Hello! Welcome back to my little story! I hope you have enjoyed the read so far!
Without any further ado, let us get to it!
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.
The Throne Hall of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was empty, say for Kotomine Shirou, who was currently seated on Semiramis' throne, with her sitting right on his lap. Usually a more intimate gesture, but seeing as Kotomine was Semiramis' Master, and they were a bit chummy with one anothers, they decided to be a bit more free with their passion for each others. Not to mention that the only one to see them will be Ruler, who literally isn't allowed to speak of this to anyone else as per her rule of Neutrality. Besides, they would not be able to hide much from a Ruler servant anyway, as she will know who he really is soon as she places her eyes upon him.
And on queue, the gates to the throne room opened and Jeanne D'Arc walked in, flag pole ready in her hand. She took a mere few steps before her eyes widened and she had a shocked expression on her. Then, the gates closed behind her to forbid anyone from listening in, making this conversation private to them.
"You... this cannot be..." Jeanne stammered, taking a step back and tightening the grip on her flag pole, a sense of uncertainty and bewilderness overcoming her, telling her that she might have to fight her way out of here. "You... I would have never imagined..."
Kotomine and Semiramis both gave a knowing smirk to each others, then to Jeanne, before Semiramis got off his lap so he could get up, before sitting down on the throne herself, allowing the White-haired priest to descend the steps and approach Jeanne.
Jeanne took another step back, a sense of threat overcoming her and she pointed the Flagpole right against Kotomine, ready to engage if that was necessary. "I would have never imagined a 16th Servant..."
"You would be mistaken about that, Ruler." Kotomine began before he finished walking just as he got down the last step, his smile ever-present. "I am actually the First Servant. And I am the same class as you. A Ruler."
Jeanne narrowed her eyes as she took the information in, but no updated knowledge came to her mind, meaning something else was going on, something that the Grail was either forbidding, or permitting. "Rulers are only summed singularily during Holy Grail Wars where oversight by mortal hand is not possible. So you must have survived one of the other Grail Wars..."
"Indeed." Kotomine agreed while giving a more contempt smile. "The Third Holy Grail War, to be precise. I have wandered this world for 60 years now. And I have to admit... it has been a very educational time." Shirou confessed, humming lightly as he very briefly revisited the memory of the last half century.
Jeanne meanwhile was only growing more and more unnerved. "Why?" Was all she could ask.
"For a reason I assume you of all people will understand the most." Shirou spoke, reaching for the cross hanging around his neck and lifting it to his forehead to offer a short prayer. "I wish to enact upon the greatest of the acts in the name of the Lord. I wish for the Salvation of Humanity."
Jeanne's eyes widened as much as they could as she heard this. "No... Salvation of Humanity? How... how would he..."
"I can see the question in your mind. It is an obvious one." Kotomine spoke as he smiled a bit brighter, showing even a toothy grin right now. "I shall grant Humanity ascention to a higher plane, elevate them from their physical bodies, give them a form where they will not feel evil, where there will be no hunger, no greed, no envy."
Jeanne assumed she didn't hear right, so she shook her head for about a single second before she glanced up at her adversary once again. "You lie... you couldn't possibly be thinking of-!"
"The Third Magic, the Legacy of the Einzbern Family that was lost to them a thousand years ago. The True Magic: Heaven's Feel."
Jeanne couldn't believe her ears. She stammered back several steps in pure shock, her face that of absolute horror, as if a child just watched its mother being horrendously murdered right in front of it. It was unfathomable to Jeanne, how anyone could pursue something so unspeakable. And even understanding the base idea of his thoughts, where the idea came from, to actually contemplate it on a scale to engulf all of humanity was madness incarnate.
Her expression surprised Kotomine a bit. He didn't expect her to look so fearful about the suggestion. After all, it would be Humanity's Salvation. He even seemed a bit hurt by the prospect of her rejection, which seemed all but inevitable.
"You cannot! Do you not understand the consequences of activating the Third Magic!?"
"WHY!?" Kotomine suddenly roared out, scaring Jeanne enough to put her guard up visibly, which in turn prompted a defensive reaction from Semiramis, a number of chains appearing from magic circles right above the blonde Ruler. "Why do you reject it? You, who is a Saint, just like I am, a servant to God. You of all people should be wanting this all the same! So why?"
