Chapter 2
The Old School Building, a small facility repurposed into a base for clubs. For the past couple of years, it was home to the Occult Research Club led by Rias Gremory herself. a bright red light shone out from the inside, before vanishing in an instant.
Rias sat on a large couch in the middle of a large room, sipping from a small teacup.
She hummed to herself, putting down the cup. "That was odd. Someone was trying to summon me. Why did it stop?"
"Had someone beat you to it?" Another woman asked, coming into Rias' field of view. She smiled sarcastically at Rias.
"But it was odd." Rias responded with a serious look. "Just before the summoning was cancelled, I felt another presence, something with the holy element."
"Perhaps he called an angel."
"I doubt it. Koneko said that he received one of our cards, and as far as I know the angels don't operate as we do. There's a chance that something else is at play." Rias pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose. "If that's the case, we might have some new problems."
"I'll have Koneko continue to observe."
"No, I have something else in mind. It'll be better if we know exactly what we're dealing with." Rias said, standing up from her seat and leaving the room.
"Yuuma… Yuuma…" Issei mumbled to himself in his sleep. He could think of nothing except for that woman, his first girlfriend and person who tried to murder him. He remembered the spear she used on him and the pain he felt from it. As he remembered the pain, he suddenly woke up.
Issei suddenly sprang up from his bed, cold sweat pouring from his face. He frantically scanned his surroundings, his eyes darting from side to side. He was back in his room. His alarm clock told him that it was nighttime. Realizing that he was safe, his heart finally calmed and he could breathe normally.
"I'm back home?" He thought, sliding off his bed. "Was that just a nightmare?"
Issei walked to the white box, opening it to see that the necklace wasn't inside. He checked his pockets, finding the decoration that should have been in the box. He noticed multiple blood stains on his clothes and went pale. He sat back down on his bed. He looked down at his left hand, but there was no wound. There wasn't even a tiny scar. He looked at his right hand and saw something weird.
There was some kind of marking on the back of his hand, colored red like blood. He tried to peel it off, as if it was a sticker, to no avail. As he looked over the tattoo, he suddenly heard a voice.
"Oh, it looks like you finally woke up."
Issei nearly jumped out of his skin. He hasn't ever heard it before, but it was certainly a person's voice. He scanned the room a second time, still finding nobody but himself.
"Uh… H-hello?" Issei asked, "Am I still dreaming?"
"No, you're definitely awake. I've just been surveying the area for any potential threats. Fortunately, there's none at the moment."
In a couple of seconds, a large amount of light blue particles appeared in the middle of the room. They were bright, but not so much that they were blinding. They rapidly grew in number, taking the shape of a human and changing color. Rather than a bunch of balls of light, a person now stood in front of him. He wore silver armor over a black shirt and pants. The interiors of his white cape and tunic were a sky blue. An empty sheath hung from his hip. His eyes were blue and a portion of his mostly black hair was white.
The knight-like figure knelt, bowing his head to Issei.
"Sorry for appearing later than I should have. I am a Saber class Servant under your command." he said, smiling warmly.
"Servant?" Issei raised an eyebrow.
Saber stood back up. "Although I shouldn't have been summoned in this form. The last time was under some very unusual circumstances… Then again these are some strange circumstances as well."
"What?" Issei asked.
"For starters, the mana here is incredibly potent, much more than what should be possible in this day and age. Using this: I could emulate the Independent Action skill, at least to some degree. Nonetheless, I'll still be relying on you for support." He chuckled, looking almost disappointed.
"Wait wait, hold on." Issei demanded, putting up his hands. "who are you? What happened to me? What do you mean servant, and mana? Just what is going on? Are you sure I'm not just having a video game dream?"
The black-haired boy looked at Issei puzzled. "Hmm, despite summoning me with a catalyst, you don't know who I am. On top of that, you don't know what mana or heroic spirits are. So, you summoned me by accident then?"
"I didn't intend to summon anything. All I remember is-" Issei suddenly paused, looking down at his feet solemnly. "...Is Yuuma trying to kill me. I don't remember anything after that."
"I see. This could be a problem. Since our contract has already been completed, you are my master. For better or worse, we're bound." The boy sat down at Issei's desk, opening the drawers one after another before taking out a pencil and paper. "I think this will be the best way to explain."
He quickly scribbled on the piece of paper before presenting it to Issei. Seven different figures were drawn on the sheet. A sword bearing knight with long hair, a woman holding a longbow and arrows, a thin male figure holding a staff in both hands, a chariot rider, a shrouded figure holding a book and staff, a man holding a pair of daggers, and a beast-like humanoid.
