Fate/Zero Desire

Tag Turmoil

The chaotic battlefield stood still for a few seconds, staring at the two new arrivals with shock. Well, until a young voice screamed:

“You bloody moron!”

Meanwhile, at the Church

“Do you have any idea of what you did?! You could pretty well have raised a flag saying ‘come and get us’ for all the teams of the war!’”

PUICK!

Kirei Kotomine wasn't one to sympathize with others, but even he had to wince as the finger hit the forehead of the young Master of Rider.

“I can't say I appreciate you revealing my class either, my friend,” said Caster of Hogwarts. “A bit of forewarning would be appreciated.”

The Rider put a hand on the older man's shoulder.

“Now, Albus, don't be so strict!”

‘Did…did that guy just say his and his partner's true name?’ 

‘It seems so, sir,’ replied Assassin blankly.

“Kirei, is everything alright?”

The man turned to the device from which Tokiomi's voice came. While its form suggested that it was a phonograph, its function was more akin to a magical radio.

“Yes, sir. It's just that I need some time to process these next events.”

As planned before the changes in the war, Kirei was using Hassan-i-Sabbah as a scout for their alliance. Thanks to their Noble Phantasm and the ability to use “shared perception” from Kirei, they were far superior in that regard than Assassin of Ohara's -which influenced the decision to send them alone and let Robin stay in the back.

Until now, he had been describing the battle in the docks play-by-play. The ambush of the red machine, the conflicts between the four Servants, the near-death attack on Kiritsugu Emiya (his heart almost jumped from his throat at that for some reason), and the reveal of the identity of Diarmuid of Love Spot.

Now, it was his duty to report that sequence of events.

“The other Rider arrived at the scene with an elderly man and a younger boy. At the same time, a man riding a Mazda crashed into a warehouse and has all the signs of being a Servant.”

He paused.

“Then Rider announced his identity as Alexander the Great and his partner as a man named Albus. The driver then said that he was the Berserker of Inaba, named Tohru Adachi. And he called the Holy Grail War a Murder Death Kill.”

Kirei didn't know why that bothered him the most in the discourse.

“That seems…awfully convenient,” decided Tokiomi. “Are you sure that the man is not lying?”

‘He asks as if we were amateurs,’ grumbled Assassin.

Kirei raised an eyebrow. His Servant seemed grumpy since yesterday. He would have to keep an eye on Hundred Faces.

“The younger man - I say, the teenager -seems to be acting very flustered over the actions of Rider.”

Indeed, the boy was almost choking after Iskandar casually revealed the name of their Caster. And Kirei had a good enough eye to tell if someone lies most of the time. 

Unless that kid was somehow an acting genius, he was sure it was all genuine.

“His intention baffles me, though,” commented the priest. “What is his plan? Is it a condition to use his Noble Phantasm?”

“There is no mystery in the actions of Rider, dear priest.”

Tokiomi stared surprised at his Assassin. She had ignored the reports of the battles, of the giant robot (he still scoffed at that), barely gave a thought over the hedgehog (“One of the legendary Mink?!”), but the moment that Kirei talked about Alexander, the Devil Child stopped everything to talk.

“Hm, am I talking right in this thing?” she asked. “This looks so different from a Den Den Mushi.”

“You are,” said Tokiomi. “All you need is to speak into the phonograph, and the jewel will emit the voice in the device of the Church. Now, you say that there is no mystery to Rider's action? What is the reason for such a bold claim?”

The Assassin of Ohara gave a serene smile. That voice… wasn't like the one that pulled her back from the brink of despair.

And yet, there was something in it that warmed her heart, the sheer Charisma.

Yes, there was no doubt in her head.

“What makes a pirate crew, Master?” asked the Assassin.

The magus raised an eyebrow.

“Is this a trick question?” he asked. “Many parts make a crew. It's the captain, the quartermaster, the vessel itself…”

“You would be correct…partially. But there is one thing that is similar between conquerors and pirates.”

She smiled.

“Most of them can't get far without a strong crew.”

“I…what I am even looking at,” said Rider of Tokyo-3.

The four Servants stared with a morbid fascination at the comedy routine between Waver Velvet and his Servant, the King of Conquerors.

Meanwhile, Adachi scratched his head, a bit flustered.

“Uh, I think I got here in a bad time, huh,” he said. “I will leave once I take off the-”

BLAM!

A blast of air hits the vehicle, pushing it through the wall to the inside of the warehouse.

“...That was borrowed.”

Saber glared at the Berserker.

‘So, I know we are supposed to kill each other,’ said Lancer of the ARK blandly. ‘But what is your story with that guy?”

‘He…I don't know how, but he took the place of our driver,’ said the knight. ‘And somehow managed to hide his presence as a Servant from me.’

‘He what?’ replied Kiritsugu, a bit of anger in his voice. ‘How did he even…No, that's not important. I'll figure this out later. Change of plans. Focus on Berserker.’

The knight blinked, a bit shocked at the show of emotion from her Master. Well, it made sense that he would be sensible about his wife's safety considering what she heard.

Seemingly noticing the intent of Artoria and Shadow, ready to fall on top of the unpredictable Servant, Rider raised a hand.

“Hold your blade, lady knight, as I have one request for all of you,” said the proud Rider.

His counterpart made an ugly face.

“And why should we bother with the requests of a weirdo that comes announcing his name like that, huh?!” asked Asuka, exasperated. “Are you even Alexander the Great?! You are supposed to be short!”

He blinked, then let out a loud laugh. 

“Ah, Hephaestion!” said the king. “Wouldn't you be amused by this? But no, my counterpart. If anything, the records have gotten the height of my opponent wrong.”

Dumbledore's eyes widened.

“Oh, my.”

“I don't get it,” said the Master. “I remember the stories of Iskandar being small, but what is the big deal with his foe?”

“In my world story, at least,” explained Dumbledore. “There is an anecdote about Alexander having to remove the throne of the Persian king, Darius III, as his legs couldn't reach the ground, or something like that.”

The Master looked at the Servant of Cavalry, then turned to the Servant of Sorcery.

“Wait, if that tale's the same, then…”

“Yes. I imagine that this Darius III would be around the height of Hogwarts Keeper of Keys.”

“How tall is that fellow?!”

The Lancer of the ARK shook his head.

“This is such a mood killer…” he grumbled. “Gingerhead! You better say something important!”

“Of course, mister hedgehog!” said Iskandar, then he blinked. “Hm, never thought that I would say something like that before. “Before the battles are allowed to continue, allow me to ask a question for all of you.”

The eyes turned to the Rider, Charisma guaranteeing that everyone watched him closely. The giant man bowed slightly.

“Would any of you, noble spirits…” he launched his arms into the air, throwing his face to the sky. “...be willing to forfeit your right to the Grail for me?”

Something broke in the minds of everyone.

“What,” asked Adachi.

“You heard me right, man of Inaba,” said the conqueror. “In exchange, I extend my arms to you in a great gesture of friendship. Together, we would explore and take joy in conquering this modern world!”

Another moment of silence.

Then…

TWIIP!

A spear of light passes close to the face of Iskandar, who didn't flinch in the slightest.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” growled Shadow. “Because I found it graceless.”

He prepared to launch another attack, only for an invisible force to stop his hand.

“While the proposal of my companion is outrageous,” said Dumbledore calmly. “I ask you to hold your hand from further attacks. They can endanger my Master, you see.”

The Ultimate Lifeform snarled. He had Magic Resistance and the spell was weak -a move a bit more forceful and he would be able to release himself from the hold.

‘Don't.’

He turned his eye to Saber, who angrily looked at the king and the sorcerers.

‘That mage…he's dangerous. My Instinct says so.’

‘And he's always trustworthy,’ snarked the Lancer. 

‘Trust me on this,’ she said. ‘Besides, we have other targets…’ The woman looked at the Berserker of Inaba, who was…

Ok, even Saber knew that juggling a gun was not something that should be done, even if you are a Heroic Spirit.

Ultimately, Shadow managed to rid himself of that hold and opted not to attack -even if he had the itching wish to break the neck of that ginger-headed fool.

Caster of Hogwarts noticed the silent exchange with some interest, his eyes shining. ‘Curious.’

“AAAAAAH?!” said Asuka, finally recovering from the shock. “Is this some sick joke, you big dumbass? If not, then shove that offer up your ass!”

Diarmuid coughed.

“Well, I agree in spirit with my partner…although without the use of such crass expressions,” he added. “Besides, I swore my fidelity to another lord, and, together with my partner, we shall bring victory to our side!”

Saber glanced another time at Berserker of Inaba, then at Rider.

“I must say that your reasons for interrupting this battle are nearly offensive to me, a knight, King of Conquerors,” said the woman. 

He scratched his chin.

“Hm, are the terms I offer not satisfactory? I am always open to talks.”

“No one will want to talk about giving up their wish, King of Idiots!” roared Asuka. “It's the sole damn reason for most of us appearing to fight for the damn sippy cup of Jesus.”

Artoria blinked, a sudden image of the ever-serious Galahad drinking into one of those weird baby cups that she saw with Irisviel. She shook the image off. That was an image she didn't need, at all. She continued:

“Besides, I, too, am a King, ruler of the distant lands of Britain. A king cannot reduce himself to the vassal of others.”

The ginger head scratched his beard.

“Hm! A king of the lands of Britain, you say? I am quite surprised that a little girl is the legendary King of Knights.”

‘Nice job hiding the identity,’ grumbled Shadow.

‘Shut it,’ said the knight simply. ‘If he was watching the fight, then that is a conclusion he should already have reached.’

‘No need to confirm it, though.’

