And here we are again, another chapter in the works. Let's get this done!

Beta: CrowSkull


The Seventh War

Chapter 7


"Come on, come on!" Azael muttered as she called Francis' phone for the fifth time. "Pick up you son of a bitch, stop leaving your phone in stupid places while it's on vibrate!"

Azael was frantic. She felt pathetic for panicking like this when the threat was already dealt with, but she couldn't help it for the life of her. She knew what she did, destroying that room leads to more than just getting rid of those zombie-like creatures. It damn near collapsed half of the entire building. The public hadn't deemed it a gas leak, no, it was being declared a goddam terrorist attack. A terrorist attack of all things! Aza certainly felt like a terrorist. She didn't mean to put that much power into it, she really didn't! All she wanted to do was eliminate those creatures as fast as possible. In her mind, Aza remembered something her father told her.

"Your magecraft is powerful, but uncontrolled and unrefined. Without those suppressants keeping it in check, I fear you may one day cause too much harm to be undone or forgotten." Deep down she knew that he had a point, but she never thought that it'd actually happen. Not this soon into the war.

Ten deaths, of which were all the people that were infected by that magic Amy sensed. But dozens upon dozens were injured. It was a miracle that no one else was killed and honestly she was surprised and grateful that no innocent bystanders were caught up in her crossfire. But she knew that if the blast was just a tiny bit stronger, it would have done a lot more damage than what she intended to cause. Azael shook as she stepped past the people being carried away in stretchers, people who were missing limbs because of the fall, people who were crying and screaming in pain. Other kids who were younger if not her own age or a few years older. Scarred for life, every single one of them. Mental trauma was the least that they could expect for themselves. Physical rehabilitation for most. What she did today, none of them would ever forget, and yet there she was… Standing around watching everything unfold without anyone the wiser. That was the world of people who didn't know that magecraft and magic existed. They never would think that someone like that could have done this. In the back end of her mind, Aza felt a disturbing amount of relief that she'd never be caught for this horrific crime. The way her heart beat within so quickly she could barely catch her breath was cathartic.

Not only her father, but Amy as well was concerned about her going too far. Now she knew why they were so worried. Francis as well, to a certain extent. She remembered that he once offered to help her learn how to control her magecraft and the flow of magic within her magic circuits, but she refused, adamant to try and learn on her own. It was too late to learn now too. It wasn't like she could learn how to do all that within days in the middle of the Seventh Holy Grail War.

Azael turned away from the scene of the crime and ran in the opposite direction. Scared of herself and what she was just thinking. Where was all that pain that she just felt before? That guilt and sorrow? Violently shaking her head, she denied the worse possible outcomes and yet her mind still came up with worse to torment her. The fact that Amy remained silent within her mind didn't make her any more comfortable. She hadn't said a word since she dematerialized and got out of the school with her. Which was something Azael was happy to admit that she was happy about for once. Hearing her complaints and berates was the last thing that she needed right now. Not when she potentially just ended lives. So far it was only people being found injured, but there was the saying 'You can't save everyone' for a reason. Once she got away from the school and found a relatively secluded area, she once again tried calling Francis. The one wall that she knew she could always rely on for times like this.

She just needed to hear his voice now. That boyish, goofy voice that she has grown fond of over the short years that she's known him. Something to calm her nerves, something to make her forget the guilt that was still there.

Finally, Francis answered on the sixth try.

"Hello? Aza? What's wrong?" He asked, his voice already laced with concern. It made sense, it wasn't as if she called him occasionally.

"Finally!" Azael was too frantic to be embarrassed about her squeal of relief. "Why didn't you pick it up earlier!?"

"I left my phone in another room," Idiot, of course, he did. "What's wrong? Did anything happen? I can hear you practically panting through the phone call."

Azael bit her lip and thought about how to go about explaining what happened. In the end, she chose the safe way. "Something happened at the school," She said, already hearing Francis suck in a breath. He knew which school she was referring to too. "One of the enemy Servants infected some people with some kind of magical virus I'm guessing, pretty much turned them into actual zombies."