"Because it is Madness! The Third Magic is not salvation but damnation! The full scale of unleashing a True Magic upon the very world would have catastrophic after-effects-"
"But Humanity would be saved!" Kotomine shouted, now fully feeling rage and disappointment that a fellow believer, a person of faith, could betray his idea of Salvation so blatantly. He could not understand it... it was simply that wild and unfathomable to him, just as his plan was that unfathomable to Jeanne.
"No... they would not." Jeanne retorted almost timidly before she took another step back, preparing to run.
"No... if someone like you is opposing it, then you will cause it to fail." Kotomine then announced, to which Semiramis locked the gates tightly, trapping Jeanne with the two of them.
Jeanne knew that she would have to fight her way out, but it actually coming to this was still painful to her. She had to abandon her neutrality and actively take sides pretty much at the very beginning of this Greater Grail War. She felt like she was forced to betray her role, as she did not understand her role to be more than just the mediator. So she decided to use the excessive authority of Rulers. "Assassin of Red, Semiramis. By my Command Seal, I order you to let me go and halt anyone who tries to stop me!"
As she voiced her command, her body blinked red for a second, the indication of her Command Seal triggering. But to her surprise, the gates remained closed.
"This will not work here, Ruler." Kotomine spoke as he lifted his right arm and pulled his sleeve down, demonstrating his own Command Seals, and in high numbers no less. More than Jeanne had, which caused her to squint her eyes as a reaction to knowing she was screwed if she didn't get out of here.
"You cannot do this, Kotomine Shirou. Or as you go by your real name, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada..."
"I am hurt, Jeanne D'Arc... but fear not. From Saint to Saint, I will try to make this quick." Amakusa spoke, whipping out a pair of 3 Black Keys, one trio for each hand, preparing to fire them at Jeanne.
"Now I heard something really interesting..." Suddenly came a deep and calm voice, and Amakusa turned around to see Archer of Black in the room, having his sniper pointed at the Priest's head.
"WHAT!? HOW-"
"Do me a favor and die." Archer suddenly spoke before pulling the trigger. Amakusa barely avoided the bullet by flicking it away with his Black Keys, but soon as he looked onwards, Archer of Black was not there anymore.
"What the... Where is he!?" Semiramis shouted out in confusion, putting herself and Amakusa on high alert. Jeanne used this moment to dash a distance away from the two of them towards one of the sides of the large room, as remaining right between Amakusa and the locked Gate was a position of disadvantage.
"Tell me..." Archer's voice came, echoing from all around the room. "What do you know about the Fear of Death?"
"What is this?" Semiramis roared before she used her Abilities to release poison into a large area around the whole room, only keeping herself and Shirou safe. Jeanne was largely unharmed by the Poison due to her Resistances granted to her as a Ruler, but she still felt great pain from the physical influences the Poisons had on her.
"The Fear of Death is something we all share, we all feel..." Archer of Black began to monologue, his voice still echoing without any traces of where it originated from. "It comes in every form that we imagine. The things we loathe, the things we naturally dread, the things we love, the things we strive for. Fear of Death manifests itself in everything we do not want it to be. It is the quintessential impulse of the soul to strive for completion of our ambitions before such time when we face the Maker."
Amakusa suddenly noticed a lightness between his right hand's fingers and glanced down only to see one of his Black Keys gone. The worst immediately went to his mind and he turned around towards Assassin. "SEMIRAMIS!"
Assassin of Red was about to react, but she coughed up a few drops of blood, and as she looked down, she saw Archer of Black, holding the missing Black Key from Amakusa and having impaled her abdomen with it. A non-lethal wound, but one that would incapacitate her for a few hours.
"AAAAARCHEEEEEEERRRR!" Amakusa roared with the full might of his anger and he ran up the steps to engage Archer of Black, who just took a large leap above the White-haired Ruler and landed next to Jeanne, displaying no worries about the Poison clouds, as they were beginning to disperse due to Semiramis being wounded too much to focus on maintaining them. Amakusa didn't think about Archer and instead ran up the stairs completely, dropping his Black Keys and kneeling right in front of Semiramis to check for her vitals, pulling the blade out of her abdomen in the process. "Semiramis... you're alright..."
As Amakusa turned his head around, looking for Archer and Jeanne, he suddenly saw that the two of them were both gone, a gaping hole on the chunk of wall right next to the Gate, indicating their escape.
