On the outskirts of the city stood a dilapidated mansion that had served as the headquarters for one of the executives in charge of building the city. Now, however, it had been repurposed by a certain mage deep in thought.
A man appearing to be in his late twenties or early thirties was busy at work, poring over several spell catalysts and gems. His hair was a shorn blond buzz, while his blue eyes carefully inspected his materials of interest with unusual precision.
On the table lay an assortment of a mage's tools. Inscription chalk, mana crystals, and catalysts were neatly organized and arranged.
While studying one of his manuscripts detailing a spell for transmutation, the man's eyes suddenly froze. Standing up, he calmly pocketed several gems and sticks of chalk before heading towards the stairs.
"It's fine, I'll take care of it." The man's voice, low and rough, echoed through his workshop, apparently addressing an empty room. Although his english was fluent, his slight accent betrayed his german origins.
Ascending the stairs he silently reviewed the situation. The bounded field has been breached indiscreetly. In all, I detect half a dozen mages advancing. Perhaps rogue mages with no connection to the Association.
Reaching the top of the stairs he stepped through an empty doorway and began to make his way towards the entrance. They've stopped moving. Are they feeling for possible traps and curses?
Reaching the main entrance, the man turned to face the intruders. Before him stood six mages, cautiously looking around. Several familiars surrounded the leader, a man wearing a trench coat as though he were on a stroll. To his right a shorter figure another had a ball of lightning orbiting their body. The other four had an array of mystic codes and spells at the ready. All bore hostile expressions.
It was unusual for mages to team up. The man assumed, correctly, that they had detected the servant he had summoned and made an exception, realizing that they were no match for the servant individually.
The leader was a rising star in the field of familiar magic, Jericho. He specialized in summoning wolves and falcons, hunting down his prey. The quality of his familiars were first rate, and posed a serious threat, able easily mangle bodies with their jaws and turn into a blur when running. In fact, his familiars could even pose a threat towards servants, and had been used to great effect in one of his encounters with the church, where he had eliminated an executor sent to stop him.
Meanwhile, Zorinth, the individual to his right, had developed his own system based on the Volumen Hydrargyrum, a mercury mystic code that was used to great effect by the accomplished Kayneth El Melloi Archibald. This mage, however, had combined the concept with his own origin in the element of lighting, an offshoot of the element of fire. A more offensive oriented mystic code, Infernal Circle, the lighting orb that orbited him had a much greater range and fire power.
His partner stayed behind him, Ji-Hin, her staff closely fixated to the ground. She was from a stock of old mages, her mystic code having been built up over the generation. In terms of potential, she rivalled one of the lords of the tower, her spells in wind capable of blasting through even the strongest mage's defenses. The gusts she could summon would be useful in slowing a servant for her team's attacks to land.
At the back of the group stood Haryl, his mystic eyes of detection capable of discerning the true nature behind magecraft as well as their presence. Reading the movements of a servant, he was invaluable to the group, while also providing the location of traps and curses.
To either side of him stood a pair of twins. In the world of mages, it was unusual for both children of a family to be raised, given that only one would be able to inherit the family crest. However, these two were a special case, being identical twins, they were capable of sharing the crest, and enhancing it between them. Their specialty lay in space and time manipulation. In short bursts, they could create a bounded field that dilated time. This was magecraft bordering true magic.
This was a formidable force, one that could prove a match for certain servants. Perhaps even the esteemed Saber-class servant, said to be the strongest.
So these six mages, who comprised a force capable of dealing with a hero of history, were understandably surprised when the figure that had arrived to confront them was not a servant but a single mage.
"Is this some sort of joke?" The man with the familiars stuttered, caught off guard by how openly the master had presented himself.
"Leave the premises immediately. Otherwise I will consider you as trespassers." The german paid no heed to his reaction, and calmly issued his warning.
"Cut the bullcrap! I'll kill you myself and take your servant. You are a fool of a master to show yourself like this!" The man manipulating Infernal Circle, impatient and enraged, blasted several streaks of plasma that raced towards the master.
His target, however, remained still in the face of the incoming destruction as a wall suddenly erected itself from the floor in front of him, blocking the bolt entirely.
"Tch, I thought you disabled his traps, Haryl." The man that had just unleashed the attack glanced to his left at one of the mages in the back, annoyed that his killing blow had been interrupted.
"I said I took care of the traps. That wasn't a trap."