"I just turned on the news," Azael physically winced at the sound of that. "Apparently, this is a terror attack… But I'm guessing it was you who put an end to them?"

"I-I couldn't let them get out into the halls… and to the other people in the school." Azael sighed explosively as she sat down on an empty bench near the church. "And I couldn't let the risk of them surviving my attack be a thing. So yeah… that was me."

"Damn Aza," Francis said with a choked laugh. "Well, I can see why you left me half a dozen calls now. They say that no one was killed after the initial blast, other than the ones I assume were those zombie things, so everything should be okay."

"Y-You're not angry with me?"

"Why would I be? It's not like you intended to try and take down the entire building, right?"

"Well, no… but I did let out more power than I intended too…"

"Even I do that sometimes," Francis remarked. Azael instantly felt better hearing that. The idiot probably didn't even know it, and that was endearing to her. "Like when I stopped that asshole from killing you, I didn't care about holding back and conserving my energy, and I nearly overflowed my Magic Circuits." Remembering that close call with Berserker and his Master made her wince. But it soothed her that he cared so much. "We all make mistakes, Aza. It's fine."

"Heh… That's just like you, always the forgiving type," Azael laughed fondly. "I nearly destroyed half your school and you forgave me instantly. How much are you going to let me get away with?"

"As long as you don't go off the deep end, which I know you won't, then as much as I need to," Francis said warmly. "Now, since that's over with. Where are you? Are you safe?"

"Yeah," Azael bit her lip as she looked around, she was safe. And she was alone, with the sun slowly going down. "I'm near that church you visited the other day… Hey, can you get over here?"

"Hm?" It made sense that Francis would get confused by such a question. Azael never really told him to come to find her before. They always just agreed to meet up somewhere. "I-I guess I could, I was going to stay in today to rest up but if you need me, I'll be there."

Just as he promised he would, she didn't say.

"Then yeah, if you got over here that'd be great. I… don't really want to get home to my dad just yet. Not after what happened." Azael explained.

"I get that, I really do. But you know the sun is going down," Francis pointed out. "It'll take me about an hour to walk over there and by that point, it'll be almost dark."

"Any idiot who tries to attack two Masters and two Servants by themselves deserves to be charred for it," Azael huffed. Feeling the phantom burn of one of her missing Command Seals. "Are you coming or not? I won't be able to sit on this bench forever. Text me and let me know, I'm just gonna… breathe colder air in the meantime, I guess."

"Aza come on-"


"She hung up?" Susano asked as he lied in his bed. Despite being a Servant birthed at his very strongest, he was surprisingly lazy. He didn't even want to dematerialize like a normal Servant would.

Francis looked up at him with a tired look in his eyes and showed him the screen on his phone, which confirmed that he was in fact hung up on. "Yup," He confirmed, lousily sticking his phone back into his pocket. "As always, she leaves me with an ultimatum. Go see her, make her feel better or whatever, or don't, and she holds a grudge on me for a thousand years."

Susano chuckled. "A woman's mind is something that even I don't truly understand yet, and I'm a God." he joked. "You sure this isn't what your age's people calls a 'booty call?' That would definitely put 'Make her feel better' in a new light, at least."

"No," Francis said coldly, looking away from the Servant. "Also, shut up. Ugh, alright, get ready for anything just in case." He said as he started putting on his clothes. Susano watched him as he got ready, keeping an eye on his movements, regarding them as slow and methodical. He was still sore, Susano noted. Still tired. Still requiring rest.

"Maybe you should accept that grudge of hers, for now, Master," Susano suggested, sitting up on his bed. "That way you can actually get some decent rest."

"I'm fine, Susano," Francis remarked. "I'm a little sore, sure, but I can still do what I need to do."

"Kid, you had a two-hour nap and half a dinner. I expect that after this you're going to go drink an energy drink and run right back out there into the fold. You are not 'fine'."

