"Very convenient. It saves up some effort. That said, you could have made that clear from the very beginning when you were asked," Hifumi said in a nonchalant after Church Ape made his demonstration. She thought that there was supposed to be some effort to be put into this cooperation but it looked like she was the only one thinking of it properly.

"What a waste of time," she thought, sighing. Allowing herself to be affected by those below her station was too unbecoming for her to even consider, after all.

"Well, given this late revelation, I believe that we will have some free time until we are allowed to do what we came here for. If that's the case, what is it that you wished to talk about, Miss Paula?" Hifumi said completely moving away from the previous issue almost as if it didn't exist.

Black Faction's Base

---

The journey over had been uneventful for Caster. He had faster ways to move from country to country, but for the sake of saving magical energy and keeping with the group he had joined them in their mundane transportation, remaining in physical form over the journey and idly fashioning a quartet of magical stone daggers. He generally said nothing unprompted, but seemed vaguely dissatisfied with his own work. Or perhaps that was just his natural state. It was impossible for him to love anything, after all.

The beady little eyes of the fairy king scanned their base of operations with a certain amount of judgement. He commented "I can work with this. It's not bad." As the group entered the building, and before the door closed, almost as an afterthought, he glanced back outside and drew a set of elves from the earth.

Just like that, fey creatures of the world had risen up from nothing. Angular faces, paper-white skin, pointed ears, and animalistic eyes marked them all as utterly inhuman. With the simple order of "Gather me some wood," They were scattered to the four winds.

Within, Caster passed judgement as he heard of the priests' fortifications. "Lead? I understand its usefulness, but I can do much more with silver and gold, which are more befitting of the place where I reside anyhow. Don't worry, I'll find my own, just don't come whining to me while I'm trying to make this place somewhere not even a Servant could penetrate. You're the one who'll have to deal with it if those idiots succeed with their genocide, after all." He stalked off, muttering, "When I was alive, pretty much nobody was killing all the humans..."

Travelling a fair way down one of the immense hallways, Caster chose a room to reside in, immediately decided it was too small, and then melted the wall between it and the neighbouring room with a quick rune. He considered adding a third room to his super-room, but figured he should fill up the space he had, first. With a bit of focus, he drew out the elementals underground, half-forming a team of dwarves who brought him offerings of precious metal from deep below. He completed their formation into gangly fellows with bushy beards, and the lot of them began constructing a forge. They would work with the metal first, and he would bother with recruiting faeries once there was enchanting to be done.

Things were getting cramped. He was definitely going to have to melt more walls.

---

---

Jack had intended to improve relations within the team during the flight over, but things had been dull enough that there hadn't really been an opportunity. His own Servant was as bombastic as ever, and between her and Anderson he had met two people in one day who didn't really fit with his reserved and respectful image of Christianity. Not that it was his business.

"You enjoy your discourse with the priests, Saber. I'll let you know when it's time to fight. You don't have a problem with being the first one into battle, right? Though Berserker might contest you for that, and Rider would give you a race and a half if he had a mind to beat you to it."

With only one case in hand, he didn't really have much need to settle into a room at the moment. With that in mind, he made to grab Father Howard's attention for a moment. "Mind if I poke around some of the stuff in these rooms? Blessed artifacts and the stuff you guys use to kill Dead Apostles... It might be good to bust some out if we're doing this, hm?"

