《Fate Overcharge (Stalled)》 Prelude: Butterflys Effect Matou Zouken was at his study when he heard the room''s door open behind him. He was surprised. Normally, the only person that would open that door besides him would be Sakura. A little girl he had adopted as his granddaughter from Tohsakas. She was to be the next successor of the Matou Bloodline, and was the only other person worth noting in the house. Zouken could feel that she was downstairs, so this couldn''t be her. Byakuya, Zouken''s failure of a son, and his son Shinji, even more of a failure even though the brat didn''t even know it, were away. This meant this couldn''t have been either of them too. Besides, neither would dare come to his study without being called. His surprise quickly made way to curiosity. The intruder was bold enough to just walk in his study, the heart of his workshop, and skilled enough to do it without being discovered beforehand. This was quite a feat considering Zouken had bugs all around the mansion and inside every room. Then his bugs in the room told him who the intruder was. He learned the intruder''s identity about a second after he opened the door. "You''ve come again." said Zouken without turning around. As a magus, he cared about his appearance, and hurriedly turning around wouldn''t look good. There was no answer. The intruder took two steps inside and stood there. Good, Zouken thought. There were defences in every room, but it was here, in his study, he was strongest. In case this turned into a fight, the further in the room the intruder was, the better. "You didn''t knock the door this time," said Zouken, reminding his unexpected guest of their previous meeting. If he had come to talk, he would talk. If he had come to fight, for some reason, it would be better to get whatever information he could before that. Again, he was met with silence. Zouken turned around in his armchair. He hadn''t even heard the man''s name before their first and only meeting last month, and couldn''t find anything on him even after that. Even though his bugs had kept a constant watch on him since he opened the door, it was still better to keep him in his own sights. He knew too little about him to be content with any less. When their eyes met, the intruder spoke: "You know," he said in a calm voice, "the most worthy wish in the last war was Kariya''s." "Kariya''s? Hehehehe!" Zouken laughed with a wheezy voice. He hadn''t expected an attack because of his brat that had recently died. This time addressing his bugs, Zouken spoke: "Eat." The intruder was instantly covered by a black horde of carnivorous insects. * * * "Kuh!" Zouken held his head with his only remaining hand. His other arm was severed from the shoulder. This could be fatal for someone else, but he wasn''t worried. Rejuvenating an arm or two was no trouble for him. He wasn''t worried, he was angry. Angry at the fact that some nobody had managed to break into his most well protected room, attacked him at his strongest, yet the only thing Zouken had managed was driving him away. He had even lost an arm in the fight, and he still couldn''t kill the intruder. The arm was not a problem, but it was insulting. Why hadn''t his defences detected the intruder before he opened the door to his study? Was the layer on layer defences he spent so much time setting up so weak? He had especially strengthened them before the recent war, so they shouldn''t have been that weak. So, why was he laying on the floor of his now destroyed study, with just one arm, waiting for his splitting headache to go away? The intruder''s mental attacks were on a whole another level than he would expect from an unheard-of magus. And he was apparently not even specialized in mental spells. He had thrown a magical blast that had taken out a lot of Zouken''s bugs, along with his left arm, and would have easily made a whole in the wall, or maybe even took down the house, if not for Zouken''s defensive boundary fields. Yet, during their fight, Zouken hadn''t once felt magical energy from him or any one of his spells. It was possible for a highly skilled magus to prevent magical energy leaks from basic spells, but it should not be possible for big spells, such as the ones the intruder used. "I must put up new defences." Zouken said to himself. His head responded to his low voice with a fresh wave of pain. He decided not to speak for a while. Zouken knew he didn''t know anything about the intruder''s motive other than that it had something to do with Kariya, and possibly Sakura, and this vexed him. Such a fight deserved a much more important reason. * * * "Oh, did your visitor leave?" Emiya Kiritsugu raised his head and looked at the face of his foster-son Shirou. He paused for a second, then chose to ignore the boy''s question. "Come Shirou. We have bags to prepare. We''re leaving tonight." The boy sprang up to his feet. "What? What do you mean we''re leaving? Where are we going? Why?" Kiritsugu looked away. He hadn''t prepared for this beforehand. He had decided this only after his talk with his unexpected visitor had ended. And obviously he could not tell his son the real reason. After all he was just a little boy, and would not understand the danger. He was just a little boy, but a sharp one. "Are we being chased? Was that visitor a magic user like you? Did you get a warning that we''re in danger?" Kiritsugu looked at Shirou, and smiled. He had a soft voice when he talked. "No. We''re not being chased. But we still have to go, so let''s pack up." He took his son''s hand and as sun started to set, they went inside. They had left by morning. * * * High atop the mountains in a certain region of Germany, snow was falling. A whole pack of wolves, not having eaten anything for quite some time, were on the hunt. Their pray was a silver haired little girl that, for reasons they couldn''t care less about, was alone in the wilderness. The girl ran, screaming at the top of her lungs, trying desperately to get away from the wild predators. She ran, and ran at full speed, caring neither about the scratches on her arms and legs she got from the odd tree branches she passed by during her flight, nor about the frostbite she got from running bare-footed on the snow. She ran, but the legs of a little girl were not enough to outrun the wolves. The fastest of the wolves tackled her and she fell, rolling down a low slope, and ended up lying on her back. Wolves quickly gathered around her, and with anticipation, began biting her. She screamed, but was powerless to stop their teeth from tearing her flesh. Then the wolves suddenly stopped. A shadow started getting bigger on the ground right next to her, and the wolves scattered. A giant of a man fell from the sky, and landed nimbly on his feet just next to her. Wolves encircled the giant man, but did not attack. For a mass of muscle towering at two and a half meters was clearly a more difficult prey than a small girl. The battered and bloodied girl opened her eyes and looked up. Her vision was fuzzy and she could not make out the giant''s face, but she knew who he was, she felt it. "Berserker, why? I left you behind." The hungry wolves could no longer wait. A giant mass of meat just stood there, not even paying attention to them. The wolves attacked with ferocity and tried to sink their teeth at the giant man. They attacked the back of his neck and his other vital spots to quickly bring him down, but he didn''t even flinch. "Why aren''t you fighting?" the girl asked as she raised her upper body of the ground. "Because of me? Because you don''t want to make me suffer?" Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. The man did not answer, and just stood there like a statue. Bright blood-red marks appeared at the girl''s cheeks and hands as she spoke: "Get them, Berserker." The marks shone for a moment, then disappeared. "Very well, Ilyasviel." the giant answered. * * * The circle shone blindingly when the last words of the incantation left Atram Galiast''s mouth. "Yes!" Atram was sure of his success. Although the light hadn''t subsided enough for him to confirm it, he could already feel a tremendous amount of magical energy from inside the circle. He had undoubtedly summoned the witch Medea, and along with her, the ability to summon the Colchis Dragon! "Huh?" The light subsided and allowed him to see the one he had summoned. It was a man. The man drew his sword from his belt, and showed it to Atram with a smile on his face. "Greetings, master. Look, I have a sword. Guess which class I am." Atram was shocked. His relic should have allowed him to summon exactly the heroic spirit he wanted. Yet clearly... "You aren''t Medea." The man''s smile flickered. He lowered his sword. "Medea? You tried to summon Medea, master?" Atram felt himself getting angrier by the second. It was his fault. "You! Why are you here? Why did you ruin my summoning? Who the hell are you!?" The servant lowered his head, and sheathed his sword. For the first time, Atram looked beyond him not being who he wanted, and examined him. The servant was about 175 cm tall. He had a finely-built body covered in armour. His breastplate, gauntlets, and greaves, all looked bronze, royally-made, and had golden decorations. His short sword, now in its scabbard, was straight, and together with his armour gave of a feeling of antiquity. Atram guessed he was from before the Middle Ages, and was probably from Europe, but couldn''t be sure. The servant raised his head, and looked at Atram with such determination that, despite everything, Atram suddenly felt like whatever he would say next would undoubtedly become a fact. "I am not a princess of Colchis, master, but I give you my word: So long as you don''t betray me, I will win the grail, and make your wish, as well as mine, come true." * * * "It seems you have skipped out on your training, Kirei." The red haired woman, Bazett Fraga McRemitz had a serious look on her face. She hadn''t said that to mock the priest, but just as an honest observation. The priest answered her with a fake smile. "Indeed. I have a more peaceful job now. I no longer go into battles. I am now a simple priest." Bazett turned around her to examine the room. It was richly decorated with furniture on the comfortable side. For a simple priest, the man was living quite a luxurious life. "Hah! A simple priest who oversees a battle to the death between maguses." Kotomine Kirei smiled. This time it was a genuine smile, but the reason for his smile was not anything Bazett had said. He smiled because it was time for the trap he had set beforehand to activate. It wasn''t a magical trap, for his guest was a master magus that could likely detect and counter any magic he could prepare, but a mechanical one. Not many maguses would spend any time preparing for any non-magical trap, and Bazett was no exception. Any moment now, she would become unable to defend herself. Then, Kirei was going to cut her arm without losing any time, and he was going to get the servant of that woman who was foolish enough to separate from her servant. Kirei''s smile turned into a grin. Anytime now. "Kotomine Kirei!" The shout echoed through the church. Kirei''s smile instantly vanished. He immediately took two steps toward a desk, and with a slight move of his hand, deactivated the trap. "Were you expecting someone else?" Bazett asked him. Kirei wondered who would come to the church shouting. Was it a master he didn''t know? This might be a church, but he still had set up an alarm that would inform him whenever anyone with a semblance of magic approached. Since the alarm didn''t go of, could he assume the visitor was just a normal person? Or was this an attack? Either way, it was too risky trying to go through with his original plan considering Bazett. "No, but this is a church. It is open to public. Now, excuse me for a moment, I''ll be back immediately." "Kotomine Kirei," the shout came again. It was closer now. The visitor, whoever it was, was getting closer to the back room they were in. Kotomine got out of the room, into the main hall. The young man who was shouting saw him, and started walking up to him, then extended his hand for a handshake. "Greetings, I am Marcus Grayson." said the man with an energetic voice. He had a carefree smile on his face. Kirei examined the man. He couldn''t feel any magic from him. The man looked to be close to twenty five years old. He was wearing a high quality looking pale green suit, complete with a white shirt and a sky blue necktie. His face was clean shaved, and he had fine looking features with a straight nose bridge, thin eyebrows, light green eyes, and short, light brown hair. He had something like a hilt on his belt. A flute? Kirei didn''t shake his hand. "I am Kotomine Kirei. Welcome to Kotomine Church." The man immediately started to speak with a clear voice. "I was actually meaning to talk to Miss McRemitz, but couldn''t get the courage to approach her. When I saw her entering this church, I thought this would be a safe place to talk with her, so I came. Is she back there?" The man looked towards the door Kirei came from. Even for a magus good at hiding his magical energy, completely erasing it so that Kirei couldn''t feel anything even from this close was practically impossible. Who could this young man who obviously knows Bazett but is not a magus, be? A suitor? "Did I hear my name?" Bazett came out of the room before Kirei gave an answer. "Miss McRemitz. You are beautiful just as I heard. Greetings, I am Marcus Grayson." The man quickly passed by the priest and walked up to Bazett and extended his hand. Kirei didn''t interfere, and let things work out for now. "Ah, thank you. Nice to meet you. But how do you know me?" Bazett took his hand and shook it with a slight blush on her face which quickly disappeared. The man, Marcus, spoke without losing his smile even for a second: "I would actually very much like to get to know you better. Too bad we are enemy Masters in the war." Both Kirei''s and Bazett''s eyes opened in surprise. Bazett let go of his hand, and took half a step back. "A Master, huh? Why would you disclose that information?" Kirei interfered: "This is neutral ground. If you came to pick a fight, do it later when you are away from here." "It''s just that I knew Miss McRemitz from reputation, and I prefer fair fights, so I figured I''d introduce myself before the war starts." The man shook his head. "I have no intention to fight now, though I can''t say the same for my servant. You know how Berserkers are." Kirei frowned. He knew through the Spirit Board he possessed as the judge, that Berserker was summoned unusually early. He had assumed that Einzberns, up there in their home country, had summoned it. Was this the Einzbern master? Or did this mean his assumption was wrong? Bazett sent the church''s gate a look, than stood silent for a few seconds. She had probably talked to her servant telepathically. Then she looked at the man for a second, and turned to Kirei with her usual serious expression. "So long, Kirei, I''m leaving. It was nice talking with you after all this time, but I''d rather not enter a fight before all others are summoned." Day 1 – Thursday – Part 1 "You have one message, recorded on 31st January, 3:21 PM." "It''s me. I''m sure you know, but tomorrow is the deadline, Rin. It''s a problem for me if you take it easy. There are only two remaining seats. I must ensure all the Masters are arranged quickly. If you wish to abandon your right to become a Master, contact me today. It takes some time to dispatch a substitute magus. You already show signs of the Command Spell. Quickly, summon your servant and open the Command Spell. Unless, of course, you''re not planning to be a part of this Holy Grail War. If you value your life, you should run to the church quickly." The message ends. "Hmpf. You don''t have to tell me that." Well, it can''t be helped. Today is as late as the deadline can be extended. Fortunately I was able to decode Father''s will last night. My preparations are ready. All that remains is... Yes, obtaining the qualification to enter this fight... * * * Late at night. The clock is about to strike two. This is the best timeframe for my magical energy. Only a very simple summoning ritual is required to summon a servant. The grail does most of the job. I just prepare the circle and begin chanting the incantations. I continue with the greatest concentration. I''ve got one shot at this. I will not mess it up and summon the greatest card! "...Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of balance!" It''s too bright, so I can''t see anything, but I feel a great surge of power. "Perfect! I''ve drawn the strongest card for sure!" Then my vision returns. There is no one before me. "Huh?" I spent that much energy and no servant has formed. On top of that I hear an explosion from the living room. "WHY!!?" I shout in protest. I run. I run up the stairs to the living room. The door is broken and won''t open. So I break it and charge inside. "-" The living room is in a big mess. It''s full of rubble that must have fallen from the ceiling, and there''s one man standing in the middle of it. Surely that man is the cause of this mess. Then I realize the wall clock is still working. That reminds me. Yes, every clock in my house was an hour early today for some reason. That means, it''s one o''clock right now, not two. "I did it again. Well, what''s done is done." I am mad at my own stupidity. Still irritated, I glare at the man standing there in the middle of the rubble. The man has light skin, short, well-kept dark hair and a pair of dark blue eyes. He is wearing something like a priest robe from the middle ages that matches his eyes in colour. But it is less baggy than usual and it only reaches his wrists and ankles. He has a pair of gauntlets on his hands and a pair of sabatons on his feet. Having found someone, something, to point my irritation at, I ask: ¡°So, what are you?¡± The man has a surprised look on his face. He looks at me intensely for a few seconds, then closes his eyes. After a second, he reopens them, and looks at me again. This time there is a relaxed expression on his face. ¡°I am a servant. You?¡± He is too human. Since they are close to familiars, I had expected them to be formless. I don¡¯t feel much magical energy from him too. Is he really a servant? Is he really my servant? ¡°I ask the questions here. Are you my servant?¡± He raises his eyebrows. I guess he didn¡¯t like me disregarding his question. But he doesn¡¯t press the issue, and answers with the same relaxed look. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°The magical energy flowing from you and into me shows that, I indeed am your servant.¡± ¡°Magical Energy?¡± It is a master¡¯s duty to keep their servant in this world. I know that this is done by constantly supplying them with magical energy, but before he spoke about it, I hadn¡¯t realized our link. When I concentrate on it, I can definitely feel my magical energy flowing out. The reason I hadn¡¯t realized it before must be because the summoning was just finished. But I don¡¯t relax just yet. He still hasn¡¯t said anything like ¡®I¡¯ll serve you from now on.¡¯ I must confirm that he won¡¯t be a problem. ¡°So, you¡¯ll be serving me from now on, right?¡± I ask just to hear him confirm. ¡°Of course,¡± he answers with the same relaxed face. ¡°My duty as a servant is to serve my master during the grail war, after all.¡± He shows me a small smile. I¡¯m glad this is going so well, but somehow, this feels too anticlimactic. ¡°Alright, so¡­ What class are you?¡± ¡°Before that, master, do you mind if I ask you a question of my own?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, sure.¡± ¡°The energy I feel from you is undoubtedly high class, so I assume you are quite a skilled magician. Even so, I must ask.¡± He looks around the room in ruins. I feel my face getting hot. ¡°This¡­ doesn¡¯t happen often, right?¡± ¡°Wha-Of course not! You mind your own business.¡± I lower my voice, and continue, more to myself than to him. ¡°This was a one-time mess-up.¡± ¡°All right. Now, to answer your question.¡± I hope my mistake didn¡¯t make me miss my chance to summon Saber. ¡°I am the Servant Changer.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Servant Changer? What is that? I heard about the war from both father and Kirei. There are seven classes. The strongest one, Saber, other than that, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker and Assassin. There are no Changers. ¡°And, what is your real class? Caster? Do you shapeshift or something?¡± The servant smiles, and shakes his head. ¡°No, I am Changer. It is a different class than Caster; a special class. I¡¯m not surprised you haven¡¯t heard of it.¡± ¡°A special class? What do you mean?¡± He opens his mouth, then closes it unused. He takes a look at the wall clock behind him. ¡°I suspect explaining would take a while, master, but It is late, and you look very tired. Since I¡¯m not going anywhere, why don¡¯t we leave it to the morning? Get some rest first.¡± Now that he said it, I realize I¡¯m feeling exhausted. The summoning must have tired me more than I thought. ¡°No way. I can¡¯t sleep after hearing I summoned a special class servant. I must hear more. Tell me now.¡± He grins, and looks somehow more alive while doing so. ¡°The anticipation will make hearing it all the sweeter, master. Now go sleep. I¡¯ll check on the defences, and guard the base.¡± He turns around and vanishes into thin air. I heard servants can enter spirit form while they are not fighting. This must be it. ¡°Hey!¡± I call out, refusing to be sent to bed like a little child, but there is no answer. ¡°HEY!¡± I yell at the top of my lungs. Silence. ¡°Damn you, servant! I¡¯ll have you tell me everything in the morning,¡± I yell, but I¡¯m seriously tired. I guess I¡¯ll go to sleep like he said. ¡°At least clean up the living room.¡± I call out before going upstairs to sleep. Day 2 – Friday – Part 1 It is morning. I wake up too late to go to school, so I decide to skip it. Besides I¡¯d rather talk to Changer in a lengthy fashion, and take him for a test drive if I can; maybe show him around the city, or make him show me what he can do. I get up, put on my daily clothes, and go downstairs. I don¡¯t know where the servant is, and honestly I¡¯m still too sleepy to bother trying to locate his magical energy. I simply go to the living room to see its final state. ¡°Wow. He really cleaned up the place, didn¡¯t he?¡± The living room is just the way it was. He must have felt bad about making such a mess of the living room or he wouldn¡¯t have done this. I should call him admirable or maybe just a nice guy. ¡°Good morning master. You must have been quite tired, eh?¡± Yeah, a nice guy all right. ¡°¨C¨C¨C¨CMorning. Yes. The summoning tired me more than I would like.¡± He smiles and scratches his head. I wonder, doesn¡¯t that hurt with those gauntlets on? ¡°I would have prepared a breakfast for you since you¡¯re tired and all, but the ingredients and the kitchen in general were so different from what I¡¯m used to that I gave up.¡± I raise an eyebrow. As a servant, he is summoned to fight in the Grail War. I thought he would care only about the Grail. Having a distinct personality and maybe sometimes cracking jokes, I would expect, but caring about my breakfast, no, I wouldn¡¯t expect that. Although, if he really thought about that, I can¡¯t really get angry at him, can I? ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll buy something outside.¡± I say. ¡°Outside? We¡¯re going out?¡± He looks surprised. I guess he expected me to stay cooked up in the house. ¡°Of course. You have to get used to the battlefield, so I¡¯ll show you around town today. Get ready.¡± He folds his arms. The moment I said ¡®battlefield¡¯, he got a serious expression on his face. ¡°That¡¯s a good decision. I can talk to you in spirit form anyway, so I¡¯m already ready to go.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s useful. What¡¯s the drawback?¡± ¡°Drawback to staying in spirit form? There is none. I can come with you. I can see, listen and talk. I make you spend considerably less energy. And I become invisible to human eyes, including mages.¡± That¡¯s too useful! ¡°So, how do we locate enemies, then?¡± I ask as I start walking, and I gesture him to follow me. He vanishes and I start only hearing his voice. ¡°Mages can feel other mages¡¯ magical energies, right? Servants are the same. We can feel each other if we get close enough. Except for Assassin of course. Their whole deal is about not being noticed, so hey, good news, Assassin could be in the house right now for all we know.¡± I stop and glare at him. Actually I just glare at where his voice was coming from since I can¡¯t even see him. I wonder how serious he was. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, master. Assassins¡¯ presence concealment skill¡¯s effectiveness drop harshly when they attack, so as long as I¡¯m with you, I can protect you and get him. Shortly after he attacks, our enemies would be reduced by one.¡± He spoke very confidently. I admit, hearing him talk about Assassin got me a little worried, but I can keep him constantly with me in spirit form anyway. So, there should be no problem. I get outside with him in tow and activate my house¡¯s defences; I get a compliment about their quality while I do so which makes me involuntarily blush (Seriously, I need to get used to this guy soon.) Then we go on our way, talking all the way. ¡°So, what is a Changer? How do you change?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t actually change. It¡¯s just that, due to a certain aspect of my life, I qualify for this special class. It allows me to use the abilities of all the classes I qualify for at will.¡± We walk around Shinto city, and I show Changer all the spots I consider important. Then we pass through the bridge and start touring Miyama city. Meanwhile, I have him tell me all about his class, and who he was in life. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°A curse to erase your existence from people¡¯s memories?¡± ¡°Yes. Of course, no such curse is strong enough to affect the world itself, so when I died I was still accepted to the Throne of Heroes. But there is absolutely zero chance for there to be any stories about me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t look sad, master. This is good. It means you can freely call me by my name, and not worry about our enemies figuring out my identity.¡± I pause momentarily. Indeed that is actually a useful condition. But- ¡°Yeah. But that also means I can¡¯t know about your strengths and weaknesses.¡± "Well, you can see my stats. You can wait until I face my first enemy to see my skills in a fight.¡± I close my eyes for a few seconds to look at his stats again.
Master Rin Tohsaka Sex Male
Class Changer Height/Weight 179cm 71kg
True Name Alignment Lawful Neutral
Strength B Magical Energy A
Endurance B Luck B
Agility C Noble Phantasm ?
Class Abilities
Magic Resistance A Cancels any magic A-rank or below.
Riding B He can ride most vehicles and any beast below demonic or holy beast rank with above average skill.
Indepentent Action C It is possible for him to stay in this world for a day after losing his master.
Territory Creation B Creation of a "Workshop" becomes possible.
Item Creation C He can imbue small items to use them as pre-designated targets for spells cast later.
