Alright, I'm back on track with my deadline.

Chapter 3 is now here. I actually planned for this to be the beginning of the battle at the harbor, but it ended up being dream cycles. Enjoy.

Beta'd by Augustino Alighieri.

741AuthorNCS-NicolaStarlaLili decided to stop beta'ing this fic, because it had "too many epic characters" that she couldn't "do justice for during editing". And I'm not mocking her with those quotations, I'm quoting her. Still, I thank her for help.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that I don't own. Also, to those of you who are offended by the depiction of Catholicism below, suck it up. It's meant to be a fictional depiction to explain things. If you don't like it, there are several buttons you can press, like that large red X in the corner.

XXXXX

Berserker kneeled there, amongst the old and decrepit buildings, wearing a military uniform splattered with blood and pointing a gun at a shadowy figure garbed in black.

"Hehehehehe. Foolish soldier. Do you truly think something as weak as that toy would be enough to kill something like me?"

Berserker just grinned fearfully, replying, "Not in th' slightest, ye beast. But it's more than enough to kill me!"

Berserker spun the gun around in his hand, reversing its direction and shoving it up into his mouth.

"Ye won't have me, ye damn monster!"

And with that, he pulled the trigger, the last sounds to reach his ears before the darkness overcame him being discharge of the gun and the creature's roar of rage.

XXXXX

Voices pierced the haze of his mind, and bright lights burned his retinas through his eyelids. With a heavy groan, he forced his eyes open, ignoring the lights trying to get him to close them again.

A voice sounded out from next to him, urgency tinging its words.

"He's awake. Quick, go get His Holiness."

Several heavy footfalls echoed throughout the room. Berserker tries to turn his head towards them, but found that he was strapped down tightly, barely even able to twitch, much less move.

He mightily struggled against his bindings, roaring out, "Agh, who are ye? Where am I? And what th' hell do ye want with me?"

The people he couldn't quite see but knew were there started whispering to each other, trying to keep their statements secret, but Berserker was strangely able to hear them.

"What should we do? Should we release him?"

"No! He might go on a rampage. We need to keep him here until His Holiness gets here."

"But what if he breaks free? That could be even worse."

"There's no way he could break free. Those bindings are heavily reinforced and been blessed by the holiest of blessings."

Berserker roared in anger, forcing his body to move in their bindings, trying to slip out of them or snap them. But then, a calming and authoritative voice rang out.

"What are you doing just standing around? Kill those lights, and remove these bindings immediately. This man must be terrified, waking up with lights in his eyes and no one explaining things to him."

Berserker heard murmuring among the people in the room, a couple of them coming towards him. He tensed himself, waiting for just the right moment. The lights dimmed and died, allowing him to see the faces of the men and women around him.

As the people released the bindings one by one, he prepared to make his move. The moment the last one was removed, Berserker sprang into action, flinging himself up and grabbing one of the women in a chokehold, strong enough to keep her docile, but not so much as to kill her.

"Alright," Berserker shouted, holding the scared woman tightly, "Ye're gonna tell me just what th' hell is going on, or I'm gonna snap this bitch's neck."

Everyone froze, not wanting to risk the chance that Berserker would make good on his threat.

"Peace, my child. If you wish for knowledge, speak, and I shall acquiesce to your desire. But please, do not harm the girl. She is innocent in this."

Berserker turned to the voice, jaw dropping in surprise when he recognized the figure it emanated from.

"Y-your Holiness! Just what is going on here?!"

The Pope himself stood in front of the metal door leading to and from the concrete room. The holy man just smiled at him and said, "I will explain everything. But please, release the girl."

Berserker eyed the leader of the Catholic faith skeptically, before deciding that the chance to get answers was worth the chance he would be killed and releasing the woman, who dashed away and huddled into the corner of the room, looking at him with fear-filled eyes.

"Very well, Your Holiness. I have complied with your request, now comply with mine. What is going on here? How am I not dead?"

The Pope opened the metal door, revealing a set of rusted metal stairs leading up behind it, and gestured for the man to follow him.

Berserker hesitated for a moment, reconsidering his decision, before steeling himself and falling in step behind the man of the cloth. Both were silent as they ascended the stairs, coming to another door, this one made of a thick wood. The Pope pushed open the door, gesturing for the confused soldier to go ahead of him.