"You know, it's awfully dangerous for you young folk to be climbing up big old radio towers without hard hats on." A voice called out from below Atalanta and Bellerophon, an aging man with balding grey hair wearing typical old people clothes. He didn't appear to be all that impressive really, he was a bit short, hunched over and breathing heavily, a little bit on the stout side if we were being honest. indeed, this looked to be a normal old man, out of shape and in his twilight years trying to call out to some crazy youth who were doing something reckless. So why is it then, that he was climbing the radio tower after them, his hands knowing exactly where to go to ascend in just the right fashion. And why was it, that neither Archer nor Rider had sensed this old man, until he was merely five yards away from them, hundreds of feet off the ground. "You might fall if you're not careful. All it takes is a little-"

It was instant, the way the old man shifted. One moment he seemed tired, trembling even as he ascended the tower towards the two Servants, the next he was right next to Bellerophon on the same support pylon with a youthful glint in his eyes as he stared down the Rider with a smile. "-surprise to make you lose your balance!" In one swift motion the old man pulled off his jacket, obscuring his face and body for just long enough for the veil to be lifted, and for Assassin to reveal his true form in flashy form.

An explosion of blue confetti and white smoke, along with several dozen playing cards flying through the air past Bellerophon, slowly fading away to reveal what just might be the loudest person in existence, both in dress and demeanor. A young man in bright contrasting colors, a tuxedo of pure white with a royal blue dress shirt underneath, white gloves, white dress pants, and a tall white top hat with a blue ribbon wrapped around the base. This wasn't even mentioning the comically over sized monocle on his face or the explosion of playing cards flying through the air around him as he tossed aside the jacket he had once worn. "So did I scare ya? Come on now, I gotta know if the guys I'm working with scare easy! I have to plan my heist around you after all, can't have a crew that scares easy!" He grabbed a support bar above him and stepped backwards off the pylon Bellerophon stood on, swinging to another behind him without even looking and lightly touching down as he straightened out his tie and tipped his hat to Atalanta.

"So my master told me I'm not allowed to introduce myself to you guys, but I told him to go stuff it one I saw the little kitty up here. He's even screaming at me now, but nothing can hold back true love!" The unknown Servant waggled his eyebrows at Atalanta suggestively, a playful grin on his face as he looked up at her, trying to get the perfect angle to see what was going on underneath that- he quickly straightened out and looked back at her face. "So lets start this introduction with style and pizzazz, just like everything should be done in the world! I am the King of Crooks, the Monarch of Muggers, the Sultan of Swindling and the most famous Gentleman Thief in the world, Arsene Lupin! Also known as Assassin of Black, Servant of Asmar Sharir. Oh man he is really getting loud now, is there a mute button on this whole mental connection thing?" He poked a pinky finger into his right ear, an annoyed expression on his face as he dealt with the full brunt of his Master's wrath over screaming his True Name to the world. "I'm afraid I missed the initial meet and greet when y'all were summoned though, so I gotta know the name of this enchanting beauty." Arsene stared at Atalanta as he said this, a dopey smile crossing his face once more as he stared up at her.

"Lancer would you mind repeating your question that you asked the father?" Anderson said still as neutral as ever with his crooked smile. Lancer repeated her question quickly enough, "I asked about the possibility of familiars Sir." Lancer responded as Anderson's grin twitched. "Yes and last time I checked scrying magic is different from scrying animals. Context lass the Father didn't answer it wrong, or partially he wasn't asked if there was protection from non-familiar types. Now then let's get moving we have parties to divide up to before dinner." Anderson stated as he walked away. Father Howard however interjected himself in as he looked towards Caster walking away, "Of course please tell us if we may be of assistance anything you need to help fortify this place will be given to you if possible. We may not have much in the way of resources immediately but we can send forums to the Vatican, and or the nearby storehouses." Howard said as he nodded in the direction Caster left, and then turned to the others. "Very well I will see you all later good luck with your plans."

