Hello! Welcome back to my little story! I hope you have enjoyed the read so far!

First of, I really want to thank all of you, the readers who were here since the start, and the ones who decided to give this story a try very recently. I have officially hit 100 followers, and I could not possibly be happier! I really feel the heat to continue writing chapters for my amazing audience that all of you have become. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Now then, let us resume the chapters :D

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective creators, and even thought some of the new Servants for this story do not exist within the Nasuverse and are my own creative imput, i still reject all rights and grant them to Type-moon.

Sieg, Astolfo and Jeanne managed to safely arrive to ground, albeit at continuous and heavy complains from the Hippogryph. Three people were not light to carry! And the Bird-hybrid made sure all three of them knew just how much he had done for them, and that he expected high praise and reward for it.

"Man, talk about feeling sassy today." Sieg commented with a heavy sweatdrop, which the Hippogryph answered with a proud squak, as if lamenting to the misfortune of the Homonculus.

"I have to thank the two of you..." Jeanne began as she got off the Hippogryph and gave it a small set of pats along its chin and neck, which it seemed to really enjoy, shown by nuzzling its forehead against Jeanne's belly, demanding some headpats, to which the blonde Saint gladly oblidged as she spoke. "I know this sounds a bit typical to say, but I really couldn't have gotten out of there without you. I was going to try surviving the fall, but I doubt that I would have..."

Sieg just gave her a gentle, small smile and nodded before he got off the Hippogryph himself, dusting his knees off in the process.

Then, Astolfo got off last, and soon as he hit the ground, he started laughing... and laughing... and still laughed almost 10 seconds in, which creeped out Sieg and Jeanne alike. Once the Pinkette seemed done, he pointed at the two. "You know, you two should totally go on a date, wahahahah!" He teased, much to the dismay of the Homonculus and the slight embarrassment to the Blonde Saint.

Sieg whipped his right arm around Astolfo's neck and pulled the short Paladin into a lock, then used the knuckles of his other hand to strongly rub Astolfo's head and hair with it in a typical, playful-painful manner.

"HEY! CUT IT OUT, MASTER!" Astolfo complained with an extremely whiny voice while trying, and dramatically failing, to get out of the hold.

"You really gotta stop trying to embarrass me in front of the Saint!" Sieg scolded his Servant while continuing to rub his head for a few more seconds before letting go.

The gesture caused Jeanne to utter a small laugh herself, covering her lips with her mouth as she had her joyful giggle.

As Sieg watched her expression, something in his chest, that he could not explain, jumped. Seeing a smile so pure was... cathartic, and due to him only being alive literally less than a week, it was an experience so new that he assumed he would feel like this with other things, too.

Astolfo didn't seem to share that train of thought. "Ah, my Master is blushing at your smile-"

BONK!

"Owowowow! That Hurt!" Astolfo complained after Sieg used the hilt of his sword, which Astolfo gave him as a little Master-Servant present, to give Astolfo a mighty bonk for this comment.

Jeanne, of course, had to blush and look away due to the general nature of embarrassment when told someone is smiling because of your laugh. The insinuation of cuteness was not something Jeanne ever experienced, and something she was trying to actively deny herself of. As a Saint, she believes she cannot love any singular human being more than any other.

"Oh Jeanne..." Laeticia spoke within the mindscape of her body, knowing that Jeanne wasn't listening due to her awareness being on the outside. And yet, she wishes that the Saintess could hear her words right now. "You shouldn't do this to yourself... no Saint can live in this hell... you DO have this right... please..."

Jeanne let out a small sigh after a second and stepped forward to get their attention back to her. "We should head towards the Yggdmillennia Castle in Trifas. We need to re-group, update intel and plan a counter-strategy."

"Then let us be on our way. If we run, we can make it back within 3 hours." Sieg responded to before turning around to face the direction. "We will definetly be faster than that flying Fortress, but not by much. I estimate we will have about one hour before it catches up to us, if I memorized the speed correctly."

Jeanne gave an approving nod, and soon as she did, the three of them began to run while the Hippogryph flew after them, using the lack of weight on his back to relax a bit. "You seem really smart... you were there barely a minute, but you already broke down the speed of Assassin's Noble Phantasm."

