This recent turn of events had been... interesting for Archer, to say the least. It started when Boxzerker appeared. He didn't sound like any Heroic Spirit Archer would have known, and due to his antics, he seems like an odd sort of Berserker, overall. He was able to communicate quite well. It very well could mean he has a high parameter in Mad Enhancement.

But Berserkers are always special cases. Especially if one chooses to adorn themself in cardboard.

Either way, it seemed that this isn't Boxzerker's first Master. And it definitely isn't their last, either. His first Master was taken by something, Boxzerker said. Something different from a Servant. Perhaps it had something to do with those oddities, perhaps?

Surprisingly, Ruler had taken a stand again, using one of his unique Command Spells to control another Berserker. Berserker of the Einzburns? He'll have to talk with his Master if he knows of such a Magi family. This specific family has had more time to prepare than his own Master had, apparently, and by the sounds of it, this sort of Servant they have summoned sounds like quite a threat if Ruler was to intervene.

Archer was about to ask Boxzerker more about this thing that abducted his first Master before he disappeared, leaving naught but boxes and his second Master at his wake.

Let me know when you're done asking questions, Alex. I'll be heading over to the forest to see what those two Berserkers are capable of...

Archer had started to make his way to the door, stopping as he turned away from his Master when he heard another knock. A woman entered, followed by a hulking man, materializing behind her. Another pair, Archer had thought. Interesting. A few ideas ran through his head, and he believed it best if he was to communicate them to his Master.

There will be more Servants approaching, and judging by the presence of Ruler, we have a measure of safety in this area. I think it may be best for you to stick around while we're still welcome here, in order to get firsthand information on both Servants and their Masters. Other than that, I plan to watch that fight between the two Berserkers while it's still on. For now, however... Archer had communicated to his Master, before turning back to face the newcomers, his eyes surveying the both of them, judgingly.

"Don't mind the boxes. Just a discarded set of armor from another Servant who visited here." Archer waved off, placing his hands in his hoodie pockets. "Quite a sight, if you asked me."

@Beloss@Moonlit Sonata@Holy Grail

As Nakae fled, the madman laughed. A harsh, keening noise that shattered the air under the lonely moon. Was it for the defeat of her enemy, the despair of his Master, or something else entirely?

Well, it wasn't as if what occurred in her mental world was within the understanding of the sane regardless.

"Hey, I was just thinking. Since he's not a Master anymore, ya think that command from Ruler still applies?" She remarked aloud to nobody, a manic grin splitting her face in two as, directly above her own head, that hole in the world to the black capital appeared. The hilt of a blade slid from the gateway, like the Sword of Damocles hanging overhead, ready to drop into her hand.

"Eh, well even if it did, I don't wanna get more on Ruler's bad side. Not yet, anyway."

Saying this with a dismissive tone, the Berserker closed the overhead gate, glancing to the running figure of the defeated boy.

"Now then, back to searching for him."

Saying these words, Hell's conqueror made her departure.

---

Another new arrival? This day was seeming to be infinitely more active than yesterday had been. Maybe the cookies should have been prepared for today instead. Ah well, hindsight was 20/20.

Eyes flitting to the newly-entered Master and Servant, Ruler gave a slight nod to himself upon verification of identity. Yes, compared to that Berserker who had just stopped by, this was a much more reasonable hero to expect in a Grail War.

"Welcome, competitors. I am this war's overseer, Servant Ruler. Excuse the mess, another Servant was in a rush." He explained with a brash laugh.

---

@Berserk Gene

Joshua Abraham Norton died in the year 1880.

Joshua Abraham Norton does not belong in the current era.

Joshua Abraham Norton's status is "alive".

Joshua Abraham Norton belongs in the current era.

False: Body is that of a Ghost Liner-class spiritual entity. Materialization has not occurred.

Analyze. Analyze. Analyze.

The former Boxzerker did not fade. Not yet, at least. And yet, it was obvious that the current arrangement could not be a long-term one. With the prana of the Command Seals fueling him and Imperial Decree at least temporarily confusing the force pledged to crushing his existence, it was possible to sustain his existence without killing his current Master.

Given his nature as a Berserker, a day would be the maximum. Less if he fought.

This was equivalent to a death sentence. The war will not end in a mere day, and when his time runs out, he will certainly fade.

It can only be called beyond fortunate, then, that elsewhere a boy with one leg was beginning to awaken.

---

"...good, you managed to retrieve him before he faded."

The black-haired man who had acted as a blight on the war appeared, a dying figure in his grip: the Servant who had, mere minutes previously, entered that other world that Dulle Griet called Hell. And before him...

You will be beloved by God.

You will be struck down by God.

You will tear apart mankind.

Before him stood another figure, sweat dotting their brow as they straightened up from their previously-doubled over position. Vomit stained the floor before them, their face pallid.

"That Lancer, he really was beyond my expectations. What a monstrous figure, a true idol of rebellion, processing him as the first one was a mistake." They murmured under their breath, a trace of admiration flickering over their face before being wiped over with new resolution. "...we need to speed things up. I'd wanted to keep working on him for a few days, but the schedule will need to be bumped up. Let the boy go."

The black-haired man gave a silent nod before taking his leave, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared. The body of the Servant, lacking a Master to keep him in this world and with his limbs crippled at the hands of the man who had taken him from Hell, fell haplessly to the floor.

They stepped forwards, a somber expression on their face. "...there's no need to worry. I'm sorry, you've suffered a lot, but it will end here."

A single hand was placed on the Servant just as his body began to fade, and before he could perish, something impossible happened.

Dying wasn't supposed to feel like this.

You will be steeped in rage.

You will forge something terrible.

You will herald the end of life.

Before he could fade, Muramasa felt it. Through his body and out through that hand pressed against him, something flowed. Strength had long since left his limbs, but now it was like something entirely different was being sapped from him. The world around him did not grow black with the release of death, but grey as that "something" was torn from his spiritual core. This was not something within the rules of conventional logic, this was a conceptual attack on his very being.

And as that greyness overtook everything, he finally realized.

It was "him".

That hand was taking away what made him "him".

Unable to stop the outflow, unable to fight back, unable to scream, the Servant Muramasa left this world.

Ernest LaCreux

Ernest nodded at his Servant's observations regarding scouting. “I see your point. I shall send the dove to the temple and see what sort of information we can glean. As for familiars, you may consider the birds... and any other simple constructions to be wholly expendable.” Such Thralls were a dime a dozen, the simplest tool of a necromancer. “If the bird is destroyed I can find more, so general surveillance should be possible without many problems.” He already had a plan to replace the scouts, and judging by the current state of the War, he would need as many as he could get. With that, Ernest closed his eyes, murmuring something to himself. Outside, the dove Thrall left its roost on the house's roof and set out in the direction of the temple.

The next bit of advice caused Ernest to raise his eyebrows slightly. Had Ruler not told him everything? He supposed it was possible, given the bizarre circumstances of their last meeting. The thought of sending out one of his pre-constructed Thralls for such a venture didn't sit well, but information was key, and if the possibility was there then it needed to be explored. “Right then. I can send a Thrall out to the Church as well. No paper will be necessary.” Ernest tapped his cane on the floor and the Thrall that was not currently distracted by making breakfast entered the room. The figure wore a red hooded jacket and a black scarf, concealing much of its face. The magus placed his hand on the puppet's head, again murmuring to himself. The Thrall nodded, pulling its hood further down and exiting the house.

