Having been out to play earlier, well... Jack was a bit surprised about also being taken out like this again, but maybe her mother just wanted to get one for herself? Though she wasn't going to complain, it was nice to be given something... even if it was a pastry fish? Had someone wrapped a fish in pretty pastry rather than batter?

Of course, when she bit into it, it was anything but fishy, being all sweet but bumpy and red. "Mummy, the fish is bleeding! And it's sweet!"

---

The other person seeking access chose that moment to arrive, sweeping in behind Benienma and her Master--the same Caster from yesterday. She seemed surprised to see them--but perhaps the real surprised one would be them? After all, they were at least part of an official city group, whilst this beautiful lady... well, there wasn't much of a reason one could see for her being permitted database access anyway, regardless of what had brought her here.

Though it would have been stranger if anyone did expect a figure from historical Japan to be more familiar with computers than any of them.

"Saber?"

Ritsuko, noticing that her Servant had suddenly become distracted, followed her gaze to see just what it was she had suddenly begun staring at. When her eyes fell upon the slender hooded figure, she wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. Was it another Servant? Someone Saber recognized? Or was something else going on?

Unable to hold back her curiosity, she attempted to lean at an angle to try and see just what was under that hood. Something had distracted Saber, after all! And her cute girl sense was tingling, too!

"Master?" Arturia's attention was drawn away from the hooded figure and towards the antics of the girl who had summoned her. Ah, that behavior was quite unbecoming! Arturia herself was uncertain why she had suddenly begun to stare. That sudden prickling up her spine, the moment she came close to the hooded figure... no, there had to be something more to this. Even if she wasn't certain what it was. Just as she was about to approach, and broach the subject directly...

Another, familiar presence caught her attention.

Her Master, realizing someone had spoken to her, let out a surprised yelp.

"Oh, h-hi!" she said, scratching her head and trying to make it look as if she hadn't been attempting to peak at the hooded figure's face, "Griggs-san! I was a bit distracted, sorry!"

Arturia's attention was elsewhere, however. She had seen that lengthy purple hair, the figure of that woman, before.

"Rider," she said, gaze fixed on the woman, unable to to stop herself from feeling even the slightest bit wary in the face of a Servant that had been her enemy during the Fifth Holy Grail War.

@PKMNB0Y@Rin@Rezod92

The bluntness of the blonde girl's demands caused the young man to blink for a moment, unsure about how to react. Most of the time, a simple apology and response was well enough for everyone to be moving back on their way—such was city life, after all—and so to be suddenly accosted as a guide while on the way to go somewhere else...

"Ah, well..." he trailed off, turning away as he scratched the back of his neck before the mercury maid (or, at the very least, what seemed to be one) made herself known. Regardless of the actual status of the girl in front of him, there was something of an intimidation factor in having a Mystic Code like that pop out of nowhere next to its master. Of course, being in pursuit of her brother while being new to the city was a problem, but...

"Prota-hey, wait, what do you mean by that?" he asked, having turned towards the Archer after realizing what it was that she had said. "Coincidences are just coincidences, you know. But, well..."

Given that request, Mitsuki could in no way simply walk away at this point. Examining that escape room would have to wait, it seemed.

"In any case... Well, the two of us were heading somewhere, but if you're looking for someone, I suppose that I can at least try and help? Do you have some sort of mobile number or some other way to contact this brother of yours?"

Really, it would be ideal if he wasn't just dragged around the city, but something in the back of his mind told him that escaping this wasn't going to be likely...

@KoL@VitaVitaAR


"Of course. What sort of mess did that AI get us into this time...?"

The amount of annoyance in Meltryllis' voice was quite obvious as she moved in front of her Master, eyes narrow as she glared at the opposition preparing to take them out. It was clear that those below them were not exactly the most savory sort of people to be dealing with, but that did not so much as faze the Alter Ego. The Shadow Servants that were appearing were likely to be annoying to deal with as usual, of course, but her biggest worry was the fact that they were on a rooftop with strikingly little to use as proper cover.

"Well, in any case, I won't have you throwing yourself into danger again, right?" she continued, taking a few steps back as she rolled her shoulders. "They have actual weapons this time, so stay out of harm's way. If they make it up and you can't hold out, let me know and I'll come get you."

With that, the Alter Ego began to run, leaping off the building and spinning in midair as she aimed her legs towards the nearest thug with a gun. The landing, of course, was more than a little bit lethal (as would be expected from taking such an impact at such his speeds), but at this point, a few dead bodies was the least of her concern. Immediately, Meltryllis turned her attention towards the closest shadow Servant and, with a twirl after landing, launched her target through the closest wall of the warehouse.

"How garish. Really, couldn't you have at least picked something less ineffective as your foot soldiers?"

@VitaVitaAR


With Conner's own Servant taking that Saber's focus away from himself, Waver had enough time to take a deep breath and calm his nerves. Despite himself, the Fusang he was in now was most definitely not the Fuyuki of over two decades ago, and the Fourth Holy Grail War was only a memory. It was one that he treasured dearly even now, of course—the catalyst he had used then remained with him even now—but that did not mean that it had to grip him as it had the past.

"R-right. Well then..." he began, slowly forcing his body to stop tensing up as he turned towards those present. "I suppose that in my role as a professor, I should also hope that you have the requisite materials for the course..."

