Top of the morning to you guys and welcome back to Fate/Warring Frontier!
I've regained the device to making stories and my muse to write is slowly restored. Well with this, I hope I can continue the other ones that still lies in wait to be updated. I need more time. Thanks for the understanding! :)
Happy reading!
Fate/Warring Frontier
Chapter 1:
The World Is In Motion
A woman clad with ominous black armor saunters through the well-lit hallway. Her crimson hair flutters slightly in the night wind.
Similarly white-uniformed men and women saluted and bowed to her perfectly as she passed by, despite not being under her command.
Well, not quite. Since the man who actually commanded them insisted that they are to obey her every and any instructions... now she is practically their commander.
Not that they look unwilling anyway. Some of them are practically glowing with admiration and some of them simply look eager to please.
They kind of reminded her of her old retainers... they seem to worship the very land she walks on. Honestly, while she appreciate loyalty and respect, she didn't want to be worshipped, ever...
Because simple. She is not a god. Just a human, who lived to her fullest–almost–fifty years of age. Yet with all her flaws, it did not dissuade them.
"Oh well, it can't be helped."
She's a Servant now, and she is fully aware of her fame in her country after she died. It was rather surprising really.
She was known as "the man who almost united the land of Japan", also as her fearsome epithet...
The Demon King of the Sixth Heaven.
... and some people really took that title into their heart. Either in fear, or reverence. Just like that young man she recently got to know...
"I am Servant Archer. So you're my Master, huh?"
She asked while lowering her arquebus. Just to make it look like she's lowering her guard to him.
The man who proven to be her Master looks rather promising. But a pretty face can conceal a really ugly heart. Speaking from experience.
If he's interesting enough, good for him, she'll stick with him for a bit. But on the other hand...
The moment he reveals his true colors and she doesn't like it, she would put a bullet in his head and find another who can amuse her more.
Her Independent Action can sustain her enough until then. That's just how she is, nothing personal to the boy. It can't be helped, can it?
"Answer me this, then. For what purpose did you summon me?"
Firstly, his endgame goal. That's the most important thing to find out. She normally wouldn't bow to anyone else, but in a Master-Servant relationship, one will have to follow and the other will lead.
She refuse to follow anyone with an uninteresting goal. She doesn't like boring journey!
"Well that's easy. I plan to win the Great Holy Grail War. That is the plan."
She almost couldn't tell if he was serious or not, from that serious tone of his. But the corners of his mouth slightly curved up...
Trying to be funny, huh?
If anything else, making a joke in such a serious conversation could mean he can be an entertaining conversation partner.
Very well, I'll humor you for a bit.
"Hmph, obviously that's what you want." She snorted lightly, before going in for a probe. "But what makes you want to win? I can tell that you didn't join the war just for glory or something similarly trivial."
Just what is your cause?
Just briefly, she saw him freeze up. That question must be opening up some memories, either pleasant or not.
That trigger is something she aimed for.
What are you fighting for, boy?
"Hmm, fair question." He said after a moment of contemplation. "I suppose you do have the right to know... Lady Archer. My wish for the Grail is... Power."
Power? That could mean anything. Well at least it's not "Reaching the Root" nonsense like most typical Magi would aspire to.
Then again, he doesn't exactly look like a Magus. But he clearly knows the summoning spell, and she can feel the Prana he has from their established connection, sustaining her existence.
He is aware of the Moonlite World. But he has not the mindset for it. Or so she thinks. She might be wrong.
Who is he really? Now figuring him out and what he really wants could be interesting on its own.
"And when I eventually win the Grail, I plan to-"
Yep, I made my choice.
"Stop talking." She cuts him off. "I've heard enough. I'm satisfied."
"But... I barely told you anything..." He looks rather confused.
"You can tell me another time." She shook her head. "That's good enough to keep my interest for now. Now, Master, let's stop the business talk for a bit and loosen up. Do you have any tea to brew?"
The man simply blinks for a few second, presumably trying to process the mood change in the conversation as fast as possible.
Heh, if he's going to be my Master, he'll have to deal with this everyday.
"Ah, well. I do have some good quality ones..." the man said, rather absentmindedly. "But..."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"I kept them in my residence and we are kind of far away from there."