"HOLUP!" Astolfo chimed in with obvious shock. "That THING was a Noble Phantasm?"

"Indeed..." Jeanne confirmed with a more serious expression. "The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Noble Phantasm Fortress belonging to Assassin of Red, the former Queen of Assyria, Semiramis."

Astolfo whistled at the response and made an awed face. "Whoa! That is one Epic Assassin we are going to have to fight!"

"uhm... while we are on the way, who is Semiramis?" Sieg then asked, a little confused about why Astolfo was so awestruck.

"She is a very big figure in history." Jeanne began while slightly speeding up her running, causing Astolfo and Sieg to do the same. "She is the first ever person who has assassinated nobility using Poison, and it is largely implied that she is the world's first poisoner overall. She is, in essence, the mother of assassins."

"I understand..." Was all Sieg responded with before he turned his head to look slightly up to the sky. "She must be really strong, then. I hope we will be alright..."

"Ah come on, Master!" Astolfo chimed in, once again, tapping Sieg's back with some rather strong pats. "Positives! The two of us can beat anyone!"

Sieg let out a sigh at the antics of his Servant, and glanced over to Jeanne to see if he embarrassed himself in front of her, but to his surprise, he found her looking at him analytically. "Is there... something bothering you?"

"I am only starting to feel it now..." Jeanne began while closing towards Sieg slightly so that she was one bad accident away from stumbling ontop of him. "But you are not Human, are you? Homonculus are not supposed to participate in the Grail War... so why did the Black Faction allow it?"

Astolfo let out a very deep and somewhat frustrated sigh at the question. There was no evading it, but to Astolfo, that him being a Homunculus is such a big deal in the first place made little sense.

Sieg's expression however turned a little more serious at the question and he turned his full attention to Jeanne. "Because I wanted to."

This answer greatly surprised Jeanne because out of all the possibilities, she didn't expect it. She knew exactly how Homunculus are treated across the world, so she hadn't ever assumed that one would have such autonomous sentience to make the choice themselves. "But... how?"

"I don't know the exact details but... Assassin of Black said that I had an... unusual mutation. An unforseen development. She even said that I could rule the Homonculi from the Yggdmillennia Castle... provided I win this Grail War. She didn't force me, no one did, but I wanted to because I want others like me to have this chance. They deserve it."

Jeanne's eyes widened slightly as she saw the look in his eyes, the determination in it, the goodwill and the selfless care for other Homonculi. It stirred something in her akin to awe. "Freedom... a homunculus who found freedom..." She thought to herself. After she caught herself staring too long, she looked down and sighed out, trying to make it look as natural as possible. "I can tell that I cannot bring you away from this path..."

Astolfo, seeing how things were going, just made a mischievous snicker to himself while covering his mouth with his hand, which caused Sieg to turn his eyes towards the pinkette with a suspicious glare, causing Astolfo to immediately get silent again and wave his hands before himself in defense.

With this, the three continued to run towards the Yggdmillennia Castle at full speed.

"Welcome back, Emiya Shirou..."

Emiya opened his eyes, taking in a deep breath that echoed around the room, and as he looked forward, he saw Nanna standing all smug and proud, arms crossed over his chest while he was sitting on the frozen image of the redhead's body that laid on the bed.

"Could you not sit on me?" Emiya asked with slight frustration, his eyebrows twitching almost dangerously.

Nanna complied and got up from his 'seat', walking over to Mordred who was currently sitting against the nighttable next to Shirou's bed, dozing off herself from the looks of it. "She is quite the clever girl, you know?" He spoke as he pointed at the rowdy blonde. "Underneath all that bullheadedness and anger hides a skilled brain. She will eventually figure it out. You should not underestimate her, and you better train your lying while you are here."

"Why? Why should I lie to her about anything?" Shirou protested as he stepped closer to Nanna and Mordred, his expression turning more furious at the mere prospect of having to be dishonest. "Why the secrecy?"

Nanna seemed to contemplate something, letting out a sigh before he circled around the place to get behind Mordred, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Because, Emiya Shirou, if anyone finds out what you have become, what you host inside of you, they will try to kill you without any regard for anything you have done, are doing and will do."

