"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news," the reporter in the television states. "An unexplained explosion occurred in the harbour district off the Fuyuki city coast."

This little explanation is about the intense battle early this night. Kneeling before his Master and staring at the ground, Lancer listens to the reporter. So much unravelled tonight about the Holy Grail War and he regrets not contributing enough.

The television goes blank and the room is inaudible. The Master's glare shifts to the Servant. Even if Lancer can not see his Lord, he feels his eyes on him.

"Was your battle with Saber that enjoyable? So much that you couldn't finish her off?" The mage begins the lecture. "You had two chances. At times, you could have even murdered Silver and brought an accustomed Holy Grail War upon us. So you let two targets slip away. To worsen it even more, you made me waste a Command Seal," he finishes coldly, with a hint of outrage.

An accustomed Holy Grail War? The knight thinks to himself, not daring to express this to his Master. This ritual is murderous and bloody for not only mages but those around us. The verity of Silver, who appears to be the King of Legends, participating just makes it all the more barbaric.

"I swear by my honor as a proud knight, I will bring you their heads," Diarmuid retorts with a deep breath knowing about this responsibility.

"There is no use swearing. Of course you will!" the English Master yells and slams his fist on the arm-rest of his chair. "You had made a pact with me to bring me the Grail! Trying to defeat both of them and only them. You are horribly mistaken!"

"Aren't you the one who is mistaken, Lord El-Melloi?" Footsteps approach them and a pretty woman with red hair enters the room. My Lord's fiancé. Lancer immediately recognizes the voice.

"Sola-Ui..." Kayneth speaks in a much more unrested voice.

"Lancer did well. I believe you are the one misjudging the situation." It surprises Lancer how much confidence fills her voice as she speaks.

"Saber is a particularly powerful opponent. Silver, especially being the Eighth Servant as well as the King of Legends, almost overpowered all of the Servants tonight. I couldn't let the chances of eliminating them once and for all slip away," he nervously defends, realizing that now the two female Servants will always be on guard for any upcoming attacks.

"Saber has been dealt a wound that can't be cured. You can let her be and defeat her when you please. However, her Master was wide open and yet you hid in the shadows and merely observed. Now about Silver, everyone will be thinking of her as a threat, meaning all the Servants will be after her throat to rid her of the war. You were fortunate she didn't kill you right there," she explains, clearly disappointed. Lancer, on the other hand, is beginning to get aggravated by her since he thinks he was mainly at fault.

He clenches his fist on the ground in anger for what his fiancé has to say to Kayneth. It flusters the knight how he just lets her speak like this to him and how he can't do anything about it as she is part of their pact.

"Kayneth," she continues, beginning to walk around the Servant to her lover. "You understand your advantage in this Heaven's Feel, don't you? In your Master-Servant contract, you made a special variation. The Command Seals are yours, while I act as an additional Master to supply mana. They don't call you the prodigy in Magecraft for no reason," she finishes and ends up behind his chair, making him more tense.

Kayneth El-Melloi Archimbald is known throughout many places as the top prodigy in Necromancy. Both the Master and Sola-Ui have told this to Lancer, and it is nothing but believable. His skills in magic are extremely high and he has definitely proven it.

Madam Sola-Ui, on the other hand, still has great potential as a mage. Her healing magic is very helpful, she is even capable of much more Necromancy skills and her support of mana is more than perfect to sustain Diarmuid. It even relieves him that the charm spell shouldn't have an effect on her, seeing how strong a mage she is. At least that is what he thinks.

"But we must be wary in the beginning." Lord El-Melloi speaks lowly in an edgy voice. Lancer's brows furrow irritated.

"Oh? Is that so? Yet you press Lancer for results—"

"That's enough," the knight interrupts her. Both of adults look at him confused and suprised. "Any more will put indignity on my Master. As a knight, I cannot allow that." The two pause for a second.

"No! That's not what I meant to say..." Sola-Ui speaks up, almost without hesitation. "I'm sorry, I went too far." She turns back to Lancer with a small grin on her face that he doesn't seem to notice, but Kayneth does instantly.

Why would she stop for me instantly and continue to humiliate the man she loves? The Irish man thinks to himself. It is quite peculiar what she is trying to do. If this is the work of the charm spell, it should have no effect on her, because of her abilities in magic.

Out of this silence, a bell rings abruptly resembling some sort of alarm. Lancer raises his head up slightly as Sola-Ui looks around puzzled. Kayneth remains calm in his chair.

The telephone rings and he patiently walks to communicate with the other person. Lancer turns his head slightly to make sure nothing is of the matter. His Master waits a few seconds before speaking.

"... I see..." He sets the telephone down and faces the other two again. Diarmuid gets up from kneeling and stands in back of Sola-Ui.

"There is a fire on the lower levels. Without doubt, it's arson," El-Melloi continues and rests his chin in his hand.

