Chapter 6

Saber stood guard outside his Master's room, contemplating the day's revelations. If Archer and Rider were to be believed, then at least three Servants participating in the Holy Grail War had the same identities. The fact that there was a surreal sense of familiarity between the three Servants supported the idea. Saber blinked. Lancer had the exact same spear that Rider and Archer were wielding. In fact, it was so similar that he didn't know why he, nor anyone else, noticed. And if, as he thought, Lancer was Cu Chulainn as well, then this War just got a lot harder. He, of all people, knew how troublesome the crimson spear is and if wielded by a version of himself summoned in the class most suited for using a spear...

Saber grinned. This War just got a lot more interesting.

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Rider was, for lack of a better term, pensive as he roamed Fuyuki City. Since he was the most mobile among the Servants of their alliance, he was tasked to patrol the area for any disturbances. At first, he was wary of leaving his Master at the hands of potential enemies but his Master insisted that the red haired boy wouldn't allow the other girl to harm her. Rider shook his head. Courting rituals nowadays were confusing. Back in his day, people slept with each other left and right. Rider himself had a lot of experience in that area, although a lot of his sexual encounters never really ended well for anybody. Take for example that woman whom he forced to bear his child, the very same child he killed in ignorance. Or that one fairy girl whose existence was wiped from his mortal memories. Or bthat princess who was killed when her kidnapper jumped down a cliff, taking her with him.

"You must be Rider. That horse of yours is a dead giveaway."

Rider turned to see the blue spearman that fought Saber a couple of nights ago.

"Ho? Are you challenging me, Lancer?"

Lancer grinned, his spear resting on his shoulders.

"I've fought every other Servant in this War, Rider. You're all that's left. And I'm pretty sure that compared to Berserker, you're going to be a piece of cake!"

As Lancer finished his sentence, he dashed forward in a burst of speed, spear aimed at the mounted Servant's heart.

CLANG.

Rider deflected the blow from atop his steed, knocking Lancer's attack sideways. Lancer jumped away while Rider dismounted, his horse disappearing in a flash of light. Upon getting a closer look at Lancer's weapon, Rider narrowed his eyes.

" Heh. I guess we're about to see who's the better spearman." He said as he readied his own spear. There was a pregnant pause before both Servants leapt into action. The air screamed as two spears moved at the speed of sound, their wielders trying to find a weakness in their opponent's defense.

Several thrusts, aimed at vital points of the body, were blocked with enough intensity to knock the attacker off balance, just enough to turn the tables with a well aimed stab. Sparks erupted from crimson metal as the spears met each other in rapid succession. Both warriors had bloodthirsty grins on their faces as they partook in a dance to the death. After a couple of minutes which seemed like hours, the two warriors broke apart and faced each other, neither of them showing even an ounce of exhaustion.

"Not bad, Rider."

Rider's grin grew wider. The spearman in front of him was exactly who he thought it would be.

" Hehe. Hehehehe. You're not someone I can take lightly, eh, Lancer?" With those words, Rider planted his spear on the ground and a burst of prana erupted from the Servant. Lancer grinned.

"Eh? I heard that the Rider class had some pretty impressive Noble Phantasms. Let's see if that's true."

Rider grinned as two phantasmal steeds materialized in front of him, a bronze war chariot harnessed to the horses.

"Liath Macha, Dub Sainglend!"

Lancer stared at the horses and the chariot with wide eyes.

"What in the name of Conchobar?"

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Saber sighed. It was supposed to be a peaceful night with Archer and him doing guard duty, Rider scouting the area and all three Masters sound asleep. But no, a Servant had the gall to enter the property, setting off the boundary field and drawing the attention of both Archer and himself. Then the intruder actually claimed that he was Assassin. If that wasn't enough, Assassin looked like an anthromorphic dog while wielding very familiar spear.

"Tch. I knew my Presence Concealment was next to useless but seriously? A boundary field that was set up by modern magi actually detected me?"

Saber shook his head while Archer recovered from the shock of having another Cu Chulainn in existence.

"The Holy Grail took the title Hound of Ulster literally, I guess." Saber remarked. Assassin frowned at him.

"So, you already know my name. No matter, my job here is to eliminate at least one Master, but it seems that my task just became a lot more difficult."

It was Archer who voiced out what Saber was thinking.

"So, your Master sent Assassin, a Servant who is physically weaker than the others and is more suited to killing Masters, to fight two other Servants head-on? How arrogant is he?"

Assassin sighed. If only they knew. His Master might be a disgusting excuse for a human, but even Assassin knew that he'd be more than a match for other modern day magi.

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Caster was, simply put, in denial. According to her research, she was in a world where the characters of her entire myth were of the opposite gender. Conchobar was supposed to be a Queen, not a King. Emer was her husband, not wife. And Ferdiad was her BFF, not a bro. The witch sighed. Maybe stalking her intended Master would take her mind off things.

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Still short. See last chapter's AN for the reason.