Didn't make sense.

It didn't make sense.

A Berserker in Miyama who was fading from this world. A Lancer whose karmic line had been severed in the forest.

This should not be a strange occurrence. After all, Masters and Servants are expected to die in this Holy Grail War. But...why were other Servants not present at the locations of these incidents?

Was it them? Those foul things, a first-rate Heroic Spirit could certainly match them in a fight, but were a third-rate one like Ruler himself to engage in direct combat against them then he would likely be defeated. Yes, it could very easily be those things, those demons crafted from human minds. If that was the case, then he had no room to act. After all, even if that freak repulsed him, its actions weren't against the rules of the Holy Grail War.

But still, even if he had never heard the voice of God, even if he lacked a prescience at the level of precognition, even if his eyes could not see through the gaps between worlds, something at his core screamed at him.

Something is wrong. More than those things, more than that freak, something is terribly wrong.

Something has entered this city that should not be.

The Servant was roused from his thoughts as he heard a voice from outside of the Church, realizing with a start that someone had approached it. Had he been so wrapped up in thinking about this that he didn't even notice the arrival of a mere magus?

He said he'd lost his Servant. In that case, his Servant would need to be that Lancer that had perished in the forest. Yes, if it was the forest then it made sense, one of those things probably encountered the unprepared Lancer and struck them down. But, the more Ruler assured himself of this fact, the more that cold pit in his stomach grew. By the time the doors of the Church opened and the ostentatious figure behind them appeared, his jaw was slightly clenched, a sort of panicked light flashing in his sunglass-covered eyes.

"...come inside, and tell me everything you know about what happened."

@Berserk Gene

---

The guy was hard to pin down. His intent swirled and cycled, colors fading into colors, before finally settling on a dark, purpleish afterimage as his head moved.

A mixture of red and blue. Kindhearted violence? If it was brighter, it would be more worrying, but the brightness, or lack thereof, suggested less malice involved.

It was a complicated 'intent', but not one she was completely unfamiliar with. He wanted to set things right against a foe? That was her best guess.

Turns out colors are actually a terrible way of communicating the complex and nuanced range of the human mindset. Who would have thought.

"I'll fade away in a minute or two without a Master, lass. Please, contract with me! I have to set things right!"

"Uh...I'm not really into the magical girl thing...?" Airi backed away a step. The man was wrong about her on at least one account. She was pretty fucking scared, despite her (apparently effective) attempts to act to the contrary. Shit, the guy had, presumably, tore up the street behind her at roughly 88 miles an hour. Probably faster, actually.

But...if someone was in trouble, it wasn't like she was just gonna leave them there. That's kind of a dick move.

And he was looking straight at her...

"Uh..." She drew a hand out of her pocket, scratching an itch behind her ear. Her right hand, of course, because she was lacking a bit of self-awareness at the moment. The red symbols thereon shone like sharp tendrils, almost representing some kind of mass of thorns.


As far as her 'Master's Clairvoyance', she could definitely see a bunch of crap with letters after it. But, having dropped out of middle school years ago, it had been kinda sorta forever since she had actually needed to use the English alphabet, and she didn't remember what order it went in, so shit was pretty much useless.

But she could get an intuitive notion that the person in front of her was undergoing something similar to 'death'. She didn't fully understand it, but she didn't need to. What was important was, just like he said, he wasn't going to be there soon if she didn't do something.

"Um...uh...right. Con...tracting...?" Airi repeated, remembering Yuko mentioning something about that. The 'Servants' need 'Masters' to something something or they go poof. "Uh...okay. Okay, yeah. I definitely, uh, you know, you're kinda bleeding out here, so, yeah. Yeah. Let's, uh..." Confusion took over her senses, as she left her hand back at her side. "How do we do that?"

Marguerite had stumbled back a few steps when the blows had been struck, as if the air had pushed her back. She had expected to see the stuff of legends during this War, but this was a whole new level. The giant insectoid... thing was also a surprise. Could it possibly be a Servant? She doubted it, but if it was, she would be able to see its parameters, right?

From what she could tell, neither the thing nor Saber had been significantly stuck by the other's blows, which was both a relief and an annoyance. Were the battle to continue at this rate, it would become one of attrition, and without more knowledge of the enemy, she did could not gauge what the result would be.

So their options were escalate or retreat. The former option would hopefully end the fight in their favor, but it would likely cost her more Mana and possibly draw the attention of enemy Servants. Not an appealing combination. As for the latter... the thing had already proven itself to be fast. Most likely it would be able to chase them down should they turn and flee. So perhaps a combination of the two.

"Saber, do you think you can knock it down hard enough that we can make a run for it?" All things considered, she would rather live to fight another day rather than possibly exhausting themselves or showing their hand for one early victory. This way they could regroup and perhaps form a strategy for next time.

@Breo @Moonlit Sonata

Ernest took a long drag from his cigar as Ruler opened the door. Immediately, it became clear that Ruler, too, knew something was wrong. Ernest looked at the heroic figure for a moment, a fair amount of the night's shock still hanging over his eyes. Exhaling smoke, he nodded, following Ruler into the Church. Ordinarily, he would've realized the breech of etiquette he had committed by bringing a lit cigar into the building, but at the moment his mind was far too distracted to consider such things. As they entered the Church, Ernest nearly collapsed on a nearby pew. Removing his jacket, and taking another drag from his cigar, he looked up at Ruler and began.