Emiya seemed to not believe Nanna because he shook his head and waved his hands dismissively. "No, they wouldn't."

"Not by choice, but the Will of the World would force them to."

This seemed to get Emiya's full attention and he narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Explain."

"When the Age of Gods came to a full stop on the day B.C. became A.D., all divine beings, beasts and gods, fairy tales and myths, it all migrated over to the Reverse Side of the World. Due to the massive destabilization between the balance of Mana around the world, Divinity itself has ceased to be. Gods would be mortal, vulnerable, sick even. Divine beings cannot exist in a place that has too low a concentration of Mana. It would be akin to a human trying to live on the peak of Everest, so little oxygen available that they wouldn't survive for long. And over the course of the first Millenia since, the World created a balance around it. The Reverse Side of the World became the home of all divinity and the World as you know it became the home of all things 'Normal', per say. And the world..." Nanna stopped for a moment, shaking his head and making a 'no no no' wave with his finger. "... The World does NOT like it when anything tries to meddle with its balance. The World is like a damm. Throw a stone at it and it will rupture on purpose just to drown you."

Shirou was shocked, teeth grit and his legs shaking slightly at the thought of the explanation.

But Nanna was not done just yet. "The Will of the World is a very spiteful entity, and as long as things happen within this isolated scope in your mind, we are safe, but soon as information of my being in this world seeps out into the open, anything and everything that can kill you will try to. Your beloved little Blonde most of all."

This seemed to really terrify Shirou. He fell to his knees, hands covering his face and he was trying his damnest not to scream.

"Ah come on, don't over-react like this." Nanna spoke, insulting Shirou's growing despair at the situation. "Its not like Couples don't have lies every now and then between one another. A flawless, perfect relationship would be boring and die off quickly, ruptures like this will ensure it works on the long run. Positives, Emiya."

Shirou almost immediately forgot his thoughts and glared up at Nanna angrily. "Yeah that is easy for you to say-!"

"Because I know my stuff." Nanna Interjected, much to Shirou's surprise. "Did you forget? You are talking to THE God of Wisdom. NOTHING In this world, or ANY world other than maybe the Root itself knows this stuff like I do. You have the smartest, most knowledgeable entity in the universe in your head and you rather throw a little panic rally for yourself instead?"

This made Emiya think for a moment, his expression going through all different sorts of emotions, which Nanna observed with some disturbing level of amusement, evident by his bright smile on his face. Once the redhead was done thinking, he got up on his feet and nodded slowly. "No... you are right..."

Nanna smirked slightly for a moment before he circled back around Mordred and the table and returned to the Bed, where he sat down ontop of Shirou again, much to the redhead's annoyance. But then, Shirou's expression changed to worry. "Wait... shouldn't I be awake by now? Avalon's Regeneration should of healed me enough to regain consciousness."

"A side-effect of hosting me, I am afraid." Nanna interjected before he turned to look at the frozen image of the unconscious Emiya. "Avalon cannot regenerate you anyhow close to its usual efficiency with my divinity interfering."

"But... why?"

"Let me put it in terms you will for sure understand." Nanna said before he laid himself down right ontop of Emiya's frozen body. "You ever had 2 Anti-virus programs in your computer at the same time? Same thing, basically. Avalon's powers and mine are at a constant clash with one another, at high priority no less, so only a fraction of its powers and mine are concentrated on your body, meaning Avalon can regenerate some wounds only at a slow pace, and others not at all until I am washed out of your system."

'Not at all' rang a bell in Shirou and he glanced down at his right hand to see the scar from the puncture-wound he suffered back at the temple. His Palm-side still wasn't fully healed, thought it was well enough up that he could grab things without feeling noteworthy amounts of pain in it.

"So you have noticed. You suspected, but you weren't sure, and I am giving you the confirmation you were looking for."

"That also explains the Mana-fluctuations Archer of Red told me about... it is the result of you and Avalon constantly clashing against each others in my body..."

"Mhm" Was all Nanna said as a response, agreeing with Shirou completely. Then, the God of Wisdom got up from his little spot and walked closer towards Shirou. "I can agree to temporarily give Avalon full reign again, but then I will need something else in return."

"What, another memory?"

"No, this time it is something much more precious to you."