"Aza needs me to-"

"If she really needed you then why the hell did she hang up on you?" Susano pointed out. "I mean this in the most polite way possible, Master, but that girl doesn't really know how to express herself, nor does she seem to be the type who actually thinks about what they do. I'd almost call her toxic to you if I didn't already know she has to have some kind of redeeming quality that keeps you infatuated with her."

"I get what you're saying Assassin, I do," Francis said as he slid on a collared shirt, light blue in color, and dark black jeans. "But you don't know Aza like I do, she's smarter than she seems and though I admit that she isn't perfect, she doesn't need to be. And right now, she practically just called for my help. I am not going to say no to her."

Susano stroked his goatee and sighed. "Fine, it seems that I am not getting through to you. If you really think that you have to do this then I guess I am going to have to come with you." He said, standing up and rolling his shoulders.

"Thank you," Francis said, smiling up at the Servant. "You're a good Servant, Susano,"

"Yeah, yeah, when I have to save your ass later because we got ambushed you better be ready to get me a new bed," Susano said as he pointed a thumb behind him. "That one is alright but it makes my butt hurt sitting in it. I know you have money, I can see it in your mind."

"If it makes you shut up, fine!" Francis cursed to himself and lowered his voice, praying that his mother and father didn't just hear him scream at nothing.

"Nice one, Master."

"Oh shut up," Francis said as he tied his shoes. "Let's go, stay dematerialized for now, as usual."

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say."


Francis was right, it seemed. The sun really was going down quickly. The night was coming, and with it, the looming threat of any of the other five Servants or Masters coming after them. Except maybe with the exception of Piotyr and Rider. He still wasn't entirely sure that he and Azael would be safe for the night even for a few moments together, but what she said wasn't without merit. One Servant and one Master against two of each was not a good matchup in any situation unless they were both overwhelmingly powerful. Berserker and Eren were strong but not invincible, and Lao Ran and Archer seemed the honorable types who would make themselves known. There was still Lancer and Caster, the former he had battled once already and the other one he had never even seen yet, but he was confident that tonight might not lead to any of that. Not after what happened recently. All in all, the current Grail war was rather bloodless as far as he knew. The rules were being followed and combat was only allowed at night. At least, that was to be said for now.

He found Azael sitting on a bench with her arms crossed and her eyes scanning the night every which way, looking for him. When she spotted his bright white hair, she smiled and waved him over. Francis did so, walking forward until he got close enough to touch her. What he didn't expect was for her to strongly pull him into a hug, leaning the side of her face in the crook of his neck and squeezing him when he hugged her back. He was caught off guard by the affection since Aza very rarely showed that kind of affection. But he also wasn't about to complain about it anytime soon.

"What was that for?" He asked with a chuckle. "Did I do something right for once?"

"You came," Aza replied, pulling away slightly but still keeping her hands on his face. He leaned in when she did as well, sharing with her a gentle kiss that they haven't had with each other for a few years at this point.

"And like that, you are hooked right around her finger…" Susano commented in the back of his mind. Francis chose to ignore him, relishing in what he realized he still had with Aza.

His face was red when she pulled away. Hers was as well, and she looked prettier for it. When she first came back to him in that school, Francis didn't know if there was anything still going on with them, and he didn't want to make the mistake of pressuring her into anything. He stayed close yet still distant, reminding her that he was there but wasn't going to force himself into her life. They had enough of that when they were younger, when Adrielle arranged for them to meet over and over and planned for them to get together for his legacy's continuation. He forced himself to stop thinking about that, and just enjoy the moment for what it was.

"That was for saving me before," Azael said as she pulled back. "And well… I want to…"

"Are we still together?" Francis asked finally, rubbing the back of his head in his nervousness as he saw Aza's eyes widen slightly with shock from his brazenness. "I wanted to ask before but I didn't want to rush anything since we just saw each other again after so long… And I know this might actually be the worst time to ask since we are both Masters in the seventh war, but I still want to know regardless."

