Disclaimer: I do not own DxD, Nasuverse, or any other things I use here that I stole from other series.

Chapter 9: Escalation

-Fuyuki docks, Caster vs Saber-

Throwing elemental projectiles made of one's own power has been a sort of tradition in any world utilizing magic. It is a tried and proven method of magical combat that works for almost any situation unless of course you're not lucky enough to only be able to cast one single projectile at a time due to using a concentrated focus which is the case for several magic teaching.

For Sophia Brave, her standard method of combat is raining fire in the form of blades while she herself engage the enemy in close combat. That and a whole lot of explosion.

"What's wrong Saber? Can't get close? Then I'll come to you personally!"

Saber is irritated with having to dodge the explosive blades. His 'Magic Resistance' seemingly not helping much. But what's more irritating is the fact that Caster's swordsmanship is not a joke either. Though not as good as himself, Caster is a master swordswoman that could stand up to him for a limited time in swordsmanship alone. Coupled with her thaumaturgy, Caster is a very dangerous opponent. Sophia was an Archmagus in her life after all and partnered with Momoka they both could fight the more mortal DAA (which doesn't extend to the top 5).

Saber had to duck another explosive blade and parry another one as he tries to evade Caster's slashes. The explosion push the knight back and made it harder to dodge Sophia who coordinated well with her flaming blades. But Saber had figured out a few things about Caster. If they fight close enough, the flaming blades will just burn instead of outright exploding. It seems that the explosion is reserved only for ranged combat. But still, it is ridiculous how she can control the blades while fighting at close range and if his suspicion was right with powerful enhancements on her own body. The prana around her is very thick and they are circulating continuously. Prana-wise, Caster not only has seemingly unlimited reserve but also very precise control if she can switch her blades' property so quickly without so much as a gesture.

Saber deflected some of those flaming blades before charging towards Caster to enter her range, the knight's body unleashing bursts of prana. Caster brought her sword to the front, blocking the silver sword although also being pushed back. But Caster had planted her feet firmly on the ground. Saber was about to use his foot to kick Caster and break her balance but Caster was faster in foul play. A flaming dagger soars from Saber's right side, trying to strike the knight's flank. Saber who noticed broke their confrontation.

As Saber jump backward, Caster push forward. Saber's left fist moved, aiming for Caster's face while Caster's gloved left hand formed also formed into a fist aimed for the knight's gut. Both hit their mark. Caster was thrown back painfully and crashed into a container with a large bruise on her cheek while.

But Saber launched through several containers before he hit a concrete wall, a burn mark was made on his armor where Caster's fist connects. Saber shook his head, a little dazed. If his endurance were any lower, he wouldn't have gotten away with just a burn mark and a little dizziness after hitting his head on a concrete wall.

'That was dangerous.'

Saber never thought that Caster would actually punch him. He had to admit, Caster is very powerful and abnormal. Mastery of the arcane is a given for someone of her class but to also be able to follow his movement and possessing swordsmanship capability, she's very dangerous. That and her physical stats are high for a Caster and that's not counting her physical reinforcement that could hold out agai—

'Wait, that last punch was similar to a prana burst but added with fire element and uses a very large amount of prana. What the hell is that Servant?'

Saber's instinct suddenly screamed to get away. Saber became alerted and noticed that the sky is suddenly brighter. The knight look up and saw a large flaming bird forming over the floating Caster of Red. Under his helmet, Saber grinned. Caster is really powerful. She doesn't even look hurt from his punch and that was powered by his own prana burst.

And the fiery bird descends with its wings spread wide. Saber stood his ground. With a loud roar like that of a beast and powering himself with prana burst, Saber swung his sword at the fiery bird and a large explosion occurred.

That attack was equal an A+-ranked attack by Servant standard. Thankfully it was made purely of magecraft and wasn't a Noble Phantasm attack. Saber knew that and that's why the knight struck it down instead of countering with his own Noble Phantasm. But the attack power was so great that it overcame his 'Magic Resistance'. Caster knew the knight was hurt and not just a simple scratch.