"I am a Heroic Spirit, also called a Servant. As I said before, I am of the Saber class, one of seven classes that a Heroic spirit can be summoned as based on their exploits in life. Other than Saber, there is Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, and Berserker.." He paused, looking at the alarm clock beside Issei's bed. "Besides, It's already late, and it seems like you could use more sleep."
"Huh, I guess so." Issei said. "Now that I think about it, I didn't sleep much last night either. ."
"Any short-answer questions?" Saber asked.
"Yeah, two actually," Issei scratched the back of his head. "What's your name? I mean, it's not Saber right?"
"It's not my True Name, no… It sucks, but I can't tell you just yet for now just call me Saber." Suddenly, his body turned back into a mass of blue light, before disappearing completely. "Oh, but rest assured, Master. You can trust me to protect you, even while you're at school."
"Wait, how did you know I have school?" Issei asked surprised.
"Heroic Spirits are given information about the era we're summoned into. That, and I noticed your school uniform in the closet earlier." He explained,
"Uh… alright." Issei said, frowning.
Issei removed his bloodied clothes and retreated under his blanket. His so-called Servant's voice faded into the background and his mind wandered. Skills, classes, and summons all sounded like something out of some game.
On that same night, far from the city, was a small forest. Hidden within that forest was an abandoned church. The glass in every window was broken. Water dripped from multiple places. Mold grew in multiple places, both in the walls and the grounds. It hadn't been used in several years.
Although on that night, it would be put to use once more. The church was occupied by a priest. Drawn in chalk on the ground before him was a large ritualistic circle.
With a bang, the front doors to the church were suddenly kicked open. A young man tossed a briefcase into the center of the room.
"Special delivery!" The boy shouted, his voice echoing throughout the room.
The older man sighed, picking up the briefcase. "Good grief, you could have a little mercy on this old man's ears."
"Oh please, things are gonna get a lot louder now, right?" Sellzen smirked.
The old man opened the briefcase, opening it and taking a piece of a broken rifle out of it. "This is the catalyst I asked for right? You didn't screw this up somehow?"
"Yep it's the real deal. Gimme a break will ya? It was hard getting this from the museum without killing anyone." Sellzen grumbled, crossing his arms disappointedly.
The old man rolled his eyes. "Trust me, It will be worth it. If what the angels said is true then none of the Heroic Spirits that have been summoned will be able to contend with that monster. But the servant I summon will be the perfect counter against it. All we will have to do is wait for that beast to slaughter the others, and swoop in for the final kill."
"Boooring!" Sellzen remarked. "If you want someone out there killing people, I'm already more than enough right?"
Ignoring the commentary, the old man placed the rifle piece into the middle of the circle. He raised up one hand, which had a bright red tattoo on its back, and spoke.
"Silver and steel are the essence. Stone and the Archduke of the contract are the foundation. White, the color I pay tribute to."
Suddenly, the chalk circle lit up.
"Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate. Let it be declared now: your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword. If you abide by this will, this reason, then answer."
An immense amount of magical energy gathered into the circle. The light grew in intensity, wind blew violently in every direction, pushing away all debris.
"An oath shall be sworn here. I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven; I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell. You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance."
A pillar of light rose from the circle, turning into fire and letting out a mighty roar. All flames in the room were extinguished. The bright orange flames looked as if they were from hell itself. the stray embers that jumped from the pillar didn't burn what they touched. And just as quickly as it appeared, the fire disappeared. The light of the circle dimmed and a figure remained kneeling at the center. Most of their body was concealed under a large red cape.
They scanned the interior of the church, scowling at its decrepit turned to their Summoner, they sighing discontentedly. "You must have some nerve to summon me in such a dirty and broken down place."
The old man bowed his head. "My apologies. it was difficult to find a good place to perform the ritual. The city wasn't an option. It belongs to those devils after all."
"Tell me. What country am I in?"
"Japan."
Five seconds of silence passed before the summon burst into laughter, a laugh that surprised both the old man and Sellzen.
"I see, I see. You at least have enough competence to summon me here. As thanks, I'll consider you my master. Let's get along and win this war. Without further ado, let's begin devising our strategy!"
"Ah… As you wish." The old man nodded reluctantly. "Worst case scenario, I'll just force obedience." He thought, looking back to the red markings on his hand.