Archer of Black dropped Jeanne back down as he let out a sigh, turning around to see the Gates right behind them. He dusted his shoulder off before he let out a strong fit of coughs, using his scarf to wipe his lips, but the fabric turned a tinge of red, displaying that blood was in his mouth.
"Archer of Black..." Jeanne mumbled while using her Ability as a Ruler to see his True Name and the name of his Noble Phantasm, and saw that he had no poison resistances at all. So even with the reduced density of the clouds, he risked his life to get her safely out of the way. But she was sure he would be alright, the exposure was minimal, so she decided to get her questions answered about this whole thing instead. "What was that just now... I may see the Name of your Noble Phantasm, but I am not getting any information on what it does..."
"Because the Grail forbids such knowledge from you, Ruler. My Noble Phantasm is not something you should be aware of." He commented before he started to walk, waving at her to follow. As she did, the two of them began to make a run for it. They had to get out of here as soon as they could.
"But... we are high above grounds. How did you get here?"
"A part of my Noble Phantasm's Abilities..." Archer of Black responded with a half-truth, which Jeanne didn't have to know about. "If you want to know so badly, I can tell you, but you better keep up in return." He said before he doubled his running speed right away, dashing along the long halls towards the exit, which, given the shape and architecture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon would eventually arrive if they just kept running straight ahead.
Jeanne managed to keep up just fine, thought she had to hold her Flagpole with both hands to not drop it from her running. "Then tell me about it... It will prove very useful in fighting against Amakusa Shirou."
"Fine... thought know that I am heavily opposed to sharing it, so do keep it to yourself, if possible." Archer of Black responded, to which Jeanne reluctantly nodded while turning her eyes back forward to look at the pathway they are taking.
"As you probably know, there are 3 stages of awareness. Presence. Memory. Existence." Archer began, which caused Jeanne to feel a little puzzled. Archer saw that and continued. "Each one of those three stages governs out conscience in terms of other things in the universe. We theorize when we only know something exists. We prove when we remember something. We hold dear when we feel its presence. To know, to remember, and to hold. That is the principle of an existence, proof of one's existential being."
"And what does that have to do with your Noble Phantasm?"
"Easy. I can rewrite the level of awareness the world has of me."
Jeanne's eyes went wide, processing the information given, but she didn't exactly understand what he meant in detail.
"You see, when you hear of me, you know I exist. As such, I have a presence on your first layer of Awareness. I exist. If you hear of me or meet me often enough to remember me, then I have presence in your second layer of Awareness. I am Remembered. And if you know who I am just from me being near you, then I have presence in your third layer of Awareness. I am Recognized. My Noble Phantasm allows me to either remove or forcibly insert my presence into those layers, allowing me to either completely vanish from someone's perception, or forcibly enter it and make myself physically exist within this layer of awareness."
To Jeanne, such power was difficult to process. The sheer scale of the domains it had to dabble into in order to function... "From the sound of it..." She said, her eyes as wide as they could be in the process. "Your Noble Phantasm manipulates the concepts of Space and Time itself..."
"Manipulate is to put it mildly." Archer of Black continued, this time full on lying, which again, Jeanne didn't need to know as far as he was concerned. "It is a very heinous and perverted Ability resulting from the Anecdota of my legend from the Wars I fought in, where my enemies could never know if I was there or not, constantly dreading death by my hand just from knowing I existed, and dreading my presence to be there. My deployments were kept a secret even from my Allies as a result, and I became the living embodiment of psychological warfare. My very existence was weaponized, and my Noble Phantasm reflects that, which is why I REALLY do not like to speak of it."
"But something like this has to have many side effects, I imagine..." Jeanne spoke, slowly calming herself down and processing all the new information on his Noble Phantasm more properly, slowing her running down as they were getting to the exit of the Building, where they would be out in the open.
"Not side effects, but risks. I have to always ensure that I limit the number of targets I apply my Noble Phantasm to. After all, if no one knows I exist, then I will cease to exist. My Noble Phantasm can, if I don't pay attention for even a second, wipe me from the stream of time, and I would be erased from existence across all of time. I will not be registered within the Throne of Heroes, I will never have been born, my soul will not have been in Akasha, nor will it have returned to it... if I make a mistake, I will become a victim to an uncontrolled application of the Fifth Magic. As such, I have to always make sure there is someone who knows of me that remains unaffected by my Abilities at all times."