Finally, Ernest turned toward his Servant, shaking his head. “Don't misunderstand, King of War. I do not intend to make a crutch of your judgment, I simply know where my strengths lie.” His explanation was somewhat stuffy and mechanical. “For the moment, we shall survey the city, checking spots similar to what you mentioned, and see if we can uncover our enemies' whereabouts.” The remaining Thrall, which was clad in a similar outfit to its 'brother', entered the room carrying two plates. One, it gave to Ernest, who quickly, yet with a sense of elegance, began eating. The second plate it held in front of Chi-You, as if offering a second chance at accepting its cooking. Upon closer inspection, this Thrall was female, if such a thing was important given its state. Ernest continued. “Between us and the two Thralls, we will have three vantage points with which to observe the city. With that many eyes, we are certain to find another Master and Servant...” He looked at his plate with grim expression, and he was silent for a moment. “If I had to guess, I'd say there are likely several pairs that will go to the Church today. This is dependent on what we see today, but...” He looked up at Chi-You, his eyes cold and resolute. “If one of those pairs is unfortunate enough to not leave before nightfall, we will confront them on their way home.” What he was suggesting, of course, was an ambush, but thinking about it as one left a bad taste in his mouth. For that reason, he used the word 'confront' instead of 'ambush'. Somehow it sat better with his aristocratic upbringing. “I assume you have no complaints?”

After finishing his meal, Ernest began preparations to leave. The bird almost certainly was nearing the temple by now, and the Thrall would probably reach the Church fairly soon, though it was traveling slowly. After filling a thermos with coffee, Ernest headed toward the door. “I don't expect us to run into too much trouble during the day, but be prepared nonetheless.” Somehow, he felt he needed that advice much more than his Servant. “We'll start with scouting around Shinto, then head for Miyama. Following that, we will circle back around toward the Church and commence with our plans for the night.” As they left the house, Ernest removed a pair of keys from his pocket, opening the trunk of the limousine. Inside were the weapons he had managed to procure for the war. With a sigh, he withdrew one of three handguns from a crate. After making sure the weapon was loaded and its safety we active, he holstered it under his jacket. It was a distasteful action. Firearms didn't particularly suit him, and he had never been a very good shot, but his magecraft provided very little personal defense without his Thralls, and while bullets would be about as good as throwing rocks at a Servant, one might work as a last ditch effort against a Master. “Right then, let's head out. We'll take the limousine for now.” As he spoke, the remaining Thrall took the driver's seat of the vehicle. The magus first opened the door for his Servant, an act he desperately hoped she took as a sign of respect and not an attempt at patronization. Following that, he took his own seat and called for the car to head out.

As the car rolled on, Ernest looked toward Chi-You. Despite their conversation the night before, he still knew precious little about her. Nimrod had been an entirely different situation. He had known that Heroic Spirit's legend and had summoned him because of it, but Chi-You had been summoned without a catalyst of any sort. Surely something tied them together, though he wasn't entirely sure just what that 'something' was yet. As the car headed toward Shinto, he spoke, glancing out the window. "So, if I may ask, what is your motivation in this war, Chi-You? Is there some end goal you're pursuing?" The words were a bit more familiar than the formal tone he had used earlier. A question of motivation was the best he could come up with. After all, the same motivation that led him to pursue the Grail was what had driven him for years now. Perhaps knowing Chi-You's motivation would help him to understand her better.




The bird fluttered around the perimeter of Ryuudou Temple, careful, for the moment, to draw too near to the building. Still, from the sky the drone provided a decent vantage point of both the temple itself and the grounds that surrounded it. In appearance, it was practically indistinguishable from an ordinary dove, though up close inspection one might notice the bloodstains on its white feathers.

Thrall Un

The Thrall made his way from Ernest's house at a quick but unhurried speed.

Don't run. Would bring attention.

This was a rule the magus had set for him. Though the Thralls were not near the mental capacity of a human being, or even that of most magical constructs, they still possessed a human brain, though it was kept functional only by the influx of Magical Energy from a magus. Thus, thoughts processed within the puppet's mind. Things could be recorded, notes and observations mostly, though the magus would have to be the one to make sense of them.

On and on up the hill the Thrall climbed, his pale grey eyes only scarcely visible in the gap between his hood and scarf. On the way, he passed a very upset looking young man running in the opposite direction.

Trouble? Problem? Not goal. Keep moving.

And so he did, he kept moving up toward the Church, but came to a stop near the Foreigner's Cemetery. Luckily, by the time the Thrall arrived, the Cemetery was completely empty, but something about the area brought him to a stop. His master had put him in an 'observation mode' of sorts, so it was only natural to note irregularities.

Ground... disturbed. Fight? Probably important. Take note.

Taking what amounted to a snapshot of the empty cemetery, the Thrall continued on toward his goal, finally reaching the Church, entering behind a small, dark haired girl and a massive hulk of a man that appeared out of nowhere. There were others in the room as well, all of which Ruler referred to as 'competitors'.

Take note. Take note.

Another snapshot.

There was also the concerning amount of cardboard strewn around the room.

Take... note?

Following Ruler's greeting, the Thrall stepped out from behind those who had preceded him, turning to face Ruler. In a moment, the Thrall seemed to take on a much more 'human' disposition, and spoke with a voice that was not his own.

“Ah yes, pardon the intrusion, Ruler, I realized during my previous visit I forgot to inquire about a few particulars regarding this war. The situation being what it was, I'm sure you understand.”

Mechanical, polite, and painfully stuffy: The Thrall spoke in Ernest's voice, though with a slight hint of unnatural distortion.

“This Grail War being in the... peculiar state that it is in, I was a bit curious regarding the basic rules and regulations, as well as what exactly constitutes a 'conclusion' for this conflict.”

The puppet spoke with its master's every mannerism. It was a rather uncomfortable thing to watch.

@Holy Grail @Moonlit Sonata @Cu Chulainn @Beloss

---

It would be by no means difficult to do as told, and staying in her spirit form would indeed be a good idea. She had slight hopes he would have told her to stay as she was though. It was a very different sensation, and she didn’t quite like the feeling of not being fully there. Without a complaint though the Lancer listened to her Lord, and disappeared, taking on the form that could not normally be seen or felt by those who weren’t servants or the Master of one.

“Then let us depart. I believe the saying is that Time is of the Essence? Or something to that effect. I presume you don’t want to waste any time after all, and swift victory would be your preference?” Asking the question which was semi-rhetorical, she prepared herself as she was to get moving. If anything this just meant she’d have to be ready to take her materialized form at a moment’s notice in case something happened. Without her headband or waist guard though, as both would immediately give away her identity to anyone familiar with Japanese History. While fame had its uses, it also was very inconvenient.

Though in the long run it may work out. IF anyone figured out her identity, that would probably paint them as the very first target in this war. Then her Lord would give her someone to fight, and she would be able to prove how powerful she was to him. If something happened she could show off, if nothing happened then peace of mind would be obtained. No matter what, she saw this as a winning situation.

@Breo

He didn't know when he got up.

...

Did it really matter?

His body felt heavy, his mind felt heavier. It wasn't that he was in a daze. No, if anything his mind was moving too fast. The events that recently transpired, his regrets, his desires, hell, the evils that man feared. His mind thought, his mind revisited them again, and again. Nonstop. His body moved on with him barely aware.

Sometimes he stopped, stomach heaving as he felt sick again, barely able to keep himself from spilling himself in the manner of a drunkard. He was clammy and feverish all at once. the sound of the blood pounding through his head deafened him, and the light of the sun did not seem a comfort at all to his eyes that squinted as though the well-meaning and bright light seemed to be darker now that he knew the depths of the dark.

He wanted to fight on.

The war was with masters and servants. No one normal could ever stand up to Berserker... either one really. No one could stand up to that. But no one said that he couldn't fight just because he lost a servant, right? It was dumb, it was incredibly dumb. What was he preserving this life for? for what purpose? for what promised day did he live?

If he didn't reach out for this, this chance that could give him a real life then he was already as good as dead.

Toshi walked with a vague destination in mind. He journeyed thinking of the church, dragging himself forward, deciding to continue on instead of just returning home, fueled by the trauma of recent events and the resolve that came with deciding that he wished to change his destiny. That obscene legend, that crazed girl. She managed to conquer that. Then these simple eyes, these accursed eyes.
He could conquer them.

Yeah.

There was no point in saying that he was alive as long as he lived bound by their cruel destiny.

How funny it was, that he saw hell and was now going to a church. It was almost like he was trying to be a convert or something. But there wasn't any time for that, even if it seemed as though the words of a convincing father, kind or cruel, would be intoxicating now. The embrace of god was nice, but what he needed was blood and glory. A wish, a wish. The others would kill and die for it. Was he really wagering something of his on their level? this shitty life of his?