"Oh? So this basement isn't your home?"
"No. This was just an unused building. I summoned you here instead of my actual residence just in case someone can track the residual magical energy from the summoning. I do not want to invite enemies to my base this soon."
"Ah. That's rather clever of you."
That impressed her a bit. Well, from what little she knew about the moonlite world, carefulness and planning do pay off in dividends.
"I suppose you would like to see my actual base?"
"Of course I do! I don't like this dusty basement. Take me to your base as soon as possible!"
"As you wish, Lady Archer..."
He bowed deeply.
Huh. That's uh... that's a new one.
"Why would you bow to me."
She asked in an uninterested tone.
"Simple, I'm just paying my respects to a clearly more powerful ma... I mean woman." He says, still bowing.
"Hmm. Brown-nosing with me will get you nowhere, boy."
"But that's what my teacher told me!" the young man looked up slightly from his bowing, seemingly a bit indignant. "I'm just following the teachings, and I quote: "You shouldn't mess with powerful women, they'll fuck you up", and it was true! She did a number on me!"
"... your teacher was a woman?"
"Yes?"
"This could be disastrous. Well, at least you know how to talk with women..."
"... thank you? It was quite an honor to receive a compliment from the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven herself..."
And there it is.
So the young man knows about her? Judging from the old rusty musket nearby, it could be that he already did his research on her.
That's good and all... but what does he think of that title?
"So... people still remember that title of mine, huh." She muttered. "So what do you think of that?"
She expected him to fall into a deep thought just like before, contemplating his answers as to not offend her in any way. So far he's been very carefully choosing his words...
But that's not what happened next.
"It was quite an awesome title! It really fits the accomplishment you have done as one of the Three Unifiers of Japan...You were also known as the first one utilizing firearms in war! Truly a marvelous invention in the times of warring states! Nobunaga is known as a wild child and dissolute maverick in youth, Nobunaga threw off the conventions of his time, embraced modernity in dress, personal behavior and military tactics to become the consummate strong man of... wait, forgive me, I mean a strong woman of your age. I always looked up on you, and how could I not? It amazed me to no end!"
"Ah..."
Let it be known that Oda Nobunaga was rendered speechless, however briefly, by that passionate speech.
It's like a switch has been flipped in him. All the cautiousness, all the restrain she saw in the young man few moments before, it's all gone, reduced to atoms. His eyes slightly widens, his face becomes a bit flushed, and words flow out of his mouth freely as water in a river.
"Oda Nobunaga is today remembered for his, or rather her, cruelty, ruthlessness and tactical skill as a general! The brilliance of which the tactics in Okehazama where you brought two or three thousand of your army against the twenty five thousand of Yoshimoto Imagawa, attacking them without warning while they still in their camp! You ambushed them and you won that battle! Rule with Absolute Force indeed! I-"
"ALRIGHT THAT'S QUITE ENOUGH!"
Damn. Almost lost her cool there. She didn't know I've such a big fan in the future...
Aw. just when I thought Nobukatsu and Akechi were the worst...
"Oh, forgive me. Is that too far?" the man had the decency to look sheepish. "I'm sorry if I was too rude in describing your greatness, Lady No—I mean Archer."
Rude? I don't think that's rude... that's kinda biggest flattery for a warlord from a far off past... I bet if I let you go on and on, you're just going to—wait, he's throwing me off my game. I can't have that.
"Hm, I see you are quite informed about me." She said calmly as if that outburst didn't happen, regaining control of the situation. "You've done your research. Very well done, …"
What's his name again? Oh yeah…
"… Kazuki."
And that's how their first encounter ended.
… It wasn't unpleasant. It was weird, but it can't be helped!
"Lady Archer?"
That snapped her out of her reverie. She turned slightly towards the direction of that voice. Oh, it's the boy, looking baffled as he comes out from a guest room. He did say that he would check on the other Masters that he accommodated in this mansion. Trying to see if it's to their liking.
"Ah, Kazuki. Done with your little bonding sessions?" Archer greeted him with a casual wave of her hand.
"Yes, I'm just finished with Ms. Hart." he said, almost absentmindedly. "That was… something."
There was a red slap mark on his cheek… and combined with that look of bafflement on his face…
"Oh? That spunky girl." She grinned amusedly. "What? You tried to hit on her and got rejected?"