As the two of them exited the Building and the Sky became clear, they slowed down their walking. Jeanne looked ahead to see that they still had a ways to go before they got to the edge. But, there was still that one, obvious problem.
"We got out, but how will we get down?"
"You will not."
The two of them turned around to see Roland standing behind them, Durindal drawn and at the ready. "My Liege, my Master has informed me that you seek to oppose his plan to bring about the Salvation of Humanity." She spoke, her expression one of pure anger. If Ruler was the enemy, she would strike her down without any question to the matter, regardless of their identity.
Archer of Black knew what would come, and he pushed Jeanne aside. "Help is coming. Go to the edge and wait for it. I will keep Saber of Red at bay" he said before he reached into his coat and took out two semi-automatics, one black, very bulky and with a long barrel, and one white, shorter, more rounded and with a large magazine.
Jeanne nodded as she understood and quickly ran towards the outer edges of the current platform. Roland tried to run towards her, but was halted by the clicking sound of Archer of Black pulling back the Hammer of his black semi-auto. "Sorry, Saber of Red. But you shall not pass."
With his words spoken, Archer disappeared and re-appeared right behind Roland, his black semi-auto close enough to her head to touch her hair with the barrel and he pulled the trigger. Roland had less than a fraction of a millisecond to act, tilting her head to the side before using the movement to turn herself around, taking a swing, but to no avail as Archer was gone again, standing where he was beforehand with the white semi-auto pointed at her, pulling the trigger at a very fast pace to fire a hail of bullets at Roland, who managed to keep up with pure speed, slicing every single bullet in an angle where both halves of them all flew past her and into the walls of the large building that made the center of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
"Your Ability is annoying. But Credit where Credit is due, it is a very strong Ability in the hands of a Servant who knows how to use it." Roland complimented, and yet her face seemed unphased, bored even. "But... those are not your main weapon. From the reports we received, yours is a Sniper, a weapon from this current century. So where is it?"
Archer of Black made a slight sweatdrop, seeming embarrassed at the answer to that question. "Your Archer of Red sealed it. His Noble Phantasm claims domain over the primary armament of the enemy it hits. And since you can't use someone elses Noble Phantasm under normal circumstances, I am left without my main arms. But that won't slow me down too much. I am a Soldier, and I follow my orders regardless of disadvantages."
He then snapped his fingers before he disappeared from Saber of Red's sight, who suddenly made wide eyes. "What... what was that?" She asked herself, feeling a sudden headache before putting her left hand, currently empty, against her forehead. "Something just happened but... I can't remember it." Then, she glanced up to see Jeanne running towards the edge of the Platform. "Why did I stop...?"
"Because I made you." Suddenly came a voice she could not pinpoint from where, and in the blink of an eye, Archer of Black stood before her, a few meters away, his gun pointed at her and he pulled the trigger. Roland's sword arm sliced the bullet in half without even needing to react, defending herself purely by instinct.
"Who... are you? An enemy Servant?" Roland asked while feeling the headache grow worse meanwhile.
"I am Archer of Black. Pleasure to meet you. Now die." He said before he disappeared from sight and re-appeared to her left, firing three bullets. Then, he did the same from her right side, then from above, then from behind her and then from the front. The speed of his disappearance and reappearance allowed him to time the distances and angles of his attacks accordingly so that every bullet was traveling at the exact same distance from all directions, making defence impossible without serious speed. Speed that Archer of Black was confident Roland did not have.
And he was mistaken.
Roland reacted without even looking, eyes closed and her left hand placed before her chest, her thumb on her right and pinky finger while her index and middle finger pointed upwards. Her right arm moving faster than Archer of Black's eyes could follow, slicing all the bullets in half in an angle that made them fly past her without collision.
"What!?" Archer of Black gasped in shock before he leaped back to gain distance, clapping his hands together before he reached into his Coat again to take out a full-automatic, a 7.62 RK 95 TP with a massively extended, can-shaped magazine holstering over 100 bullets, and began to unload on her with everything he got.
Roland deflected every single bullet without much issue, every single one of the 100 bullets, her eyes glaring at Archer of Black. Once she deflected the last bullet, she lowered her stance to take a more defensive position.
