The Seventh War

by Genatools

They were fools to believe that the Omnipotent Holy Grail met its end at the triumphant aftermath of the Fifth Holy Grail War. Now starting yet again in New York, Manhattan. Seven new Masters and Seven new Servants battle a fierce war to make the Grail's wish come true. New Mage families emerge from the shadows to reclaim their glory, along with some... worrisome individuals.

1. Chapter 1

A new story? Honestly, it was a long time coming. As you might have guessed, seeing the summary of the story as well as the title, and of course the fandom selection. This is not an RWBY story. For the first time, I am branching out to a different fandom to write a fanfiction for, and this one being the massive expansive universe of one of the Fate series most popular… well, series. Lol.

Firstly, I am no expert in the lore of Fate-Stay Night. I've seen all three of the shows, like the Fate route, Unlimited Blade Works, and the first two movies of Heaven's Feel. As well as looking up many, many videos that helped explain the lore of all three routes and the Stay Night universe.

After watching the show, I just got that urge. This isn't going to be my traditional type of fanfictions, as for once, I am going to be creating many characters, my own plotline, timelines, servants, setting, plot, etc. I understand that Servants in the Fate universe are quite vast when it comes to how many there are, but I hope that I at least was able to make up a few here in this story that aren't actual Servants on the very long roster of Servants all across the Fate series. Going off that tangent, when it comes to the original characters of the Fate-Stay Night series across all three shows, they will make some appearances here and there, so fret not. Just because this story is going to be filled to the brim with OC masters and servants and its own timeline when it comes to certain events and happenings, I will do my best to stay as loyal to the past canon of the series. As for which timeline this story is coming after, well… you'll just have to figure that out.

Honestly, me too. I haven't decided just yet. But I have been planning this story for a while, and each chapter is going to be quite long depending on how I write each scene. By far, the first chapter of this story is going to be the most planned and thought out of all of my other ones. I would also like to ask you guys a favor, this story may or may not continue depending on what you guys think and feel about it. So please, do let me know what you think, give me advice, educate me on Fate Lore, the whole 9 yards if I may ask it of you.

And hopefully, you like it! Here we go, a new story now begins!

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Beta: CrowSkull

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The Seventh War

Chapter 1

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Fire and brimstone engulfed a training dummy, only to quickly expand and explode, destroying it entirely. A powerful mage weaved the flames through the air and used it as a protective ring that doubled as an offensive spell, shooting it away from her in a large circle that left a thick black scorch mark on the walls all over the training room of her large mansion of a house, deep in the center of Little Italy in New York City. Sweat beaded down her face as a large grin stretched across her face. A dozen practice dummies reinforced by a homunculus' magecraft were now left in splintered pieces of wood all over the floor.

Azael felt powerful as she clenched her fists together before turning them over so that she could see the strange red marking on the back of her right hand. Command seals for the next great Holy Grail War, the seventh to occur in recorded history. Her body felt hot and her magic was spewing out of every orifice of her body. She let out a pleased groan as she released even more of her powerful magic. Yes, she was blessed with powerful magic circuits that were even more powerful than her fathers, who was already a powerful mage before she was even born! And after her most recent training trip, she felt like she could take on the entire clocktower all on her own. An extremely exaggerated course of events, certainly, but she was excited. She could forgive herself for feeling so good.

"Homunculus," Azael glared at the red-eyed woman sitting on her knees with a blank expression on her face. She perked up ever so slightly at being addressed by her mistress. "Re-create these dummies so I can go again,"

"Yes, Miss Exadam," The female homunculus moved almost robotically, simply raising a single hand. Her magic circuits appeared visible through her skin as she activated her power. Green light spilled out and the destroyed dummies slowly picked themselves up off the ground and put themselves back together. The seams between each piece stitched back together and were further reinforced. In mere seconds, Azael had new dummies to test her powerful magecraft on.

"Good," Azael said as a grin stretched across her face a second time. "Now stay right there and duck, it would be a shame if father had to make another one of you things because you didn't listen to rules."

"Of course, Mistress," The homunculus replied simply, retracting her hand and leaning back down to her knees.

Azael let her flames spill forth in a loud roar. As soon as the dummy was engulfed with flames, another explosion followed. Though this was reinforced even more so than the other ones were, so it took a bit more firepower to actually destroy it. Azael felt more and more sweat bead down her body and arms, the sweat quickly feeling hot on her skin as her body's temperature rose and rose. She didn't want to stop, however. She had to test herself and her limits to see when and where she had to set the bar for the future. So she kept going, blasting balls of flame over and over again, screaming the incantations in her mind as the flames slowly started to change color from orange to blue.

Yes, this was when she was at her most powerful. The hotter she got the more powerful and hot her flames became. The orange color of fire became more and more overwhelmed by blue fire, but with it came a nearly uncontrollable urge to keep letting everything out. The control of her flames began to stagger as Azael was forced to close one eye lest she blinds herself from the pure brightness of what she was doing. She felt her shoes begin to melt and burn as her fire-resistant clothes began to smoke and scald her skin.

Okay… I'm at my limit! She exclaimed mentally as she tried to will her magi back under control. She couldn't stop, however. No matter how badly she wanted to. The blue flames and explosions of red began to turn on her, licking away at her hands and growing larger and out of control. The walls went alight, and the homunculus who sat back before watching stood up with a look of concern all over her face. Not wielding any powerful enough spells to stop Azael herself, she sprinted out of the room in search of the father. As she was gone, Azael began screaming at herself in anger and frustrations, resentful tears built up in her eyes as she tried her hardest to try and get her magecraft back under control. It didn't work, not nearly as much as she wanted it too.

The flames quickly took over and beat her back, a red explosion going off from directly in front of her chest and sending her flying into the wall at the back of the room. Azael coughed and hacked when she landed on the floor on her butt. Her hair became undone and her red locks reached down to block her green eyes. She pushed it out of the way and growled loudly, unwilling to give up. She extended her arms out and called the magic back to her, dragging it back under control, so to speak. The blue flames resisted and fought back, random explosions destroying the floor, the walls, and the ceiling.

Before a victor could be found in the battle of control, a red sphere of energy formed around both of them. Azael instantly felt the controlled rush back into her as the blue flames became orange and phased back into her body. Gasping and coughing up smoke and other undesirable gases, Azael fell back down to her hands and knees.

Only for a strong hand to lift her back up and slide and armlet up her arm. She winced loudly as it clamped down into her magic circuits itself. Instantly, the overwhelming power that she felt before was gone, and she just felt very boring normal fatigue.

"What were you thinking!?" Her father screamed at her as he held her up by her armlet. "You know that your magecraft is much too powerful for you to control without the suppressants of this armlet! You were told to keep it on at all times, what is your reason for taking it off now?"

"I-I," Azael steeled herself and stood on her own two feet. "I wanted - had, to test my own limitations. I can't wear this thing forever, I am going to have to learn how to control it on my own without this stupid thing holding me back!"

"Foolish girl," Her father let her go and crossed his arms, looming over her with his wide difference in height and width. His presence itself demanded respect and submission, ever from his own daughter. "You are already a woman of twenty-one years, if you weren't able to get your magecraft under control already, I highly doubt that you will when you get to my age. Face it, daughter, your magic although extremely powerful in nature is just too much for you to control. Accept it."

Azael did the opposite. "Father, I know I can-"

"I will not have you playing these same little games as you were when you were still a child, not when we are so close to the beginning of the seventh Holy Grail war," Her father extended out a hand, palm facing the ceiling, and beckoned for her to give him his hand. Reluctantly, Azael complied. "Your Command Seals have manifested just this morning, which means that there is only just one other Master that we are not yet aware of. Also, you are going to have to summon your Servant soon. In any other situation where it isn't nearly as dire, I would be happy to let you try and wrestle your magic circuits under control. But we simply lack the time. You need to rest for the rest of this day and summon your Servant as soon as the moon rises high in the sky. Do you understand?"

Azael scowled as she looked down at her feet. Nodding her head gently, and feeling ashamed of her sudden outburst. "I understand, father… I will do exactly what I was born for, I will win this war as is the purpose of my life. I will bring this family everlasting glory and fame."

Adrielle Exadam smiled as he stroked the stubble on his face. He reached that same hand forward and patted Azael on the shoulder, his own green eyes staring into hers when she looked back up at him. "That is what I like to hear, daughter." He said with a chuckle. "Now, why don't you have Masuru here clean up this mess. In the meantime, I shall be in my study preparing the catalyst for your Servant."

"Homunculus," Azael turned to the brown-haired homunculus.

"Yes, Mistress?" She prompted eagerly.

"Obey my father's request, clean up this mess," Azael demanded.

"Yes, Mistress. Will you be needing any medical help?" Masuru asked, stepping closer to her with healing energy already being accumulated in her hands. "Your back seems to have been injured, even if it is so slight. I can help-"

"Leave me alone," Azael turned away from the homunculus and walked toward the clothes she left in the corner of the room. "You've done enough today, homunculus. Just start getting my dinner ready for when I get back."