The way masters see the servants¡¯ status should be different from person to person. Letters, numbers, colours...I bet I see it like this because, as a student, I¡¯m used to grades represented by letters. When we reach our final destination, it is seven in the evening, and the sun has already set. We are standing below the highest building in whole of Miyama. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± I say and start walking towards the building¡¯s front door. * * * [Interlude] ¡°Enemy detected.¡± Bazett and her servant had beenpatrolling the city when Bazett suddenly stopped and closed her eyes. ¡°Hooo¡­ You already found one. Where?¡± ¡°The Center Building. They¡¯re going up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s that highest building, right?¡± ¡°Yes. Let¡¯s go, before we miss them.¡± Day 2 – Friday – Part 2 ¡°Changer look, the view is beautiful from here, right?¡± We are on top of the building, and the whole city is laid out in front of us. ¡°Indeed. By the way, master, I was serious when I said you can use my name. Actually it would be even better. No need to tell our enemies my class is different from usual.¡± ¡°You may be right. Then¡­ Shall I call you¡­¡± I feel myself blushing, but I can¡¯t help it. He has only told me his given name. ¡°¡­just Sten?¡± ¡°¡­¡± No answer. I turn around to look at him, but of course, I can¡¯t¡­ I can see him. He has become visible for the first time since we left home. ¡°¡­Sten?¡± He turns to the terrace door. ¡°I feel two enemies below. One servant, one magician.¡± Enemies? Here? How? Right, I should have guessed. As the highest place around, this building is great for seeing an overview of the city, and is especially well-suited for an archer class servant as a sniping spot. This is one of the most obvious places for someone seeking enemies to keep watch on. It seems an enemy left a familiar here beforehand and it found us. Good. This was a lot easier than finding them myself. ¡°Let them come.¡± * * * ¡°They are still coming, right?¡± I ask Changer. It¡¯s been more than five minutes and we are still waiting. I got a feeling we¡¯d wait long when Changer said they were using the stairs. This building has fifty floors, you know. ¡°Yes. They haven¡¯t stopped yet. They should arrive in a minute or two.¡± After a few more minutes, the terrace door finally opens. Out comes a woman in a buttoned up purplish dark brown suit. She is breathing heavily, but isn¡¯t exactly out of breath. It¡¯s impressive considering she climbed fifty floors on foot. I wonder why she didn¡¯t use the elevator. I can feel her magical energy. She is no amateur. Yes, this is a professional magus, here to kill me. I¡¯m prepared for this. I¡¯ve trained for this. Still, this will be my first fight to the death, and just the thought of it is enough to send chills down my spine. I¡¯m not afraid to die. Practicing magic itself carries the risk of death with it. You can¡¯t be a magus without making peace with the prospect of dying. Killing on the other hand, or even worse, losing¡­ She glances at me for a few seconds but her eyes are inevitably drawn to Changer. After all, he is the servant. He is the main danger. Likewise, I would rather focus on her servant, but I can¡¯t see it. It must still be in spirit form. She sizes Changer up from head to toe, than turns to me. ¡°Tohsaka master, I presume?¡± She knows me. As the only member of one of the three founding families, it¡¯s not surprising for the other two families or someone with connections to the Association to know me. She¡¯s not from the Matous. I hear Einzberns are from Germany, and she doesn¡¯t look German. She¡¯s likely from¡­ ¡°And you are the master sent by the Association, right?¡± Her servant materializes. Deep ultramarine like the night itself. The wind carries a bestial smell to my nose. His aura alone freezes me on my feet. ¡°So we know each other. Good. Nothing to stop us from fighting then.¡± She puts up a guard like some martial artist. She fights from close range it seems. I somehow manage to take my eyes from the walking danger, and focus on his master. I train my arm on her, and talk to Changer telepathically. Sten, you handle the servant. Leave the master to me. ¡°Hold iiit!¡± Changer steps forward. Everyone looks at him. He addresses the servant in blue. ¡°You there! Since this is my first battle in this war, I want to enjoy myself. You too look like you¡¯d prefer a straight up fight. What do you say, shall we have the ladies watch and impress them with a fight between heroes?¡± What is he¡­? ¡°Heh. Hehehehehe!¡± The servant in blue laughs heartily. ¡°You now what? I like that idea.¡± He turns toward his Master. ¡°How about it, master? Will you sit this first one out? Just watch and see what the servant you summoned can do.¡± ¡°Lancer¡­¡± The enemy master looks at her servant. She seems conflicted. Meanwhile I get a telepathic message from mine. What about you, master? Will you let me show you what I can do? This guy. This must be because of what we talked about; about me seeing his skills in his first fight. ¡°Very well, Lancer. I will just watch for now.¡± The enemy master lowers her guard, and retreats back to the door. I have no objections. By the way, be careful, his stats are absurdly high. Especially, his agility surpasses yours so much that it¡¯s not even funny. Right. Thank you, master. You be careful too. There is no telling when your enemy might change her mind. Yeah. Suddenly, at Lancer¡¯s hands that held nothing until now, a weapon appears. A red spear of two meters. ¡°There you have it, buddy. I got permission from my lady master. Now ready your weapon, and let¡¯s have at it.¡± The two lock their eyes. Neither takes a fighting stance. Both of them in blues, one holding a blood red spear, and the other empty handed. They are looking at each other and neither moves, as if waiting for a referee to start the match. It feels like a brief calm before the storm. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. First to move is Changer. Karano. Sending me a telepathic message I don¡¯t understand, he charges. At least I¡¯m guessing he has charged because I couldn¡¯t really follow his movement. He appeared to me like he vanished and reappeared right in front of Lancer. But I¡¯m not so lucky that it¡¯s the end of the fight. Apparently, unlike me, Lancer can follow his movements. He immediately readies his spear and thrusts it to counter his charge. Changer tries to move aside to get past the spear, but Lancer doesn¡¯t let him. His consecutive thrusts are inhumanly fast. I can¡¯t follow all their moves, but after a brief exchange Changer is pushed back, and this time Lancer takes the offensive. Empty hands against a spear. The difference between their reaches is enormous. Lancer uses that advantage and pressures Changer from a safe distance. Changer parries or dodges all his thrusts, but thrust are not the only type of attack he faces. Lancer¡¯s swings have enough power behind them to crush shields and shatter bones. Changer¡¯s gauntlets must be very durable to be able to block Lancer¡¯s heavy swings. Narano. Just as Changer is about to block another one of Lancer¡¯s swings, he again says something to me telepathically and, with a too quick a move for me follow, he retreats some meters back. Karano. He telepathically says something again. I still don¡¯t understand it, and even if he wants to tell me something, I don¡¯t see any reason for him to do that in a way I can¡¯t understand. With that message, he charges once again, and this time appears at Lancer¡¯s side. He probably seeks to enter within striking range with that manoeuvre, but Lancer is too fast for that to work. Still, Lancer doesn¡¯t try to keep his distance, and allows Changer to come close. Changer can now attack and Lancer can¡¯t use thrusts from that close. As a spear user, letting Changer close was a very bad move for Lancer. He is now at a great disadvantage. At least that should be the case but it isn¡¯t. Even that close, Changer still can¡¯t land a hit. Lancer spins his spear around his body and defends against all of Changer¡¯s attacks. I realize I¡¯m holding my breath, and manually resume breathing. Things don¡¯t look good. They are exchanging blows at insane speed. Especially Lancer¡¯s hands and spear are just blurs to me. But even with a clear disadvantage in speed, Changer can somehow hold his ground. Suddenly Lancer¡¯s hold on his spear changes, and he pulls the weapon back. Just as Changer throws a punch, Lancer blocks him with his other arm, and makes a short-range thrust at lightning speed. Daika! At that moment, I get another telepathic message. I have no idea what it means, and right now, I don¡¯t care. ¡°Sten!¡± I shout, somehow still remembering not to use his class name. Then I fall silent, and just stand there gawking at them. Lancer is blown back. He is holding one of his arms close to his chest, as if it is hurt. There are veins visible at his temples. Even though he is looking at Changer and not me, his stare is still enough to make me take half a step back. ¡°¡­Not bad.¡± Lancer says. ¡°Breaking an arm with a punch.¡± I look at Changer¡¯s back. I cannot see his face. What I can see is¡­ I gasp. I assumed it did not connect, but it seems I was wrong. Lancer¡¯s thrust did connect. There is blood on the floor right in front of Changer, and more is dripping down. He pauses for a bit, then draws a breath and responds. ¡°Not bad? Nice joke Lancer. I thought I could stop it, but it seems I underestimated your spear. Its enhancement must have something to do with bypassing defences.¡± Lancer¡¯s expression softens, and he shakes his head to the sides. ¡°Heh. You should try guessing these things before getting stabbed, not the other way around.¡± Then he gets serious again, and looks at his broken arm. With a slight shrug he starts reusing it like nothing is wrong, and takes a new stance. A stance in which his spear is pointing downwards. ¡°But you know, since you broke my arm and all, I can¡¯t really let you off with only a shallow stab wound.¡± A tremendous amount of magical energy starts converging in his spear. As a magus, I am very familiar with the techniques of drawing magical energy from my surroundings, but I can¡¯t even get close to what he is doing right now. His spear is sucking energy like a black hole. So much that even from over here, the other side of the terrace of a fairly large building, I feel like I¡¯m suffocating. Damn it. This looks like trouble. ¡°Lancer, this is our first fight, you know.¡± Brace yourself, master. ¡°Let this time slide master. I want to finish this.¡± For a second, nothing moves. It¡¯s as if the time stopped. Then it all happens in an instant. Lancer charges forward, and closes in so fast that to me, he looks like he has moved instantly. Still, Changer reacts before Lancer finishes his blow. He shoots some¡­ things from his hands. They make Lancer pause for a miniscule of a second to deflect them. Narano. I am grabbed without any chance to defend myself. I try to struggle but quickly realize that it¡¯s Changer. He has retreated back to me at the same speed Lancer charged at him. He jumps, holding me, and we start falling. Day 3 – Saturday – Part 1 ¡°Good morning, master.¡± It is the next morning. I hear Changer greeting me as I come out of my room. I¡¯m now used to our connection, so I no longer need to look around to know that he is currently in spirit form. ¡°Morning.¡± I don¡¯t even try to hide that I¡¯m still sleepy. ¡°You sound like you¡¯re still asleep, master.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wake properly once I wash my face.¡± I go to the bathroom and wash my face until I¡¯m convinced that I¡¯m sufficiently awake. And once I do, thoughts start surging in my mind. Last night, after a whole day of walking around, I faced my first enemy. In the end, we didn¡¯t fight, but still¡­ Standing face to face with a magus, an enemy that had come to take my life, looking her in the eyes, feeling her magical energy, and most of all, witnessing a pair of legends fighting in our name¡­ Although, according to what he says, mine does not technically qualify as a legend. Why did I summon a servant like that, again? No, he seems like a decent servant, I shouldn¡¯t complain. Anyway, at the end of the day, I was in no condition to talk and went to bed almost immediately upon returning home. Therefore, I haven¡¯t yet talked to Changer about last night¡¯s battle. I set my alarm clock to a whole hour earlier than usual. I don¡¯t normally have breakfast unless it is Sunday, but I¡¯ll make an exception this time. It will give us a chance to discuss things. * * * ¡°Hey Changer, let¡¯s talk about last night.¡± Since I live alone, I don¡¯t use the dining room much, and now, as usual, I am eating breakfast in the living room. I look at where I feel Changer is, to be exact, where I¡¯m guessing his eyes are supposed to be, and gesture toward a chair before me. But, he doesn¡¯t sit and just stands by the corner. ¡°All right. What dream did you see? A scary one? You want to talk about that?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Sorry. About the fight, right? I sigh and point toward the chair again. ¡°Materialize, will you? Talking like this feels weird.¡± He obeys this time; becomes visible and sits. Now, this is certainly better. ¡°Yes, about the fight. And more.¡± ¡°Alright master, go ahead.¡± He says in a quiet and serious tone. He leans back and crosses his arms. I look him in the eyes and ask him what¡¯s been on my mind since last night: ¡°What was those things you said to me during your fight? You know, telepathically.¡± He looks surprised. His eyes widen, and his eyebrows rise. ¡°I said something? I was focused on the fight, master. Only thing I remember saying is: ¡®Brace yourself, master.¡¯ I said it before we-¡± ¡°No, no, no.¡± I interrupt him. ¡°I remember that one. It was obvious. I¡¯m asking before that. In the middle of the fight.¡± One of his eyebrows rise. ¡°Then¡­ nothing? Could you have misheard? Or mis-whatever-it-is-supposed-to-be-called-since-it-is-telepathy-and-so-is-not-voiced-and-cannot-be-heard-or-misheard?¡± I frown. Those messages were clearly from him. They came from the link between us, so there is no way someone else sent them. Is he lying? Or does he not remember? Maybe he sent them accidentally. But, how can someone ¡®accidentally¡¯ send a telepathic message? ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Maybe you forgot. Remember, you said Something-ano? Anano? You said it a few times. You said something else too, but I don¡¯t remember that one.¡± This time his reaction is very different. He leans forward and puts his hands on the table. He half-rises from his seat, and stares into my eyes while frowning. ¡°Narano and Karano?¡± ¡°Yes! Those two. You remember now?¡± He sits back and crosses his arms again, but his expression doesn¡¯t change and he keeps staring at me. I¡¯m getting a bit uneasy. ¡°You somehow heard those? How? Why?¡± He¡¯s asking me? My voice unintentionally rises. ¡°How should I know; you said them. Why? What do they mean? And why should I not hear them?¡± He pauses a bit but not for long. He looks around first, then gets up and goes to the cupboard. ¡°What are you doing?¡± He opens the lid and takes a wineglass. I jump up. They are expensive, you know! ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just confirming something, master.¡± He smiles. He doesn¡¯t look like he intends to do something bad to the wineglass, so I stop. ¡°Just tell me if you hear this, master.¡± This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Daika. The wineglass suddenly vanishes from his hand, and I hear a crash. Wha-? No!? Glass pieces fall from the ceiling. That must have been a spell he cast. The spell¡­ threw the glass? What kind of useless spell is that? ¡°What about it, master?¡± No, wait. I remember that word. ¡°Did you hear that?¡± That¡¯s the spell he used when he got stabbed. ¡°Master?¡± ¡°Shut up! You broke it after all. And, yes. I heard it.¡± I can still save it. I go to the broken pieces. Einfang. I activate my magic circuits. I can feel the magical energy flowing within me. I close my eyes. ¡°Minuten vor Schwei?en.¡± Pieces slowly come together and retake their shape as the wineglass. Repairing it is easy, but still, seeing it get broken angers me. ¡°I-I just confirmed it with the fastest method I could think of.¡± He seems taken aback by my outburst. I sigh and make a gesture toward the cupboard. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not that angry.¡± I sit back down and watch him put the wineglass back in its place. He comes back and takes his previous seat. ¡°That confirms it then. I can hear the spells you cast silently. I wonder, why?¡± He straightens his back and puts his hands together in front of him. ¡°I have an explanation, master, but I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Really? What is it?¡± ¡°First, I should tell you how I cast my spells. As you know, chants for a spell is like levers for a machine. It is what most magicians use to activate them. Depending on the chant, the casted spell changes. The more complex the spell, the longer the chant. At least for most magicians.¡± I don¡¯t speak. Up until now, he only spoke of the obvious. ¡°Using not voiced words, but voiceless thought as chants is normally risky. Revising or even just remembering how a spell is cast includes thinking its chant. Which would lead to a lot of accidental casting. On the other hand, one can easily avoid saying a word like ¡®Daika¡¯, so there really is no risk that way. But chanting aloud gives away your location and gives your enemy information. It also limits the speed with which one casts to the swiftness of the tongue. On top of all that, it also makes one vulnerable to silence spells and any environmental or other effect that prevents speech. Unvoiced spells clearly are superior, but risky. So I just found a way to bypass that risk.¡± My magic crest is a great way to bypass that problem. But, if he has any other useful methods, I am all ears. He continues speaking with a monotonous voice: ¡°My method includes telepathy. Normally, in telepathic communication, there is one sender, and one or more receivers. I simply set the receiver to be myself. When I speak, I don¡¯t cast. When I think, I don¡¯t cast. When I send a telepathic message to myself, I cast.¡± That¡¯s a weird method. Technically, it could work, but, effective use of that method would require telepathy to be like a second nature to him. Could I do it? If I started training with that method when I was a child, sure. If I started using that method now? I wonder¡­ ¡°My guess is, our telepathic link with you and my own telepathic link with myself somehow interfere with each other. Both work as they should, but they work together. I cast, and you hear. It is likely that if I tried to tell you the words telepathically, I would end up unintentionally casting it.¡± He leans back and that marks the end of his explanation. I close my eyes and think for a while. I can understand the method he uses. It would be quite simple when you get used to it. It would still increase the complexity and therefore the difficulty of every spell, but not by much. No matter how used to one gets, the added complexity of using telepathy with every single one of your spells cannot be disregarded. But he is a servant. That means, even in life, he was not an average human. It is safe to assume he has no trouble with casting spells that way. No, that¡¯s not quite right. I saw him casting spells while exchanging blows with a superior opponent. That means there is no need to assume. I know he has no trouble. I open my eyes and lock them on his. This might not look like a problem at first glance, but¡­ ¡°That means every time you enter combat and use a spell, I¡¯ll hear it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°That also means I¡¯ll hear the spells you cast even if I too am fighting a fight of my own.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He looks apologetic. ¡°Can you figure out a way to prevent that? I don¡¯t want my concentration to be disturbed in the middle of a fight by unneeded voices I hear in my head.¡± He nods. ¡°I¡¯ll try to find out why they interfere with each other and separate them, if I can.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I continue with a more energetic voice. ¡°Then let¡¯s continue with what we know of our enemy.¡± Day 3 – Saturday – Part 2 ¡°About that time you got stabbed¡­¡± I pause and try to recall that exact moment. Changer and the enemy servant attacked each other simultaneously. After that, Changer said something about that red spear having something to do with bypassing defences. ¡°Are you wearing an armour under that robe? Did you trust that for your defence?¡± ¡°Under my robe? Well¡­¡± He gets up and grabs the collars of his robes. I brace myself for a dramatic reveal of a magical antique armour. Maybe it is even a noble phantasm? With one swift move he gets rid of his robe and¡­ ¡°The hell are you doing?!¡± I shout and immediately turn my eyes away. ¡°As you can see I¡¯m just showing that I don¡¯t wear any-¡° ¡°Wear it again!¡± I have been to the beach a few times before, so it is not like this is the first time I saw the chest of a guy. But still, a guy suddenly getting half-naked while we are alone is not something I have experience with. ¡°What? You asked.¡± ¡°No one asked you to get naked! You could just say: ¡®No, I have no armour.¡¯¡± He sits back with a proud expression on his face. Bastard. But I don¡¯t want to waste any more time with this foolishness than necessary. I just silently wait for the excess blood on my cheeks to go away. But¡­ His body¡­ A servant, after all. Never mind that, me! ¡°If you don¡¯t wear armour, what was that about Lancer¡¯s spear bypassing defences?¡± ¡°Lancer? That servant we saw last night? We can¡¯t be sure of that master. He might as well be a rider. Or maybe even an assassin.¡± ¡°Really? He used a spear. He fought on foot. He fought head on. I think, it is quite obvious.¡± ¡°He might have done so just to trick us.¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯ll revise the question. What was that about that red spear bypassing defences? What did you mean by it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that, I used a spell to push his spear away from my body, but it only slowed it down. I didn¡¯t know whether that spear dispels magic, or it breaks down enemy defences, or something else, so I just made a guess there.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I sigh. ¡°You didn¡¯t actually figure out anything then.¡± I¡¯m a bit disappointed. He lowers his head. ¡°Nothing solid about his spear, no.¡± Then his eyes light up as, once again, he looks me in the eyes. ¡°But about him in general, I might have some ideas.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Maybe this talk wasn¡¯t just a waste of time after all. ¡°Yes. But to make sure of a few things, I need to ask. Master, you remember his stats, right? Mind sharing?¡± Of course I remember. As if I could forget such crucial information after just one night.
Master ? Sex Male
Class ?Lancer? Height/Weight 185cm 70kg
True Name ? Alignment Lawful Neutral
Strength A Magical Energy B
Endurance C Luck E
Agility A+ Noble Phantasm ?
I tell Changer about Lancer¡¯s stats. And yes, I still think he was a lancer class servant. He holds his chin with one hand and thinks, but in no more than a few seconds, he starts talking: ¡°I broke his arm, remember, with my daika. I didn¡¯t do that to break his arm. I put quite a lot of magical energy behind that attack. Even against a servant, it would normally blow that arm off. So I thought: His endurance might be absurdly high. But no. Which means, something reduced my attack¡¯s effect. He likely has magic resistance. Not too high level, but decent. That means he most likely is not an assassin. He is strong and fast, and his spear is clearly a noble phantasm. Most likely a lancer like you assumed, but there is still a chance that he is the Rider.¡± I raise an eyebrow. I expected more. ¡°Sooo¡­ Basically he has magic resistance. Is that all?¡± ¡°What do you mean, is that all? I¡¯m telling you high level attack spells will work, and he won¡¯t be hiding.¡± I sigh. Sure that is something, but we still know too little. ¡°And one more thing, though it won¡¯t exactly help us.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°He and his master wore the same earrings. Which either means they are magical and are somehow useful, or the earrings are the relic that summoned him, and his master is still wearing them because she has some admiration or something for her servant. Either way, separating them would likely be hard.¡± Same earring. Interesting, but it indeed doesn¡¯t help us. In the end, we certainly don¡¯t know much about the enemy, but that¡¯s not the only topic I wanted to talk about. ¡°Say, Changer.¡± ¡°Sten.¡± ¡°Right, Sten. Tell me, how did you keep up with him? I mean, he has A+ in Agility while yours is only C.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just that good.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just good at reacting. All kinds. Reacting to surprises, reacting to feints, reacting to quick movements. You could say I have a high reaction speed. Or that I adapt quickly. Anyway, basically I¡¯m good at dealing with surprise attacks and faster opponents. Though it doesn¡¯t change much when I face anyone that I can already match in speed.¡±
Skill: Mental Adaptation A Ability of the mind to quickly adapt to changes. Allows fast reaction in situations where one would otherwise be surprised. Also allows keeping up with faster enemies. Practically has an effect of decreasing the disadvantage ofspeed by up to two ranks.