"I want to be." Azael confirmed for him quickly. "It's part of the reason I wanted to see you tonight, to talk about it."

"Really?" Francis asked, surprised. "Wow, um… That's cool."

Azael rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it is. After what just happened at the school, I don't want to die with any regrets."

"Aza-"

"You might die too, Francis." Aza cut him off. "I might die, we all might die in this war. That's what a Holy Grail War is. Before that happens though, I'd rather die with zero regrets than die knowing that we missed our chance with each other."

"That…" Francis knew it was reasonable. More than reasonable. They were in an area where they both weren't entirely sure about their relationship, but from a business standpoint, he'd rather be in love with her and her in love with him instead of both of them being enemies. It wasn't unheard of for Masters to align with each other for one reason or another, and together, they might be able to find a way to end the war without losing each other in the process. "I guess that settles it then," he said with a pleased smile.

"I don't think there was a possibility of a no being said either way." Susano remarked.

"Are you sure this is the best approach to the future?" Amaterasu asked Azael.

"I want this." Azael said, repeating it to Francis while answering Amy. "Do you?"

"Of course," Francis reached out and grabbed her hands. "Of course I do."

Azael let out a sigh of relief and leaned forward to kiss him again. This one lasted a second longer, and when they pulled away, she felt much lighter on her feet. She was happy, she was grateful to have Francis at her side. She did care about him, very much so, and she knew that he loved her. She was telling the truth that she wanted to die with zero regrets, but also, she wanted to make sure that he'd never betray or leave her. He was the one wall that she knew could contain and assist her in her greatest times of need. He was the one who could stop her too if she ever went too far off the deep end like he said she would never do. If anyone could do it, it would be him.

She left shortly after spending some more time with him, late into the night. She shared his concern about staying out too long while it was dark because of the war, and they didn't want to risk getting caught out off guard and he agreed with the sentiment as well. It wasn't like they would be mentally ready for a potential battle at the moment, and they couldn't rely on the Church here for protection. Aza went back toward her home, far past the church while Francis remained on the bench for an extra few minutes, all smiles and happy about what had just transpired.

That smile faded ever so slightly when Susano materialized on the bench next to him.

"She is going to start using you, Master." The Assassin Servant said. "You're falling for a common mistake amongst human males. Holding love over logic and the best thing to do. Now is the worst time to have a relationship, least of all with another Master."

Francis sighed and looked away from him. "Did you have to come and ruin the moment?"

"Only because I have to look after you," Susano remarked. "I like being alive, and if you die, I die."

"I don't see what you're concerned about. I've done a lot of research about you. You had five wives and countless concubines when you were alive. And you're a God." Francis pointed out. "I'm sure that as a human, I can have one girlfriend. Even during the Grail war."

Susano scoffed. "You can't compare yourself to a God, Master. We perceive things differently. Haven't you ever heard of Greek mythology and their great King of Gods?"

Francis rolled his eyes. "That's beside the point."

Susano frowned. "I know I don't come off as extremely serious most of the time, Francis," calling him by his name for one of the first times, Francis gave his Servant his full attention. "But that girl is unstable. You know that. You're the one who thinks that. I can't tell you what to do with your life and I wouldn't do that anyway, but what you are getting yourself is dangerous. You should know that."

Francis leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and sighing loudly. "I know." He admitted. "I appreciate your honesty… it's just…"

"Love makes men do foolish things." Susano recited.

"Does that come from experience?" Francis asked curiously.

Susano barked out a single laugh. "Hell no! There wasn't any real love in my life, Master. I'll tell you the story one day, but do you really think that a God who was banished to the underworld by his father had a life full of love?"

Francis shrugged his shoulders wordlessly.

