Chapter 5

Caster has certainly been hard at work during the past few hours. She had taken over from Viola the task of monitoring the city, and immediately set to work preparing her workshop in which she could operate from. It is from this completed workshop where she called Bram to his attention.

Bram had some trouble getting to her workshop as it was located deep underground. When he eventually made his way inside, he noticed that Caster's workshop looked very much like the interior of a lavish maiden's quarters in a medieval castle. To one side of this workshop there was a large canvas sheet which framed projected images of whatever Caster was watching via her familiars.

"What do you see, Caster?"

"It's not what I see, but what I cannot see," Caster replied. "No sooner than I have positioned my familiars, they get destroyed by enemy Masters and Servants," She looked irritated, to say the least. "This Lord El-Melloi II has been sending Archer and the boy you keep talking about out to destroy my network of familiars, and they have been at it ever since morning."

"Any sign of their location or movements?"

"Archer and the boy are stationed in one place each, and they hardly ever leave their spot except to destroy familiars out of their range," Caster replied, sitting down on her cushion. "As long as they keep doing this, I cannot see everything in this city."

"Fine then, I'll dispatch Lancer and Mikhel" Bram replied.

"Oh, but you can't send Mikhel out" Caster said, reclining on her cushion. "I have no idea what Lord El-Melloi II is up to, so Mikhel might be walking into a trap."

"Mikhel is a Sealing Designation Enforcer. Fighting magi is his specialty."

"Fu fu fu.. But I need Mikhel to supply me with extra prana. It has been quite tiring for me to prepare my workshop and then be expending my familiars all day long now," Caster replied with a smile, pointing to the other side of the room.

Bram had to do a double take to confirm what he saw at the other side of the room. Mikhel was sprawled on a cushion, sleeping soundly. He was covered in a silk cloth, but Bram already knew what was going on based on the sight of assorted articles of clothing scattered around the cushion, and considering that he has not seen Mikhel anywhere throughout the night.

"A-are you sure that it is okay for him?" Bram asked, flustered at the idea.

"He was not averse to the idea. In fact, he was quite willing and happy to help me out in that respect. After all, every little bit of help I can get from him, would be very, very good indeed." Caster said, smiling at Bram. "Besides, the poor boy does not seem to know the meaning of a woman's touch."

Bram was struck speechless at this point. True, it was a method to transfer prana, but the connection between the two has just transcended that of mere Master and Servant level. Bram began to worry if it would affect Mikhel's judgement should he be pressed into action later on.

"Please cease this method for the time being, while I deal with the ones who are disrupting your network of familiars," Bram said after a while. "I need Mikhel to focus on what the task he has on hand."

"Very well, then." Caster replied. "See to it that I do not need to keep on expending my prana without rest."

Bram turned and climbed up the passageway, leaving Caster alone in the room with Mikhel, who was still asleep. Berserker had to be called into action much sooner than originally planned, thanks to Caster's meddling. Bram was not pleased with these developments as he continued up the passageway.

"Viola! Bree!"

"Yes, Sir Bram?" The two women replied.

"The both of you are heading out. Archer and Emiya Shiro has been destroying Caster's familiars. We need to put a stop to that immediately. We cannot afford Caster to be meddling in my plans now!"

"Eh, Caster is meddling in your plans? How?" Bree asked.

"Never mind that for now. Go and kill them quickly!"

"Yes, Sir Bram."

"Are you done yet, Lord El-Melloi II?" Rin asked.

Lord El-Melloi II remained busy covering the ground after placing his regulator. "It's the fourth one now. Just one more to go and we're done."

"You know, Shero and Archer might be able to spot familiars, but Assassin is a different story altogether. How are they going to spot Assassin if they decide to tamper with the regulators?" Luvia asked.

"The regulators have a spell cast on it to alert us if it is tampered with. Think of it as a bounded field for each one of them" Lord El-Melloi II replied.

"Master, I sense enemies approaching my position," Archer's voice was heard in Luvia's mind. "It's a Servant. There might be another one headed for you or Emiya-san."

"Understood. Draw them away from us," Luvia replied. Turning to Rin, she warned her of the threat. "You might want to send Saber to Shero now."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Rin said, turning to Saber. "Go."

"Understood, Master. Don't hesitate to call me if you need me back here," Saber said, turning and leaping off towards Shiro.