Berserker walked past the holy leader, entering into upper hallway of the building. Through the windows, he saw the bustling streets of Vatican City. He walked over to them, looking out at the city in awe.

"The Vatican City-State," Berserker breathed out in admiration.

The Pope chuckled from beside him.

"It is quite beautiful, is it not?"

"To call it beautiful is like calling the Bible a nice book. A very gross understatement."

"You are correct, Alexander. May I call you Alexander?"

The named Alexander shook off his shock at seeing the center of the Catholic faith, remembering what he had followed the holy man for. He replied, "Yes, you may. But back to my original question: what happened?"

The Pope smiled at the soldier, a thoughtful look gracing his features.

"How do I explain this? Alexander, do you believe in demons?"

Alexander looked confused at what the Pope was getting at, but figured that answering would get him the answers he was seeking.

"I believe in God. To believe that God exists is to believe that Satan exists. And if Satan exists, then demons must exist as well. So yes, I do believe in demons."

The Pope smiled at man, and continued his explanation.

"There are many different species of demons. One of these species are the creatures known as vampires."

Alexander stared at the holy leader in open-mouthed shock.

"Are you trying to say that mythical dark creatures like vampires are real?! Next you'll be telling me werewolves and-and catboys exist!"

The Pope shrugged slightly, his graceful and holy look slipping away for a moment.

"I'm not so sure about catboys, but werewolves do exist."

Alexander narrowed his eyes in anger, his teeth bared in a fierce sneer.

"You actually expect me to believe this?! What proof do you have of any of this?!"

The Pope turned to him, all remnants of grace or kindness gone, revealing only a battle-hardened man, willing to sacrifice anything and everything to protect the innocent.

"The proof is you. You are still alive, even after blowing your own brains out."

The young man rubbed his head, searching for any evidence of his supposed death against that monster that slaughtered his entire platoon.

The soldier thought back to what had happened in that abandoned town. His superiors were obviously worried that someone was to empty out an entire town without anyone finding out. Captain Alexander Anderson and his Elite Task Force were sent in, armed to the teeth with top-of-the-line weapons to take down whoever had taken them. It wasn't long until they found someone, or rather, something.

It was pure chance that they had come across it. They had been preparing to report back to base after three hours of finding nothing when one of the soldiers had noticed a dried bloodstain in the shadows of a side alley. They had followed the trail into the alley, and stumbled across a disgusting and gruesome sight. Several bloodstained and heavily injured…creatures were in a small circle, eating the flesh off of several dead children and young adults. The copper scent of blood and rot of flesh permeated the area, making several officers gag in disgust.

This proved to be their undoing. The creatures instantly turned to the soldiers, baring their sharp teeth and revealing their glowing purple eyes. Their humanoid forms gave the soldiers some pause, allowing the creatures to lunge at them and tear out the throats of five of them before they regained their senses and open fired.

The creatures kept coming, ignoring all injuries except for those targeting the brain and heart, which immediately turned them to dust. After losing half of their original fifty men, they were able to take out the group of creatures.

They continued through the alleys, shooting each and every creature they found to dust. Eventually they ended up face to face with a strange man, who was surrounded by the creatures, yet they didn't seem to be doing anything to him.

He expressed his amusement that they had been able to kill his 'pets', and offered them a chance to join him, which was promptly refused via a grenade to the face and several to his 'pets'. The man easily shrugged them off, dashing through the men, killing each and every one of them with ease, leaving only Anderson against the monster.

The soldier blinked, his vision transitioning from the decrepit town back to the Catholic city. He looked to his side, where the Pope was still standing, patiently waiting for his response.

"That leads me to my second question. How am I still alive?"

The Pope smiled sadly at him, thinking over how to answer the question.

"I suppose you could say we…resurrected you."

Anderson narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the catholic man.

"Explain."

It wasn't a question. It was an order from a threatened soldier.

The Pope sighed, deciding to begin from the beginning.

"Over 2000 years ago, our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born."

Anderson's anger began to pour out in waves. He was barely able to restrain himself from striking the man before him. The Pope saw this, and decided to hasten his explanation.