Issei Was tired, extremely so, and it certainly showed. He only slept for a few hours. After lying in bed for over an hour, unable to go back to sleep, he finally sat up. He still felt numb.
"So much for getting rest." Issei groaned, begrudgingly opening his eyes.
"Good morning, Master." Saber's voice echoed within his head. It was strangely soothing,
"Hey, could you use sleep magic on me?" Issei asked in a flat tone.
Saber laughed, "Well, I can't, If you wanted someone who could do something like that, Caster would have been your best bet."
"Damn," Issei grunted, "Guess that makes sense… Can only a caster use magic?"
"No, it's not a Caster-exclusive ability. I knew an archer who could perform high-level thaumaturgy. What a servant can do is based on what they did according to their legends. I just practiced magecraft in life, so I don't have the capacity for magecraft... Oh, right, sorry. I meant magic."
"Did you call it something different when you were alive?" Issei asked.
"Something like that. When I was alive magic and magecraft were two different things, but that doesn't really matter. What's important is getting you acquainted with this current Holy Grail War."
"Alright." Issei said. "So, seven people are summoned into seven classes. What does that have to do with this 'Holy Grail'?"
"Yes. Servant and Master pairs compete for the Holy Grail and the last team standing is rewarded with it."
"What's so great about this thing?" Issei asked, crossing his arms doubtfully.
"The Grail is an all-powerful wish granting device. Any wish can be granted no matter how small or big." Saber's words made both issei's arms and jaw drop. "If you wanted to be rich, live long, or even go back in time and change history, the Holy Grail would allow you to. That's the kind of prize we're fighting for."
"Wait, so you're saying that if we win, I can have anything I want?" Issei said with a hopeful look.
"For the most part. There are some limitations, but for some reason I cannot remember. I don't know why, but ever since I was summoned, many of my memories have been a blur."
Issei jumped out of bed and onto his feed. He contained his excitement, and smiled wider than he ever had before. "This is it, this is it! If we win, I can finally have what I've always wanted! Hallelujah!"
Before long the doorbell rang, bringing him back to his senses. He quickly made his way down the stairs and to the door. As he opened it, he was face to face with two of his classmates. One was a petite girl with white hair and yellow eyes while the other was a handsome boy with blonde hair and silver eyes.
"Huh?" Issei blurted out. "Koneko, Kiba?" But before he could question why they were there, he felt his arm being pulled.
"Master, get back!" Saber leapt forward, putting himself between Issei and the two. At the same time, two weapons appeared out of thin air. One was blue and the other was red. They both had double-edged blades, but their wing-tipped handles were too long for them to be swords. They were more like javelins, javelins that floated in the air without support. "These two are dangerous!"
Saber glared daggers at the two, but before he could act, the two jumped back a short distance. Koneko's fists were clenched while Kiba held a sword in both hands. Both looked as if they were going to fight him.
"Where'd those things and that sword come from?" Issei thought, staring at the blade in his classmate's hands. "Wait a minute, no, that's not important, I can't let this go any further!" Issei ran towards Saber, whose back was to him, before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Saber, stop! They're from my school!"
Saber gave pause, his weapons lowering as he looked to Issei. "Are you absolutely certain?" He asked, looking Issei directly in the eyes.
"Yes, so stop fighting them now." Issei commanded, removing his hand from the Saber's shoulder.
Saber looked back at the two before nodding. The two floating weapons disappeared and he took a relaxed posture. At the same time, the tense air that he emitted also vanished. He looked back at the two curiously, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, alright then. Sorry about that. I guess I overreacted" Saber said, chuckling awkwardly.
"It's… alright." Kiba said, looking warily at the knight.
"Weird." Koneko said in almost a whisper.
"What are you two doing here? How did you even know where I live?" Issei asked.
Kiba scratched his head, looking around. "We're here to ask you to come with us. There is someone who wants to speak with you."
"Master, I'm against it" Saber said, looking at Issei with a worried expression.
Issei raised an eyebrow, "Why's that?"
"I can sense a demonic aura. Things usually don't go well when demons are involved." He answered, turning back to Koneko and Kiba.
"If I may." Kiba interjected. "I guarantee that you won't be harmed if you come with us, Issei"
Issei glanced between Saber's doubtful face, Kiba's reassuring smile, and Koneko's unchanging gaze. "Well, if anything happens, I'm sure Saber can handle it.." he nodded to himself. "Let's go with them."
Saber looked surprised, but nodded back. "U-Understood."
END