Well, he'd just need to find more chips along the way. It didn't matter. He just needed to win.

The bird that flew around the mountaintop temple laid there in the air, unnoticed by the eyes of those humans in the temple themselves. Around the temple laid countless Bounded Fields, none near the strength of that absurd anti-spirit one that surrounded the temple grounds, but in their quantity it seemed that the temple was a frightening prospect to challenge. A sort of pressure emanated from the grounds below, as though something hidden just out of sight was present, keeping out of view from the bird's purvey. And yet, as Ernest's eyes looked through it, there was the unshakeable feeling that his familiar had somehow been noticed, and was being watched up until now.

There didn't seem to be a Master, or anyone who would fit that bill within sight, though.

---

Oh, a human who was clearly not a human had arrived at the church as well.

No, he clearly wasn't a Master, but still had that unfamiliar reek of magic to him. A familiar, then? A human body called into service?

Ruler's expression soured, if only slightly, before regaining his prior luster. It took him a handful of seconds before he was able to connect the intonation of the thrall with a previous visitor, but once he'd managed to, he gave a slight nod in understanding.

"Ah, fair enough." He replied with a quiet laugh under his breath. "As far as the basic rules, as a magus I am sure you're already aware. Don't expose yourself to the public, don't attack the foundation of the war itself, don't engage in combat on neutral ground, and if you can, please try and keep the loss of civilian life to a minimum."

"As for the conclusion of the war, well, that's been made different from the norm by this one's scale. Once seven Servants have fallen, the Holy Grail will be capable of granting a wish. Conflict may continue after that, but once someone has obtained the Holy Grail and made their wish, the system will shut down and the war will be at an end." He explained, a new, almost mischievous light entering his smile. "As for how to obtain the Holy Grail...well, it wouldn't be fair if I disclosed that so early."

---

"Well, I can't exactly applaud the circumstances, but for a second Servant to fall this early is something to be commended. We're that much closer to our goal."

"Still, I wish Berserker would...listen to me more. I don't like the idea of wasting a Command Seal on that sort of thing, but..."

"I did warn you about trusting the rest of the Einzberns in procuring a catalyst. They wanted power above all else, so the result reflects that."

"Tch, not all of us can strike a perfect balance between power and compatibility, you know."

"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. At any rate, don't worry about it. She might be insane, but she's shown no thoughts of betrayal so far. She understands her priorities."

"Yeah, I guess. What we're doing now, do you think Teacher would be proud of it?"

"I'm sure she would. Everything we're doing is for the continuation of that dream, after all."

"...a toast, then. To utopia."

"To utopia."

---

And so, as a Master without a Servant came to arrive at the house of a foreign god, sunlight faded from the city of Fuyuki.

Unfortunately, Marguerite's morning minutiae had taken longer than she had anticipated. As much as she hated to admit it, it was likely due to fatigue. She was tired, despite having a healthy amount of sleep. And as much as she wanted to blame it on jet lag, she knew it was because of Saber and the battle last night. That Noble Phantasm had taken a good bit out of her. Marguerite knew that compared to the other Masters, she was working with far less magical ability. She had intended to summon a powerful Servant to compensate for that, but now she was discovering the consequences.

But they had finally made it out and onto the streets, and so far they had yet to be attacked. So far. Hopefully, that thing had been an aberration, because the other option was far more problematic. If it was somehow connected to an enemy Servant, there was a possibility that whoever had sent it would be gunning for them next. No, it had to be a freak thing. It had to be.

Although to anyone walking by, it looked like she was walking on her own, she kept glancing at where Saber was moving alongside her. Somehow, she doubted that any passers-by were paying much attention, so she spoke softly, so her Servant could hear.

"I never asked, what are your thoughts on last night?"

@Breo

Another servant had been in a rush? Things had seemed a tad odd upon her arrival, then again perhaps that was her overthinking things at the moment. Though before she could actually answer the Ruler's greeting with her own, a strange man ran into the building. No, calling it a man would not be right. One moment it was moving about, the next it was eerily taking on an entirely new persona and set of mannerisms that left a slight disgust in the pit of Lorelei's stomach. It was unnatural, and left her with one primary guess at what it was. This was some kind of familiar of a necromancer, so it seemed. Having had a not so pleasant run-in with a necromancer before, she was not much of a fan of them. Still, she held back a reaction and listened on intently as the familiar asked Ruler some questions about the war similar to what she had been thinking. Indeed, even the answers were interesting, as it seemed only seven servants needed to die to facilitate the materialization of the Holy Grail. Seven, unlike the larger numbers she had heard would arrive here.

She had a high amount of confidence in this Ruler to keep things in order despite the numbers of participants, though, but at the same time there were just so many unanswered questions, and Ruler's answers for the familiar were only deepening the curiosity she had on the matter of the Holy Grail War. Though now she had a different questions beyond the general things the familiar had brought up...primarily, matters about just who put this Grail War together and such. That is, if Ruler could and would be willing to answer her. To understand this ritual, she needed to start from the beginning...or at least that would be the preferable method. Indeed, possibly an alliance could be forged to help her stay safe while digging deeper into this matter since only seven servants needed to die. Then again, that would be if the word got out or if anyone believed her saying that Ruler said those exact words. Lovely.

"Pardon me," Lorelei said in a s polite a manner as she could muster, boldly taking a step or two forward after Ruler had finished speaking to the familiar, interjecting herself into things after a moment or two of silence to get Ruler's attention without interrupting things in the process, albeit a slight nervousness crept up into her chest as the thought of others sniping her own questions and answers came up, "Might i have a word or two about some things with you in private, Ruler? Only if such a thing is permissible by you of course."

She felt what she wanted to ask about, perhaps about her servant beyond these general Grail War questions or information gathering, might possibly be a sensitive matter. Or perhaps it was not. Either way she did not want to risk offending her servant again beyond their lack of...'sizable' accommodations for the giant man if she asked about him, and if she was able to get some other info she did not want other masters possibly hijacking the info if she could help it. This was a war, and to underestimate the value of good information and such would be stupid for any master. And being on neutral ground, if the other pair she saw in the same room as them attacked it would be their punishment and loss. Unless she was killed before that happened. Yikes, she had not thought much upon that matter.

---

The tyrant had merely glanced over the female thrall, silently rejecting the offer for what it had cooked. It was somewhat attractively kept up, so it seemed, but at the same time it was sad and unappealing due to not being alive. Men, women, she had filled her tastes in life to the brim with whatever she had wanted....and what she had wanted, she had taken without question. Such was the manner of the world in her day and age. Beyond that thought she simply listened on to her master as the two of them went about things and eventually got back into the small and cramp car the Grail told her was a "limousine" and supposed to be a fancy mode of transportation. Yet she supposed she would entertain the idea of listening to this man who was her master and see if he proved his worth to her. Were he a foolish and unworthy man, then finding another master might be an idea for her. Still, he was adequate for now while she would observe and do her work as a servant.

Eventually, once Ernest had finished telling her and asking her quite a deal of things, the tyrant gave a sigh and spoke to the man as the limo moved along through the roads. She was also somewhat glad that at least this metallic chariot could hold up her weight while moving, though a glorious chariot pulled by great steeds was more her style. Then again, running into the fray herself and having her weapons biting into the flesh of her enemies like ravenous demons was also her style at times as well.

"As for an ambush, it is a good plan. But from where would you ambush? The forest? A building? The enemy can likely sense us, as i am not an Assassin. From how far away from the neutral grounds of Ruler's territory would we ambush as well? You must keep these things in mind. Hell, a writer from my own homeland did a job job at writing about war. You people still read his book in these times," the giant of a woman said, lightly rolling her eyes but speaking with a tone between that of a teacher trying to correct a student and an exasperated king who just wanted some battle, beer, or booty in some order or another. Perhaps the middle one first depending upon how her new subordinate behaved, the latter if she found a beautiful woman or man that took her fancy.