Dumbledore raised his eyebrow again. ‘And there it is again.’

‘What is there again?’ asked Waver, slightly turning the eye to his Caster.

‘This,’ said Dumbledore, casting another silent spell at Shadow, right when they crossed eyes.

‘Stupid…fool…no need…’

‘!’ 

Waver's eyebrows widened.

‘What is this?’

‘Legilimency,’ replied the Caster. ‘Or mind-reading, for an easier answer. I suspected that those two found a way to communicate with each other, so I did cast Legilimens to scout the thoughts. If that woman is King Arthur, her draconic nature is neutering the spell, but Lancer's Magic Resistance is low enough for me to grasp some straw thoughts, like synchronizing with a radio wave.’

Saber glared at Rider, a line of blood from her wound dripping through her cheek.

“Would you dare to try my blade, King of Conquerors? Maybe a good demonstration of what this little girl can do.”

“For once, I agree with blondie,” said Asuka, cracking her knuckles. “It does not fit right that you and I share the same class.”

He raised his hand.

“Ladies! I understand that your wish is to put me down. But before that! You are forgetting one thing.”

He pointed at Berserker of Inaba, who was currently scratching his head.

“I mean, on the one hand, those two guys are pretty bad influences, but on the other, this seems too much work, but then you have to consider that it could have good payment…” he mumbled to himself.

The Servants looked shocked at the Servant of Madness.

“Is he…Is he seriously considering the offer?” asked Shadow.

“It seems so,” said Diarmuid. “But then again, Berserkers are not known for being the class of rational decisions.”

At that moment, Adachi raised his hand.

“Hey, big guy! I have a question. Do I get to kill many people?”

The sudden switch of tone from normal to crazy caught the Servants off-guard. 

“Not creepy at all,” mumbled the Rider of Tokyo-3. “Only a wacko to join with another one.”

Iskandar scratched his chin.

“Hm. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a way for a bloodless conquest. With that said…” he eyed the man in the suit. “I fear to say that I greatly condemn unnecessary violence. And judging by your question…”

The man bowed.

“Yup! Pro serial killer Tohru Adachi. Ok, the pro bit is a lie, but I am a serial killer. Hello!”

Iskandar raised an eyebrow as Waver gulped.

“A serial killer? Really?” he asked, as the man in the sound let out a silent “yup.”

Saber raised her blade.

“Why were you following me and my Master?” she snarled. “Answer it!”

He scratched his chin.

“Oh, yeah, Miss Not a Guy,” remembered the man. “Yeah, uh…I was doing a favor to that dead man. Remember when we passed that building?”

Her eyes widened as she saw the body hanging limply in her memories.

“Well, he was the guy that was to be your driver. However, he seemed to be on bad terms with his boss, so I decided to make him a final solid and be your driver for the day. Even if I don't like kids too much, his brat will finally have enough for that scholarship. Good action of the day, everyone!”

TWIIP! Adachi had to move his face as a Chaos Spear went for his face.

“Sheesh, your urchin buddy is pretty trigger-happy, huh?”

The hedgehog glared at the Berserker.

“I didn't think you had a death wish,” said the Lancer. “Otherwise, I would have turned you into a bloody mess when you left that car.”

“Oh hey, how did you know I committed suicide?” he asked happily. “Although…should I use my wish to come back to life? What did you guys think? Huh, where that thing-”

CLANG!

Shadow's eyes widened as his boot clanged against metal. Slowly, a creepy smile formed on his face.

“Hey…don't you know it is rude to stop someone while talking?!”

The hedgehog jumped back as Magatsu-Izanagi swung his spear.

“Have a bit of this! Maziodyne!”

An electric beam came out from the tip of his blade, which Shadow barely managed to avoid as it whiffed in the sky. His opponent didn't finish there, however.

“Magarudyne!”

A tornado appeared beneath Shadow's position, damaging him with razor wind.

“Tsk! Out of my way!”

The hedgehog managed to get himself out of the tornado and threw his light spears at the Persona while he charged straight at his boss.

‘He's the summoner,’ he thought. ‘If Berserker goes down, then that thing…’

Said thing disappeared in the air and reappeared in front of Adachi, using his blade as a shield against Shadow's roundhouse kick.

“Hey, bud. How can I learn to throw those cool things?” asked the Servant of Madness.

“How about in hell?!” roared the hedgehog. Much to his surprise, the man shrugged.

“Ah, well. I am going there anyway once this is over. I stay with my gun.”

Saying that he pointed the revolver at Shadow, who teleported out of the way as the bullets flew in the spaces beside the Lancer's head. He reappeared between the other Servants and Berserker of Inaba.

“Man, I need to improve my aim. That was awful!”

Shadow glared at the man.

“Do you and this spirit of yours mock me?!

“Mock you?” asked the man. “Nooooooot really. See, I didn't pay much attention to those classes in police and- WHOA!”

His Persona grabbed him and pulled as another air blast flew in his direction. Saber jumped beside her partner.

“You somehow became even more despicable, fiend!” said Artoria. “You turned your back to those you swore to protect! For a knight, there is nothing more unforgivable!”

“Eeeeh…” he said, landing back on the ground. “Does it make it better that I entered it to get permission to carry guns?”

BOOM!

Judging by the consecutive wind blasts, no, it did not. Adachi grunted as he blocked the attack with Magatsu-Izanagi, wincing a bit. Sometimes he wished to have got the gift of Narukami. Well, not like he could make good use of that anyway.

“Let's go, Lancer.”

The hedgehog cracked his fists.

“With pleasure.”

“Uh, isn't unknightly piling on one guy?”

He deflected the next set of spears.

“There is not one honorable bone on you,” said Lancer of the ARK, throwing himself into battle, followed by Saber.

Iskandar shook his head.

“It seems that the negotiations went out of the window.”

“Gee, good deduction Sherlock,” grumbled Waver, the hands in his head. “How did you get-”

THUNK!

A giant red fist bounced against a white light shield.

“ARGH!” said the younger man, nearly falling off the chariot, only being stopped by an invisible force picking him by the collar.

Meanwhile, Diarmuid advanced, using Gaé Dearg to destroy the white shield. He then hurled Gaé Buidhe against the Master. Waver's eyes widened. No time to-

“Repulso!”

BOOM!

A wave of force flew from the Elder Wand, sending the spearman flying. He managed to land on his two feet, close to the other Rider.

“Hm, it's not nice when someone interrupts a talk,” said Rider. “I had an interest in this Sherlock guy.”

Asuka spits to the side.

“Do you think we give a shit about your feelings, weirdo?!” said the red-haired girl. “For a conqueror, you don't seem to understand that a war is not a place to switch words!”

Iskandar raised an eyebrow.

“Hm, I'm sure that the Athenians would disagree with you, considering how they made the act of discussion a battlefield of a whole other level.”

“Unfortunately, the time of words has long been gone,” said Lancer, twirling his spear. “Now, it's time for metal to do the talking.”

“I fear they are correct, my optimistic friend,” said Dumbledore. “For all that you wished to gather an army, all we got was a slew of enemies in our backs.”

“Aaaaahh, such a shame. I didn't even hear the answer from our mad friend.”

“Are you considering letting a serial killer join us?! No way!” roared the boy. “If you ever get that hare-brained idea again, I swear I will use a Command Seal for you to-!”

“Fufufufufu!”

Waver felt a chill fall over his spine. As the battle between Saber, Lancer of ARK, and Berserker of Inaba went on, the voice of Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald returned to echo on the battlefield.

“So you petty little thief finally let the head out, huh?”

The younger magus let out an involuntary whimper at hearing the voice of his cruel mentor.

In his hideout, Kayneth smirked. By nature, the boy was already quite fearful of him after class after class of malice. A small spell to help him relieve those bad memories, and the kid that dared to play with men became a nervous wreck. 

He approached the border. With the Magus Killer out of play, there was no need to worry about being sniped.

(Silently, he scoffed at that thought. As if something as pathetic as a bullet could pierce Volumen Hydrargyrum.)

He stared at the two Servants that the boy summoned. The one that was his by right, the magnificent King of Conquerors with a red flowing cape that his pathetic student grabbed as a child would hold onto their blanket after a bad dream. Besides them, a wise magician with a long, white beard.

“I ask what you have more, Waver Velvet: courage or stupidity. Did you think that stealing my relic would be enough for you to triumph in the Holy Grail War?”

The boy tried to articulate, but only a whimper went out. The humiliations, the punishments, and the destruction of his hard work, all went through his head like a terror movie. The sheer venom in the words of the magus paralyzed him in place.

(Nobody, except Rider, noticed that Dumbledore, staring straight at Waver's eyes, was slowly taking a dark expression.)

Asuka gulped.

“Sheesh. Seems we don't even need to crush the kid, as our Master is doing all the job.”

Yes, seeing the kid squirm reminded her much of-

She shook her head. Nah, it was only projecting.

“Are you alright?” asked Lancer.

“Yeah,” she lied. Still, a bittersweet taste grew in her mouth along with the memories of a confusing relationship with a dull little boy.

Meanwhile, Kayneth stared smugly at the trio in the chariot -or, more specifically, at Waver.

“Such a shame that my dear student has decided to enter this fight,” he said, with such a falsely sweet tone that it even made the other three Servants stop fighting. “I suppose it was my fault in failing to put in the meaning of a magi battle. Be proud: few were honored to have private classes with me.”

“Wow,” said Adachi. “This guy is a scumbag.”

Artoria and Shadow glared at the man, who shrugged.

“What? You guys also stopped fighting! Don't act like you disagree with me, even bad guys can have standards! I don't kill elderly people and babies, for instance.”