“I summoned my Servant, Lancer, earlier today. We decided to familiarize ourselves with this city more thoroughly. I thought that would be an advantage...” The magus stared at the floor with blank eyes for a moment. “Things were uneventful until we drew near the forest on the western side of the city. At that point, Lancer darted off into the trees... he was following something, as far as I could tell.” Ernest shook his head. “There was a problem, though. It was difficult to tell exactly where he went, and our connection seemed distorted. I couldn't tell where he was going, so I sent a familiar after him into the forest, too try and discern what was going on.” Ernest looked up at Ruler. “When the familiar reached him, Lancer had brought out his spear... not that it did him much good. I don't know if they fought beforehand or if it was an instantaneous attack, but a... man with black hair had put his fist through Lancer's heart.” Ernest took a breath. “No, 'man' isn't the right word. I don't know what he was. He didn't seem like a Servant, but yet he struck Lancer down in a single blow.” Ernest paused for a moment, disgust twisting his lip. “I looked at him for a moment, this 'thing'. I can't describe it exactly, but something was deeply wrong about him. He was... empty.”

Ernest shook his head, taking another deep inhalation of smoke into his lungs. “That's all I saw. After that he destroyed my familiar... and then I came here.” The reality of the events that had just transpired became heavier by the moment. Despite obviously being quite shaken, Ernest's voice retained the same air of grim aristocracy that it always carried, evidently a trait that was difficult to shake. The man adjusted his tie, looking at Ruler again. “From the way you greeted me I suppose it's safe to assume this is far from ordinary.” 'Ordinary' was a rather poor choice of a word for anything involving the Holy Grail War, but even so, something was even more amiss than usual. “Can you tell me what that... thing was, Ruler?”

A harsh keening noise emanated out from the demon as Siegfried managed to step out of the range of its attacks, though one of them managed to strike against the edge of Balmung and-

Ah, no, that wasn't what happened at all. Rather, the claw that had been warded off by Balmung never even struck it, instead stopping just before touching the blade. Was it because the demon had stopped itself before its attack had connected, or was it because that repulsive field of it worked both ways like two identical magnets, and it was just short of the physical strength needed to overcome its own ability? Regardless, the attack failed to connect with Balmung, though the sheer repulsive force at that proximity was enough to send shudders through the blade. At that distance, even swinging his sword in the direction of the enemy's attack would be nearly impossible.

Nonetheless, in spite of the fact that it possessed four "weapons" with which to attack compared to Siegfried's one, the fact that he had been able to avoid three of those attacks altogether was telling. Its movement speed was certainly appreciable, the descent it had initially made spoke to that much, but it seemed that when it came to fine motor control and dexterity, Siegfried was superior.

Of course, that hardly mattered if he wasn't capable of harming it in the first place.

A guttural screech leaving it, the demon continued to press forwards, limbs flying out to attack the same points that they had moments earlier. The difference was that this time, the repulsive force was in full swing from the beginning, weighing against any actions the Saber could take to move forwards; if they began at a distance then he could certainly put his full force behind his sword to swing it at the demon, as he had earlier, but at this distance he simply lacked the capability to gain enough momentum to carry the blade forward after his own strength had failed him.

In other words, unless the tide of battle changed, he would be forced into this defensive role until one side gave out.

---

So, he was the Master of that Lancer after all. Well, that was to be expected. If it had been anything else, then Ruler would have had far more cause for alarm. The Servant listened to Ernest's explanation, nodding slightly.

So Lancer had fallen in combat with something besides a Servant, then. Well, that was hardly conclusive; after all, some of those things possessed human forms, and the description of the man meant nothing to Ruler, so in all likelihood it was-



The expression of Ruler which had gradually been slackening grew tight once more the second the words had left Ernest's mouth. Those things could certainly be described as "wrong", disgusting, impure, something that should not exist in this world. After all, they are born from the distortions and desires of the human mind, they are the materialization of mankind's wishes.

But it is precisely for that reason that the thought of calling them "empty" was utterly ridiculous.

Could the magus have been mistaken? It was a cursory glance at the figure, after all, and perhaps his observational prowess wasn't anything special. Yes, it was perfectly reasonable that what had struck Lancer down was just one of those, but between the uneasy feeling in Ruler's stomach and the description that Ernest had provided, it was altogether too troublesome.

"There is...the possibility that it is one of the beings brought to this city by another Servant. If this is the case, there is nothing I can do save to give you safe haven here until you are prepared to return to your homeland." He explained, seeming to mull the current matter over with himself as he spoke. "However, the ability to immediately overwhelm a Knight-class Servant in close quarters, the 'emptiness' that you described, those beings shouldn't be capable of that or appear like that to my knowledge. There is the chance that it could be the Noble Phantasm of another Servant, but that feels off the mark. It may be that what defeated your Lancer was something not involved with a competitor of this Grail War, and if that is the case, then such third-party interference is not something I can allow."