Masuru stepped back and intertwined her hands behind her back, nodding her head obediently. "Yes, Mistress. What would you like to eat?"

"Whatever you find in the fridge, I don't care." Azael scoffed. "Enough with the questions, leave us."

Masuru bowed her head and left the room. Adrielle chuckled to himself and turned away as his daughter changed back into her casual clothing, which consisted of a dark black leather jacket over a red shirt that exposed her stomach and tight blue jeans with a pair of dark brown boots to complete it all. On second thought, Azael also decided to put on gloves just in case, to hide her Command Seals. When she was done, Adrielle turned back around.

"You're going out, then?" He asked.

"I am, is that alright with you?"

"As long as you are back by eight o'clock, it shouldn't be my concern," Adrielle said with a scoff. "But I am curious, where are you going? Back to that College, I presume."

Azael froze up for a fraction of a second as she was tying her laces. That was all that Adrielle needed to see to know what his daughter intended. A smug grin grew across his face, it was a rare time when he was able to tease his daughter, for Azael was not the usual young woman who would go red in the face and stammer at any form of teasing, nor was she the type to be all that interested in his whims and quips as she was when she was a child. But he grew to know how to read her, and there was one other thing in this city that interested his daughter other than anything magical and history.

"It's been a long time…" Azael said softly, refusing to look him in the eyes. "I just got back from Japan two days ago after being away for almost five years. Its a… nostalgic, place."

"Oh, I am sure it is." Adrielle chuckled as Azael threw one boot at him. He caught it easily without even using his hand and tossed it right back on the floor just out of reach of his daughter. Seeing that, Azael frowned at him. Making him bark with laughter a second time. "Remember your curfew, young lady. When you get back come to my study, you'll know what to do when the time comes."

"Hm," Azael nodded her head and let out a soft huff as her father left her be. As soon as she was done getting dressed, she walked out into the long and wide halls of her home. Servants of the more normal kind made way for her as she walked down halls. When she was offered a snack in the form of a crisp waffler of chocolate. She wolfed it down almost immediately and found the exit quickly.

Being the sole heir of a rich family aside from the obvious benefits was comfortable enough, she supposed. After being away in Japan for so long, living a mostly average life in a wealthy apartment prepaid by her father made her more humble to the smaller things in life, but she had to admit, she liked the fact that she was back.

The city of Manhattan, New York, however. Didn't much care.

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There amongst the sidewalks in the beginning months of the winter season, no one cared who she was, no one hardly looked at her for more than a second. She was just another young woman in an ocean of thousands upon thousands of other people. But of course, she figured that she was the only one with operational magic circuits. A morbid thought ran through her mind as she wondered what kind of damage she could cause if she let loose her power right then and there in the center of a crowd, but she called herself stupid for even thinking it.

She had a vague goal in mind. There were some places that she wanted to visit before, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Time's Square. But she has already been to all three of those places along with many other popular landmarks. Not to mention the ones that she's been to in Japan. One of the first landmarks she visited over there was the memorial for the tragic incident in Fuyuki city that killed hundreds of people, and after spending some time on Mount Fuji as part of her training, there wasn't a lot that she would call beautiful nowadays.

In all the countless places that she could have visited, she chose to return to a certain school. She never actually went to said school but as a cover for her role as one of the Masters in the Seventh Holy Grail War, she was enrolled as a… second-year student? She believed it was so. Being so young made it easier to blend it, and no one batted an eye when she walked right through the glass doors and stepped into one of the massive colleges that belonged to the City University of New York.

Even after so long she still remembered those halls back when she was but a seventeen-year-old girl looking at the inside of a college for the first time. High School was beyond easy, and along with one other person she was able to graduate early. The original plan was for her to go to this school and continue training under the mentorship of her father, but there was someone else in Japan that her father sent her too instead. And even after leaving so recently, Azael would love to never have to see that man again.

She snapped herself out of that string of memories as she climbed the final steps to a certain floor that she was looking for. The one that had the library on it. She stepped into it and flashed her ID, being let in without any issues. There, she began her search. Not for a book, but for a person she hasn't seen for a long time. It didn't take long to find him, either. He was always so obvious to point out because of his head of snow-white hair that seemed to reflect light off of it.

He had his back turned to her and earbuds playing music in his ears. He was sitting down working on something, wearing comfortable clothing like she was for the most part. A simple blue hoodie with a cartoonish shark on the back of it. It was a reference to something she could vaguely remember. With a devilish smile growing on her face the closer she got to him, the more willing she was to startle him by wrapping his arms around his waist and resting her chin on his shoulder before whispering, "Here you are," into his left ear.

Even with the earbuds on he definitely heard and felt her. He yelped and stood up, she didn't let go even as he struggled in her grip. In fact, it just made her giggle as she tightened her hands around him even more, feeling a surprising amount of muscle underneath his clothes as he squirmed within her grasp. She kept laughing and holding on to him until he finally recognized her. She would forgive him for taking a few seconds too long, it has been years since they last saw each other.

"Aza!?" The equally as young boy gasped as Azael finally let him go. He turns to face her, his blue eyes going wide with excitement as a wide grin stretched across his face. Their eyes met and Azael stepped back and offered a pointless wave.

"That's me," She said snarkily.

"Aza!" He quickly snatched her up into a hug and picked her up, surprising her by how easily he was able to do it. She smiled back and scoffed at his reaction, hugging him back just as tightly for a few moments until he let go, she kept her hands on his shoulders as he let one rest on her hip. "Oh my god, I can't believe it. You're back! Where have you been all this time?"

"Training," Azael said with a shrug. "I've been away in Japan for a while and I just got back recently… I'm sorry I never got to say goodbye to you."

"Hah, are you kidding?" The boy held her still, his smile never leaving his face. "An apology from you? What the hell did they do to you over there for you to become this nice all of a sudden."

"Oh fuck off," Azael said as she shoved him away with more force than what was really necessary. He caught himself easily, almost as if he was expecting her to do that. He laughed it off and corrected himself quickly.

"Yeah, that's more like the Aza I know. I guess you never changed."

"Oh yeah, I'm here to stay Francis. No matter how much you might regret it."

"Who said I regretted it?" Francis chuckled. Azael smacked his shoulder with her hand as her face flushed red for the briefest of moments. Making him laugh a second time upon noticing that.

"What have you been doing while I was gone?" Azael rushed to change the topic. "Hopefully you haven't been spending all your time in this stupid library since I left, I think you were already smart enough before."

"Heh, I wish that was the only thing I did," Francis beckoned her and Azael took the seat beside him. "I've been training a lot myself," he revealed to her as his hand, underneath the table, began to unleash a small aura of frost and electricity. It felt extremely cold even though it was so small, Azael was shocked to see it with her own eyes, then she closed his hands and made sure no one was watching them.

"Are you crazy!?" She whispered screamed at him. "Why would you do that here? The table wouldn't hide anything!"

"Relax, it's already gone," Francis said as he held up both hands, confirming that it is in fact, gone. He even flipped his hands back and forth to show her both sides. Azael locked on to his right hand, who had a strange blue bruise on the back of it.

She snatched that hand before Francis was even able to react. Turning it over and looking closer at what she desperately wanted to believe wasn't there. It was still in its beginning phases, but even as Francis yanked that hand back she knew what she saw. Her heart rate skyrocketed and she didn't even hear Francis ask her something as he rubbed that hand. Azael looked down at the table as thoughts ran through her mind. No, not him. Please not him…

"What's on the back of your hand?" She asked, turning back to him after ignoring everything else he had just said. "You have a bruise there or something?"

"It's uh… something that went wrong with my magecraft," Francis said with a nervous laugh that came quickly after. "What you see there is a nice representation of me stopping the process of frostbite before it took over my hand."

"Yeah… I'm sure it is." Azael said as she crossed her arms and dug her fingers into her jacket. "Give me your phone." She said suddenly.

"Hm? Why?" Francis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just do it." Azael held out her hand expectantly. At first, Francis thought that it might have been a good idea not too, but he trusted Azael not to do anything weird. With a shrug and an "Okay," Francis took out his phone and handed it to her, already unlocked. Azael took it and immediately went down to his contacts and added herself in and texted herself all in the span of about ten seconds. Francis caught his phone as it was tossed back to him, and Azael stood up and began to walk away.

"Call me tomorrow," She said as she stomped away. Not even giving him the chance to ask her where she was going. "We'll meet back here. See ya,"

"W-wait!" Francis tried to call out. He stopped himself from chasing after her, he knew from experience that trying that with a girl like Aza would only get him yelled out. He was already getting weird looks as it was and he didn't need any more attention brought onto himself. With a sigh, he just sat back down to continue his studying.

"What did I do this time?" He asked him after sighing. "I don't imagine she… no, I must have said something wrong. Did I?." He shook his head. "Whatever, I'll call her tomorrow as she said… I just got to finish my studies here and get back home. Then I can see whatever Grandpa has in store for me tonight."