"No such thing happened." He shook his head. "Well, we go way back, and when she started bringing up things from our past and then I said that I have completely forgotten about them… she blew up."
"Heh, an old flame?"
"No, we were just childhood friends. I knew she always got her eyes on someone else. Although I'm not well-versed in romance so what do I know about that."
"... you've never gotten together with anyone?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Never. I just found such things distracting me from my goal so I simply… didn't bother."
Ah, so he doesn't have much experience with women. Fufu… good to know. Might be useful later.
"... Is that so." She simply nodded.
"Why did you ask that, Lady Archer…?"
"Hmm, why I wonder. From your looks, I thought you'd be a ladies' man or something."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Lady Archer." He hung his head in shame. "But I'm afraid that I can't met such expectations. I have none of the qualities required for that."
What the…? What a sudden drop of mood…!
"Come on, did I say it was a bad thing? I'm not judging you. I'm just curious." she said quickly, in an attempt to bring back the jovial atmosphere.
"You're curious…?"
"Well of course I am. Since you are my Master, I have to–"
"Excuse me."
A new voice spoke. Both of them turned to see this newcomer walking towards them. A man in black suit, short black hair, and generally unassuming appearance with round eyes and slightly crooked nose. No one would expect this person to be some sort of secret agent… but that's what he would have everybody think. The witty look in his eyes could fool inexperienced people easily.
"While I'd hate to interrupt such a lovely conversation between two young individuals such as yourselves, I did come here as you requested to me before, Mr. Takeru." The man spoke amicably, his wide eyes twinkling. "I took off as soon as possible after the meeting, and do not worry, I confirmed that no one followed me here. Good evening, by the way."
"Good evening, Mr. Latham." Kazuki did a small bow. "Good work on your part."
"Who's this guy?" Archer asked him, eyes darting between Kazuki and the newcomer.
"Ah, apologies for my rude manners. My name is Rowan Latham, from British Intelligence, MI6. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss…" The unassuming man extends one hand.
"Just call me Archer."
"Archer, it is."
They shook hands.
"Thank you. Well, to explain what I'm doing here, I'm here because this is something only I can do for Mr. Takeru." Rowan took one step back. "And being one close to the Prime Minister of United Kingdom has a lot of benefits… such as information privy only to few of us…"
"You meant to tell me Kazuki managed to convince a high-ranking guy like you to help him?"
"Oh, he's very good at convincing someone to do what he wants them to do, you have to watch out for him, my lady." Rowan conspicuously shot Kazuki a meaningful look. "... and what he wants me to do is to pass him the information regarding the greater world, which I just happened to stumble into often..."
"So you are Kazuki's inside man, huh."
Archer kept that cold understanding look on her face, while taking note of this new information and couldn't help but feeling impressed. To convince a man of such standing, Kazuki must have some serious diplomatic skills, or at least charismatic enough to pull the man to his side. Interesting…
"You could say that. Well…" Rowan said, then turns back to Kazuki. "With that said, I can't spend much of my time here dilly-dallying. Mr. Takeru, shall I?"
"Yes. So how was the meeting? How did it go?"
The unassuming man folds his arm dramatically, seemingly wanting to convey a smug expression, but with that face, it only looked funny to Archer.
"Well, there was some heat with people fanning the flame, but they restrained themselves. Kind of disappointing if you ask me, but that's how it was. Let me regale you of this tale of mine…"
Meanwhile, sometime after that fateful first encounter between Kazuki and the Demon King of Sixth Heaven. In the seat of Japan's government, the Diet building, in a specific room, countless monitors were active and were placed in each specific place.
The middle stands contained a peculiar man, dressed quite formally with neatly packed suit and tie. He's the one who's leading this official meeting.
He was the Prime Minister of Japan, Hiroyuki Minamoto.
He waited, as the monitors flared to life, one by one.
Each one of them, are known as the representatives of various great nations.
The most prominent ones are:
America, the President himself sitting in his office in the White House.
United Kingdom, the Prime Minister with his trusted witty right-hand man on his side.
Australia, the Prime Minister looks like on his lonesome, but the fact that he's ordering someone who's off-camera says otherwise.