Letting out a slight sigh, Ruler shook his head, the now-somber demeanor flowing from him clashing horribly with his attire. "If your Servant was defeated by a third-party, then I suppose...magus, do you still desire the Holy Grail? I cannot promise that what defeated your Lancer will not come for you next, and if you reenter the war then I cannot ensure your safety, but if you desire then it may be possible for you to gain a new Servant."

Ernest listened to the possibilities that Ruler gave. Certainly, they all seemed somewhat probable... and yet they seemed wrong. None of the options seemed appropriate for that empty being. Thus, Ernest mentally decided Ruler's explanation of a third-party seemed by-and-large the most likely. Not that it really mattered what the thing was at this point. After all, Lancer was gone, along with any hope of att-

Ernest's eyes widened as Ruler gave him the possibility of rejoining the War. Could it really be? Was there really another chance. An uncharacteristic smile spread across Ernest's face for a moment, and he almost chuckled. The look seemed horribly out of place on the grim man. He nodded, rising to his feet. “Do I still desire the Grail?” He looked at Ruler for a moment. Rejoining the Grail War meant throwing himself back into danger. There was the possibility that he would just run into that horrible, empty thing again... but there was nothing for him if he refused. He needed the Grail. It was his only hope, and he wasn't going to throw this second chance, this unheard of stroke, away. No, there was only one option left open. “Of course I do.”

There was no real decision to be made. Winning the Grail was a necessity to Ernest. Still, the strange situation he now found himself in begged many questions. “If that is the case, how would I go about the summoning?” The realization hit him that he no longer had any sort of catalyst or relic to manipulate the summoning process. Whatever Servant he summoned would likely be random, and given that other Servants had already been summoned, there was a possibility that his chances of summoning a strong Servant had been severely hampered. Still, luck seemed unpredictable for once. “And given the fact that the other Servants have almost certainly been summoned... Are there any restrictions I should be aware of?”

An odd expression, an almost strained smile appeared on Ruler's face in response to Ernest's reaction. No, he could not say that he had been surprised by the magus's decision, not in the slightest. He also couldn't disdain that sort of choice; were Ruler himself in the lad's position, then he would certainly have charged headlong back into the war. At the same time as that sort of surrogate pride welled in his chest, though, he couldn't help but feel a slight pang of guilt, that by telling Ernest that he could reenter the war, he was in all likelihood sending the boy to his death.

"The Holy Grail's situation in this instance is...different, than it should be. Fundamentally it should have the capability to summon seven Servants, and potentially an exception such as myself. In this case, though, the magical energy that it has accumulated is sufficient to completely overturn that, likely the result of modifications made by those who call themselves this land's Second Owners. I'm no magus, so that sort of thing is outside of my knowledge; all I have to go off of is the gut instinct to such things that the Grail provides me with." Ruler explained. A hand reached up to remove his sunglasses, clear blue irises blinking twice as they were exposed to the light. "In other words, the general limit on Servants and class restrictions don't apply. Even I don't know how many Servants this Grail could manifest, but it shouldn't be more than...say, twenty, as the most liberal estimate. The number of Servants who have been summoned thus far is well below that."

"More importantly, though, is you. After all, while your Servant has perished, you still possess the right to be a Master." He remarked, calling to mind the Command Seals that Ernest still possessed, faded and grey that they were. "In other words, it should be possible to summon another Servant. Ordinarily, a Master summoning multiple Servants should be impossible, but the Grail is more...indiscriminate than it should be, as if it wants this war to be as chaotic as possible while still retaining some reason. If you attempted a summoning ritual and were to use one of those Command Seals as a spark, then while I can't be certain, you may be able to summon a Servant."

Ernest listened intently as Ruler described the strange nature of the current Grail War. The potential chaos that could ensue from such a breach pf tradition slightly concerned the magus, but such changes were precisely the reason he would be reentering the War, and he had no intention of looking a gift horse in the mouth. Still, the reasoning for the “Second Owners” that Ruler spoke of changing the Grail War intrigued him. Perhaps he would find that answer at some point down the road. For now, he would have to move swiftly.

“I see.” The magus looked at the grey Command Seals on his hand. Using one was a rather significant price to pay, but so long as he was careful in his pursuit of the Grail, he could perhaps get by with two. Regardless, it was his only definite way back in, and at the moment no price seemed too high. “Very well then. If it will allow me to reenter the Grail war, then I will try it.” The magus paused for a moment, as though pondering something.

“I assume, given the Church's neutral position, that summoning here would be... frowned upon?” He gave Ruler a questioning look. “I would hesitate to violate etiquette, but as Overseer you could give permission for such a thing, yes?” Ernest glanced toward the door. “If not, I can certainly return to the spot where I summoned Lancer, though if I am attacked between here and there I wager I stand very little chance of surviving.” The magus put no forced persuasion into the request. It was a simple, honest question. Ernest had many flaws, but breaching etiquette was something he tended to avoid if at all possible. Even so, perhaps an exception could be made in this case.

“Regardless, I sincerely thank you for your help.” Ernest bowed slightly. “I am grateful that the Grail decided upon such a suitable Ruler.” Again, Ernest's words seemed sincere, if heavily practiced.
@Moonlit Sonata

---

Siegfried’s mouth twisted, thinning even further.