"Jesus had 12 disciples, as you know. When the Holy Church was established, 13 sections were created, one for Jesus and each of his apostles. The Vatican, the face of the church, is Section I, also known as Christ. The people you just saw, who brought you back, were members of Section III, also known as Matthew. Their purpose is to locate and retrieve holy relics, as well as scientific research. It is the culmination of this research which revived you. You are a strong man, captain. You were able to fight off an army of ghouls, and stand against a vampire for a limited time. Not only that, but you were able to realize that creature was evil. Not many people have that skill. So we made you into a Regenerator. The perfect weapon to fight against the forces of darkness."

Anderson was quiet, trying to wrap his mind over everything he had just learned. It just seemed so unrealistic. But then, everything he had gone through in the past few hours that he could remember was unrealistic.

"And if that doesn't satisfy you, maybe this will."

Anderson was snapped out of his thoughts by the Pope's voice, and looked over to the man, only to see him pointing a gun at his head.

"What th' he-," was all he could say before the bang of the gun rang out and his head snapped back by the force of the bullet.

Anderson's hand shot forward and gripped the holy leader's throat, lifting him off his feet. His eyes shimmering dangerously, he growled, "And just what th' hell was that, you son of a bitch?!"

The Pope smiled at him and pointed at the soldier's forehead, at the exact spot the bullet had impacted.

Anderson's eyes widened and his hands shot to his forehead, dropping the Pope in the process. He probed his forehead, searching for the hole the bullet should have left. His search fruitless, he turned back to the holy leader, who was brushing dirt off his robes.

"Just what th' hell happened?"

The Pope looked at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"You regenerated. Like I said, you were made into a regenerator, a human who can regenerate from even the most grievous of wounds. To accommodate such abilities, your body was also strengthened to a superhuman level. But now, you must make a choice. Will you fight alongside the church, or will you leave, to do as you please. You are too powerful for us to be able to prevent you from leaving. So, what is your choice?"

Anderson stared out the window again, out at the people walking through the streets, going through their peaceful lives, no worries about blood-sucking vampires or murderous zombies. Looking at those people, he made his choice.

"Alright, ye've got yerself a soldier. Do with me what ye will."

The Pope smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Welcome to the Vatican, Father Anderson."

XXXXX

1st Day
Random Alleyway

Kariya groaned, pushing himself off of the pile of trash he had been using as a mattress, grimacing as he felt the worms start squirming underneath his skin.

"So ye're awake, Master?" Berserker voice sounded from above him.

He tilted his head back and saw Berserker grinning down at him, crouching at the edge of the building's roof.

"Berserker? How long have you been up there?" The worm-infested man asked, flinching slightly as he felt one of the worms bite into his muscles.

Berserker hopped off the roof, landing a few feet away from his Master.

"I've been up there all night, making sure no one tried to come 'round this area. It wouldn't do if a Master found ye by chance and decided to off ye in yer sleep."

Kariya stood up and leaned against the wall before suddenly spasming in pain. He stumbled forward a couple of steps and fell to his knees, puking up copious amounts of blood and worms.

He stood up shakily, his body threatening to give out on him again. The mad Servant appeared on his left side, supporting his bum limbs.

"Master, ye should sit down fer a bit. We have to talk anyway," The large man said, looking worriedly at his Master.

Kariya nodded slowly, limping his way over to an old crate with Berserker's help, plopping down on top of it.

Both parties were silent, neither knowing how to start the conversation. Eventually Berserker decided to be blunt, and said, "That worm that ye call a father is planning on betraying ye and keeping th' lass whether or not you win th' Holy Grail."

Kariya was shocked…Actually, he wasn't shocked in the slightest. He knew that ancient worm would try something like this. This was exactly what that disgusting creature would do. He stated as much.

"This…doesn't shock me in the slightest, actually. That old worm would obviously try something. I…just didn't want to see it. I wanted to hold on to the illusion that there was some hope to save Sakura. I guess I'm just fool, huh," Kariya spoke, a small, sad smile on his face.

Berserker pushed his glasses back up his nose and chuckled, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

"Ye're not a fool at all, Master. Hope is the one thing humans have that can survive most anything. To give up yer hope, is to give up on life itself."

Kariya looked at Berserker in shock, not only at the words he spoke, but at the conviction those words were spoken with.

Kariya lowered his head and, to Berserker's surprise, started chuckling.