====

Timeskip - Dusk

Anderson, and the group had promptly moved into their own groups, each master had made their plans, and decided it would be best to split into parties. Anderson had teamed up with Leon to patch the hole that Assassin left in the group. Leon had hoped that assassin would show up but to his knowledge he had no showed. Leon wondered if this would be an issue. On the way there Anderson had informed him that if assassin's master had gone rogue then the simplistic thing to do would simply to kill him at their own time. But they were wrong to doubt him until proven otherwise. Anderson, and Leon had decided to travel by car driven by Anderson to the south side of the general location of the forest. Monica had decided to stay back in order to observe but she was within distance. She had given those who cared for it a trinket of hers that helped dispel basic illusion magics. In other words the half assed barrier that they found themselves parked in front of. Probably it was the first line of defense against the civies. Leon raised it up in front of him, and the nothing in front of him shimmered, and a forest appeared far away. Anderson used his watch to try, and scry it back immediately shut it off when suddenly the watch started to spark. "That ain't happenin' don't worry lad with Lancer here, and my skill we effectively have two servant level combatants. Let's hope the others don't need me." Anderson stated Leon wondering if that was bluster, or not just nodded. The forest seemed to go on forever, and the trinket he had wasn't able to dispel it further. Leon stared towards the forest out in the middle of a giant field. A sea of grass separated him from the forest, and so did the others.

The other groups were dispatched towards the north, west, and east. Leon hoped that they were prepared.

"I see, so that's like one of those stories about literal geniuses. Unless we word our requests in a way that can't be used against us, we are bound to be suffer the consequences for a lack of 'context', right? I'll take note of that," Hifumi said to Church Ape. The more he tried to explain their blunders by making it subjectively more complex, the worst he made his case in her opinion. But, by all means, she wouldn't forbid him from trying. Seeing how a supposed Executor of the Church was being wrapped around her finger was at least entertaining enough for the time being.

Assassin was lucky that Atalanta noticed a trace of the Clock Tower's smell on him right in the moment he chose to materialize in front of them. Otherwise, he might as well have had a very uncomfortable date with an arrow.

The fanfare of his introduction earned a frown from the Archer. Even so, she dismissed her bow and said, "Archer, Atalanta. Now that you are here, it'll save us the trouble of tracking you down later," in a voice that sounded more like that of an angry beast that had her territory invaded, or their meal interrupted, than that of a human.

Just as a flock of blackbirds cried in the distance announcing the upcoming twilight, Archer said, "We should go back. It's about time we begin this war," and leapt off the tower, turning back into her Spirit Form halfway through the fall.
"Very well then, Rider. I'll not hinder you by tagging along. When you and Archer think that it's safe I shall follow. In the meanwhile, I'll be waiting here," Hifumi said to her Servant as they got to the northern edge of the forest and set up a double-layered bounded field on the hillside, cutting a small section of it almost completely out of the world with a boundary line that reached into Imaginary Numbers Space, to protect herself.

"May I ask what you'll do, Miss Paula? Despite this 'illusion' being as much of an amateur trick as I thought it would be, wadding into their territory will probably hinder our Servants' abilities to fight back as they please. Nevertheless, if you wish to 'join the fray', I won't stop you by any means," Hifumi asked Archer's Master as she sat down on a rock, unfurled a scroll, and began to write what seemed to be the continuation of a story in it.

Atalanta crouched down and scooped a handful of soil as they stepped into the forest, taking a moment to analyze it. The total silence and stillness of the air inside of it was unnatural enough for her to guess, but the forest soil was what convinced Archer of the truth.

"This forest is dead. There's not a single natural beast living in it," she said to Rider (and probably Assassin) as she quickly leapt on the tree branches and disappeared between the foliage.

"If the enemy's stronghold is in the center of this forest, we should focus on penetrating as deep to the south as we can. Just beware that anything that moves here is certain to be an enemy," she said from the branches above. The extremely low visibility inside the woods was no impediment for Archer who gracefully advanced into enemy territory, unseen and unheard among the sickly-looking trees.

A predator could hunt even when there was no moon in the sky and no wind to carry their prey's scent, and so could Atalanta.