¡°Ooo, that¡¯s nice. That means I don¡¯t have to worry about you getting outmatched in speed, right?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Something like that, yeah. Though not in everything. For example, if that servant and I raced, I would be crushed.¡± ¡°But in a fight¡­¡± ¡°But in a fight, I won¡¯t get speed blitzed.¡± I nod. Waking up an hour earlier was a good choice it seems. We talked a lot, but thanks to that, I haven¡¯t really touched my breakfast yet. I start eating, and neither of us say anything for a while. After I¡¯m done with the breakfast, I put on my jacket. That¡¯s when Changer decides to speak again. ¡°Are we going out again, master? Where are we going this time?¡± I answer while putting on my shoes. ¡°To school. I¡¯m a student.¡± ¡°School? The war has started, and you¡¯ll continue going to school?¡± ¡°Of course. Stopping my daily routine would be like announcing that I¡¯m a master.¡± He is in spirit form but I bet he has his arms crossed right now. ¡°I¡¯m coming with you, master.¡± ¡°Of course you are. Why wouldn¡¯t you?¡° On our way to school we speak of maguses. ¡°Master, yesterday you said your family is the owners of this town right?¡± ¡°Yes, if any magus has any business in this town, they have to go through us, well me. What of it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just wondering. If there were any other local maguses living in this town, you would know, right?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°How many are there?¡± ¡°Only one other magus family lives here, and I know the only one among them that could be a master. We should see no surprises from them.¡± We arrive at my school. As we are about to pass the gate Changer stops me. ¡°Stop, master. I sense a servant inside.¡± I keep walking and answer him while being careful not to attract any unwanted attention from nearby students as the girl who speaks to herself: ¡°So that possible master we talked about also summoned a servant.¡± ¡°Is that master a teacher? How well do you know each other?¡± ¡°No, a student like me. As to how well we know each other? Well, let¡¯s say, quite well.¡± * * * We move up the stairs leading to the rooftop. Noon of 2nd of February, the time we decided to meet. It¡¯s Saturday, so the classes have already ended. The planned place of our meeting is the roof of the school building. Being students, it is an easy location for both of us. Besides, this is one of those overly convenient rooftops, where no one ever comes. The door is already half open. When we go out, we are greeted by a cold wind. I bet it doesn¡¯t affect the guy next to me, but I am glad I am wearing my coat. As expected, there is a girl by the railings. A girl whose violet hair I know well. I bet there is someone else with her, but I can¡¯t see that one yet. ¡°Hello, Sakura.¡± * * * [Interlude] We move up the stairs leading to the rooftop. Noon of 2nd February, I have no idea why we are here. I can feel a servant on the other side. I already warned Rin but she told me not to worry about it. I let out a deep sigh, but I do it silently. How good a servant I am. My master told me not to worry about an enemy servant she is directly walking up to, basically not to do my job, yet here I am still trying not to worry her. The door is half open. It opens outside. Its rather dusty handrail seems like it was last used by a girly hand. It wasn¡¯t grabbed but gently held. Because of the dust, I guess. Most likely a neat female whose servant does not open her doors. Maybe the servant is female too? I simply pass through the door before Rin pushes it. We are met by two females. Before focusing on the Servant, I size up the master. She has decent magical energy. Good, but can¡¯t compare to Rin. She has a pretty face, big breasts and overall, a nice looking body. She seems to be¡­ Seems to be¡­ I don¡¯t know, around Rin¡¯s age? Plus-minus five? I have always been terrible at this. Next, I focus on the servant. She is standing right next to her master, non-moving. She has an even better figure than her master, who already clearly surpasses Rin. Should I instead ally with them? Nah, not yet. As for her clothes¡­ I have no idea what to call it. It definitely is no armour, nor a robe with pockets. Only practicality I can see to it is that it must be easy to move in. Not a direct combatant, likely an assassin or maybe an archer. I almost laugh. An archer? She is wearing an eye patch that seals both her eyes. I have no idea how she sees, or whether she can actually see anything. Since her eye patch fits the colour of her¡­ clothes, maybe it is just for fashion. That may be, but I should not assume. ¡°Hello, Sakura.¡± I hear Rin. Apparently the enemy Master is called Sakura. Anyway, about the servant. I refuse to believe a servant would just dye their hair after being summoned, or a woman with that body and purple hair reaching down to her ankles -her ankles!- wouldn¡¯t be famous. I bet I can figure her identity out. First, she is female. That about halves my choices, so nice beginning. Second, she hides her eyes. Either she is blind, or has some other reason for it. Maybe cursed eyes? Third, that hair. That hair is not the hair of some random human. Nor any heroic human I know of. What is she then? A beast? A monster? A witch? Or something good, like a fairy? A fairy with those clothes? No. Then, a goddess? Divines can¡¯t be summoned by the grail, so no. But a demigod? An ex-goddess? Something else? An ex-goddess¡­ A monster¡­ Unusual hair¡­ Hides her eyes, and is female. Maybe¡­ Assuming she is¡­ What the hell, grail? Do you hate snakes? Or is this some sort of humanization policy? ¡°Hello, Sister.¡± Wait, what!? Day 3 – Saturday – Part 3 ¡°Hello, Sister.¡± ¡°I trust you haven¡¯t changed your mind, Sakura.¡± ¡°No, sister. I haven¡¯t.¡± Good. That means our deal still stands. I walk up to her and hold out my hand for a handshake. She takes my hand and shows me her smile. I can clearly see the sincerity in her eyes. I nod my head in return. ¡°Wait. Master, what is this?¡± Changer suddenly materializes and comes closer. Sakura quickly retracts her hand and takes a step back. Come to think of it, I haven¡¯t told Changer about this, have I? Oh well, he¡¯s learned it now. I make a gesture toward Sakura to not worry her and swing my hair in a large arc as I turn towards him. ¡°We are allies now. Sten, this is Sakura. Sakura this is Sten. Get along, now.¡± I put a smile on my face and stare at him directly in the eyes. There is no room for discussion and I want him to understand it. I expected him to ask more questions, or object, put forward a condition, or something. Instead, he shows me a wide eyed expression for just one second. Then he simply nods, takes a step back and returns to spirit form. It¡¯s nice having an obedient servant. ¡°Sister.¡± says Sakura. She brings her clasped hands to her chest. Such a shy gesture. ¡°You haven¡¯t told your servant, err, Mister Sten, about our prior arrangement?¡± ¡°No, but as you saw, he has no problem with it.¡± After hearing you are sisters, why would I? ¡°Well then, Sakura, what do you say? Shall we go somewhere more private to further discuss things?¡± I¡¯d prefer not to stay here. Even here, on this rooftop, we might get unlucky and have someone overhear us. Sure, putting up a field to prevent ordinary people from coming up here would be easy, but it would also carry with it the unnecessary risk of giving out our location to other masters. Going to my house would be much safer. ¡°Ah, sure. Where shall we go, sister?¡± She looks glad. Even in school, we don¡¯t get to talk much, so this is a nice opportunity to be together. Who would have thought a fight to the death between maguses would have an effect of bringing two sisters together? In any case, I¡¯m looking forward to it too. ¡°You have your grandfather at your house right? Maybe even Shinji might stop by. I¡¯d rather not have to deal with him, so let¡¯s go to my place.¡± ¡°Brother isn¡¯t that bad.¡± I shrug. ¡°If you say so. Still, he wouldn¡¯t shut up if he saw me there.¡± She slightly blushes and looks down. She is so cute, I just want to cuddle her. But I remember that there are two invisible spectators around us and stop myself. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to your house, sister.¡± I grin and turn back towards the door, but I¡¯m stopped by Changer who once again suddenly materializes and comes forward. ¡°Leave that to me ladies.¡± He kneels down and puts one hand on the ground. ¡°What are you-¡° Donna daika, shami suvar, sha suva. I hear Sakura screaming at the same time as me. Why? Because we suddenly rose into the air. I reflexively stretch out my arms to the sides, as if that will stop me from falling, and I see Sakura do the same. I also see a purple haired weird woman next to Sakura. ¡°Don¡¯t worry ladies. No one below can see us. Not even other maguses.¡± Changer is kneeling in the same position. He has his hand on the¡­ ground. Yes, ground. I can feel the ground beneath my feet, although I can¡¯t see it. My reflexive scream dies down as I try moving my feet. I can step on the air as if the ground is still there. I glance at Sakura and see that she is also examining the invisible ground. The purple haired woman is standing next to her, presumably staring at Changer. Although staring is not the right word, since her eyes are covered. She must be Sakura¡¯s servant. ¡°Have you ever heard of warning!?¡± I shout at Changer. It¡¯s not like there is any sound from the wind that requires me to shout. In fact there is no sign that we are moving other than seeing everything around us moving downwards. It is as if what I am seeing and what is happening don¡¯t match. I can see that we are going up, but I can¡¯t feel anything that indicates so. My hair isn¡¯t fluttering about, I don¡¯t feel that wind one feels when moving fast, and I can still feel the hard ground beneath my feet. But, we are certainly moving upwards, and fast. Changer looks me in the eye. With a serious expression and in a deep, dramatic voice says: ¡°Warning beforehand would lessen the reaction I receive from you ladies.¡± ¡°You-¡± I somehow stop myself. I don¡¯t want Sakura to see me shouting at my servant in anger. ¡°Sister?¡± I see Sakura looking at me questioningly. She seems a lot calmer than I would have guessed. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°We are just flying home.¡± I tell Sakura and smile. I try to look like I¡¯m in control of the situation, but I¡¯m not sure that it is working. ¡°Stopping now.¡± He at least warns this time. We slow down and finally stop in the middle of the air. Just like when we were moving up, I don¡¯t get that feeling of stopping. Only my vision allows me to understand that we stop. ¡°Taking off horizontally in three, two, one, and now.¡± Na Donna Daikao. Just as he says, we start moving towards the European residential district, where my house is. I don¡¯t feel the movement and I can feel the ground. This is a lot like watching television, rather than flying for real. Perhaps that is why Sakura seems like she has already gotten comfortable with it. On the other hand, I don¡¯t own a television. I think it will take me more to get used to this. The town beneath our feet look spectacular. Well, actually the town is nothing to look at, just one house after the other, but the way we view it makes it a spectacle. This might actually be nice. As I¡¯m viewing the scenery, I see the purple haired servant by the still-kneeling Changer. I can¡¯t hear what they are talking about from over here, and I hope Changer doesn¡¯t say anything unnecessary, but before I go over to them, Sakura approaches me. * * * [Interlude] This was a bad idea. I just heard the girls were on our side and panicked. Taking them for a ride, my ass! This isn¡¯t the time to be fooling around. Sure, we are invisible, but a decent caster should still be able to detect us. If Caster has a long range attack, we¡¯ll be sitting ducks out here. Anyway, calm down, what are the chances? Besides, I can¡¯t just take us down now. I¡¯ll just have to hope we are not attacked. Right, I should focus on detecting. If I find a servant first, I can take us down without losing face. And, she is coming this way. Don¡¯t ask me something like what the hell I am doing; I have no answer to that. She is even more beautiful from up close. Just why? ¡°How fast can you go?¡± Thump-thump. Oh Lord, that is dangerous. She could have had a frog-like voice, but no. She had to have this low and alluring¡­ Calm down. Just-just, say something cool. ¡°As fast as you want me to.¡± Oh lord, I want to die. What was that? Has my time to get slapped come this fast? No? She seems¡­ Damn, I can¡¯t read her expression with that eye patch. ¡°How is the shape then? And size?¡± THUMP-THUMP! She must be doing it on purpose. Alright. Time for a witty and charming comeback. ¡°I¡¯ll show you if you show me your eyes.¡± What? Really? You sounded like a fool or a pervert, or both. You didn¡¯t even properly answer her question. You¡¯re guessing she has eyes that can turn you to stone and you asked to see them. I give up. Lord, can you pretty please send me back in time? Not much, just a few minutes. ¡°You won¡¯t get to see my eyes.¡± She¡¯s not slapping me. That means I myself will¡­ Foolish mod: off. Rin? Talking to her sister. Servant? Haven¡¯t realized. ¡°Master! I detected two servants. They have just started fighting.¡± Near the bridge. Good, they have a field set up. Well, that is something. ¡°What? It is the middle of the day! How foolish can they get? Where are they?¡± ¡°At the park near the bridge. They have a field set up.¡± ¡°By the bridge?¡± That was the servant. I guess it is too far for her to sense. Can you get us close without them noticing? If you wish to watch, we don¡¯t need to get close. ¡°Sister. I think this is a good opportunity to observe.¡± The sister thinks so too, it seems. The sister? Nope, bad way to address. The sister and the servant. I should ask them how to address them sometime. ¡°Then let¡¯s watch them. Sten, do your thing.¡± ¡°At once.¡± I don¡¯t remember ever using it this way before, but it is in the records, so let¡¯s do this. Just extend the hand and: Karan suva. Annnd, success. Just zoom in on what can already be seen, and have it shown on a section of the side of my cylindrical flying field. Wouldn¡¯t this work wonders for sailors? I wonder if they invented something similar yet. ¡°Wow!¡± I don¡¯t know from whom that exclamation came from, but honestly, I¡¯d rather just focus on the fight which can now be seen by all of us, as if we were there. Interlude - Day 3 ¡°This method is too simple, Master. It¡¯s no fun.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Just waiting here and hoping we detect someone¡­ It¡¯s so boring.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Master? Heeey, do you hear me?¡± He turns to his master. She has a frown on her face and is just staring at her cup absently. Be quiet for a second. There is a magical energy source on the bridge. I¡¯m trying to figure out whether it is a master or a servant. Lancer grins. A wave of excitement goes through him as he thinks of the coming of a battle. ¡°Already? I love you master.¡± ¡°Wha-!?¡± Lancer leaves Bazett behind and dashes off toward the bridge. He is really lucky. Which other master could find him a second enemy after merely half a day? And she did that by just keeping watch on a few key locations. His master is a professional among professionals. The Mages Association in London, she had called them the authority on magic in the modern world, chose her as their best combat magus. As an official magus, she prefers fighting at night, but still won¡¯t shy away from challenging others during the day. Lancer rushes past unsuspecting people like a wind. Bazett had been sitting at a caf¨¦ near the bridge since the morning. She kept watch over several locations in the city using familiars. The plan was to follow any detected enemies to figure out their base of operations. How lucky Lancer is that the first enemy she detected was this close by. Lancer reaches the middle of the bridge in no time. From here he can easily sense a servant. It is a servant, master. Understood. I¡¯m heading to the park. Lancer makes himself known by letting his presence out. Then he makes his way toward the park. The park is just next to the bridge and is one of the few locations in all the city that is suitable for fighting even during the day. Bazett already has a field around it to keep any civilians out. Just activating it is enough to have a private location. Just attacking an enemy and trying to drive them there would be a big no-no during the day. But challenging them and inviting them to that location is acceptable. That¡¯s what his master decided, and if Lancer gets to fight even during the day, who is he to argue? Another excited grin appears on Lancer¡¯s face as he feels the other servant following him. Not a coward, it seems. Good, heroes are supposed to be brave. It seems the servant is in no rush. Lancer feels it approaching at normal walking speed. Maybe it is together with its master. Bazett arrives before the enemy. It takes her only a second to activate the field. Bazett, as a first class magus, has the necessary skill to set up inactive bounded fields and keep them from being detected until she activates them. This way, she has set up inactive fields, which will keep civilians away when activated, in several locations throughout the city. A man approaches their location. The field is already active, so obviously he is no mere civilian. Both Lancer and Bazett quietly watch as the man in modern garments, a green tracksuit with white lines at the sides to be exact, comes closer. He bows his head slightly and starts stripping. He strips until he only has a dark blue underwear with star pictures on it. He then neatly folds his tracksuit, and gently puts it under a nearby bench. He calmly walks over to where he stripped, and once again, turns to face Lancer and Bazett. As he swings his arm, parts of a set of antique bronze armour appears on his body. His gauntlets, greaves, breastplate and helmet, they all have golden decorations on them. He is slightly taller than Bazett and clearly shorter than Lancer. He has dark hair, and as they clearly just saw, a perfectly built body. ¡°A greek.¡± Lancer says as he looks at the man¡¯s helmet. It covers most of his face. ¡°Indeed.¡± answers Bazett. ¡°I¡¯m starting, then.¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± Lancer leans his spear on his shoulder and takes some steps forward. ¡°Hey.¡± The man answers by making his equipment appear. A two-meter-long spear and a large, round shield at his hands, along with a straight, short sword at his hip. He points his spear at Lancer. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°We fight, worthy adversary!¡± He declares with a powerful voice. ¡°Heh. I didn¡¯t expect such seriousness from you after that stripping session.¡± He puts up his guard. ¡°I quite like that garment.¡± With that sentence, he charges. One, two, three steps, and a thrust. ¡°Slow.¡± Lancer murmurs to himself as he parries. He keeps parrying his attacks but doesn¡¯t go on the offensive. The enemy has both a spear and a sword; he must be a rider. Yet he is not riding anything. Meaning, he is not fighting at his full strength. If Lancer wants a good fight, he had better slowly pressure him into going all out. Meanwhile, Bazett opens her slender cylindrical bag. She is not a support type magus. Her healing and enhancing skills are subpar at best. She is a combat magus. She specializes in not supporting, but killing. Also, she is one of the few modern humans with a mystic code that can rival servants¡¯ noble phantasms. It also specializes in killing. It looks like a small, orange-sized metal ball. When it is out of the bag it is carried in- Bazett takes something like a ball out of her bag. -and is locked on a particular target- Bazett gently pushes it upward and looks at the enemy servant. It stats floating and buzzing. -and of course, only if it is used by a descendant of the McRemitz family from Ireland- Bazett Fraga McRemitz touches her earring, which she brought from her ancestral home in Ireland. -only then, it becomes the ultimate counter attacker. This mystic code called Fragarach waits for its target to use their strongest move, is activated by McRemitz, goes back a little in time, and strikes their heart just before they make their move. Basically, if someone wants to fight Bazett, that someone had better keep from using their strongest move. And strongest moves of servants are their noble phantasms. Which means, when Bazett is around, enemy servants, in this case the warrior from Greece Lancer is facing, cannot use their noble phantasms. Of course, the enemy servant doesn¡¯t know this. Even if he did, he would have two logical ways to win. One: winning without using his noble phantasm. The thing is, Lancer is a very strong combatant, and he has no restrictions on using his noble phantasm. Then, the first way is not preferable. The second way is not being alone. The servant could keep Lancer busy, while his ally attacks and disables Bazett. This way too presents some problems. By the nature of the grail war, no alliances between two servants would be long winded. Normally, the only ally a servant has would be their master. And a master winning a one-on-one fight against the association¡¯s specifically chosen master, the best of the best combat magus Bazett, would be a long shot. In short, Bazett is sure of their victory and has every right to be so. That is why she and Lancer boldly challenge enemies they meet. Meanwhile Lancer keeps building up the pressure. His opponent is not weak. He is confident and very skilled. He is simply facing the wrong opponent. For Lancer is not a run of the mill servant. He is Cu Chulain. The Son of Light from Ireland. A master of spears that has few equals and even fewer superiors throughout history. And he has a first class magus like Bazett as his master. Lancer puts the end of his spear on the ground and jumps like an olympic athlete. He makes a whole spin and with that speed, swings down his spear. As his opponent blocks the swing with his shield, the ground beneath his feet cracks and shatters. If Lancer gets more and more serious, it is obvious who will win. The man takes a leap back and puts some distance between them. Lancer doesn¡¯t follow. He has his guard on and watches. The enemy servant spins his spear in his hand and stabs the ground with it. He then leaves it there and draws his sword. As he points his sword toward Lancer and Bazett the same way he did with the spear before their fight started, the spear he stabbed the ground with vanishes. ¡°Listen, worthy adversary! The king now declares his next quest. This time, the goal of The King¡¯s Journey is that woman. No obstacle shall remain in my way.¡± He takes fighting position. ¡°Now, we fight!¡± Another Interlude - Day 3 - Warning: This story is now tagged Mature(+15) mainly for violence and strong language. Nothing graphic, and still a lot milder than the original Visual Novel - ¡°Listen, worthy adversary! The king now declares his next quest. This time, the goal of The King¡¯s Journey is that woman. No obstacle shall remain in my way.¡± They see the servant take a fighting position. ¡°Now, we fight!¡± ¡°What an idiot.¡± A man that is wearing only a towel around his waist is watching the fight alongside a woman. They are in a wide room with no doors and no windows. The only apparent exit is a crude ladder leading up to a big metal trapdoor in the ceiling. They are watching the fight from a round table, which is currently functioning as a far-seeing device much like a screen version of the classic crystal balls. Again, like the classic crystal balls, their round table doesn¡¯t require familiars, or pre-set beacons to function. As long as the one that activates the round table has been to a location, it can monitor there. The man keeps looking at the table and continues. He sounds irritated. ¡°The fool openly declared that he¡¯s gunning for his master. And right after getting his ass kicked too.¡± ¡°His ass, yeah.¡± He glares at the woman for a bit, then goes back to looking at the table. ¡°I was talking about him being a fool.¡± The irritation in his voice is even clearer now. ¡°At least he is a cute fool.¡± The man puts his hand down hard on the table. The vision on the table vibrates. ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me woman. Not when you are wearing nothing but one of my shirts.¡± The woman smiles mischievously, reaches down and lets the man¡¯s towel fall down. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d like to do something about it, master.¡± The master doesn¡¯t try to cover himself, and just looks at the table. ¡°Not now. We have a fight and five servants to observe. Besides, I¡¯ve been doing something about it like a rabbit. Haven¡¯t you had enough?¡± The servant puffs her cheeks and looks away. ¡°You don¡¯t let me drain from the townspeople. You have to take responsibility for that.¡± She puts her smile on again, and reaches down to where the master¡¯s towel were covering before. ¡°Sooo¡­ Come on.¡± ¡°Not now.¡± He doesn¡¯t budge an inch. ¡°Spoilsport.¡± She too turns toward the table. They watch the second phase of the Greek Warrior vs. Lancer fight, side by side. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Hey, master.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Is it just me, or has Saber been doing better lately?¡± ¡°It is not just you. He¡¯s been moving a lot better since he switched to his sword.¡± ¡°To be expected of a Saber-original I suppose.¡± ¡°Not just that. He¡¯s been¡­ What, reading Lancer¡¯s moves? Guessing them right with bullshit luck? Orrr, Lancer misses thanks to his own bullshit luck? Something about those lines, I guess; luck or foreseeing.¡± ¡°Then, did he just use his Noble Phantasm, or some strong skill there?¡± ¡°Most likely. Although, Miss McRemitz¡¯s Fragarach didn¡¯t fire. It can¡¯t be his Noble Phantasm.¡± ¡°Or, it can¡¯t be his strongest one.¡± ¡°Or that, yes.¡± ¡°How does that metal ball understand whether the enemy is using his strongest move, anyway?¡± ¡°How should I know? Learning what it does was a challenge already, so I didn¡¯t get the chance learn how it does it.¡± The servant looks at her master in the eyes. ¡°You¡¯re cute when you¡¯re angry, master.¡± Her master answers her look. ¡°Being cute is the woman¡¯s job.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s do something about both of us being cute, shall we?¡± ¡°Not now.¡± He tries to turn back to the table, but she holds his chin, and keeps looking him in the eyes. She gets half a step closer and presses her body against him. Their faces are now next to each other. ¡°I can record it to be watched later anyway, like¡­ what was that machine upstairs called?¡± He takes her in his arms. ¡°Does it matter?¡± * * * ¡°Tch!¡± Lancer clicks his tongue when his enemy, for the twenty seventh time, dodges one of his attacks seemingly by chance. This all started when he made that ridiculous declaration. He started becoming a problem. He had fought well before that, but if Lancer had fought aggressively from the start, he would have won quite fast. In fact, he didn¡¯t actually become stronger or faster. Despite getting a big disadvantage in reach by switching to sword, he somehow became better at evading attacks. It seems he actually is more proficient at using his sword than his spear, but that is not all. Something about him changed. It is as if he is getting some outside help now. Like a blessing from gods. Lancer doesn¡¯t know what it is, but there are two things he definitely knows. Son of a bitch said he¡¯s gunning for Bazett. Son of a bitch won¡¯t be getting any Bazett. Lancer¡¯s voice cuts through the music of continuous metal clashes: ¡°If you¡¯re reading my moves, then I¡¯ll crush you with simple savagery!¡± He leaves complex moves behind. He no longer uses feints. He no longer changes the direction of his attacks mid-swing. Using the difference between their strength and speed, he just keeps raining down one heavy blow after the other. One can foresee a feint, or luckily evade a tricky attack. But if one lacks the necessary speed, foreseeing lightning-fast attacks would not help. If one lacks the necessary strength, no amount of luck would lighten the weight of incoming heavy blows. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.The balance in the fight once again tilts toward Lancer, as he overwhelms his enemy with brute strength and speed. His fighting style is no different than a berserker now. An upward blow from Lancer lands on the other servant¡¯s shield and sends him flying. He manages to land on his feet. He is beat up. His arms and legs are full of scratches with blood trickling down from many of them. If this was a chess match, the time to resign would have long come. But he is not done yet. ¡°Master, I ask for permission to use my Noble Phantasm.¡± Lancer stands at the ready. He is ready to use his own Noble Phantasm and he is confident that he can strike before the enemy does anything big. His next move depends on the enemy master¡¯s decision now. If his enemy gets permission, Lancer will finish this immediately by using his Noble Phantasm. If he doesn¡¯t get permission, Lancer won¡¯t have to reveal his hand. He¡¯d rather not unnecessarily reveal his hand in a fight during the day where others are surely watching, and simply charging ahead when his enemy is willing to use his Noble Phantasm is risky, so he waits. But neither Bazett, nor Lancer hear the enemy master¡¯s answer. Instead, they hear the voice of a newcomer. ¡°You look like shit, Saber.¡± A big newcomer. ¡°Wha-?! You are..!¡± A big newcomer wearing what looks like the pelt of an even bigger lion. ¡°You still got it in you for another fight?¡± A big newcomer carrying a silver haired little girl on his shoulder. * * * ¡°Is it possible to make this audible?¡± She seems curious. Indeed, with the arrival of the third servant, it would be nice to hear what they are talking, but¡­ ¡°No. At least not now. That would require some preparation.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Little glance. She still has her eyewear. ¡°You do?¡± A little pause. Is she making something up? ¡°I see enough.¡± ¡°Sten!¡± Rin has the sister in tow. ¡°Can¡¯t we hear them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, master.¡± ¡°So you can zoom in like using binoculars, but no audio, huh? All right.¡± Zoom in? A modern term? Binoculars, it seems they did invent something similar. Then, what I¡¯m doing isn¡¯t anything special? Damn, there goes my¡­ ¡°Sister¡­¡± ¡°What is it, Sakura?¡± She blushes. Why does she blush every time she asks something of Rin? Aren¡¯t they sisters? Though, apparently they live apart. Did their parents separate and the two sisters went different ways? Then, the one looking after Rin died? Maybe. I¡¯ll ask Rin in the evening. ¡°Is¡­ is Mister Sten the Caster?¡± Have I told Rin that? No. I¡¯d better interfere here. ¡°I am the servant Archer, miss. But call me Sten. How may I call you?¡± Changer? Annnd, another blush. Is she Rin¡¯s actual blood related sister? ¡°Ehm. Sakura is fine.¡± Just Sakura? That¡¯s easy, and so unlady-like. ¡°I admit, I¡¯ve dabbled with magic too. Though what I can do is quite limited.¡± ¡°I see.¡± You too? Heh. Oh, shut up. Changer, what is this about being Archer? The servant is still here. Now, feel indebted and tell me all your secrets. ¡°What about you, miss? By which class name should I call you?