If you were to ask Cú's feelings about this Holy Grail War… he would have mixed feelings about it.

The only thing he wanted from this war was to fight strong heroes throughout time and space alongside his master and only half of it could be fulfilled.

On one hand, he finally can fight without too much restraint, except releasing his Noble Phantasm when he so desired due to his current master's orders.

He says current because his former master, the one he swore to fight alongside with, has perished due to betrayal by none other than the damn overseer of this grail war.

...isn't the damn priest supposed to be neutral during this entire war? Why the hell did he decide to partake in it? More so, kill his master and make him the priest's servant.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth, failing already his duty as a servant to protect his master from threats that he could have seen from a mile away.

'I knew I should have gone along with her when she went to talk to the accursed priest!'

Now he is stuck with a coward of a master, whose current goal is to scout out all the servants and master's of this grail war.

It was a great strategy, he would admit… if he was an assassin or better yet, his caster class… but sadly, he is lancer and he doesn't do well with scouting as he is hungry for battles, something his new master doesn't share sadly.

He was in two minds of this current war

On one hand, it made him want to just stab this guy's heart out with his spear and just wait for the next one. His pride as a heroic spirit and servant was tarnished because of him and he would rather make amends.

On the other hand, though, servants typically are just copies of the original, and thus, his memory of this grail war may be erased from his mind when he gets summoned again so there would be no point in doing so. And the lust for battle was just as great as his pride.

In the end, his battle lust won out and he resigned to his fate. He just hopes that he would be rewarded with a great fight.

And indeed he was rewarded with such a fight.

["Lancer. I want you to fight this servant you encountered and begin your assessment of her."]

Cú grinned at the order his master gave him.

Bastard or not, he can't help but want to immediately sink his teeth into battle. All he has been doing was scouting. Although he fought that one red bastard, this servant seemed to be more of a challenge, if that strength was anything to go by.

Although the strange maid uniform and a giant greatsword looked kinda stupid in his opinion, he wasn't one to judge. He is wearing blue spandex that covered his entire body so who was he to judge of attire? All he cares about is whether or not this woman may give him the greatest battle of his life.

Well… time to test!

Recovering from the blow he barely managed to block, he went straight for the offensive, thrusting his spear towards the maid. She managed to block it with her Claymore despite being nearly as tall as her. She then broke his guard with one push and went for an overhead strike towards his shoulders.

He managed to dodge the blow. The ground cracked, leaving a huge crater as the earth just shook for a few moments. What the heck is up with that strength!? How could a greatsword do so much damage?

No… it didn't come from the sword… it came from the maid - no - servant before him.

This battle might be more interesting than he thought.

With a grin on his face, Cú dashed right to the side of the maid servant and tried to stab her with his spear.

As expected, it was blocked just as quickly but he expected that much. He let the force of her block propel him upwards into the air, allowing him to clone his favorite spear many times before firing them off like bullets.

With that attack finished, he landed softly on the ground, just finally taking note of the master behind the dust cloud, the kid that he tried to kill because of his master's orders. He didn't like it and was glad the kid at least managed to summon a servant. Though… it would mean that he is a master and that he would have to kill him sooner but hey… no need to rush yet! He can take his time.

As the dust cloud dissipates, the servant stands tall, uninjured from his barrage attack. Either she tanked the entire barrage or dodge and deflected every spear thrown at her, which would be impressive either way.

He grinned even more, this battle may be even more exciting than he may have helped for.

"Excuse me Lancer! I hate to interrupt our battle, but I need to tend to my master's injuries. Would you be so kind to withdraw for now and come back tomorrow so that we can fight to our fullest?"

Cú blinked at the servant's words. Retreat to help her master recover? What type of servant just asks to stop fighting to help their master? The servant should do everything in their power to prevent their master from getting injured so why should he-!

…

…

...no. It made sense. After all, she was just summoned recently after he stabbed her master. He's probably bleeding out right now, waiting for medical attention. He would rather fight this servant without her worrying her about her master. He wants to enjoy this battle to the fullest without holding back. Yeah, that sounds about-!

["Lancer by my command seal, unleash your Noble Phantasm."]

What!?