---

Far away in a different part of the city, an oriental man sat in the center of a large room, draped in red and gold cloth across murals of an ancient Egyptian mythological legend. It depicted a tale of two brother Gods, from the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria, or at least that was where it was most popular. The two brothers were widely known once throughout all of Egypt, one the God of the sky and nobility, being Horus. And Set, - or Seth, depending on one's preferences - the God of the desert, envy, and disorder.

Almost like a children's story, the two brothers were depicted to be in everlasting conflict even from the day they were born. Horus was the heir to the throne as the God-King of all of Egypt, but his apparently evil brother Set wanted the throne for himself. The murals on his walls spoke of a different story, however. It spoke of a tale of two brothers who once loved each other and slowly turned into a tale of how two halves of Egypt, one from the left side of the Nile river and one on the right, went to war. It all started with disagreements, stemming from Set's first argument with his father, Ra, the God of the Sun, about the disbelief of his own destiny to take up arms in the everlasting battle against the Serpent of Chaos. On the last column of the first wall, it displayed Ra denying Set's request for a part of Egypt to call his own. The disorder God was obviously not pleased, as is depicted by his slow transformation from a normal humanoid into a jackal-like hybrid with terrifying claws and sharp teeth.

The third brother, Osiris, tried to stop what came next. But as he tried to speak to his brother Set in an effort to calm him down and settle this matter through diplomacy, he was murdered. War was swift to follow as Isis, their mother, sided with Horus as armies were built to fight Set's fanatical followers.

On the next three walls, the information was given to the eye more vaguely through drawings and artwork surrounded by an ancient language long since forgotten to the modern world today. From what men could assume at least, the two brothers battled each other for centuries. What other Gods that existed at the time were not powerful enough to stop either brother as the hate between them grew more and more out of control. They were forced to choose a side and those who did not were exiled or executed. Thus began the death of the Egyptian Gods.

At the end of the war, only Horus and Set remained among the ruins of Egypt, and yet still they fought. As Set's rage continued to transform him into a beast, Horus' power continued to grow to match it. Each and every time Set thought he had the edge, his elder brother always matched him. The war of many centuries only came to an end when Ra had enough, and sacrificed what remained of his dwindling power to not only kill his two sons but supposedly killed the Chaos Serpent as well.

Only it did not kill the two brothers. For their power had grown to surpass even their fathers.

Horus and Set even then continued to fight. Even as plagues ravaged the Earth, even as their own names were forgotten to mere legends. An exaggeration, perhaps, but as the ancient painting dictates, Horus and Set continued to battle each other for the next one thousand years. Only when Set caught his brother off guard by finding a way to use the power of the sun to blind Horus' Udjat-eyes did the fighting between Gods finally come to a close, and when it did, both Gods fell. Set finally managed to slay his brother, earning him the title of Kingslayer. But in his dying breaths, Horus landed a fatal blow on Set.

The fourth and last wall of the Mural displayed Horus and Set being banished to the Underworld, where the God of the Dead himself Anubis used his overwhelming power to ensure that the two brothers would stay dead. And even until today, he continued to hold them.

"If only Anubis knew," Lao Rān, the newest and youngest leader of his family at just the age of twenty-nine, said as he looked upon his Servant. "If only he knew that not even he could measure up to the Holy Grails power. I am the Master of the Archer-class Servant, Horus. To see you now with my own eyes… it is a tangible feeling."

"Mortal eyes were not meant to look upon such beings as me," Horus said as he sat across from him. He was truly a large being, many meters in height, but wielded the power to shrink himself to more average size and height of the humans today. Even then, he was so massive it was hard to believe that he was human at all. Especially with those glimmering golden eyes of his and equally as gold hair. "You should consider yourself lucky to have summoned me, this room reeks of my ancient magical presence. So much so that I don't even need to rely on your supply of magic to remain materialized."

"It took quite some time to find and transport these walls here. Without being seen or noticed made it especially difficult," Lao explained with a soft laugh. "But it was certainly worth it," He added as he raised up one hand, turning it so that Horus could see a near-perfect replica of Command Seals in the shape of his Udjat. "Ever since I manifested these seals two years ago, I knew what my destiny was. I had to summon you, this is your mark, your gift of protection."

"The Grail created that mark, not I," Horus pointed out, crossing his arms and closing his eyes as he meditated and conversed at the same time. His pristine white and gold armour released steam as he relaxed. "For whatever reason, the Grail saw fit to give my mark to you in the shape of those Command Seals. Not that I am complaining, however. Considering that you seem to be quite the impressive mage, if only a little unorthodox in your practices, I suppose I can accept you being my Master."

"That is wonderful to hear," Lao said, smiling ear to ear. "I am sure our partnership will be one to remember. If I may ask, however, what do you wish to gain from the Holy Grail? You are already a God, what else could you possibly ask for?"

"I wish to actually become a God, for starters."

Lao blinked his eyes, his kimono shifted as he physically flinched. That was not the answer that he expected to hear. "P-pardon me? Do you wish to become a God? Are you implying that you are not already a God?"

"I am not," Horus confirmed with a low growl. "I was very close to becoming one, but my father Ra was mated to a two-thirds Demi-Goddess, Isis, my mother. I am on the cusp of becoming a God, but in simple human terminology, you could say that I am eight or nine-tenths, God."

"Oh," Lao bowed his head and hummed with understanding. "I see, I suppose that does make sense. All too often has humanity exaggerated ancient legends and tales that turned out to be true."

Horus cracked one eye open and narrowed it at his Master. "Does that disappoint you, Master?"

"Heaven's no." Lao scoffed at the idea. "It was simply a surprise is all. Well then, would you like to hear what my wish is?"

"I do not," Horus said with a polite shake of his head. "The wish of a mortal does not concern me, as long as it does not interfere with my wish and you remain an honorable Master, then I will abide by whatever wish you intend to make."

"Are you sure?" If Lao was offended, he hid it very well from the Servant. Horus hummed his confirmation and Lao sighed through his nose, this time he was actually disappointed. He hadn't told his wish to anyone yet, and he was eager to tell his servant. Especially when he managed to summon Horus, the God of the sky, and easily the more honorable of the two brother-Gods.

"I am," Horus said. After about a minute of the Servant continuing his meditations, Horus opened both his eyes and regarded his Master once again, this time with a warning. "I must inform you of something, Master. I fear that I am not the only Servant of my kind who would be summoned for this war."

Lao chuckled. "Of course not, there are to be seven Masters and seven Servants for each and every Holy Grail war. Have you not sensed-"

"I do not mean them," Horus's glare told Lao to listen and listen carefully. "There is something that humanity has not been able to record in their book of legends. My brother and I weren't just mortal enemies. We were tied to the same fate, cursed to forever be bound together. I suspect that it may have been the reason that he went so far just to slay me. Not one of us can exist at the same time without the other, and if I am here…"

"Then he will be as well…" Lao put the pieces together and crossed one arm across his chest and rested the elbow of his other on top of it, using it to rub his freshly shaved chin as he thought. "I see, it seems that legends surpass even themselves at times. So, shall we expect Set the Kingslayer to be summoned as a Servant as well?"

"Almost certainly," Horus replied matter-of-factly.

Lao Rān nodded his head with complete understanding. According to the legends, he assumed that Set would be of the Berserker class. He could be wrong, surely. Since Horus, himself never used a bow and arrow in the tale of their war and yet he has still been summoned as an Archer Servant regardless. Things could change, but one advantage to this was that Set was a known quantity. Horus killed him once, even if it was in his dying breaths, it still meant that he could do it again if he needed to.

"Let me show you around my house," Lao said with a gentle smile as he stood up, the sheathe and the hilt of his Wakizashi clicking as he did so. Below him, Horus looked up at him curiously. "The war may begin in a minute for all I know, so I might as well show you around so that you may understand and memorize the layout of it, just in case a battle brings itself or begins here."

"What of your family?" Horus asked. "I understand that humans of this time are near as caring for their kin as the humans of my time were."

"I sent all the elderly, sickly, and my wife and kids over to Japan weeks before I summoned you. They will not be any danger but thank you for your concern. The only ones that remained are my servants - a different kind of servant, mind you." He added with a laugh. "That has been trained by my father before me and me. They are just as good if not better than I am in combat. They wield no magic circuits as I do, but that does not mean that they cannot hold their own."

"Smart," Horus commented as he stood up on his own. His armour phased away in a glimmer of gold, revealing what Lao assumed to be his casual outfit, which still looked just as pristine as his armour did. Though, it was an interesting choice of colorfully embroidered linen trousers with what seemed to be something similar to a kimono on the backside. As a top, well, Horus wore half of one, he supposed. It was more like a neck brace that flopped down over his shoulders, back, and chest as well. It was shiny with red and blue gems. The white and gold color scheme of it all just added more to its beauty.