If anything, he had to keep his own worries in check. It was quite possible that the Saber in front of him wouldn't recognize him after all these years. Grey, on the other hand...

"...Though I suppose if there is nothing else, we should be off. I would rather not miss my appointment to check the Servant database of the city."

Of course, if Grey, silent as she was now, could escape without catching the attention of the King of Knights, that would be all the better...

@Rin@Rezod92@VitaVitaAR

"Excellent!" declared the petite girl with a smile, clapping her hands together as she did. It was quite clear she was pleased to now have a guide, which quite frankly wasn't exactly unexpected. Fusang was a large, complex, and multi-layered city with scenery that radically trained from district to district. Certainly it could get a bit overwhelming for someone who was there for the first time, wasn't it?

And yet, somehow the impression this girl gave was one that seemed to indicate such a concern was a distant second to her.

"Unfortunately, I'm not the most familiar with cellular phones," she continued, waving her hand as she spoke. "But my Elder brother teaches a class here, as luck may have it, so he should not be too difficult to locate."

She paused for a moment, her eyes drifting towards the white-haired, red-eyed woman.

"So, this is your Servant, then?" she asked, "How interesting! I suppose you can count yourself lucky that she isn't the type to devour you while you sleep, hmm?"

She leaned forward, hands clasped behind her back as her eyes scanned up and down the Archer's form.

"To think, there would be a day where Servants would walk around in the open air... the mere thought of the look on those lords' faces when Fusang's development began is delightful."

@PKMNB0Y@KoL

---

Just what kind of situation did BB send them into? This was absolutely some kind of criminal deal!

"I... got it!"

Nanako didn't really have a choice... she was quick to look away when Melt descended. As much as the idea of people being killed didn't appeal to her, at the same time she knew, deep down, that these people were trying to kill her. She felt a little guilty, even if she wasn't the one who would doing the deed... but it wasn't as if she had a choice. There was nothing she could do against that many people at once...

She was quick to move to the far side of the roof, scrawling a set of symbols on the metal sheets that composed it. Channeling magical energy through her body, into the sheets, jets of wind erupted beneath them, bending them sharply upwards to serve as impromptu cover, in case the did come up the stairs as Meltryllis had told her.

At the moment, all she could do was try and keep track of what was going on below.

The man that Meltryllis had descended upon barely had a chance to scream as her spiked feet drilled through his body, almost disintegrating his entire torso from the speed of his impact. What remained of his body flew in two opposite directions, the remaining thugs staggering back with a look of shock and fear.

The first shadow Servant cratered the wall with its impact, but was swift to rather unnaturally rise, body bent backwards. The others raised fists, spears, and swords as they rushed towards the Alter Ego all at once.

"Oh~?" the Servant in the guise of a young teenaged girl tilted her head, "Oh, my! That was impressive, really it was, but I'd appreciate it if all of you could remember to fight~ Thank you."

Her words seemed to remind at least those that seemed to be her allies that they had weapons. Those with guns raised their weapons and prepared to open fire. Others, those wielding mystic codes and thus more dangerous, projected thing beams of energy from the edge of their weapons, to try and strike from a distance!

As all of this happened, the Servant drifted backwards.

"I think I understand, looking at that face of yours," she commented, as she stretched her right arm out at her side, her shadow seeming to suddenly fall longer, "You look as if you could be her sister."

Whose sister, exactly, went unanswered, as reinforcements emerged from the shadow cast by the girl's arm. They were ragged, translucent phantoms, skeletal and clad in tattered kimonos, long arms tipped in sharp claws, grasping at the air. There had to be a dozen of them.

The gunfire, the sounds of magical weaponry... would perhaps reach the sensitive fox ears of a certain self-styled JK...

@PKMNB0Y@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

---

It was at that moment that the mysterious third party swept into the building, revealing herself to be none other than the Caster from the other day, when the kidnapping attempt had been foiled.

"Kaguya-hime?" remarked Benienma, surprised to see her once again, and here of all places. This time, the supernatural charm of the Moon Princess was less effective, mostly because Benienma had prepared herself for it the moment she realized who it was. That didn't mean it wasn't there, however. Rather that she was more capable of dealing with it.

"I didn't expect to see you here dechi," continued the diminutive redhead, "You must be the other resident attempting to access the database dechi."

She couldn't help but wonder why, but given that they would be accessing it together she supposed it wouldn't be much longer until they found out.

"Ah, Kaguya-hime," the voice of the woman behind the counter stated, "I..."

She paused for a moment, cheeks coloring as she looked at the princess, before turning away and continuing.

"I've logged your arrival. It shouldn't be much longer until you're permitted access."

Indeed, it was only moments later that the doors on the opposite side of the room slid open.

The sight that greeted the assembled girls, however, was a surprising one.

She had the appearance of a child, with incredibly pale, almost paper-white skin, large red eyes, and long, pale blue hair that nearly reached her ankles. Clad in a black and white dress, there was something strangely ethereal about her.

The fact that she was a Servant was only obvious, for this was none other then the Caster-class Aleister Crowley, one of the Servants among the city's Board of Administrators. Exactly why the famed occultist was a female child was a mystery, given there existed real-life photographs of the man when he was alive.