Shirou immediately got his guard up mentally at this response. That Nanna was so open about it actually worried him because, using the last time as an example, what he said, he means. By his claim, he cannot lie... "What do you want this time?"

"An emotion."

"WHAT!?"

"You heard me." Nanna spoke while chuckling slightly to himself. "For as long as I let Avalon have its way, you will be unable to feel a specific emotion entirely. For how long you can't feel it depends on how long you want Avalon to have the upper hand. While this time, you cannot choose what feeling you will lose, you can choose for how long."

Emiya glared at Nanna with anger for a moment while his brain was going through the information and making a choice.

But Since this choosing wasn't going fast enough for Nanna, he decided to speed it along with a little something. He snapped his fingers, and the outside world was no longer frozen solid, Mordred was moving, albeit just a little due to getting sleepy and Shirou's body was heaving its chest up and down from deep, calm breaths.

"What is this?"

"I re-activated your senses to give you a little motivation. You can take notice of everything happening around you."

Right after Nanna finished speaking, the door to Shirou's room opened itself very slowly and silently, and Artoria stepped into the room.

"Artoria..." Shirou whispered to himself as he saw her, then he noticed the look she had. It was one of worry and pain, and she was looking at his unconscious body, walking towards it as silently as she could to not wake up Mordred.

She then knelt down in front of the bed and took one of Shirou's hands, placing it against her cheeks to cradle herself with it, letting out a blissful sigh for a moment before losing a tear. "Please... wake up..." She said in a very low and soft tone, turning her head to give his hand a little kiss before laying it back down.

"Why is she... am I dying?" Shirou asked suddenly, the reaction Artoria gave to his unconsciousness giving him thoughts of the worst.

"No, but it has been a good while since you woke up. Usually, based on Avalon's regenerative powers, you would be awake by now, if not since an hour ago. But you aren't. So she worries that something is going wrong within you. She isn't all that wrong, as you now know."

Shirou walked closer to Artoria and knelt down besides her, reaching his hand out to try and hold her cheek, but to his shock, his hand phased right through her, unable to touch her.

"Oh, we are still in your mind, so you can't exactly touch what isn't in it. If you want to comfort her, you are going to have to wake up." Nanna mused in a ever so slightly amused tone before he walked behind Shirou, arms crossed as he stared him down. "So, what's it going to be? Watch her suffer constant anxiety over your well being? Or wake up at the cost of a single emotion?"

Shirou didn't turn around, he didn't even more. He just remained knelt besides Artoria and let out a small sigh. "What happens if I give a very low time..."

"Avalon won't successfully and fully regenerate your body, which could cause a catastrophic fall-out in your nervus system. Not only will you go into both a shock AND a coma, but you might remain comatose until the day you die. So you need to give me a minimum of... two days."

Shirou remained silent, just glancing into Artoria's green eyes, sighing out once again before he nodded, closing his own eyes and leaning his head towards hers, but not touching as he knew he would just phase through again. "Fine... what emotion of mine do you want?"

"Your Indignation. The greatest source of your compassion and benevolence. Your Ability to see when suffering and misfortune is undeserving."

Shirou said nothing for a long moment, a silence engulfing their space to such point where Nanna's expression got sour, thinking Shirou would reject him. But, to his surprise, Shirou just gave a long, slow nod to approve.

"Great. Same as last time, close your eyes and focus on waking up. Once you do, your wounds will begin to heal at an exponential rate."

Since Nanna had what he came for, he simply disappeared from Shirou's mindscape while said redhead concentrated to wake up, as instructed.

As Shirou felt life fill his head again, he groaned out very slightly and opened his eyes bit by bit until he saw the ceiling of the room without a blurry vision, his eyes half open due to some fatigue.

Artoria noticed that he was waking up and immediately rushed her hands up to his cheeks, her expression elevating itself to a smile. "Shirou... you are awake!" She excitedly announced before she leaned in to give him a kiss, completely acting on impulse.

Her voice spiking up in joy caused Mordred to wake up, lifting her head from her leaned position while looking forward to the bed to see the pair kiss right in front of her. Her expression immediately became completely bewildered and wide-eyed and she just kept staring at Shirou as if he was an alien that fell out of the sky. "F...f...fa...fath..." Mordred tried to say something, but she just couldn't, her mouth opening and closing the entire time she watched.