The lack of footwear of any kind was concerning. But Lao knew where he chose to expand his house.

This was New York City, no one was going to bat an eye at his companion's interesting choice of clothing.

"Lead the way, Master," Horus said as he began to look around the rooms and hallways immediately. Being an Egyptian God, or well, nine-tenths of one, it showed that he was unfamiliar with the old Japanese style of housing. Something about that amused Lao. He quickly stifled his laughter before it could be noticed by his Servant lest he surely is offended.

---

Looking over the great city that never sleeps, Katherine Hayes flexed her fingers and looked down at her Command Seals. It was in three broken pieces of a coin, with the smallest being the final spell if she assumed correctly. Fitting, she supposed. She was a businesswoman after all. She made her life by fighting her way to the top of the food chain of business. Her surveillance company started small but quickly grew, a few favors offered here and sneaking into someone's bed there to start a scandal, countless lawsuits, and some… questionable business transactions being completed, she made it.

Now, she owned an entire building. A skyscraper to call her own in the high-class district of Carnegie Hill. Many smaller businesses along with two or three other large ones that she had more than fifty percent control over shared it, but the entire upper half was for her own desires. Everyone called her insane for thinking that a pure camera manufacturer company could rule the world of business, and she festered in the wonderful feeling of proving them wrong. It took her three decades to get to where she was today, and at the comfortable age of fifty-four, she felt like she ruled the city.

Of course, that didn't matter as far as she was concerned. All of this was in preparation for the Seventh Holy Grail War, and she would be the first of the Hayes' family line to participate in it. She wasn't the strongest magus, but her family made up for in strength was intelligence. She's been planning this for over a decade now. Nothing could go wrong now.

"I've waited so long," The middle-aged woman said as she drank from a bottle of wine. Nothing tasted quite as good at that moment. "Finally, everything that I have been planning up until now will be put into motion." In her other hand, a book opened up across her fingers. It was a very old book, ancient even. It spoke of a Chinese legend of the destined one who defeated the tyrant God Ao Kuang. Ne Zha, the dragon prince. The Third Lotus Prince. The Boy Hero. Many titles to his name, some of them even depicted him as a woman or a young girl. But the one that she was most looking forward to was the one which depicted him as a grown man. Strong and powerful, a mortal with the power to defeat a God and send him running.

"You will make for a wonderful Servant, Ne Zha," Katherine said as she licked her lips anxiously. To her knowledge and from what she has read about him, he had a righteous spirit and protected those who could not defend themselves. He was born to innocence and was forced to lose that innocence to fight with a flaming spear, and wield magically enhanced wind-fire wheels against a tyrant God-King. He sounded just like the kind of Servant that Katherine could bend to her will and control. The kind she adored.

"Instead of me having to travel so far in search of the Grail, it seems that destiny has deemed it fit for it to be brought to me instead." She said with a laugh as she turned her back to the glass windows behind her. "How cruel, I would have liked an adventure after being trapped in this city for so long."

"Mam," one of her most trusted bodyguards, Greg, came up to her. His deep black sunglasses although useless for inside activities at dark had other purposes that would one day prove useful. "The time is nigh to commence the summoning. I have made sure that the next four floors beneath this one has been cleared out due to a 'gas leak'. That should give you several hours at least in order for you to do what you need to do before the repairmen figure out that there is no such problem."

"Thank you, Greg. I can always rely on you." Katherine said with a pleased grin. "Now go, what is about to happen isn't something I want anyone seeing other than myself. This is my night. I will call you back when it is complete."

"Mam," Greg nodded his bald head once and let himself out of her penthouse. Katherine scoffed at herself and placed the wine glass on her personal bar as she made her way to a cleared out segment of her room, which she then proceeded to raise her hands up to her sides and focus deeply. It took a lot of strength to use her aging magic circuits, but not too much that she couldn't drag it out of her. Sadly, her body has atrophied its beautiful healthy form around fifteen years ago. Not that it dulled the strength of her magecraft any. She was still a Magus, and while she had around the average amount of magic circuits, she wouldn't consider herself to be the weakest among them.

In a mist of green misty energy, wires, and metal tore themselves out of the floor and ceiling and walls in order to form the shape of a circle in the center of the room. Katherine went one step further and created the necessary design that she had burned into her memory that she needed to properly create a summoning circle. Doing it this way would make it much easier to hide once she was done, and she was satisfied with the results once the summoning circle was complete. Carefully, she stepped into the center of it and placed down the ancient Chinese book. She would hate if anything happened to it - she had to teach herself Chinese in order to read it herself, after all - but she was willing to make that sacrifice if it was needed in order for her to summon the Servant that she needed.

"I call forth into time," Katherine began, not wanting to waste another second as she began the summoning incantation. "To the heroes of Legend. Through my wishes, crystallized will. One of the Individual, and one of the collection. One of the civilization and society. These are among the final wishes of humanity," The circle began to glow a bright red color. Katherine's eyes widened with excitement and she stood her ground as the wind began to burst from nowhere. The book in the center of the circle caught fire.

"As I stand amongst the infinite boundaries of the universe, far before the brink of its destruction. I call you, Legend, to take form, armed to fight once more. Through my desire, we will forge a path anew. And from the start of that path, I call you to me. From men, from kings, from Gods, and from fate. To the one who heeds my call, I beckon thee!"

The circle burst into flames, licking at her slick black dress as her light brown hair whipped behind her head. Her green eyes hardened, standing against the force.

"Come forth in duty, under my will!"

The flames reached the ceiling and burned through the ceiling, creating a hole to the sky itself. Something was within those flames, Katherine's green eyes widened even more with excitement. It had worked! Her Servant has been summoned, and it was him! She knew that it was. The Dragon Prince knelt within the flames. Knelt down to her. The Master. Her grin was ear-to-ear, filled to the brim with satisfaction.

"So," An impossibly boyish voice called out to her. "You're my master, eh?"

The flames dispersed, and Katherine was met not with the grown man she thought the Dragon Prince to be, but a boy who appeared young. A teenager, or perhaps even younger. The boy's deep orange-red eyes looked up at her, they had two inked red lines going down his face, and there was some kind of symbol etched into his forehead as well. His black hair was tied up into two buns, which only made him look even younger. Also, he was short.

Very short.

"I am…" Katherine replied as her mounted disappointment continued to intensify.

"Good to meet ya! I'm Ne Zha, your Lancer Servant."

Disappointment. That was all she felt as she very disappointedly introduced herself.

---

A child walked down the sidewalk. A creature of pure innocence. His soft brown hair and puffy cheeks were contrasted by his brightly colored clothing and green backpack. He wore oversized jeans, and if one looked closely enough they would be able to make out a few bruises and scrapes still healing on the boy's face and arms. Implying that he may be facing some kind of abuse either at school or at home.

Eren Vex has gotten good at picking up on these kinds of things. It was easy when you had enough experience. Experience in stalking children on their way home from school and waiting for the perfect moment when they spent an average of fourteen minutes and forty-five seconds completely alone, walking on one of the quietest and darkest streets in Lower Manhattan. Doing it hundreds of times before had made the child numb to the fear of the dark. Especially where a conveniently broken lamp post darkened a spot of shadow in the entrance to an alleyway.

Eren grinned ear to ear as he quickened his pace for the first time in weeks of stalking down this child after making many preparations. He was a prime target. His abusive step-father wouldn't be looking for him and his drug addict of a mother probably won't even notice that he was gone. That meant that by the time people started asking questions, it'd already been far too late. The boy entered the dark shadow and was quickly flanked by a shadow with no one casting it, he never made it to the light on the other side. The boy let out a panicked scream as a thick hand slammed over his mouth and muffled it all. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as Eren released a stream of dark-colored Airbourne sedatives directly into the boy's nostrils. Within seconds, the boy was unconscious.

And just like that, Eren had another child to add to his collection. He phased back into the shadows, casting an illusion over himself and walked right past people who were none the wiser to what he was doing. Not that they'd be able to remember his face even if they had seen him. He had a mask that went over his entire face, and every patch of his dark brown skin was covered by clothing. All of his distinguishable features, hidden. He was quite literally a shadow, as his chosen type of magic made possible for him.

Getting back to his underground and hidden home that was fit in between two buildings was easy and quick as it was only a few blocks away. He cast another illusion to hide the entrance into his home altogether. Making it appear as if it was part of the red-bricked wall of that side of the building he lived under. He whistled a soft tune as he walked through the darkness of his abode. Living in the dark didn't bother him, but it definitely bothered the dozen or so other innocent young virgins who were cowering in the cramped and dirty cage that they were locked in. All of their mouths were gagged and taped over, which helped force them to stop crying as they began to choke on their own mucus.

"I'm home~!" Eren sang in a deep voice as he slammed open the cage. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he watched with wide excited black eyes as the crying children screamed through their gags and huddled together near the back wall of the cage. He laughed as some of the brave ones tried to rush him in an effort to escape, only to bounce off of an invisible shield wall right in front of where the exit was. One of them was knocked out and fell face-first into a puddle of urine mixed with excrement. Eren laughed and stepped through the shield, dropping his newest virgin in directly on top of the unconscious one.