Archer of Black's eyes were narrowed as he let out a sigh. "Now I see... you systematically reduce movement and double the numbers of edges useable for your blade by rotating it with a fixed point-axis you place at the middle of the blade. A movement mostly used for warmup-exercises for Tai Chi with Swords... but you make flawless use of it as a defensive technique against ranged projectiles, fixiating the points at the right moments, in the right height so that you can use both the base and tip half of your blade, functionally doubling the edges while also halving the distance your hand has to move at the expense of a bit more fatigue into your wrists..."
"Well observed, but that was to be expected of an Archer." Roland responded before she cracked her neck slightly by tilting her head to the side, getting rid of some stiffness and symbolizing she was going to get more serious. "But even without using something so niche, I am faster than your bullets. They travel just under mach 1 speed. Unless you can double that, you will not match my swordarm." She declared before she suddenly dashed forward, fast enough to break the Sound Barrier almost instantly, creating the typical thunderclap as a result, the drag force of her dash causing the ground behind her to create a line-shaped crater along her pathing.
"Fast!" Archer of Black thought before he reached into his jacket again and took out a stereotypical, square pack of C4, tossing it towards Roland before detonating it via a remote in his left hand, which he pulled out literally from under his sleeve after he dropped the full-automatic, causing a concentrated but powerful explosion to engulf them both. Archer of Black flew back a dozen meters, his scarf destroyed to the point where it didn't hide a single feature of his face. It exposed that the left half of his face was somewhat disfigured and asymmetric with his right side.
Roland seemed unphased by the explosion, dusting off her Coat of Arms on her left side before she widened her eyes the slightest bit. "Now I see... So that is who you really a- NGH!" She groaned in pain as the headache in her head got even worse, and her body started to exalt a slight, purple-ish miasma for a moment. When it stopped a few seconds later, she let out a deep breath before getting up. "So that's how your Ability works... now it makes sense. All of it does..."
Archer of Black's eyes narrowed in worry as he knew that he fucked up. "I never would have imagined... she possesses not just a high resistance to curses, but she has complete immunity to them... it kicked in a little late, but she's free of it..."
"Your Noble Phantasm... at first it made it seem like you vanished from my memories and ceased to exist for me..."
Archer of Black's eyes narrowed tighter, cursing himself for not having gone for the killshot when he had the chance.
"...But that is not actually the case. You don't really disappear from existence to your opponents. They just think you do. A complex mind-altering curse that represses a specific target memory within someone and systematically sabotages all 5 senses to deny detection. It is the highest form of Hypnosis, inflicted through one of the most carnal emotions known to man: Fear. You can instill and make people forget their own Fears, allowing you to manipulate how much of that Fear you yourself create in them..."
"Fuck... she figured it all out... her memories of what happened before I disappeared from her awareness must have returned and she put 2 and 2 together..." Archer of Black cursed to himself, knowing that if he didn't do something she didn't see coming, he would be defeated here.
"...And it ties together well with the legends spoken about you. A hero of the youngest completed century, a god amongst modern rangers, called 'Snipers', boasting the highest killcount and having singlehandedly sown so much terror that the enemy lines were demoralized to a point where mistakes became common, patrols were beyond sloppy and your country grew an advantage through sheer force of psychological warfare, allowing a total bodycount-ratio of 20:1 in your favor. The White Death of of the North... that is who you are. Your True Name is Simo Häyhä, the legend of the newest Era of soldiers."
Archer of Black, now revealed as Simo, sighed out slightly before he gave her a very melancholic expression. "And here I thought you were just a super fast baffoon who follows orders. Your intelligence is frightening, you deduced everything about me just by seeing my face and freeing yourself from my Noble Phantasm's Hypnotic curse. No wonder you are hailed as one of the greatest warriors to walk the face of the earth in the age of A.D."
"All heroic spirits have something tied to them. A legendary weapon, divine ancestry or being the protagonist of a big prophecy but you... you are just some guy with a Gun, and yet you have elevated yourself to such height where not only do you stand amongst demigods and heroes of mankind, but you stand in the upper ranks amongst them as one of the highest ranked Archers without divinity within you..."
"You flatter me, Saber of Red."
"We could continue giving one another respect and compliments, but in the end, you are still my enemy. So let us end this ceremonial stand." Roland spoke before she took a defensive stance, her left side put forward and the hilt of her sword lifted above her head while the tip pointed downwards, the blade directly pointed at Simo, who reached into his coat for one last time and took out an older-modeled sniper and the one he was most known for to have used, an M/28-30, and aimed it at her.
The two of them just stared at one another for a moment, complete silence and no movement from either one of them.