"You're right. I'm not a fool for having hope. I'm a fool for almost abandoning hope. Thanks for setting me straight, Father Anderson."

With those two words, Berserker instantly sobered up, all traces of kindness replaced by the seriousness of a true warrior.

"So ye've started to see into my past, have ye?"

Kariya knew the mood had changed, and just nodded in response.

Berserker sighed, massaging his temples to stave off the growing headache…figuratively anyway.

"What exactly did ye see?"

Kariya looked curiously at the Servant of madness, seeing only resigned acceptance on his face instead of the righteous anger he expected.

"I saw you fight against those ghouls and your conversation with the Pope."

"Ah, yes. That was when my life ended, and began anew."

A hybrid of a fond smile and a stern frown appeared on Berserker's face, giving him a constipated look.

Kariya took one look at the large man's face and burst out in laughter.

Berserker became confused, wondering what was so funny.

"Oi! What th' hell's so funny?"

Kariya just laughed him off before a sudden coughing fit cut him off. His coughing turned into a second puking fit, even more vital life fluid and magical worms being evacuated from his body.

Berserker grabbed the wobbling man to keep him from plummeting down to the ground.

"Are ye sure ye're okay, Master?"

Kariya wiped the blood and dead worms off his mouth, flinging both onto the grounds.

"No, I'm not. I'm dying. I have a month, if I'm lucky. But, I don't care if I die, as long as Sakura is safe."

Berserker chuckled, a grin on his face, and patted Kariya on the shoulder.

"Heh, It seems I got quite th' Master. To not care about his own life so long as he can rescue a child from a fate worse than death."

Kariya gave a pained grin, his shoulder aching from Berserker's superhuman strength. Berserker observed his Master a bit longer, contemplating something.

'Could these worms be considered dark creatures? They devour human flesh and blood, so they probably could, and they are weak enough that I might be able to purify them. But could I do that without killing the holders?'

Another question popped into Berserker's head.

"Master, if I may ask, why are ye going through all this trouble for th' lass? If my knowledge is correct, ye're not even related to her."

Kariya's eyes softened as a sad smile appeared on his face.

"Because I love like she was own daughter. Her mother, Aoi, is the love of my life. The only woman I will ever love. But I gave her up, to protect her."

Berserker's face hardened as he glared at a wall, guessing just what his Master had to protect this woman from.

"To protect her from th' worms, correct?"

Kariya nodded, staring at his left hand as the worms bulged beneath it.

"Any magus woman accepted into the family must undergo the Matou Magecraft Inheritance Ceremony. Just like Sakura is undergoing now. I love Aoi. I couldn't let her or any children we may have had go through that. So, I let her go, so she could be happy with someone else."

Berserk grinned at his Master, impressed by his love for this woman.

"He, I really do have quite th' Master, don't I? To go through such things for this woman, your love is truly true."

Kariya's smile widened slightly, changing from sad to embarrassed, as he rubbed his head.

"You really think so?"

Berserker's grin turned melancholic as he gazed into the sky.

"Aye, I do. There was this woman, back when I was a soldier. She was amazing. Beautiful aqua hair, hypnotizing green eyes, a body women would kill to have and men would kill to be with. She was kind, smart, able to shoot th' wings off a fly from 200 yards. Th' perfect woman. Better yet, she loved me, too."

Kariya looked at the reminiscing Servant and recognized the look in his eyes: sorrow.

"What happened to her?"

Berserker's smile became sad.

"She died on a mission. She was sent out on a mission during wartime. Ended up with a bullet through th' head."

Kariya shifted awkwardly, regretting asking that question.

"I'm sorry."

Berserker waved him off.

"It's all right. I came to terms with her death long ago. I know she wouldn't want me to spend my life grieving."

Kariya smiled slightly at Berserker.

"I wish I could've been lucky enough to spend time with Aoi as lovers."

Berserker shoved him lightly, which was enough to almost send him flying off his seat.

"At least th' woman ye love is still alive."

Kariya chuckled.

"Yeah, at least I got that going for me."

Berserker laughed with the man as their camaraderie began to deepen through the sharing of stories of their loves.

"By th' way Master, what are yer plans now that ye know of that worm's deceptions."

Kariya sighed, resting his head in his non-dead limb.