Forest Outskirts, West Side

---

Jack approached the lesser barrier and held out the charm he had been given, offering him and his companions a proper look at the edge of the forest. He didn't step forward yet, however. Between the four of them, the Masters were the ones who would need to avoid risk at all costs. If the protections of this place were on a Servant's level, what chance would humans have of surviving? Still, it would have been a waste of their abilities to hide out, particularly if one of their Servants were to fall due to inaccessible healing.

"Your man can do his thing whenever he's ready, Mr. Gardener."

The four of them - two Masters and two Servants, stood ready at the threshold, and it fell to Berserker to lead the charge. Suffering the traps of the enemy, and returning that suffering when the opportunity arose, was the mad warrior's role. To enable the vulnerable magi to follow, Saber had been enlisted as an escort, and backup if Berserker's life came under genuine threat.

"Stay close enough that you can get to either of us in a single move, Saber, and let's see what our ally uncovers."

The forest... Imposing. Dark. Gloomy. But Saber didn't care about any of that stuff. For the past hour+ she'd been doing nothing but ranting about the priest. "Who does he think he is telling me I can't read his stupid religious texts? Just because I'm dead! Oh that ignorant savage! I'm a Archbishop! Even in death I outrank his moldy ugly face!" She was indeed beauty, grace, and more than willing to punch somebody in the face. Her foot ground into the dirt, as she continued to swear about. Clearly displeased, and a mixture of other raw emotions. Were she not a professional, she would have stormed back to the church, frozen the priest for treason, and sat down in a corner to read the bible for ten hours straight. Nothing like a good reminder of Saul's trials to put one back on the right path.

But now, as she was loyal to the man who summoned her, she stood on the western outskirts. Her blade ready to defend anybody it required, or kill those of lesser value. No doubt she could unleash the blade's true power, as the cold probably wouldn't bother Berserker. So she could blast him, and cut him free later.
"This war... Ugh, it's so tactical. Back in my day we would all gather in a big field and start hacking away at each other. Best at hacking without being hacked was the winner." Her blade snapped at a nearby blade of grass, freezing it before it simply shattered. "Well, whatever lies ahead, I'm going to kill it. Bring its body back to the priest, and have him open whatever secrets he is hiding up for judgement. I loath secrets, but if there is something I'll never loathe it's the idea of lord Charlemagne picking me up in his muscular arms. Squeezing me tight to his chest so that I can listen to his heartbeat~" She trailed off into fantasy, leaving everybody around her to simply drone her out.
_____________________________________________________________________________________


"You see, the advantage of starting in the north, and going south, is that you know the worst the world has to offer is behind you. The south is beaches and paradise, but the north is an everlasting winter." It was such a strange way to think about it, but the Alchemist stood with his chosen group, caster by his side. "You see, the trick to all magecraft is association. If you associate going south with bringing the winter with you, than your strength rises. I'm sure Caster could explain it with a greater depth of understanding, but that just distracts from the conceptualization."

Eventually though, he ended this with a sigh. "To be honest, we should have gone with Berserker. A caster class amplifying a Berserker would have been truly frightening."

In trying to tune out the rambling and ranting of the Saber-class Servant, Thomas almost missed the cue from his ally to begin the assault. Nodding to the doctor the older Magus turned away from the pair towards where his Servant waited, the brute standing apart from the rest of the group to give him the room he would need to launch his assault.

The plan of attack was simple enough; Berserker would charge into the enemy forest, destroy everything in his path while attracting as much attention as possible. The aim was to disrupt more than anything else, to force the Grey’s to pay attention to their part of the assault and draw their focus away from other areas so that the other teams would have less opposition to deal with; Berserker was the Servant with the best chance of surviving such a plan and Saber could add her considerable power to the mix if need be while the good doctor would hopefully keep them all alive.

Such brute tactics were a far cry from Thomas’ usual dealing, but after decades of political manoeuvrings within the Order, of carefully concealing barbs within words, maintaining and tracking allegiances and of keeping his back free of knives, it would be nice to throw his weight around for once.