But moving on from this point, the tyrant raised an eyebrow as she was asked about her motivations for the war. She hadn't even been here a full 24 hours in this world again, but it was not a bad idea to check motives. No, that was a good idea to ask on the part of her subordinate, to make sure he was in line with the king. That, and the matter of personal motivation interested Chi-You as well.

"Heh...you wish to know the king's motivations, do you? My goals for this? Perhaps why i came to your call in your moment of desperation?" the Saber-class servant said, giving a light and rather amused chuckle at the subject before looking up at the roof of the limo above her for a moment, taking a breath before looking back down at Ernest with a wicked grin.

"I wish to fight until every drop of my blood has exited my body, to conqueror all enemies i can until i meet my match among these heroes. In life i died trying to make a tactical retreat by my greatest foe, who intelligently had my limbs chopped off and my weapons scattered to the four winds after this. But i had struck such terror into them that they worshiped me as a god afterwards! Hahaha!!!" the tyrant said without hesitation, a hearty guwaff in every laugh of hers at the end of her speaking, taking a moment to revel in her memories of life, and those moment before her death as well, though soon her look became more sober after a bit as her train of thought changed, and she continued to speak while looking up at the roof of the limo once more, "As for the Grail itself, i assume you have a goal, yes? Something worthy of pursuit that would lead you to enter war? What is it you desire of this wish-granting device?"

Her words resonated in a moment of silence as she allowed her master time to possibly let that sink in.

"Back in my day everything i had i had taken for myself. I led my people from battle to battle, monstrous individual and humans alike as we took what our hearts desires, pursuing the sunset and riches that lied beyond it without regret. And even after i died my descendants and people spread out and formed kingdoms of their own, though nothing that we once had according to that cup," the tyrant continued, looking back down at Ernest once more, her eyes staring dead into his own without a moment of backing off, her aura as a servant and a king very noticeable in her stare, "Many might call me a fool for this wish, but it is of no matter. I desire the Grail for one thing: To be incarnated into this world once more in my full glory and power, my weapons at my side, and to see what this 'modern' world has to offer for the rest of my days. Surely it is lesser in many a way than when i came from, but perhaps i can again forge an empire, to feel the wind on my back, to see the sprawling land beyond my home nation, and to once again perceive the roaring heat of battle on my skin as i hew down my foes."

"Truthfully, though, your fear and desperation in part drew me to that ritual of yours outside the church as well. To live you must fight for that very right, and to get what you desire you must fear losing it and fight like a demon to acquire it until you have bled your last drops of blood. I sensed the beginning those sorts of things and a primal drive to attain you victory in you, mage. So do not get me wrong, i am not here to help you out of pity. I am here to see if you meet my expectations and will fight for what you desire until the bitter end, for that is how life should be lived. Otherwise, it is not life, but stagnation. And of course i am doing this to gain my own desires for this conflict of course," the giant female said once more, the blunt nature of her tone and wording betraying her utter sincerity on the matter.

---

@Moonlit Sonata @Beloss @DrowsyPangolin

---

Rostam peered around the strange shrine with curiosity, eyeing the cross and the long rows of pews that filled the sanctuary. His eyes eventually made their way to Ruler. He admired the man's fine garb and aristocratic demeanor, wondering if he was the high cleric here, or if Ruler had simply commandeered this place of worship for the sake of the war.

Following close behind his Master Rostam towered over Ruler, stepping aside only to make way for the small scurrying human looking thing that followed them in to present its own questions. Rostam made a low noise of displeasure as it walked in front of them, beating his Master to the punch of getting answers from the official.

As his Master stepped forward and made her request, Rostam nodded solemnly.

"My Master requests formal audience with you without the ear of this lowly familiar." He rumbled, his voice proud, but not quite arrogant. "She is one who has the support of I, Rostam, the Chosen of Ohrmazd. You would do great honor to me, and Ohrmazd to accept!"

---

---

Alex shook his head slowly at the request Archer had made.
No, I do not wish to try Rulers patience by sending out my Servant while I use his sanctuary as a cover. We will go and you may return here to observe the other Servants, and pick through the survivors as you please.

Ruler was repeating himself now, going over the basic rules with the two newcomers, one of whom, a literal giant, had made Alex step quickly back into the pew rows at his alarming materialization. He looked up at the creature now, a walking mountain of muscle and steel, and read his formidable parameters with some dismay.

This one has high ranks in strength and endurance. His speed is average. I would guess he is some kind of famous monster. If you could put an arrow through his eye after some battle, I would call it wise.

Giving a quick nod to Ruler, and skirting a wide circle around the legs of the giant warrior, Alex quietly stepped from the Church, gesturing Archer to follow.

He emerged from the Church, scanning the surrounding area for potential ambushers or discrete spying familiars.

Away to the east he could feel the prana of the two combating Berserkers ebbing away into nothing. Moving quickly, wasting no time in getting away from the church he gestured towards the sky where a few of his seagull familiars were gliding in slow lazy spirals. They decended, alighing on his wrist as he moved down the street.

"I will leave it to you Archer. Once I am clear of this district and you are satisfied that we have not been followed, feel free to try to hunt down one of the Berserks while they are weak from fighting. Either this, or you may return to the Church to pick out a target of your choice. Just be sure not to provoke Ruler by keeping to close."

---

@Moonlit Sonata @Holy Grail @Cu Chulainn

Walking in through the doors, Toshi found himself confronted with an already filled space. People who were clearly not simply believers in a faith. But one of them was overwhelming. IN a way it was overwhelming with light the way the darkness of hell overwhelmed him. Both were the opposites of each other, but both were too much for a normal person to handle.

His eyes, he saw, he saw that they were special, that they weren't normal, just like Berserker... just like her.

"I'm here for.." he spoke up, before becoming silent just as swiftly as he had opened his mouth. His rush of breath came out in lieu of words as he, burning with a bit of embarrassment in his cheeks, made his way into the church proper.

Without even being invited or told as to whether his presence was welcome or not he walked in their midst.

"This is where the rules and enforcers of the war are, right? I'm a master. It's been a long day. I came as fast as I could but there's been things that kept me late."

"Hm?" Ruler sounded aloud, quirking an eyebrow up at Lorelei's question. Strictly speaking, he had no issue with providing information to her; after all, if one Master had the foresight to think of a question that another didn't, there was no reason the latter should get the same information as the former. However, the issue laid with the fact that this information could very well be something that ought to be public to the participants of the war, and that Ruler had simply forgotten to mention previously.

Given his track record with these things thus far, this was a substantial worry.

"You may do so once the others have departed. However, I will publicize the answers I give you should I think it prudent." He replied simply, about to speak further when a new human entered the church.

His eyes narrowed slightly from behind his sunglasses. This boy hardly felt like a magus; even one such as Ruler could tell that much, but this was nothing too worrisome. The Holy Grail could select someone who was not trained as a magus so long as they had the aptitude, after all. No, what was more worrying were his eyes. For someone to have those eyes...

"Ah, you must be the Master of the Berserker who fought that one." He murmured, pushing down the impulse to correct himself with saying 'former Master'. That was hardly needed at a time like this. Yes, losing one's Servant would likely entrench one in despair, but far worse was having to cope with exposure to the place that freak claimed dominion over. But...that Berserker, that "Emperor Norton" he had sent over was still alive, and yet he didn't seem to have contracted with this Master. Had something happened?

"...there is no need to worry. You have lost your Servant, yes, but you still have your life. If you are choosing to leave the Holy Grail War, then I will grant you my protection."

@Moonlit Sonata
@Beloss
@Holy Grail
@DrowsyPangolin
@Cu Chulainn

Yeah, leaving and asking for protection, for mercy. That was normal for losers, right? He had no servant, he didn’t really have any ability to fight or continue. But, he needed to win. There was no path but the destination had to be reached. He wanted the wish, he wanted to be free, he wanted to live. There was also that he was afraid, he was afraid of that girl and that existence.