Shadow was about to launch a Chaos Spear when a voice echoed through the battlefield.

“Cease.”

The single word was simple and clean yet carried weight. The voice of Albus Dumbledore soared through the field. 

“I beg your pardon?” asked Kayneth. “Did you, a mere spirit, order me to stop?”

Lancer looked down at the floor while Rider of Tokyo-3 followed the talk.

“Yes, I do,” he declared, glaring at the magus on the top of the building. “And it's only by an extraordinary amount of control that I do not strike you down where you stand.”

“So tell me, what is the reason for your anger against me?” asked the Lord of the Clock Tower. “For all your power, I can tell that we never met and that I never wronged you. Thus, what is the reason for your anger?”

He raised his hand.

“Isn't the common wish of every one of the Spirits here gathered to conquer the Grail? So be it! Rider is already mine by right, as it was from my relic that he became anchored to the young fool, Velvet. Join me, and no force in this war will stop us. I can sustain your power with ease.”

‘Read: Sola-Ui can,’ thought Asuka. ‘Sheesh, is she his fiancee or his battery?’

‘This is a rude thing to say!’ added Diarmuid. ‘Do not talk down to Lady Sola-Ui like that!’

The Rider blinked.

‘Wait, how did you-’

Before she could conclude her thought, Dumbledore raised his hand.

“There it is.”

“Hm?”

“What you called your student. Young fool Velvet. Even now, when you are foes, you keep looking down at him.”

“Of course I do. He's the weakest Master,” added Kayneth. “He's a magus of the first generation, a sprout that will never bloom. And I am a Lord of the Clock Tower, one of the best magi in the world. Comparing me against him is like comparing a piece of coal to a ruby.”

“You seem to forget,” said Dumbledore sagely. “That, given enough time, even the lowliest piece of coal can become the most precious and powerful of the precious rocks, a diamond. When polished correctly, almost nothing is stronger than that.”

He glared at the other Master.

“When you see a failure, all I can see is a diamond in the rough. A teacher must never oppress or shame but guide and give respite. All achievable with hard work.”

The eyes of both men widened. ‘I…never said that to…’ Then it clicked. ‘He was staring at me for a long time. Maybe…he used Legilimency to see my memories?’

‘I suppose that's the case,’ said Rider. ‘Now, shush, I wish to see what our friend has to say.’

Caster continued his speech.

“Yes, I am aware of the beef between both sides. Hard work against talent is the eternal question. But allow me to reveal one thing: at the end of the day, it is a pointless one.”

“Pointless?” asked the Lord of Mineralogy, incredulous. “Nonsense! The rule of this world is that lineage is everything. All that goes out of the mouth of his fool is a way to cope with his powerlessness.”

“A powerlessness that you,” he emphasized the last word. “Put it in his head. You emphasize lineage and talent, but allow me to tell you one thing: a man that does a thousand spells once is less threatening than one that performs a single magic a thousand times."

Kayneth huffed.

“Hmph. So it seems that there is no acceptance between us. Well then. Perish with that failure of a student. Alas, the invitation is still open for you, King of-”

“No.”

The Macedonian conqueror looked at the Master of Lancer and Rider of Tokyo-3. For the first time since his summoning, the man looked angry. He put a hand on Waver's shoulder.

“Stand with your head tall, Master,” said Iskandar. “You don't look good when upset.”

The teenager felt the calloused yet gentle hand of his Servant, who gave a dry smile to the other Master.

“As for you…” he paused. “Well, as for you, it's simply audacious for you to say with such certainty that you are entitled to be my Master. Nay! The only one with the right to sway me is someone with the courage to follow me on the battlefield, not a coward hiding in the shadows like a bug!”

Kayneth growled.

Saber looked at Lancer, ashamed of the actions of his Master. Heck, even the other Rider seemed a bit embarrassed of him.

‘It's unfair. A hero like Diarmuid does not deserve to be a vassal of a cruel lord like him.’

‘Unfortunately, I don't think he had a say in that,’ commented Shadow. ‘Still, I can tell that no one deserves to have someone as petty as this El-Melloi as their anchor. Well, he will get what he deserves.’

The blonde knight stared at the hedgehog, a bit confused. Why did that sound so-

BZZZZZT!

An electric beam hit the knight, inoffensively dissipating. She slowly turned to Adachi, who looked startled.

“Sorry,” she said, a dry smile on her face. “I have high Magic Resistance. If not even a Caster can pierce that defense, then a Berserker has no shot at doing so."

Adachi took a step back, having a weird smile.

“Ah? Let's see if you can block THIS!”

Magatsu-Izanagi clanged the blade to the ground as four white orbs fell from the sky. While Shadow retreated, Saber advanced, trusting her Magic Resistance to tank the move.

BOOM!

The four orbs converged into an explosive force that pushed the knight away. Artoria rolled away, panting.

‘Dammit, I got hurt!! What kind of spell was that?!’

Meanwhile, Adachi huffed, tired, with a sadistic grin.

“Ugh…So much for your resistance, huh?”

However, for all his big talk, the Hunger was worried. For all the power that Magatsu-Izanagi had, the former detective was painfully aware that his Master was subpar, and launching dyne spells like that was draining, even more so with a Megidolaon on top.

‘Maybe I should have tried to call Gilles before coming.’

Alas, his ally Caster was too busy entertaining their Master with how many ways there were to kill children with his eldritch powers and muttering something about jeans. He didn't hear it much.

‘Ok, in need of some serious help here.’

CLANK!

As the three prepared to keep fighting, Saber's Instincts acted up. 

“JUMP!”

Shadow complied, avoiding the stray sweep of 02's hand.

Adachi, unfortunately, wasn't fast enough.

“I HATE MY LUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK-!”

The Berserker flew, passing through one of the buildings. The duo of the Einzbern had no time to worry about what happened to their target, however.

Shadow grabbed the arm of Saber, and both teleported away from the next swing, reappearing a few meters away.

“Cowards!” growled the knight. “Going for a backstab like that!”

Shadow, however, shook his head.

“They weren't going for us. Look.”

Indeed, the target of the Second Child was another Servant.

“HIYAAA!”

She once again slugged to the heavens, taking the most impulse for the punch of 02 to reach its target -Iskandar's Gordius Wheel.

Unfortunately, for all the speed that her ride had, the chariot was faster, avoiding almost all the swings of her giant knives.

Occasionally, a few stray lightning or magic blasts flew, vainly attempting to pierce the shield.

“Where's all that bravado now, big guy?!” roared Asuka. “Can't even harm me! All of you are weaklings! No one can pierce the AT Field!”

VOOSH! Another miss. Waver wept.

“Thiswasaterribleideathiswasaterribleideathiswasaterribleidea-”

“BOY!” said Iskandar. “Don't be shaken. Everything is going to be alright!”

He analyzed the protection around her. That shield would be quite a pain to break through. Maybe he would need to use one of his trumps early…

“Where is Lancer?” asked Dumbledore.

Sure, the Knight of Fianna wasn't too threatening in the long-range compared to his partner, but it still was worrisome that he seemingly vanished from the field.

Asuka glared at the chariot in the sky, looking around the scenario. Then, looking at one of the holes in the warehouses, she gave a devious smile, using the arms of 02 to grab onto something that she immediately launched toward the trio.

“Oh, that's a big one!”

“Holy-!”

Rider started to avoid the projectile his counterpart threw -the Mazda that Saber had launched inside the warehouse, miraculously avoiding destruction. 

CRASH!

With a quick hook with the other hand, the vehicle switched directions, going straight for the trio!

“Aaah-!” screamed Waver, only for a white wall to appear between them and the vehicle. The car crashed into it, getting even more busted and-

CREAK!

The Crimson Rose of Exorcism goes out from the top of the metallic structure, the pale shield cracking from entering contact with the anti-magic spear. Then, Diarmuid bursts from it, pushing Gaé Buidhe towards Iskandar.

SLASH!

However, at the last moment, Caster of Hogwarts pushes his friend out of the way, making the spear of never-healing stab his blackened hand.

“Dumbledore!” said Iskandar, alarmed.

The mage smiled, however, pointing the Elder Wand at the enemy Lancer, which released flames.

Eyes widening, Diarmuid rushedly retrieved his weapon, escaping only slightly burnt from Incendio's reach. The car, meanwhile, fell into the ocean, making a splash at impact.

“Dumbledore!” said Waver, worried. “You heard that spear inflicts unhealable wounds! You could have used your magic to send him away!”

Again, the mage smiled.

“Ah, I suppose I got apprehensive of that other spear of his, so I attempted to perform the safest action,” he moved his wand as a roll of bandage covered the wound. “Don't worry, I was not using that for much anyway.”

Meanwhile, on the ground, Diarmuid looked frustrated at his Noble Phantasm.

“It seems that luck is not on my side today. All I got from using my Phantasm is to nick the beautiful face of Saber and strike a dead part on Caster.”

‘You should have gone for that brat instead,’ chided Kayneth. ‘To take down those two foolish rabbits.’

‘Don't speak nonsense, Master,’ said the spearman. ‘Caster of Hogwarts was more prepared for that than for me to strike Rider or him.’

‘Yeah, don't say things as if you understand of fights, Master!’

He could feel the contempt of the Lord.

‘Listen, you runt, I will-!’

‘Is nobody noticing that we are in a conjoint call?’

Apparently not, as the two continued to hurl mental insults at the other as they kept engaging their enemies.

However, someone had enough of that. And it was neither of the members of the El-Melloi faction.

“Enough is enough!”

“Rider…he seems angered by something,” announced Kirei.

Tokiomi raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe he's mad at his ally's wound?”

Robin scratched her chin.