"Ugh. Not only am I in a two-on-one situation, it is me against a Master and a Servant." Shiro cursed under his breath. Before him stood Viola Dajana Konig and Berserker.

"I was wondering why you're here, Emiya-san. Turns out you're part of Lord El-Melloi II's faction after all," Viola said.

"Konig-san, the Grail is not what Bram thinks it is anymore," Shiro said, trying to dissuade Viola from attacking him.

"Spare me your excuses, Emiya-san. Sir Bram is acting on behalf of the Association. We have been tasked to bring back the Grail, and that's exactly what we will do. We have to stop Lord El-Melloi II and you all from destroying it."

Shiro backed away slowly. He had to keep his distance from Berserker, who was probably powerful enough to kill him in one blow should he make a mistake. He also had to draw Viola away from Lord El-Melloi II's position. "Konig-san-"

"Attack, Berserker. Don't kill him. I'm bringing him back to Sir Bram."

Berserker roared, raising his hammer and charging at Shiro.

Shiro's mind was thinking fast. He had no idea which Heroic Spirit it was, as a look at Berserker's hammer showed no record of any famous weapon he beheld throughout his years of study.

"What the hell, that hammer is not even a Noble Phantasm. It's just a C Rank weapon?" Shiro muttered to himself as he continued backpedalling and maintaining his distance from Berserker. If it was only a C Rank weapon, he had to counter it with something of a higher grade.

"Trace, on."

C+ Rank and B- Rank weapons appeared around Shiro, primed and ready to fire. Considering its low cost, he could project many of these at a time, and delay the battle until help arrived.

"Consecutive fire, commence!"

The projected weapons fired at Berserker, who displayed the agility to dodge and intercept the weapons fired at him. From the looks of it, this Servant was definitely a skilled warrior in his time even before going insane.

"Trace, on!"

Shiro projected some of his more powerful weapons in his inventory. Berserker classes usually receive a stat upgrade, making them statistically the strongest Servant during the War, and Shiro needed to at least slow Berserker down so he could keep his distance.

"Consecutive fire, commence!"

Despite the sheer power in the weapons, Berserker parried the blows yet again, but Shiro was prepared for the next step. Thanks to the last attack, Berserker was slowed down, and by now, Shiro was already a considerable distance back, with a bow in his hand, and a copy of Hrunting in his other hand.

This Noble Phantasm, with all its power, would be unblockable and probably also be powerful enough to hurt him. Shiro nocked Hrunting to his bow and drew it, red streaks of energy was emitting from it as it powered up.

"Go into the red plains, scarlet hound."

The weapon glowed and buzzed with energy, red light streaming and pulsing from within it.

"Hrunting!"

The weapon screamed towards Berserker as Shiro released the bowstring.

"What.. is that a Noble Phantasm?" Viola thought to herself, surprised at the fact that a human magus could possess a Noble Phantasm. This was the first time she has seen Shiro fight, too.

Despite the great speed which Hrunting hurtled towards Berserker, he was able to deflect the weapon with his hammer, although just barely. The hammer shattered under the impact of deflecting Hrunting, and Berserker was left unarmed, while Hrunting changed course and found its way back towards Berserker.

"That's the end, Berserker," Shiro muttered to himself. Many years spent fighting all sorts of enemies has honed his battle instinct and skills for him to take out enemies using the most effective and efficient way possible.

But he has forgotten one thing. He wasn't fighting against magi or anything on the level of humans or undead, as he was accustomed to. This was a Servant he was fighting.

A red, seven layered dome appeared around Berserker. From the dome, tremendous amounts of power radiated like a seven petaled flower. Shiro instantly knew what it was.

It was Berserker's Noble Phantasm. But this is not the first time he has seen it or experienced it.

The Heroic Spirit EMIYA used it at one point in the previous War.

Rho Aias.

"Damn it. So Berserker is none other than the legendary Ajax Telamonian? Archer is not going to be pleased to hear of this."

Hrunting struck Rho Aias with such force that the windows of the buildings below them were shattered. A huge shockwave tore through the air, blowing Viola backwards and down from the roof of the building she was standing on. Berserker's arm was mangled from the force of stopping Hrunting with Rho Aias, its impact destroying four of its seven layered protection, but he was able to survive the blow, then jump down and rescue Viola from falling to her death.

