Hello, it is I! Merlin! Now, I know I said I would do an omake for the best review each chapter but...it kind of slipped my mind? So I'll make it for every four chapters! Hehehe, I'm a genius. (No, just incompetent.) Anyway, here we have a new chapter! The servant that the catalyst was for will be revealed in this chapter and there will be a few twists for all of you magnificent people. And some Grail shenanigans...So! Please, enjoy this new chapter of watching Jeanne suffer!
Edit: What would you all think of a story where I just post all of my other ideas that I will probably never continue and leave them up for adoption?
Jeanne stayed on Berserker's chest for about ten minutes before she finally managed to calm down and let her stress go. She looked up at Berserker's bored face and got a slightly embarrassed blush on her face.
She knew the man had no feelings of affection for her and also knew that he was currently not himself. His Saint Graph had revealed to her that he was only the product of a wish on a Holy Grail and had been inserted into the Throne of Heroes because of that.
He was not a man nor a hero. He was the Mad King, an animal whose only desire was to prove his superiority and maintain his place as king. She smiled as she realized why he had actually helped her calm down. It seems the heart of a hero could never truly be destroyed.
"Berserker..."
The beast looked down at her and grunted in annoyance.
"You gonna stop wailing as if you were a newborn babe now?"
Jeanne coughed and blushed in embarrassment at the reminder of her earlier breakdown.
"Y-Yes. It was only a one-time thing, no need to worry about this happening again."
Berserker grunted contently and pushed her off of him and threw her from the tree. Jeanne yelped in surprise and landed on her butt on the ground, her two other servants rushing to her side and giving slight glares to Cu's rough handling of their master.
The man dropped to the ground with a loud thump and rolled his shoulders to get rid of the kinks in them. He looked down at them disinterestedly and walked to stand next to the magic circle, summoning his spear in case the servant decided to attack.
Jeanne sighed exasperatedly and got up from the ground while waving away Musashi and Brynhildr.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
She pulled out the wand from where she had hidden it and looked it over for any visible damage and to try and figure out what hero this wand might be related to.
"Brynhildr? You know a lot about runes, don't you? Can you recognize these?"
She asked, extending the wand to her lancer servant. Brynhildr grabbed it and started inspecting the runes that covered the wand thoroughly.
"These runes...they are quite ancient...not as much as my primordial runes but they are incredibly rare ones that fell out of use after the City-States of Mesopotamia had all fallen..."
Brynhildr looked up at her master with a perplexed look while holding up the wand.
"Where did you find this? It is in a perfect state, no scratches, no rot, nothing. It's in perfect condition as if it was only made today."
Jeanne shrugged and took back the wand from the Valkyrie's hand.
"I'll explain where I got it later. We need to summon this servant now, the sun is rising soon."
Jeanne summoned her armour and started walking towards the perfectly drawn summoning circle laying on the ground, the wand in hand. Power surged from the circle, making it glow with ethereal light, much like the last three times she had done this.
Her eyes widened as she looked upon the man that was summoned.
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"I am impressed, Darnic. I did not think you to be so resourceful."
Vlad's imperial voice said smoothly as he looked upon the five servants that were to be under his command. All of them looked to be quite impressive and powerful servants. Now, to see if they would co-operate or if they would have to be brought down by the king of the land.
"A simple act, my king. I simply stole the plans of the Einzberns and made small...adjustments."
The clan leader said simply with a small smirk on his face, o how he had taken pleasure in seeing that old man's look of despair as he stole everything their family had worked for.
"Your summons have been answered. I am a servant of Black and my fate is one with the Yggdmillenia."
The five servants chorused as they knelt, their masters watching in awe from the side.
The Saber, a powerful-looking man wearing glasses, lifted his head, revealing his intense icy blue eyes.
"My sword is your sword."
He said simply and yet his voice seemed to immediately seize everyone's attention, much like Vlad. It seems another king has been summoned.
Gordes grinned boastfully at the mighty servant he had summoned, maybe now Darnic would finally recognize his worth and talent.
Darnic extended his arm flamboyantly towards the servants gathered.
"My King. These are the servants our masters of Black have summoned."
He yelled out proudly.
"They are yours to command."
He whispered to his servant lightly.
Vlad easily nodded and rose with all the form of a monarch to look upon them with an exultant and commanding gaze.
"You all have answered these summons seeking the Grail meant to grant your wishes. But first! we must rise to supremacy as the Black Faction and obliterate these foolish foreign invaders that are the Red Faction!"
Darnic nodded and once more reached his arm out flamboyantly.
"Not only have we these powerful servants but we have also managed to adjust the system and make it allow an eighth servant! The servant Avenger!"
The silver-haired man with golden eyes looked up with an evil grin as he gave a glance towards his wheelchair-bound master. Fiore just nodded towards him with a nervous look, a bit intimidated by his presence, full of hate as it was.
The Impaler King gave an investigative once-over at the Avenger, trying to determine his identity or at least his country of origin by his dress and appearance. He grunted and gave up, deciding to learn more about his subordinates.
"I am the Lord Impaler, Vlad Tepes, king of this land and the servant Lancer! I welcome you all to my kingdom and I expect you all to do your best in this war."
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Astolfo sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow, not used to the ruthless presence the Romanian king seemed to exude as easily as he breathed air. He gave a glance to his master and turned away immediately at how creepy she was. That look in her eye probably meant nothing good for him.