“Not unlikely,” she declared. “But…my gut says something else is the reason for anger."

The Tohsaka head looked surprised at his Servant as Kirei continued narrating:

“The King of Conqueror says, boomingly, ‘I am tired of these games! Even now, in a battle with glorious heroes, a few still hide in the shade. When the noise of brave warriors and magnificent machines echoes in this small dock, they still have contempt in watching that silently!’”

Tokiomi made an ugly face.

“I hate when you are right.”

“I suppose you will hate me a lot from now on, then,” said the Assassin of Ohara cheekily. “Because I'm fairly sure I can predict the next actions of cap-” she coughed. “I mean, King Iskandar.”

Tokiomi raised an eyebrow. Did the King of Conquerors remind his Servant of someone? 

“He continues with, ‘Come, ye fools! Assemble in this battlefield, and spare yourselves of having an ignoble death in the hands of Alexander, King of Conquerors!’”

Tokiomi feels a chill in his spine. Robin hummed.

“Hm, looks like my partner's ego won't allow this challenge to go unanswered.”

“Well said, Nico Robin,” replied Kirei. “Thankfully, maybe his partner for today's bout may be able to run damage control.”

Dutifully, Kirei narrated the events to follow.

‘Hmph. For a conqueror and genius strategist, he can be obnoxious,’ commented Kiritsugu. ‘No one would be a fool to answer this challenge.’

‘You say that assuming that Heroic Spirits are the most sensible beings in the first place,’ said Shadow, glancing at the living proof of that affirmation.

‘...A fair point,’ said the mercenary. ‘Saber, you are immune to his spells. Finish him.’

‘With pleasure,’ said the knight, bursting forward to intercept her target. The man hadn't even moved from the hole. Was he knocked out?

‘No matter. He won't come out of there, ali-’

Once again, her Instinct is her salvation, as Magatsu-Izanagi materializes above her head and goes for a mighty slash. She attempted to block the attack, but-

“!”

Hastily, she jumps back. She ignores the blade ripping the slight pain that came from the spear of Magatsu-Izanagi slightly cutting her armor, the tip slipping in the meat.

BOOOOM!

The ground shook as the blade of Magatsu-Izanagi collided with the floor, even affecting Rider of Tokyo-3 and Lancer.

Artoria grabbed her stomach, whose wound was not so long after closing. ‘Send my thanks to Irisviel, Master.’

“Goddammit, nearly had you there, didn't ya?!”

Adachi jumped out of the hole, again with that sinister smile.

“Heat Riser, Power Charge, and then a Vorpal Blade to the face! Almost saw you in half! Good thing you dodged, or else bye-bye! And it would be a thing of beauty! Ahahaha!”

Magatsu-Izanagi twirled his blade, his demonic visage seemingly laughing at its foe. Saber, in response, readied her blade for the exchange, Shadow preparing to keep attacking with his Chaos Spears.

Then, laughter echoed through the battlefield. All Servants turned to see the new presence.

“I heard your challenge, Rider Iskandar.”

The man in the flying chariot stared at the man standing atop a street pole. Beside him, a man in military clothes with an eyepatch.

“You are pretty daring to look down at me,” commented the Archer.

Saber of Amestris raised his eyes.

“Wouldn't it be more correct to say we are looking him up, Archer?”

“Hmph,” grunted the King of Heroes. “Don't be a smartass, Fuhrer. You know what I intended with my words.”

Iskandar lowered the vehicle's height until the two kings were approximately the same height from the ground.

“Hello, bowless Archer,” said the red-haired king. “My rival.”

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? You are still eye to eye with me and have the nerve to talk such nonsense. I can't say if you are a brave or a fool.”

“Sometimes, the line between both it's thin,” said Dumbledore. “Something that requires extraordinary courage can also be a big fool's errand. They aren't mutually exclusive.”

The ruler of Uruk stared at the Caster of Hogwarts.

“I didn't give you permission to talk,” he said coldly. 

“Do I need to?” retorted the professor. “After all, you are lucky that my partner is a good-natured fellow.”

Waver let out a whimper. If stares could kill, the cross-glare between the Archer and the Caster would turn someone into dust.

“Hm, I like your guts, old man,” replied the Archer, his eyes turning to Iskandar. “All I say is, both he and Saber are bold to declare themselves as kings…”

He snapped his fingers. Iskandar's eyes widened as he ordered his bulls to get distance from the man as countless golden portals opened in thin air.

“...when the only one among Heaven and Earth worthy of such a title is the one who faces you.”

Weapon after weapon came out of the Gate of Babylon: spears, hammers, swords, maces, all floating, ready to deliver its deadly rain.

‘It's like we saw in the Pensieve!’ thought Waver. ‘All of his weapons are different from one another! Are all of them Noble Phantasms?!’

Dumbledore squinted his eyes.

‘It's possible…their power is different. If anything, I would say that they are part of the Noble Phantasm.’

Unseen to them, all the other Masters gulped at feeling that aura.

Rider frowned at the sight.

“Such firepower…what kind of man can harness such might?”

Archer gave a disappointed stare at the ‘inferior’ king.

“Hmph. And I thought you were more than a lowly mongrel. Fool, no one can forget this name of mine, as it's the essence of all of us,” he glanced at his partner for the night. “Even for those fakers that crawl through the streets.”

The military man didn't seem affected by the comment, limiting himself to slowly winking.

“Hmph, what a ripoff,” said Rider of Tokyo-3. “I bet those things can't even-!”

Before she could finish, a blade flew in her direction. It collided against the AT Field, but-

CRACK!

It bypassed it! In a split-second decision, Asuka summoned the head of 02 to protect herself. The projectile, weakened by the invisible field, bounced harmlessly from the plating -but not before singing the armor. When the metal disappeared, Rider of Tokyo-3 was on her knees.

‘It-it pierced the AT Field! What kind of firepower was on that?!’

02 had resisted against some of the worst that the Angels and nature could throw at her, and the only ones that ever passed through her defenses when at her best were those weird spears that the Mass Production Evangelions used -who were effective against them, somehow.

To think that a mere blade pierced it like cardboard?

The teenager gulped. He was dangerous. Lancer put himself in the way of a follow-up attack, but Archer seemed satisfied with his showing of power.

“Hmph. Now you know your place, foolish girl,” he commented. “After all, I granted thee the glory of my presence, yet, you claim not to know of my brilliance. Such an offense is unforgivable.”

Silence. Then…

“This hedgehog says that you are a nobody.”

Everyone turned their eyes to Adachi, whose Persona was pointing at the Lancer of the ARK, who blinked.

“What?” he asked, confused.

Saber was also confused for a moment before realizing the intention of the Berserker. She boosted to him, but-

VROOOOM!

A tornado grew on his feet, sending him flying away to a rooftop and making the girl stumble a bit from the strength of the wind.

“Adios, suckers! I hope we get to play more cop and robbers! I make a mean robber!”

Shadow shook his head.

“You won't get away so easily!”

The hedgehog jumped to reach the roof, but a spear flew in the way between them. The Ultimate Lifeform tried to recover, but at this point, the Berserker of Inaba had dissipated in his spirit form.

‘Shit!’ snarled the hedgehog. ‘He escaped.’

‘I can see that,’ grumbled Kiritsugu, annoyed. "We need to give pursuit.’

The two Servants nodded, but before they could move, two blades pierced the ground ahead of them, coming from the Gate of Babylon.

“Hold your step. I have not permitted you to move.”

The two stared at the Archer, staring mercilessly at the duo. Saber of Amestris shook his head.

“Hm, it seems we ruined someone's day,” he said. “Good grief, that jester must have either the best or the worst luck I've seen.”

Still, part of him was glad to see that man get away. 

After all, it would be so entertaining to rip his little puppet to pieces.

“You have no space in dealing with our business, Archer,” declared the knight of the Round Table. “Are you such a fool to fall for an obvious attempt at diversion? That man is responsible for at least one of the murders in this city.”

“Hmph. The concerns of ants do not affect the will of lions,” declared the Hero-King, arrogantly. “Such things are below my attention.”

“Hmph. I suppose you ain't such a great king, then.”

Rider raised his eyebrows at the remark of Lancer.

“Oh. So the ferret has a tongue.”

“He's-oh, forget it,” said Waver.

Archer analyzed the Lancer with curiosity, while Saber of Amestris scratched his chin.

‘Hm…it almost looks like one of the chimeras that the alchemists used to make in the labs. Curious.’

“You…you are a curious thing,” commented Gilgamesh. “Whereas all the others are humans, you alone are a monster. Yes, such an oddity.”

The Lancer gave a cocky smile that earned him a warning from Kiritsugu. ‘Lancer…’

‘Don't worry, Master,’ said Shadow. ‘I will end this before it even starts.’

“I don't mind being different. This is what comes with being the Ultimate Lifeform.”

Archer laughed.

“MUAHAHA! You speak with such certainty that it almost makes me wish to spare your life,” his smile disappeared as quickly as the laugh came. “But you better know, little beast. Even with all the entertainment you can provide, at the end of the day…”

Golden circles appeared around the Servant, around all the angles.

“You are not but a bug in my garden.”

Right when the weapons flew, Shadow was already gone, teleporting to appear right behind Gilgamesh.

“And you are not but a pain in the ass!”

It was a fact. Archers were the most dominant class in the long-range department and only not weaker than the Caster class up close. Thus, Shadow figured out that a fast attack would be enough to break the neck of that arrogant Archer.

Alas, things didn't go as planned.

The kick bounced against a mighty iron shield that appeared to intercept the move. Alarmed, the hedgehog used that move to impulsion the backflip away from the golden king.