He couldn't stop his body as energy is being poured towards his spear, emitting a red bloodlust glow towards it. He grimaced at the fact that he can't grant her wish.

However…

"Heh, tough luck Saber, looks like you ain't getting your wish, seems my master wants you dead, but tell you what eh, survive this and I may consider taking my leave."

That is if you do survive this spear.

Saber seemed to narrow her eyes before stomping her foot on the ground, giving her some sort of orange glow with hexagon shields around her. He isn't sure if it's a magical barrier or something else but it doesn't matter.

He shall see if she can dodge this!

"Your heart is mine! [Gae Bolg]!"

Gae Bolg, the cursed spear that reverses the nature of causality. The spear that was given to him by his teacher to be used against her, only to have left the mortal realm long ago.

It determines his opponent's fate simply through its use, an always fatal move that pierces the heart with one thrust. Unless the opponent before him has great luck or can somehow survive this attack, this spear will thrust his enemy's heart no matter what.

It was used against his long time friend, Ferdiad and his own son, Connla and none of them survived against his spear. It would be no different against this servant.

Time freezes for Cú as he rushes forth towards the maid-servant with his spear, pre-determined to stab the heart of the servant. He thrust his spear towards the breastplate to Saber but something went wrong.

Time continued very slowly and his spear was being resisted. Yes, he is currently trying to stab the heart of Saber but somehow, there is a barrier protecting the breastplate which shocks the spear wielder. How can this be possible? How is there a shield in existence that can withstand his anti-unit Noble Phantasm?

If he used it as an anti-army one then he could understand it, but the way he used usually guarantees the heart of his opponent unless he or she was lucky enough to dodge it, which in this case she wasn't, instead she decides to take it head-on.

As time continued to move very slowly, he could see that Saber was ignoring the spear, attempting to pierce her armor and was making headway towards him while pushing him back as well slightly. He continues to thrust, hoping to break that damn shield of hers.

The shield finally broke though at this point, Saber is close enough to actually swing that sword of hers. It doesn't matter, as long as his spear reaches her heart it wouldn't matter-!

It didn't reach though.

It simply bounced off of her armor the moment it touched it.

…

…

...huh?

Did it run out of energy already? How powerful was that damn shield of hers!?

It didn't matter as Saber managed to swing her greatsword across his chest, leaving it a giant wound that bled profusely. He jumped back, touching his wound and hissing at the immense pain he is feeling. This isn't good for him. If she lands another wound like that then…

["Lancer, retreat immediately!"]

He couldn't agree with his master more than ever though for a different reason.

"Ah damn you got me, guess that's your win for now. Oh well, guess I'll meet you in the battlefield next time Saber."

Blue motes appeared from his body before disappearing entirely, entering spirit form as he dashed away and returning back to base. Hopefully he could fight Saber once again and take her heart with his spear!

Noelle could only sigh in relief as she checked her condition.

She was worried that she wouldn't be able to take on that Noble Phantasm even with her skill [Breastplate]. But thanks to the artifacts she has on her, it strengthened her shield enough to survive that attack and managed to get away with only a nick at her armor.

Even a small amount of damage to her would be a detriment as if she were to be injured heavily, there would be no way she could protect her master, who couldn't provide the necessary mana to recover her without needing to shift to spirit form or rest.

The damage she received was artificial. It won't hinder her combat capabilities but it would be still difficult to fight full strength without draining her master of all of his mana..

Speaking of her master, she turns around to find him dumbfounded, perhaps it was from the battle she had with Lancer, she won't know but she smiled as the injuries he sustained have not been agitated anymore than they have.

"Master, are you alright?" She asks as she walks towards him to properly inspect his wounds.

Thanks to the experience has gone through as a maid and a knight, she was able to tend to the injured very efficiently. She would not want her master to die like this.

She was surprised though as the injuries have completely stopped bleeding all on their own. That would be normal if not how fast his injuries were sealed. Perhaps her master has some form of healing magecraft or artifact? She didn't cast [Breastplate] in the entire fight, only at the end to block the final attack so she was rather curious.

As he was about to reply to her, to ask her what was going on, her head snapped in the direction of the wall, sensing another servant on the way. She can't fight them again with the way her master is currently, so the only thing she can do for the moment is…

"Hold tight master! We need to leave now!"