But that was a mystery, perhaps, for another day.

"What an intriguing bunch we have here," she began, with a smirk, "I've decided to take a break from my work and oversee your access to HECATE's database personally. I think you should count yourselves lucky, personally."

Beyond her was a grey, hexagonal hallway that lead deeper into the building.

"Now, if you'll follow me..."

@RoleplayerRoxas@Raineh Daze

---

"Ah, you'll be more used to that, won't you?" Yuriko commented, patting Jack on the head as she did, "But that's not blood, it's red bean paste. When I was a little girl, I had it all the time, so I couldn't pass up the chance to introduce you to it as well."

Even after having summoned the famous Jack the Ripper for several weeks now, it was sometimes easy to forget that the child Servant was a famous serial killer. But at times, when the green-eyed girl was far more perceptive then otherwise expected, or she spoke about a far grimmer topic then anticipated as cheerfully as always, there would be flashes of her darker side.

Not that it mattered to Yuriko. Certainly, there was no denying Jack had killed people when she was alive, but so had Yuriko herself. For considerably different reasons, no doubt, but...

The child before her didn't deserve scorn.

"Taiyaki's still one of my favorite snacks, to be honest," she continued, "It's delicious!"

And so was the girl behind the counter... but alas, it was a bad time to try anything. Besides, she was attempting to court the beautiful young lady with the twin Sabers.

@Raineh Daze

~Suzuka~

@Pyromania99@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR
Fusang Streets

---

"I bet its some mega cringe anime OP's or somethin'." She teased before even giving Mana time to reply, but whatever reply mana gave after went in one fluffy ear and out the other fluffy ear. The sound of gunfire and a...fight. Suzuka's expression soured. Not only was this near the place she was gonna be taking Mana...how the hell was she supposed to enjoy herself when someone was making that racket? Hmm...actually, maybe this could be a good opportunity.

"Change of plans, master, we're taking a detour." Suzuka grabbed Mana's hand, pulling her towards the sounds of fighting without much warning or telling Mana what they were suddenly taking a detour for. Suzuka led her through the alleyways, passing through some sort of magical barrier in the process, not really thinking much of it before coincidentally ending just on the roof of the warehouse that Melt was currently crushing some baddies to death in.

"Ugh, this place gives me bad vibes." Sounded like something bad was going on in that warehouse. A quick check of the area showed that there were likely no one in their immediate vicinity, which mean out here was likely safe enough for Mana. Still, if she kept her here then there wouldn't be any reason for her to show off how adorable and great she was - ah.

They arrived just in time to see Melt crush one of the thugs, and the other servant summon some sort of phantoms. What was she doing here? Was she just destined to keep ruining her dates with Mana? Hmph. And what was with that other servant? She caused the fur on her tail to stand on in. She was seriously bad news, wasn't she?

Well, whatever, there was a super easy solution to all of these annoying dumbos.

"Hey master, want me to use my Noble Phantasm? I'll clean these bad guys up super cool like!~" She made a V sign with her fingers and grinned playfully.

When Suzuka asked Mana what kinda music she liked, the girl had to think for a second. She'd probably make fun of her for saying anime op's but that's all she really listened to. She thought of a fake answer and hoped Suzuka wouldn't ask any more on it but... "I bet its some mega cringe anime OP's or somethin'." Suzuka had figured it from the beginning. Slightly miffed that Suzuka didn't even let her answer, she gave a small pouting face.

"Well, you didn't even let me answer." The girl managed to say confidently... It's just too bad Suzuka didnt seem to pay her any mind. Then Suzuka mentioned a change of plans and pulled her off to the backstreets somewhere! Thoughts raced through her mind! Perhaps Suzuka was going to do something to her!? N-no! Of course not! Then they passed through... Something. A barrier? How weird? Perhaps not so weird on this island but it was still something she wouldn't expect. That was, until she listened and heard fighting of some sort? Then... Ehh?! Suzuka carried her to the rooftop! She held on for dear life until she was let down. Then Suzuka asked if she could use her noble phantasm.

"Ehh!? Use your Noble Phantasm!?" Mana swallowed hard. She wasn't sure she even knew what Suzuka's Noble Phantasm was... "I'd kinda just... Prefer if you didn't..." She answered, peaking down at the servant below that she recognized from some time ago. She seemed to look slightly down, remember what happened. It caused her from giving a "no" response to the request.

Running into Kaguya=hime was certainly a surprise. She was looking to access the database too? Unlike her Servant, Hakuno wasn't quite as adept at protecting herself from the Caster's powerful charm, though after a moment she could adjust to it. She bowed her head to hide the flushing in her cheeks, saying, "um, thanks again for your help!I really appreciate what you did!"
Perhaps Kaguya was here for the same reason as them, then? Though it made her curious just what kind of position Kaguya held in Fusang, it wasn't the time to enquire. They were soon led through those doors, and...

The young Master stared blankly at the small Servant that greeted them, her appearance a little unusual, and certainly adorable, but... who even was she? Hakuno couldn't connect any dots as to her identity, and asking directly would probably make her seem foolish... hopefully the girl would reveal it at some point before it became too awkward.

"Saber...", responded the Gorgon enchantress, feeling just as on edge before the blonde swordswoman. She remembered the last time they met back in the Fifth Grail War in Fuyuki. The fight they had then....really wouldn't be called a fight, given the circumstances.