¡± Now, look at my heart-warming smile, if you can see, and speak. ¡°Sakura.¡± The ball''s in your court now, Sakura. Tell your servant to cooperate. Heeey, Changer? ¡°It¡¯s alright. He has told us his class too.¡± ¡°I am Rider. Nice to meet you.¡± Hell yeah, more information. ¡°You too, Rider.¡± We¡¯ll talk about this later, Changer. ¡°Look.¡± Seriously, how does she see? Anyway. Oh, boy. Did he really run? ¡°He ran away.¡± You said it without blushing. Way to go, Miss Sakura. But, that Greek warrior. He looked pretty worn out, but I still wouldn¡¯t have expected him to shamelessly run away like that. ¡°I think that is Heracles.¡± Heracles? Lion pelt, check. Mass of muscle, check. A servant ran the moment he appeared, so great aura, check. Indeed, you may be right, my fellow sexy servant. ¡°You may be right, Rider.¡± ¡°His stats are extraordinary.¡± ¡°Well said. Lancer has high stats too, but this one is trouble.¡± This one is trouble? If he is Heracles, of course he is! But, can¡¯t lose face now. ¡°Hey now, ladies. Don¡¯t go underestimating us now.¡± ¡°I agree with Sten. Underestimating enemies is a big mistake. But underestimating friends is an unforgivable mistake too. Sakura, Rin, don¡¯t do that mistake.¡± Well said, girl. You finally showed that smile of yours, too. ¡°No! I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean it like that, Rider!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Sakura.¡± They seem to get along. Did she summon her without a relic, I wonder? ¡°You two are quite confident aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Of course-¡° Wait, Heracles pulled out¡­ a bow? He is an Archer? How? I¡¯ve been summoned as a Changer with the base class of Archer. Meaning I¡¯ve been summoned in the place of Archer class. There shouldn¡¯t be any Archers! ¡°He has a bow.¡± I know! How? Wait, he can be Assassin. Heracles as an Assassin using a bow? He¡¯s pointing that thing here! I must-! ¡°Stay together!¡± Day 3 – Saturday – Part 4 ¡°See? When we walk, we don¡¯t get shot at.¡± I¡¯m not actually angry. The arrow broke the field, but we landed safely, none of us got hurt, and luckily, the street we landed on was empty. Changer assured me that his invisibility spell, or whatever it was, lasted till we landed, so no one should have seen us in the air, either. All¡¯s well that ends well, as they say. In the end, we watched that fight, gathered some information, and despite getting surprise attacked in the middle of the day, we didn¡¯t really lose anything. It worked well for us. There is no reason to scold Changer for too long. ¡°You are right, master. I apologize.¡± Besides, when he looks at me like that and apologizes, I feel cruel. When we got shot down, Changer and Sakura¡¯s servant helped us land safely. Then, after a weird silence, we simply decided to walk the rest of the way. Now, we are back at my house. ¡°Can you use that again?¡± Sakura¡¯s servant asks Changer. Of course, they came with us too. That was the original plan, after all. I momentarily see a glint in Changer¡¯s eyes. ¡°If you¡¯d like another ride, sure.¡± ¡°I wou-¡± Sakura¡¯s servant stops. It seems she decided not to say it. ¡°You liked it? Never flown before?¡± Changer pushes forward. ¡°I¡­¡± a little pause. ¡°I did. I love flying. And I love riding.¡± Her voice gets more and more excited. ¡°But I love having my foot on the ground, ready to react whatever happens. That thing combined all of those! I lov¡­¡± She realizes she said too much and stops. ¡°It was an enjoyable experience.¡± Yeah, we gathered that. ¡°If you like, we can always go for a ride again. Alone. Somewhere we won¡¯t be rudely interrupted by a passing Heracles.¡± He is openly flirting with another servant. Men are like that, I suppose. Still, when I see him like that, I am reminded of a certain obnoxious person from school. A boy that has the same surname Sakura does. And reminding people of Shinji is not nice. I let out a deep sigh and make sure Changer notices this. * * * ¡°All right then, let¡¯s start with what we know of enemies.¡± I made tea for Sakura and myself, and now, we are in my living room. The servants are sitting on chairs by the table. Sakura¡¯s servant initially looked like she would be fine standing up, in spirit form, but Changer acted all gentlemanly by holding a chair for her to sit, and she went with the flow. I won¡¯t be commenting any more about this. ¡°Mr. Sten is the Archer, right?¡± ¡°That is-¡± ¡°I am. I am Archer, and Archer is me. That servant we assume to be Heracles must be of some other class.¡± I¡¯ve been summoned in place of the archer class, master. Sorry for not telling before. I¡¯ll explain when we are alone. Wow. He sent me a telepathic message and spoke out loud practically simultaneously. I have no idea how he did that. I had a lot of trouble just understanding both. But he got summoned in place of the archer class? Why didn¡¯t he tell me about that? I just assumed¡­ I actually didn¡¯t really think about it. The story he told me about the reason for him being Changer sounded reasonable, so I just left it at that. Come to think about it, he can¡¯t be an eight servant, so obviously he took the place of one of the base classes, right? And since one of his classes is archer¡­ ¡°But, how can that be?¡± ¡°What is it, Sakura?¡± ¡°Well, Mr. Sten being Caster would be fitting, but if he is Archer, there is something wrong.¡± Really? ¡°What is wrong?¡± ¡°You see, sister, every servant we saw today talked and seemed sane.¡± ¡°So, we haven¡¯t seen Berserker yet.¡± ¡°Exactly. We saw three servants today. We already know Rider and Archer, and none of them was a berserker, so that leaves Saber, Lancer, Caster and Assassin. Do you see the problem?¡± ¡°What problem? None of them looked like Caster, but other three¡­ If we say that the ones that fought were Lancer and Saber, that leaves Assassin. Sure, Heracles being an assassin is unexpected, but it is not unreasonable. He was supposedly very skilled. Who knows? Maybe he qualifies as an assassin.¡± ¡°What are you saying, sister? Only Hassan-i Sabbah can be Assassin.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Grandpa said so. He said that, as the founder of the Hashashin, which in time turned to the word ¡®assassin¡¯, Hassan-i Sabbah is the only one that can be called to the assassin class, and apparently, that¡¯s what happened in all previous grail wars.¡± Really? Then, what, one of the servants we saw was Berserker or Caster? That is¡­ ¡°Are you sure? Could it be that your grandfather was wrong? I can¡¯t see any of the servants we saw as either a berserker or a caster. Or as Hassan-i Sabbah for that matter.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Yes, me neither. That is why I assumed Mr. Sten was Caster.¡± Both of us look at Changer. He sits there, really calm. I didn¡¯t lie to you master. There can be no other Archer. I can¡¯t really figure this out. We simply lack information. ¡°Then, it¡¯s simple. One of those servants simply is not what he seems. We can¡¯t really go further without knowing more.¡± ¡°You may be right, sister.¡± There is a brief silence. I think a bit more, hoping I¡¯ll realize something I previously missed. It doesn¡¯t happen. So I ask: ¡°Sakura, do you have any clues about the identities of any others?¡± She¡¯s been speaking clearly since we arrived here. Maybe, being in her old home, once again, had some effect on her mentality. It might be that she feels more at home, and therefore is calmer. ¡°I might have.¡± ¡°Really? About which one?¡± ¡°Well, not actually about a specific one. It¡¯s just about something that happened before the war started; it might be important.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°You remember Uncle Kariya, sister?¡± Uncle Kariya. Mixed feelings surface within me when I hear that name. I remember the fun times we had when we were little. Back when Sakura was still with me. Uncle Kariya would bring presents to us every time he visited. He was a kind man, and was like a real uncle to us. Then he entered the previous Holy Grail War as an enemy of father. Kirei said that he was the one responsible for father¡¯s death, and even mother¡¯s condition. I should feel hate, but hating someone that I remember fondly and that already died because of the words of an untrustworthy fake priest is hard. ¡°Yes, I remember.¡± ¡°Do you know that he was the Matou master in the previous Holy Grail War? ¡°Yes, I heard from Kirei.¡± ¡°The thing is, grandpa said that the relic from the last war that Uncle Kariya used was, well, stolen a short time ago. We don¡¯t know who did it. But I think it would be safe to assume another master is responsible.¡± ¡°The relic was stolen?¡± I instinctively turn to Rider. Well, the Matous didn¡¯t win the last war. I guess trying another servant is understandable. Then, they found another relic to summon Rider? Damn, I didn¡¯t have even one. ¡°Yes. We had assumed that the master responsible would use it to summon the servant, but none of the ones we¡¯ve seen really looks like him.¡± ¡°Him? Whose relic was it? What was it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t actually know what exactly the relic was, but it was connected to the Knight Lancelot from the round table of King Arthur.¡± What!? I immediately turn to Changer. I think, for half a second there, he looked shocked, but it is quickly replaced by his usual calm expression. Then his head, still with his usual expression, slowly turns to me. Was it you? !!!!!!!! I can¡¯t even think properly. That was killing instinct. I¡¯ve only felt such killing instinct near the end of that fight on top of the central building, when Lancer prepared to use his Noble Phantasm. But this time, it was far too sudden and far too concentrated. I feel a sudden surge of fear taking me captive. ¡°N-No.¡± I can barely squeeze out an answer. Our eyes are locked. I hear someone saying something but it doesn¡¯t register. Finally, after a few seconds that felt like a whole life, I am released. Okay. Changer turns away. His killing instinct vanishes completely, as if it was never even there. ¡°I win, master.¡± He smiles broadly while looking at the other two. ¡°We had made a random bet, you see. I had guessed that someone had summoned a knight from the round table in the last war. What can I say? I am very lucky.¡± He turns to me. He has his smile on. Those few seconds only feel like some bad dream now, but I can still feel the fear. ¡°I want that tea by tonight, master.¡± Tea? Right, an explanation. I should- I should play along. ¡°He-heh! Very well. Never thought you¡¯d guess it right.¡± I turn to Sakura again, all ready and willing to leave this behind. ¡°Anyway, about that relic¡­¡± Sakura glances at Changer before continuing. ¡°Yes, about that. Ehm, I was expecting Sir Lancelot to appear as Saber, but none of the servants we saw looked like him.¡± ¡°Yes, none of them was Lancelot.¡± Changer comments. All of us turn to him. ¡°None of those wore plate mail, and that is what you¡¯d expect of any middle age knight, right?¡± Sakura continues: ¡°Yes, you are right.Although, come to think of it, I justassumed he¡¯d be Saber. But grandpa said, in the previous war, he was summoned as Berserker. Maybe this time too.¡± ¡°Sir Lancelot, as Berserker? Then, there is still a chance that he was summoned?¡± The broadest grin I have ever seen appears on his face. It is-it is creepy. ¡°I¡¯d very much like to meet him.¡± Day 4 – Sunday – Part 1 ¡°They were right, master. There is a boundary field here.¡± ¡°What kind of boundary field?¡± ¡°Just like they said. Anti-spirit.¡± It is night. We are at the foot of the stairs that lead to Ryuudouji Temple. Sakura said there is a boundary field around the temple that prevents any spirits from entering from any direction other than the stairs, so we came to check it out. She said Rider confirmed that the field was effective against servants. It sounds like an easy to defend place. There is a chance that some master is using this place as a base of operations. Changer extends his hand toward the trees. It is as if he is touching an invisible wall. He actually is doing just that. ¡°No servant can last long in there. Just entering would be enough to weaken me out of my comfort zone.¡± ¡°No way to approach but the stairs then.¡± ¡°Yes. Do we continue?¡± ¡°Of course. We haven¡¯t come here to turn back even before reaching the gates.¡± We start climbing. It is a long way up. The monks that live up there must be out of their minds, if they climb all these stairs every time they leave. It is actually kind of cool, how they are willing to endure hardships for the road they have chosen. I know a boy that attends my school from here. I feel like commending him a little. Just a little. He should be up there right now. If there is a master there, I wonder what they did to the monks. Could they be being controlled? Maybe the master is simply acting like some kind of guest? Ryuudou looked and acted like he always does yesterday. Yesterday. It was a long day. We watched a fight between two servants that I¡¯m guessing were Saber and Lancer. We saw another servant who may or may not be Heracles. We learned that one of the remaining servants might be Lancelot. I frown. We don¡¯t know anything concrete about others, do we? But these weren¡¯t all. We finalized our deal with Sakura. I definitely wouldn¡¯t want to fight with her. I¡¯d rather lose than hurt her. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t agree more with her decision to close herself off in her house and stay on the defensive. That way, she should stay safe till the end. I didn¡¯t expect her to know so much, but the information she provided was invaluable. Unlike father, who left almost no notes behind about The Holy Grail War, her grandfather seems to be willing to share his knowledge with her. For one, I thought the ley lines in the city only converged around my house. To think there were four places. Way to go about your teachings you fake priest. Could you be any more useless as a teacher? Existence of this boundary field was the second important thing I learned. Making this trip might lead to nothing, but we might also find one of our enemies, so it¡¯s worth a look. I shake my head. This is no time to go over the things you know, Rin. You are in a potentially hostile territory. Focus on your surroundings. I look around. We are still climbing up, the gate is still far away, and our sides are still covered with trees. There is really no reason for me to be vigilant actually. This servant of mine felt a servant from the length of a skyscraper away when he was passive, and half a city away when he was fighting. He is a magician too, and he can feel other masters or spells even better than I can. Even if I am vigilant, anything off I detect, he will have already detected it. I look ahead, to his back. He is currently in spirit form, but I got used to our connection so well that I can understand not only where he is, but even in what position he is standing and where he is looking. It feels very similar to actually seeing him. Yesterday, Sakura said that a relic bound to Lancelot was stolen, and I summoned Changer. Could it be a coincidence? Changer and I aren¡¯t really alike. Sakura didn¡¯t know what actually the relic was, but a relic for Lancelot functioning as a relic for Changer is not too farfetched, considering one is the other¡¯s killer. Then, what? Did whoever stole that relic plant it in my basement? To¡­ I don¡¯t know, maybe to ensure the summoning of a servant that was known to them? Then, was there an unknown relic in my basement that caused me to summon Changer? Impossible. The defences around my house were never broken. They would need to infiltrate in and out without me noticing. Assassin. I remember Changer¡¯s words from two days ago: ¡°Assassin could be in the house right now for all we know.¡± So, Assassin planted a relic in my basement, knowing that¡¯s where I¡¯d do the summoning and that I had no relic. Only to ensure I summoned Lancelot. Unlikely. Very unlikely. But possible. Otherwise, I simply summoned Changer as a coincidence. It too is very unlikely, but possible. Anyway. I should focus on the here and now. Suddenly Changer materializes, points his hand to the side and shoots something. I think I see something shaped like a little bow at his hand, but it quickly disappears, along with him. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°What?¡± I ask. ¡°A familiar. Someone was watching this place.¡± We don¡¯t stop. If someone is inside, they could have left it there to keep watch. Or, if anyone else knows about this barrier around the temple, or its condition as a location where fey lines converge, they might choose to keep watch on the place. It is not unexpected. We keep going up and reach the gate. Perhaps I¡¯ll get to see Changer¡¯s preparations. He asked for some time to prepare items before the next fight, so we spent the second half of yesterday and almost all of today in the house. I saw him taking some pebbles of the side of the road. He said he would make them into beacons. Similarly, I use jewels to store my spells, so I¡¯m interested in how he is planning to use them. We stop for a few seconds as Changer checks the gate for any traps. He doesn¡¯t find anything, so we go inside. It is the same as always, or so I¡¯d like to say, but despite living this close all my life, I¡¯ve never been up here before. The courtyard is empty. It is almost midnight, so it is normal. I expect the monks live according to the saying; early to bed, early to rise. I don¡¯t feel any magical presence, but they might be hiding. Perhaps Assassin and his master are around, keeping out of our sight. Perhaps not, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to look around. ¡°Master, I feel a servant downstairs. Along with the presence of a magician. They are coming this way.¡± * * * [Prelude ¨C Day ????] ¡°Welcome to Uruk, sir! The great city of the Sumerians, and house of the throne of the mighty King Gilgamesh.¡± The blonde tourist turned to the speaking man. He was pointing his hand towards some pitiful ruins as if there was something to see. This place was nothing like how he remembered it. ¡°This is Uruk? What happened to the rest?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, the rest fell against the deadliest and mightiest of all enemies. The great destroyer named time.¡± Time. Yes. Time was his greatest enemy too. He too had struggled against it, but like always, time was merciless. ¡°What about the lands? There were forests and green plains here.¡± The local guide who was too white to be a native started swinging his arms wildly. He was obviously trying to dramatize what he was saying, but instead he looked like a lowly mongrel, yes, like everyone else he met. ¡°Alas, time is not content with only the human-made sir. It consumes living things too. Almost all the plants and the wildlife also fell against it.¡± The blonde man turned back and started walking away. He had seen enough. ¡°Did you not like what you saw¡­¡± the man asked from behind him, with that irritating voice he had. Then he continued with a more serious tone and in another language: ¡°¡­oh, great King of Kings?¡± ¡°Wha-?¡± Gilgamesh attempted to turn back. That last part was in his own language! Ancient Sumerian! He saw that the man no longer wore the traditional garb, they had called ¡®disdasha¡¯. He now wore a full dark blue suit with matching necktie and a white shirt. But before he turned away completely, Gilgamesh was shocked once more as he was blown back into the air. He managed to turn in the air and land on his feet. He would normally be angry, but this time, curiosity far overwhelmed anger. Because, he was blown back by what appeared to be a magical attack. That should have been impossible. The accessories he had on him, like he always does, provided him with a total of close to EX rank magic resistance. No magic from this world should have been able to affect him! What¡¯s more, he still did not detect any magical energy from the man! This could only mean one thing. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked in his native language. The man in dark blue suit smiled and bowed. ¡°A thousand greetings, King of Kings. It is an honour to be able to introduce myself to you.¡± He raised and started approaching, slowly. ¡°Marcus Grayson, at your service. I have something I want from you.¡± He raised his hand towards Gilgamesh. Still smiling: ¡°Daika.¡± Current Statuses 1 As you know, not every servant that appeared has been given a status screen. While they are not necessary to keep the story going, even the original Fate Stay/Night visual novel has them, so I¡¯d rather include one for every servant. I will not update this thread when new details are revealed, for that would be spoiling things for latecomers. So, later on, after sufficient details are revealed, I plan to open the Current Statuses 2 thread. IMPORTANT WARNING: These tables show what Rin knows OR assumes of these servants. So, things Rin doesn¡¯t know, but are obvious to any reader that has seen any form of the original work, ARE NOT included. On the other hand, things Rin assume, but have not been confirmed in the story ARE included. (Except alignments. Rin knowing them or not is close to impossible to determine, so I¡¯ll just put them in. After all, they were immediately revealed in the visual novel too.)
MasterSexMale
ClassSaberHeight/Weight176cm 66kg
True NameAlignmentNeutral Good
StrengthCMagical EnergyD
EnduranceCLuckD
AgilityCNoble Phantasm
Class Abilities
Magic Resistance
Riding
MasterWoman from AssociationSexMale
ClassLancerHeight/Weight185cm 70kg
True NameAlignmentLawful Neutral
StrengthAMagical EnergyB
EnduranceCLuckE
AgilityA+Noble PhantasmB
Class Abilities
Magic Resistance CCancels all magic that requires less than two verses. Cannot block great magic or ritual magic.
MasterRin TohsakaSexMale
ClassChanger (In place of Archer)Height/Weight179cm 71kg
True NameStenAlignmentLawful Neutral
StrengthBMagical EnergyA
EnduranceBLuckB
AgilityCNoble Phantasm?
Class Abilities
Magic Resistance ACancels any magic A-rank or below.
Riding BHe can ride most vehicles and any beast below demonic or holy beast rank with above average skill.
Indepentent Action CIt is possible for him to stay in this world for a day after losing his master.
Territory Creation BCreation of a "Workshop" becomes possible.
Item Creation CHe can imbue small items to use them as pre-designated targets for spells casted later.
Personal Skills
Mental Adaptation AAbility of the mind to quickly adapt to changes. Allows fast reaction in situations where one would othervise be surprised. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.Also allows keeping up with faster enemies. Practically has an effect of decreasing the disadvantage of speed by up to two ranks.
MasterSakura MatouSexFemale
ClassRiderHeight/Weight172cm 57kg
True NameAlignmentChaotic Good
StrengthBMagical EnergyB
EnduranceDLuckE
AgilityANoble Phantasm
Clas Abilities
Magic Resistance
Riding
MasterSilver Haired Little GirlSexMale
ClassAssassinHeight/Weight253cm 302kg
True NameHeraclesAlignmentChaotic Good
StrengthA+Magical EnergyB
EnduranceALuckA
AgilityANoble Phantasm
Class Abilities
Presense Concealment
Non status-related note: I know the number of views is low, as I expected when I decided to write such a specific fan-fiction, but without a comment here and there, improving what I am writing is hard. Even if it is as short as, ¡°this chapter was nice¡± or ¡°that reaction was weird,¡± just comment away. Day 4 – Sunday – Part 2 ¡°Master, I feel a servant downstairs. Along with the presence of a magician. They are coming this way.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I turn back towards the stairs. It seems that the owner of that familiar was someone from outside. But, they sure reacted fast. Or maybe a master that normally stayed here just happened to return now. Guess, we¡¯ll find out. ¡°Aaaand, they turned back.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Wait, now they are coming back again. No, wait a second.¡± ¡°Which is it?¡± He pauses and knits his brows. ¡°Sten?¡± He suddenly turns towards and dashes past me. Before I can do anything, I hear a clang. It was low, but in the middle of the night, it was audible enough. I immediately turn back. ¡°An attack?¡± ¡°That was a distraction. To be clear, it was a sense distracting spell. I apologize for not noticing immediately and putting you in danger. I didn¡¯t expect such an indirect spell.¡± Sense distracting spell? Something like a non-sight version of illusion spells? ¡°Don¡¯t mind it. But what exactly does that mean?¡± He is scanning the temple with his eyes, looking for something. ¡°It means there is no servant downstairs. It means there is someone in the temple, watching us. It means that someone in the temple can cast sense distracting spells and can throw needles at someone¡¯s neck from afar.¡± Needle? That clang sound? Then¡­ ¡°It means we found Assassin and his master.¡± Assassin? Heracles? Heracles is throwing a needle from the dark? Can¡¯t be. ¡°It means there is something wrong with this war.¡± * * * [Interlude] I got him. Now! His servant fired one of the needles he prepared at the Tohsaka girl. The term fired was actually fitting here, because he was so skilled at this, that the needle he threw could match a bullet in its speed and accuracy. But the girl¡¯s servant still deflected it. He saw through it. But at least I¡¯m sure he hasn¡¯t detected your exact location. His servant stays mute and waits for an order from him. All right, let¡¯s do this. It might be risky, but now that they¡¯ve broken the lock, this is a chance to escape, and there is no way I¡¯m letting it go. His servant¡¯s muscles flex to their limit as preparation for a sudden charge. I¡¯ll go all out with illusions. They may attack when they hear my chant, so be prepared to dodge. When my chant finishes, charge. Yes, master. He is being carried in his servant¡¯s arms. With just that short answer, he becomes sure that his servant will do as he says. He begins chanting. [Interlude End] * * * ¡°It means there is something wrong with this war.¡± Yes, it would fit if Heracles¡­ Actually we¡¯re just assuming he is Heracles because of what Rider said, right? Anyway, it would fit if Heracles was Assassin. But, if another Assassin is here, that means one of the servants we saw was either Berserker or Caster. Then, is this one not Assassin? Changer keeps looking toward the temple, but it seems he can¡¯t detect anyone. I don¡¯t sense anyone either. This one definitely is Assassin. Changer doesn¡¯t go in. Well, if the enemy is Assassin, I¡¯d rather he stay with me. ¡°Let¡¯s go in, Sten.¡± ¡°No, master. Protecting you in a closed space against Assassin would be too hard.¡± I hear something. Like someone is murmuring something. With it, I start feeling magical energy converging. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°That¡¯s a chant. Stay behind me, master.¡± Changer steps in front of me and pulls out a bow. For the first time, I can clearly see the weapon he has as an archer. By pull out, I mean have it appear in his hand. No, that is wrong too. It doesn¡¯t appear in his hand. It¡­ grows out of his gauntlet? He is not actually holding it. The bow is attached to his left gauntlet and looks as metallic as his gauntlets and sabatons. He points it towards the temple, where I think that chant is coming from, and starts firing repeatedly. He is not using his right hand. The bow just fires arrows like rays of light, one after the other. Since he is firing to disrupt a spell, there is no reason why I shouldn¡¯t help. Anfang. I activate my magic crest, reach through it to the familiar Gandr curse, aim my arm towards the source of the voice, and start firing alongside Changer. But, the chant continues as its source starts moving. Changer and I keep firing side by side. As the source of the chant dodges, I see a dark figure moving at a speed beyond a human. Despite our continuous fire, the enemy completes the chant. With Changer¡¯s magic resistance, he should be safe against any magical attack. I take out one of the ten jewels I have, and get ready to negate the spell in case I am the target. Neither of us get hit. But shit happens. The dark figure multiplies in number. Now, many similar dark figures start moving around. Similar to that, the columns and the gate of the temple, little pebbles on the courtyard, even the trees I see from over the walls, all multiply and start moving around. It is obviously an illusion, so I send a wave of magical energy through my mind to dispel it. Although, I don¡¯t feel any interference in my mind. It is as if I am not the target of those illusions. But, I obviously am. So it should be possible to dispel it. I am quite confident in dispelling it. It doesn¡¯t stop. In just a few seconds, I start feeling sick. I close my eyes to keep myself from vomiting. I reach into the records in my magic crest and immediately cast a dispel spell at myself. It doesn¡¯t help. Changer, I can¡¯t dispel it. I hear a few clang sounds. The enemy must be attacking. Me neither, master. I¡¯m sorry, but defence is about all I can currently do. I hear more clangs. Apparently, Changer can still detect the enemy¡¯s attacks. I concentrate hard on finding the interference of the illusion spell in my mind. It is bound to exist. If I can find it¡­ The clang sounds stop. ¡°They ran.