"Hello, my innocent little virgins," he said with a smirk as he pinched rubber gloves onto his hands and tightened it with a snap. "I am sorry that I've been away for so long, I had to find you all another brother, and here he is!" He nudged the child with his foot as he began to stir awake. "Do be sure to welcome him in as one of our own, everyone has a place here. You can believe me when I say that."

"What's with that terrified look in your eyes?" He asked as he changed his expression to a much more angered one. The children all squeaked in fear and refused to look at him. "I have never hurt any of you, have I? It's true, I've never hurt a single one of you. Some of you I had to get a little rough with from time to time," He eyes a few certain kids, who tried to somehow merge themselves into the barred walls behind them in an effort to hide from him. "But other than that I barely touched any of you. So there is no need to be afraid, your purpose is nearly complete."

He went down to one knee and began scooping up what urine and excrement he could by hand. It was a disgusting process, harvesting the remains of children's last stage of food once it reached the end of the large intestine. But it was one that he could bear. Thankfully, the shield around the cage prevented any of it from actually getting out to the rest of his little homey apartment. So that never proved to be a problem. He filled two buckets full of the virgins liquid and otherwise not so liquid droppings, and cleared out a wide spot in the center of his room.

"Now… how is this made again?" He asked as he took a nose clip and pinched it over his nostrils. It helped with the terrible stench, but it couldn't stop him breathing it through his mouth and sending an all too familiar nauseating feeling at the back of his throat. He ignored the sensation in favor of reading a book that was still wet with blood. Apparently, it belonged to some kind of magician that was hunting him down. He now laid dead in the corner of his apartment, cut up into five pieces, and stuffed in a plastic barrel to be saved for later. Also apparently, this looked like some kind of pentagram he could draw into the ground with pretty much anything. In this case, he had the perfect amount of fecal matter to do it with.

A summoning of some legend from the past seemed a bit far fetched and he believed that this was really some kind of spell to summon a demon from Hell. He's seen some of those crazy satanic cults that crucify people just to share the same experiences of certain undesirable individuals of the past. And, well, his life was starting to get a little boring!

It was all too easy evading the police, detectives, and even those magician people with his own abilities. He wanted something more of a challenge, perhaps even an adventure! Originally, he planned to try his luck in another country. But he changed his mind and held back on those plans once he found this book. A demonic summoning sounded like something fun to do in the middle of Lower Manhattan. He couldn't wait to see what would happen.

"I'm not an artist, but this seems to be fine," Eren whispered to himself as he tossed the brush away and moved the buckets out of the way. After a change of heart, he decided to dump them down the open pipe at the end of his apartment instead to get rid of it entirely. "Now I have a summoning circle made out of piss and shit… Heh, I wonder what kind of demon would be summoned from that?" He continued to flip through the pages of the bloody book, reading the apparent instructions on how to summon some kind of… Servant? Well, that sounded boring. He might as well try it out anyway.

"Oh!" Eren clapped the book shut as he remembered something suddenly. He ran off to one of the tables which held a box of sharp and blunt weapons small enough to be wielded by children and then ran toward the cage itself. "How could I have forgotten!? I've been planning this for weeks! Here, my innocent virgins, come arm yourselves!" He exclaimed as he upheaved the box into their cage. All kinds of weapons, mostly knives, and hammers, fell on top of the children. Some of them panicked and screamed through their gags, but others picked them up and looked at them curiously.

Eren pulled up a chair and turned on the one lightbulb that hung down from the ceiling. After being locked in that cage for weeks for some of them, their eyes flinched closed and they turned away from the only source of bright light that they have seen in weeks.

"Listen to me kids, and listen closely," Eren said as he leaned closer to the kids. "I am going to free one of you to live for the rest of your life, but there is a catch. Only one of you will ever be leaving this cage. Now, I don't know about you guys, but if I were in that cage I'd start stabbing or bashing the other kids next to my head in."

The children began to mumble and groan through their gags, even more, confused than before.

Good, that would make for a more entertaining show.

"What I am saying is…" A wave of black shadow washed over the entire cage, visible to see through only from the outside. Instantly, the children began to panic. "Kill each other until there is only one left. Only then will I figure out what to do with you."

He didn't even need to cast illusions. The ones that had been there the longest were the ones who attacked first. He heard the first stab and the death cry of a child as the bloodbath began. He continued to watch eagerly as chaos and no sense of order or control ensued. Watched as murder after murder of children unfolded before his very eyes. His smile only grew and he stroked his stubble of a beard in awe as he watched the innocence of a specific girl be completely lost as her eyes turned feral. Wielding a bloody knife in one hand and a heavy hammer in the other, she was the one who killed the most and the one that was left the final standing.

In the center of a mass of bodies and shocked dead expressions of all of her other peers, one young girl was the only one standing amongst it. Covered in all kinds of slash marks and bruises and a very clearly broken ankle in her right foot. She stood even then. Her rabid sky blue eyes seemed to lose their pupil as they were so constricted it looked like they weren't there at all. Her blonde hair was stained a dark red with blood, as was her pale skin. Her cute little pink dress was ruined as well. The girl was no more than… ten years old? Around that age, at least. Eren was proud of her all the same.

"Well then," Eren said as he willed the gate open and dropped the magical shield. "Congratulations, winner. You get to live… as my darling assistant."

The young girl stepped out of the cage and let out a whined ground as she fell over, exhausted from all of the frantic fightings. Eren remembered this one, he'd captured her just last night. "Lucky you," He remarked as he picked the girl up in his arms, uncaring of her bloody and disgusting state. "Have I captured you a week ago, you may not have been able to pull all that off," He peeled off her gag as he set her down in his spare chair. She'd dropped her weapons long ago, and he went to work on using the one healing spell that he had mastered just for this moment. The broken bone was set and would start healing immediately. The girl didn't let out so much of a gasp once he was done.

"Tell me, tainted one, what is your name?" He asked with a friendly grin. Much more friendly than the manic one he let appear on his face before.

Her now dull light blue eyes moved to look into his.

"... Destiny," She replied simply.

"Destiny," Eren laughed at the irony. "Well, Destiny, it seemed that your destiny was to be my little assistant. How does it feel to be a winner?"

"I feel… nothing…" The girl said emotionlessly. That was to be expected. She didn't realize it, but he was using his magic on her at that very moment. She was being manipulated as well as… well, being affected by another spell he invented just for this occasion.

"That is good to hear," Eren said as he gently strapped her into the chair, trapping her. "Stay right here, Destiny. Tomorrow, you will be born anew. Sleep now tainted one. It will be morning before you know it."

As if by his command she fell asleep instantly, regardless of her filthy state. Eren, now done with her for that night, turned back to his command seal. "Now since that is out of the way, where was I? Oh, right," Eren picked the book back up and flipped back to the mage he marked. "I need to speak an incantation of at least ten phrases? How foolish, it also says here that technically anyone can summon this Servant creature as long as they have a circle. Seriously, talk about convoluted-"

Eren silenced himself as his eyes widened when a bright red glow shone from the back of the book. He turned it over to see that the light was coming from his hand. He looked in awe of the strange markings that had somehow manifested themselves onto the back of his hand, it was like a tattoo but much more… real. Eren didn't know how to describe the feeling he had when the seal etched itself more and more into his skin. When it was finished, it glowed faintly and it took the shape of a butterfly with clipped wings in three different pieces.

"What… is this?" He asked as he looked it over curiously. "I don't understand… this isn't in the book at all."

It wasn't over either, Eren looked back in wonder as he noticed that the entire summoning circle that he had drawn was now also glowing a bright red color. He smiled at the sight, and suddenly felt much more willing.

"Hm… perhaps I will try that incantation thing… this suddenly got much more interesting."

The circle seemed to agree. Glowing and sparkling with red energy as Eren spread his arms far across his body, dropping the book and basking in its glow.

---

Francis sighed through his nose as he hid his hands in his pockets. His home was now in sight. He wasn't the heir of the richest family in the world, but they were just on the cusp of the upper class. It wasn't enough that he needed to walk up the steps of his own home without any sort of security checks but enough that he could have a comfortable life in an otherwise well-sized home with none of the extreme benefits of being rich. They Glaciers still needed to be careful with their money, and invest it carefully if they really wanted to make it. Perhaps when he took over the family he might be able to bring the Glaciers into the true game of the world called life. But only maybe. His father was clearly the more adept one at things like that. Personally, he might just become a Professor in Scientology.

Or at least, that was what he would use as a cover. He really wanted to go to Britain and join the Clocktower so that he may practice and harness his magecraft even further. Right now, he was just a rogue magus tied to no such organization. Everything he knew now was through countless hours of training through his own teachings or the teachings of his grandfather. It was strange, every time he thought about it. He had an above-average amount of forty-seven magic circuits, and yet his father before him, Frank, was born with none, and his grandfather Victor was born with nearly the same amount.