Shiro quickly moved in to try and locate Berserker, but given that he was at a distance away, by the time he got to the place where he last saw Berserker, he was already gone, with no trace of Viola either.

Saber arrived not long after that, and was amazed at the sight before her. There stood Shiro, in the midst of the destruction caused by the fight, unharmed. Her amazement was cut short as she saw Assassin, standing atop another building a short distance away, observing the entire fight.

"You're not getting away this time!" Saber shouted.

"Huh?" Shiro turned towards Saber as she charged past him and towards Assassin. However, as she approached Assassin, he quickly disappeared and left, giving Saber no chance to engage him in battle.

"Who was that?" Shiro asked Saber as he caught up to where she was standing.

"It was Assassin again" Saber replied. "They are watching you."

"Wait, they?" Shiro asked, puzzled.

"Its a Noble Phantasm unique to them. The ability to exist in multiple copies and personalities," Saber replied. "But then, Shiro."

"Yeah?" Shiro asked.

"You fought a Servant off by yourself?" Saber's eyes were wide in amazement.

"Er.. yeah. But I got lucky too. That was quite literally my most powerful attack, and it drained a lot of my prana. If the fight carried on, I would have been overwhelmed by now."

"I'm amazed, no less. Ten years ago, I wouldn't have imagined that you would be able to do such a thing, but now, you are strong enough to hold a Servant off on your own."

Shiro, who was never really used to compliments, didn't reply. He continued standing awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Shiro, we have to assist Archer. He is also under attack."

"You go on ahead. I will catch up to you, but I won't be of much help since my prana has been mostly used up from keeping Berserker away from me."

"No can do, Shiro." Saber replied. "Rin instructed me to take care of you as well," she continued, putting her arm around Shiro.

"Eh, what are you-"

Before Shiro could finish his sentence, Saber bounded forward, dragging Shiro along, who was unable to voice his complaints due to the speed at which they were travelling.

Before long, they arrived at the location where Archer was fighting with Lancer. Both Saber and Shiro were taken aback by Lancer's appearance.

"What the, is it him?"

"Damn, that guy." Viola cursed under her breath as she escaped the field of battle. Having narrowly escaped death after being knocked down by the blast of Shiro's attack on Berserker, she had to retreat as Berserker already sustained a bad injury from the said attack.

"Let's get back to base, Berserker."

Berserker let out a grunt as he carried Viola back. She couldn't help but feel threatened now. She originally thought that top level magi like Tohsaka Rin and Luviagelita Edelfelt would be dangerous opponents, but Emiya Shiro is definitely far more dangerous as an opponent, as Shiro's magecraft was far more suited to battle than anyone in Bram's faction, save for Mikhel, perhaps. She needed to return to the base and inform Bram. Even so, she had no idea if Bram and the others would be able to formulate a strategy to go against Lord El-Melloi II and the rest now that their fighting power was clearly demonstrated.

"Tch, you're good," Archer said, grinning at Lancer. No matter how well he shot his arrows, Lancer was far more agile than his usual targets. "No wonder Lancer class servants are considered the most agile of all the Servants. It sure fits you."

"Hah, don't give me more credit than I deserve, kid." Lancer replied. "I'm showing my agility because I have to. Otherwise I would have been turned into a pincushion by now."

Archer laughed. "Hey, now. Don't flatter me, Lancer. We're stuck in a predicament at the moment. I can't hit you because you're so agile, and you can't close the distance to me because of how fast I'm firing at you. Can we call it a day?"

Lancer turned to Bree. "Master, do we continue? Or should we take Archer up on his offer?"

"Keep up the attack. If he's keeping you back, I'll support you," Bree replied.

"Oooh? You plan to back me up, Master?" Lancer replied. "I'm not even showing my full strength yet."

"Archer is also very likely hiding his true power. I'll force his hand. I wish to conceal your true power for the time being."

"Agreed, Master."

"Oh, sending golems to me, huh?" Archer said, as he watched Bree summon her golems to attack him. Archer remained unfazed for a moment, until Bree upped the ante, sending many golems at him at once. Archer clicked his tongue in frustration. He meant to keep his Noble Phantasm hidden for as long as possible, and this development might just force him to reveal it. To make matters worse, Lancer was already bearing down on him, using the golems as cover from Archer's arrows.