"Arson? Tonight?" Sola-Ui stiffens up at his words.

"It's a scheme to evacuate the building," he explains.

"That means... It's an assault?" Kayneth let's out a laugh at his fiancé's remark.

"Of course, Saber's Master will want to put an end to the curse of the spear." He sounds more arrogant than ever. "Lancer, go take care of her. Don't let her go, this time. And once finished with her, go for Silver."

"Yes, my Lord." The knight bows down.

Gray dust replaces his body as he enters spirit form and goes to find Saber.

Meanwhile on the exterior of the building, a certain angel sits atop a nearby skyscraper. The wind is strong but is nothing to her.

Evacuation is happening down at the inn. A fire has been planted there purposely for yet another attack. She can feel the presence of a Servant, even at this altitude away from them.

Aerith could take a hypothesis as to who would be here and who deliberately set up a fire to get rid of everyone inside. Judging by the turn of events earlier this night with the two knights, Saber's Master will go to this extent to remove the curse of the yellow spear. They are attempting to kill Lancer's Master, meaning killing Lancer himself. She knows this all too well.

The vacating of civilians happens very quickly, and she hopes no one is inside still. Servants must kill any witness spotted observing the Grail War, which is appalling to make proud Heroic Spirits commit these manslaughters.

BOOM! Faster than a second, the hotel blows up and fire lights up the entire city with everyone outside panicking. So Saber's Master is making sure Lancer's Master is inside with the explosion. That's the only reasonable explanation as to why the building would blow up, she thinks.

Silver stands up and jumps from the roof. Smoke almost fills her eyes as she plummets to the ground. Safely spreading the feathered wings, she lands and starts for the smoking wreckage of the hotel. Lancer and Saber may have a dual to resume, but the Holy Grail War must continue as well. She must see if he is still alive or not.

She runs around the people outside, luckily having a black robe on to hide the wings. Jumping into the destroyed building to find the knight Servant, Aerith feels that other people are present here. Her instinct alone tells her that not only a Servant, but Masters are somewhere here. Now there are other targets to look for.

As she jumps higher and higher up the building, Silver notices a man standing with what seems to be blades in his hands. Stopping, she hides herself behind the pillars and destruction, having a peek at him.

The blades in his hands disappear and a shadow with a skull mask materializes behind the man. Assassin. I knew he was still alive from earlier this night. Yet, it's a different Assassin. Are there multiple Assassin's? If so, then how many are there? Theycanbesomefun.

"I told you not to materialize so openly," says the man, turning around showing his front with a cross necklace on his chest. He is the Master everyone believed to be protected by the church.

"Master Kirei, this is crucial. We have located Caster and his Master. It appears they have observed the entire battle tonight," the Assassin says, shocking his Master and Silver. "But their efforts aren't dedicated to the Grail War. Their hideout is full of young children and women all dead. It's as if they weren't even paying that much attention to the Grail War." The Master looks down.

"... They may be behind the recent kidnappings. Perhaps there can be a slight change of the rules. For both Caster and Silver, since she is some sort of trial created by the Grail," the man says. Assassin replies with a nod and fades into black dust as his Master walks away.

That remark deeply aggravates her. A trial? It may make sense for him to believe it since her tale and the Eighth Servant were believed to be myths. But she is present here and no mage of any class could summon a being as powerful as herself. Just the sight of her is more than enough proof of both tales.

Although, what he said about the rules changing grabbed her awareness. What kind of ordinance will be different because of her? Silver wonders with a malicious smirk.

—-

"The Holy Grail War is in grave menace," Risei Kotomine says to the familiars sitting in the aisles of the Holy Church. "A confirmation has been established that Caster's Master is the reason behind the latest murders of Fuyuki City."

The giant room feels empty with the small familiars just observing. They are here in place of their Masters so they will not expose their identities. It feels as though there is another presence lurking. It is late at night though, and it might not be something worth worrying about.

"I will make use of my emergency powers as supervisor and make alterations to the regulations of the Grail War," the priest continues. "All Masters are to focus on eliminating Caster and cease combat against any other Servants."

He holds his right arm up and pulls back the black sleeve, revealing the many Command Seals on his arm. This would have been a great dream for the Masters to have this much power over their Servants.

"The one who defeats Caster and his Master will receive an additional Command Seal as a reward. These are the Command Seals of the fallen Masters in previous Grail Wars that were unused and left behind. They should be of incalculable benefit to you. The War will resume once Caster's death is proven." He pulls the sleeve down.

The old priest wonders if after tonight, people will not wait until tomorrow to find Caster. They should have enough intelligence to know that anyone who will help out in Caster's defeat will also receive a Command Seal.

"If anyone has questions, now is the time to ask. Though, that would be limited to speakers of the human tongue." He finishes with a smile since the familiars are only eyes and ears for Masters.