"I'm not sure. For now I'll work on winning the Grail, but I should probably have a backup plan, too."

Berserker scratched his stubble thoughtfully, carefully considering what else they could do before coming up with an idea.

"We could ally ourself with other Masters and perform a raid on the manor."

Kariya shook his head.

"I doubt they'd go for it. They'd probably go with kill now, ask questions later."

Berserker shrugged.

"Maybe, but ye never know. Ye could give it a shot."

Kariya sighed again, thinking intently about what had just been discussed.

"I guess I'll pursue the Grail for now, and keep storming the manor as a backup if I'm able to amass enough support or don't have a chance of winning. Hang on Sakura, I promise I'll save you."

The last sentence was said under his breath, but Berserker heard it anyway and shot the magus a grin.

"I don't doubt it for a second, Master."

Kariya returned Berserker's grin with a small smile of his own. The moment was ruined when a loud growling noise sounded throughout the alley, followed by a slight reddening of the right side of his face.

"But before anything else, I need something to eat."

With that, he hopped off the crate and started hobbling down the narrow path supported by Berserker.

XXXXX

"Ha! You're not even a noble demon. What are you even doing here?" A creature that looked like a zombie said with an extremely childlike sounding voice, glowering at the young girl in front of it, who glared right back.

"What are you looking at? Step aside, commoner!" A second demon said in an equally childlike tone, spitting the word commoner like an insult. Its entire body covered leaving only a shadow of its face and glowing white eyes to be seen, throwing a punch at the female demon in front of it.

The girl was sent sprawling onto the ground. She picked herself back up and shouted at the two other demons, "St-stop it. I said stop it!"

"Why should we, commoner?" The zombie asked rhetorically, throwing a punch of its own at the girl, sending her back to the ground.

She let out a cry of pain as a sharp rock cut into her leg, spilling some blood.

"Ha! Serves you right bitch. You're just a commoner. You should learn not to mess with us nobles," The imp-like demon said condescendingly, it and its friend laughing at the girl's pain.

The girl forced herself not to cry, her eyes shining with tears waiting to be spilled.

A loud bark sounded from behind the demons. Startled, they whirled around, face to face with a demonic dog with blue and white fur and a large red afro and afro-tipped tail.

"What the hell do you want? H-huh, dog," The faery said nervously.

The demon dog growled lowly, tensing his legs to lunge.

"H-hey, you better not do what you're about to do! We're nobles! You'll get in trouble!" The zombie said, backing away fearfully.

The dog leaped at the noble demons, barking ferociously.

"Ahhh! Let's get outta here!" The cloaked demon shouted, running off.

"H-hey, wait for me!" The zombie called after its friend, taking off as the dog tried to take a chunk out of its leg.

The girl just laid on the ground, her eyes shut as she waited for the newly-arrived demon to finish her off. What she didn't expect was for the dog to trot over to her and start licking her cheek, whimpering worriedly.

"H-hey! Stop that," the girl said weakly, looking at the demon from the corner of her eye.

The dog stopped and backed away, whimpering lightly.

The girl pushed herself into a sitting position, looking warily at the dog.

"Why'd you help me anyway? You could've gotten hurt."

The dog barked happily, panting lightly in excitement. The girl was silent for a bit, just looking at the happy demon dog.

"You have a name? I'm Etna."

The dog barked loudly, not really giving an answer.

"I guess I'll just give you a name then. How about Scorlia?"

The dog barked happily, his tongue lolling out of its mouth. Etna grinned at the dog, standing up and brushing dirt off her dress.

"Kay, thanks for helping me. I'm gonna go now," She said, walking off.

She got a few steps before suddenly stopping in her tracks, a second set of footsteps stopping shortly after. She twirled around on her heel and saw Scorlia following her.

"No, stop following me. You go home, or wherever you live."

Scorlia whimpered sadly, his tail dipping between his legs. Etna frowned for a moment, contemplating what to do.

"Fine, you can come with me, but just this once, alright?"

Scorlia barked happily, his tail coming up to wag madly. Etna turned around and continued on her way, the demonic dog right on her heels.

XXXXX

Etna had made it back to her hiding spot in the alleyway of a large demon city, Scorlia sitting next to her, munching on some bread she had stolen a few minutes prior.