‘Knock it down hard enough’. Really, easier said than done all considered. He had struck full force earlier, and that had been warped and negated — if it were so easy, he would have already done it. His raw strength alone was not enough for that — unless what was little more than a weak tap was a deadly strike to it. No, he would gain nothing from swings alone, he had to plan.

And, catching the buildings around them, one began to form. He was certainly faster, more dexterous, so maybe…

First things first, he had to get away. It would not do to be caught up in another useless exchange, that would only waste energy he could not afford to be careless with — but such a task was easy enough. He might not have used it much, but breaking away from engagements was certainly something he knew how to do. After all, it was a key aspect of dragonslaying — retreat to better ground to set up a more favorable engagement.

...Or so he would like to say. But that hardly mattered right now. A backstep, followed by another one as if reeling, putting as much terrain between them as possible in the shortest amount of time — certainly, if it followed, he’d possess enough space to repeat his earlier feat.

But that was not really the goal, was it? It had already proven such strategy would fall flat. So something different was in order. Keeping an eye on his Master, he continued propelling back — towards the side of a building, to be more precise. At the very least, he would be able to use that as a pivot. Instead of allowing the demon to come for him, he would shoot towards it like a bullet and swing thus. Perhaps added momentum would allow a greater force to reach it. Who knew.

“Sorry for the damages.” The words were muttered under his breath — the feat was likely to bring about many problems to plenty of people, and even in this situation, he could not help but feel some guilt.

...Considering his circumstances, aren’t those priorities just a tad skewed? Then again, maybe that is just the result of ‘Siegfried being Siegfried’.

@Moonlit Sonata @ConstantlyComic

---

---

The magus sighed. Then looked around and sighed again. Though it was a setback, he would admit it was not really something worth stressing over. Lancer had reported something, whatever it was had left — simple enough to understand. Adjusting his jacket, he listened to Lancer while gazing down at the river and the soft rays of moonlight reflected by the water.

“Well, it is not really a bad wish.” He interjected, calm and hoping to sound reassuring. “To be certain, I’m almost relieved. I had been expecting something unreasonable like ‘to conquer the world!’... Heroes usually dream big, or so I assumed. But I can respect simplicity, or being content with the life one has lived, even if I will likely never achieve it. Like an author revising a quote and thinking how he could have worded things better, I doubt I will ever be satisfied, so in that regard I envy you, Lancer.” He allowed a small smile to appear in his features, amused at the nervousness of the Servant he had contracted with — perhaps uncharitable, but slightly comical nonetheless. “At the very least, I hope you will get your wish of worthy foes — though I also hope you will forgive me when I say I would prefer ones easily dealt with, after all.”

Silence once more, but it was broken the moment he turned on his heel and started retracing the steps they had taken to come here.

“Do not worry overmuch, Lancer, even if it is not here, at least we managed to learn of its presence before something unfortunate happened. Since it is rather clearly gone, however, I do not think we can achieve much by standing around. Let’s go back — I still need to finish preparations and I would like you to keep an eye out just in case. We can meet the Overseer tomorrow.”

@Ijoyen

Ruler mused to himself for a handful of seconds before coming to a conclusion. "Given that, were it not for the third-party's interference you would still have a Servant, I suppose I can allow the summoning to occur here. Exit the church and make the necessary precautions directly outside, such as a magic circle and a Bounded Field to prevent detection from any civilians. I will allow something of this nature given the occasion." He explained, sunglasses being placed back onto his face as he spoke. "However, once the Servant has been summoned, preferential treatment like this will no longer apply, of course."

After speaking, Ruler let out a quiet sigh, his mind going to the matters of the other Servants. He would need to call that freak in to discuss this; after all, while this seemed like the work of a third-party, he couldn't rule out the possibility that it had just been one of their pets that did this.

All in due time, he supposed.

---

Falling back, he was falling back, and yet he didn't seem to be abandoning the conflict. The demon let out an almost raucous scream, a harsh buzz as its wings flared up again. While it couldn't be certain what the enemy was doing, it knew that given his speed and aptitude for repositioning, it couldn't match him in his retreat. Chasing him would only allow him to shift the tide of the conflict to being on his terms.

As a result, it had decided on a different approach: it would return to the sky. Yes, even if Siegfried was an exemplary Servant, were he to launch an attack on the airborne demon, he would unquestionably be at a disadvantage. He could certainly leap up to the demon's height, but at that point his maneuverability would become nil while the demon's would be unfettered. And were he to take the opportunity to flee with his Master while the demon wasn't pressuring him? That human contracted to him would be in grave danger were he to move at his maximum speed, while the demon had the advantage of being in the air and not being shackled by some weak flesh-thing.

Of course, the demon's thought process was not anything so intricate. It had merely escaped to the air out of fear for what Siegfried was planning. Buzzing morosely in the air, it simply moved in Marguerite's direction, poising itself over her body as it hung in the sky. Like this, it awaited its enemy's next move.