Artoria noticed and immediately got embarrassed, looking away and blushing while Shirou just chuckled out slightly before he reached for Artoria's head to pull her in against his chest, stroking her head lightly. "Sorry for not telling you sooner, but we kind of never got the chance to..." Shirou said, half apologetically, laughing a little nervously.

"You're... you're..." Mordred still couldn't exactly formulate words from the sheer level of surprise.

"A couple...yes" Shirou responded, finishing her sentence before Artoria slightly glanced over to Mordred, nodding her head slightly, agreeing while semi-hiding underneath Shirou. "Well, she calls it 'consort'. I believe that is what you called it back in your time. We aren't married yet or anything, thought..."

Mordred's eyes snapped even wider open, if that was possible. "Yet...?"

This caused Artoria to blush immensely and dash away from Shirou, hiding her face in her hands and stammering "W-w-w-w-wait Shirou! T-t-t-this is t-t-too soon!"

"I-I-I am... getting t-t-t-t-two... fathers..." Mordred said before she just deadass passed out from shock, which paired with Artorias girlish, flustered behaviour caused Shirou to groan out in slight frustration before he got up from his bed to try and calm the two down.

Caules had to let out a very audible sigh to calm his nerves down before he knocked on the door of his Servant's chambers. Being Berserker of Black's master had its burdens, particularily how Darnic keeps complaining about lack of control over her actions. But Caules saw this as a good thing. He didn't force his will on Berserker, they got along well and he wanted to maintain that.

"Come in..." Berserker of Black said in an unusually distant voice, one that only Caules knew about.

He opened the door and closed it behind them, locking it as well before he turned to see her. Berserker had shuffled the furniture in her room a bit to place her round tea table and seats to face the window, her chair turned towards it while she gazed out into the bright sky of afternoon.

"Caules..." Berserker spoke, waving her hand to point at the empty chair on the other side of the table, signing him to occupy it. "Join me for a drink. The weather today is lovely. Perfect to... relax." She spoke. Caules didn't miss that she spoke that last word with some distance and hesitation. She didn't enjoy using it, and he knew. So he silently sat down, looking forward to the window as well as she continued. "You saw my dream last night, didn't you..."

"Yes..." Caules confirmed after gulping somewhat heavily. "I assume I shouldn't have?"

"No, it is fine... I am actually glad you did."

Caules turned his head to her slowly to look at her expression, and he widened his eyes as he saw that she had a somber and distant look. The look of someone who is empty and has lost everything.

"I..." She began, but stopped for a lengthy moment before she reached for her cup and took a sip, sat it down, then continued. "I never had someone who could understand me at all before. I came from an age where all women were supposed to just set the kitchenfires and raise the children... sometimes not even that much, just bear them in and off itself..."

Caules listened silently, intently, his eyes never leaving hers for the duration of her talking.

"I was different. I... took the legacy of my father into my own hands. I pursued life in war as he once did. I always told everyone that I wanted glory... that I took this cursed blade from my fathers grave and swung it in battle for fame and strength... truth is, all I wanted is to die, but I never seemed to get there."

Caules gulped again and nodded slowly. "So you sought your sword out because its curse would bring you such misfortune that you would die an early death..."

"Correct. That was my thinking. But as you probably have read in your little mythology research, that was never the case. My unwanted strength to survive even overpowered the curse of this sword..."

"Tyrfing..." Caules commented, earning a nod from Berserker. "The evil blade forged by the dwarves Durin and Dvalin... it never misses a strike and it can cut stone and steel like butter, but..."

"It cannot be drawn without killing someone, and whoever possesses it is haunted by the three great evils of man... to suffer treachery and a life of pain at the hands of the one you love most; to disappoint the hopes and dreams of the one you entrust everything to; to be abandoned, cursed and locked in eternal solitude by the ones you admire..."

Caules seemed to understand where she was going with this and turned forward to look out the window again. Her room had a surprisingly good view on the plains that face away from Trifas, reaching far into the hills where the sun would go down. "Because you survived every battle, you had to suffer those three great evils for a whole lifetime."