“Hm, you do have some tricks then,” said Gilgamesh. “Not that it will help you much.”

A gate appeared on the shield, launching a spear that Shadow barely managed to avoid by twisting his body. He then teleported away, only to be surrounded by the portals again.

“Pathetic!”

With another blink, Lancer was at the top of another light post, huffing.

“Hmph. You are a slithery one, chipmunk,” said the Archer. “But I fear that these theatrics bother me already.”

The Ultimate Lifeform glared at his opponent as he hurled more weapons. Before he could avoid them, a burst of air dispersed the attack.

“Don't think I will stay still as you hammer my partner,” declared Saber, preparing her blade. 

Archer seemed more amused than angered.

“Oh, the other king shows her claws. Now it's a fair fight.”

“Your pride will be your downfall,” said the knight, preparing to advance. However…

BOOM!

Saber avoided the giant iron fist.

“Hey, hey, don't say you forgot us!”

Asuka glared at the figure in blue.

“Because I'm up to let some pain on your face!”

Diarmuid looked displeased at the situation. He would rather face the knight one-on-one.

‘Do you really wish to humiliate me into wasting another Command Seal?’

He grimaced. The Irish spearman had already displeased his Master once already. Repeating the offense would be unforgivable. Thus, he prepared his roses to slash at meat.

The heroine growled, looking between his partner and her foes. How did things turn on them so fast?

‘Master, should we retreat?’ she asked. It was shameful, but in a three against two against powerful heroes like those, the odds were against them.

Before the mercenary could answer, Shadow replied:

‘I got this.’

With a snap, he summoned the green rock to his hands. Diarmuid stared at the object.

‘That thing…it's the power enhancer? No, my previous assumption was incorrect. He did teleport more times without using that. Was he holding back?’

Still, the wave of energy coming from that didn't leave doubt that it was a Noble Phantasm.

Shadow moved one of his hands to the ring on his wrists before thinking twice and stopping the motion.

“Hmph. I don't need to go full-power against a small fry like you.”

He snapped his fingers, and again Chaos Spears appeared in the air, but in larger form and number than before.

“!”

Gilgamesh huffed.

“Hmph. No amount of quantity can defeat quality.”

More blades prepared to leave the Gate of Babylon while Rider of Tokyo-3 and Lancer jumped Artoria together.

“Hm, so that's the power of a Servant from another world.”

To say that Kirei was shocked was…wrong if he were honest. Few things could faze a former Executor.

Still, to see Gilgamesh on the defensive, even if for a second, was a sight to behold.

“Teleportation and magical spears,” commented Tokiomi. “Together with a fearsome knight with a holy blade. Ah, the Einzbern summoned truly troublesome Servants.”

Kirei had to agree with his Master.

“Hm? So you admit there's a chance of defeat for Mister Hero Number One?” asked Robin.

The magus scoffed.

“Let's not be hasty. Maybe, if all the other Servants allied -an unlikely situation -then I would answer ‘possibly.’ After all, in all of human history, only the gods themselves and the Chains of Heaven ever managed to pose a challenge to Gilgamesh.”

“I see…so considering that he's at his prime, then our golden Archer is at least as powerful as the Seven Warlords of the Sea combined…maybe even capable of matching one of the Emperors.”

“You surely jest, right?” replied the Master. “To think that a pirate could match the power of the King of Heroes is alien to my mind.”

“While I never had the chance of meeting any of them,” she answered. “My former employer, Crocodile of the Warlords, has fought against Whitebeard, of the Whitebeard Pirates. He said that the world literally broke from using his power.”

Silence.

“Assassin is saying that you came from a scary place, Nico Robin.”

“Ah, but there's so much beauty in it~!”

Meanwhile, in the shadows, another Master watched the fight with attention, barely restraining his venom.

They were right there: the man with the eyepatch and the golden Archer. They were the Servants of that man, the image from last night in his mind.

He wants to rip them apart. To destroy the ambitions of Tokiomi Tohsaka and burn them away.

“Not yet.”

And still, a voice demanded patience.

Archer of Musutafu watched the fight with cautious eyes, analyzing every single detail with a cool head. He nearly went to blindside Berserker of Inaba but was stopped by his Master.

They had bigger fish to catch, after all.

“They are there. Two rabbits with one stone” said the representative of the Matou. “It is our time to strike.”

He narrowed his eyes as Saber kept avoiding the attacks of Rider of Tokyo-3 and Lancer. Her skill was remarkable to fend off two Heroic Spirits at once. And his partner was as skilled as he was punctually dodging the attacks of Archer, who summoned shields to protect himself. Iskandar and his entourage, for lack of a better term, watched the fights from the skies while Saber of Amestris stood in the same spot, watching the bout between his ally and the hedgehog.

“Not yet,” said the hero. “Close to the boiling point, but not yet. Kariya Matou, are you aware of our fallacy as a team?”

The man…raised an eyebrow? It was hard to say as he attempted to move his left eye.

“Me. I am the weakest link.”

Endeavor didn't deny it.

“You summoned two high-performance Servants while you can't even afford to support one of us to its best.”

He grimaced.

“You don't need to throw that in the face. Why do you mention this now?”

“It's because you have a pretty bad combination of traits besides that,” said the Archer. “You are hot-headed and impatient. Combined with your condition as a Master, you are likely to burn out early in this war. We, in a way, are the weakest team so far.”

Kariya scoffed.

“Do you like to monologue or what? Let's get this-”

He felt something hit him in the head.

“I am attempting to instill a lesson in your head,” said Endeavor, his hand going down. “In a way, you are like the support of a hero agency. Many times, the success of a mission went down to if the crew did a good job in supplying the hero in the field with the correct tactic to surpass an enemy,” he pointed at the dock. “And this is how we win.”

He watched as Rider's chariot went down to the battlefield.

“Berserker's thirsty to jump in the heat of the battle, no? Send him. He will be our decoy,” he raised three fingers. “We will stay in that place for five minutes. Not more, not less. If everything goes smoothly, I can deliver a blow to my counterpart and hurt Tohsaka's forces. Is that what you want?”

Kariya nodded. The earlier he punched the nose of that bastard, the better. Ignoring the censuring stare of his sane Servant, he uttered:

“Kill them, Berserker.”

“Got you now!”

The arms of 02 nearly smashed the knight once again as she jumped high in the air to avoid the attack. Then, Diarmuid, attempting to capitalize on her airborne state, lunged Gaé Buidhe at her face, baiting the King of Knights to a lunge with the Crimson Rose of Exorcism through her shoulder, which was healed by Irisviel's magic.

In retaliation, she swung her blade down, attempting to damage the machine that tried to crush her. Much to the surprise of the Servant of the Sword, her attack went through the shield surrounding the mecha and caused a cut to appear in the armor. However, before she could capitalize on that, Asuka swatted her away to the side, forcing the knight to fight Lancer once again.

Asuka touched the scratch in the metal. ‘Shit…’

‘What happened?!’ asked Kayneth. ‘Your AT Field handled worse before!’

The girl grimaced.

‘That damn Archer…he threw me out of my tempo.’

Synchrony was something important when you rode an EVA. Not only it depended on compatibility with the machine, but also on how the pilot felt at the moment. Rage and other emotions caused by stress usually gave better results, while others caused by emotional turmoils like sadness and confusion pulled it down. Asuka knew that perfectly.

And yet she still focused at that precise moment when the blade cut through the AT Field as if it was nothing.

It was disheartening.

‘Dammit, get back together, Rider!’ ordered Kayneth. ‘Keep fighting!’

The girl grits her teeth, raising her hand to strike the Servant of the Blade, but-

BOOM!

The girl summoned the armor of 02 to protect herself as the chariot of Rider ran down over her, pushing it against the ground.

“Hey, hey! Two-on-one doesn't seem very fair!” said the chariot rider happily. “Allow us to give you a taste of that medicine!”

“Fool, fool, fool! No one was looking at us and you had to go look for a fight!” shouted his Master, holding for dear life as the ride trembled against the metallic armor. 

“I can't say that I approve of running over an upstanding young lady like that,” commented Dumbledore. “But I suppose these are things that battle forces you to do.”

Asuka growled, flexing her legs.

“Do you think this is a freaking comedy spot?!”

When she released them, the armor around her disappeared at the same time the legs of 02 appeared and pushed the chariot to the skies. The bulls roared in pain, but a few commands from Iskandar were enough to calm them down.

‘Dammit, this can't go on!’ thought Asuka. ‘I need to return to the water and pray to end this in 02!’

The girl attempted to return to the ocean, but the chariot landed on the ground with strength.

“Don't think I will give you space to return to your full force so easily!” said Iskandar, his bulls hitting the ground, ready to run through.

The girl growled, then smirked.

“Is that so? Fine, I will dice through you, then!”

Summoning the arms of 02, she called forth her progressive knives, twirling them.

“I would like to see you try, child!” said the King of Conquerors, holding the reins of the chariot with assurance.

“This is a terrible idea…” said Waver.

“I wouldn't say so,” retorted Caster of Hogwarts. “Whatever is happening with the other Rider is affecting her protections. A direct attack may be enough to break through her last defenses.”

“Yes, but I am here! And I don't want to become Swiss cheese!”

“Nonsense, boy!” said Iskandar. “I will handily win this!”

The bulls huffed. The blade shined in the light of the moon and of the Chaos Spears that Shadow traded with Gilgamesh.

“This will be your funeral!” roared Asuka, ready to slash the opposition before…

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

The other Servants stopped fighting as they felt that terrific roar through the battlefield. Was that even a man, or was it a living shadow? That was the question that passed the mind of everyone as the black knight walked into the battle. His pitch-black armor, covered from top to bottom, seemed like a creation straight from the forges of Hell. The only color came from the slit in his helmet, from which a crimson light shined.