Ernest nodded. “Of course, I expected no more.” The magus slung his jacket over his shoulder and began walking toward the door of the Church, stopping just shy of the exit. “Again, thank you, Ruler.” With that, Ernest pushed through the doors. Telepathically, he ordered the Thrall, which was still waiting near the Church, to bring a few of the scarce supplies left in the limo. He had not prepared for something of this nature, but perhaps he could manage to scrape by. Following his orders to the Thrall, Ernest rolled up his sleeves and began work on setting up the Bounded Field. It was not a terribly complicated thing, but he had already used a fair amount of magical energy that day, and he was becoming more and more aware of that fact as the night drug on. He hoped the rest of the night would conclude without incident.

After quite some time, everything had been prepared. Ernest had set up a satisfactory Bounded Field just outside the Church, and with the help of the Thrall's supplies, the magus had managed to create another Summoning Circle. Unfortunately, the circle was not quite as perfect as before, but then the first one had been produced under very different circumstances. Ernest let out a deep breath, wiping his brow, looking at the circle, and then at the marks on the back of his hand. It didn't matter what Servant he summoned. He had to win this War. If he were to conquer the absolute, to overcome fate, to reverse the very reality of the flow of time... he would certainly need a miracle, and miracles were hard to come by.

Ernest raised his hand above the circle and began the same chant he had recited earlier. “Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill...” As the words fell from his lips, what felt like fire flared up within his chest once again. The marks on his hand, along with the circle, began to glow dimly. The light was fainter than before, likely due to the unorthodox nature of the Summoning. Even as the magus reached the chant's end, the light remained dim. He took a deep breath, clenching the fist that bore his Command Seals.

“I offer one of my Command Seals to give the spark of life! Heed my call!”

The marks on Ernest's hand awoke with a surge of light, and the magus felt a white-hot burning sensation as one of them faded from his hand. At the same time, the Summoning Circle roared to life, gleaming with a blinding red light and producing a surge of warm air in all directions. Ernest squinted his eyes, the hot wind lapping at his face. The hand that bore the Command Seals was still raised, the other hung at his side, tightly gripping his cane. It had to work.

@Holy Grail @Moonlit Sonata

As the surge of warm air subsided, and the mighty and terrible red glow of the summoning circle faded once more into the dark of the night, within the center of the new summoning circle a new and strong servant stood tall before Ernest. What was first of note was not just her gender, but her great height that caused the Amazonian-like woman to tower over her master not too unlike a great god towering over a mere mortal follower of theirs. Her body was muscular from what seemed to be a great deal of experience and training, yet boasted a lean nature and curvaceous physique that made her naturally rather attractive in regards to her physical appearance. Her eyes seemed to carry a piercing, imperious look about them, even as they looked back and bore into eyes of Ernest himself without any minute bit hesitation.

Wielded in one hand alone was a large halberd that was larger than any regular human could hope to wield between its great size and immense weight, and it was this weapon that this servant seemed to handle without so much as remotely breaking a sweat. Yet both this weapons, and the beautiful garb and armor she wore, seemed to carry a regal sense about it and was very obviously of an Asian style that would indicate this servant's origins being in this area of the world. However, it would be yup to Ernest to decide if this meant she was from Japan or not, though it was obvious that with how she carried herself in a regal and utterly confident manner this servant was someone of great importance in the history of their people. A ruler, perhaps?

"So, you are the little mage who calls upon the king?" the female servant said in a booming and powerful voice as she looked down upon Ernest with discerning, giving the great halberd a scarily adept and swift twirl in her right hand where it was held before speaking again, a proud smirk making its way onto her face as well, "Hmmm, so be it! I, the king of war, the great creator of weapons, even the divine Chi-You shall humor your request for my assistance! I shall hope you turn out to be a good subordinate, but such talk is not for this moment i think. So for now i ask: Are you my master?"

Oh great, it was one of those types of servants. But at least it was not some golden-armored douchebag, eh?

As the glow of the circle died away, Ernest looked upon his new Servant. It had worked. He had managed to summon another Servant. Once again, the Holy Grail was within his grasp. A small smile crossed the grave man's face as he lowered his hand, but only for a moment. He could definitely feel the exhaustion of the day within him now, but that didn't matter. He had a new Servant, and what a Servant she was! Before she even spoke, Ernest could feel a sense of royalty about her, a royalty bordering on divinity. As soon as she spoke, this impression was only fortified. Furthermore, she was powerful, far more powerful than Ernest had expected from his rushed, unorthodox summoning. It seemed perhaps his streak of poor fortune was ending.

The new Servant's charismatic introduction further cemented her lofty position. She called herself Chi-You, king of war, creator of weapons, divine. Though Ernest was unfamiliar with the legend of Chi-You, he was certain at this point that she was someone quite important. The magus nodded politely at Chi-You's question before bending forward in a deep bow. “Welcome, King of War. Yes, I am your Master.” Rising from the bow, Ernest's eyes met those of his Servant. “My name is Ernest. Ernest LaCreux, and with your help I intend to claim the Holy Grail.” Ernest's words were surprisingly presumptuous, given his current appearance. The stress of the day, the exertion of summoning two Servants within hours of one another, and numerous uses of magecraft had left Ernest looking a bit disheveled. His rolled up sleeves and loosened tie certainly didn't add any class to his appearance, and yet he still presented himself like the aristocrat he was. Perhaps even more than before, as Chi-You's summoning had provided him with a surge of hope, when he thought all had been lost.