"Smart answer." Susano yawned loudly and stretched his arms up over his head and then scanned the area around them. It was quiet, very quiet, there was no one walking around, which made him wonder why. This was New York City, the supposed city that never sleeps, and yet it certainly looked like the city was asleep right now. Curious, Susano knew that something had to be wrong. He wondered, the church was nearby, so that it was a safe haven for any Master and prevented any Servants from even getting near it. His passive magic sense didn't detect anything major, but now that he was paying more attention, he knew that he and Francis were no longer alone. Dozens of other signatures started popping up, pathetically weak ones, but the fact that they were there told him that something was amiss. He stood up suddenly, drawing his long and chipped sword as he did so, surprising Francis.

"Assassin?" Francis called to him. "What's wrong?" He asked, sensing that something was wrong as well now that he saw him.

"We're not alone." Susano said, aiming his sword into the night ahead of them. "Several signatures, weak ones, but still threats."

"Impressive of you to be able to read that despite my putting so much effort into suppressing their innate magical properties." A classy, deep voice called out to them. Instantly, Susano and Francis were both put on guard as dozens of dead bodies walked out of the actual shadow of the buildings. They were invisible before, which explained how Susano wasn't able to sense them until now. They were in the wide open, Francis was able to see them clearly as well now. He gasped when he saw them, literal rotting corpses walking, like something out of a zombie movie. They moved slow and lethargic, but he knew better than to assume that they'd still like that. Francis stood up and pulled back both of his sleeves, revealing an aura of frost that radiated from them like an icey called visage. Instantly, he knew that these creatures were not human, but already dead bodies that needed to be put to rest one final time.

"Right when Azael left a few minutes earlier," Francis commented ruefully. "Bad timing, I doubt they're going to let me make a phone call. We're on our own for this one, Assassin."

"That's fine," Susano commented. "These creatures should be nothing to us. This is the work of Caster, it has to be. I will find him and eliminate him."

"A bold claim coming from the cowardly God of old Japan," The voice echoed through the empty streets. Susano narrowed his eyes, swearing mentally. "But if that is what you wish to try, my Master has given me authorization to do whatever it is I deem necessary." On top of the building in front of them, a man with deep black skin and white markings on his face dressed in a purple suit adorned with a top hat of the same vanity stood, bowing his head as his bone staff glowed a neon green color. His smile was riddled with yellow teeth, he almost looked like the dead bodies walking if it weren't for how clean his suit looked.

"I couldn't help but notice a single Master and his Servant all alone out here, so I decided to investigate and pull the initiative. I heard quite the tale about you two from my little birds, so I think it would be wise to be rid of you both before you become an issue for my Master later." Baron Samedi expliquer. "Nothing personal of course, nothing ever is with me." Snapping his fingers, the zombie-like creatures started staggering forward, aiming for Francis.

Assassin and his Master looked at each other and nodded. Susano crouched down and lept into the air, throwing one of his shurikens at the Caster and hitting the edge of the building at his feet. Instantly, he teleported, his long and thick blade slicing through the air toward Samedi's neck. Caster bent backward to dodge it hastily, chirping "My oh my, leaving your Master all alone to face my zombies?"

"My Master can handle himself," Susano said as he stood on the ledge of the building, holding his sword over his shoulder in a stance. "It is my job however, to slay you, Baron."

Samedi smiled. "I see my name is not unknown to you as well, God of Japan."

Susano shrugged. "It was easy once I looked at you. That get up and your kind of magic is almost exclusive to you specifically."

"You're not exactly subtle yourself," Samedi said, twirling his staff in one hand and then pointing it at him. Susano felt a green glow against his chest, and within the span of a second, threw another shuriken away from the spot he was standing and teleported away just in time to dodge a green explosive which would have caved his chest in. Susano slid against the roof of the building and dashed at Samedi, forcing the Caster to fly up into the air to gain some distance. Three skull orbs came out of his staff, each of them being cut down by the assassin servant, followed by Susano leaping into the air to catch him. Samedi caught the large blade with his staff, blocking the strike and diverting it with barely enough strength. Susano spun in mid air, and landed on a small storm cloud he created with his own variant of magic.