Left without a choice, Archer revealed his Noble Phantasm: Toxo Teukros - Gift of Apollo. His bronze coated bow began to emit a glow as if it was made of gold, and the bow lengthened to six feet - almost as tall as Archer himself. When he nocked an arrow to his bow, the arrow took on the same golden glow of the bow, and its shaft grew in length and girth as he drew the arrow. The bowstring made of the sinews of oxen crackled as Archer pulled on it.

"Fly, and may Apollo rain gold."

A splash of gold was seen as prana flowed out of the bow. Archer's keen blue eyes narrowed as he focused on his target and he exhaled.

"Toxo Teukros!"

The arrow flew out, creating a sonic boom in its wake, shattering glass and blowing down radio and television antennas installed on the rooftops. No sooner than after the arrow left the bow, the arrow split into hundreds of copies, each one with a target of their own. Bree's golems were destroyed in one shot, but Lancer was able to parry the blows aimed towards him. Despite Lancer gaining a lot of ground on Archer, he was forced to backtrack and protect Bree from being hit by the arrows that Archer loosed upon her.

"Oh, well done, protecting your Master." Archer said.

"Damn, just when I thought I was able to close the distance with you," Lancer replied. "But who would have known that I'm facing off with the greatest Greek archer from the Trojan wars?"

Archer scratched his head. "Damn, you figured me out."

"Master, your plan worked. He's revealed his Noble Phantasm, and his identity," Lancer said, casting a quick glance of approval at Bree.

"I can't do more than that anymore. I still need enough prana to ensure you can use your Noble Phantasm if need be."

"That's fine. We could consider retreating now that we know-"

Lancer could not finish his sentence. His red eyes narrowed as he saw the new combatants approaching the battlefield quickly.

"Crap. Master, we have to retreat. Saber and that kid Bram keeps talking about have arrived to back Archer up."

"Have they? Damn it, did Viola fail?" Bree asked, cursing under her breath. "Lancer, I will use as much prana as I can to summon golems to cover our retreat, without sacrificing your fighting power in the process. In the meantime, get us out of here as soon as we can."

"Understood, Master."

"We meet again, Lancer. Although it is unfortunate that you have forgotten about me, given the circumstances we are faced with," Saber called out, hoping to goad Lancer to battle.

Bree was intrigued. When a Servant is summoned to multiple Grail Wars over the centuries, they do not possess any memories of the previous Grail Wars that they participated in. But Saber seemed to be an aberration in this case.

"Eh? You know who I am?" Lancer asked.

"It's unmistakable, just by watching how you fight. To top it off, your appearance is the same as that time when we were summoned in the Fifth Grail War," Saber replied.

"Oh?"

"Don't think that I do not know your tricks by now, Lancer. Or should I say, Cu Chulainn?"

Lancer's eyes narrowed for a moment before he exhaled. "Oh, you mean my boy? He's definitely a spitting image of me. So you fought him, huh? Too bad, I'm the one who taught him how to fight, so you're going to have a tougher time with me."

"What?" Shiro said, dumbfounded.

"You're that Lancer's father?" Saber asked. She was equally dumbfounded at the revelation.

"Too bad we can't stay to fight or to talk. My Master has decided to withdraw from the battle. If you decide to follow us, I will fight you instead."

"You don't mean to say you're running away?" Saber challenged.

"Call it what you want, but see to it that I would not mind fighting you right now should you choose to engage me. Otherwise, let's call it a day and save our fight for the next."

"Tch!" Saber clicked her tongue. "Fine, I won't strike an opponent who has no wish to fight then."

With that, Lancer held Bree close to him and they retreated.

Shiro sat down suddenly, unable to move his body.

"Shiro, are you alright?" Saber asked.

"Yeah, I'm just exhausted. I expended a lot of my prana just to keep Berserker away from me."

"That is impressive, kid. First was Assassin, now Berserker. You're proving your worth many times over."

"Whatever it is, I'm just glad Saber showed up then. It was the most powerful attack that I could muster at that time, but Berserker was still alive."

"We have to go now," Saber said suddenly. "Rin just told me that they have finished placing the regulators without any incident."

"Alright then, let's go," Archer replied.

"Please give me a hand here. I can't move for now," Shiro said, holding his hand up exhaustedly.

"That's so unmanly of you, kid. But whatever. You earned this favour," Archer said, as Saber picked Shiro up.