The magus adjusted his tie before addressing his Servant again. “We shall speak more, there is a great deal I wish talk with you about, but for now, I think it best we leave this place and head to my base of operations in the city.” He motioned down toward the road, where the limousine still waited. There were many things Ernest wanted to inquire about Chi-You. As before, he could gauge her power fairly well, but he was still unable to discern her class for whatever reason. The halberd she held might have suggested Lancer, but that was far from a guarantee. At least he knew her name, a name he desperately hoped he was the only one to hear. Chi-You's identity becoming public knowledge was an alarming thought.

@Holy Grail

@Yukitamas

"Heh... I do not take any offense, even I wouldn't want to see myself at times not to mention touching after what I've done"

Berserker said with a smirk as he shifted his weight onto one side of his body while he looked at Nakae while he did his awkward gestures before finally exiting the abandoned house after checking the device in his hand. With nothing much to say, Berserker followed his Master down the path that he presumably took earlier to get to this secluded place away from the city. It seemed his Master had more questions to ask before answering himself which Berserker nodded in confirmation to as he listened.

"Yes, I am a Servant and as for where we shall go, it is up to you to decide. I have no preference on what we will do if you wish to continue your schedule, then, by all means, do so." Berserker said indecisively as he continued on following his Master with a casual nonchalance that betrays the attention he had that focused on his surrounds as he played it off. It was a habit he grew into after attempts to lynch him from people that inadvertently made them hate him for his deed which created the eyes on the back of his head.

With his indifference coming from the situation his Master and himself were in, even with his own help, it wouldn't be enough to remedy the giant setback they faced together as a pair. What his Master knew were the bare necessities that Berserker had taught him only moments ago and whatever skills he possessed seemed to be unintentionally manifesting themselves. The only thing that he could do himself, reacted and stay calm when the time came to face other servants or intervene in any event that was necessary for him to do so. Other than that, there was not much that they could do with their current limitations which from Berserker's viewpoint restricted their actions. They weren't able to preemptive attack their opponents in their own playing fields and at the same time couldn't defend their own due to both of their lacking qualities, the only thing that they could do was doing things in the moment when battle waged on the field.

"The only thing I will ask is to keep your guard up while we are traveling for I have not developed a good grasp on our surroundings yet. It would also be wise to keep your distrust with other people, as Masters of other servants will be presumably much skilled than you with their perspective abilities. It is a surprise that you managed to summon me, giving reason to question your lineage..." He said while continuing forward while he turned his head back to Nakae who seemed lacked formal education of what was going on. Yet despite their limitations, scouting the battleground was one of the few things that the two of them could do and by chance maybe discover any of the opponents that they would face. They will have to be doing a lot of that with them constantly being on the lookout so that they wouldn't be caught surprised by any more clever foes that didn't directly confront them. However, his Master surprised him with another naive question to which he gave a small laugh "Thankfully, no I do not require food nor anything else that you may wonder so your own belongings can stay mostly to yourself. The only thing that I need is your cooperation and you to remain in good condition, as you are my anchor into this world..."

---

Landing on his feet and tearing up pavement in the process, Siegfried looked up at the demon as it buzzed in the air, former strategy discarded. Maybe he was just much too cautious, but launching himself towards it — at least at this moment — simply did not seem like the best of ideas.

It is the same maxim that rules ballistics, after all. A bullet cannot switch targets after being shot, and in this case, Siegfried would be that bullet. Without footing, he would be without the advantage afforded by superior dexterity whereas the flying creature would be unimpeded, and leaving his Master alone in the ground seemed as a terrible idea, so instead he endeavored to make his way back to her as fast as he could, ready to lash out in her defense if necessary. Taking note of the height and the position, he could not help but note, in the back of his mind, that the situation was ideal to minimize collateral damage went if he used that.

...Of course, using that came with its own share of risks and potential problems that would arise, but if anything, his mind reached two possible paths of action open at this time. Certainly, there were probably more, but those two were the most straightforward of the lot. Without turning to his Master, he spoke.

“If I try to reach it, I will be at a disadvantage in the air and you will be left unprotected. There is also no guarantee it won’t just fly away and then come for you, Master.” His grip tightened, and were Balmung a normal sword, the handle would have broken under such duress. But it was not, and so, it did not. “We can attempt to make a retreat — but it has already proven its speed, and I cannot move at full throttle if I am to carry you, so that would leave the option of me covering for you until you reach safety and then withdrawing, but that also assumes it will not target you. At worst, it may slip by and reach you if that were the case. At best, we just manage to move this fight somewhere else.” There was a pause. “The other option is for me to use my Noble Phantasm. It would be orders of magnitude above a standard attack, so assuming the rejecting force is the same, it would not be enough to save it. But there are witnesses or spies to consider.”

Siegfried’s Noble Phantasm — the true strength of the Phantasmal Greatsword which could raze an entire opposing army if used with no restraint. Normally, he would not consider wielding it in this area — if let loose, it would cause great harm. However, with the enemy so willing to place itself on the skies…

Well. Its title was appropriate in this circumstance, to an extent, was it not?