Raising his staff Thomas pointed the Mystic Code towards the heart of the hidden forest. “Go Berserker! Throw yourself to the wolves and rage to your heart’s content! Destroy everything in your path!”

The Servant wasted no time in following the command, as if he had been waiting for this moment his entire life, and launched himself forward. The Berserker leapt towards the forest, dirt and turf spraying his Master’s clothing as he kicked off from his starting position, and leapt again when he touched the ground. After two more leaps he found himself already at the treeline, Berserker diving headfirst past the border between forest and open ground and disappearing from sight.

Thomas closed his eyes and connected his vision to that of his Servant’s, instantly being greeting by the nauseating sight of branches and foliage and underbrush flying past at dizzying speeds. His warrior was moving quickly through the Grey’s vaunted forest, deeper into enemy territory with every reckless step; it was only a matter of time before someone noticed if they hadn’t already.

“Now we wait, I suppose.” Thomas stared into the distance with a contended smile on his face, staff held before him and both hands resting on top. “What do you suggest we should do to pass the time?”

@ManyThings@Reflection

The cold shutter of footsteps shook the whole land around the forest. Soldiers marched, and moved forward...but it became soon quick to Atalante that they weren't alive. Skeletons marching by the droves through the dead trees, and forests armed with crudely made weapons that accentuated the evil aura the permeated the air around them. Almost a horde but not enough came marching forward towards her at the lead a man in a long brown cloak riding a black horse, and wielding a sword. Too make things worse a young girl's voice rang out of the nearby trees but was clearly distorted, "You know you REALLY should've guessed something was up about the grey trees but hey I'm not one to judge the almighty black faction right?" the cocky girl's voice rang as the tree Atalante's foot touched down on broke, and the roots on some of the trees sprung from the ground in an attempt to attack her. Not all of the trees attacked just the ones in the immediate vicinity of rider. Rider's luck wasn't any better as the undead army's backline showered 'Perseus's' area with a shower of boney arrows.

----
Just as those contemplating on the west side of the forest began to move forward there was a suddenly sharp whistle from the forest as a group of wild wolves came out backed by a couple dozen skeleton warriors garbed in black armor, and led by a strange sight. A dark haired woman with tanned skin, and bulging muscles. She wore a tight fit set of early age east asian armor, and held a spear in her hands. Though one could not see her eyes due to the darkness she made no move to hide themselves, and led their troops from the front. The spear was a massive, and the red cap on top of the servant's head fluttered in the breeze, they raised their spear towards the Red Faction members in front of them. They had came through the path opposite to that Berserker had taken. "Know me Members of Black Faction a Tiger General like myself needs not fear worms like you! I've come to engage you all on behalf of Red Faction! I am Lancer of Red! I will be your doom as a warrior of the heavens!" Lancer said pointing their spear forward still. Despite the size, and apparent shape of the curved, and intricately made spear the woman held it without any difficulty. The small army at their back made no moves.

----
The path of destruction Berserker carved was quite a large one as he stormed through the forest. As he made is way through the trees attempted to stop him roots, and branches of some of the small trees tried to swing at him. However it wasn't until a well placed arrow coming from the center of the forest in front of Berserker that something stopped him. The arrow hit with the power of a well placed hammer shot. Whoever Red Archer was their shots were taken by a man, or woman of sufficient power. However his armor took the damage for the most part. Despite this a man in the skin of wolves came out. He held a red spear in his hands, and what little armor he had on was dented, and crudely held together. The enemy berserker shouted as he charged at Black Berserker his spear in hand.