"You sure eat a lot for something so weak. I mean, you're even eating my food, too."

Scorlia finished off the bread, whimpering slightly afterwards. Etna glared faintly at the demonic dog.

"I don't have any more food. If you want more, you'll have to steal some on your own."

She stood up and started to walk off.

"I'm going now. Buh-bye."

Scorlia whimpered again, sitting in place. Etna just walked on, ignoring the whimpering pup.

XXXXX

Etna was crying over the body of Scorlia, who had just been killed by the noble demons that had attacked her earlier.

"Why? Why did you kill him?"

The zombie sputtered slightly, knowing that killing was strictly forbidden inside the Overlord's Castle.

"That dog tried to get into the food storage! It's his own fault!"

"I had no choice! Come on, let's go!" The faery spluttered, running off with his undead friend.

Etna closed her eyes, trying to force the tears back.

"Why did you…? You were so weak…Idiot…"

A noble walked into the main hall, exuding an aura of power and authority. He was obviously the Overlord, ruler of the Netherworld. He smiled upon seeing Etna and walked over to her.

"Ah, so here you are. How are you doing? Are you getting used to your new home?"

Etna was silent, her body shielding Scorlia from the Overlord's view. The Overlord frowned, wondering what was wrong.

"Is something wrong?"

Etna was silent for a moment before answering, "It's nothing…It's just…some noble demon killed this dog. But it's okay…I won't go hungry anymore…Kinda glad…"

Etna was silent, still attempting to keep the tears from falling.

"You should be true to your heart. You're sad, aren't you?"

Etna was surprised at the powerful demon's question, looking back at him in shock.

"Huh?"

The Overlord smiled down at her.

"You don't have to pretend to be strong."

XXXXX

Etna sat on a tombstone, her legs dangling over the side.

"You're kinda strange. You didn't have to dig a grave for it."

The Overlord looked over at her, the shovel he used to dig the grave slung over his shoulder.

"Am I?"

"Yes. You're not like other demons. And inviting a commoner like me to stay at the Overlord's Castle is unheard of."

The Overlord was silent for a moment before responding.

"Do you believe that nobles should reign over everyone else?"

The female demon was silent, wondering what the man in front of her was getting at.

"Does being a noble or a commoner, or even a demon or an angel really matter? Is our discrimination necessary? Should we not strive for a world where everyone is treated equally, despite their class or species?"

Etna looked at him like he had grown a second head.

"You're really strange."

Then she smiled up at him.

"But, if you're going to make the Netherworld a better place, I wanna help you do it."

The Overlord smiled back at the demon girl.

"I promise to make the Netherworld a better place to live."

XXXXX

Lancer appeared in the Throne Room of a castle.

"Did you call for me, my Lord?"

The Overlord rose from his throne, running his hand through his hair.

"It's about my son, Laharl."

"Oh, that brat…Oops! So, what about the Prince?" Lancer's expression soured slightly as she spoke about the Prince.

The Overlord walked down the Throne Room, Lancer right at his side.

"I am old and I don't know when I'll be defeated by another demon."

"You'll never be defeated…" Lancer looked shocked that he would even consider the possibility of being defeated.

The Overlord chuckled at the female demon's admiration.

"I'm just saying 'if'. If I die, the Netherworld will be plunged into chaos once again. Many demons will come after Laharl to become the next Overlord."

He stopped in his tracks and looked at Lancer, the demon girl looking back at him quizzically.

"Etna, this is not an order, but a promise between you and me."

Etna looked confused.

"Promise…?"

"If I die, will you please protect Laharl? And make sure Laharl becomes a great Overlord?"

Etna sighed, holding her head in her hand.

"If it's you, I can't really refuse, can I?"

The Overlord smiled at her.

"Of course you can refuse. I will not force you to do something you're not comfortable with."

Etna sighed again.

"That's not what I meant. After all you've done for me, there's no way my conscience will let me refuse. Yeah, I promise I'll protect the Prince."

"Thank you, Etna"

XXXXX

1st Day
Kayneth's Hotel Room

"Ugh, my back's killing me," Kayneth groaned as he got up off the room's couch, having been forced by Lancer to give up his bed to her. He could've gone to Sola's room, but she would have flat-out refused to let him in her bed anyway, so couch it was.