¡± I open my eyes. The grounds and the temple are back to normal. I can see no dark figures around. Changer¡¯s bow has vanished. ¡°What just happened?¡± ¡°They ran. It seems that was just a distraction to keep us from stopping them.¡± ¡°They?¡± ¡°Assassin was carrying a magician. A male, safe to assume his master. Assassin fired the needles, his master cast that spell. They ran.¡± ¡°Then, what? They felt threatened when we came, and just tried to escape?¡± ¡°Seems like it.¡± I look around. No reason left to search this place. If he had his workshop here, he wouldn¡¯t run. After all, he would have the advantage of a fortified position. They must have a base somewhere else, and were here only temporarily. ¡°But what was that illusion spell? Neither a magical energy wave, nor a dispel spell was enough to get rid of it.¡± He looks down, as if he is ashamed. ¡°I realized too late, but it must have been an area phantasmal creation, or whatever term you use for them in this age.¡± I look at him. I never heard of that term. He raises his head and locks his eyes with mine. ¡°You know, unlike affecting the mind of a target as usual illusion spells do, these create images in the area. The practical effect is the same; showing unreal images. But this affects the light in an area, so those images are visible for everyone. Dispelling them would require an area dispel.¡± Of course! I don¡¯t know the term, but I know those kind of spells. No wonder I couldn¡¯t dispel it. Those spells create images in an area that are visible to everyone. Therefore, any bystanders and even the one that cast the spell becomes confused. Normally, the goal of an illusion spell is to confuse the enemy. Affecting both parties doesn¡¯t give an advantage to anyone, so no one uses these kind of spells. Well, this master does. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s go.¡± Day 5 – Monday – Part 1 Today is Monday. Both Sakura and I bring our servants to school, so it is very safe. No sane enemy would attack when two servants are present. And last night, this Changer of mine proved he can deal with Assassin¡¯s attacks, so I am as relaxed as I could be. We met with Sakura and her servant in the lunch break, at the same rooftop we met two days ago, and I told them about last night. We all agree that one of the servants must be different from how it seems. Other than that, they weren¡¯t really any help in making sense of things. I¡¯ll summarize the problem. Until now, I saw six servants. I know the classes of Changer, who was summoned in place of Archer, and Rider, Sakura¡¯s servant. I¡¯m pretty sure of the classes of two others. One of them is the black figure from last night. He managed to conceal his presence from Changer, who once sensed two servants fighting from close to half a city away. He hid, and he threw needles. I¡¯d bet half my remaining money that he is Assassin. And if Sakura¡¯s grandfather is right, that means he is Hassan-i Sabbah. Therefore I call him a he, even though I never really got a good look at him. The other one I¡¯m pretty sure of is the beastly man in blue; the servant of that woman from the association. The inhumanly fast servant who uses a two-meter-long red spear and has magic resistance. He fits the Lancer class like a glove. Now, this is where it gets complicated. I saw two other servants. The Greek warrior that fought Lancer, and the big man we all assume to be Heracles. I¡¯ve never seen the seventh servant. The remaining three classes are Saber, Caster and Berserker. That Greek warrior used both a spear and a sword, which is weird in itself, but that means he could be a Saber, a Lancer or maybe a Rider. Since he did better with his sword than he did with his spear, and since the Saber slot is open, I had assumed he was Saber. That would mean Heracles, who we saw use a bow, is either Berserker or Caster. A giant body, a giant lion pelt around his shoulders, and a bow¡­ He definitely fits the Heracles image I have in my mind, and definitely does not fit the image of a Caster. But we saw him speak, even though we couldn¡¯t hear him, and he was smiling. I thought Berserkers were mad warriors that only knew how to crush things, much like animals. My head hurts. It all fits if we assume Changer is actually Caster, and Heracles is Archer, but¡­ I asked him once more. He said he is a hundred percent sure that he was summoned in place of Archer. No, no, no. If I don¡¯t trust even my own servant¡­ Changer told me the truth. He has no reason not to. I hope we¡¯ll reach answers soon. Otherwise, planning our moves will be hard. Right now, I have two choices. I¡¯ll either move out, search for the others, and hope that I¡¯ll stumble upon answers, or I¡¯ll wait and see rather than acting blindly. Finally, we reach my house. At least for today, I don¡¯t plan on leaving again. * * * [Interlude] ¡°Sakura.¡± ¡°Yes, brother?¡± ¡°May I come in?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Sakura was in her room, studying. She might be a master in the Holy Grail War, but that was no reason to neglect her studies. She had nothing better to do anyway, especially since she decided to remain holed up for a while. Her brother opened the door and entered. He was a handsome guy, had good grades, had decent athletic ability, and was popular with the girls. But when they were alone at home, he was different. Sakura put down her pencil, leaned back and turned towards her brother, Shinji. He looked at her bed, but decided not to sit. ¡°I have a favour to ask.¡± His eyes were involuntarily drawn downwards, but he forced them up and looked at his sister¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°I need information about a girl. I hear she is a freshmen.¡± Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. As always, Shinji reacted to her sigh by fidgeting where he stood. ¡°A girl again, brother? You do remember that I¡¯m a master now, right? I don¡¯t have time for¡­¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°I know that! But¡­¡± He continued more slowly as he realized his voice had come out louder than he intended. ¡°But, you are still going to school. It¡¯s not like you go fighting during breaks. You could learn about her.¡± Sakura sighed again. Her brother never had enough girlfriends. When he saw a girl he found attractive, he would definitely go after her. He was pretty good at it, and on the rare occasion when his efforts weren¡¯t enough, he would come ask Sakura for help. Until now, it had always worked out, except for the school¡¯s idol Tohsaka Rin, with whom Sakura had clearly refused to help. ¡°Very well, brother. But you owe me for this.¡± Shinji¡¯s eyes lit up with joy. Just as he acted like a different person than usual when he was with his sister, Sakura acted different from normal too. She was less shy, more dominant, and was unwilling to help without personal gain. Anyone who knew them from school would be surprised. ¡°Thank you, Sakura! I know neither her name nor her class, but I¡¯ll tell you all about her looks.¡± * * * ¡°Sakura, I have something to talk.¡± This time, it was Rider. ¡°Sure, Rider, let¡¯s talk.¡± The time was evening, after dinner. It had been half a day since they got that report about Assassin from the Tohsaka. Sakura was, once again, at her desk. This time, she was reading a book. ¡°It¡¯s about your sister.¡± Sakura closed her eyes and nodded. She was half expecting this. She gestured toward her bed. There was no other places to sit in the room. Rider remained standing. ¡°I know she is your sister, but I¡¯ll be honest, Sakura. I think¡­¡± ¡°She is lying to us. That¡¯s what you were going to say, right Rider?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I know, it doesn¡¯t fit.¡± ¡°I think her servant is Caster, and a crafty one.¡± Sakura sighed again. She had hoped to be wrong, to be missing something obvious, or to be thinking in a wrong way. But, to hear Rider give voice to what Sakura herself thought¡­ It eliminated that little hope. ¡°I agree. That flying field spell was a high-level thaumaturgy, worthy of a Caster. He interrupted sister¡¯s answer when I asked about his class. We haven¡¯t seen anything from him to show for being Archer. Besides, he being Archer instead of Caster doesn¡¯t fit what we¡¯ve seen of others.¡± She pauses. It pains her to admit it. ¡°It all points to the same thing. Sister is lying to me.¡± She stands up, and starts walking up and down the room. By now, she is talking more to herself and less to Rider. ¡°Perhaps, Mr. Sten is preparing a big ritual that they don¡¯t want us to know. She wouldn¡¯t allow anything large scale that would affect innocents, but maybe he is preparing a strong, single-target spell. Of course, a caster wouldn¡¯t have much chance in a straight up fight. That must be why they are lying, even to us. But it¡¯s not like we¡¯d go attack them if they told us. They must really have something else planned. They-¡± ¡°Calm down, Sakura. Don¡¯t get riled up.¡± Rider approaches Sakura and puts a hand on her shoulder. To anyone watching, they would seem like two sisters. Sakura stops, takes then releases a deep breath, and sits back down. ¡°You are right, Rider. I¡¯m calm now, thank you.¡± She looks Rider in the eyes. She now has a calm expression and strong determination in her eyes. ¡°How is the field going? Will it really be ready soon?¡± ¡°Yes. Unless I have to fight in the meantime, two more days will be enough.¡± Sakura nods. ¡°Good. Once it is fully complete, we won¡¯t have anything to fear from even those servants with high magical energy.¡± ¡°Yes. Good night, Sakura.¡± ¡°Good night.¡± Rider turns to her spirit form and leaves without even moving the closed door. Sakura closes her book and gets in her bed. ¡°If nothing goes wrong in these two days, only two things will be left that could endanger us. An Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, or an unknown, ritual-magic level spell that we can¡¯t possibly prepare for.¡± She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. ¡°A Caster, huh, sister?¡± Day 6 – That Night – Part 1 ¡°Master.¡± I hear Changer¡¯s voice as he jumps down and lands right next to me. It is past midnight; the first hour of the day. He was keeping watch for the night on the roof. I didn¡¯t tell him beforehand that we¡¯d be going out tonight. ¡°Come, Sten. I¡¯m tired of this. We won¡¯t be returning home before finishing of at least one enemy.¡± He simply nods and turns to spirit form. Good. This is not a night for questions. It is time for answers. And for action. ¡°We¡¯re going to the bridge.¡± We don¡¯t know the location of any other masters. We don¡¯t even know the outcome of the fight between Lancer and Heracles. We know too little to plan any kind of attack. So, we won¡¯t plan. We¡¯ll just come into the open and let others find us. It should be far easier than finding them ourselves. Lucky for us, we are not the only ones to think so. Ones we get to the bridge, I detect magical energy. There? Again? ¡°Master, the park near the bridge. Presence of two servants.¡± ¡°Yes. It seems someone put up a field too. At least one of the masters should also be there.¡± I keep walking. ¡°I feel The Greek Warrior and Heracles.¡± ¡°Good.¡± I keep walking. ¡°Do we-¡± ¡°Yes, we join in.¡± I keep walking. * * * [Interlude] ¡°Greetings, Master Heracles.¡± The Greek Warrior¡¯s eyes are locked on the other servant as he bows before him. He already has his armour on. His shield and spear are in his hands as his sword is swinging from his hip. The other servant grins. ¡°What¡¯s up, kid?¡± The Greek Warrior¡¯s hold on his spear tightens. Heracles turns his head to the side. ¡°Now, Illya¡­¡± There is a silver haired little girl sitting on his shoulder. She doesn¡¯t look any older than a ten-year-old, and is covered from head to toe with the pelt on his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m not getting off.¡± Heracles looks troubled. He opens his hands and speaks with his deep voice. ¡°Now, now. We talked about this before. I¡¯m about to fight, so just get off and watch from the sides, okay?¡± She closes her eyes and shakes her head, as she wraps the pelt around her even more. ¡°Your shoulder is comfortable, and his pelt is nice and warm.¡± She smiles. ¡°Illya¡­¡± Her eyes snap open. ¡°I¡¯m not getting off!¡± Heracles frowns and opens his mouth, but words don¡¯t come out. He then sighs and smiles. ¡°As you wish.¡± He turns toward The Greek Warrior, his smile still on his face. He sees that The Greek Warrior¡¯s hands are shaking. ¡°Master Heracles, are you seriously going to fight me with that kid just sitting there?¡± Heracles¡¯s smile makes way for a grin. ¡°Don¡¯t call my master a kid, kid. Or what? Do you think a kid will attract another kid and you¡¯ll actually manage to reach her? Only in your dreams, kid.¡± His whole body is now shaking. When he opens his mouth, even his voice shakes. ¡°Kid, kid, kid¡­ Enough! I am a servant! Even the world itself recognizes me as a hero! I won¡¯t have you treating me like this!¡± Heracles is silent. His grin remains, while Illya, with a smile on her face, has her eyes closed in the warm embrace of the pelt. This sight is the last straw. ¡°Master, prepare your reserves for three! Heracles, I¡¯ll wipe that grin off your face!¡± The Greek Warrior pulls his spear back in a throwing position. Then he throws it at insane speed, right upwards to the sky. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Drop anchor!¡± The spear he threw suddenly stops close to a hundred meters up in the air. It spins by itself into a horizontal position, and from its behind, start appearing the hull and sails of a ship. In a short time, the whole of a mighty antique ship is visible, standing in the air. His spear now serves as the ship¡¯s bowsprit. Its anchor drops near The Greek Warrior with a thunderous crash, and causes a cloud of dust to rise. Heracles is not impressed. ¡°So you called the ship. That means you are actually Rider. So? Will you make it crash into us?¡± The Greek Warrior is calm now. He even smiles. ¡°No, no.¡± He glares at Heracles. The determination and confidence in his eyes is apparent. Heracles raises a single brow. ¡°A ship is a tool, and even legendary tools become legendary because of their users.¡± He draws his sword and points it upwards. His voice is loud and strong. ¡°Crew! Answer my call and come aid your captain! Come forth, friends! Come forth, mighty heroes!¡± He points his sword forward, towards Heracles and Illya. ¡°Come forth¡­¡± His voice echoes like thunder. ¡°¡­Argonauts!¡± Heracles¡¯s eyes widen as he sees the shadows of three figures jump down from the hovering ship. Two of them land at the same time. One causes a dust of cloud with his landing, while the other one doesn¡¯t even make a sound. The third figure comes behind them, slowly descends, and lightly lands right next to The Greek Warrior. A young woman in a robe, with pointy ears and blue hair. ¡°You are very insolent to call for me, Jason.¡± ¡°Medea.¡± He has a lot more to say, a lot more he has to say, but not time. The second one, the one that landed without any sound, speaks, her eyes locked on Heracles. ¡°You called us against a very interesting foe, captain.¡± The one to answer her is Heracles, without even looking at her. ¡°Long time no see, Atalanta.¡± The last one, the one Heracles has locked his eyes on ever since he landed, speaks in a deep voice. ¡°Seriously, kid? You called me against myself?¡± [Interlude End] * * * [Interlude - Day 2] Music spreads through the air. The men in an indigo suit plays his instrument with such skill that one would think he was born with it. She had been a little girl once. A well-bred, fair little girl. Then she became a lady. Kind, beautiful, powerful and ambitious, too ambitious. And now, she is a servant, a servant to this cursed man. ¡°Aah, beautiful.¡± She closes her eyes and loses herself in the music, all the while cursing his name. Because, she is a servant. She is here to fight, not to sit back and relax. Even as her master, he has no right to bring such peace to her mind. His music is dangerous. She has a duty to be vigilant, but listening to the enchanting tune, her vigilance vaporizes. His music is simply magical. In fact, it must be really magical, for no bard she heard could play this beautifully. She wonders what suggestions he puts in, but she doesn¡¯t worry. She is loyal if nothing else. She will obey her master anyway, suggestion or not. The music ceases. She feels empty inside, like a child whose candy has just been taken. She opens her eyes to look at her master. He puts his instrument back in its case hanging from his belt. ¡°It is time, the summoning is done.¡± he says. ¡°Let¡¯s go see this Changer.¡± Day 6 – That Night – Part 2 ¡°What the hell is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bird, it¡¯s a plane, it is¡­¡° Changer makes a dramatic stop. ¡°¡­a ship!¡± We were making our way toward the park when a ship suddenly appeared in the sky right above our destination. A sailing ship, similar to the ones I saw in the books about ancient history. Well, the ship being ancient is no surprise since the servants in the park are the ancient greek duo, and it was obviously summoned by a servant. But to summon a ship¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean one of them is a rider? I push that thought out of my mind. I¡¯ll think about that later. Right now, there are other matters I must attend to. I frown, still looking at the flying ship that appeared out of nowhere. ¡°I can see that. There is no reason to mock me.¡± Changer pauses for a bit, as if he is confused. ¡°No, that wasn¡¯t my¡­ I apologize, master. It just¡­¡± I look at him. He is staring absently at my face. I doubt he is seeing me right now. ¡°It just came out of my mouth automatically.¡± His voice lowers to the point where I can barely hear him. ¡°Super-what? I don¡¯t remember hearing¡­¡± He shakes his head. His eyes, once again, are lively and focused. I don¡¯t understand what that was about, but it is unimportant. We resume walking. I stop again, when I see three figures jump down from the ship. No, that isn¡¯t quite right. Two figures jump down from the ship. A third one floats down. ¡°Sten, did you see that?¡± I try to understand what I just saw. Even though we can¡¯t see them from here, I can still feel them. Every single one of them has tremendous amount of magical energy. Surely, they can¡¯t be¡­ ¡°They are servants.¡± They can! ¡°What? How? Did three or four servants make an alliance?¡± I start running. I feel like sooner we can see them, more we will learn. Changer keeps up with me. ¡°No, two of the new ones feel unfamiliar. Those three must have been summoned by another. ¡°Summoning three servants? That should be impossible!¡± Changer shakes his head. ¡°They might be a famous team. If the famous leader of a famous team or group was summoned as a servant, I suspect his Noble Phantasm may be the summoning of the team itself. Like a rider summoning a horse to ride. Or a ship¡± I think on what he says. A ship. A famous team of servants and their leader. He says two of them are unfamiliar. That means one of them is familiar to Changer. Considering the servants we¡¯ve seen¡­ We stop as the park and the five figures in it come into view. With just one look, my suspicion is confirmed. * * * [Interlude] ¡°Excuse us for a moment.¡± Crew Heracles is unusually polite. It is a politeness that only comes out when he is speaking to himself. That doesn¡¯t happen often. Argonauts gather around Jason. Original Heracles crosses his arms and waits. This too is similarly an unusual politeness for him. ¡°So, Heracles, what does he have?¡± ¡°Which class is he? I can¡¯t say how much he has without knowing.¡± ¡°An archer, I guess. I am honestly not sure.¡± ¡°Archer¡­ All right, then don¡¯t get shot. Remember Chiron? Don¡¯t get shot.¡± When they hear Chiron¡¯s name, a spark of remembrance is visible in Jason¡¯s and Atalanta¡¯s eyes. They nod. Hydra¡¯s poison is well known to them. Medea doesn¡¯t really care. As a magician, she doesn¡¯t have much endurance anyway. Getting shot once is already dangerous enough for her as it is. Some poison doesn¡¯t matter much. ¡°And be ready for a salvo. As in, hundred arrows at once kind of salvo. You know¡­¡± They all nod, twice. All three of them has seen that move at least once. Heracles¡¯s chest puffs up a bit with pride. With his giant body, even that looks scary. ¡°And kid, Atalanta-¡± ¡°No kids.¡± ¡°All right. Cap and Atalanta, God Hand will likely be active.¡± All three pairs of eyes open wide. Mostly in shock, but also a bit in fear. God Hand, the blessing Heracles got after completing his twelve labours. It is a Noble Phantasm strong enough to endanger their whole group. Then, Medea¡¯s lips curl up for a grin. She sees where this is going. ¡°You two will pretty much be useless here, so sit back.¡± Both of them grit their teeth. Anybody can see that Atalanta is vexed. For a renowned Huntress, being unable to do anything against her next prey is as bad as it gets. On the other hand, Jason has a grim expression, as if he is being forced to do something he¡¯d rather not. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Well, Atalanta, you can try to shoot at his eyes to distract him at least. But Cap, you sit back like a captain and let us handle this. Medea-¡± Jason interrupts him with a voice that leaves no room for an argument. ¡°We¡¯ll attack the girl.¡± They all steal a glance at their enemy and the little girl. ¡°That kid on his shoulder? Why?¡± ¡°Because, she is his master. Rather than waiting in the side lines, we¡¯ll attack his master.¡± ¡°His master? Even so, she is just a little girl.¡± Jason ignores him and speaks to Atalanta. ¡°As a fellow member of can¡¯t even hurt him even if he was sleeping league, what do you say?¡± Atalanta smiles. ¡°No problem here, Cap. No matter the form or age, a prey I can hunt is fair game. Especially if her elimination means victory.¡± ¡°Then it is decided. Master Heracles, you and I will attack him head on. Huntress, you just keep firing at his eyes, and switch targets when you see an opening. Medea¡­¡± He pauses. His face freezes as he gulps and slowly turns to Medea. ¡°Took you long enough, Jason. That¡¯s right, what makes you think I¡¯ll help you?¡± * * * We¡¯re joining in, she said. We, she said. Then she left me. I understand that there are no masters out here she can attack, but why am I still going? Why would I just join in a four vs. one fight? But I don¡¯t retreat. I remain and keep watching them until a good chance to join presents itself. These new servants. Even if they introduced themselves, I missed it. By the time I got close, they were in some kind of strategy meeting. Although, by this point, it is easy enough to guess all their identities. All right, pebble beacons prepared beforehand, check. These colourful things Rin called confetti for the grand entrance, check. Plan about sharing enemies, check. A good chance, waiting. The park has some trees around it, but, just they would not be sufficient to hide them from view. The thing that keeps anyone with no magic from seeing them or getting close is the field currently set up in the park. I don¡¯t know who set it up, but Rin said such fields are common practice among maguses of this era, so it doesn¡¯t really matter. I am hiding close to the trees and keeping my magical energy from leaking. But assassin is not among my classes so I can¡¯t really do much about concealing my presence as a servant. If they weren¡¯t focused on each other, they would likely have noticed me by now. Or maybe they already did, and just don¡¯t care. I train my arm on Medea. She floated down; maybe she¡¯ll fly back up. I love hunting birds. * * * ¡°Now, there are three more.¡± Lancer clicks his tongue. His argument has just become null. ¡°How lucky we are, right Lancer? Now, you can¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± Lancer gets rid of the irritated expression on his face. ¡°Too bad, Bazett. Those newcomers came down to join a side. It just turned from a one servant against one servant to one party against one servant. I would still consider this a one-on-one.¡± Lancer nods contently. ¡°Lancer¡­¡± ¡°No, Bazett. I won¡¯t budge on this. I said ¡®if a third one appears¡¯ and I meant a third servant from among the original seven. Until one more comes out, I won¡¯t consider this enough of an opportunity.¡± As Bazett listens to Lancer, her face goes red. In the end she explodes. ¡°You never said anything about that! There are four servants down there! What more opportunity do you want?¡± She stops shouting, but she is obviously angry. Her next quiet words sound actually a lot more frightening. ¡°One more, Lancer. One more, and you¡¯ll do as you said you would. Pride is all nice and good, but letting golden opportunities go because of pride is too idiotic for me to accept.¡± Lancer¡¯s expression softens. ¡°Sure, master. I give you my word.¡± He then murmurs to himself, with a voice Bazett cannot hear. ¡°Although, I¡¯d be shocked if a servant was stupid enough to come out there.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Bazett suddenly points toward the park. If her pride didn¡¯t get in her way, she would be jumping up and down in joy. ¡°Look, Lancer! Look! Another one!¡± ¡°Oh, come oooon!¡± [Interlude End] Interlude – That Night ¡°Hey, Heracles.¡± ¡°Illya? What¡¯s up? Are you uncomfortable?¡± He moves his shoulder and tries to see whether there¡¯s something wrong with the position of the pelt. A small smile appears on Illya¡¯s face. ¡°No. No, his pelt is nice no matter how I sit. I was just wondering; I don¡¯t mind it but, why are you waiting?¡± Heracles opens his mouth, closes it unused, looks at Crew Heracles, turns back to Illya, and then answers. ¡°Well, he asked me to. It¡¯s only respect to his request. ¡°It¡¯s the law he goes by.¡± They hear Atalanta¡¯s words as she separates from the others and moves some meters to the side. Crew Heracles is also looking their way. Medea and Jason on the other hand, are still talking, or whatever. Atalanta continues. ¡°By right or skill. A lot of people gauge worthiness by that law. Worthiness for respect, for alliance, for thrones. Herc is among them. Anyone he shows respect has to be worthy by either right or skill.¡± Heracles is not looking at Illya. Since the opponents have started to move, he is focused on them again. But, he still continues Atalanta¡¯s words. ¡°Younglings are pure. They deserve respect. They deserve kindness.¡± He glances at Illya, who is intently listening. ¡°Once they grow up however, they become corrupt, one way or the other. Greed, arrogance, pure bastardness... They lose their right. Once they grow up, only way to deserve respect and kindness is by skill.¡± Two Heracles¡¯s share gazes. Atalanta mockingly smiles. ¡°So he only shows kindness to youngsters. And now himself. I¡¯d call that arrogance, but damn if I¡¯ve ever even heard of anyone more skilled than Herc, much less met one.¡± Two Heracleses raise their hands and, while grinning, send each other a double thumbs-up. Then, Crew Heracles objects. ¡°Saying only youngsters is wrong. I was quite a respectful little student to Chiron.