---
"Well then what do we have here lad? It seems we have a couple guests." Anderson stated as he looked forward he pulled out a sizable black key from his jacket as an group of strange chimera like animals approached Lancer who quickly chanted a rune of fire, and set ablaze the land in front of them. However it was not a moment later did Anderson knock an arrow shot away...or attempted to as the black key in his hand shattered instantly on contact, and the next moment scrapped Lancer's side barely missing her. "Well that's disheartening...I'll take the small fry." Anderson grumbled as he pulled out two more black keys, and charged through the fire towards the chimera in front of him. Lancer meanwhile took a chance to look at a young man with a well made blade, and a young woman in red armor stepping out from the forest's borderlines. "Those two aren't servants..." grumbled Lancer, and Leon looked forward taking the sights in, and using his intuition as a master gauged that those two weren't servants indeed...but they seemed to be confident. The boy in blue finery with some armor moved forward, and raised his blade. "I am a master of the Red Faction I challenge Lancer of Black to a fight." Leon looked at Lancer who nodded, and moved forward. "An incredibly foolish challenge but I accept prepare for death Red Master." The boy held himself at the defense and that was when Leon noticed the strong mana coming from the boy...he was being empowered by something. He hoped this wasn't a trap...but it obviously was.

Atalanta didn't say a word to answer the enemy's mockery. She ignored the illusory voice as well, it would be pointless to waste energy indulging the enemy's ego.

As for the broken branch. It would be no impediment for Archer. This forest was a far cry from what she'd seen in her life when it comes to hardship of navigating the terrain. She quickly spun around in the air and kicked off the tree's trunk, hitting right at another one. And, if this one broke, Archer would repeat it again and again until either there was no branch left in the forest or she found a solid foothold.

Simply put, trying to knock Atalanta out of her feet with such tricks would be impossible.

While she lept from tree to tree, always staying close to Rider's location, Archer concentrated in listening the sounds of the forest. It was simple to tell everything that was happening around them, distance was not an issue, and neither was the lack of visibility.

Once she had determined the most suitable target to aim for, Atalanta drew and, in a mere blink of an eye, shot—10 arrows, as black as the night itself—all aimed right back at the Master that challenged Lancer, openly shouting his presence. Needless to say, all of the shots had unerring accuracy, and a clear intent to kill. No human should be able to survive these.

Such a strange woman to step out and declare a challenge already. "Tiger General, huh?" Saber took a step forward, placing herself in front of the masters. Her lips pulled into a smile, and she raised her sword a bit higher. She might have no need for her nameless steed right now, but... At least she knew something.

"Didn't you lot lose that war?" Saber asked, referring of course to the three kingdoms of china. "So which one are you? Zheng Fei? Zhao Yun? Mao Chao? Huang Zhong? Or perhaps... You're Guan Yu." She couldn't help but feel a rush at the idea of this challenge. Heroes of China, the greatest of their era. A name like one of those was certainly worthy of her attention. How her lord would cheer to see one of them dragged before him! It'd be as worthy of attention as the time Astolfo carried that giant to court, or when Olivier baptized a foe while shoving their own sword through their gut. Or any one of the many times Roland returned home with a dragon's corpse.

"Whatever the case, I will return the favor. I served under the great Lord Charlemagne, and now... I shall bring you his head!" She charged, feet striking the ground with force as she move in to clash he blade to that of this mystery lancer. Her blade snapping back and forth as she didn't hesitate to begin the fight with a traditional flurry of blows. It would become clear in the aftermath of each strike though why. Every time Lancer might block, ice would form upon the impact zone. Freezing the blade, and slowly creeping down the handle. But if Lancer dodged, the air would freeze, leaving a wall of ice behind. Rapidly eliminating any room for Lancer to maneuver.

"But, mayhaps you tell me your name, and I might feel the courtesy to tell you mine before you die~"

“It seems that Saber has the enemy Servant in hand. Let’s just hope that those skeletons don’t decide to come after us.” Speaking with a nonchalance that he didn’t fully feel, Thomas swept his eyes over the wolves and skeletal soldiers that had emerged from the forest. The enemy Lancer, who in a fit of hubris had freely revealed herself to be one of the famed Tiger Generals, had found them much faster than he had anticipated; perhaps it was foolish to think that the Grey’s wouldn’t be on guard against an attack, but even so this response time was admirable.