Those evils, those pains. He’d seen them before, right? But that was too much. It was too scary, it was too painful. What did it mean that something like that could exist? How could people go on when there’s so much suffering that could await and accumulate in a life? He’d seen glimpses of lives that withstood things he would have ran away from. But here he was, not running away from that.

He knew that he couldn’t beat -that- or overcome it. A human could not, a hero could not, a demon could not. Yet that girl did. She could hardly be called human, but she wasn’t a demon. A monster, she was most definitely a monstrous human. True evil, true horror, not the imaginary imitations born of people who wished to turn their eyes away from the truth that humanity must hold these things to know them and give birth to them. If humanity invented and created such stories then wasn’t it that they were all the evils?

He couldn’t win, what could win? What would he have to become to win?
It was ridiculous to think in those terms, yet he threw away the notions of not being able to attain victory and continued on in his mind. The question that bloomed as an answer that pierced through his nebulous ideas made him freeze up.

Would he be willing to become that? ...Maybe.

“I’m fighting. I’ll have to turn that offer down. I can’t give up or back away, not when I just started. There’s a reason for me to fight, or more accurately, there’s a wish I need no matter what. I meant to come here to say I was participating, and that doesn’t change. I’m officially joining the war, even if I’m late due to a detour. So, do I get a stamp, or ID Badge or something? Or is that it?”

He offered a worn grin with eyes still red and puffy, before finally taking his eyes off the supervisor to look over at his.. Competition. Well, one way or another he at least made it here. It’d have been humiliating to die before the first step, but this was where it started. So he’d have to kill these people and win somehow. That was impossible, but… Well, first he figured he’d look at them before deciding on that or not.

Servant, if the two Berserkers were any indication. A normal?... person? And… that.
Well, through his eyes it was exceptionally strange for sure, and sent a strange, sickly feeling crawling down his spine. The most sickly part of it was that it was comforting in a way, after what he’d seen.

Yeah… that guy was strong, but what was that,.. Wound? How was he still alive? A massive “scar” spread across the man The black that so stained the massive man's midsection was as pure and the memories that brushed at his mind left him in awe. He didn’t understand the context, he didn’t understand what happened. All he knew is that something that was out of his comprehension happened, something on the league of being confronted with hell. He held a hand to his own, the pain of the shot man replicated by his understanding and mind. Toshi let out a tense breath through teeth that shut together in protest. This was nothing compared to that hell, nothing compared to what he saw earlier. He still didn’t like it, mind.

“Gah!... What the hell did you go through? And how in the world did you survive that?”

He blurted it out as a response without thinking on the consequences. His other hand reached out towards the large man that was most definitely a servant before he caught himself and withdrew. He was curious, he admit, whether or not that would work on a servant… but.

Well, he could do without finding out more about that.

“Even a servant should die from something on that level, right?”

Ernest considered Chi-You's observations on his tactics. Once again, she was proving herself to be much more considerate and careful in such matters, but that was to be expected. The magus nodded, acknowledging the vague nature of his plan. “Of course.” He pondered for a moment. “For a location to stage our assault, we'll need to find some place secluded. Really though, it depends on the route our target takes. I'd prefer not to fight in a residential area if we can help it, but if such a thing proves necessary then perhaps we can commence our attack from an alleyway or a rooftop. If they are not in such an area then we have more options open to us.” The mention of the forest led the man to grimace. “I recommend we avoid the forest however. If we are to encounter the man who killed my previous Servant, he will require our full attention, and though I'm not sure that his base of operations is in that forest, I think we should avoid it until we are fully prepared.” The magus seemed to puzzle over possibilities for a few moments. “As for Ruler, so long as our attack is outside of the Church grounds, I doubt that he will have any complaints.” Chi-You's mention of her famous countryman brought a slight smirk to the magus' lips. “Ah yes. I began reading The Art of War many years ago, a shame I never finished it.”

The tyrant's bravado in response to his question seemed appropriate. Of course she yearned for the battlefield. When she turned the question back on him, however, his expression became grave. She continued on, telling him of her wish. It was reasonable, he supposed. She wanted another chance at life, an opportunity to test her limits to their fullest extent, and to experience everything this strange new world had to offer. For a moment the magus felt uncomfortable under her stare. The direct sincerity and honesty with which she spoke was such a change from the endless scheming and poorly-painted flattery of magi and aristocrats. When she continued on to why she had answered his call, however, Ernest looked up, meeting the tyrant's fiery gaze. He had never really considered his own drive to succeed in such a way. In that moment, though, he realized their motivations were not so different. The aristocrat had been seeking to conquer something as well, to strive all his might to overcome a singular obstacle. All those years experimenting, all those endless failures... They had crushed him again and again, but that frail husk of a person had still continued. Even if his hope was gone, he still pushed onward. His sister had once called it 'insanity', but Chi-You's description of a primal drive seemed more fitting than madness.

Ernest nodded at his Servant's sincerity, and for the first time since their meeting a light appeared behind his empty eyes. “I believe I'm beginning to understand.” His voice was not that of a stuffy aristocrat now, no, for the moment all pretenses had ceased. “You've told me your desire. It's one I can identify with, if you can believe that.” He felt a burning in his chest, as if something had awoken from a long sleep. “My goal is one of conquest as well, though not quite as material as yours.” He looked away for a moment. “However, I do not fight out of fear of losing something... rather, I am fighting to reclaim something I've already lost.” He looked back to Chi-You. There was an obvious distress in his expression, a mix of sadness and anger. “No, not 'something'... someone. I have no reason to hide my intentions from you. I intend to use to Grail to perform a true resurrection. Not paltry necromancy, all that can create is a husk, at best it can create something vaguely human, but it can never reconstruct a person just as they were.” His tone was sincere. In any other situation it might have been embarrassing. “I will use the Grail to achieve a goal beyond possibility: the conquest of death. I will restore the woman I love to this world in body and soul.” His expression turned deathly serious. “To a great ruler such as yourself, I suppose the restoration of a single life may seem like a trivial matter, but my reasons for such a thing are twofold. Obviously, I love my wife dearly and wish to see her again... but...” His voice shook for a second. “Someone once told me that the only destiny open to me was loss, that I would lose again and again, and that my efforts could never overcome that absolute.” The creaking voice of that wretched old woman rung in his mind. He shook his head and looked at Chi-You again, speaking with conviction. “That is something I cannot accept. If such a thing is an absolute, then it is an absolute I must overturn. It is an impossible enemy that must nonetheless be destroyed.”

The magus took a deep breath. “And that is why I have come this far. That is the origin of the desperation you spoke of, and that is why I cannot... will not, be defeated in this War.” He nodded, adjusting his tie. “Together we will achieve our goals. When this is over I will have crushed any obstacles in my way, impossible or no...” He looked to the tyrant with an expression of solidarity. “And I will drink a toast to your accomplishments in this modern world.”

@Holy Grail





The Thrall gave an appreciative bow as Ruler answered his questions, still evidently connected to his master in some way or another. “Much obliged.”

As the others began speaking up, though, the Thrall backed away toward the entrance of the Church. It seemed one of the other pairs was not content with asking their questions in front of such an obvious informant, thus, having been advised to avoid any and all conflict for the time being, the Thrall retreated to relax any possible hostilities. Still, it picked up the conversation that followed. It would have been difficult not to, considering the mighty voice of the massive Servant. Without any hesitation, the Heroic Spirit had revealed his true name.

Top priority. Take Note. Forward information immediately.

Shortly after, a newcomer entered the Church. The Master seemed to be the same young man the Thrall had noticed on the street earlier.

Take note.

The Thrall remained in the Church, beside the exit, quietly observing the situation. Remaining there after his questions had been answered was an obvious attempt at gathering information, but such was his task. Still, if asked to leave he certainly would, as overstaying his welcome was a troubling possibility. The Thrall's eyes were trained on the newly arrived Master though, with far more focus than those dim, dead eyes were capable of.

@Holy Grail @Moonlit Sonata @Yukitamas @Beloss





The survey of the city had continued with little success. The search for an enemy base of operations had been mostly fruitless so far, but that was fine. The Thralls had done their work considerably well. The magus smiled slightly at the developments.

