, his actual talent in combat is, frankly speaking, mediocre.
Curse (Crawling Chaos): EX
An erroneously named skill that signifies the passionate gaze of a certain tri-lobed eye.
Mystic Code: A
The Arctic Region Chaldea Uniform designed by Da Vinci. Fundamentally, it's a similar design to the standard uniform, and its included spells are roughly the same, so much so that Natsuki Subaru will not be able to tell the difference between the spells being cast. For completion's sake, they are as follows:
[Purifying Recovery]: Heals the target and removes defensive debuffs.
[Phantasmal Reinforcement]: Reinforces both the target's physical abilities and their Noble Phantasm
[Predictive Evasion]: Grants the target rapid movement in a pre-decided direction (there is a delay on activation, but to an outside observer there is no difference between this and [Emergency Evade]).
Noble Phantasms:
Our Beautiful Journey to Reclaim our History: Grand Order
Rank: EX
Type: -
Range: 1
Maximum Number of Targets: 7 People.
Simply put, it's a Noble Phantasm that summons Servants. In theory, any seven could be assigned, but Wallachia set the cast of the performance in accordance with his own preferences, in order to maximize the obstacle's difficulty - in other words, he chose the Seven Lostbelt Kings, or proxies thereof. If the opponent is not one Fujimaru Ritsuka has foreknowledge of, he will default to this order of summonings, but if placed in difficulty, he will adapt accordingly.
Lostbelt 1: Ivan Grozny
Lostbelt 2: Scathach-Skadi
Lostbelt 3: Qin Shi Huang
Lostbelt 4: Arjuna (Alter)
Lostbelt 5: Zeus - Data Not Found; Substitute: Heracles
Lostbelt 6: Morgan Le Fay - Summon Forbidden by Administrator; Substitute: [ ]
Lostbelt 7: Kukulcan - Data Not Found; Substitute: Tezcatlipoca