Closing his eyes again Thomas linked his vision with that of his Servant only to discover that Berserker had been similarly waylaid by a beastly looking warrior, perhaps the Red factions own Berserker.

“Berserker has been attacked as well. I suppose now we find out which faction chose the stronger Servants!”

****

The arrow bit into Berserker’s shoulder, piercing deeply into the hard muscle even though to anyone observing it would barely seem to have broken the skin enough to not fall out; if the Archer that fired the arrow could see the results, as he no doubt could if he was good enough to make the shot in the first place, he would find all of his shots from now on to be even less effective.

Regardless, right now Berserker’s attention was solely focused on the wolf-skin wearing warrior that was charging towards him. The mad Vikings eyes locked with the other Berserker’s as he charged to meet him, raising his two clubs above his head he leapt heedlessly towards his opponent, roaring his mindless rage for all to hear. The red spear bit into Berserker of Black’s side, leaving a gouge in its wake even as to Berserker of Red the attack seemed to glance harmlessly off of his opponent’s skin; in turn Berserker of Black slammed his weapons down on his opponent, the overhead strike bringing both clubs crashing down with all of his might.

At the last moment the girl in red armor threw herself in front of the arrow using her own sword to cleave the set of arrows apart. Her reflexes, and her movements extenuated by a flow of red mana flowing from her body. "Don't push yourself. Let Archer handle this Lara." the boy in blue said as he moved forward. Lana, the girl in red, frowned and spit on the ground. "Dumbass you're lucky I'm here to watch you. Just because our abilities have been boosted doesn't mean we're like actual servants." grumbled Lana as she stepped back as Lancer approached. "You're not fighting for yourself are you? There's someone that your fighting for. This is a fight your resolve must not waver." Lancer scolded the young man who couldn't respond before Lancer was upon him slashing with her spear, probing him for his own part the young man held his own but it was clear he wasn't much of a match. He frantically blocked blows leaning towards the defense as a Chimera appeared from nearby to try to attack but three black keys found themselves lodged in its head killing it before much could be done. Leon watched the girl in red but she was focused on the fight. Leon wasn't about to break his own duel etiquette to attack a spectator...even if this was war there should be some civility here. Though Leon wondered why Archer hadn't fired again? Was the archer class toying with them?

===

"Why run Archer are you one of those spineless curs who fell before me just like in life? Or is it that you fear one who's ability is so truly startling? I thought this be a battle of warriors? One to test the tide of war! Are you not one of the heroes I was promised by those children? I assure you if you run I will no longer spare mercy to you." Rider warned as he marched his men further towards the edge of the forest. The man with dark brown hair declared as he pointed his sword towards the retreating caster. "The undead may be unsavory but even the likes of a woman should know better than to run from a man on horseback." Rider further taunted as he raised his blade ready to block blows coming his way. His men already dead no longer mattered it would seem.

===

"ALWAYS with the god of war huh? Always gotten jump to the front of the lot like a bunch sniveling bastards that you are? Pah! Doesn't matter a warrior fights headfirst with all their strength. And who said I was one of those guys anyway? I could've just been saying I was as fierce as a tiger." Lancer tried to back step with their words. Shaking her head she simply clutched her lance, and held her arm forward instead of defending Lancer brought the full force of her spear forward slashing at Saber with a crushing counterattack. With each blow the ice magic would set in but Lancer's tremendous strength coupled with their surprising quick, and precise blows smashed the ice before it could form on the already impressively long spear. "You think a bit of ice is strong enough to deal with me?! I'm not going to take any of that shit from you?! Who relies on magic swords to save them from a true warrior!? Lancer demanded as she pressed forward.