"Oh, you can use magic as well?" Samedi noted. "Interesting…"

Susano didn't reply. He jumped off the storm cloud and directly at the Caster again, this time twisting his grip, his sword glowed, and within each notch of his blade was a shuriken. Samedi widened his eyes as a horizontal row of sharp blades was thrown at him, barely dodging it in time by flexibly bending backward in an unnatural angle. Susano teleported to one of the ten shurikens, but was met with a large force of green energy, and teleported away to the shuriken still stuck in the ledge of the building below the Caster servant.

Susano winced as he felt a burn on his left arm. Too close.

"Fast, very fast." Samedi noted again as he panted slightly. "Too fast for me. Very interesting indeed. You are hiding a great deal of magic within you, aren't you? I feel as though you could be born as a Caster servant if I weren't here."

Susano again didn't reply. He wasn't interested in speaking casually with an enemy servant. Instead, he flicked his sword to the side, a bolt of lightning jolting from his right arm into the sword, shrouding it with storm and squall. Samedi looked at the blade and then enhanced his staff, his body began to glow a green color, his eyes as well. Their battle was about to get more interesting. Susano disappeared in a flash of lightning, and Samedi flew away as a result, making the Assassin servant give chase.

Back down on the ground, Francis jumped back and over the bench he was just sitting on. "Frost Flo!" He chanted, turning part of the road into slippery ice with one hand while casting a second spell with his other. "Frosa!" A thin beam of blue energy shot out of his five fingers impaling the same amount of zombies and destroying their hearts, when he noticed that they still kept coming despite that, he cast the same spell again, but added a different effect onto it.

"Frosa Excela!" The blue beams turned a deep purple, impaling the same five zombies but then causing them to explode in a shrapnel of energetic shards of ice, causing some of the other zombies to fall down and get pinned to the ground. Despite that, there were still too many coming. Francis was surrounded, but that didn't mean he was done yet. Sucking in a deep breath, Francis continued.

"Gander Sofra!" He yelled out, weaving both hands into an arc around his body and thrusting his hands out to the sides. A ring of energy formed around him and expanded outward in a fifteen foot radius, slicing several more of the creatures in half. That gave him the opening to cast a second spell. "Frogivre!" He chanted, aiming at the floor and creating an ice wall beneath him at an angle, it pushed him through the air, over the surrounding zombies and then cast it a second time at a negative angle to bleed off his momentum. He landed into a roll, his eyes and command seals glowing as he released a breath of frost as he continued to fight. He counted at least thirty plus zombies, which meant that he was far from safe right now.

"Alright, time to borrow a spell from you, Aza," Francis muttered as he clutched his left hand, elements of energy and fire boiled forth, mixed together into a plasma like substance. "Sorades!" He yelled out, striking the ground and causing a spike of solid fire to launch out of the ground. Ten of them, in fact. The fire spikes shot out of the road and exploded on impact, killing ten of the zombies instantly, vaporizing some. In the ensuing explosion of purple fire, Francis released a deep breath and began to pant. He was getting tired, but he was still able to cast a decent amount of spells before giving out. It was only physical exhaustion and the soreness of the battle from the other day. But the adrenaline would kick in soon enough, and he was sure that he'd be fine. Still, that didn't mean that he had to exert himself right now, and started backing up. The church was still nearby, if he could get near it or inside of it, then he wouldn't have to fight anymore.

So that was what he did. He trusted Susano to hold his own in the meantime, he was much more powerful than he was and a Servant at that. Surely Caster wouldn't be able to overpower him. Judging by the sound of lightning and the sound of a weapon slicing through air, he figured that Susano was doing just fine. Francis summoned another ice wall from the ground to slow down the zombies, and ran away.

An explosion of green energy ignited from beneath his feet, launching him into the air and then landed awkwardly on his shoulder. He coughed, the wind knocked out of him and he felt some of his clothes get seared. His eyes widened as he realized who casted such an ability. He turned around and saw Caster, on the ground and smiling at him. His staff took the form of a cane and it clicked against the road beneath him as he made his way toward him.