"So, that was Lancer's past," Kayneth said to himself, staring intently at his Command Seals, wondering how a commoner could've been acknowledged by royalty. She had been nothing but a weak commoner, so how could the ruler of a world of demons have accepted her? Why had such a man wished for peace between two species on the opposite sides of the moral compass? How could a demon be so compassionate?

As he contemplated these thoughts, he didn't notice Lancer and Sola had woken up and convened in the kitchen.

Kayneth didn't notice Lancer coming up behind him until she yanked on his ear, hard.

"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Kayneth screamed in pain, holding his sore ear. He turned to his cheekily grinning Servant and yelled, "What the hell was that for?"

Lancer kept grinning as she replied, "Me and Sola are hungry. Get your ass in gear and let's grab something to eat."

Kayneth looked at her in disbelief.

"Go out? When you look like that?"

Lancer continued to grin.

"I can hide my demonic features easily."

To demonstrate, Lancer was enveloped in darkness. When the dark shroud dissipated, Lancer's appearance had changed. Her ears were now rounded, as were her pupils, though her eyes still retained their red color. Her tail and wings had disappeared as well. All in all, she looked like a perfectly normal, albeit skimpily dressed, girl.

Kayneth facepalmed at Lancer's new appearance.

"That's not what I…You know what? I don't care anymore! Let's just go."

Kayneth grabbed his coat off the chair he had tossed it on last night and slipped it on. He walked towards the door, Sola and Lancer following behind him, and stopped with his hand on the handle of the door. He turned to the two females, Lancer in particular.

"If anyone asks, you're our daughter…And you're 15…And a late bloomer…And extremely rebellious."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go already."

Kayneth just shook his head, opened the door and left, the redheads right behind him.

XXXXX

Omake: Alternate Servants
Archer

As the light from the summoning began to die down, an ominous feeling overwhelmed Tokiomi.

'What is this feeling of impending doom I'm feeling? Surely Gilgamesh can't be that bad."

The Servant that had appeared was certainly not Gilgamesh. He was tall. Taller than any normal man. He wore a long, red overcoat over a charcoal colored suit, leather riding boots, along with a red cravat around his neck. On his face were a pair of orange-tinted, goggle-sided sunglasses shadowed by a crimson, wide-brimmed fedora. Hidden by his accessories were blood-red eyes and messy, black hair. On his hands he wore white gloves that were adorned with five-pointed seals on the back. In addition to his outlandish appearance, he had an animalistic, fanged grin and an aura that reeked of blood and death.

"Kehehehehehe! What is this wonderful feeling? Surely, the only thing this could be is Anderson's enthralling presence! This is it! The chance for a rematch! The fight of a thousand lifetimes!" The man…no, monster cackled evilly.

"W-who are you?" Tokiomi asked in fear as the monster's aura threatened to consume him.

Archer's eyes snapped to the pale magus, causing even more blood to drain from the man's face as Archer's grin grew.

"Who am I? Who am I? I am the King of Vampires, the No-Life King, The Impaler Lord, Count Dracula! I am Alucard! Now stand aside, Master, I have a priest to kill."

Without waiting for a response, the self-proclaimed Alucard shoved the Tohsaka Head out of his way, sending him flying into a wall, while smashing through the opposite wall and into the city, his large hand-cannons blasting.

In his attempt to find his arch-nemesis, Alucard released his Level Zero Restriction, flooding the city with his familiars, assimilating nearly everyone in the city into him. Anderson eventually revealed himself and fought against Alucard in an all-out, no-holds-barred, fight to the death which ended up utterly destroying the city and revealing magic to the world.

With the existence of magic revealed, the Holy Church and the Mage's Association allied with each other to fight against the world's unified army, with the mundane people killing all but the most powerful and most cowardly of their number with their advanced weaponry, which included Zelretch who fled to a parallel dimension to escape the World Civil War.

And throughout the entire war, there was one area which nobody went near: Ground Zero; the remains of Fuyuki City itself, where the No-Life King Alucard and the Judas Priest Alexander Anderson were still fighting to this day.

XXXXX

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Next chapter will definite be the harbor fight...probably...maybe...Anyway, we'll see how things play out.

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Be brutal, it's how I learn.

Alright, until next time, loyal fans.