Taking note of the slight tension between the two Servants, Conner kept his conversation friendly with Ritsuko, as he always had, to keep things civil.

@Rin

"Oh, h-hi!" she said, scratching her head and trying to make it look as if she hadn't been attempting to peak at the hooded figure's face, "Griggs-san! I was a bit distracted, sorry!"

"Don't worry about it. Knowing you, there's plenty on your plate already. Have you been using money saving advice I've been talking to you about?", he said with a small smirk. The young man could sorta predict what she was gonna say next. Howver, before Ritsuko could reply, Professor Velvet spoke out.

"R-right. Well then..." he began, slowly forcing his body to stop tensing up as he turned towards those present. "I suppose that in my role as a professor, I should also hope that you have the requisite materials for the course. Though I suppose if there is nothing else, we should be off. I would rather not miss my appointment to check the Servant database of the city."

"Oh! Well, don't let us hold you two up any longer, professor., replied Conner, stepping off to the side to let the man and his companion through unhindered. However, Conner noticed how said companion hadn't said a word throughout the entire exchange. Specifically, they hadn't said a word since Ritsuko and Saber walked in. The young man raised an eyebrow, finding it a tad strange.

@PKMNB0Y @VitaVitaAR

"That's what they always say in the games as well, Master. But, don't worry, I understand what you mean," Archer said after Mitsuki deflected her comment. "Even so, you have to admit these coincidences are becoming more and more frequent. With the way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if the next time we go out, we ended up running into a stray Servant girl in need of your help," she added, nevertheless.

Archer's attention turned back to the youngish blonde when the girl decided to size her up and let out a worrying comment out of nowhere. "I'm not—" 'a demon that would do that' Archer's words were caught on her throat when she realized there was no way she could negate that part of her nature. "A Servant that did something so low isn't worth being called a Heroic Spirit. They would be nothing but a bloodthirsty demon," she said instead.

"Anyway, if that's my Master's wish, I'll be glad to help however I can," Archer said once the issue was settled, more by the blonde girl than by Mitsuki but so be it. "I suppose we should begin to look for this brother of yours where he works, right?"

---

@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR

Exchanging greetings, Kaguya elected to lead the way to their destination--this, after all, wasn't the first time that she had been here... even if most of the staff associated with it still had no clue why this particular Caster was so invested in their computer system. Or why she might have a clue about such things. Of course, she was hardly going to tell them anything, was she? That sort of revelation was the sort of thing that would get people to start poking around, and her entire existence was to stop such things.

Well, she assumed that it was, if she had much presence on the lunar side of things at any point. Anything that might connect to that was amongst the blind spots, it was really quite annoying.

Strangely, the database terminal itself was... empty? Not that it mattered, she was sure that its caretaker would be along soon enough, and the holographic interface itself was still there. Awfully convenient as it was to stop unwarranted access even if something did get this far, the structure and design of this computer being beyond the reach of human technology only made it easier for her. Maybe she should find out if Atlas somehow had managed to accidentally copy it when making TRI-HERMES.

Or, in other words, the princess didn't bother waiting for the administrator and just started poking at things herself. It would only be a matter of time in the end, to get in and find out who all the Casters were...

"No phone number, huh? That's a bit unusual, but..."

The young man trailed off as he took in the blonde girl's words, considering the best way to find someone who might teach a class here. Of course, given the aforementioned Mystic Code at her side, it didn't take much for Mitsuki to presume that the target of their pursuits was one more inclined towards teaching magecraft. The way she spoke of the Clock Tower's Lords in so casual a manner only gave further credence to his assumptions of her status being higher than he had expected, but that didn't exactly change the current situation in any meaningful way.

His Servant's words (and reaction to the blonde girl's teasing) were not left unnoticed, though, and a slight frown and furrowed brow crossed the young man's face as he gauged the Archer's reaction. It wasn't anything to call out, per se—and if she didn't want to finish her earlier thought, then so be it—but it seemed that their thoughts were as one with regards to finding the girl's relative.

"Well, I guess we should just head to the center of the city, then," Mitsuki stated simply, shrugging his shoulders. "It's probably the best place to start, given how many colleges and universities have set up shop there."

Even so, there was a sinking feeling in the young man's stomach that this matter wouldn't be so simply resolved by finding that girl's 'elder brother'...

@KoL@VitaVitaAR


The sight of the Shadow Servants recovering so easily from her own strikes was nothing too jarring for the Alter Ego, given that she had experience dealing with a few who had much of the same constitution before. It was almost comedic, how much damage they could take from a Servant before falling apart at the seams.

Not like it really mattered at the end of the day, though; in the end, what had piqued her interest was the word 'sister'. There were only a few people that matched such a description (if they could even be called people), but as far as she could tell, two of them were far too distinct and naturally destructive to even consider as being the ones in question. It would, however, explain BB's directive to send them here in the first place.

"Hmph. Is that all?" she asked, tapping her foot for a moment as she glared at the Servant in front of her, the slightest of smiles appearing across her face. "I suppose insects like you only exist to be a nuisance. No matter; swarm all you wish, but the result will not change."