Had it skipped a generation? Francis wasn't so sure, but perhaps Victor reproduced with a woman with no magic circuits and maybe through that, his father lacked the genes to form them? But then he still held the DNA required to conceive a child that would not only possess magic circuits but surpass the last magus before him? This was why Francis never liked to think about it, it was all just too confusing. Other than his naturally colored white hair, there wasn't anything else that stood out. His grandfather also had white hair, but that might have been because he was old enough to the point where he was bedridden.

He needn't knock on the door as he knew where the key was hidden. In his right breast pocket. He unlocked the door and let himself inside where he was immediately met by the sound of his mother's voice.

"Francis? Is that you?" She called out to him from the living room.

"Yeah," Francis confirmed as he locked the door behind him. "I had a late night at school, is dad home?"

"No sweetie, he's still at his work discussing something. You know how he is, he never leaves anything untouched." She explained.

Francis chuckled to himself at the thought. "Yeah, that sounds like him. Alright, I'm going to go see Grandpa. Don't worry about giving me dinner tonight, I already ate on the way home."

"Well… if you say so, sweetie. Have a good night!" He could hear the disappointment in her voice as she clearly wanted to spend more time with him, and any other time Francis would have been happy to oblige. Not now, however. He had other things in mind. He made himself out and made sure to keep his hand hidden as he passed by the living room and to the stairs that lead to the next floor. As he made his way up, he slid off his blue hoodie and tossed it into his open room and stretched his now cooling muscles with his arms out to his sides and reaching up to the ceiling.

The tight black shirt underneath was his own addition that he was proud of. It showed off all the effort he put into strengthening his body as well as his magecraft. Being over six feet tall himself, it put quite a lot of weight on his young body. He was in his prime and it felt great. His Grandfather was right to force him through all that rigorous training.

The memory brought him back to Aza, an old spark that still made him smile as he thought of her. He calls her an old spark but… they never truly talked about splitting up, did they? Not that he could remember at least. She never said goodbye to him when she apparently left for Japan, and he remembered frantically looking for her for the next few months after she left before finally getting the idea to go to her home and look for her there.

He was surprised to see the homunculus that she told him about answering the door when he knocked. At the time her hair was black, but he was told that it was simply a different version of her. He never quite got its name - or remembered it - but he remembered when it told her that Aza went on a training trip to Japan. He asked when she would come back and was told it would be several years. The disappointment was palpable, and he figured that he should have been a little more angry or emotional when she did return that day, but he figured that a part of him moved on, and only a small piece of him was holding on to the hope that they could once again meet and… well… he wouldn't go that far into his own mind remembering every little thing.

"Idiot…" He called himself as he shook his head and slapped his own face lightly. Seeing her again after so long had driven all those memories back from the rear of his mind. She looked even more beautiful than the last time he saw her, oh, but he knew that there was that ferocity still there. Only intensified even further. Call him crazy, but he definitely found that to be one of the most attractive traits about her.

"Stop thinking about it!" Francis exclaimed as he felt blood rush into his cheeks. "Damn it, I can see her again tomorrow. I don't need to worry about it now, I have more important stuff to worry about… right."

Like the blue Command Seals that he made a very poor excuse over. Maybe that was why Aza left so suddenly? She was angered that he tried to lie to her face, and he could understand that. But he didn't want her to worry. He always had an inkling that this might happen ever since his Grandfather told him that the Holy Grail had somehow made its way somewhere into the city. Though, he did wonder why the seals were blue. Through all the books that he managed to read about the information of the Holy Grail Wars up to the third, the seals were always red. Maybe it reacted to his affinity of magic? He had no idea, but nevertheless the seals were forming on his hand, just as his Grandfather warned him it would. How he knew was beyond him, but he supposed he expected this himself. There wasn't a lot of magus in New York, much less New York City, and he could count himself among some of the more talented.

"Hey Grandpa," Francis said as he stepped into Victor's room. The elderly man turned in his bed to look at him, his blue eyes and wrinkly old skin looked just the way it did a few days ago the last time he saw him. Francis shut the door behind him and knelt down at the side of the bed, leaning his arms on top of it and sighing knowingly.

"Well," Victor's laugh was as raspy as ever. "It seems that I was right, wasn't I?"

Francis didn't even hide it. In fact, he made it as obvious as he could make it. His Command seals were fully manifested now. It started as a bruise and worked its way into something more as the weeks went by. It looked almost like a lightning storm without the clouds. Special designs and what, not all arranged in what appeared to be a jagged shape. In the center of it was written a language he couldn't understand, but he knew what these were. The Seals glimmered blue as he turned and twisted his hand to reflect light off of them.

"It seems that you were," Francis said with a small and forced smile. "The war is going to begin soon, I've been getting overwhelming sensations of magic all across the city. I think I might be the last one to summon a Servant even if I start right away…"

"You should have known the moment that 'bruise' formed on the back of your hand," Victor said with a chuckle. "No matter, we will know when the war will officially begin. Though tell me, it looks like you had a bit of pep in your step when you walked into the room, did something happen today?"

"I- er," Francis' face burned up as he refused to look in his Grandfathers eyes. "N-not particularly… Okay, look, Azael is back."

"Oh?" Victor's grin turned smug. "Quite the timing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, tell me about it." Francis huffed as he dropped his face into the mattress.

"Are you two still…?"

"I don't know," Francis answered honestly. "It wasn't like she's ever straight forward when it came to this kind of stuff, even before she left. She just found me in school today and we had a short conversation and then she stormed off after giving me her new phone number. Seriously, talk about mixed signals."

"Such is the way of women," Victor sighed as he remembered his own efforts to win the heart of his late beloved. He would spare Francis the pain of having to listen through it this time, however. If only once. "Did you notice anything different about her?" He asked next. "Perhaps a strange red mark on her hand, for instance?"

Francis widened his eyes at the thought. "No, I-" He gasped ever so slightly when he remembered an important detail. "She was wearing gloves… I didn't even mention it before… do you think?"

"Almost certainly," Victor said sadly. "Your old spark might be another Master for us to worry-"

"No," Francis cut his Grandfather off with an uncharacteristic growl. "Even if she is a Master, I won't hurt her. She's… special, to me. If anything, we'd find a way to work together instead."

"If you are so sure, then I dearly hope that you are right to still care for her." Victor surrendered easily. Saying anything negative about Azael Exadam was a one way trip to Francis' bad side and this close to the war, there was no point in testing those limits. "Well then, I suppose you better summon your Servant soon. As in tonight. We are out of time. I would assume that the next time the sun rises the war will begin."

Francis couldn't put it off anymore, he nodded his head obediently and leaned back and stood up. "You're right… do you still have it?"

"In the box underneath this bed," Victor said as he pointed under it. "Your father still thinks it's a souvenir from the time I trained as a swordsman. Do be sure to bring it back if possible."

"I can't do the summoning here?"

"Unless you want your mother banging on your door asking why there is light flooding the entire house, then no. You cannot do it here."

"Smartass…" Despite his age, his Grandfather was quite the jester when he wanted to be. "Alright… Thankfully Central Park is probably still closed down to the public. I can probably sneak in there and freely summon him underneath the bridge."

"What kind of Servant am I going to be summoning?" He asked the very important question.

"Assassin," Victor replied in such a way that he sent no doubts through his mind.

"Assassin?" Francis asked, confused. "Isn't the Saber servant supposed to be the strongest one?"

"In most cases, yes. But this one is a special kind of Assassin. You'll see when the time comes. Trust me."

"I… alright, I will."

"Then go," Victor gestured to the window. "Your sunlight is running out, and you should be wary of those who are not so keen on following the rules."

"Wouldn't the mediator prevent that?" Francis asked.

"The mediator can only do so much when he is the only one there. And Father Paul is the only priest at the Cathedral Church at this time, he cannot leave it undefended through the night. I am afraid that you will have to rely on your own abilities."

"That shouldn't be an issue," Francis flexed his hand as crackling lightning ran up and down his arm. He was already warmed up. If anything happened, he knew he'd be able to defend himself. "I'll get going right away then. I'll head out through the window in my room. If my mother asks-"

"I'll tell her you're asleep," Victor said with practiced ease, followed by an all too teasing grin. "Don't worry, I've had practice. Remember all those times you snuck out to go see little Aza-"

"Goodbye, Grandpa!" Francis said as he slammed the door shut to the room, only to then realize his mistake as his mother screamed up at him from downstairs. Victor laughed as Francis was then forced to gently open the door again and slowly close it, leaving it only cracked open just in case Victor needed anything.

Amusing, all too amusing. Victor figured that he'd let the boy off the hook for now. Though, he was pleased that he was able to distract him from what else had to be going on in his mind. Six other Masters and six other Servants were going to be his enemies, even the one he held most dear. They were good at avoiding that topic, but it would have to be brought up again soon. Francis has never killed anyone before, but in just a few short hours, he might just be forced too.