"Indeed... I was never free of this blade... no matter what I did."

Caules reached for his cup and took a small sip from it before he sat it down. "You sound like you tried to throw it away..."

"I once sailed out into the open sea, from what you call Norway all the way to Iceland and tossed it into its volcano..." She began and looked down towards the ground for a moment before lifting her eyes again. "About... 3 months later, my son, not knowing it was that blade, bought it from a merchant as a gift to celebrate my 5th year as a retired viking warrior... It was then that I knew... I would never be free of this blade, and my suffering would be eternal."

"Is this why you want to win the Grail? You want to destroy this blade for good?"

"I wish it were that easy... Durin and Dvalin were smiths who crafted weapons even the divine spirits feared... they were the best to ever walk the surface of the earth. Mortals who could bend ancient, divine materials and craft miracles equalling the works of God himself. Tyrfing, like all the swords they made, cannot be broken by any means, mortal, divine or even omnipotent."

Caules nodded while he listened carefully to what Berserker said and turned back to look at her, more precisely, to her right hand, which held Tyrfing even now. "So what do you wish from the Grail?"

Berserker turned her face towards Caules, smiling contemptly before she spoke. "For someone to kill me..."

Caules' expression turned doubtful and sour. He looked down to the table, then forward to his own lap where his left hand rested. "I..."

"Master..." Berserker began, causing Caules to look back towards her with a slightly surprised expression. "Caules..." She resumed, smiling a bit brighter. "My one wish is to find death in battle... if I win this Grail, unchallenged by our enemies... promise me... promise you will wish the Grail to give you the power to kill me..."

Caules showed a clear conflict in his mind, his eyes lost and empty as he thought for a moment. Then, life seemed to return in his gaze and he changed his expression from worry to determination and he simply nodded. "I will... Berserker... I promise you. I promise you that if they don't kill you... I will."

Berserker made the faintest of chuckles as she turned towards the window again, her eyes regaining that distant look in them and she became motionless, downright catatonic from the way she looked. "You may go now... I will let you know if I need something else."

Caules nodded once more and got up from his seat, turning to her and bowing in respect. "Thank you, Berserker." With his words spoken, he turned to the door to exit the room. As he reached for the handle to unlock and open the door, he heard Berserker's voice.

"Master..."

Caules stopped for a moment to hear what she had to say, not turning around, but his attention to her clear as day. In that same fashion, Berserker's gaze remained towards the window, but her attention to him was evident.

"When it is just us... call me Hervor... please."

"Understood... Hervor" was his response before he opened the door and left the room, giving Berserker of Black the space she wanted.

Amakusa Shirou sighed out as he knelt down at the small church wing inside of Semiramis' flying fortress, chuckling a bit to himself as he saw it. "She didn't have to go to such length..." he commented. The Original design didn't have a church wing in it. After all, Assyria predates the birth of Christianity. He was thus 100% sure she did this just for him, and he felt very grateful for that. He walked up towards the small podest at the far end of the room, past all the seats in it and knelt down before a neatly constructed statue of Michael, taking his cross in his hand and lifting it to his forehead, face lowered as he prayed.

"I will kill, I will let live. I will harm and heal. None shall escape me. None shall escape my sight. Be crushed. I welcome those who have grown old and those who have lost. Devote yourself to me, learn from me, and obey me. Rest. Do not forget song, do not forget prayer, and do not forget me. I am Light and relieve you of all your burdens. Do not pretend. Retribution for forgiveness, betrayal for trust, despair for hope, darkness for light, dark death for the living. Relief is in my hands. I will add oil to your sins and leave a mark. Eternal life is given through death. Ask for forgiveness here. I, the incarnation, will swear."

As he finished his prayer, he lowered his cross and looked up to the statue's face. "Kyrie Eleison. Lord, have mercy."

Just as he finished, Berserker of Red, Heracles, walked in, his heavy steps echoing throughout the hall. His stonemace-sword drawn and tightly clutched in his right hand.

"What is your business with me, Berserker?"

Heracles simply growled out and took another step forward. However, his growling and his message was well understood by Amakusa. He got up, turned around and drew three Black Keys in each hand, his expression serious, his usual, ever-present smile nowhere to be found. "You wish to defy me?"