Germany, the Federal Chancellor sitting solemnly in a rather dimly illuminated room, with his fingers interlocked covering his mouth.
France, the Head of the Senate attended this meeting in behalf of the President because the latter was off on another equally important business.
China, the newly seated President subtly looks around with anticipation, as if he's looking forward to this.
And Russia, a gruff-looking man with sunglasses and black suit looks straight ahead, on his chest was emblazoned a logo of a Double-Headed Eagle.
Everytime each monitor opened, the more people came to take their respective seats in each spot designated to them.
And lastly, as the one overseeing the meeting, there is Samuel. L. Johnson, UN Secretary General, sitting on the central part near Hiroyuki. On the sides, there are Mario Gallo Bestino, Representative of the Church, and Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, the Representative from the Mage's Association.
As they were seated, a young white haired woman in the Church's Official Garment, accompanied by a refined-looking blonde haired lady, calmly took their seats beside the table across Samuel.
The Prime Minister took notice, examining the room, giving a slight head count to everyone that is attending the meeting. Satisfied with the audience in this room, he commenced the meeting.
"Good day or evening to all of you, fellow leaders and delegates. As you all know, something quite unusual has happened over the past years… The Singularities... The Lostbelts... all that has nearly wiped us all for good." He begins, addressing everyone in the room equally. "However, thanks to the effort of Chaldea, we now stand here, alive and well, ready for any threats."
The Prime Minister was about to continue until someone uttered this out loud.
"A bold opening from the Prime Minister, Hiroyuki Minamoto, though I do believe we should cut straight to the chase… the main agenda if you will. Specifically about the man who stole from us."
The voice correctly came from the US President, Thomas L. Whitmore.
The other leaders were left perplexed by this.
Prime Minister Hiroyuki sighed deeply in response, sensing the incoming headache as he tried to set everyone at ease.
"With all due respect Mr. President, the incident regarding with the records are..." Hiroyuki announced, until Whitmore cut him off right on the spot.
"Mr. Minamoto, as far as I remember, this man who calls himself R was working together with one of your subordinate… Kazuki Takeru. How will you explain this, Prime Minister?"
"Kazuki Takeru has already left the SDF and gone missing quite a while ago, we have no idea why he suddenly defected along with his own unit, but let me assure you that we have no direct connection whatsoever to whoever this R individual is. We claim no responsibility for his actions."
President Whitmore was not convinced.
Tension arose, until a simple laugh escaped from someone within the room. Everyone in unison looked to see who was the source of such disrespect, and to their surprise, it was Jin Yun, the newly seated President of China.
"Quite the anger, President Whitmore. But with all of these inquiries, I am actually quite perplexed about something."
"About what, Mr. Jin Yun?"
Jin Yun proceeded with his comment. "Isn't it quite suspicious that only your nation got ahold of these Records you spoke of? Specifically, you and the EU got ahold of Chaldea's Records?"
President Whitmore was barely managing himself to maintain his calm demeanor.
"I have no idea what are you talking about, Mr. Jin Yun."
Presiden Jin Yun then pointed at the main monitor behind Prime Minister Hiroyuki. The monitor showed files, some were censored with black bars while some were destroyed partially, but it does have some distinct details.
"My fellow leaders, what you see there are the files that the US and EU managed to salvage from the old estates of the Animuspheres Family and from the ruined base of Chaldea. These files in particular tackles about the Summoning System of Chaldea, FATE."
The rest were left speechless, the leaders of the European nations tried to hide their embarassment and anger.
President Whitmore was furious.
"How did you–?"
"It doesn't matter at this point President Whitmore, but the question remains. Why hide these Files for your own benefit Mr. Whitmore, and one more, don't you also have their Mobile Base, the Shadow Border, in your possession?"
President Whitmore was getting even more furious.
"We are simply making sure these files and technology does not befall to the likes of you, Mr. Jin Yun. We are simply doing this for the sake of a greater good."
"Greater Good, Mr. Whitmore? Oh please, just like what happened in Area 51 before, you're all doing this just to secure power for yourself."
President Whitmore almost seethed, but with superhuman efforts, he controlled himself and retook the situation silently. He ignored Jin Yun's provocation and decided to be silent.