Francis was a good boy, but the Holy Grail War specialized in killing the good boys. Victor was worried, but he had good faith that the seventh war wouldn't go as pathetically bad as the sixth.

---

The brightly lit greenhouse was fed constant nutrition and the same effects that sunlight would provide given photosynthesis. Piotyr Ivanov was proud to call this garden his own. The nature was beautiful, and he was the kind of man who adored every sign of it. Which was why he had this greenhouse made right beneath his home. He didn't want the outside world to be able to influence it whatsoever, and here it was safe.

He even had animals down there to offer him company in his aging years. He was sixty-two years old and he wouldn't be around forever. The animals saw to it that he was getting the happiest final years of his life. He felt it coming, cancer in his pancreas would make it so that he never made it another five years or so maybe. The chemotherapy and other kinds of treatments were never enough, he accepted his fate long ago.

When he was selected to participate in the next Holy Grail, however. Everything changed. Just a few months ago his Seal's manifested, and this old one-trick pony was given a second chance. He didn't want to extend his life anymore. He had no regrets, and he even had children who have grown into adults back in Russia. Everything was fine the way it was. What he wanted was to preserve nature, and he would be able to do that easily with the power of the Holy Grail to grant his wish.

A doe came to nuzzle its head into the crook of his neck, Piotyr chuckled quietly as he stroked its head behind the ears. Giving it the love and attention that it clearly wanted from him. It left soon after he gave it a cracker, knowing that it was what it was really after just made the experience all the more memorable.

Most of the animals were sleeping through the night as per normal, and normally he would as well. But he was waiting for something important. The delivery date was today, and his cousins and brothers have been out for months in the ancient Roman forests untouched by man. They were returning today with an artifact that would be extremely important for what was about to happen. He needed it, and there would be no accidents or mistakes when it came to his choice of Servant.

"Sir," Finally, Piotyr grinned ear to ear as a friend of the family stepped into his greenhouse. Stepping through his carefully tended grass, however, earned his ire.

"Ivan," He stopped the younger man with his deep thickly accented voice. Speaking English as his third language left some room to be desired, but he managed it quite well despite his Russian nationality. "You know not to trample on freshly tended grass, it is one of my favorite things. Come on, you know better."

"Apologies, sir," Ivan, despite his diverse name, was an American. But an American that helped build this underground greenhouse with him despite having his own personal life. He knew that he had little time left to live, which made him a dear friend. Of course, that earned his way into the family business. In this greenhouse, they grew more than just pretty flowers and plants. There were… certain illegal activities that relied on this greenhouse that also helped fund the family business. An outsider may call them simple drug dealers or a Mob even. But they were so much more than that. "Your cousin Adrik has returned, and with him the head that you wanted to be found."

"Finally," Piotyr scoffed with relieved laughter. He raised one hand to scratch his face, revealing a set of Command Seals to complete his Master status. "Tell him that he and others can now rest. I have a big night ahead of me, I don't need distractions."

"Of course," Ivan turned and stepped out, coming back less than a minute later rolling a giant wooden structure the size of a small boulder. Piotyr was astonished to see it. It was the head of an ancient dead wooden guardian. Its name was practically forgotten to time, but Piotyr did his research, yes. Grover, the guardian's name was. Grover was the mount of a Roman Legend, Sylvanus. A guardian of nature, the perfect Servant that would match his ever will and desire perfectly.

Seeing it in the flesh made his heart feel like it would burst. Thankfully, it didn't. For it would have made for a very short war if it had. Piotyr thanked Ivan for his help and shushed him away. His family had all done enough, now he just had to play his part. Despite being old, he was able to take the hand truck and use his dwindling strength to push it to the center of his garden. Where a summoning circle was already arranged by flowers and other materials such as soil and sugar. The animals did not like being near it, but that was okay. Soon enough this spot would be clear for them once again.

"Oh pah!" Piotyr grunted as he flipped the hand truck over, uttering a quiet apology for the head of Grover. It rolled into the center of the circle. Piotyr rubbed his hands together and knelt down in front of the summoning circle, extending out his hand's Command Seals to show that he is a Master.

The summoning took place as soon as Piotyr thought of the incantation.

---

"Ack!" A magus spat out blood as a reinforced fist jabbed into his stomach. He cried out again as his left eye socket was smashed by a fist once again, feeling bits of his skull crack even under the swollen black and blue muscle. His nose was broken, his neck felt sore from the number of times it whipped back from the force of his torturer's punches, and he began wishing for death a long time ago. His nails were peeled off one by one, and soon enough they were going to run out of toes to cut off.

"Bastard," The Latino man spat into his face as he rolled his shoulders to give another go at him. "I asked you a question pendejo! Answer it, what the hell are these fucking marks on my hand, huh!?"

"P-please…" The young magus pleaded as hot tears stung the cuts and bruises on his face. "I don't know what that is! I'm still a magus in training, a question like that is for-" His head whipped back again as his torturer smashed his knuckles into his forehead. This time he heard a sickening crack and flow of blood leaked out of his face. His neck slumped back down and he let out a choked gasp, feeling blood force it's way up through his throat and out his mouth. Looking down at himself like this, he whined when he saw his terribly bruised and destroyed torso. Maimed by cuts, bruises, and non-lethal stab wounds that caused him to hurt more and more with each passing second. He just wanted to die already.

"I'm going to ask you just one more time," The tan-skinned man warned as he grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head to look at him in his dark brown eyes.

"Carlos, hermano, I think that's enough man." Carlos's younger teenage brother, AJ, suggested as he stepped just a little closer to his much stronger sibling. "Look at him, he can't even lift his own head anymore."

"Shut it, Aj," Carlos screamed, silencing the boy instantly. "These damn marks, what do they mean? They only showed up when you came around these parts hunting me, so I don't want to hear any of that inexperienced bullshit anymore! You were looking for me, and guess what, you found me! So answer my goddamn questions or else I am going to cut off every extremity on your body, starting here!" Carlos pointed to the man's crotch, which had him instinctively squeezing his legs together in an effort to protect it.

"W-wait no! Please, I'll talk!"

"Then start talking puta-madre!" Carlos raised his hands and showed off the strange red markings, they were in the shape of a skull with two bones crossed behind it. "What are these things? From that book of course I can barely fucking read through, these have some importance, huh? What kind of importance? What do these mean!?"

"I-It means you're a Master," The magus croaked.

"Master?" Carlos raised an eyebrow, confused. "Qué coño y que cagada significa eso?"

"I-I don't understand-"

"I said: The fuck does that mean?" Carlos asked, kicking the man in the shin as he annoyed him.

"I-it means you're part of the Holy Grail War!" The magus exclaimed desperately. "The Holy Grail chose you to become a Master, the Holy Grail War is a great battle for an omnipotent chalice that grants wishes to whoever wins, that's all I know about it, I swear!"

"Ah, is that right?" Carlos sighed as he let the man's hair go, letting him think that he was safe now. "Damn it, and here I thought you were actually lying to me again. Listen here stupid, I know a bit about that magic crap. Mi pa managed to teach me some of it before he bit the dust after trying to hit this kid over here," He pointed a thumb at AJ, who winced as he was suddenly regarded. "So, you telling me that if I win this Holy War or whatever, I can make a wish or some shit?"

"Y-yes. That's all I know, I swear!"

"Shut up, shut up," Carlos said as he pushed his hand against the man's mouth. "I believe ya, don't worry. Now, let me get these things off you so we can- ARGH!" He cut himself off as he fueled his muscles and fists with reinforcement magecraft, instantly snapping the man's neck all the way to the side and killing him instantly. Once he was sure that the guy was dead, Carlos sighed to himself and cursed. Looking back to the audience that was watching them.

"Carlos, what the hell are we going to do now?" AJ asked, a little scared already. He knew better than to question his brother for killing the magus after his earlier outburst.

"The only thing that we can do!" Carlos cheered as he slapped a hand on his brother's shoulder, pulling him close despite being covered in another man's blood mixed with his own sweat. "Y'all heard that, right!?" He screamed out to the crowd that was watching them that entire time, they all cheered in reply. That was his gang, and he was the leader of them. They were one of the biggest and most dangerous gangs in New York, and after wiping out all of the other competition, now they had a clear opening to go beyond their previous goals.

"It looks like we're going to have a war on our hands! And this time, not just against the police, but against Fate itself!" Roaring laughter and approval followed. Men, and women of nearly every damn race out there, all cheering for him, a Mexican. Heh, how the tides turned. "Ever since I realized that I can use this magic," He showed off said magic by allowing a purple crackling energy to increase the size and strength of his muscles. "I knew that I was going to be special someday! I knew that this was going to come in handy, and if there is one thing I can like about my deadbeat dad, it's that he knew how to pass down some knowledge!"