Caster was surprised when Saber's blade suddenly came down from above her. Saber had jumped to the air and took her by surprise. She was sure that Saber will at least be incapacitated for a while or at least will have a harder time recovering. That small mistake now will cost her. As Saber's swung down the silver blade, Caster who had sheathed her sword previously as she need another Mystic Code to form her last spell raised her reinforced right hand to block the blade. Of course, Saber's sword could cut through Caster's arm but the resistance brought Caster enough time to retreat. Using a burst of wind prana, Caster pushed herself backward, though not before losing her right arm to Saber.

Saber landed on the ground and Caster could see that the knight has lost 'HER' armor. Now wearing only the red tunic under her armor that's singed in a few places, Saber grinned.

"You're a tough one, Caster. I respect your ability. I've never fought a magus skilled in both sword and the arcane. My armor is not a big price to pay for one of your arm."

Saber said. Caster grit her teeth as she apply a spell to stop the bleeding. It was a mistake for her to let her guard down and now she had paid with one arm.

"Now, shall we start the next round?"

Caster knew that the fight won't be easy from here on out. But she still drew her sword and held it level with her waist. Losing her right arm is quite a blow to her combat potential. She's not proficient in using her left hand for swordsmanship.

"That's enough!"

A powerful voice commanded. Saber of Blue widened her eyes as she recognized who the voice belonged to. Caster took the opportunity to fall back to the source of the voice, one of the Servant of Red. Clad in his armor wielding an invisible sword, the King of Knights slowly walks into the docks to face his Blue faction counterpart.

"I'll take it from here, Caster."

"Saber. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my guard down."

"There's no need to apologize. Now, stand back and heal. I will fight in your place. Plus, this is personal."

Caster nodded before standing back and joining Illya who came with Saber. She watch as the two Sabers level their gaze on each other. The air became tense, much too tense. Saber of Blue though has a wild air around her but she took everything in strides even if she is not doing well. She enjoyed their brief fight but now Saber of Blue's expression is filled with pure hatred and all those hatred is being aimed at Saber of Red.

"So you've been summoned, father."

She spat the last part as if it was a curse.

"Mordred."

The King of Knights and the Knight of Treachery met on the battlefield once again.

-Fuyuki outskirt, Valerie vs Saren-

Sepiroth Graal is a very powerful sacred gear that is worthy to be named a Longinus. But so far all users had never been able to utilize its full power and instead fell to the madness of being a living being that can interact with spiritual essence of the world. It is actually like a bastardization of an aspect of Heaven's Feel, the ability to interact with spirits and manipulate the soul. But as the other world is not that well versed in soul magic as this one's no user of Sepiroth Graal could touch even half of the Longinus' potential.

Until Valerie Tepes came

The basic use of the Sepiroth Graal is to manipulate the soul and perform slight modification like erasing a weakness inherent to a race or resurrecting the dead which is only possible in the other world as the Netherworld is very close to the living world there unlike in Nasuverse where the soul goes to Akasha before being reincarnated. But there is much more than just that. Valerie had found a function that can only be used after understanding soul magic to a certain degree.

Temporary race change

This is the true power of Sepiroth Graal, the ability to change one's race through manipulating the whole soul. The default form Valerie will return to will always be Dead Apostle. But now with Sepiroth Graal active, she is something akin to an Angel from her homeworld. Currently with the Sepiroth Graal, Valerie has the raw power of a six winged Angel.

And so light and flame clashes.

As Valerie is not a true Angel, she cannot fight like one as she doesn't know how. But the elemental advantage and what little she could do using her Angelic power is enough.

Valerie formed a longsword made of light and reinforced it to the limit. As Saren sends a torrent of flame towards Valerie, she created a barrier made of light. Pushing past the flame with her barrier, Valerie slashed at the DAA with her light sword. The DAA pivoted to the side to avoid the light sword and then clawed at Valerie. Valerie created another light sword in her left hand and block the claw of the DAA. Saren felt a burning sensation on his palm at the point where his hand meets Valerie's sword.

"A Church Sacrament? I've never seen something like this before. A solid blade made purely of ether? No, not ether… Interesting."

Like how Valerie formed her light sword, Saren formed a sword made of flame with his free hand and slashes at Valerie who blocked it with her other sword. But the flaming sword suddenly disappear and Valerie's sword cuts through empty air, breaking her balance due to the unexpected movement. Saren then kicked Valerie on her abdomen, launching her to the railing by the road. If it were any stronger the railing would've broke and Valerie would've fallen down to the street bellow.