“Well, it seems my Thrall at the Church has uncovered some interesting information. Apparently the Grail only requires that seven Servants fall. I'm not sure how many have been summoned in total, but my earlier conversation with Ruler made it seem like the number would easily pass the standard limit.”

The magus closed his eyes, nodding to himself.

“Let's see... two pairs were at the Church, one Master and Servant left without me being able to gather much information... but the other.” Ernest looked surprised. “The other Servant revealed his name right there on the spot. Rostam, the great hero of the Middle East.”

Ernest looked toward Chi-You, obviously puzzling over something.

“Such a Servant would surely be powerful... but that might be a good reason to deal with him now. Besides, if your wish is for a challenge, such a man ought to give you one.”

Ernest shut his eyes again.

“There's another Master as well. It seems he's lost his Servant, but has no intention of leaving the war. The Thrall is watching him as well. There's a chance he could be useful.”

Finally, Ernest switched his consciousness to the dove. A frown crossed his face.

“As for the Temple, something is most certainly there. Numerous bounded fields were present, and I felt as though the bird was being watched. As for who or what that something is, I can't be sure, they were wise enough to hide themselves rather thoroughly. As it stands, confronting that Temple directly won't end well.”
He looked out the window, considering their options.

“I'll send the bird towards the Church as well, so we can find the route Rostam and his Master are taking and set up a position for our ambush. In the meantime, I think we should head in that direction as well. They are still talking with Ruler, but who knows how long that conversation will take.”

@Holy Grail



The dove made one last circle around the Temple before veering off in the direction of the Church. Whatever secrets the Temple held, it would keep them for the time being.

@Moonlit Sonata

"I understand, Ruler," the homunculus said, nodding in response to the mediating servant's words after she spoke.

She felt glad that Rostam still seemed to have her back. It was a bit of reassurance to her for a moment that her servant was not yet ready to leave her since his wish had been unintentionally fulfilled. Though some worries about that matter and others still wore on her mind. Indeed, beyond what information she had learned from the questions this..."familiar" that asked of Ruler, she wanted to ask about a few matters as well. Hopefully things that would not need to be made public according to Ruler's own standards. But if accepting those conditions would be beneficial to getting a private audience with him for a short time, then it would be worth it. If there was one figure that was perhaps most "trustworthy" within this war it might perhaps be this legendary figure who acted as the war's mediator from the Grail itself.

However, the arrival of yet another person who had just apparently lost their servant was not exactly a welcome event to her either. Though she restrained her irritation, Nakae's arrival had once again served to interrupt her chance at talking to Ruler. Though at least she was on neutral ground at the moment, which at least gained her the protector of Ruler for the duration of this visit in her mind. Yet considering how many familiars and masters were coming by here since she had arrived, a slight worry of being followed or stalked by another pair came into her mind. Between the use of public transportation to try to dissuade a public attack against her, and the high mobility of her servant, she had ways to travel and try to keep safe from enemies.

Yet at the same time, she had not seen any Archers in this war yet, at least that she recognized to be such. To be safer about the matter, however, the homunculus looked to the servant who had spoken of the boxes to them after they had arrived, and used her master's clairvoyance on the man. That servant was the one that had been with the grungy looking fellow who was likely his master, if she recalled correctly. But getting a basic read on the other servant would at least give her some info to work with for the time being until she finally could get her audience with Ruler.

---

@Moonlit Sonata @Beloss

---

"Rostam? Hmm, i am not familiar with such a name, but if he is a great hero he must be able to provide a good fight!" the tyrant said, letting out a hearty and loud laugh that rung inside the space of the limo, "But keep that bird at the longest possible useful distance from your targets, and keep it subtle. If they notice it, along with that thrall watching them in some manner at the Church, then they will be perhaps too cautious and wary of us on the way back. We do not need that to be the case if we are to succeed later."

It was good to see her new subordinate getting into the swing of things, proposing an idea and wanting to set things up. Though the other things he had said in response to her words were something to think about. Truly, this magus was a man on a very foolish mission: to try to beat death. And yet, he was determined to try to succeed in it, whether this got him killed or not. Ah, but at the same time there were many fools like herself who dreamed of world conquest and this magus who sought to defy death and overturn fate who had created great legends in this world. Indeed, she looked forwards to fighting said legends here, to see what their mettle was and what kind of power had led them to become heroic spirits in the first place. Fools, kings, killers, knights, heroes of all sorts and shapes could be summoned into this...and it excited her to not end to ponder over the possibilities.

"One good place for an ambush would be at a vital choke point for their return trip, at least if they are heading to this side of the city. For all we know, they will be staying on the eastern half, and that would be its own trouble if we could not manage to find their base at that point. Though in general, searching this western side of the city for bounded fields and bases whilst looking for our place to ambush would be prudent. Again, hotels and out of the way homes would be perfect bases for little mages to hide," the king said, going on for a minute before finally stopping once more and letting out a sigh as he thoughts of battle finally conflicted with a few she had about her master's wish, pushing the servant to look over at him once more, "As for your wish, if you seek to defy not only death, but also what seems to be fate itself, i recommend being prepared for tragedy. Surely the grander one's goals are, the more tragic things can become."

After speaking, however, Chi-You have a shrug, before once again looking out of the limo's window and at the surroundings that passed them by. The modern world lacked the glory of the Age of Gods, to be sure, but at the same time held its own mysteries to her that she wished to conqueror. Ah, but back to the matter of their strategy.

"As for the target you have picked, my new subordinate, remember that there are many ways we can go about this. If we do not have a proper plan of attack, they enemy may merely sense us and flee or attack before we get the chance to act to complete the ambush. After all, i am no assassin."

---

@DrowsyPangolin

@Moonlit Sonata
@Beloss
@Holy Grail
@DrowsyPangolin
@Cu Chulainn
@Yukitamas

---

"Damn, it got crowded in here real quick..."

A girl in a dirtied, white hoodie slowly lifted herself from the pew, still obviously dizzy. She had been trying to sleep off this hangover feeling or whatever the hell, but people just kept coming in the door and talking and shit. Kicking a few boxes away, she eventually assumes something of a sitting position, not quite ready to stand yet. Her body had been through probably the worst ordeal she could remember - having all of its magical energy drained after having never used it before, and then burning through all three command spells in the space of about five minutes. In other words, she had spent the morning doing a bunch of shit that a person like her should never have had the right to do.

But, she was still here. She'd never had the right to do half the shit she's done, but as long as she remained in the world after the fact, it was all just as good.

It seemed like she had avoided death, this time. Both she and Yuko had wildly underestimated the amount of magical energy required to keep a Servant materialized, or at least that particular one. She just didn't have what it took, plain and simple. It was only by sacrificing all three Command Spells to be used as raw energy, that some magical loser like her could keep someone like the Emperor in this world. And even that...how long would it last? She needed to find him a proper Master, ASAP. If she tried to do this on her own, she'd die and Berserker would disappear. That was the worst possible outcome.

Correcting that fate would be her first goal. For now, though, it was worth looking over the other people that had assembled...the other contestants in the War.


Lesse...

Holy shit, Ruler's outfit. The dude wears sunglasses indoors. Sunglasses. Indoors. There is simply no excuse for that. He was hiding his eyes, but even with that in mind, he certainly seemed to be keeping his poise, despite the overwhelming number of patrons. So this is the guy... Her first impression of him was that she wanted to vomit just looking at the sheer amount of fucking jewelry hanging off his clothes. It was hard for her to put her faith in an image like that, to say the least. Ugh.


Other than him...

Some dude with a wicked beard who seemed really goddamn full of himself. Master looks like that woman with the messy hair. She seemed polite, but there was a bit of shrewdness there. Not any more than would be reasonable, given the situation, though. Jesus shit, that dude is tall. What did he say his name was? Roast'em? Airi wasn't the best with foreign names, but it seemed important.