With that, Meltryllis leaped forward, planting her knee into one unfortunate soul's face before he promptly melted into nothing more than a puddle on the ground. A simple sweep of her leg took out two more, sending them crashing with force into the nearby wall. The bullets and blades, she simply danced around, their own speed as wielded by a human nothing more than a feeble attempt at resistance.

The sadistic grin that had begun to spread in turn as she cut through the opposition as if toying with them said more than any words could.

With that said, though, the ghosts that had risen from the opposing Servant's shadow seemed to be doing nothing except posture aggressively and move forward, which made them far less worrisome to the Alter Ego at the moment. The fact that they were ghosts and not giving her much in the way of amusement didn't exactly give her inclination to strike out at them. The same could not be said of the shadow Servants, however, as they once again attempted to charge at her despite their grotesque deformation from her earlier strikes. Given that she did not wish for their presence to continue to attack her eyes as they did now, Meltryllis did what she assumed would be the best usage of their own ill-gotten existences: crush them, completely and utterly, and turn them into 'experience' for herself.

Of course, that could come back to bite her later, but it wasn't like she was so foolish to strike out at stationary targets when she had others aiming to strike out at her in the first place. Of course, their growing number beyond the few that had already spawned were slowly causing them to become a bit more worrisome in the back of her mind...

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

Nanako couldn't watch. At least, not all of it. The people down there were dangerous, she didn't blame Meltryllis for doing what she had to and killing them. But that didn't make it easy for her to watch. Seeing a man turn into liquid, seeing human beings' entire bodies fly apart from a swing of her Servant's bladed legs... she wasn't used to things like this.

Neither, as it turned out, where the humans down there. Some of those who were still alive turned tail and fled as their numbers were violently trimmed down one by one, as their shadow Servants fell, collapsing into ugly black sludge that, surprisingly, did not fade away.

"Oiiii, oiiiii," the girl Servant sighed, as more phantoms rose around her, "Where are you all going? You're all pretty useless, aren't you? Yeesh, what do they pay you for?"

She flicked a paper talisman towards one of the fleeing men. Almost immediately after it hit his trajectory was reversed towards the Alter Ego, and his screams of terror were cut off as a light ignited in the core of his body... and he exploded like a grenade.

"If you're going to be that useless, you're better off serving as weapons for me," she continued, as she drew another ofuda from her sleeve.

"Hm hm hmmm... oh, it looks like we have more visitors too?" she tilted her head, "Haaah, where are all these people coming from? So bothersome~ All of you, go have fun."

She waved her hand casually, and almost immediately the ghosts began fanning out as they appeared around her. They drifted not only towards Meltryllis, but also upwards, Nanako's eyes widening as they approached her...

And the newly-arrived Saber and her Master, too. They even attacked the remaining human criminals, shredding them apart with elongated claws or seeming to drain the very life from them.

And still others seemed to drift out of the building entirely, seeking the populace...

It was clear the Caster's strategy was to throw out as much distraction as possible so she could make her next move. And this seemed to include threatening innocent people who had nothing to do with the fight.

@PKMNB0Y@Pyromania99@Rune_Alchemist

---

As the holographic interface for the database activated, and navigated to registered Casters, it became clear something was wrong. There were multiple entries, in fact a vast number of them, that were seemingly completely missing.

Benienma was not familiar with computers, but even she could tell that the blue list made of light was missing numerous entries.

"Chirp chirp? Is something wrong?" she asked, tilting her head. A quick look through the list demonstrated another conspicuous oddity: All the missing entries were Casters from the Age of Gods. Indeed, any Caster from the Age of Gods was completely missing from the list, a blank space where they would once have been counted.

"... Strange, there shouldn't be any way to interfere with HECATE's database," Crowley commented, her crimson eyes narrowing, "In that case..."

The small girl reached out and tapped the holographic console.

Almost immediately, the figure of a child in loose pajamas with blue hair long enough to drape over the sides of the projector materialized. She was no older then nine or ten, with soft features and large gold eyes.

"Mother? Is something wr-Uwaaaaah?!"

She disappeared, only to reappear with quite a different appearance: An adult woman, hair tied into a tight bun, wearing a suit and pencil skirt.

"Ahem. It appears there may be some problem with the database? No-one should be able to interfere with my databases... restoring."

The interface disappeared, for a moment, before reappearing. The missing names were restored, displaying several notable names now: Among the Age of Gods Casters were Circe, Skuld, Medea, Nitorcris, and many others.

"I apologize," the artificial intelligence bowed, "I do not understand how such a thing could have happened."

@Raineh Daze@RolePlayerRoxas

---

"I suppose it would be quite disadvantageous if the system was drawing in bloodthirsty demons routinely, wouldn't it?" the blonde girl commented, cocking her head to one side as she did. "In any case..."

A smirk on her face, the petite girl curtsied.

"My name is Reines El-Melloi Archisorte. Thank you for your kindness~"

Of course, it was more or less the kindness that was pushed upon them, but perhaps it was kindness all the same in some regard.

Between them and their destination was the Japanese District. Due to the influence of some powerful Servants originating from the Land of the Rising Sun, this place more then anywhere else was heavily influenced by the architecture of pre-modern Japan. The gardens, the buildings... among them was a rather impressive multi-leveled bathhouse, surrounded by cherry trees blooming no matter the season.