As Valerie recovers, Saren sent three jets of flame to burn her. The younger Dead Apostle created another barrier but this time it is weaker due to being in a hurry. The barrier breaks shortly after but it brought Valerie enough time to jump backward and down bellow. Saren gave chase as he too jumps down after cancelling his attack.

When Saren landed, Valerie had prepared two light spears and hurled it at the DAA. The male Burnheart created two flame swords and deflect the light spears. Valerie kicked off the ground with enough force to break the solid ground she's standing on and create two light swords like before.

Valerie and Saren began to match blades as their battle continue to become more furious. With the Sepiroth Graal pumping her with prana, Valerie could match Saren in a contest of strength using her already stronger body and reinforcement. Her swordsmanship is also not bad. Although not as skilled as Noire and Xenovia, Valerie could be passed as above average in her sword art.

It is an equal battle so far. Saren is powerful and experienced but Valerie is more skilled in close range and her elemental advantage shows itself whenever she cuts Saren. But Valerie didn't get through their exchange of blades without suffering some damage too. Her clothes are singed and she suffered some burn marks from Saren's flame. But with each cut she dealt, Saren's power was drained.

Valerie's quick and accurate slashes are matched by Saren's flames guided by his experience and reflex honed by years of combat. Valerie knew that even if she drained Saren's stamina with each cut, she would be the first to fall to exhaustion. She cannot maintain the transformation indefinitely. If she lost the elemental advantage given by Sepiroth Graal, she would be killed by Saren. He is not even going all out yet. So Valerie made a gamble.

Valerie thrust at Saren's heart which he deflected to the side and subsequently punching the young Apostle with a fiery fist. Valerie tilted her head, making the fist missed by a few inches but still burning her cheek due to the flame's heat. The half Apostle decided that she should put some distance and jump back quite far and high with a burst of prana which she can afford with her reserve.

Once she's airborne, the Tepes girl took out two jewels.

"Release."

Valerie commanded. The prana inside the two jewels are released and Valerie formed a pair of enormous light spears. It is a size she couldn't form normally in such a short time.

Saren also created a large sphere of flame when he saw the amount of prana the young Apostle released. When Valerie had finished forming her spears, he had formed an enormous ball of flame. When Valerie throw the two spears, Saren sends the ball of flame to match her. The resulting explosion sends both of them crashing somewhere.

-Road to Tohsaka mansion, near Ryuudouji-

"What?! Are you sure about that, Kiritsugu-san?"

Noire almost yelled at Kiritsugu when he told him what is happening to Valerie. The Burnheart sibling, known to move as a pair, they are very close to each other unlike normal magus sibling where one is usually neglected in favor of the heir. They are very dangerous being ranked 23 and 24 in the list of 27 DAA. If it is them, there is a possibility that they could defeat a Servant. Although it won't be easy at all and they are at a disadvantage, it is still there.

"Thank you. We will be heading there soon."

Noire ended his call after hearing what he needs. He immediately increase his pace along with Xenovia who is coming with him.

"The situation is really devolving into a disaster. Now we have two DAA entering Fuyuki."

"DAA? The 27? How bad is it?"

"Saren is known as 'The Inferno'. He used to be a very talented Magi whose fire element had reached the peak of mastery or something. The other is Eileen. She has the unusual element of darkness. Her nickname is 'Black Nightmare'. She is very dangerous. I don't know much about her ability apart from its relation with darkness."

"Why are they here?"

"I have no idea."

When the two of them turn to a corner, Noire by reflex caught an object that soars at high speed towards him. It pushed him back and he almost lost his footing but he managed to stop and look at what he just caught.

"Valerie!"

In his arm is Valerie Tepes whose clothes were burned on many places and she herself sported a lot of burn marks. She's unconscious and Noire could tell that she's low on prana. She looks like she had just fought a very dangerous battle.

"So that explosion we heard earlier was caused by Valerie?"

"She probably fought Saren Burnheart."

Noire concluded based on the burn marks Valerie suffered.

"Right. Now that we got Valerie, let's get back. We're close to Ryuudouji so…"

"Going somewhere?"