¡± ¡°Little? Right. Anyway, Chiron is an exception. It is very hard to not be respectful to him.¡± ¡°Are you done? If so, I¡¯ll be starting now.¡± Medea has her cape on. Her face is now mostly in the dark and cannot be seen. Atalanta grins, but doesn¡¯t say anything. To her eyes that know neither dark nor obstacle, her blush is clear as day. Jason walks forward and stands right next to Crew Heracles. Everyone is silent for a few seconds, no one moves. Then, at the same moment, Medea takes off, Crew Heracles pulls out a giant club and rushes forward, Jason, moves right behind him with his shield and sword at the ready, and Heracles gets ready for defence with the same club in one hand and a part of the lion pelt in the other. Just like they moved, they stop at the same time. Because Atalanta fired three arrows at the same time, and all three found their marks. She shot down three arrows that were fired at Medea. ¡°Come out now. Did you think you could hide from me? Me? Behind a tree, no less?¡± All others turn toward where she is looking. Now that they know where he is, noticing him is not that hard. A man in dark blue robes, with shiny armour visible on his arms and feet comes out from behind a tree. Then they are all startled by a sudden bang sound. Little, colourful things come out of a cone-shaped device the man is holding, and fall around him like rain. He comes closer, while throwing more of those things all around him. They make a nice spectacle. ¡°Confetti! I love those!¡± Illya exclaims with an exited tone, while clapping her hands. None of the others react. ¡°Confetti? You know, in parties?¡± They look at Illya, unknowing. Illya pouts with her cheeks blushing. Her voice is now small. ¡°I like those.¡± The newcomer finishes making the place more colourful. ¡°Greetings. My master said confetti was an absolute must for parties of this age. So¡­¡± He opens his arms wide and looks around him. ¡°So I went and grabbed some before rushing here. Mind if I join your party?¡± ¡°You know him?¡± Jason opens his mouth to answer, but he realizes that all three of his crew are looking at Heracles. He shuts up as veins appear on his temples. Heracles tilts his head. Only Illya recognizes him. ¡°Heracles, he is one of the ones you shot down before you fought that blue guy.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, Heracles. I was even the one that prepared that field. That wasn¡¯t nice; we were just looking.¡± Heracles laughs. ¡°Hahahah! I thought cowards, who didn¡¯t even have the courage to join had no business watching us. But, now I feel bad about it. You must actually have guts to come out here now. Although, you were once again watching from the sides.¡± ¡°Make no mistake. This time, I came with every intent to join.¡± He swiftly raises a hand, and a few arrows fly toward Medea. Even though he is closer to his target now, they are still shot down by Atalanta. Medea acts like nothing happened. As if Atalanta covering her is as natural as it gets. Atalanta frowns. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Hey now. Even we are waiting. Don¡¯t go interrupting your own introduction.¡± ¡°Wow. Nice reflexes. The Renown Huntress Atalanta, correct?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You have a very well trained and very nice looking body. I apologize for trying to hide from you and making you go out of your way to shoot down my arrows. Would you mind joining my side?¡± Atalanta just frowns. The newcomer fires some more arrows, this time at Jason. They are also shot down. Like Medea, Jason acts like this is normal. Neither Atalanta¡¯s nor the newcomer¡¯s expression changes. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry. I just wondered whether you also covered the others.¡± He bows to everyone present, one by one. ¡°King Jason. Heracles. Medea. Atalanta.¡± He then turns to Heracles and Illya. ¡°Heracles. Young miss, do you mind a temporary alliance? To balance the numbers, if nothing else.¡± ¡°You are Rin¡¯s servant?¡± Medea raises her hand toward them, but Crew Heracles raises a hand to stop her and the others. ¡°They waited for us, we should wait for them.¡± The newcomer¡¯s brows rise temporarily before he smiles. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you know, but yes. I am.¡± ¡°There is no need. My Heracles is the strongest. A few more enemies won¡¯t be a danger.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be helping you, whether you like it or not. I doubt there is anyone here that would want to gang up on me five on one?¡± Nobody objects. ¡°I would have my adversary introduce himself before killing him. Who are you, servant?¡± ¡°You may call me Sten. The servant Archer, Sten.¡± He answers Jason. Then he turns to Atalanta and Medea. ¡°But I¡¯m actually no one important. Don¡¯t mind me. You gentlemen just continue as you would. I¡¯ll be over here¡­¡± He smiles. ¡°¡­entertaining the ladies.¡± Then it starts. Sten fires a few more arrows at Medea as he starts his dash forward. Atalanta shoots down his arrows almost effortlessly and even fires some of her own. Purple balls of energy appear behind Medea and aim at Sten. Crew Heracles dashes toward the one more similar to him than a twin. Jason dashes right behind him to give him support. Heracles doesn¡¯t mind this. Fighting himself should be a lot of fun, and the less obstacles, the better. Besides, the only enemy that can get past the pelt and attack Illya directly is Medea. So someone else keeping her busy is fine by him. Two Heracles¡¯s clubs strike each other, and that first blow shakes the whole area. Jason, closest one to the point of impact, barely manages not to stumble. Atalanta and Sten, both in the middle of their dash, each has to skip a step. Medea, being above the ground, is least effected, but the resulting air wave is enough to shortly delay her spell. The Crew Heracles is pushed back. He lacks some of his skills and all his Noble Phantasms because he was summoned as part of Jason¡¯s Noble Phantasm rather than as an original servant. Even so, he is receiving sufficient magical energy, so his stats shouldn¡¯t be inferior to the original. But he is still pushed back as his strength falls short of matching the original. Jason arrives just after their clash and swings toward Illya. With a slight move of Heracles¡¯s arm, his sword hits the pelt, and bounces off without any effect. Jason¡¯s strength and weapon may be unable to get through Heracles¡¯s skin or the famous pelt he is wearing, but he still hopes to be able to make up for the difference between two Heracles¡¯s. Although, to finish the fight, he knows that he must kill Heracles a total of twelve times. And every time with a different method. Neither he nor Atalanta can even hurt him, so it¡¯s up to Heracles and Medea. Even if his Heracles gets the better of the other one once, Medea is their only chance for the other eleven times. Originally, they had a fair chance. He and Heracles would keep him busy, Atalanta would be the group¡¯s cover against his arrows, and Medea would prepare and fire one big spell after the other to decrease his spare lives. Medea is key to their victory. No matter what, they must keep her safe. He wants to go to her help now, but if left alone, enemy Heracles with his Noble Phantasms is bound to overwhelm the other. If they lose him, Atalanta and Jason by themselves cannot keep Heracles away from Medea. It would mark their defeat. This newcomer may ruin everything. Even so, Jason is hopeful. Atalanta¡¯s skill with the bow and Medea¡¯s spellcraft are unmatched. Neither rely on their Noble Phantasms and they are used to battling together. They will surely get rid of this nuisance called Sten. For now, Jason does what he can and activates his other Noble Phantasm. ¡°Heracles, The king now declares his next quest. This time, the goal of The King¡¯s Journey is that girl on your shoulder! No obstacle shall remain in my way!¡± ¡°Come, Jason. Let us see you try.¡± Next Interlude – That Night That mocking face. Jason¡¯s sword harmlessly bounces off from the pelt. She is laughing. It bounces off again. The girl is freaking laughing. Bounces off. Again. That white shrimp is enjoying this! Again. Jason grits his teeth so hard, it hurts. He grips his sword so hard, he bleeds. The situation is so familiar, he remembers. Argonauts. His crew. The crew he gathered .The crew he commanded. They were the best of the best in their era. In their voyage together, they overcame one obstacle after the other without fail. Seas and mountains, men, beasts and unnatural monsters¡­ Nothing could stand in their way. Again. They were too good at their job. Jason, in his inexperience and arrogance, had made a lot of mistakes. But they were no trouble. He could have made twice as many mistakes and his crew would still be fine. It was supposed to be a gruelling journey that tested his worthiness for the throne. Instead it was a vacation with over-skilled friends. Some dog could have taken his place, and with that crew, it would have likely succeeded. Again. All right. That was probably exaggeration. But still, Jason was nothing special. Half of his crew could have led them as well as he did. And the other half would have made an even better job. Sure, he was the one to overcome some of the obstacles. Like those fire-breathing bulls. But it wasn¡¯t because he was the only one that could do it. It was more akin to the youngest of a family taking care of some menial tasks. Not because others couldn¡¯t do it, because it was his responsibility as the leader. Again. And the worst was Heracles. Before Jason set sail, during his preparation, they heard Heracles was on his way to Iolcus. Before he even arrived, the elders of the city decided to leave the leadership of the journey to him. It was Jason¡¯s journey, and he had no say in the matter. By right or by skill. The journey itself was a ploy invented by Jason¡¯s uncle Pelias, who denied his right to the throne of Iolcus, and wanted him to prove his skill. It was supposedly for Jason to show that he was worthy to be king. But the only reason Jason actually got to lead his own journey was because Heracles had flat out refused the responsibility. Again. Young Jason was arrogant. Just like Chiron had told him, just like time had proved. He was swimming in self-confidence. At the time, he had not noticed this. He was so full of himself that he hadn¡¯t realised his succeed was a given with a goddess and numerous demigods and heroes at his side. No, he hadn¡¯t mattered. He had realized this only after they returned. By himself, he couldn¡¯t even hold his throne he had supposedly won by bringing the Golden Fleece. Without his crew, he couldn¡¯t do anything. Even now¡­ Against Lancer, he had lost. Even using one of his two Noble Phantasms wasn¡¯t enough. He had simply crushed him with his superior skill. Alone, he couldn¡¯t do anything to him. His only chance against him would be his other Noble Phantasm: His crew. Even now¡­ He is facing one of his crew. And guess what? He can¡¯t even touch him! Only way for him to even dream of victory is by calling his crew for help. Again! ¡°Raaaaargh!¡± He gathers all his strength, and this time swings at Heracles¡¯s face. It bounces off. * * * Sten is stuck. His attacks don¡¯t work, and even though he can defend himself right now, that is bound to change. His combat tactics sense says, go for the magician. One can expect a swordsman to strike with a sword, a spearman to stab with a spear, or an archer to fire arrows. But most times, foreseeing what a magician will do is simply impossible. A decent magician will have multiple different ways to attack, not to mention many other non-direct methods to harm enemies and help friends. And this one, Medea, is beyond a decent magician. Sten must take care of Medea quickly, or who knows what she will do. Even with his A rank magic resistance that can negate any kind of quick spell she may cast, she will undoubtedly find a way to kill him. Maybe she¡¯ll summon some monsters. Magic resistance would not help against summoned beings. Or she may lift up some rocks or trees and throw them at him. That would work because it would be a physical attack. Or she may turn Atalanta into a mass of muscle that can punch him to death. Stolen story; please report. Sten would have laughed at that mental image if not for the arrows coming his way, this time from rear left. He ducks and defends with his left arm. Two arrows go past him and one connects with his gauntlet. Meanwhile he is hit by one more magical blast. It simply dissipates as it gets close so he doesn¡¯t care. Atalanta is a beast with her speed. By the time he defends against those three arrows, he hears the release of a bowstring from his rear right. She is far faster than him. But she is against the wrong opponent. Difference in speed is something Sten can deal with. He holds his own just as he did in his fight against Lancer. However, that doesn¡¯t mean he can go on the offensive. On the rare occasion he can attack, he fires his own arrows at Medea, but they are immediately shot down. Even if he fires when Atalanta is behind him, his arrows can¡¯t go through. Arrows don¡¯t work, so obvious next step for him should be melee attack. But this presents some problems as well. Atalanta is clearly faster than him on her feet. And she fires her arrows while sprinting around. Charging at her would be as futile as infantry running after a chariot archer. On the other hand, Medea is in the air. Since Sten cannot fly, only way to for him to reach Medea is by jumping. That would be unwise, because dodging mid-jump is impossible. Atalanta can shoot down arrows in mid-air; she can obviously shoot him before he reaches Medea. He can defend himself while he is on his feet, but in mid-air, he¡¯d be a sitting duck. It seems he may have to stop fighting as just an Archer and go full Changer on them. Medea stops using her favoured Rain of Light spell. All of her rapid-fire magical blasts are A rank attacks. Casting even a single one of them would require a modern magus a magical circle, ten lines long chant and one minute of casting time. Even a single direct hit would be enough to obliterate the body of a servant. But they don¡¯t even touch him. Sten must have at least A rank magic resistance. It appears stronger attacks or indirect spells will be necessary. Medea takes out a handful of teeth from one of her pockets. These are the teeth of the famous Colchis Dragon that stood guard around the Golden Fleece. Down there, Atalanta is putting pressure on Sten. She wonders how well he will hold up after this. She spreads the teeth all around them. They vanish before they touch the ground, and from the spots they would have fallen, a dark mist starts oozing out. It doesn¡¯t go above ankle-height, but is thick enough to make the ground non-visible. Sten isn¡¯t late in realizing the mist. It must be a trap, but why are they visible? What is the point of making a visible trap? Could it be a simple bluff? Just to limit his movements? The spots with the mist are all around him, from a single step to about ten meters away. For now, he¡¯ll simply stay away from those spots. But it is not that easy. For the first time since their battle began, Atalanta stops running around. This time, rather than her usual double or triple shots, she pauses for a second and lets loose a salvo of close to ten simultaneous arrows. Sten is not about to get hit just because the number of arrows increased. He takes a weird pose. It would likely be funny if he had done so under different circumstances, but now it causes the majority of arrows to barely miss him. He has to block only three arrows. One witch each arm and the last one with the armour on his raised leg. He is unhurt, but three arrows while he is on one leg is too much. He involuntarily takes half a step back and barely manages to keep his leg away from the misty spot right behind him. His foot touches the cold hard ground right next to the mist. Atalanta doesn¡¯t resume moving, instead, she prepares a second salvo. Sten tries to move his foot away from the mist before that. Tries. It doesn¡¯t move. A bony hand has come out from the mist and grabbed his ankle. Not stepping on it wasn¡¯t enough. Sten stumbles. An irreparable mistake. Two arrows find their marks; one to the shoulder, one to the upper leg. Third Interlude – That Night Atalanta is relentless. She doesn¡¯t allow her prey any rest, and she fires another salvo right after the other. Now that Sten¡¯s leg is wounded, he cannot hope to dodge them. Blocking or deflecting all of them with just his arms would also be impossible. He doesn¡¯t hesitate. If the choices are dying or revealing some of his hand, it¡¯s not even a choice. He ignores the pain from his wounds and raises his hand. Without uttering anything, with just a mental command, a barrier appears in front of him. Atalanta¡¯s arrows strike at the barrier and bounce off; it lets no arrows pass. The barrier he used is most widely known as a force field. It is transparent and serves a very simple function. It counters any physical force applied on it. Its function is very similar to that of a real material wall as long as defence against physical projectiles is concerned. But it is not designed to stand against rapid-fire A rank magical blasts. Medea fires three magical energy blasts right after Atalanta¡¯s arrows. She may not hurt him, but strong magical energy currents like her blasts are sure to dissipate Sten¡¯s hurriedly casted barrier. It actually tanks one blast, which is praiseworthy in itself, but the second shatters it. Third one simply passes through and vanishes as it reaches him. Another salvo of arrows come right then. Sten guards his two vital spots, but five different arrows pierce different parts of his body. ¡°Grrrrhg!¡± Like the ones from before, they immediately vanish and blood pours out of his wounds, but none is fatal. The reason for that is as simple as it gets. He is a servant. Servants are spiritual beings. They do not function the same way humans do. Damaging their organs will not be enough to defeat them. There are only two ways a servant can be killed: Heavily damaging or outright destroying one of the servant¡¯s two spiritual cores or depleting its whole energy store. Spiritual cores are located where a human¡¯s brain and heart are. Sten guarded those two with his arms, so both are undamaged. A single arrow to one or the other would finish him while ten arrows to the rest of his body would not. The second way, depleting the energy, is more common. As servants move, they spend magical energy. More so when they fight, and even more when they get wounded. Even if a wound, such as the one Sten suffered on his leg, renders one of their limbs useless, they can heal it quickly. But it costs energy. And even the most cost-effective servant with the best master would eventually run out. ¡°Hmmph!¡± The blood flow stops. While any servant can heal fast, Sten¡¯s is almost instantaneous. He used a healing spell. Now that he already used a barrier, it is too late to try to hide his spellcasting abilities. Kacharano. Arrows of the next salvo passes through where he just was, as he jumps without even changing his position. Even the famed huntress Atalanta, who can masterfully hit moving prey by observing their stances to predict their moves, completely misses him. Sten soars toward Medea. But his enemies are not so slow that he can reach her. Medea reacts quickly and flies further up, away from his route of movement. At the same time, four arrows fly toward him, now that he has no chance to dodge. The spell he used is a very simple movement magic. Not flight, it is more akin to an instantaneous push. Not jump, it requires no hard ground. A second use, this time more powerful, allows him to completely change his course. He flies, quicker than before, and this time toward Atalanta, whose arrows pass harmlessly from where he would have been. Atalanta has no time to fire. She has to get away, but has time for only two steps at most. She steps back and uses her bow to parry his fist. Daika! His favourite spell. It means ¡®force¡¯ in... He¡¯s not sure what language, but that does not matter. It simply applies instantaneous force, just like a sudden push. It can be used on an area, but he usually uses it on a point for maximum effect. When it is used the moment his punch connects with its target, the blow becomes far more powerful than it would normally be, to the point of breaking the blocking arm of a stronger servant. When it is used the moment an enemy blow connects, it could neutralize the impact, to the point of stopping a stabbing spear. Or disregarding an attempted parry. Atalanta¡¯s bow simply stops when it touches his arm and fails to change its course. She ducks to the side. Luckily, his fist just grazes past her. She runs, and now that his charge has stopped, she has no trouble putting some distance between them. She pulls the string of her bow and¡­ No, his fist grazing past her wasn¡¯t luck or skill on Atalanta¡¯s part. That was Sten¡¯s plan. Rather than landing a non-fatal punch that was half-dodged, he chose to aim for the bow¡¯s string. Now it is no more than a sturdy, high-quality stick. Servant¡¯s bodies may heal, but their weapons cannot automatically repair themselves. She won¡¯t be firing anymore arrows in this battle. ¡°Don¡¯t go becoming useless, huntress.¡± She hears Medea¡¯s voice and frowns. Even now, she is far from helpless. No one could become a real huntress without mastering the use of hunting knives. ¡°Speak after you do something, princess.¡± She draws a simple looking curved knife from her boot, and gets ready. Sten tries to follow her but is interrupted by an approaching sword. He ducks. His punch shatters the jaw of his assaulter. It attacks again. It stops only after Sten uses a sweeping kick to scatter every bone of its torso all around. He clicks his tongue as dozens more take the place of the one he defeated. From every misty point Medea created, a skeletal warrior has emerged. They are all around him. Their weapons rise threateningly. ¡°Hahahaha! You can now entertain them, you rude man.¡± He hears the mocking laugh. He doesn¡¯t know what else Medea has prepared in the meanwhile, but he at least got rid of Atalanta¡¯s arrows. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Daika!¡± The shockwave spreading from his mouth sends his closest two enemies flying. The third is destroyed by a flying swordsman. * * * After slowing down by crashing into some random skeleton, Jason rolls on the ground for some distance before finally stopping. His shield-arm aches like he was just hit by a Heracles, because it was. He stands up and looks ahead. The two colossi he was near before he was sent flying are still fighting. It is a battle of giants, not suitable for a man. Closer to him are the newcomer in robes, now bloody robes, and the dragon tooth warriors he is all too familiar with. ¡°Jason!¡± He hears Medea¡¯s voice. Before he says anything, he takes one more look at the giants. Their weapons clash and create a shockwave that would shame any battering ram. No. ¡°Medea, switch!¡± * * * Sten uses a kick supported by magic to stop a shield bash, while at the same time blocking a sword. Medea left her skeletal warriors behind when she went off to join the two demigods. They would not be much trouble by themselves, but combined with a full-fledged melee servant like Jason, they cause problems. Besides, Jason is enough of an irritating opponent by himself. Usually, getting used to dealing with Sten¡¯s sudden force spell in melee is hard, but he had no trouble. As if he knows just when and how he will use it. He blocks and counters in the most effective way. His bow is not much use either. Skeletal warriors and a melee warrior with a big shield. They are not really opponents he would prefer to face with a bow. The few times he tried to shoot at his feet, he predicted and blocked it easily. Perhaps he should use something other than just magic, fists or bow. He is Changer. While he does not want to reveal much, he does have more than two classes, and losing the war because he held back would be pretty dumb. He punches the shield a few more times. It doesn¡¯t feel like anything special. Sure, it is very sturdy to have only some slight dents after taking hits from Heracles, but it is not Noble Phantasm level. He should be able to make a scratch on it. A scratch would be enough. He takes a sudden step back in preparation for his attack, and that saves his life. An arrow passes by, scratching the side of his head. Atalanta. How? Did she carry a spare string on her, or something? No way. ¡­ Actually, why not? He sidesteps against a possible follow-up, but doesn¡¯t turn around. That¡¯s because the moment the arrow passed, Jason started charging at him. He instead locates Atalanta¡¯s magical presence. Sten counters Jason¡¯s attack with an unusually strong daika spell. That way, he has the chance to take a look at Atalanta and defend. When he turns toward her presence, all he sees is one of the skeletal warriors. Then an arrow passes from the small space between its ribs and flies toward him. He barely dodges. He gets even more cornered as the skeletal warriors, Jason and Atalanta keep attacking him with combination attacks. Obviously, they are used to fighting together. He can¡¯t keep this up. If he can take Jason out, the others will likely disappear. It¡¯s all or nothing now. It is time to put the idea he entertained earlier into action. He concentrates hard on the presences around him, he has to keep his hand free and dodge any attacks. He charges at Jason. Jason retreats, but he won¡¯t let him escape. He dodges Atalanta¡¯s arrows, and the skeletal warriors¡¯ attacks. He pulls his hands back. The later he uses it, the more likely it will work as he intends. He stops. Ha? Why? He cannot move. Am I bound? Is it magic? No, there is no magic affecting me. The space! The space around me... Jason stops as the ends of his lips curl upward. ¡°Hahaha! Knew that was the spot.¡± Medea! Even when she is gone, she is trouble. First the skeletal warriors, now this trap. Against someone with high magical resistance, this trap is genius. It doesn¡¯t directly affect him. It immobilizes the space around him to stop any and all movement. Jason approaches, his sword at the ready. The spell would likely stop his sword, or Atalanta¡¯s arrows before they actually struck Sten, but he can¡¯t take the chance. The armour on his gauntlets start moving. Like liquid metal, they flow through his body, one to the front side of his chest, other toward the nape of his neck. He cannot move, but he is not about to wait like a sheep to be slaughtered. Until he frees himself, he covers both his chest near his heart, and his whole head with armour. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Jason¡¯s voice doesn¡¯t reach him. His ears, and all the rest of his head is now covered in armour. With all his visible body parts covered, he looks more like a red statue than a human being now. ¡°How did he do that? The space is immobilized right? Shouldn¡¯t that armour¡­ or whatever that is, fail to materia¡­¡± Jason stops, as he understands. ¡°Brutal.¡± Atalanta¡¯s words confirms it. He didn¡¯t cover himself in armour. The space around him, even just above his skin, would not allow movement. So the armour didn¡¯t move around his body. It moved through his body. The armour¡¯s original colour is likely not red. ¡°That¡¯s sick.¡± Both of them saw him blocking swords and arrows with his gauntlets. If the newer parts of his armour are anything like those, it is true that they cannot take him out easily now. If the rest of his body, under his robe, is also covered in armour, he might as well be as invincible as Heracles. But if he flayed the skin on all his body with that armour¡­ Then, everything blows up. Stalling Announcement (Max two weeks) Just as the title says. I need some time before continuing, so i''m taking a short break. I''ll add the next chapter before the month ends, unless I am attacked by some passing servants because of witnessing their fight.(Or any other unforseen accident happens.) Day 6 – That Night – Part 3