"My, how quaint," commented Reines as they walked, "I should like to-nnng..."

The small blonde girl stumbled, placing one hand to her forehead, shutting one eye. Her blue eyes had suddenly faded to red...

"What...? Something's happening, this..."

There was a faint wooshing sound overhead... the sound of something moving incredibly fast.

@PKMNB0Y@KoL

What a concerning AI this was, to be able to alter her appearance and perhaps role on a whim. That was something that should not be put in charge of an entire system... regardless of whether this professional appearance or the much younger one was the baseline. Or perhaps it was only a visual avatar, rather than something more substantial? Maybe she would need to talk to the city about the importance of proper system security to not hand over the system to its own control.

Though would they really believe an ancient fairytale lecturing them about artificial intelligence security?

"Are there any missing entries remaining in the list? They could have hidden the removal of the actual target under a much wider removal," she said, looking through the list, "If not, can you cross-reference the restored entries with who could make the Mystic Codes that have been such problems?"

A list that would no doubt include herself, but it was better to have every possibility on the table. Maybe even the more modern Casters could have managed it but then why would they have been left untampered with...

~Suzuka~

@Pyromania99@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR
Fusang Streets

---

Well, that wasn't a no.

"YEET!" With a resounding battle cry, Suzuka leaped from the roof, of the warehouse. Was this petty? Totes. Was it gonna be funny? Also yes. But she was also helping because it was clear the ballerina was getting a bit overwhelmed by numbers, and even if she was just doing this to mess with her a bit, she couldn't let those things, whatever they were just exist. Something about them just made her MEGA cringe. Like, ew.

Chant. Unravel the pillow's cords and hear my voice, Daitouren, the gathered Eight Clouds, pierce the throng of evil spirits, Manjusri's Sword of Wisdom Daishintou! Blast of love, Tenkiame!

"O stories, begin weaving thy tale," Suzuka landed, fixing her gaze upon the mob of shadows and the creepy girl commanding them as she began the chant to her NP, raising a hand towards the heavens. "This is the famous Daitohren. Blanket the sky in tiles of color. Skewer the swarm of evil in heavenly rain!" One by one, countless gold colored swords blanketed the air above. "Monjuchiken Daishintou! Love blast...Demonic Sun-Shower!"

With a single hand motion, a rain of golden blades fell upon the earth, intent on skewering the enemies.

And maybe toss one or two at Melt, too.

"It certainly wouldn't be. After all, we Heroic Spirits exist for the sole purpose of protecting the future of Humanity. Having enemies of Humanity among our ranks makes no sense at all," Archer said in a dutiful voice.

"I agree with my Master, but since you seem to have a route in mind, I suppose it's no problem to go through this Japanese District before we make to the downtown," Archer said after they cleared their ideas on which course of action to take. On the way there, she took one or two curious glances at Reines' metallic attendant. However, her attention turned away from that as soon as they reached the Japanese District.

"I can't say this looks like the Japan I knew when I lived, but it certainly brings memories in an interesting way—" Archer reminiscence was cut short as soon as the other girl almost fainted. "Are you alright? Maybe we should find somewhere to rest," she asked as she approached Reines only to notice that the girl's blue eyes suddenly became as red as her own.

"You have no objection against this, right Master?" She asked as she looked up at the source of the zooming noise, to assure it wasn't any threat.

---

@PKMNB0Y@VitaVitaAR

"W-wait! Suzuka! I said I'd prefer if you didn't!" Mana screamed as her servant left her behind! That girl never listened did she!? Regardless of how she felt, she peaked out below to watch the carnage, albeit with a slight wretching in her stomach. She had played games and been surprised by some rather questionable videos online but this was... Something else. Really... She had no idea what was going on. Just that there were gunshots and that bi-- Servant... And her master. Mana took her eyes from the sight below to look at the master that was on the rooftop with her. She was using a paper talisman. "Huh."

During her observation, Nanako seemed surprised for some reason. Slightly confused, Mana looked down to see what it was only to notice a ghost or something of the sort flying at her. She screamed loudly in surprise and pointed a hand out towards it. She had gone over self defense before but this was nothing she was truly ready for. Her magic circuits activated and she tried to propel something, anything, to defend herself. She manifested something and it blasted towards the ghost's direction. She stumbled backwards from the recoil and tripped on her own feet as she tried to catch herself before softly landing on her rear.

~Charlotte~

@VitaVitaAR@Rezod92@PKMNB0Y

---

For the most part, Charlotte had kept herself silent content to allow the other two to converse while she remained a mostly passive observer. If anything, she'd have liked to not be part of this little meet up. She seemed to be getting in quite a few of those recently, what with Yuriko, that incident the other day and now this. Well, she supposed that sort of incident was fine even if annoying. Practice kept one sharp, after all.

"...hm? Saber?" Charlotte slightly adjusted her glasses. She wasn't good with people, but she could at least understand her servant was troubled by something, specifically the presence of the hooded figure next to the professor. Which in turn, caused Charlotte to peer curiously at her. She might have normally taken a mild interest, but since they were a companion of Waver, it was likely nothing to be concerned about.