"Answer me a question of pure curiosity before I kill you..." Roland began while she slightly slid her left foot forward to prepare herself. "How did you get up here?"
Simo cocked the hammer of his rifle back to prepare the shot, holstering it more firmly against his shoulder for better absorption of recoil. "I used my Noble Phantasm's effects on Lancer of Red when she used her steed to bring the servants and masters up here. She rode a total of 3 times. First, she took Ruler and her own Master, Emiya Shirou. Then on the second ride, she took Saber of Black and the second injured, Lancer of Black. And on the third ride, she brought Saber of Black's master, Gordes Musik. I took the third ride with them up, using my Ability to disguise my existence from the both of them and the horse."
"And how did you get in and out of the Throne Hall?"
"I thought you only wanted me to answer one question..."
"Do it anyway."
"My Curse expands to all my equipment. If you were to run back in there, you would see what I mean... I followed Ruler inside while under effect of my Ability, then blew a hole into a wall to escape using C4 that none of the others could see."
"A soldier through and through... you probably also have Ruler's extraction planned out."
"nah... but she will find a way." Simo responded before he made a small, but proud smile at Roland. "After all, you are the villains of this war, and in the end, your plans are always folly, and you will ultimatedly be defeated."
After his condescending comment, both of them stared at one another for a moment longer. Then, Roland dashed forward while Simo pulled the trigger.
Jeanne arrived at the corner of the platform, but she saw no one else there at the moment, so she had to assume that she has to jump down. She inhaled, then exhaled, taking slow and deep breaths while looking down. "I am at least 4000 meters above ground, maybe even more..." She prepared to jump, but before she could really do it, she suddenly heard something.
Flapping... more specifically, the flapping of wings in the air. She looked up to see a Hippogryph approaching the Platform and 2 people ontop of it. A short, pink-haired individual, who based on their clothing and the Mana they exalt had to be a Servant, and a slightly taller man with wild, brown hair sitting right behind the first person.
"Rider, slow down. I think someone is expecting us." The Brown-haired male voiced while pointing at her.
"AH! She looks cute! She might just prove to be your type, Master!"
"Will you cut it out, we are in the middle of a war and you are trying to get me hooked up with someone I haven't even met yet!" The brown-haired male, now known as a Master to Jeanne, spoke, clearly flustered by the prospect of the pinkette's suggestion. "Anyway, I think this is either a Lancer, or this might be Ruler. Either way, land."
"Ya got it!" The Pinkette said with some serious positive energy, laughing all the way until the Hippogryph's claws connected with the solid ground of the platform.
"Who are you? Are you from the Black Faction?"
"Yes..." Sieg answered, getting off the Hippogryph before placing his right fist against his heart-area on his chest and bowing slightly out of respect. "I am Sieg, Rider of Black's Master. We are here as delegates to the Black Faction, who is aware that the rules of the Grail War have been violated, and I am here to answe-"
"That can wait." Jeanne interrupted, stepping forward a bit. "You need to get me off this platform. The Black Faction needs to know that a terrible conspiracy is afoot. The Red Faction hoasts a Servant from one of the previous Grail Wars who seeks to invoke the Third Magic across the entire human race!"
Sieg and Rider of Black, namely Astolfo, both made wide eyes as they heard that. Astolfo was the first to respond. "What? But that would be horrible! Why would anyone wish something like this?" She asked in the most stereotypical way possible, almost as if he had fun asking it.
"He claims it will bring upon the Salvation of Humanity..." Jeanne responded with a distraught face. She still had to process that level of blind conviction she saw. He truly, honestly thought this was the answer to it all... and that made him a terrifying opponent. Jeanne knew more than anyone that nothing makes a single individual more dangerous than being wrong, yet still thinking they are right with all their might. Fanatism has got nothing on true faith... not as far as she knew, given her history.
"Doesn't he know that that is the opposite of salvation?" Sieg asked with a slightly concerned face, his worry however going towards the way Jeanne looked. He could tell she seemed genuinely disturbed by the thought, so he reached his hand out to her. "We promise to stop the enemy Master of Red."