Day 6 ¨C That Night ¨C Part 3

Sten! I shout both vocally and mentally. Of course, shouting out loud from where I am is meaningless. This mobile boundary field he prepared for me cancels out my voice. Besides, I am too far for him to hear my voice. But he hears my mental message. What? Sten! He is gathering magical energy. I think he is about to use his Noble Phantasm. What? From over there? Yes. He hasn¡¯t moved yet. Damn. Right when this trap activated. All right, here goes. Trap? What trap? No worries, master. I got this. I need to cut the connection for a while though. Cut the connection? Sten- I feel our mental link weaken. I am still supplying him with magical energy, but my mental messages no longer reach him. Come on. At least give me some explanation for once. I look up once more. The amount of magical energy he collected is enormous. Whatever he has planned must be big. I realize I¡¯m biting my lip. I stop before I draw blood. I can¡¯t really fault Sten. I don¡¯t know what that trap he mentioned was, but I get it. He can¡¯t afford giving lengthy explanations in the middle of combat. I¡¯ll have to ask him when this is over. Although, by that time, it will be over, and won¡¯t matter anymore. He must have cut our mental connection so that I don¡¯t distract him. Or... Along with communicating from afar mentally, a master and servant can also share their senses. Normally, whenever I want, I can see what he sees, hear what he hears, and so on. Now I can¡¯t do that. Could it be that he is in a bind now? That sense sharing also includes senses other than the main five, such as pain or fear. That is the reason the servants can feel it when their masters are in danger, and the masters can feel their servants¡¯ pain when they get wounded. Could it be that Sten is in a bind right now, and has cut our connection to spare me the pain? I roll up my sleeve. My command spells shine as my will focuses on them. I taste blood. Before I realized it, I¡¯ve bitten my lip again. No, Rin. Trust your servant. He said he got this. I look up again, my sleeve still rolled up. The classes of servants. There is obviously something wrong in this war, and I can¡¯t think of anyone other than him that may be responsible. He is Changer, an irregular servant. There is also the story he told about his identity. It was simply an unbelievable story. He is definitely suspicious. And now, could he have cut the connection to do something that he doesn¡¯t want me to know? Can I really trust him? Yes. Even when I gave him the unreasonable order of joining in a fight between five servants, he obeyed. And when I asked him, he even promised not to return home before taking out a servant. If what he said is true, if he really aspired to be a knight, he can¡¯t go back on his promise. Yes. I can trust him. Whether I should or not doesn¡¯t matter. I can, and I will. He said he got this. I will trust him, and I will not use a command spell. Right in front of my eyes, the enormous collection of energy moves. I feel it go, as I see something red fly, right toward Sten and the others. I don¡¯t lose any time. My command spells shine brighter than before. ¡°Sten, come to me!¡±

[Interlude]

Lancer lands with a muffled thud. ¡°Wow, you really threw it all the way there, and with such precision.¡± Bazett looks genuinely impressed. Lancer beams with pride.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Heh. Of course I did. Now, master, I¡¯ll be leaving.¡± ¡°Yes. Go on ahead. I¡¯ll be right behind you.¡± Lancer jumps. Although he just threw it, his trusted spear is again, in his hands. He lands on a lamppost and makes his way to the other side of the bridge by jumping from one lamppost to another. This allows him to keep watch on the park while crossing the bridge. What was he thinking? ¡®Heh. Of course I did.¡¯ What was that? He was supposed to be angry at his master for making him use a sneak attack like that. But with one compliment, he had forgotten all about it and let pride take control of his mouth. He is so fast that, by the time he reaches the park, the smokescreen is barely clearing. He has come ahead of his master to ensure his kills, and to finish of anyone still alive. He prefers attacking his enemies head-on, but¡­ one shot, six servant kills. Just to be able to say that would feel great. Perhaps that is why he cannot stay angry at his master. One shot, six servant kills. That is his hope, but not his expectation. It sounds too good to be true. At least one or two of them should still be alive. Finishing of wounded enemies. It is not a heroic job, fit for a servant, but Lancer has been to many battles. He knows it is necessary, albeit distasteful. A great crater, some uprooted trees, other signs of a fight between beings exceeding human limits¡­ Bazett said the field should keep any outsiders away, but can¡¯t they really see it? Anyway, it is none of his business. Lancer scans the park. He both uses his eyes to search for any figures among the still-clearing smoke, and tries to feel any presences. It doesn¡¯t take him long to locate one. ¡°What?¡± He is standing there. As smoke clears, Lancer starts seeing his condition. Nothing. No trace. Heracles is standing there, the little girl on his shoulders, both looking as healthy as they ever were. There is not a wound on them. Lancer tries to understand. ¡°Why? Why are you standing there like nothing happened?¡± ¡°This is your doing, Lancer? Heracles¡¯s voice is as cold as ice. This time, it promises death. Lancer doesn¡¯t answer. They stare into each other¡¯s eyes; it is enough. Heracles pulls out a great bow. It is as tall as a grown man, and is made from bones, rather than wood. It is a bow he made for himself after his famous struggle against the hundred-headed hydra. It normally requires three grown man to just pull the bowstring, and can fire arrows faster and farther than any other bow of its time. ¡°That stunt you pulled endangered my master, Lancer. It was foolish of you.¡± ¡°What can I say? When I saw you guys all together like that, I couldn¡¯t help using something large-scale. Besides, look around you. You are the only one left standing. Five out of six, or two out of three if you don¡¯t count those latecomers. You can¡¯t say it wasn¡¯t a success.¡± ¡°Others did not come close to hurting Illya. You did. They do not matter. But you? You will die.¡± Heracles bends his knees, and jumps, shaking the earth. In mid-air, he nocks an arrow and pulls the bow¡¯s string. His words themselves are charged with magical energy. ¡°Hydra Bow¡­¡± Magical energy twirl around his arrow as its tip starts shining and giving out a green smoke. ¡°¡­Nine Lives, Shooting Hundred Heads!¡± [Interlude End]

[?????]

¡°Alright, another job well done! Now, we can relax.¡± ¡°Yeah, just another afternoon. You know, chilling, some epic fighting, more chilling, saving the world¡­ Nothing special.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± The two men laughed. But their attempt at humour was short-lived. They had succeeded, but not without casualties. Seven had entered the door, only three exited alive. One of them was unconscious, though her wounds weren¡¯t serious. They had brought two bodies with them. The other two were left behind to be devoured, or worse. The taller man, the more muscular one with less to wear, asked the armoured one: ¡°What do we do with the bodies?¡± ¡°You heard what they said. They said to bury them here.¡± ¡°Near the door, right?¡± The muscular man nodded. It would be a befitting resting place. ¡°But what about the funeral? Who¡¯ll speak the parting words? Will we do it with just the two of us? Or three, if she wakes up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really a religious one. To me, they are just lifeless bodies. Flesh and bones, nothing more. I¡¯ll help you bury them, as they wished themselves, but leave me out of any funeral business.¡± He turned towards the unconscious woman. ¡°And she won¡¯t be waking up anytime soon. Not before the healermen in the city take a look at her, anyway. You¡¯ll have to say them.¡± ¡°Me? What do I know about funerals?¡± ¡°We had two people who knew. One of them is asleep over there and will stay like that for some time. The other one is in pieces. You¡¯ll have to say them.¡± ¡°Very well then, I¡¯ll try.¡± There was a brief silence. Armoured one sighed, and looked at his troubled faced friend. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. They are just words. After what we did today, how hard could it be?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not worried about it. I was just thinking about their weapons, and what we should do about them.¡± ¡°Burying warriors with their weapons is the custom, isn¡¯t it? What¡¯s there to think about?¡± The muscular man shook his head to the sides. ¡°It is, but the location of the door is well-known. With the danger gone, how long do you think it would take the first group of grave robbing treasure hunters to arrive? If we buried their weapons with them, they would end up in the black market in less than a month. You gave her that bracelet, right?¡± ¡°Which one?¡± He smiled, she had multiple bracelets on both arms. ¡°You know, the blade-bracelet. The one she pulled out all those blades from. You gave it to her, right? Won¡¯t you take it back?¡± ¡°Yes, I gave it to her. Gave it, not lent it. I never planned on taking it back.¡± ¡°I think you should. Yes, you should take the bracelet, and his spear. They should go with you.¡± ¡°That spear is their family-heirloom.¡± ¡°I know. But they had no family other than each other. They had no apprentices, close friends, or anyone else that can inherit their weapons. They should go with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving; returning. I won¡¯t even be coming with you to the city. There is no reason to-¡± ¡°That¡¯s the reason I¡¯m saying this. It would befit their weapons to leave this world with their masters. Since the weapons will not be safe in their graves, they should leave in a different way. What better way than to leave with one of their comrades, am I wrong? You¡¯re leaving anyway. Take them with you.¡± ¡°All right then. Then I guess I¡¯ll be giving them to my little brother back home.¡± ¡°You have a brother?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Back home, you said. Where do you live, anyway?¡± ¡°Nowhere you¡¯d know. Enough of this. Let¡¯s get digging.¡± Day 6 – That Night – Part 4

Day 6 ¨C That Night ¨C Part 4 ¡°Sten, come to me!¡± And he does. Or something does. Something unmoving, something that looks more like a statue than the servant I knew. ¡°Sten?¡± Yes, it is him. His robe is torn and bloody here and there, and his skin looks like some kind of shiny, red stone, or metal. But it is him. Yes, I even feel our connection returning to the way it was before. Sten? Getting closer to him, I ask mentally this time. He mentioned a trap. I wonder what kind of trap can turn a servant with A rank magic resistance like Sten into a statue? Whatever it is, he may be unable to hear me right now. In which case, mental communication would be best. Rin. Great. I¡¯ve got a favour to ask. What is it? Turn back and don¡¯t look this way until I say so. What? Why? Please. I turn back. I hear some kind of flowing liquid sound followed by a minor surge of energy. Then Sten tells me it is okay. I turn around and see that he is back to normal. Even his robe looks like new. His expression is serious as he looks at his feet. ¡°You used a command spell because of my foolishness master, I apologize.¡± I¡¯m surprised. I¡¯m not really angry at him. I am the one that sent him there, into the middle of all those servants, and I merely pulled him out when it got too dangerous. I think he did really well. ¡°Hmmph! If you really feel that way, go take care of whoever remains in the park. Then I might accept your apology.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± But he is not looking at me. I follow his gaze. He is staring up there, toward the top of the building where Lancer and his master were. Sten had located them on our way to the park. There was no master in the park that I could fight except that little kid, so I chose not to go, and instead remained here to keep a watch on Lancer and his master, that magus from the association. But now, there is no one up there. I don¡¯t feel any magical energy presences. Sten briefly turns toward the park.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Lancer has already reached the park, master. Most likely to finish off anyone that still remains.¡± ¡°Good. More servants that die, the better for us. But what of his master?¡± Did she go with Lancer? If that is the case, confirming that from over here would be close to impossible. We would need to get closer to the park before we can locate her. Or she could be still around here. I try to locate her magical energy in the surrounding area, but fail. ¡°She is inside the building, coming down. She is very close to the ground floor.¡± Damn, this is vexing. I am the magus and he is the servant. Locating other masters should be my speciality. ¡°Then let¡¯s move.¡± I put my hand in my pocket and grab a pebble. It is one of the ones Sten collected from the side of the road. Unlike my jewels, pebbles cannot store much magical energy, but Sten apparently uses them for simple things. This one, for example, creates a small boundary field that hides anyone inside from view and suppresses their magical energy leakage whenever sufficient magical energy is poured into it. He said he ¡®locked¡¯ the method of the spell in the pebble. Since a pebble is not really suitable for such magical procedures, it has only two uses. It might work more times, but he said it is better not to trust the third use. My magical crest functions in a very similar way, I merely need to pour energy into it to activate any spell stored inside. And it is usable for however many times I wish it. Magical crests are used all around the world, so his method would be useless for most modern maguses. The only possible use would be allowing different maguses to use your spells; spells that they normally can¡¯t use. But not many could do that either. After all, sending energy through your body is a lot easier than pouring it inside something else. Most maguses can¡¯t even do the latter one. Only those that use strengthening magic, enchanting magic or something similar would have no problems with using it. I am Rin Tohsaka. Current head and the only member of the Tohsaka family, who specialize in jewel magic. In other words, I¡¯ve been pouring energy into little items since before I learned how to read. I pour some energy into the pebble to deactivate the field. Just after that, Lancer¡¯s master comes out of building¡¯s door. She starts running toward the bridge, and therefore toward us. We walk to the middle of the road and wave at her.

[Interlude]

¡°Noble Phantasm right of the bat, ha?¡± Lancer says, as he readies his spear. He smirks. Heracles¡¯s arrow leaves the bow. And in that moment, it multiplies into a hundred more. A rain of arrows, all with green trips, flies toward Lancer. Unfortunately for you, Lancer thinks, arrows and hitting me don¡¯t go well together. ¡°Fool!¡± Heracles¡¯s arrows rain down on him. He doesn¡¯t flinch. Such drawing strength! Such speed! Are these really arrows fired from a bow? However, I¡¯ll have no one say Cu Chulain of Ulster was too slow to deflect some arrows! ¡°Haaaaaaa!¡± His arms and spear move faster than an average servant could follow. The time between the sounds of his spear hitting arrows are so short that it sounds like just one long clang. As the last of the arrows fall to the ground, the light at its tip dims. Immediately after that, the arrow itself vanishes into the air. His eyes wide, hid bow in his hand, Heracles lands on the ground, shaking the earth far less than when he jumped. Lancer stares at him dead in the eyes, his spear pointing downwards to the ground. ¡°My turn.¡± In the next moment, Lancer is right in front of Heracles. He thrusts the red spear at his feet, without bothering to raise it. Heracles, knowing he can deflect such an attack, swings his bow downwards and to the side. ¡°Gae¡­ Bolg!¡± Heracles cannot deflect it. For the thrust he saw coming towards his feet doesn¡¯t come. After all, Lancer has not thrust at his feet. He has, naturally, thrust at his heart. Lancer¡¯s spear makes its way toward its mark, unhindered. Heracles, his bow down near the ground, cannot deflect the attack. The spear approaches his bare chest. Then it stops. ¡°Huh?¡± Lancer¡¯s thrust lost all its momentum. His spear has suddenly stopped just as it was about to go into Heracles¡¯s skin. He feels his wrist being grabbed by a strong hand. ¡°No. It is still my turn.¡± Heracles¡¯s hand rises up toward the sky, still holding his bow. He does not waste time on switching weapons. Shit! ¡°Nine Lives¡­¡± I must retreat! When Lancer decides it is time to retreat, he never fails. He is an expert survivor. Along with being able to deflect any projectiles, retreating without suffering wounds is also a speciality of him. He gasps for air. He has gotten away from Heracles. He is now as far away from him as he was at the start. He plunges his spear into the ground, and draws a symbol on his left wrist with his empty hand. His wrist momentarily bursts into flames and so, his wound is cauterized. ¡°You keep escaping from my attacks. I wonder for how much longer.¡± Heracles throws the hand onto the ground. Fourth Interlude – That Night

FourthInterlude ¨C That Night

Bazett stops. Tohsaka girl and her servant are waving at her. Her servant was just over there, in the park, among all the others. He shouldn¡¯t be here. He should be dead. Even if he survived, Lancer just rushed over there. In the worst case, they would be fighting. Why is he here? Bazett clenches her fists as her survival instinct kicks in. She is against a servant and his master, alone. She decides to buy some time by talking as she decides what to do next. ¡°So you were watching me. I had wondered why you weren¡¯t over there with your servant. The girl opens her hands to the side as if to state it is obvious. She tries to appear in control but she fails. Her stance and slight shaking gives it away. She is tense. Weird. She has an overwhelming advantage with her servant at her side. She should be a lot more relaxed. ¡°Of course. With you two so obviously up to something, I couldn¡¯t let you out of my sight.¡± Her eyes narrow, and she folds her arms. Her servant is standing right next to her with an unreadable expression on his face. He looks healthy. He certainly doesn¡¯t look like he got hit by Lancer¡¯s attack. There isn¡¯t even any signs of the battle he¡¯s been in, or the wounds he suffered. ¡°However, I admit, even I did not expect such a cowardly attack from you. Leaving you aside, Lancer had looked like a more straightforward servant than that.¡± If she was watching us, she must have realized beforehand that Lancer was about to use his noble phantasm. She might have warned her servant, and he ran. No, too fast, too soon for that. ¡°Nothing to say, then. Very well. Sten...¡± She looks at her servant meaningfully. ¡°I know. Master to master, servant to servant, right? Okay. I prefer it that way too.¡± He turns back and starts walking toward the other side of the bridge, toward the park. ¡°Be careful master.¡± He vanishes with those words. Good. This is good. Lancer won¡¯t lose to him. And I won¡¯t lose to this girl. Tohsakas¡­ They use European jewel magic. Her father, Tohsaka Tokiomi, was a skilled magus. A respected gentlemen and an experienced, fire-type magus. She is likely to be a fire-type as well. I remember Kirei saying that she has high aptitude for magic, but she is young and inexperienced. She will make mistakes. Such as this one. When you have an obvious advantage, you had better use it. Chances that you miss do not come back.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I put up my guard. I heard Kirei taught her after Tohsaka Tokiomi died in the last grail war. Yet her stance is off. Kirei never shows openings, but she is full of them. Even if she was taught close combat, she is still an amateur. And even if she is just hiding her skills, it won¡¯t be a problem. I know Kirei¡¯s moves, and I researched the magic Tohsakas use. At her age, she shouldn¡¯t show me anything new. She points her left index finger at me, and I move. A concentrated ball of magical energy passes from where I just stood. Two more follow it, but I have no problem dodging them. She won¡¯t hit me with magic that slow. They are gandr shots. A well-known weak curse from northern Europe. Normally, it causes the victim to grow weaker as if falling ill, but with such high density, these should also cause physical harm. Taking a direct hit from one of these would be unwise. But if she only uses gandr shots, this won¡¯t take long. I am right in front of her. If I strike now, she won¡¯t have a chance to do anything else. Could it really be this easy? I make it seem like I¡¯ll swing at her face and strike at her abdomen when she lifts up her guard. It does not connect. My hand touches an invisible, thin barrier between us. It shakes and makes a sound much like a glass panel. I did not realise it; I should have been more careful. Fortunately, it seems like it is just a defensive barrier. I don¡¯t get shocked, my energy is not drained, and I don¡¯t suffer from any other often-used counter effects. She shoots more. When it is this close, it is significantly harder to dodge. So I block. She clearly has a lot of energy compared to the average, especially considering her age. The magical energy in her spells are very dense. However, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t block such a spell. I retreat blocking two shots and dodging some others. She keeps shooting even after seeing me block them. She either doesn¡¯t have any other attacks, or is up to something. Maybe she is buying time for something. Her barrier was simple enough. It might be effective against non-magus combatants, or mid to low lever maguses, but for me, breaking such a thing is not too hard. We both stop and lock our gazes. I touch my palms to each other to activate the runes engraved on my gloves. My rune enhanced fists can break any barrier cast by any magus. Against the servant Caster, I would be doubtful, but I¡¯m up against a master. She starts chanting something. It is in German. I know German, but spells may have effects completely unrelated to their chants. It is better not to pay heed to the words so as not to be deceived. Balls of Magical energy appear all around her. They have a similar feeling to the gandr curses she used. It looks like her spell is a large-scale, rapid-shot version of that. Then, I have just the thing. Just before she finishes her spell, I pull out a scroll from my back pocket. Gandr curses approach. They are numerous, all with only slightly lesser power than their single-fire versions. Dodging or blocking all of them would have been troublesome. I swing my hand, the one holding the scroll, sideways. The scroll opens in front of me. I touch it with my other hand. The previously unseen runes written on itactivates. The scroll hangs in the air, still open, with bright runes now visible from even afar. All the curses her spell fired gets sucked into it. ¡°What!?¡± She is stuck dumbfounded. Her inexperience is now showing. I involuntarily smile. That was only the first part, girl. With a single wrist movement, I turn the scroll upside down. Now the side with the visible runes is turned towards me. I touch the scroll again. This time, the runes on the other side becomes visibly bright. The slightly different spell activates. All the curses she fired, all the curses the scroll captured, are set free. They fly back, right towards their caster. She reacts faster than I expect. She pulls out a small green gem and throws it into the ground. She shouts ¡°Gandr!¡± and a shield appears in front of her. The shield is simply shaped like the gem she used, only significantly bigger. It shields her from all the curses. Now this is why one should not listen to their enemies¡¯ chant. This shield clearly has nothing to do with its activation keyword. This might actually be a personal spell of hers. Creating new spells at her age¡­ I¡¯m impressed. However, she is still too inexperienced. She watches as her shield stops those curses. She should have spent that time preparing her next move, or at least realizing my getting close. My fist hits her shield at almost the same time as the last of the curses. It stopped the curses, no problem, but it does not do so well against a real attack. I rush her, scattering the shattered pieces of her broken shield. Her defensive barrier shouldn¡¯t tank more than one punch either, and she can¡¯t do anything when I am this close. I feel my fist connect her barrier shortly before reaching her. It actually manages to completely stop my punch, but that is it. It shatters just like her shield with my second strike. It barely managed to slow me down for half a second. Not enough for her to find a way out of this. I aim my next punch at her undefended head. She tries to block, but her thin arms cannot even soften the impact. My punch hits her with enough force to shatter her bones, arms and head both. ¡­ Nothing happens to her. Instead, another barrier located right above her skin activates. It stops my strike completely, with no sign of breaking. Its shape is a square, two to two meters. Five other squares are connected to it and each other from the sides. It looks like an opened up cube. The cube closes up, completely surrounding me. Day 6 – That Night – Part 4

¡°I guess that could not have gone better, huh?¡± I ask her, but I am only answered by a fist to the wall. The energy in her fist is so dense, I bet she could easily punch through normal solid walls right now. Too bad she can¡¯t punch through this one. I touch the wall of the barrier with the palm of my hand. Just like he said it kind of sticks to my hand. The barrier actually drains the energy from any physical attack it receives to feed its own store of magical energy, basically using them as its fuel. As long as she is trying to punch herself free, the barrier will actually grow stronger. So, before she starts trying different tactics, I have to do something. ¡°Goodbye.¡± I simply say as I walk to the side of the bridge, the magical cube drifting beside me, stuck to my hand. I swing my hand and the whole cube, along with the prisoner inside, flies like it weighs only as much as a pebble. It soars into air, and falls into the water some thirty meters away from the bridge. It sinks below the water level with the prisoner inside. I look after her contentedly and smile. This could have gone a lot worse.