Heracles simply roared out and stomped his foot hard enough into the ground to crack it, damaging the spot where he stood on.

Amakusa understood once again. "In that case... be crushed."

Heracles let out a roar so loud and powerful that it exploded outwards in a shockwave and created a thunderclap as a result while it echoed throughout the entirety of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, meaning everyone in it heard the roar.

In the same time as Heracles confronted Amakusa, Gordes was in Leonidas' designated chambers, walking back and forth as he was in deep thought. Throughout this War, all he ever got was shit from his family. Darnic only knew how to criticize him, Roche only ever cared for his own damn golems. Celenike spent more time in her sexdungeon than anywhere else, and while his nephew and niece, Caules and Fiore respectively, were nice, they were both rather timid and didn't speak out against their superiors no matter what, thus leaving him alone at the mercy of everyone else's mockery and snark. Even when he was in the Yggdmillennia family, he felt alone and out of place. His accomplishments were never celebrated and he was always regarded as 'bottom tier'.

And now... now he had gone and done it, separating his ties from the Yggdmillennia family by betraying Darnic just because he refused to be like him and curse another's family for the sake of his own. He wanted to feel proud, but he couldn't... his own pride to himself was what lead to him being kind of a douchebag in the first place, and ever since he was out from the Yggdmillennia family, the self-awareness hit him like a whole train.

Then, the roar came and his thoughts were shaken, a rather comical jumpscare overcoming him, causing him to shriek out loudly. Due to the nature of his sudden burst of fear, he turned around because of an instinctual reaction to look for something to defend himself with, and when he did, he saw Leonidas' eyes open, causing him to get scared again and let out a second shriek.

Leonidas immediately sat up, pushed the blanket away and reached for shield and spear. "We must go!" Leonidas declared, breaking through the door by force using his shield as the battering ramm, so to speak.

"Go!?" Gordes said, following along despite still being terrified. "Go where!?"

"To Lancer of Red and her Master as well as Saber of Black! Heracles has spoken, we are in grave danger!"

"What the-!" Gordes suddenly shouted as he ran along as fast as he could, but being so out of shape made him a bit slow, so Leonidas adapted his running speed accordingly. "You can understand the roar of that... THING?!"

Leonidas seemed to take great offense at Heracles, his ancestor by blood and hero, being called a thing, evident by a very pissed off expression, which immediately shook Gordes into a whimpering mess. Knowing the message got through, Leonidas resumed. "Not by Word, but the intent and power behind this roar is clear to any Spartan. It was a warning cry for allies meant to bring forth awareness to great danger! And guessing by the rough location of the source where it came from, it was NOT meant for everyone in the Red Faction!" He explained, seeing that Gordes understood based on the more serious expression. "Emiya Shirou is someone we can trust. I have clashed in battle with him. He is a skilled, heartfelt warrior and him and I needed no words to exchange ourselves. Every punch, every kick, every cut he made came from the depth of his loving heart! A person like this cannot be evil! Therefore, Heracles MUST have given a signal to them and us."

Gordes seemed shocked at the Spartan's intelligence and natural ability to deduce, so much so that he couldn't stop himself from commenting on it. "You are way too smart for a Spartan! You sure you are not secretly Sherlock Holmes!?"

Leonidas, slightly amused and curving his lips up to a smile, cut a sharp corner to the left, which Gordes barely caught on with. "The Brain may not be a Muscle, but it must be trained all the same! Warriors cannot trust their spear, shield and sword alone! Instincts can be overpowered, so we must always have the Ability to think! If Raw Strength and Force of Will cannot win us a battle, then wits and IQ must! Spartans are every bit as smart as they are powerful! Now no more chatter, we must hurry!"

"U-Understood! But wait for meeeeee!" Gordes complained as he did his damnest to try and catch up with Leonidas, who was naturally faster not only due to being in shape but because he was also a Servant.

Wooo, that was fun to write!

Chapter 9 will probably be another super-long chapter (for my standarts, that is), so it might take me more than just 1 day to get it out, just so you know ahead!

Thank you for reading so far. Please do R&R if you enjoyed it (or didn't) and let me know of possible improvements in my writing! Cheers! :D