Some really hot white-haired dude...oh, hey, he's wearing a hoodie, too! Hoodie bros! She was kinda half-conscious at the time, but Airi remembered that he was here when she had been brought here by Boxzerker, whom by the looks of it had kinda fucked off to go do his own thing, which was fine with her. She could still sense him, so he was doing fine, wherever he was. For now.


Some guy that...wait, what? Airi's eyes narrowed at the thing that she didn't, at the time, understand to be a puppet of sorts. But something was...off about it's Intent. Everyone had small movements and things here and there - even something as simple as breathing was sometimes accompanied by conscious thought. But this person-shaped thing was completely devoid of even that. Something with no will of its own. Her stomach churned, as her mind played back her encounter with The Dead, back in Tokyo. It was almost the same...not quite the same, but...

Her memory of that time was tinged red. She remembered throwing up. She remembered, a dead thing, shambling towards her, and something, something told her to kill it. No, 'told her to' doesn't even begin to describe that impulse. Just looking at that...that lump of flesh, was making her more and more nauseous. Maybe if she just pretended it wasn't there...it was backing away towards the door anyway, so averting her gaze was easy. The last thing she wanted was to go crazy like that again.


...Aaand some sickly-looking, dark-haired guy who had just walked in. Damn, he looks like he's been through hell. He's yelling at the tall dude about something...

Something about his eyes...they had a familiar sheen to them.

All in all, two Masters, two Servants, and one Weird-Ass Thing. And one Ruler.

"Your Servant died?" Airi turned to Nakae, following Ruler's own words. Her arm was rested on the back of the pew, her body turned sideways to give him another glance. One of her disheveled twintails, unfurling from lack of care, fell over the back of the wooden seat, wavering slightly as the very faint blue glow in her eyes was masked by the church's ambient light. "Hey, wait a minute...that gaudy dude mentioned someone was about to lose their servant when I got brought here...did you come here from the graveyard?"

If that was the case, her Berserker, the Emperor, should have headed towards him...she had definitely missed something, despite overhearing most everything that had gone on in the church during her ongoing recovery. Had her Servant tried to intervene, and failed? Was he injured? He shouldn't be, everything seemed fine with their link for the time being, but if he had been involved in something like that...


"Oh, wait, shit!" Her head snapped back to the disgustingly gilded image of Ruler's form, pointing a languished finger at him in her fading exhaustion. "You never answered about what happened with Stirner! The monster! The, the fuckin', I dunno, third-party thing!" The girl was breathing a bit heavier than usual, and her body felt like a rock at the bottom of the ocean. But still. The other Masters and Servants in the room weren't even in her peripheral vision at this point. "That was why he brought me here, wasn't it!? The hell'd you go distracting him and dodging his question for!?"

Her memories were foggy. She didn't remember the exact context, but she knew that her Servant, in loose terms of being 'hers', had started grilling Ruler on some important thing, before the guy just randomly decided to send him on a sidequest or something. She didn't fully understand his intentions, apparent or hidden, due to the fact that she had been barely conscious at the time, and unable to react. But all the words were coming back to her, now, including her own words that had been left unsaid, now taking to the forefront of her mind.

"So, so, okay, just hold up a moment. What I was told - not by an expert, but, this is just what I thought was happening here - that a Grail War is a fight involving Masters and Servants." Airi leaned forward in the pew, trying to force strength into her legs for the eventual moment where she would need to stand again. The fact that she was speaking in the presence of many, many people more distinguished than she didn't seem to occur to her in the slightest. "Whatever the shit happened to Stirner was not one of those two things. The hell's going on?"

"...really, now?"

At Nakae's statement of resolution, the corners of Ruler's lips turned upwards slightly. Even with his sunglasses on, it was clear to tell that, despite the utter absurdity of what had just been said, he was impressed at some level.

"You have one inactive Command Seal, no Servant, and from the look of you, you're not even a magus. Forget taking on a Servant, if you just plan on taking on an experienced Master, you'd die four times out of five. Even given all of that, though, you're still planning on fighting?"

The overseer shook his head slightly, a chuckle leaving him. "Well, it's not my place to stop you. As per your decision, you're henceforth a continued participant in the Holy Grail War. If not for my restraining of that freak, you'd already be dead, so you won't get any aid from me as per my neutrality. Similarly, you are not under my protection due to this decision. I can only hope you do not regret this choice. If your desire is strong enough though, then I'm sure a path will manage to appear."

Before he could go on, though, the comatose Master of the departed Boxzerker awoke. Ruler turned slightly to face her, coughing slightly at just how casually he was referred to as "the gaudy dude". At the girl's sudden outburst, though, he let out a slight sigh. "As the now-partnerless Master can attest, there is a Servant in this war who commands 'monsters'. In all likelihood, what had 'kidnapped' the magus was one such being. He has almost certainly been killed by that Servant." He explained with a tint of coldness, his mind going back to the thought of that freak.

For something to be referred to as a monster, the most likely candidate was one of her demons. Granted, Ruler had no idea why the Boxzerker had said his Master was "kidnapped", but chalked it up to an eccentricy of that Servant. After all, he was hardly a normal one; in all likelihood, the Master was simply grabbed and then killed seconds later. The Berserker wasn't particularly powerful among Servants, so the idea of one of those demons being able to overpower him wasn't outside of the imagination. All in all-

"Hm?"

Ruler froze up slightly as a chill ran down his back. Something in a sense beyond the physical, not born of his own abilities but rather born of the container that the Holy Grail had assigned him, screamed into his head to the point of being deafening when his mind moved to dismiss the girl's claim.

This was wrong. The same kind of wrong as when that Lancer died. The same kind of wrong that was why the Holy Grail had decided he was necessary.

"...this monster, describe it to me."

---

@Moonlit Sonata
@Beloss
@Holy Grail
@DrowsyPangolin
@Cu Chulainn
@Yukitamas

---

"I'unno, I wasn't fuckin' there. I missed the thing." Airi folded one leg over the other atop the wooden pew in the front row, raising her head up at Ruler indignantly. She had intentionally chosen to ignore his reaction to the 'gaudy dude' comment. "I only got a second-hand account from 'Zerker. From what I heard, dude went fuckin' sanic speed through the wall and bodied the kid. Through another wall. I woulda thought the kid was dead on impact, but he was pretty adamant that Stirner was still alive, somehow. And if he's not going to give up on him, then I'm not going to give up on him, either."

It was in her best interest, regardless. She needed another person to anchor the Emperor to this world, and there was no better candidate than his original Master.

But even more than that...it just seemed like the right thing to do. What happened to that guy, that kid about her own age...did he really deserve that? If he still has a chance, through some twist of fortune or reason...doesn't he deserve to take it, alongside the Servant he summoned himself? Airi knew more than anyone just how in over her head she was in this War. The best thing she could do was make sure that 'her' Servant, the one to whom she had entrusted her own wish, was placed in good hands.

"I guess the most distinct things about him was, you know, the whole thing about his speed and power completely surpassing a Servant's, without being a Servant himself?" The girl continued sardonically, stressing the particular detail once again. "You're telling me...there's a Servant in this war who can just shit out things that are themselves stronger than Servants? That's fucking..."

Crazy. It was absolutely crazy.

But at the same time, it made sense. It put Ruler's actions in perspective. He wasn't immediately striking out against the unknown third-party interference, because that interference was actually the result of a Grail War participant. That meant his 'impartial' hands were tied. Just great. Wonderful. Awesome.

"Uh...physical description...I mean, he was there for like, half a second maybe, so I'm not gonna paint a picture of him. Most-all Berserker managed to get was that it was a black-haired man." Airi told the man flatly, "Kinda long-ish, maybe...and something about his eyes being off."

Despite her aloof demeanor, Izumi Airi was watching Ruler closely. Partially to judge the attitude of the arbiter towards the war itself, but more than that, the momentary crack in the man's poise hadn't gone lost on her. He was worried. And as the person in charge of the entire Grail War, the only thing he could possibly be worried about was the Grail War itself.

In other words, a shiver down that man's spine, meant that the entire premise all of these people were fighting over was very likely flawed.