"Well, once again, your gullible thirst for power once again threatens us. The last time you got hold with something beyond comprehension, it caused a catastrophe that wiped us all out of existence... If it wasn't for the efforts of that boy, the Master of Chaldea and their remaining staff, we would have truly perished."
Then Jin Yun noticed the Representative from the association, a spoiled-looking young man with bright red hair.
" Hmm, what is a Association member doing here? Didn't the Association get vetoed from the UN as a member, they shouldn't even be here…. what is the meaning of this, Mr. Johnson?"
The UN Secretary General, Samuel L. Johnson, gave a stern look at Jin Yun.
"With all due respect, Mr. Jin Yun… although the Association may have been vetoed from the UN, they still have their jurisdiction with these matters, although now it's the Church that is truly in charge of overseeing the Holy Grail War." The African-American man spoke politely, yet unflinchingly.
"Very well, after all this Association scums have no right to show their faces here, especially to what they nearly did with the Master of Chaldea."
As Jin Yun mentioned the Master of Chaldea, the blonde haired woman suddenly stood up, catching the attention of the world leaders and representative.
The blonde woman's clothes suddenly changed into a more ancient looking.
"What did the… Association nearly do to him?" The blonde haired woman asked.
"Who is she?" The American president asked.
The white haired woman stood up.
"Forgive us for the sudden interruption, I am Caren Hortensia, I am tasked in overseeing the Holy Grail War under the orders of the Church, as for her, she is the Ruler who is the judge of this Holy Grail War."
"I am Astraea, Goddess of Justice hailing from the Greek Pantheon." the blonde woman proclaimed clearly, sending her words at the hearts of these men. "As for my question… what did this Association nearly did to him? Answer me."
"The Ruler of this war, hm? Very well, allow me to answer your question then."
Jin Yun took a good look at the Association Representative.
"After the world was saved, the Association had learned about the Master of Chaldea, the one called Fujimaru Ritsuka, who saved the world. Typical of mages and their egotistical way of thinking, they decided to put a [Sealing Designation] on his name. However, it seemed that he managed to slip away from their grasp due to the man who bought Chaldea, a certain Goredolf Musik I believe."
Astraea was agitated by this information.
"It seems the Director managed to save him, thank goodness…"
Astraea was also relieved to hear about the outcome, though she remained with her cold stare aiming at the Association Representative. The red-headed representative had enough of this treatment towards him and slammed the table.
"That's it! I've had enough with your bickering insults! Whatever we were supposedly involved with that boy, he should have been grateful he can contribute to the greater good of the Association."
Astraea immediately broke character. Her laughs escaped for a bit until she was able to read the room, letting out a sigh.
"You seriously think he managed to pull it all off because of his own power? Do you really believe that? You should be thankful because of that! Had the other Servants heard you running your mouth like you just did, there'd be no hope in coming out of this in one piece, let alone alive."
"Hah," The man scoffed. "...you mere familiars are nothing more than…"
"Carbon copies, somewhat a word from this era. Besides that, you may be right, this truth is what the Servants have accepted… even me. After all, this body I am currently using isn't even mine to begin with. As for the Master, the reason why they helped out was not because of his powers, but because of what he is."
"What do you mean by–"
"They helped him because of his determination, his will to survive that brought out the humanity in the Servants who have once valued in their own ways. He treated them more than mere familiars, he treated us beyond that, beyond any of you mages could have imagine… THAT, is one of the reasons why they supported him against Goetia, and even the Alien God."
The Association member shook in fear and anger as he got seated again, but saying nothing.
"I believe that's enough, Lady Astraea…" Heeding the request of the Samuel L. Johnson, Astraea calmed down and got back to her seat, she gave back the command of her body back to it's true owner. Caren checked Luvia if she is fine.
"Hmph, such is the foolishness of the Association." Clearly amused by the chaos, Jin Yun spoke again. "Anyways, what are we going to do with these mages and the Holy Grail War?"
Samuel stood up, slowly approaching Prime Minister Hiroyuki.
"Well, the Church and their representatives will ensure that none of these Mages hurt any civilians anymore. And the SDF, they shall be tasked in keeping the damage control as much to their extent. The Church, Association and UN units will be sure to assist them."
The other world leaders have agreed.