"What? But… Assassin…"

"Is currently being occupied by an incantation of myself. A fake clone, if you will," Caster explained. "A much weaker version of myself that will no doubt be killed in time. But in the time it takes for your Servant to do that, when will he realize that he's been duped? Will he get here in time to save you?"

Francis was disoriented from the attack, but still pushed himself back on his feet. He was definitely injured, that explosion was practically right next to him. The reason he was still alive was because the Caster wished him to be. Most likely to turn him into one of those zombie creatures. He realized what that would mean, if he was a zombie, and Caster controlled him, that meant that he'd also control Susano. He couldn't let that happen, but fighting a Caster servant by himself was nigh impossible.

He had to at least try, or to get away from him somehow.

"Curious how you survived that initial explosion…" Samedi remarked. "But a few more of those and you should be down for the count. Let's say we dance for a small while, shall we?"

"Fro Gandyr!" Francis exclaimed, saying no more as he pulled up both arms and aimed for the floor in front of him. The Caster reached up an arm to negate the attack before it hit him, but instead it caused the sand beneath the sidewalk to explode upwards, smothering his vision. A smart move, but one that would work for only so long.

Francis turned around and sprinted. Casting several more of the ice walls behind him to block line of sight and to protect himself from any more of those explosion spells. The church was in his vision, if he could just get within the range of that barrier, then Samedi wouldn't be able to do anything more to him. He just needed to get there!

"Body enhancement," Francis whispered to himself, using his magic circuits to enhance his speed and cardio. When he broke through the smoke cloud, he saw another group of zombies closing in on him. He didn't slow down, not willing to allow the Caster to catch him while he was distracted. Casting another Frosa Excella, he instantly killed them all and ran through what remained. So close, he could feel it now!

"Not so fast little Master." Francis screamed when he felt his left leg suddenly feel numb. He fell and hit his face on the ground, bruising himself and giving him a bloody nose. "Clever tricks, but that is not enough to get away from someone infinitely more powerful." Samedi softly landed behind Francis as he continued to crawl closer to the church. "As much as I'd like to draw this out, I just sensed my clone getting killed," he pointed out. "And I don't want to test your servant's speed. So do me a favor," Samedi grinned as he held out a hand, palm outward, and summoned a purple ball of conversion magic. "And become one of my humble servants, Francis Glacier."

Francis dared to look back, and the world moved in slow motion. Caster was just about to fire that ball, killing and then converting him into one of those zombies. He had just gotten back together with Aza, and he was going to die already? No, he couldn't let that happen.

Desperately, Francis raised his left hand, and his Command Seals began to glow.

"Susano! By my Command Seal, I summon you to save me!"

In a flash of blue energy, a sword appeared out of nothing, Cutting off the hand of Samedi just as he was about to kill Francis. The Caster screamed out in pain, and at the sight of Susano and his bloodied sword, he let out his first swear, and vanished into a puff of green smoke.

"I'm here," Susano said, crouching down to help Francis back on his feet. "Sorry about that, Master. I was a bit preoccupied."

"Don't worry about it," Francis said, sighing out of relief. His left foot started feeling better as soon as Samedi was gone, but he didn't want to take any chances. There could still be other Masters or Servants around and Samedi still had his zombies to send after me. "Get me to the church. I'll walk the rest of the way and spend the night in there. Paul won't let any of those creatures spill blood on holy soil, he said so himself."

"Very well," Susano said, picking him up and carrying him the rest of the way. One Command Seal down and now recovering from a near death experience, Francis passed out as soon as he made it inside of the church. Paul letting him in without question, and returning to his prayer as he slept on the same bench as before.


And finally, we return to this story! Ah, it feels good finally getting back to it and writing it. Man, it feels good writing something other than RWBY for once again. Sorry it took so long for me to come back and I'm sorry again that I'm going to have to let this story go again for a few months while I go to basic training. But hey, I did say that I'll finish this story, and so I will!