[Interlude]

¡°Damn.¡± Heracles waits, as if saying Lancer is no threat even when he gets time to prepare. ¡°Damn.¡± Lancer already used his noble phantasm, actually two of them even if it was the same spear, and neither even put a scratch on him. Why, Lancer does not know. He remembers their previous fight. In that one, they fought for some time without either gaining any definitive advantage, and as morning got closer, they decided to put it on hold and retreat. In that fight, neither used any noble phantasm, but Lancer remembers both suffering scratches. Both Lancer and Heracles. So why doesn¡¯t even his noble phantasms hurt him now? Despite this tough situation, Lancer grins. ¡°Hah! The last enemy standing is a worthy one. I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡± He pulls his spear out of the ground and points it at his enemy. Heracles merely points toward a nearby tree. ¡°I¡¯m not the last one.¡± ¡°What?¡± King Jason is sitting on the ground, his back to a tree. He has covered himself in a large, yellow, shiny fur as if he was cold. ¡°I, uhh¡­¡± ¡°You are still around? How are you alive?¡± ¡°No reason. I just, uhh¡­ I¡¯m just watching. Don¡¯t mind me. Assume I¡¯m not here. I¡¯ll just be here, sitting, resting, not interrupting any fights. You continue.¡± ¡°Is that¡­ Ahh, of course, the Golden Fleece. No wonder you look fine already. But why are you not dead?¡± ¡°I¡­ got lucky?¡± ¡°Lucky.¡± ¡°¡­yeah. Besides, there is one other! Over there!¡± Lancer turns toward a different tree. There is another familiar figure behind it. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Sten comes out from behind the tree, scratching his head. ¡°Oops, busted. And I¡¯m very disappointed in you, tree. You failed me twice today.¡± ¡°And, how did YOU survive? You know what, never mind.¡± Lancer looks at everyone one by one. Sten keeps scratching his head. Jason tries not to make eye contact. Heracles simply watches, though a sparkle of excitement is in his eyes, Illya is smiling from ear to ear. Lancer¡¯s lips slowly make way for a grin. Then he throws his head back and laughs. ¡°Hahahahaha! Great! This is great! To think all of you would survive! Hahaha! This is how it should be!¡± Sten walks closer to him, his eyes on Heracles. ¡°Don¡¯t take this the wrong way Lancer. But you lack a hand, while he looks just fine. Do you mind if I join you?¡± ¡°Not at all. My enemy is your enemy. Make yourself at home.¡± Sten stands beside Lancer. His head slightly turns toward Jason, who is now on his feet, still wrapped by the fleece. ¡°What about you? Will you help?¡± ¡°What? Help against Heracles? Are you kidding? I also want to take him down, but I can¡¯t even scratch him. If I were to attack anyone at this point, that would be anyone that is not Heracles. So I¡¯ll just watch, okay? You go on ahead.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll just wait at the side lines?¡± ¡°Pretty much, yeah.¡± ¡°Ready to attack anyone that is not Heracles?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°That means me or Lancer.¡± ¡°Wait, no.¡± ¡°So you are basically waiting for the right chance to join Heracles.¡± ¡°Join him? No. That¡¯s not what I-¡° ¡°Then what do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean¡­ It does come down to that, right?¡± ¡°New plan, Lancer. I¡¯ll be joining you shortly.¡± ¡°Sure. Don¡¯t take long.¡± Jason knits his brows. With a single movement, the golden fleece falls from his shoulders. It vanishes into thin air just before touching the ground. ¡°Now, even I can¡¯t let that one go. You plan to face me, and you¡¯ll be joining him shortly. I wasn¡¯t planning on fighting you, but that has now changed. Heracles, one has to be mad to face him alone. Lancer, he is mad, but has the strength and speed to back it up. I¡¯d rather not fight either of them. But you? I can¡¯t let you claim you¡¯ll be taking care of me shortly.¡± ¡°Your words ring hollow King Jason, considering you haven¡¯t even seen me wield a weapon yet. But you will now, thus this won¡¯t take long.¡± Sten extends his arms forward. In his empty hands, appears the long shaft of a weapon. A smooth, round, close to two meters, ebony shaft with a wide, straight, two-edged, half a meter long, bright white blade at one end. An unbalanced pole arm, that looks like it would be hard to stab with. Sten raises it high above his head, and without saying anything further, starts turning it in circles. He starts approaching Jason. A moment later, Jason has armed his sword and shield that has burn marks all over it. ¡°Ridiculous. That is the weapon of a Lancer. Shouldn¡¯t you be¡­ Assassin or Caster?¡± ¡°Should I? You tell me your class, and I¡¯ll tell you mine.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jason does not answer. Now the distance between them is only three meters. Sten¡¯s weapon has gotten very fast. ¡°Then just say yes or no to my guess. Judging from that ship, are you Rider?¡± ¡°¡­yes.¡± ¡°Liar.¡± Taking two steps, Sten swings his weapon downwards, with all the momentum of the circular movement behind it. It is a mighty swing, but that means he is also giving an opening. Jason steps forward to get closer, and using his leg muscles more than his arm¡¯s, he pushes up to meet the blow. His shield catches Sten¡¯s weapon and stands its ground. His sword makes way for Sten¡¯s undefended abdomen. Sten¡¯s eyes open wide momentarily as a burst of magical energy originating from where Jason targeted stops the sword. He jumps back and puts some distance between them. Blood drips down, but the wound is shallow. Sten closes his eyes for a second, and that is enough to heal it. ¡°Well, that was meaningless. Anyway¡­¡± Jason points his sword right at Sten. ¡°This time, the goal of The-¡± ¡°That increases your luck right?¡± ¡°-King¡¯s¡­ What?¡± ¡°That Noble Phantasm, it increases your luck right? And-or gives you some kind of precognition ability.¡± ¡°What, this? Maybe. Ehem. This time, the goal of-¡± ¡°I bet it does both. It does both, right? ¡°-The¡­ C¡¯mon now. Will you let me finish?¡± ¡°If you answer.¡± Sten flicks the blade of his weapon irritatingly. ¡°Yes! It does both! And it is called instinct, not precognition. Now¡­¡± ¡°Go ahead. Activate it¡­¡± ¡°Thank you. The next goal of The King¡¯s Journey is your head. Prepare yourself!¡± ¡°¡­and fall in despair.¡± Jason¡¯s eyes are staring holes at Sten. They are the eyes of an irritated, but determined warrior. Then they slowly turn toward his shield, to the newest dent among the many that were made tonight. His eyes open wide as they turn to Sten. His instinct skill, enhanced to several times its normal performance by his King¡¯s Journey noble phantasm, shows him what he must do. Thanks to it, he stood his ground against Lancer. Thanks to it, he survived against Heracles for that long, with no wound worth mentioning. Thanks to it, he pretty much foresaw all enemy attacks in all his fights. Thanks to it, he immediately rushed away and positioned his shield between him and the point of impact of Lancer¡¯s surprise attack that wiped out his crew. His eyes can now see what he must do, what he can do. As he looks at Sten, the only thing in his eyes is disappointment. Sten¡¯s weapon is radiating with magical energy. ¡°Finish what you have started, Perfectionist!¡± Jason¡¯s shield splits into two with a very clean cut; both pieces fall down. His forearm splits into two with a very clean cut; blood sprays out from both parts. His body is split open with a very clean cut; his agonized voice comes out of his mouth. ¡°Gaaaaaaaaagh!¡± He falls to his knees. His shield, part of his forearm still attached, is lying next to him in two pieces. His sword is in his hand, but he has no strength to lift it. He has no strength to get up. He barely manages to look up as Sten approaches. ¡°I apologize King, but I am in a hurry. Farewell.¡± Sten swings his weapon down. He hits only air. ¡°What?¡± Jason is not there. Sten looks left and right, but he has vanished. He feels some remnant magical energy. ¡°A Command Spell! Damn it!¡± He stabs the ground in anger a few times. ¡°I am ordered to kill a servant tonight.¡± He reminds himself and turns toward the others. Lancer, not wanting to engage Heracles alone when he can do so with an ally, is just waiting and watching him. Illya, getting overjoyed whenever Heracles beats up an enemy, and even more so when he beats up two enemies at the same time, is just waiting and watching him. Heracles, having his exciting fight prematurely ended by Lancer, but now having found a new chance at excitement, is just waiting and watching him. Sten approaches Lancer, but speaks to Heracles. ¡°Too bad, great hero. King Jason¡¯s master just signed your death warrant.¡± Fifth Interlude – That Night

¡°Lancer, shall we?¡± ¡°After you.¡± Lancer smiles. ¡°All right, but you have to keep up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m merely giving you a head start, so that you¡¯ll actually get to join in and won¡¯t have to feel left out.¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you a thoughtful one?¡± Sten and Lancer charge, one after the other; Sten to the right, Lancer to the left of Heracles. They reach him at the same time; a simultaneous attack from two sides. Surprisingly nimble for his size, Heracles dodges by jumping forward. He does a somersault and lands on his feet. Lancer pursues him immediately and attacks with a slash. The crimson spear and the olive-wood club clash. They exchange several blows, but Lancer cannot match Heracles with only one arm. Heracles quickly gains the advantage. Lancer ducks to dodge a horizontal swing and retreats. Right then, leaping over Lancer, Sten attacks Heracles with a downward swing, with his weight and momentum behind it. Heracles meets the attacks with his club and blows him away with a single push. Sten lands on his feet next to Lancer. ¡°Not even a scratch? Isn¡¯t that thing made of wood?¡± Heracles meets his questioning gaze with a joyful look. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°Then what? Why is it so durable? Was it made by Hephaestus? Or blessed by one of the Olympians? Doused in the River of Styx? Or in the blood of a hundred virgins?¡± ¡°No. It is because I made it.¡± This time, Heracles attacks. He attacks not with a war cry, but with laughter. His master¡¯s, Illya¡¯s laughter accompanies his. Their laughs are almost synchronized as his blow sends Sten flying even after the latter blocks it. Lancer tries stabbing his throat, and he almost succeeds, but Heracles barely turns his head and the pelt on his shoulders stop the crimson spear. Lancer blocks his next attack, but suffers the same fate as Sten. They both roll on the ground and quickly jump back up on the opposite sides of Heracles. Heracles glances at Sten, then turns to Lancer. He feels the light touch of something to the side of his chest. He blinks. Sten is standing right next to Lancer.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Heracles¡¯s eyes narrow down as he lets go of his club. ¡°You¡¯ve given an opening, great hero.¡± Sten flick the blade of his weapon. Heracles aims with his bow and lets out a salvo. Magical energy converge around Sten¡¯s weapon. Lancer steps in front of Sten and blocks the arrows. ¡°Perfectionist!¡± ¡°¡­¡± There is a brief silence where no one moves. ¡°Wonderful job.¡± Heracles congratulates them. ¡°You are fighting in sync in the first fight you team up. It was great.¡± Sten and Lancer exchange glances. Sten shrugs. ¡°However, I can¡¯t help but wonder something. Both your weapons would qualify as the weapon of a lancer. Which one of you?¡± ¡°I am,¡± says Lancer. ¡°Then, you are?¡± ¡°About that¡­¡± Sten takes a few steps to the side, so that he can see both Lancer and Heracles at the same time. ¡°¡­I have a theory I¡¯d like to confirm. So with your leave, I shall ask something to both of you.¡± He looks at their eyes. ¡°How many classes do you guys have?¡± Their ayes narrow down as they stare at him, and each other. ¡°And does the word ¡®Changer¡¯ mean anything to you?¡± Their eyes open wide, including Illya¡¯s. In fact, she is the one to speak first. ¡°How do you know that name?¡± Sten, satisfied with the response he got, smiles. ¡°Every servants would know their own class, master of Changer.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± ¡°You mean to say we are all Changers? Haha. Hahahaha!¡± Lancer throws his head back and laughs. ¡°I was wondering why everyone kept pulling out multiple weapons.¡± Sten strokes his chin. ¡°Indeed. If you had done so as well, I would have become sure much earlier.¡± Illya shouts something but it is not understandable. Heracles tries to calm her down. Lancer speaks to Sten. ¡°Hey, she looks angry.¡± ¡°I bet she thought Heracles was special, and is now disappointed. That seems to be showing itself as anger. Aren¡¯t you a bit disappointed yourself? Laughing wasn¡¯t the kind of reaction I was expecting.¡± Illya stops shouting. She instead pouts. Heracles tries to cheer her up. ¡°What are you talking about? Disappointed? I just learned I was holding back! Now stay back. You aren¡¯t needed anymore.¡± Lancer steps forward. Sten, one brow raised, complies and moves back. ¡°Enough! Kill them both then!¡± Illya shouts. Heracles shrugs, which makes Illya jump where she is sitting. ¡°Very well. Lancer?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fighting just me from now on.¡± Lancer says calmly. He stabs the ground with his spear. ¡°Just you? You already¡­¡± Heracles¡¯s voice grows smaller and stops. Something has appeared in Lancer¡¯s hand. A wooden staff, almost as long as he is tall, thin enough to be easily held and wider, slightly curved on one end. Numerous symbols are carved all over the staff. A staff, covered in magical runes, worthy of a caster. He holds it vertically in front of him. He lowers his head and closes his eyes. The trees around them start moving as the ground shakes. ¡°To think all of you were Changers, and were using it. Here I am, limiting myself to a single class, just to make it ¡®fair.¡¯ I kept on with it, and was willing to die, happy that I fought fairly.¡± Leafs from the nearby trees circle around him like the eye of a tornado. He spins his staff once and bangs its end to the ground. The leaves quickly gather around his arm; his arm with the missing hand. They converge and jam together. They change. None of the leaves are visible now, but he has two hands again. ¡°I apologize to both of you. To you as well King Jason. Although you can¡¯t hear me right now, I now understand that you were similar to them in that regard. I bet you were both Saber and Rider. I apologize to all of you. Had I known, I wouldn¡¯t have held back.¡± A sudden gust blows around his legs as teal runes shine momentarily. Red runes appear brightly on his spear and vanish. Greyish blue runes appear and circle around his arms, then leave. Purple ones become visible for an instant in front of his face. He raises his head and opens his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m actually glad right now that Bazett is being held up. I don¡¯t like showing this to women. Forgive me little miss, but you are simply in the wrong place in the wrong time. Try not to look.¡± He lets go of his staff and grabs hold of his crimson spear, once more with two hands. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting fellow demigod. And it¡¯s done. That was the last time I apologize. It is time to begin anew. It is time I showed you my most famous Noble Phantasm! The one with significantly less cool name:¡± ¡°Warp Spasm!¡± Sixth Interlude – That Night

¡°By the holy lake lady!¡± I involuntarily take a few steps back. The fight going on in front of my eyes is a few cuts above me. I¡¯m just glad I didn¡¯t insist on joining. Lancer¡¯s transformed state is a lot more humane than I would have guessed. His stories suggest that his appearance while in his warp spasm is more like a monster than a human. His muscles grew a lot, and his face got more beastly, but that is it. His legs are not bent back, he doesn¡¯t excrete any gas, and his face is as symmetrical as it was before. Rather than his definition in the stories, he looks more like a shorter, more beastly Heracles. And yes, I will still be calling them Heracles and Lancer. Anyway, the only change is not his looks. Among the servants I met, he was the fastest, period. Among the people I met during my life, and I met many great, legendary warriors, there was only one man that could match his speed. I trained with that man for more than half of my life. I never matched him in speed, but I could deal with it. Neither he nor Lancer, nor anyone else could ever overwhelm me with speed. That, I was convinced of. Right now, if Lancer attacked me, I doubt the fight would last more than half a minute. It is more than just his inhuman, no, inservant speed. His strength has grown as well. Heracles might be the mightiest on earth, but Lancer is matching his blows head on. I take a few steps back, this time voluntarily. For the first time, I see Heracles struggling. He is fast, too fast for his size, and faster than me. Yet he still can¡¯t keep up with Lancer¡¯s speed. That warp spasm is clearly not your usual, run of the mill mad enhancement. To think someone could put Heracles completely on the defensive. But that is not to say it is one sided. Heracles is still Heracles, and actually even more so now. He looked impressive before, and was someone I would not want to fight with if I had any other choice. However, it is only now that I understand the reason for him being the greatest hero. He suffered a single scratch during Lancer¡¯s first charge attack, which would likely be my end if I was the target, and that is that. He is on the defensive, but he has not yet suffered any other wounds. He fights, his master on his shoulder still wrapped safely by the impenetrable pelt. They are both laughing. No, that is wrong. All three of them are laughing. ¡­ Perhaps, I should leave? I take a small step back, than sprint with all I¡¯ve got, leaving the fight behind me. Unhindered, I arrive at the end of the park. I look forward. Heracles and Lancer are continuing their fight. I turn back and sprint. I stop. The park is in front of me, with Heracles and Lancer fighting.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I close my eyes and concentrate. I ignore the sounds, and focus on the magical energy around me. I locate the boundary field around the park, put there to keep non-magical people away. I was sure it was put there by Lancer¡¯s master. I had checked its function when I first came here. Now, it is different. Now, I cannot leave. Did he do this before using Warp Spasm? He altered his master¡¯s boundary field, without me noticing despite being right next to him and inside the said field? Such smooth modification on an already active spell cast by someone else is impossible¡­ Unless they use the same kind of magic. His master must be a rune mage. They must be even more compatible than me and Rin. I open my eyes just in time to witness Heracles uproot a tree with his empty hand and swing it down on Lancer. A tree... With one hand¡­ Yeah, I must have took a wrong turn while coming here; I¡¯m obviously in the wrong place. ¡°Come, Sten. I¡¯m tired of this. We won¡¯t be returning home before finishing of at least one enemy.¡± I remember the words Rin uttered as we left her house. I remind myself that I promised Rin not to come back before taking out a servant. I remind myself what I said to Heracles just a few minutes ago. I look at my weapon. A spear he had called it, although its blade is too wide to be one. It finishes what it starts, he had said. Make a cut, no matter how small, even a scratch will do, and it will do the rest, he had said. Its owner was the same. He fought till the end. He faced his death, knowing his fight would be completed by us, he had said as he gave me the spear. Heracles¡¯s club meets Lancer¡¯s swing head on. The resulting shockwave showers me with dust and wind all the way here. I catch a flying pebble. It is wrapped in blue paper. A piece of all the confetti I had spread around. ¡­ All right. Lancer looks a lot more human than he should. The reason? Are his stories simply wrong or could it be The Grail affecting his appearance? Servants are summoned into prepared vassals. The human shaped vassal could technically affect the appearance of the summoned servant. Now, when did I think about The Grail¡¯s humanization policy before? Oh, yes. Rider, my suspicion of your identity just got stronger. However, that is for another time. For now, I got a god and a human to kill. You know? Two demigods? Their sum is one god and one human? Oh, shut up, me. Lancer told me to stay back, that I wasn¡¯t needed. But I was here before him. Who is he to keep me away from glory? A demigod who is the fastest and one of the strongest people I¡¯ve met? So what? One spear and one piece of confetti. That¡¯s what it will take to take down a god and a human. You know? Sum of two demigods? ¡­ Concentrate. You have a mind crafted to process all kinds of information at the same time. Use it. Heracles and Lancer¡­ arm length¡­ width¡­ height¡­ legs¡­ head¡­ stance¡­ hold on the weapon¡­ the pelt¡­ girl¡¯s placement¡­ eyes¡­ field of vision¡­ weapons¡­ length¡­ spear¡­ runes, four set¡­ I call to my blood and it heeds my call. It does what it does best as I feel my muscles growing. I limit it to the maximum safe level to stay in control. My mind was enhanced to control my blood, to keep me human, and it is used to this level of blood activity. It does not stop. Trees¡­ floor, position¡­ magical energy¡­ Number? Fifty seven in the boundary field... other seventeen, outside¡­ locations¡­ One pebble, one spear, one hit... One human and one god. Oh, shut up me. The second wound. Heracles suffers his second wound, a slash to his upper leg, against Lancer long after his first one healed. Actually it hasn¡¯t been that long, but with the speed of their battle, their weapons have clashed dozens of times. Why am I attacking both of them again? Right, one hit, two demigods. Sole reason is the charm of that phrase. I say nay! No attacking while they both live. Patience. Await the perfect moment. The relaxation that comes right after overcoming a foe, and right before switching to the next one. That sweet moment. Whichever of you attains that moment first¡­ The moment comes quickly. Warp Spasm Lancer is essentially a berserker. It¡¯s just that, his berserk mode is such an important part of his legends, it surpasses the mad enhancement class skill of usual berserkers. It is a Noble Phantasm of its own. His already great stats has increased more than they would be expected from a berserker. Which makes him a really frightening foe, but it doesn¡¯t give him some special patience trait. Seeing his enemy still alive and well, he goes for a great attack. I know Lancer¡¯s stats. I know my own stats. I¡¯ve seen Lancer¡¯s offensive Noble Phantasm. I¡¯ve seen his reaction to it not working on Heracles. I know they fought before. I know his normal attacks are working right now. If his Noble Phantasm, which I suspect was strengthened by that red set of runes, also harms Heracles, I will have made sure of the condition of Heracles¡¯s nigh invulnerable skin. Although, if Lancer¡¯s attack works and Heracles dies, that will no longer be important. ¡°Gae Bolg!¡± A voice from the throat; more similar to a hound¡¯s growl than the words of a man. This time it works. The crimson spear passes through Heracles¡¯s defending club just as it was destined to, and makes its way through his chest, all the way to his heart.