Considering that most of the Knight Classes had already shown themselves, this only left one answer for who that man was.

“Berserker,” said Saber.

The figure stared at the King of Knights. ‘ARTHUR ARTHUR ARTHUR-’

‘Not yet,’ said a voice. ‘First, the golden king.’

Inwardly, he growled but obeyed.

“Such a meddlesome guest has answered your call, Rider,” said Diarmuid.

“Meddlesome and creepy,” added the other Rider. “Honestly, you need to increase your bar if you let a weird hoodlum like him enter this place.”

“Hm, I am open to all kinds of men entering my army,” said Iskandar. “But it seems our friend is not in the mood for business. Master, can you ascertain how strong this guest is?”

The boy gulped, looking at the black mass.

“I…can't,” he said, surprised. 

Dumbledore looked at the boy.

“In what way? Is he making you nervous, or-?”

“The latter,” replied the teenager. “I can tell that guy is a Servant, but…nothing else.”

‘A stat blocker?’ said Kiritsugu. ‘Dammit.’

‘Master, can you tell us something about this guy?’ asked Lancer.

The Master grimaced. He still wasn't fully healed, but he managed to drag himself to see the battle with binoculars.

‘I can see skills,’ he replied. ‘Mad Enhancement is above average. He also has Magic Resistance and two other skills: Protection of the Spirits and Eternal Arms Mastery. No clue on what they do, however.’

Saber grimaced. That foe seemed to be very dangerous…

‘And yet…why do I have this sense of familiarity?’ 

It was frustrating. The fog around the knight blocked any attempts at figuring out who he was from sight. However, considering Berserker of Inaba's existence, she was sure he was a Servant of this world.

Everyone -even Archer and Lancer of the ARK -stood still. Everyone comprehended the importance of that man's actions.

A battle royale was a rather complicated subject. When three or more forces are engaged in a duel, the most effective tactic is to ally with one side to outnumber and crush the remaining one. Even Saber, two hands or not, couldn't fend off the attack of six Servants simultaneously. Thus, the girl analyzed the battlefield.

Rider's faction was currently against Lancer's group. However, considering how volatile the man could be, that could change at any moment. Ironically, they were the ones that Saber felt were the most likely to ally with anyone -as long as they swore their loyalty to the King of Conqueror, which felt unlikely.

Besides fighting Iskandar and Albus, Lancer's group also was against her and Shadow. Considering the sheer hatred that the Master showed towards Kiritsugu, a shot at a temporary alliance seemed too long to try.

Archer, meanwhile, was firmly against the Lancer of the ARK and held some enmity over the other two kings on the battlefield, more likely to go after the man that proclaimed himself his rival, Rider.

And then they had Berserker…

‘No, this is incorrect,’ said Shadow. ‘You seem to forget a figure that has been too quiet since his entrance.’

Her eyes widened. Yes, her furry friend was correct. She nearly forgot the figure with the eyepatch. Besides the witty remark at the start, he has been silent, not even daring to lift his blade. ‘So he is my counterpart, I suppose.’

‘Indeed,’ said Kiritsugu. ‘He's currently under orders of Tohsaka…or so that is what they want us to believe.’

‘They?’ thought the knight. 

The mercenary didn't answer. The knight sighed: another question to the pile.

As she was saying, there were two unknowns. Berserker and her counterpart. The two would decide the pace of the fight.

“Hmph. What is this filthy dog doing here?” asked Archer, with an expression of disgust. For such a scummy figure to present himself in front of him was nothing short of an offense for a noble. “I shall take you out of your misery.”

Two gates appeared, hurling a sword and a spear against the Servant of Madness. With the strength of cannonballs, their target was the black knight.

BOOM!

However, only one explosion happened.

The reason was made clear once the dust fell. In an impressive feat of speed, he caught the sword in mid-air -launched slightly before the spear -and, with a swing, deflected the second weapon.

“...Are we sure this guy is a Berserker?” asked Asuka. “Because the difference between a trigger-happy murderer and this guy is between Tokyo and Nagasaki!”

“Ahaha!” laughed Rider. “Good to see that we agree for once, my counterpart! Yes, this is quite an exceptional move on his part!”

“Hm, you need to work on your poetic skills, my friend,” said Dumbledore. “This was no work of Homer.”

“Some are born with the gift, some are not…” reflected Lancer.

“Don't you agree with the enemy!” protested the Evangelion pilot.

Meanwhile, Gilgamesh's face deformed into an expression of rage, abandoning any pretense of regality.

“You dare touch my treasure, you filthy dog? Do you have a death wish?!”

He summoned more weapons out of them. Like before, all Noble Phantasms.

“Impossible…” muttered Waver. “No Servant can have so many Noble Phantasms.”

Rider, for once, nodded.

“A Noble Phantasm is the trump card of a hero…and yet, the golden king throws them like candy to children.”

More impressive than that was the evasive skills of Berserker. Avoiding the countless rain of weapons, he, in a repetition of the first time, grabbed a halberd and, with that and the sword, swayed away the remaining attacks, creating crater after crater out of the impact.

Archer stopped for a moment, processing what just happened. Not only did the filthy dog survive once again, but he grabbed another of his weapons. And they were now infected by that weird red miasma.

“You-!”

More blades flew.

“Bad,” said Tokiomi Tohsaka. “Very bad.”

Assassin of Ohara raised an eyebrow.

“Indeed. Very bad.”

All of the team knew that the temperament of the golden king was volatile, to say the least. Now that he was angry, it was hard to say what he would do now.

“He could give away too much,” commented the Master. “Only to crush a bug.”

Why did even Berserker appear alone? A situation like that was very disadvantageous. Who would be foolish enough to-?

He sighed. Of course. Kariya. He heard that the man had entered the war from what Assassin gave to them, but to think he would be so reckless.

“Would it be bad if Gilgamesh went all-out, though?” asked the Devil Child. “You said that he could win the war by himself.”

“In the most ideal circumstances,” added Tokiomi. “In terms of raw power, no one can match against him, and his draw speed is high enough to match even against some of the finest heroes. But we both know that his ego will only allow for a few to pull these traits out of him.”

Yes, that was the sad truth. The Archer had all the reason in the world for being so cocky, but a big ego was still a big ego: a big, glaring, weak spot that only one person in that world could immediately curb.

Tokiomi spun a jewel in his fingers. Why did he have to summon the king in his youth? After the journey for the herb of rebirth, he became very wise. If he could combine wisdom with power, he would be nearly unbeatable.

“So, what can we do?” asked Robin.

Tokiomi looked at his hand.

“A Command Seal,” said the magus. “This is the only way to make him obey.”

He would have to talk his way out of that prickle: the only assurance he had was that he at least would still be alive by the end of the talk.

“It won't be necessary, sir.”

Master and Servant glanced at the communication device.

“Do you have a plan, Kirei?” asked the Tohsaka head.

“No. But Saber does.”

“Damn you, damn you!”

At this point, the Gates of Babylon spew weapon after weapon in a frantic attempt to kill the black knight, who, often, switched from weapon to weapon to better fend off the attack. And, seeing more of his weapons being tainted only sent the golden king into a bigger rage.

He, once again, stopped attacking to stare at the knight. He hadn't been hit a single time. The only sign of the attacks on Gilgamesh was the destroyed streets and warehouses.

Then, to add insult to injury, Berserker dared to throw his current weapons -a battle ax and a sword -toward his enemy. It didn't hit him, but it did hit the street light where he stood - the sword in the middle and the ax in the top. Seeing his standing point destroyed forced Gilgamesh to jump to the ground. He growled.

“You taint my weapons. You mock my attacks. And now you dare to make me stand on the same ground as you? Unforgivable.”

The golden king prepares to summon more portals -any number enough to wipe that pest from the face of the planet -when a sword appears in his throat. Much to the confusion of the present Servants, the blade was that of Saber of Amestris.

The golden king stares at his ally. The anger in his crimson eyes became mixed with some amusement.

“Saber,” he said slowly. “You know well that I could slay you with a snap of my fingers, correct?”

The military man nodded.

“So…what is the meaning of this?”

With the same stoic expression, King Bradley answered:

“It's my turn to have fun.”

Silence.

‘What,’ asked Shadow, confused.

The king stood silent for a few seconds. Then, he laughed.

“MUAHAHAHAHA! Is that it?! Such a simple reason for me to stop the obliteration of that bug?!”

He snapped his fingers, summoning a golden throne to sit on. He put a hand on his cheek.

“Alright, then. You better give me a good fight, or else I will be disappointed, Bradley!”

The homunculus smirked.

“I aim to please,” he said dryly. 

Then, he turned to the black knight.

“Hm, it doesn't sit right for me to face a man empty-handed. Do I need to give you a weapon or-”

Before the Saber could finish, Berserker jumped at one of the broken street lights, picking it up as if handling a spear. Red lines appeared as he touched the object.

“Hm, interesting…” said the Fuhrer. “Although, do you think such a rustic weapon will be enough to beat me?”

The black knight answered with a snarl, swinging the object against the Amestrian, who, in a flash, drew his two swords to block the attack.

Much to his -and the other Servant's -surprise, the object wasn't destroyed.

“Interesting,” grunted Bradley. “A pretty interesting trick you have. However…”

He pushed the improvised weapon back and ducked under the next blow.

“...I am not one to fall to gimmicks like this!”

THUMP! BONK!

Bradley grunted as he felt a projectile hitting his chin and making him stagger back. 