"Calm down, we can simply overwhelm him." Jericho stepped forward. It was six mages against a single combatant. Unless he were a prodigy like the likes of Tohsaka, or a member of the Burial Agency, there was no way he could hold up against the onslaught. "Tear him apart, Grungir..."
Jericho barely finished his sentence before collapsing. Four other mages followed suit, as though their consciousness had suddenly been sapped. Zorinth, his lightning still orbiting him, looked around confused. "What did you do?!"
Glancing at the orbiting lightning, the german nodded understandingly. It had acted as an automatic defense system, targeting the tranquilizer dart and disintegrating it before it had reached his skin. He had planned the darts for this specific situation. Mages were hyper-vigilant against magecraft dealing with traps and spells. After all, this was the primary method battles were fought between mages. But as a result of having such a focus on magecraft they had stagnated in other aspects of conflict.
In this case, his automated tranquilizer darts had been fired from several turrets that lined the doorway. Any normal individual would have been suspicious of their presence, but the mages, for all their power, in their ignorance of technology had fallen for the trap, believing that anything without the presence of mana was no threat to them. Well, almost all of them.
The german turned towards Zorinth, before dashing forward.
"Erstellen." Mana flooded through the german as he activated his body's magical circuits.
"S-stay back!" Zorinth, still reeling from the shock of seeing his comrades collapse stumbled back uncertainty, hastily firing off another bolt of lighting.
Although the attack flashed forward with the speed of an arrow, the charge took a moment to build up mana before being loosed. The man easily dodged the telegraphed, stray attack, before taking out a single gem and in a deft motion threw it at the foot of the mage. A burst of mana emanated from the gem, infusing the floor with his magecraft. A sudden stone fist manifested itself from the floor, targeting the mage's chest. The lighting orb struck the monolith, before fizzing out, unable to counteract a projectile of such size. The fist landed with a bone-crunching force, punching into the mage's chest cavity.
"Gughhh…" Several ribs audibly snapped, as the mage coughed up blood before passing out from the impact.
The german stood over the invaders before kneeling over each, checking their vitals. The five were alive and healthy, save for pin pricks where his automated defense systems had shot their tranquilizer darts. The remaining mage he had forcibly put to sleep was suffering from internal bleeding but still breathing.
Without hesitation, he began to draw an inscription in the ground.
"Why do the invaders who dare trespass still live? Have you forgotten the nature of war, Franz?" A deep voice echoed behind the busy german.
"I understand your concerns Saber. But I have decided that by letting these individuals live I can dissuade others from attempting the same." Franz continued with his inscription.
"You are too soft. Your mercy is a weakness." The voice continued, disapproving of the casual dismissal of his advice.
Despite the overwhelming presence that now choked the hall, Franz simply shook his head. "I have nothing to gain from eliminating the trespassers."
"And if they come seeking revenge?"
"They won't."
"Hmmph." The presence disappeared just as the mages began to regain consciousness.
Franz finished his inscriptions. "I warned you. Now I give you one final chance to leave."
"What?" Jericho, confused that he was still alive. In the world of mages, it was not uncommon for conflicts to end in the deaths of one or both of the belligerents. To show mercy after a battle was an insult to a mage's pride. It was as though to say they were not even considered a threat to the opposing party.
"Are you showing us mercy? Do you have such disdain for magecraft that you spit in —" The leader's outburst was quickly cut off by the cold stare that seemed to bore right through him. For mages, fear is an unusual emotion. Individuals that have devoted their all to their craft suppress such instincts. But looking into his unflinching eyes the emotion re-awakened, and the mage stumbled to his feet, before running away. The other mages, seeing this transpire, quickly followed suit, fleeing with their tails between their legs. One of the individuals, who Franz assumed to be the partner of the lightning bolt user, helped him to his feet, and retreated.
Franz stood still, watching them scurry out of sight, before turning back to his mansion. They would not be returning, and he had succeeded in establishing his standing as a contender, all while keeping the identity of his servant secret. Mission accomplished.
Wait. Franz paused for a moment, remembering that there was still a missing factor. I assumed that they were here for my servant, but I should be sufficiently isolated from the city, enough to be out of the hotspot for the war. How did they know I was a master? Franz continued back to his workshop, pondering the question.
Elsewhere in the city, a shadowy figure smiled, having observed the entire encounter through a familiar. "I see. So that's how you are, Franz. I look forward to seeing how far you can get without killing in this war."