He'd just talk to his new friends and present himself first so that he could stall for a bit, he really didn't want to be alone with that woman.
"Hiya, everyone! My name's Astolfo, one of Charlemagne's Twelve Paladins!"
His fellow servants and their masters all looked at him with incredulous gazes at his casual dismissal of the unwritten rules of a Grail War.
"Quite daring of you to reveal your true name so readily, but that should come as no surprise considering your legend."
A regal and yet ferocious-looking girl spoke up calmly with an amused glint in her intense steel-grey orbs.
Astolfo turned to her with a ditzy smile and tilted his head to the side cutely, making the queen internally gag and externally have an eyebrow twitch.
"We're all allies so it should be okay! Don't you think so, prett-"
A huge spiked metal ball, glowing red, slammed into the ground in front of Astolfo, completely pulverizing everything and sending debris and dust everywhere.
A loud screech of surprise escaped Astolfo as the effeminate boy looked down at the spiked ball that had landed right in front of him and almost hit him in a very sensitive space.
"Let us get one thing clear" Started the aggressive servant, her formerly steel-grey eyes now burning brightly with the colour of flames. "Any who would think of calling me beautiful or any variation of such a word will suffer a terrible fate." She ground out with a hateful glare towards everyone in the room.
There was a tense silence as everyone contemplated her words and actions.
Finally, the silence was broken by the deep voice of the Saber servant.
"I see no reason not to comply with this request, it is manageable and brings no liability towards our war efforts."
Saber did not have any reason to deny this request and saw no reason for anyone else to refuse.
Astolfo just nodded frantically while the Avenger servant merely gazed at them with a cool stare.
"Good. Now that that has been put to the side." She said with her composed and queenly aura returning to her. "While I am not as forthcoming with my true name as the Paladin, I see no problem in revealing our classes."
Saber nodded in agreement before stepping forward.
"That is quite correct. Knowing our allies class will only prove beneficial to our battle preparations. That said, I am of the Saber class of servants."
A dark-skinned man that seemed to exude a noble and powerful aura stepped up from where he had stood back. "I shall be the one holding the title of Archer of Black in this war." He said calmly.
Astolfo smiled at the man's noble aura and turned towards the girl that had almost crushed him into a fine Astolfo-pancake. Huh...would he taste good if he was a pancake?
"I am Astolfo of the Rider class!" He said with a big smile, him being almost squashed into a pancake already being forgotten.
"And I am of the Berserker class." The girl informed them as she looked at Astolfo with a bit less anger than before.
"I would suggest everyone return to their quarters so that they may be acquainted with their master." Saber advised as he noticed his master's impatient stare.
There was a common sound of agreement and everyone split paths for the rest of the night.
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The golden light of the summoning circle faded away to reveal the form of a great and mighty hero.
"I am offended that you would summon me in such a..." His red eyes scanned the area with disdain, gaze lingering on the trash in the bushes and the general uncleanliness of the area. "Subpar location." He finished with a sneer.
Jeanne had some trouble regaining her composure at the sight of the man before her, her True Name Discernment telling her of his identity immediately. "My apologies, King of Heroes, I have no control over the location of the summoning, I simply follow the Grail's orders." She informed in such a way that she hoped he wouldn't be offended.
"I shall forgive this transgression for I am a merciful king, but you should make haste in trying to gain my favour, mongrel. As it is now, I have no obligation or want to aid you in this mediator business for this battle of thieves." Gilgamesh started to astralize, a smirk covering his face.
Jeanne sighed at the man's words and just nodded, accepting that nothing she could ever say or do would make this man budge.
"Well...that went well...I think..." Musashi added as she finally couldn't take the awkward silence that had been forced on them.
Berserker just gave a sound of annoyance. "Someone who won't fight is useless, especially considering he's a Caster." The man grunted out, having an immediate dislike for the man.
Jeanne sighed, she had a feeling that she'd have trouble dealing with the King of Heroes.
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"DAMMIT, ZELRETCH!"
A beautiful white-haired woman rolled around on the ground, screaming out profanities and curses at the Dead Apostle Ancestor that had ruined her plans.
"I wanted her to summon Asclepius so that she could win no matter what!" The personification of the Grail whined as she hit the ground with her delicate fists.
A determined and passionate look crossed her face as an idea crossed her mind. "Fine! You're not the only one who can play the sabotage game! You made things twice as hard for her, so I'll make things ten times easier!" She cried out as she started laughing like a madwoman.
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"Should we leave and return to our room in the hotel, master?" Brynhildr tilted her head slightly, a questioning look on her face.
Jeanne let out a long and agonized sigh, nodding in confirmation. "Yes, I believe that that would be best for now." The Ruler started walking away with the rest of the group, but something strange stopped them.
The mediator faction turned around in unison to see another circle getting drawn on the ground, a huge stone tablet being dropped on top as well.
The sound of a woman's cackling could faintly be heard from across the link Jeanne held with the Grail.
Ruler could only say one thing.
"Dear Lord, please have mercy on my soul."
And here we go! New developments have been revealed! I culdn't let the Black Faction be at such a disadvantage, now, could I? So, I gave them an extra servant and a few extremely powerful servants. I've also dropped one other hint about what Jeanne found suspicious in Zelretch's words, just pay attention to what the Grail is saying. Anyway, as always please review and follow and favorite! Have a nice day, y'all!