Jeanne looked up at Sieg and hesitantly took his hand, shaking it with her own before nodding, collecting herself to snap out of her frightful daze. "Yes, you are right. We will stop him, but first we have to get off this pla-"
Suddenly, a towering pillar of Fire emerged just a few meters behind Jeanne, the flames swirling in circles to form a tornado before they dissolved. When they did, the white-haired, black-dress wearing Caster of Red was in the center of the now gone firestorm, on one knee, before she got up. "You aren't going anywhere, Ruler. I apologize for the antagonization. I heard from our Master what he intends to do, and while I do not care for his wish, I am his Servant first and foremost and execute his command, being your demise and the demise of all who oppose us."
"WE NEED TO GO NOW!" Jeanne roared before she took Sieg's hand and made a run for the edge of the Platform, pulling him along before they both jumped, barely evading a very large beam of fire from Caster of Red. Astolfo and his Gryphon meanwhile leapt off the platform a bit further away from the blonde and brunette, the Hippogryph squaking out loudly in typical eagle-fashion before taking a curve upwards to catch the two before they flew away. Due to the excessive load on his back, the Gryph made a complaining squak before descending at a quick pace, aiming to hit ground as fast as possible.
"Tch... they got away." Caster complained before she heard steps behind her, turning around to see Saber of Red, Roland.
However, Roland didn't appear at all in top shape. Durindal was sheated, her right hand was placed against her left hip and she was humping on one leg, her face seriously bloodied and her left arm hung down as if it was disabled by injury.
"Whoa... what the hell happened to you?" Caster of Red asked, genuine surprise and mild curiosity in her eyes.
"Archer of Black, that bastard... he got me good." Roland complained while coughing up some blood. "I will live, but I need at least 12 hours to regenerate these injuries."
Caster of Red whistled in slight awe and clapped her hands at the sight. "Well I will be damned. How could an Archer of all classes do something like this to you?"
Saber of Red seemed almost embarrassed at the response to the question, looking away and gritting her teeth. "He out-smarted me. He used Bullets that self-fragmentate into pieces so small they cannot be cut even by my sword... I believe he called it "Shot ammo" or something... Not just that, the fragments were made entirely out of Tungsten which pierced my armor AND he used a regular rifle to fire them, which I didn't anticipate given it only fired some regular bullets up until then... his ingenuity was what lead to this."
"It is unlike you to be careless..."
"I wasn't careless, I was ignorant." Roland fired back. "Which is exactly why this is so embarrassing... He used his modernity to hit me with something I had no idea existed. Heroes of the new century sure are creative, if nothing else..."
"Heh... maybe." Caster of Red spoke before she placed her hands ontop of one another against her stomach before she walked forward bit by bit, passing Roland. "Now come, Master will for sure want a report on this. He will not be happy."
"Maybe, but he won't much care... his destiny is greater than our enemy. One setback will NOT cost us..."
As Roland finished speaking, she began to follow Caster of Red, albeit at a very slow pace due to still humping on only one leg.
Mordred was sitting besides the small nighttable, eyeing Shirou's still unconscious body while it laid on one of the beds provided within the Hanging Gardens' quarters so he could rest. Her face betrayed that she was deep in thought as she eyed his facial expression. "You changed my father so much... the way she looks at you, the way she treats you, touches you, thinks of you... just who are you to her...?" As she asked so to herself, she got up in order to change his sheets. To keep him warm and free of sweat, Artoria told her to do so every hour, to which the time came right now. She gripped the top hemm of his sheets and pulled them down, and once they passed his abdomen, her eyebrow perked up as she saw a small, folded piece of paper on his stomach.
"The hell is...?" She asked herself before picking it up, opening and reading it. The more she read, the more bewildered she seemed. "This is..." She mumbled to herself as she kept reading until she was done. When she did, she immediately used her mana to burn the letter before she turned to Shirou and finished changing the blankets. Once done, she sat down again and put a hand over her eyes. "We need to get off this place... Archer of Black didn't just drop this note on accident..." She thought to herself before she glanced at Shirou once again. "But both he and Leonidas are still unconscious, and Father says it might take a couple of hours for either one of them to wake up... I need to stay on Guard until they are both up... I can't tell anyone until the time is right..."
Having made up her mind, Mordred leaned herself back against the chair to play the long game of patience, waiting until Shirou woke up.
Woo, chapter 7. I apologize for this update taking slightly longer than usually. I was going to upload this a few hours earlier than what you see now, but I had a slight change of plot and had to rewrite almost 3000 words ^^
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and if you do, please R&R to let me know of your thoughts, and about possible improvements to my writing. Cheers!