"Together, we're going to make the 2.1.2 a fucking force to be reckoned with! I am going to ask all you crazy fucks following me to fight another few battles for me. Because guess what I am going to use this wish for... We're going to take over not only this shithole city but the entire fucking country!" His gang members roared and screamed their excitement. It was why he loved them so much, it was always so easy to rile them up for nearly anything that he needed. "These Command Spells or whatever is going to be the key to it all! It's going to be bloody, and in all honesty, probably won't compare to anything that we have ever faced before. But I know that if I got you all on my back, that'll be a piece of cake! So, are you motherfuckers with me!?"

The crowd screamed yes.

"That's good to fucking hear!" Carlos barked out with laughter. He looked down at his brother beside him next. "C'mon bro, let's try and get this circle drawn. I know you like art and all that shit, so you feel like helping your brother out?"

"S-sure," AJ meekly nodded his head. "Just give me the book and I think I can-"

"My... my... my..." An electrifying dark voice spoke, cutting AJ off and putting Carlos immediately on guard. He turned and pushed his brother behind him. A few of his men and women ran up and pointed their weapons at the sudden black and purple wall of darkness in front of him. Already, Carlos started sweating with fear. How long had that been there?

"You, my good sir, are quite ambitious aren't ya?" The black and purple walls started to fade away. As it did so, the transparency of the space within it began to reveal itself. The blood of the magus that Carlos had killed just minutes ago had somehow pooled in the center of the floor in such a way that it formed exactly the kind of summoning circle that he needed in order to summon that Servant thing.

"What the hell are you…?" Carlos asked as he pushed AJ back, handing him off to a few of his trusted men as he stood up against the dark figure standing within the purple shadows.

"Allow me to introduce myself…" The figure said as the circle shined a bright red, at last, giving the figure a complete form. Carlos had no idea what he was looking at first. The man appeared to be wearing some kind of frilled purple suit and even had a tophat. He may have looked ridiculous, but it was the man's face and skin that put him off the most. It was literally the color black, and the figure had completely white eyes with no sign of color in them. There were white markings that ran up and down the figure's skin, and in its right hand was some kind of staff, he guessed. Though, not the kind of staff that Carlos wanted to touch him anytime soon, it had a skull on the end of it.

"I am your Caster Servant," The figure bowed his very tall body toward him. "Baron Samedi, the Lord of the Underworld, at your service… Now allow me to ask you a question in return, Mister Carlos Bone." Samedi smirk was filled with yellow sharpened teeth. "Are you my Master?"

---

Azael slammed the door shut to her home and slid down the wooden frame with her hands in her hair and face. Thankfully, none of her servants were there to see her in that emotional state. She didn't allow herself to cry, even though it felt like she could very easily if she wanted to. She quickly straightened herself up when Masuru made her presence known as she stepped into the main hall. Her red eyes looked at her with curiosity. It seemed to take a moment before she realized what she had to do.

"Miss Exadam," The homunculus greeted her kindly. "Welcome home, you're back earlier than expected. Your father is waiting for you in his study."

Azael sighed heavily. "Hello to you too, I guess." She said in a bored tone as she pushed herself back up to her feet. "Tell him I'll be right there after I eat. You did make me food like I said, right?"

"It is waiting for you on the table, it is still hot. So you should have no need to heat it up."

"Looks like you are good for something then," Azael said as she made her way past the homunculus and into the next hallway. She kept her head down as she passed an old family painting of her and her family when she was still just a toddler. Her mother had the same red hair as she did, and the same face as… she shook her head and refused to look at it as she moved by. Making her way into the kitchen and instantly salivating at the sight of her favorite kind of food sitting at the dinner table waiting for her.

She ate it quickly and spent a few minutes resting before using the bathroom and making her way up the stairs and toward her father's study. There, he smiled upon seeing her. She shrugged off her jacket and hung it on the coat hanger and stepped around the prepared summoning circle. It was made out of sugar and… garlic? She didn't know what the second ingredient was needed, but she was more concerned with the heavy blade of Kusanagi. It was rusted and practically destroyed due to the passage of time, but it served as the perfect catalyst for what she needed to do.

"You may begin whenever you're ready," Adrielle gave her the first words he spoke to her that night. "You know the drill, daughter. We've practiced this."

"I know," Azael wasted no time and stepped in front of the summoning circle, raising her hand and slipping off the glove. Revealing her explosively shaped Command Seals which shone red with color as it reacted to the circle. "Be quiet so that I may get this over with… please."

"Of course," Adrielle sat back in his chair and leaned away. He wanted to watch, at the very least. Which was something Azael was willing to offer him.

She took a deep breath and began.

"Hear my call, heroes of legend. I beckon thee to fight for your summoner, Azael Exadam, sole living heir of my bloodline. I am the Master, and you are to be my Servant. Amaterasu of the Japanese Kami, I call to you specifically! In accordance with the will of the Holy Grail, I demand that you answer my call!"

The summoning circle exploded with red energy. Azael continued.

"Thus begins our careful allegiance to one another! Come to me my Servant, so that we may proceed toward our valiant destiny!"

"Your will is answered," A woman's voice called back to her. Azael stepped back as an explosion of wind and heat caused her to stagger. She kept her eyes open as the flash of golden light vanished in an instant. In a sparkle of gold and orange, there was her Servant.

"Saber-class Servant, I've heeded your call. Azael," The beautiful Servant said as she went down to one knee. "Let us trek our way to glory together…"

---

Francis threw away a thick branch as he no longer needed it in order to draw the summoning circle into the ground. He had time to waste, so he didn't rush as he drew out the box that Victor had given him. It was old and worn, but not anything he wasn't already prepared for. The box was wooden and had a magical lock in place that only magic could open. Thankfully, it was right up his alley. Francis took old of the lock and allowed a flow of magic to go into it. As he clenched his hands together, the lock disappeared, and the wooden box was open.

Within it was a hat of some kind. It looked to be some kind of straw hat but reserved for a noble of high standing. Or in this case… something more than just a mere human. Francis still didn't know the name of who he was supposed to be summoning here, but he would find out soon enough.

"Alright… let me just put this here and I can start right away." Francis said as he felt a chill breeze wash over his body. He clasped his hands together as he stepped away from the circle. His blue Command Seals felt strangely cold on the back of his palm. Having just fully manifested just hours ago, it was still a sensation that he needed to get used to.

Getting to Central Park was easy when you knew which streets to cross and what alleys to get through. Especially when there was a city-wide curfew. His only concern would have been getting spotted or snitched on by some passerby, or even worse, a cop. They were really cracking down on late-night outings lately due to a high degree of gang violence and a small virus outbreak that has everyone worried. This was New York, however, so one young man sneaking out to go have some fun in the night was hardly anything anyone was going to bat an eye too.

And now he was here at last. His blue Seals shined brightly, as did the summoning circle in front of him. After a second thought, he stepped into the circle in the center. Believing that to somehow make it easier for him to summon his Servant. After taking a deep breath, he began his calm and gentle chant.

"Here we go… I, Master of the Seventh Holy Grail War, call out to the legends of the past and of the future. My name is Francis Glacier, and I ask for your help. Heed my call, and come to me as-"

He needn't go any further with his incantation. The summoning circle reacted and he felt and saw a bright blue light surround him and enclose around his body. He continued his chanting just in case, but he quickly discovered that there was no need for such futile efforts.

Two large hands came out of the light, and a tall figure dressed in blue attire and wearing a pristine white version of the hat that had been used as a catalyst materialized out of thin air. Francis looked up in awe at the Servant that he had just summoned. Looking into another pair of blue eyes as the figure reached a hand off his shoulder to stroke the long goatee hanging off of his chin.

"You've summoned me, Master." The Servant said with boisterous laughter. "Assassin-class Servant, God of the storms, and slayer of the eight-headed hydra."

The Servant smiled.

"I am Susano."

---

And thus begins a new story. Man, this is the longest first chapter I am positive that I will ever write.

Pfft! -CrowSkull

Shush, that bit is for later.

Quickly, I will answer a few questions before I get them. Yes, I know that I skipped over a war. The sixth war. Or as much as I know, there isn't a sixth war in canon. Yes, I know that Rin and Waver went to dismantle the Grail after the fourth war. No, they are not dead. And that concludes the questions I think I might have gotten.

Now I come to a new dilemma, how the hell am I going to write a chapter like this once a week when I have two other stories going on at the same time? Thing is, I most likely won't be able to. Until I finish one of those other stories, unfortunately, this story is most likely going to be a bi-weekly story. Meaning that one chapter would come out every two weeks at least. Maybe longer, depending on my will to keep going with this Lol.

Everything I said in the first AN remains. Tell me guys and girls, what do you think? Do you want to see more? Do you want me to kill this story before it gets off its feet? Did I do a terrible job? Good job? And other great stuff like that, please let me know what you think! I look forward to your reactions.

Until next time, I'll see you in the next one!

T wi tter . com (slash) genatools

P a treon . com (slash) Genatools