====

The wolf skin clad Berserker almost reflexively rolled to the left in a twirl narrowly dodging the attacks, and then stabbed again at Black Berserker before following up with a savage sweeping slash. The man's red eyes glowered with hatred aimed not at the one in front of him but at everything. He had not moved consciously to defend himself his training was so hardly ingrained into his fighting spirit that it seemed even in his madness it came to him. This berserker was quick, and well trained if nothing else he seemed to want to kill anything in front of him.

Arsene watched the whole scene with amusement as he took his first step into the forest, functionally invisible due to his Presence Concealment as he ghosted towards the enemy Rider. It was a little touch and go as he made his way past the skeletons, but it was still no matter to the man who could steal the very world itself! "I'm gonna steal it you know? It doesn't matter what I steal, only that I steal it." He threw his voice into the treeline, mimicking the effect of the other Servant as he made his way towards the enemy Rider, hopefully throwing his attention somewhere else for a brief moment. That brief moment would be all he needed. "It might be your steed, it might be your robe, it might even be your very heart. But whatever it is, I'm going to steal it." Each time he stressed his words, his voice came from a different section of the forest, echoing all around Rider as Arsene inched ever closer towards the mounted hero.

It was less than a second, a fraction of a moment, in one second Rider held his sword and pointed it at Atalanta with smug words tumbling out his lips. The next second, his hands were empty as Arsene flipped over him with style, landing on one of the heads of the skeletons with a cocky grin. "Je Sais Tout. Be honored, for you've just been robbed by the King of- ok ok Master, I won't say my name! Jeez, such a stickler for rules." His smile faltered for a brief moment as he was yelled at by his Master, but it was of no importance. His eyes continued to mock the Rider regardless that sprk of rebellion screaming "What are you gonna do about it?

---

"I think the curses have finally caught up to me. My partner is just as big of a fool as the rest of them..." Asmar rubbed his temples as he carried a large briefcase towards the forest. The blessings upon himself had already been cast, his own Agility, Luck, Endurance, and even Mana ranked up to E levels in the case of a surprise attack from an enemy Servant. He stopped outside the bounded field, dropping the briefcase onto the ground with a sigh as he pulled a book out of the inside of his jacket. As the briefcase fell to the dirt, bouncing once before landing on it's side, it's latches popped open with a loud click. Asmar snapped his fingers quickly, the wind around him carving the ground around him and the briefcase into an arcane circle. The briefcase shook slightly, something within struggling to get out as Asmar began his chant. It shook harder as he activated his circuits, bouncing along the ground a few more times before coming to a stop at the edge of the circle.

"Now breath, oh mighty Ifrit. Let your everlasting death be known to the world of nature and let all crumble to the sand." And then all hell broke loose. The briefcase exploded with the force of a grenade, a demonic screech echoing through the area as the air around Asmar tinted itself red and screeched towards the forest. The air would taint anything it touched, killing the trees and forcing them to crumble to sand. This sand would then evaporate into more red fog, corrupting more and more of the forest with this eternal curse of the desert. "Assassin, you will end your engagement immediately and return to me. We will wait for the forest to crumble before... Assassin, you will return right now or- damnit Assassin I am not calling you 'Super Awesome King of Thieves'! We did not establish codenames prior to engagement, your name is already a codename!"

Archer thought Just like before, Archer ignored Rider's taunts and words. Only a fool would boast so much in the middle of the combat, especially when they aren't even aware of their enemies' abilities.

He could take his honor and choke on it. This was a forest, and Atalanta was a predator on the hunt. He would be the one playing by her rules.

Instead of words, what he would get would be arrow after arrow fired at him, and his mount, from all directions as Archer continued to reposition herself on the battlefield over and over again. Their numbers quickly growing to dozens and more dozens, each one nearly invisible and carrying certain death if they were to make their mark.

This effort would also work in Assassin's favor which was part of Atalanta's motivation to do so. If Rider allowed himself to pay attention to anything other than her arrows for even a moment, he would find himself the recipient of a volley of arrows.