She grabbed her master and placed him on her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and immediately jumped in the opposite direction of where the servant she sensed is coming from.

She ignored the screams of protest coming from her master as she has no time to address him yet. Hopefully she can explain things better once she manages to escape from this servant.

Something was wrong… very wrong in this war.

Why? Why was the servant of him running away?

Normally his servant would have gone out of the gate to confront him to protect his master.

Instead, the servant decided to just bolt right out of the house without a care in the world.

That would be very ironic… his mission of killing that boy is just within his grasp without having to lift a finger. Something that left him felt uneasy.

Something is definitely wrong with this war.

He landed down with his master as she pried off of him to go to his house to check on him.

He just followed her to the main garden of his house.

The signs of battle were definitely present here. Upturned rocks, cracked concrete on the ground, the shattered shed were he would have summoned his servant. All this signs proved that Lancer did arrive here and fought Saber in this very place.

But why did they run?

"ARCHER!"

He was snapped back to reality by his master's yell as she stared at him, confused, angry, and probably just irritated by this entire affair.

Honestly, if she just left him to die, then you wouldn't be this stressed out.

"Were you ever listening to me!? I asked if you can still sense Lancer anywhere!? I couldn't find his body in this house or anywhere in this place."

He closed his eyes and tried to sense where Saber could have gone to. Sadly though, thanks to his musings, he lost track of Saber, probably because he was too shocked that she ran away in the first place.

"I'm afraid not. You were too busy searching around the place that Lancer managed to escape out of my senses."

He didn't bother correcting his statement that it was Saber and not Lancer. It probably wouldn't have made too much of a difference anyway.

He saw his master pull her twintails in frustration, muttering some curses before approaching me with a determined expression.

"No matter how long this takes, we will not stop until we find him. Let's go."

He could only sigh at her stubbornness as he picked her up bridal style and began moving a random direction.

He didn't understand why Saber ran instead of fighting back nor why he sensed some divinity in that place but he knows one thing.

This grail war will be far more different than I would expect.

Noelle's in-game equipment and others:

Noell's lvl: 90

Weapon: Whiteblind: Lvl 90 Refine: Lvl 5

Artifacts: 4-piece Retracing Bolide set with Defence goblet

Constellation: Lvl 6

Talents have been maxed out.

Noelle's Noble Phantasm:

Geo Vision

Type: Anti-Unit (Self)

Rank: B

A Vision is a gift bestowed upon mortals of Teyvat whom the Gods recognize. They grant the user elemental abilities based on the element of their given Vision. It is said that those with Visions have a chance of ascending to Celestia and attaining godhood themselves.

Noelle received her vision one day due to her hard work and dedication towards becoming a Knight.

She uses the Geo Vision as more of a defence enhancement rather than a weapon as she can create Geo Barriers that are based on her Endurance and she can enhance her own attack the same way as well, granting her the skill Geo Mana Burst.

As a Geo User, she has high magical resistance due to a phenomena called Crystallize which grants the user a barrier based on an element it is against. Examples are Fire element which would grant the Geo bearer, a fire barrier to counter and so on.

Skills that can be used corresponding with the Noble Phantasm:

[Breastplate] which allows her to cast a barrier, protecting them based on her endurance. If casted on Noelle, each time she attacks an opponent, she can slowly regenerate wounds on herself and her master.

[Sweeping Time] infuses Geo energy into her weapon, increasing her attack range and damage. Her damage scales off of her endurance.

[Mana Burst] infuses Geo energy into her body, allowing her for quick burst of attack or retreat depending on the situation.

[Devotion] is a back-up mechanism that would shield her master with a Geo barrier should they sustain critical damage. This is not dependent on the skill [Breastplate].

Date posted: April 20, 2021

A/N: this could have been posted 4 days ago but got lazy lol.

I'm not sure if I can continue this fanfic or not. I don't know how to end it to be honest. I can only think of scenes with Noelle and her moments whether that would be in battle or slice of life so should you want to adopt this story, you have my permission. Just let me know first lol.

I'll still write this fic though it would be slow though… so yeah.

Thanks for the review and follows and stuff. If you still want to follow this story then go ahead. I will Xian you later. Chow!