"Uh...physical description...I mean, he was there for like, half a second maybe, so I'm not gonna paint a picture of him. Most-all Berserker managed to get was that it was a black-haired man. Kinda long-ish, maybe..."

"-and something about his eyes being off."

...ah, so that was it. That was the source of this feeling. Ruler's right hand, having released the cane previously held in it minutes earlier when the Boxzerker had appeared, clenched into a tight fist.

“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."

"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.”

“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.”

That could hardly be a coincidence. This thing, this existence that almost certainly one of the freak's demons and yet was capable of matching and exceeding a Servant in parameters, was interfering with the war.

...and yet, Ruler's options were practically nonexistent. If this was a Servant, he could monitor its location from afar, call it to him with a Command Seal, see its weaknesses at a glance, or even force it to kill itself. Against something that wasn't a Servant, though, the cheat-like advantages of the Ruler class were null.

"...it seems I was mistaken, then. The man you've described is not the property of that Servant; as far as I know, he is a true third-party."

He could put the war on hiatus until the offending party had been found and cut down, but how long would that take? The Holy Grail War couldn't be sustained forever, and if it was postponed for too long then it would end in failure, even if the third-party was apprehended. On the other hand, continuing the war as it was would only mean this thing would be able to continue acting.

"Appears as a black-haired human male. Does not emit prana in the same way as a Servant. Capable of killing a Knight-Class Servant with little difficulty. Whatever it is, this being is now a public enemy of the Holy Grail War. Whoever brings me its head will be substantially rewarded."

Wasn't enough, that certainly wasn't enough, but what else could he do? Scour the city aimlessly until he found it? If it could detect Servants, as it seemed to be able to do, then that would be the blind searching for the seeing; he'd fail almost without question. Deploy his Noble Phantasm? Granted, that was an option, but he couldn't play such a card this early in the war, in case another Servant took advantage of the situation.

...draw it out of hiding?

Killed a Servant, kidnapped a Master. What was its aim, exactly? To cause chaos in the war, to obtain those Command Seals, to locate the Grail? If he knew its motive, maybe he could stage a trap.

"Any suggestions to deal with this situation are welcome."

@Moonlit Sonata
@Beloss
@Holy Grail
@DrowsyPangolin
@Cu Chulainn
@Yukitamas

---

"Wait wait wait waaaait waitwaitwait, hold up. This thing's killed a Servant already!?" Airi leaned forward incredulously, "That's not the sorta shit you just mention offhand! Jeez!"

That critical piece of information changed everything, in her mind. It confirmed two speculations - one, that her own Servant wasn't the only one to have an encounter with the man. And two, that his aims included the destruction of Servants, despite being a true third-party entity, as Ruler had confirmed.

With a heavy sigh, Airi leaned back in the pew, resting both of her elbows high on its back as her brain slowly processed each piece of information in turn. What that man wanted. How to stop him. Who she could trust. Who she couldn't trust. Who was powerful. Who was weak.

What to do. What to do. What to do.

Clock's ticking, hand's spinning, planet's revolving, tick tick tick.

"...This place ain't safe."

Airi concluded, speaking in a low voice with her head down - not to anyone in particular, but merely stating aloud the conclusion that she had come to herself. "He's a third party, right? He's not a servant, right? So, this 'neutral ground' isn't any more 'neutral' to him than the rest of the city." The girl raised her head, scowling at the circumstance. "Clearly, he can locate Servants and Masters, somehow, so he probably knows we're all here. He sure as hell knows you're here, because where the fuck else would you be. And just as clearly, it has something to gain from targeting both Servants and Masters."

"So, what's stopping him from crashing in through the roof like the meteor that killed the fucking dinosaurs, right now, right this minute? Either he doesn't want to, or he can't." She was speaking just as acerbically as before, but her tone was more controlled. "If he doesn't want to, then he must have everything he wants already, which I really fucking doubt. And if he can't, it can only mean that he'd rather avoid a big, showy conflict with multiple enemies. Or, in other words, he's scared of us."

After all, he had only shown himself twice, so far. Once, in a mere half-second glimpse to kidnap Stirner and eliminate Berserker in a single move - only the latter condition of which Airi had prevented, by nothing more than happenstance. And another time, to quickly slay a single Servant who was, from the sounds of things, unaccompanied.

None of that spoke to an ultra-powerful being that could topple over the Grail War like a game of Jenga. No, to Airi, it spoke of a single-minded assassin, scoping for opportunities and picking off contestants where it could gain a decisive advantage, one by one.

"He doesn't want to take us all on at once. In fact, it seems to me almost like he's trying to limit his engagements with us, even though his goals involve killing." Airi pointed out, her voice twisting distastefully over the word 'kill', as though it were an especially bitter foodstuff. "So, the solution here seems really simple to me. How about we stop fucking fighting each other, chasing after everyone's favorite Magical Big Gulp like a pack of autistic ferrets, because you can damn well guess that's what he's hoping we do. He's given no indication that he can or will attack a group, so we make a fucking group and come down on his ass like an eighteen-wheeler."

Airi stood up to her feet, finally - on top of the pew, still, which now bore scuff marks from her dirtied tennis shoes. Strength was back in her body, now. As short as she was, even standing on a chair put her at about even height with most of the church's other inhabitants, but she was fine with that. Despite her ragged demeanor, clothes torn, patched, and stained, hairstyle coming apart at the seams from days without maintenance, she held her head high, pulling her hood overtop as she did.

If there was a certain 'common sense' shared among mages, which allowed them to survive in the world they called their own, then for simple thugs who lived their life on the streets, the same held true. In this ritual, created by mages, presided over by mages, enacted by mages, that unique perspective was itself a powerful wild card.

Can never do enough on your own - for someone as hard-headed as Airi, it had taken a box-cutter to the gut when she was 15 to learn that lesson. And now, whether it was in Tokyo or in Fuyuki, she rolled with a crew.

Your Servant died?" "Hey, wait a minute...that gaudy dude mentioned someone was about to lose their servant when I got brought here...did you come here from the graveyard?"

His brow twitched. Nakae glowered for a moment, although not really at her. Ah, it was a good thing he couldn’t see things on himself, or otherwise… “Yeah, I did.”

His attention returned to the supervisor. The odds that were probably very generous on part of this judge, this... Ruler told him were received with a nod. He knew that, he knew that he was basically going to die if he fought. It wasn't anything brave. It was only brave to gamble with something if it had worth and was important. If it was something that didn't really matter whether you had it or not then there wasn't any bravery in risking it. He wasn’t brave at all. But he was rather grateful about that salvation from that the gaudy man granted him. "Yeah... thanks for that." He couldn't meet the man's shade-covered eyes and instead looked over to a corner that didn't seem to have anyone lingering. "Yeah, it wouldn't just be death. You saved me in more ways than you know with that."

He slinked back towards the pews, silent as the conversation turned to the strange happenings and monsters that plagued this war that were apparently very abnormal. If that was normal, in any sort of degree then what would be abnormal? He didn’t want to know, not at all. He was abnormally powerful, strange, and apparently something that made Ruler feel disturbed, even as he accepted the existence of that. He couldn’t believe he would feel something worse than that,

But…

"So, the solution here seems really simple to me. How about we stop fucking fighting each other, chasing after everyone's favorite Magical Big Gulp like a pack of autistic ferrets, because you can damn well guess that's what he's hoping we do. He's given no indication that he can or will attack a group, so we make a fucking group and come down on his ass like an eighteen-wheeler."

He stepped out again after taking a glance at every other person present. He couldn’t beat them, he couldn’t beat their servants, not even if he knew about them. If he knew something then maybe… he’d at least know how deep a hole he was digging himself.

He couldn’t do anything alone, he needed to know more and try. This was a way to fulfill both of those criteria. He’d be seen as weak maybe, being the first to latch on like this. He was weak, and there was nothing wrong with being seen as that. He didn’t have anything to be prideful about now, especially as he could still taste the tinge of sour of whatever mess the traces of his last meal was. Actually, despite everything he felt pretty hungry and thirsty.

"I'm going to a convenience store first however."