Said projectile being a trash can lid.

‘How did that hurt me?’ he wondered. A Servant should have been able to-Wait, those red lines.

The Fuhrer jumped back, attempting to get distance from the metal spear. In response, he threw the weapon at him. The Saber of Amestris readied himself to block-

Only to feel almost no push once it hit him.

‘And now it lost the red tinge. I see. So this is what is happening.’

His companion reached the same conclusion at almost the same time.

“I see. Such a dirty power for a man clad in knightly garbs.”

“He can turn other objects into Noble Phantasms,” concluded Saber. “There is no other explanation for that.”

As if to validate the conclusions of the present Servants, the Servant of Madness picked a broken chain of a machine and, with an injection of his prana, turned it into a demonic chain.

“RAAAAAAHHHHH!~~~~”

The mad knight swung his new weapon at the enemy Saber, who jumped over it. Once he landed, he attempted to rush down his enemy but was forced to defend himself as the improvised weapon attempted to reach its mark. It went around one of the swords of Bradley and with a pull, was ripped from it, going straight into Berserker's hand.

“Hm, it seems you are a bigger hurdle than I expected,” commented Bradley. “Now, what to do?”

That man…there was no doubt. In the state that he currently was, Berserker was superior. But he had a big tide-turner in his sleeve.

‘Refrain from using your Noble Phantasm, Saber,’ said Kirei. ‘We can't show all of our strength yet.’

The Servant grunted. It seems that some things never did change in his life.

“Well, at least I will have a good time.”

It happened too fast.

The other Servants only noticed what was happening once that man roared the following words.

“Jet Burn!”

When Gilgamesh looked up, it was too late to avoid the flame stream.

The attack straight-up melted the rocks around it. Endeavor allowed himself a smile.

Then, a giant sword parted the flames, forcing the hero to boost out of the way.

“GRAH!”

What saved Gilgamesh was his armor and, as much as embarrassing that was for him, his Master.

The armor that Gilgamesh wore had large innate Magic Resistance, and that flame, for the Holy Grail War, counted as such. Of course, as he didn't cover his face, the skyward attack of Endeavor could still melt his face, but, thanks to the contract with the Tohsaka head, his meager natural E rank in Magic Resistance got a bump to a moderate C.

Thus, while his hair was scorched and his face filled with second-degree burns, Archer Gilgamesh was still alive.

And he was pissed.

Archer of Musutafu snapped his tongue.

“Tsk. It seems you are a tougher cookie than it looked.”

The other Archer looked at his throne -now an unrecognizable metallic mess. His eyes were burning brighter than the flames of his counterpart.

“And you will pay for that mistake with your life!”

Retracting his titanic blade, he relaunched it at Endeavor, who held into it with his two hands. A bit of blood fell from intercepting the edge, but he ignored the pain.

“OOOOOOOOOOH!”

Flames burst from the hands, overheating the metal to a point where a single punch was enough to deform the blade.

“What?!” asked Gilgamesh, surprised. “How did you manage to do that with Ig-Alima?!”

The damn thing was a Divine Construct, for god's sake! A rather crude one, but still!

“Not only did you ruin the king's seat, but also one of its weapons,” he cracks his fists. “That's it. You are dead meat.”

Portal after portal appears in the sky. In the end, 32 golden gates floated in the sky.

“If Berserker is your friend, let's see how well you do in comparison!!”

“Sir, it seems our efforts failed. Gilgamesh is taking this seriously and using the Gate of Babylon to even further levels.”

Tokiomi closed his eyes. Once more, the unpredictable nature of a war hurts his plans.

“A shame,” said Robin. “But I suppose it was inevitable considering the ego of our friend.”

Yes, Tokiomi supposed it was inevitable for that to happen, but he wished to postpone that for the longest time possible.

Alas, his single consolation was that his Command Seal wouldn't be the first one spent in this war.

“King of Heroes, by the power of my Command Seal, I ask you: refrain from your anger and retreat from the battlefield.”

The King of Heroes looked in Miyama Town's direction, where the Tohsaka Mansion was.

“Hmph. Commanding a ruler to retreat with such words? How audacious of you, Master.”

He summoned a shield to block the next wave of flames that his counterpart launched. His wish was to answer in kind, but alas, not even he could ignore a Command Seal. With a gesture of his hands, the gates disappeared.

“Be glad, faker,” said Gilgamesh. “For today, you and your filthy mutt avoid death in my hands.

Saber of Amestris jumped away from his enemy. As he did that, the Berserker attempted to wipe him off with a frontal swipe, but, much to the surprise of the present, the one-eyed warrior proceeded to cut the sword he wielded with a single swing.

“Hmph,” grunted the Fuhrer. “Next time, I will not be using baby gloves, mad knight.”

With those words, he dissipated.

As Archer slowly followed the same path as his friend, he stated:

“Mongrels, we shall meet again. However, reap the weak from your forces, as the only ones worthy to stand beside me are true heroes.”

With those ominous words, the King of Heroes disappeared.

Rider hummed. “Hm. It seems at least that the Master of Archer is a more reasonable man than his Servant.”

“Indeed,” commented Caster of Hogwarts. “But we are still surrounded by enemies. No time to relax,” he glanced at Archer of Musutafu and Berserker. “Especially now that the target of these two disappeared.”

Little did Dumbledore know, but the duo had no reason to stay there.

‘...I underestimated the power of my counterpart,’ said Endeavor. ‘I thought a Jet Burn would be enough to turn him into cinders.’

Considering that move was one of his finishers, it wasn't too surprising that Enji felt bitter about the situation.

Much to his surprise, the Master laughed at the connection.

‘Not too bad…at least you gave that thwart a bloody nose. Good message to Tokiomi! Haha…’

The Archer closed his eyes. Once again, hate consumed his Master. Before he could say anything, however, the laughs were exchanged for grunts of pain.

‘GRGH!’

‘Master, what is going-’

Then, he looked at Berserker, who was longingly staring at Saber. The knight seemed to recognize this, her sword ready for defense, as the mad hero kicked a pipe to his hands and held it as a sword.

“Arrrrrrrr…..urrrrrrrr……”

Lancer of the ARK teleported beside his companion.

“Hmph. Better think twice before coming here,” he said, snapping his fingers. Energy orbs appeared around the duo. 

The black knight, unfazed by that menace, prepared himself to charge.

‘Stop Berserker!’ ordered Kariya.

“We are done here!” screamed Endeavor. “Stop fighting at this moment, Berserker!”

However, the Servant ignored the orders and jumped straight into the fray!

“ARRRRRRRTTTTTHHHUUUUUURRRRRR!”

In response, the hedgehog launched his charges against the knight, who managed to avoid and deflect all of them. Then, when the Lancer charged to fight, the black knight jumped over him and went straight for Saber!

“Watch out!”

There was no need for a warning. The King of Knights already moved her blade into a defensive position, stopping the weapon. CLANG!

The woman grunted. The force of that man was tremendous, expected from one that embodies the Class of Madness.

“HA!”

With a burst of air, she manages to force the enemy away and then attempts to capitalize on the opening for a killer strike.

To her surprise, the black knight grabbed the invisible blade with his free hand.

“!”

With the pipe, he lunged at her armor, pushing the knight away and nearly making her drop her sword.

“AGH!”

She took a few steps back, still feeling the recoil.

‘Dammit, how long was he watching this fight?’ she thought. ‘The outline of Excalibur is completely hidden now. Was he seeing this since the beginning?’

Not only that, but he also roared her name. Was that knight someone she knew? Or was it a coincidence?

“ARRRRRRR!”

The black knight went to keep the charge, but then Shadow appeared ahead of him.

“Don't ignore me!”

He kicks the pipe and, with a boost of his Air Shoes, manages to rip the weapon out of the hands of the knight. Not to be fazed, the man attempted to jump at the hedgehog, but, using the momentum against him, Shadow managed to throw the knight into one of the few still functioning street lights, denting it.

“CHAOS!”

A barrage of Chaos Spears hits the Berserker, inciting roars of pain from the knight. Although battered, the man jumped back, still ready to fight. Ripping the light from the ground, he prepped to charge when-

“Expelliarmus.”

A scarlet energy blast rips the improvised weapon from the hands of the maddened Servant. He growls and picks another weapon: a trash can.

Another blast. A flying trash can. The black knight slowly turned to the responsible.

“I fear I can't allow you to kill this lovable lady, mister knight,” said Dumbledore, pointing the Elder Wand at Berserker. “She's a subject of my interest, you see.”

“Ohoh, putting your hand in the fire like that?” asked Rider, watching the Berserker cautiously. “Well, if it's my partner's interest, it is mine too. So, better brace yourself for war, black knight.”

Lancelot growled, preparing himself to fight, when he got punched in the face, but not by Shadow.

“Enough,” said Endeavor coldly. “You are only harming our Master with this tomfoolery.”

The knight growled again but was shut up once more with another fist to the head.

“I didn't give you an option.”

He turned to stare at the blonde knight.

“I'm sorry for the actions of my partner. And excuse me for my earlier actions. I hope we can find that killer and end this. For now, farewell.”

Grabbing the black knight by the throat, Endeavor summoned flame in his feet. And, like a rocket, he flew into the night, dragging his companion with him.

Kariya rested his head on the wall, exhausted. The battle hurt him more than expected, even more so considering Berserker's rampage.

‘King Arthur…was a woman?’

It was a weird fact to wrap around, but Lancelot was screaming about Arthur, so…

He felt the form of Endeavor landing, carrying Berserker in his arms. The mad Servant still attempted to return to the fight, but, finally, the Archer of Musutafu managed to shut him up with a straight to the head.