For now at least. She had other concerns anyways, like Saber and Conner's servant currently having a quiet stare down. She'd keep the hooded figure in the back of her mind. Hm...that cloak was pretty fetching. Fabric was well made...maybe she should ask for measurement-

cough

"Of course, I'm sure you're busy." Charlotte agreed with Conner, taking note that Saber was now focused on Conner's own servant. Today was going to be full of distractions from studying again, wasn't it? "I think Conner and I may have things to discuss anyways." If nothing else, she'd like to hopefully avoid some problem in the future.

"... I see you have been summoned here as well," Arturia said, finally.

Her previous memories of Rider were less then friendly, but at the same time... she was under a new Master. Both of them were. Rider no longer had a single reason to consider herself Arturia's opponent, and Arturia had no reason to consider herself Rider's opponent. They were, quite simply, no longer in anything like the same situation.

Still, her hands were clenched. She couldn't help it, it was a reaction that came instinctively.

At the same time, however...

Her glance drifted towards the hooded figure again. Why? Why did her mere presence feel so incredibly familiar?

She could no longer help herself.

"... Who are you?" she began, "You feel so familiar, yet you are neither a Servant nor someone I have met before."

@PKMNB0Y@Rune_Alchemist@Rezod92

The name that the blonde girl gave him—Reines, if he heard her correctly—was odd in the same way that it felt most magi families' names were, but though the young man felt as if he had heard her middle name before, nothing seemed to be clicking at all. The path that she seemed to be leading him on (despite his own supposed 'guide' status) didn't seem to help matters either. Rather than actively looking for her brother, it felt like she was just touring the city...

Even so, it didn't seem right to bring the matter up right away; given that their destination was still in this general direction, there didn't seem to be a pressing need to get there right now. Given Tomoe's own reaction to the area and the fact that he hadn't actually been here before, Mitsuki didn't actually find the walk anything too worrisome.

Or, well, that would've been the case had something not caused the blonde girl to almost lose her balance. That something flying overhead had not escaped his attention, of course, but something like that...

"What was that? Is something the matter?" he asked, moving over to the girl's side to check on her before wondering if the metal maid had that matter covered.

To say it he hadn't seen anything like whatever had just flown overhead in Fusang, much less in this area of the city, made it clear that it was at least worth checking out. Sure, contacting the authorities was possible, but curiosity was most definitely getting the better of him here.

"...Go check it out, Archer," he said, nodding his head before looking at Reines. "Oh, uh... Hm. But finding your older brother... We could continue otherwise, unless..."

@VitaVitaAR@KoL


The look of distaste on Meltryllis' face was almost palpable as she watched the enemy Servant begin to use the other fools in front of her as disposable pawns. Given that she had planned to execute them all to begin with, the fact that they were dying was of no trouble to her conscience. The fact that she was using them so wastefully, though...

"Honestly, if you're going to be a villain, at least try and make use of your pawns," she complained, readying herself to cut through the horde of ghosts even as they struck out at everything around her with wanton abandon. "A simple waste of resources is all I can—"

Before she could finish mocking her enemy's choice of action, though, the Alter Ego's gaze turned upwards ever so slightly as the glint of metal in the air caught her eye. The spontaneous appearance of hundreds of blades immediately caused her to take a step back—and just in time, no less, as one of the weapons pierced the spot where she had been standing mere seconds ago. A closer look would reveal that the same fox-eared Servant from when she had obtained her figure had appeared, which, given her actions...

Well, she couldn't exactly complain about the timing in culling the miscellaneous trash that had gathered in the area, but she could do well enough to fix her aim.

"Hmph. Well, if summoning is all that girl can do, then I suppose I have time to clean up a bit more," she remarked, pirouetting around to execute the two incorporeal enemies making their way towards her and leaping into the air after the ones attempting to reach her Master's location.

"Something this slow, though..."

With a smirk, Meltryllis quickly spun forwards, slicing through the ghosts in nearly an instant.

"...Is just a joke.

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99


With a nod, Waver began to walk off, only to pause for a moment as Grey seemed to freeze up. That much was understandable, of course, given who was addressing her, but despite that inner fear, the young woman turned towards Artoria and, with her hood over her head as she turned her gaze downwards, shook her head.

"N-no... I'm simply an assistant, so you needn't pay me any mind, A—"

Before she could finish speaking, a sudden (and admittedly ill-timed) gust of wind seemed to blow through the street. Though Waver was at no risk to the sudden shift in air currents, Grey found the issue to be much more pressing—doubly so given how being called out to by the Servant she had been internally dreading to ever meet caused her to react far slower than usual. Though by no means strong, the gust of wind was just enough to push Grey's hood back, revealing her hair—and face—to those present. Of course, she scrambled to pull it back over her head the moment she realized what had happened, but with a deathly pale look, the young woman shook her head and turned around.

"R-right, well... My apologies, but..." she trailed off, attempting to follow after Waver (who, at this moment in time, was praying internally that the Saber hadn't actually caught a glimpse of his assistant's face).

@VitaVitaAR@Rune_Alchemist@Rezod92

Nanako scrambled back, raising an arm and channeling magical energy through her circuits and down her arm to her fingertips, in a bit to unleash a blast of wind. It was all she could do to try and defend herself...

But she didn't have to.

Meltryllis was upon the approaching phantoms in an instant, her bladed feet flashing through the air and tearing apart the ghosts in a single blow. They shredded almost like cloth, torn pieces of their incorporeal bodies drifting into the air before fading away.