'Ohh shit.'

Both Noire and Xenovia thought at the same time. Archer and Berserker had appeared along with two other unknown Servants. Beside them are their respective Masters.

The Blue team has arrived.

-?-

"That's bad news for the Red team."

"So what do we do Master?"

"We proceed with the plan but help only when needed. The best weapon we have now is the element of surprise."

A man with tanned skin and spiky white hair wearing priestly clothing under a red shroud said to the woman behind him as he look down to Fuyuki from over the cloud. The black haired beauty is his Servant, Assassin. The construction of the Hanging Garden took time and only now have they arrived in Fuyuki.

"It's not really a deal if it is something I also need to do but it works well for me."

"I have sent my doves to the city. Now we only need to wait. Are you sure you don't want to join them now?"

"Shijou Noire and that new girl from Burial Agency should be able to fight their way out somehow. If nothing else, both of them are tenacious. They will not die easily even against that number. For now we have another objective. "

Kotomine Shirou walk back into the flying fortress. He will join the battle soon but not now. Semiramis trailed behind him. Another dangerous pair had entered Fuyuki.

So the Holy Grail War is about to get a lot more complicated. I'm really not good in doing battle scenes and I'm still learning so forgive me if it is not that good. Next chapter will continue the second (or was it third?) night of the 5th Grail War.

Now, I seem to make Caster as a very powerful Servant. Well, yes, Sophia is one of the strongest Servant in this Grail War. She is basically a double summon, a Caster and Saber with Caster as her main class. She was an Archmagus in life and she defeated a Saber in the 3rd Heaven's Feel with the combination of swordsmanship and magecraft. She also has some other things I haven't mentioned so yes, she's the worst possible enemy for a close-range fighter. As for why Saber's Magic Resistant didn't work much. Now only are her spells powerful but she had some tricks she learned during her final battle in the 3rd War to bypass a Saber's Magic Resistance. But that was a Saber with lower resistance than Mordred and doesn't possess Battle Continuation so Caster lowered her guard and lost an arm. Well, she won't be fighting anyone in full power anytime soon.

Next is Valerie. She is a powerful one. If I have to compare, she has the biggest raw power of all the Red Masters and a few tricks up her sleeve. But Saren also didn't go all out. He hadn't used his Reality Marble. I don't know what will happen if an Angel's spear from DxD hit a Dead Apostle so I'm improvising the effect. For now, both Valerie and Saren are out for a while. Well, Saren definitely.

And then Blue meets Red. Arthur meets Mordred and Xenovia/Noire duo meets the Blue faction. Archer and Kiritsugu will join the battle next chapter. This time, people will start dying.

Ohh and I add Shirou and Semiramis. It's not on a whim. They have an important role here but they will only observe for now.

Now for revs.

dragonrider66: Rin won't be as developed since I don't know how to handle Tsundere and the situation is different. Plus the main casts are Noire, Valerie, and Xenovia. But I know I will develop the Emiya family. Illya is with the two Sabers now and Shirou will be a hero next chapter. Blue Masters will also appear. As for Issei's future romance. I already got a list for him but I don't know who will be main. Well, it will probably be Irina or this one character I took from another series. Definitely won't be a devil. It will be an exorcist since he will have a meeting in Romania when he split up with Noire. When Noire met Xenovia and Valerie, Issei will also meet someone (apart from Gasper).

.vendicatore: This will definitely be a fucked up Grail War. But not as fucked up as a Grail War with 50 Servants combining DxD and Fate that I thought about once. Not gonna do it since it's too hard. People and Servants will die soon though. As for IS: Rivals, I'm working on the next chapter.

Guest: I read One Punch Gamer. It is funny but not really on top of my story list. At any rate, the Red faction is very powerful. A Berserker Vlad with boosted parameter from Sepiroth Graal and bloodline, Emiya Kiritsugu the Magus Killer, Archer EMIYA who we know is actually powerful and skilled, an irregular Caster with double summon, Brunhilde the Valkyrie, and then King Arthur himself. I guess only Astolfo can be considered a regular Servant in Red faction and even then I have some tricks for him. So yes, under normal circumstances, the Blue faction is screwed.