“You…are strong for an Archer,” said the Master, tiredly.

Endeavor nodded.

“You won't go far as a hero if you are unwilling to get up close and personal. But Lancelot is also pretty tough. We only have little time until he gets up and attempts to chase down Saber.”

Kariya sighed. 

“I suppose there's only one thing we can do,” he said, lifting his hand. “Berserker, by my first Command Seal-”

The Archer of Musutafu raised his hand.

“No. I will hold him off. Using Command Seals on him won't do good now.”

The Master lowered his hand.

“I will…trust your judgment, then. At least…we got Tokiomi good…”

The Master fell into deep darkness.

And now, six -in truth, seven - Servants remained in the docks.

But not for too long.

‘Not only have we engaged the Einzbern group, but also Velvet and those two fools. Blast!’

Even if the two groups didn't ally, his Servants were at a disadvantage. And all four enemies showed qualities that would make them formidable threats.

He sighed. The safest choice was to retreat.

‘Lancer, Rider. Retreat.’

He saw the younger Servant tightening her fist.

‘Not yet. My tank is full. If I can use my full form inland-’

‘Refused. The last thing we want is to call the supervisor's attention, and I would never hear the end of it if I accidentally revealed the existence of the Moonlit World.’

The Servant growled but ultimately complied.

‘Again, ret-’

Then he lost his standing.

BOOM!

The building where Kayneth El-Melloi sat fell to the ground after a few explosions.

“Master!” said Lancer, hurrying to the rescue of his Master, Rider of Tokyo-3 following suit.

Saber slowly glanced at Lancer of the ARK, her eyes narrowing.

“What did you do?” 

She remembered that the hedgehog seemed suspicious earlier. He crossed his arms.

“I did nothing. You should ask Master what he did.”

“What's the limit of your teleportation?”

The hedgehog glanced at his Master. They were close to the car he and Maiya used to reach the docks.

“I don't think I have a big one. I only need to think of a place and channel the energy to move around. Why? Did you have an idea?”

He picked a blueprint. There were a bunch of them in the back seat.

“El-Melloi…he's a powerful magus. He likely has a Bounded Field around his building to warn about invaders besides the invisibility. But there's a loophole we can exploit.”

He pointed at one point.

“Put us into the basement.”

The mercenary discarded the trigger he used to activate the remote explosives. 

“The explosives triggered, sir,” said Maiya. “Building destroyed.”

Irisviel bit her lip.

“I see. So this is why the damage seemed so bad…”

The homunculus had seen her husband use his Time Alter a few times -and even healed him on occasion -so she had an idea of how damaging the technique could be. 

When she saw that her husband could barely move when she was dropped close to him, that caused some confusion. Were his injuries worse than expected?

Now it all made sense.

“You used Time Alter to install the bombs before El-Melloi could detect Shadow and you.”

For once, he gave a small, if tired, smile.

“Guilty…as charged.”

Maiya raised an eyebrow but said nothing, continuing to observe the situation. She groaned.

“Unfortunately, El-Melloi had one more trick in the sleeve.”

“URGH!”

Kayneth was very grateful for having Volumen Hydrargyrum in his person, or he would be a goner. 

At the moment he was in danger, a protocol was activated, automatically putting the blob into his best defensive method. Thus, the mercurial Mystic Code softened the fall.

Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough to leave him harmless.

He grabbed his right leg and tried to move it. He felt nothing, it was broken. Dammit. And it also ruined his favorite pants.

Lancer helped him to his feet.

“Milord, you are wounded…”

“Bastard…”

Diarmuid raised an eyebrow.

“Sir?”

“Magus Killer!” roared the Lord of the Clock Tower. “I know this is your work! You are a blemish in this world! By the end of this war, all that shall remain of you is your head…in my office!”

He tried to walk, but the broken leg stopped him. Swallowing his pride, he turned to Diarmuid:

“Carry me.”

The knight obliged, then turned to Saber.

“Our fate is to cross blades yet again, King of Knights. I hope you remember that.”

She silently pointed at her face, where the wound of Gaé Buidhé still bled, which made the Irishman laugh.

Asuka was less amused.

“We will crush you, your Scheiße!”

And, in a move, the two Servants flew into the night, leaving only Saber, Lancer of the ARK, Rider, Caster of Hogwarts, and the Master of the latter two.

“Hm, how fast the battlefield has emptied,” commented the Rider, a bit disappointed. Then, he laughed. “Oh well. I would be disappointed if a showdown between heroes was a one-night stand.”

The blue knight stared at the other king.

“Why did you come, King of Conquerors? I can't wrap my head around why you would enter into a fight that said nothing about you.”

He scratched his chin, then chuckled.

“Hm, I can't say I put thought into that.”

“Big surprise,” grumbled Waver.

He laughed.

“Well, maybe it's the work of historians to divine my motives. Heroes like us only need to obey the heart's whims and carry onward.”

Shadow hummed.

“Curious. So this is the difference between kings.”

“Naturally, Lancer!” laughed the King of Conquerors. “This is the way between kings. Comparing your kingships is like putting fire against water. It's an unwritten law that our wills shall collide in the future. Alas, you still have personal battles to fight.”

The knight touched her wound. No harm in her battle skills, but certainly a stain in her pride.

“Once you have defeated that Lancer in battle, I shall be waiting for you, never crossing your path. Nor will any of my companions, present or future.”

“Such an idea never went through my mind,” said Dumbledore. “Besides, I am sure that in a battle against the protegee of Merlin, the only outcome I can expect is defeat.

‘Protegee of Merlin. That's a new way to refer to me,’ she thought.     ‘And I'm sure that he's underselling himself.’

Was it instinct or Instinct? Hard to say, but Artoria felt that this was the case.

The chariot rider sighed.

“A shame that no one had added to our numbers, but it can't be helped with heroes. Alas, it seems our time has come.”

He turned to his Master -currently unconscious. He should have been running with adrenaline for some time.

“Ah, boy. We are still making a man out of you.”

Putting the young man between his arms, he snapped the reins of his bulls, the thunderous carriage taking to the skies.

“Farewell!”

And so, the chariot with the mage and the king disappeared into the horizon.

Saber put her sword down while Lancer of the ARK looked to where Assassin once was. Even the purple-haired Servant had disappeared.

“Hmph. Such a chaotic affair” said the Servant. “Not even the fights in my world were so destructive.”

“Such is the nature of a clash of heroes…and villains,” added the heroine of the sword. “With so many numbers, I am glad to have you as an ally, Lancer. Not only did you save the life of our Master, but helped me avoid a critical wound.”

She glanced at the destroyed building.

“Alas…this was only the first of many duels, yet it already led to massive destruction. I shudder to think what will come next.”

‘And what he will do next,’ she added quietly. That night, the King of England saw how far her Master would go to reach his objectives. 

She would obtain more answers.

‘Master, how do you feel?’

‘...like shit,’ he said. ‘Maiya will ride me until Einzbern Castle to receive further healing, while you and Shadow will escort Irisviel until there. My contact will provide the ride. And, for the love of god, don't let her ride.’

She raised her eyebrows at that last one. Was that fear in his Master's voice?

‘What?’

‘You heard me right,’ he returned to his deadpan tone. ‘Now, move. I don't know how long we have until the authorities reach.’

The knight and the hedgehog nodded, Artoria following the hedgehog to retrieve their “Master.”

And, on that note, that Holy Grail War's first fight ended.

“Honey, I'm home,” Adachi said as he entered the hideout -a.k.a his Caster's Territory. 

He passed through the body of a little girl -who had carved in her a big smile with a knife -and a puddle of blood mixed with something that smelt awful.

“Huh, not hearing any screams,” said the Berserker. “Hey, Bluebeard, what would happen if I were an enemy-”

“SHUSH! I need to watch her with attention!”

The dirty cop blinked. His partner and his Master were in front of a crystal ball, watching the docks.

“Huh, you guys were watching the fight? I thought you were busy with the guys we caught. Also, kind of a 5/10 with the girl over there.”

Uryuu groaned, disappointed.

“Aaaaaah…She already died.”

Adachi liked to think of himself as a killer with some class. When he saw that the man that became his Master was a serial killer, he decided to take matters into his hands.

Thus, to further instruct him in the art of killing with class, Uryuu was only allowed to capture a family per day to execute his passion. Caster supported that practice -saying it would make him creative. 

Adachi looked at the globe. It was focused on Saber.

“Huh, is little miss goody-two-shoes. Do you know her?”

The man with bulging eyes laughed.

“Yes…yes, a miracle of the Grail brought us together. A meeting written in the stars!"

The Berserker of Inaba blinked.

“Uh, kinda scaring me here, man. What is the big deal with her, huh?”

Caster said, with his voice trembling:

“She's the one. That grace, that presence of spirit, that face! The maiden that molded my fate is here to bless my victory! Abandoned by God, and now reborn!”

Adachi slowly looked around.

“Man, if by victory you mean 'a stab in the face,’ then yeah, she will do that a lot on us because she didn't like me a bit.”

Gilles de Rais put a hand on his chest.

“Hmph! A familiar face will put her at ease. Do not fret! For the holy maiden shall lead our victory!”

Uryuu clapped his hands, excited.

“Ah, I am getting excited now, Mister Bluebeard! I am all in on that!”

As Adachi watched the two men jump like chicks at the concert of a boyband, he had to ask himself.

‘Am I the sanest person in this room?’

He turned around. Oh, that arm was - nope, only a corpse.

‘Yup. The Berserker is the saner man in the group.’

He looked into the sky -or he would if he wasn't in a filthy sewer, so all he saw were humid rocks.

‘Is this karma?’