Yet at the same time, it implied taking a great risk, for, should any be gathering information from the battle at this moment, the very instant he spoke the name the entire veil of anonymity that helped Siegfried keep his greatest weakness secret would come undone. No, even beyond that, if even a single individual, regardless of involvement in the war, was gazing in the wrong direction the moment he let it loose... Well, it was not a subtle thing.

Few Holy Swords were, really.

“If you have any other idea, Master, I will listen.” He said. “If you wish that I enact any of the plans, I will. But I ask that you give the order promptly.”

@ConstantlyComic @Moonlit Sonata

So the middle ground would not work. This was a problem. A large problem. A large, fast problem that, should they--should she--hesitate, would quite possibly end her participation in this War before it could truly begin. Nervously, she glanced up at the problem in question. She had no doubt that it would be able to catch up to her should she attempt to run, or should Saber attempt to carry her. Retreating on her own while her Servant held the thing off was a gamble, a Hail Mary. It could work, but she had no way to be sure that it would. Given that it had an aerial advantage, it would most likely just find a way to go over Saber to her.

As for their other option... Marguerite had no doubt that should Siegfried use his Noble Phantasm, he would be able to destroy the giant insect, or at least drive it off. If it didn't, they were likely already dead. But was that a risk she was willing to take? Would she take such a drain on her prana? Would she reveal her Servant's identity and thus his legendary and obvious weakness this early in the War? She had no idea who if anyone was watching at the moment, but she was sure the act would not go unnoticed. It was entirely possible that by winning this battle, she would lose the War.

This was bad. This was very bad. So bad she regretted deciding to come out in the first place. But there was no time for regrets. She had to make a decision, and fast.

"Saber... Drive it off." Marguerite Calder stood straight, voice commanding, every inch a magus, every inch a Master. She could second-guess her decision later, but for now she needed to show unwavering resolve. "Use your Noble Phantasm."

---

The Servant nodded. There were no more words exchanged as he closed his eyes for but an instant before gazing upwards, resolve of steel gathered. His grip on his weapon's handle tightened, then slackened slightly and he reared back, as though to swing.

Such thing was foolishness, of course. Siegfried was not so mighty that a mere swing would send a current of razor wind towards the demon, nor would Balmung enlarge like a certain staff in order to reach the opponent that high up. Besides, he had already acknowledged that a normal swing wounding it was an impossibility at most.

But that was fine. After all, Noble Phantasms were meant to achieve something that should have been an impossibility, the true trump card that propelled Servants above their station.

Wisps of energy akin in color to a waning sun emerged from the pommel of the greatsword, more specifically, the jewel embedded on it. This was something unknown to this world, which had left that part of its history behind — the Fifth True Element, Ether from the Age of Gods. It wrapped around the blade, coalesced as though an espectral sword that sought to overlap with the one Siegfried held.

This was the weapon that had once bathed the world in twilight, the sword that had struck down the Evil Dragon, Fafnir, in a time long past. His muscles tensed as coiled springs, ready to release, and he spoke the words




Twilight expanded as he swung, a crescent of raw, undiluted power with the sole purpose of destruction. This was the second Noble Phantasm the Dragon-Blooded Knight possessed, a weapon able to rend armies with little difficulty. The beam was directed upwards, seeking to engulf its master’s enemy, to leave behind not even ash.

In these circumstances, the Demon’s position was indeed a fortuitous one — were he to have unleashed it in any other direction but upward, while it might not called as much attention, there was little doubt the land would have been razed beyond repair. As it was, it would miss the buildings and simply vanish into the night sky.

@ConstantlyComic@Moonlit Sonata

What...is that?

Prana began to coalesce around Siegfried's blade. No, no, that was wrong. This was not the magical energy of the modern day, this was the magical energy from an age that had passed. Moreso than anything previously, the demon's terror reached a peak. It froze in the air, hanging there lifelessly as though it was immobilized by fear, unable to even make an effort to avoid the arc of twilight that swept through the air towards it.

What is that name you screamed? That is the radiance. That is the undercurrent. Strong. Too strong, too strong, too strong.

I want to live. Save me. Save me. Dying is terrifying. Dying is wrong. Why are you not acting, why are you not blocking the light, why are you not opening the gate, why are you not gouging out his heart why are you not saving me please i will serve i will obey the owner of the black capital i want to live do not do not let me die don't want this cannot be made temporary save me save me save me---

The light engulfed the demon as it screamed in a wordless language. Its repulsion strained against the new onslaught that wore against it, but was nonetheless pierced through.

And when the light had faded, the being it had slain had vanished with it.

Little else needed to be said.

---

"...Berserker? What's wrong? Did something happen to the demon?"

"Ehe...ehehe, you could say that. Poor little thing's been wiped off the map."

"Wiped off the...I thought that was supposed to be the best one at surviving!"

"Hm? Course it is. That doesn't mean it's able to take a holy sword's light head-on. Defense enough to withstand its repulsion field and a holy sword that can smash through its defenses. Not bad. Pity it had to be Terror and not one of the ones that can actually understand language. Can't make heads or tails of what it thought the sword's name was."

"I...see. If he has that sort of nature, then it's best Archer takes care of him before he recovers from the Noble Phantasm's usage. I'll send word to-"

"If that prick kills him then I'll turn him into a pincushion. I've decided. This guy, seems like a fun one to make scream. He's my prey."