Nanako inhaled deeply, then exhaled, slowly lowering her arm.

Meltryllis was always ready to protect her!

Below them, she could see the carnage being wrought. The ghosts that the mysterious Servant had summoned en masse had been torn apart by the rain of blades. That Servant from the clothes shop the other day was here too...? At least she was helping! Indeed, Nanako was relieved to see the entire swarm of ghosts had been completely destroyed.

Now it was just the Caster that was left!

And yet...

Somehow, she didn't seem dissuaded in the least.

"Fufu... oh no, what ever shall I do?" she said, dully, waving her left hand idly as she raised her right, "Except..."

The Caster's head cocked her head to the right, a grin spreading across her face and revealing her teeth were, or perhaps had become, sharp like a mouthful of razors.

"That was just a distraction~! The real fun starts right about now~"

Shes napped her fingers. It was at that moment that Nanako suddenly detected a tremendous surge of magical energy, swelling in the center of the warehouse. It was almost like a pressure, weighing down heavily on her shoulders, as the black fluid left behind by the dead Shadow Servants started to condense at the center of the room.

"Tell me, tell me! Do either of you Servants know what happens when a great deal of anger and resentment is combined with a great deal of magical energy?" she asked, her grin having become a smirk, "When a spirit with nothing but vengeance in its heart is given untold power? I'm sure you already understand~"

She giggled, as the black goo coalesced in a vast pool... and from within it, oozing with darkness, a gnarled skeletal arm emerged.

"For that matter, what happens when many hateful spirits are brought together as one?" she questioned, "Those shades... they may not be Servants, but they're shards of their darkest impulses~ And I... am one who commands the dead."

Pulling itself from the black pool was a great, shadowy figure, oozing with tar-like fluid. What could be seen of its form was blackened bones, and red lights in the deep pits of empty sockets.

"The individual spirits are known as onryo," commented the Caster, "But this is no mere single vengeful spirit~"

It hauled itself from the blackness, disarticulated jaw hanging out of a great mess of soaking wet, dark hair as an unearthly sound emnated from within. It sent chills through Nanako's body, as if she was caught out in the middle of the night in a freezing rainstorm. It was like a cold wind piercing her entire body. The gestalt onryo was at least ten meters in height...

The Caster just kept smirking.

"A single shadow is nothing to a Servant, but a gestalt of vengeance and hatred... that should be fun, right~?"

@PKMNB0Y@Rune_Alchemist@Pyromania99

---

While Benienma certainly knew computers existed by this point, the AI was quite curious. But not simply because of her nature as the manifestation of some kind of program. No, beyond that, Benienma could sense magical energy from the hologram... it wasn't unlike that of a familiar, though perhaps not a Servant proper.

For the moment, she chose to let Kaguya-hime speak first. She seemed more versed in this world then the little sparrow was.

"Scanning database..." announced the AI, "No further missing entries detected. Hmph, someone interfering like that... Administrator, permission to run a full diagnostic scan ahead of schedule?"

"After you've assisted our guests," Crowley replied. Her expression, however, conveyed concern. Clearly neither her nor HECATE herself were certain how someone had managed to interfere with the AI's databases.

"Very well. Isolating potential suspects..."

In a matter of seconds, the list of Casters had narrowed considerably. Remaining were all names recognizable as Casters who had existed during the Age of Gods.

Notably, the list was composed almost entirely of entries that had initially been removed. A few, perhaps ones most likely to have been able to create such Mystic Codes, were highlighted.

Among them were Circe, Arachne, Skuld, Medea, and Ceridwen.

"I have isolated the Caster-class Servants from the Age of Gods most likely able to output the quality and quantity of Mystic Codes required to fuel the black market sales and criminal usage we have seen in recent months," HECATE explained, as a holographic map of Fusang appeared alongside the list of names, "If I could make a suggestion, I believe Ceridwen's and Arachee's particularly high degrees of Item Construction makes them an excellent place to start, though it is your choice as to who to pursue at this current time."

When she finished speaking, pinpoint lights appeared across the map, each highlighting the location of one of the Casters in question.

"I will admit my confusion," HECATE added with a sigh, "I cannot understand why any of these Casters would pursue work with the black market. My analysis of their history continually fails to provide satisfactory explanations..."

Benienma scanned this list as well. This affected their work as well, even if they were currently focused on the murders. After all, these were the potential sources of the black market mystic codes...

"... Masta, Do you have any idea of how to narrow down the potential Assassins, or will we be looking at all of them?"

@Raineh Daze@RolePlayerRoxas

---

"Milady?"

There was concern evident even in the voice of the mercury maid as she reached out towards the petite blonde girl.

But even as she clutched at her forehead, a grin crossed her lips. It was clear she was suffering a headache of some sort, but at the same time...

"... It looks like there might be some kind of incident on our hands, hm?" she commented, even as she was helpfully supported by Trimmau. "I'll be fine, let's... nnn... take a look, shall we?"

Whatever passed above them had landed rather heavily in a nearby building, it seemed, a rather innocuous one nevertheless in the classic Japanese style of the other architecture in the district. One of the windows, however, had clearly been broken inwards.

@PKMNB0Y@KoL