"I may not be human, but I can still speak fluently as any other." Just as the familiars were about to leave, Silver comes out of the shadows of the doors with the most superior grin Risei has ever seen and speaks more arrogantly than Archer.

"Silver..." He loses the smile and whispers to himself, taking a deep breath. Kirei, Tokiomi and Risei have discussed the rules changing about her too. He can't help but receive a familiar feeling around her.

"The Masters may get rewarded and I understand how Servants are tools for Masters. But what about me? I don't have a Master to serve. What would I get out of it?" she asks with a smirk.

"In your case, just the same as the other Servants, there will be nothing awarded to you. But, you may still take away the advantages for everyone else." JJ is voice is stern yet shaky.

"Oh? I may be interested," she says with a tilt of her head, arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, still managing the smile.

"If you defeat Caster solely without the aid of anyone else, you can completely get rid of the chances for the other Masters to receive a Command Seal. You are the other target to be focused on by every Master."

"So basically, if I demolish Caster alone, no one will get a Command Seal while I have everyone at my throat? Well, I do enjoy a good battle if the opponent will be worthy of my time," she says with slight sarcasm and puts her hands at her waist, almost mocking a certain someone. It appears the earlier the King, the greater an ego they have, just like the King of Heroes.

"That is true. The Masters and Servants will be permitted to attack you and eliminate you. You will also be allowed to attack any Servant you wish to defeat," Kotomine retorts, putting an immense target on her back, even though there was already one from the start.

"Hmph! You guys sure want me out of the picture. Just to make things clear, if Caster does get exterminated, doesn't matter by whom, then the Holy Grail War will still return to 'normal'?" she asks putting great emphasis on the last word.

"That is correct," he finishes. "You may all be dismissed."

"This gets better and better each day," she ends the conversation and leaves, followed by the familiars fleeing the Church.

He sighs in relief from having encountered the King of Legends. Risei still struggles to believe that she was a real Hero. Kirei and Tohsaka are more than convinced about her being some sort of trial set out for the Heroic Spirits. He might just be as well.

—-

Last night was crazy. There was a battle with almost all of the Servants and half of the identities exposed. An explosion in a building for the benefit of a Master. And rules have changed. So much had occurred that completely altered the War.

During the day, Silver had relaxed in the forest she lays down on. Strategies between different teams were probably confirmed since everyone makes their moves at night. She had just gone out to eat and come back here to think, up until it was getting dark and decided to take a nap.

Mainly because of the amendment concerning her, she put up stronger magic fields to detect anyone attempting to kill her, seeing how it is night and she must be on guard.

During her sleep, she didn't receive many dreams, as usual. Just memories flashing through her head, good and bad. Some set a calm tone for her and some sadden her. Although, she will never give up to bring a peaceful future between land and sky.

Out of nowhere, her heart beats ten times harder for just one beat. A presence has entered the forest. Without haste, she gets up and shoots five blue spikes made of thread from magic towards the presence. The spikes aren't that big or strong, but they can easily paralyze anyone for a couple of seconds.

In the shadows, the dark-blue light is being deflected by a red colour. Birds leave their nests in the trees and fly away from the sound. Aerith stands up, creates a large circle of magical dark-blue spikes in front of her and faces the enemy. Thanks to her magic fields, she knows exactly who it is.

"I thought you would settle matters with Saber first. Although you heard about the rules being changed. Is that right, Lancer?" the angel says with pride. He shows himself in the moon light and out of the shadows of trees.

"My Master's orders. And any Hero would take the honour in landing a single blow on the King of Legends herself," he says with a smile, making him look handsome under the moonlight.

"So you wish to have a fair fight?" she asks with one of her usual devilish grins.

"I wish for you not to go easy on me." He returns the smile and gets into a battle stance.

"Well, I would not want to miss the opportunity of facing a knight full of honour. You definitely have my acclaim for that, so prepare yourself!" she shouts and dematerializes her blue spikes, switches into her armour with her luscious hair in its customary bun-and-ponytail combo. She takes out her polearm and lance to face off as if they were the same classes.

"You are surely a great and noble King. Your legend is as true as it may be. I am greatly blessed to have met you!" he replies with happiness and raises his red spear.

"As am I to meet a righteous knight as my opponent, more reliable than some of my old subjects. But, I wish for us not to talk but for our blades to clash!" she happily says, putting her lance on her shoulder and raising the polearm.

"I won't hesitate to kill you!" He smiles, showing his teeth.

Lancer is a great knight and Silver cannot wait to settle things on the battlefield. Both Heroic Spirits heating up with gratification for this battle.


Author's Note:

I have recently been ending my stories on cliff-hangers but, in my next chapters, they will definitely continue from the start! Anyway, I hoped you liked it and until the next one!