And while Siegfried stood victorious against his enemy, a Servant steeped in madness could only laugh at the thought of the days to come.

@WildChocobo


“I don’t care what you did, or what you were. I just don’t like feeling pain. Looking at you, looking at anyone, I can feel traces. I already know just by being around, just by looking, I don’t want to know more, I don’t want to see everything. Although when I think about it, there’s more than just whatever is around that bracelet. It makes me think of bad things, that and you, but you also have this like… glow around you that’s… really bright, it’s amazing in a way. You’re very bright with white. I’ve never seen anything like it before. You don’t feel… normal, as obvious as it is. But whatever.”

He came to a stop and took out his phone, letting out a “Tch” as the display lit up to show that its battery was dwindling. “Leaving that aside, I know people better than most others in a way. I see what’s happened, what they remember the most in terms of pain, and I feel it, I feel that pain, I see blurred memories of what happened when I touch them.

Pain, He was used to it by now, He could tolerate it, he still hated it, hated it deeply. The sensation of pain is bad enough, but it was something that was just a given, something he accepted. No, it was what came with the pain, the knowledge, the hardships that others had lurking and brewing under the surface that tormented them, whether they were ongoing or painted their existence as a past they could never forget.

When was the last time he could feel that he felt a pain that was his? Was there a difference at this point? He was just someone who felt it, there was no room for a person who received the pain of others to feel his own. It was already overwhelming as it was, if he felt more, if he felt his, if he could put his own name to it and paint himself with those scars himself…

Would it be something that breaks him? Or maybe the pain that one owned for themselves only was something small compared to the samples of dozens of others. Yes, whatever pain he felt was no doubt small, inconsequential and stupid in comparison. A single person could not weigh themselves against the world, against civilization or the masses. To care about his own pain and hardships if he had any seemed just like the course of a crybaby.

Yeah, whatever he would feel, if he felt anything deep like that would just be a droplet in an ocean.

The thought was frightening.

"...What did you do anyway?"

Toshi nodded along to Berserker's explanations of their situation and the rather, less than stellar standing that they had. A sigh came from him, along with a shrug. Well, it wasn't like he was told ahead of time about this. There's no point in studying for a test in a course that you didn't even know existed, you couldn't be held accountable for not knowing the answers. Still, he was in it now, so whether he knew or not, that'd come to bite him in the end.

“Ah, I see. So that’s how the relation works. So servants need masters to be around? This world? Do you come from another one or something?” He suddenly whipped his head up and with a wry grin snapped his thumb in an accentuated motion that led to him flinging out his index finger to point at him “Are you an alien or ghost or something?” He let out a bit of a giggle before returning to walking down the road.

“Well, so these other masters have things like me, right? Do you know what sort of things those tend to be? What are these masters called otherwise? Or are people with weird things called masters in general? Otherwise who organizes this thing anyway?” With a frown Toshi shoved his phone into Berserker’s face “If you had some number or rulebook, for contacting whoever was in charge of this thing this’d be a lot less confusing, or at least it’d feel a bit less nebulous. I don’t have a reason to not believe you but there’s nothing that really makes it feel like there’s a sense of joining some sort of secret conflict. There’s no whistle at the start of the race, no quest accepted jingle or anything like that.”

He pulled it away.

“Well, that’s how it is, I guess real life is rather quiet compared to sports events, classes, public events or games. I guess if we got nothing we can just go back. If you don’t want to eat on top of not needing to eat that makes it easier for me, but I got enough servings of frozen stuff back home to last us two for a bit.”

He pocketed the phone again and walked in silence for a time. His head lowered, his back hunched over and his gait became a bit more rigid, a bit tighter.

“Well, otherwise do we just wait for them to come to us? Or do we just wander around until they find us and challenge us to a duel like it’s a bunch of trainers with monsters running around? Ah, if that’s the case I should start carrying around my lunch money as something to give if we lose.” He let out a bit of a laugh that petered off into the night. “Well, don’t worry.” he said after taking a sharp, refreshing breath. Suddenly he seemed to relax, even coming to have a smile. “If I’m doing this weird thing, I’ll be doing it to win, don’t worry, Berserker. I’m serious.”

"Hmm. That Crest has to have something in it, don't you think? Well, even if it doesn't, his specs are good enough to where we can outfit him just fine."

The kidnapped magus laid still, his mind suspended in darkness and his body immobile save for the rising and falling of his chest with each passing second.

"Ah, he looks like he's in pain. Don't worry, don't worry, you're safe now. All of your suffering, all of your tragedy, I'll take it. But...for now, you'll have to bear with me. For everyone's sake, I have some things I need to do before that."

Bright, bright, bright. Myriad colors flowed together in the air, an aurora made manifest upon the ground. A hand was set down upon the Magic Crest of the Cartisius as that light cleaved the night apart.

"...And thus I pray, that all tragedies will end."

---

DAY TWO

The Sun peered above the edge of sight once more, bringing light back onto the city. After the dragonslayer had defeated a demon, after a Master had been stolen away into the night, after a Servant had been struck down by an unknown force, all things returned to the light of day.

And so, the war continues.