"Very well, but Mr. Johnson, what about the Files?"
Prime Minister Hiroyuki turned towards Samuel's direction. "Not to worry, we'll take that issue another time. Whoever this R person is, all we can do for now is to keep an eye on them."
Jin Yun simply sighed. "Very well, we will be watching with great interest." He closed his monitor.
"It seems the meeting is adjourned, very well."
As the UN Secretary mentioned it, in unison, the other world leaders closed their monitors as well.
The Association Representative stormed off in a fit of rage, completely in contrast with the Church Representative who coolly sauntered towards Caren and the blonde woman, with his hands in his pockets. She simply nodded at the Representative with utmost respect.
The young-looking representative was a boy who clearly looks much younger than her. A pretty boy with blonde hair and fair skin, dressing casually with red and black hoodie jacket and white baggy shorts… he looks like a normal boy who's just happened to be hanging out with a friend.
Mario Gallo Bestino sure doesn't look like the son of a Cardinal who's being closest to becoming the next pope.
"Well, would you look at that, Hortensia. As you can see here, things are quite serious now. Fun times, huh? I made sure to bring more forces at your disposal. Make sure no civilians is involved as much as possible… fail to do so, and punishment will be applied. " He shows a rather sadistic grin.
"As you command, your Eminence. I will not disappoint." Caren bowed.
"Well then, I'm counting on you. I'm going back to Souya until the next meeting."
The young Church Representative casually waved his hand and took his leave, Caren and the blonde woman did the same as well.
A few minutes later, outside of the Diet building.
"Ms. Edelfelt."
"Yes?"
"I'd like to have a word with her."
The noblewoman lets out a graceful sigh. "Very well, if you must." Her eyes shifted to pure yellow from such a response of approval.
"What do you wish to tell me, Ms. Hortensia?"
"It's about what happened earlier. Please, as much as possible, avoid such remarks and outbursts, for your sake as well."
"Understood, I will ensure that I refrain from doing so next time." Her eyes returned to normal.
Luvia felt a bit dizzy. Luckily Caren was there to help her out, taking ahold of her before she loses her balance.
She groans. "I'm starting to hate this."
"You have no choice Ms. Edelfelt, she chose you as her vessel."
"Yes, yes, I'm aware of that. I don't have to like it though!"
Luvia managed to regain her composure and walked towards the car they came with. Caren followed suit, stalking closely behind her.
Back to Present...
"... so that's what happened. As I said before, it was rather heated up but they behaved in the end." Back in the present, Rowan ended his story. "Maybe I am partly to blame for that. Mr. Prime Minister wanted to interject several times but I advised against it for the sake of our country's dignity."
"Your leader really listens to his men… that's good quality of a leader, it's rare to see that nowadays." Kazuki nodded appreciatively. "Regardless, I heard your story well, Mr. Latham. I see things are rather shaky between the countries right now. Also, that woman… Astraea. She knows something about the Master of Chaldea… I suppose she was one of his trusted allies. She seems legit."
"Yes, indeed, from what I can surmise from behind the screen, this Lady Astraea is genuine. No faked gestures, tones, words, nothing. Everything about her just screamed "fair lady" to me, Mr. Takeru."
"Makes sense since she's the Goddess of Justice. I don't think it was in her principle to fake and lie about things." Kazuki nodded again. "A job very well done, Mr. Latham. You've done well memorizing all these details. Would you like to stay here for a night? You must be tired after travelling from U.K."
"A tempting offer, Mr. Takeru. But I afraid I must decline. I must return right away or else I'm going to be suspected of foul play. We don't want that to happen, do we?"
"Of course not, Sir. Please take any action you deem wise. If you really are sure."
"I'm sure, don't worry about it. Just remember what you promised back then."
"Of course, Sir. I will never forget that. That's why I will win the Great Holy Grail War. For everyone that's been working hard for this opportunity to come."
"Now, that's my boy. We'll be counting on you, Kazuki."
Archer, who's mostly observing the interaction between her Master and the secret agent man couldn't help but see that they're not simply acquaintances. It reminds her to times, back then, when Old Man Hirate was still her mentor. When she was simply "The Fool of Owari", back then…
She was just that. Someone who branded as a fool and incomprehensible simply because her way of thinking viewing things was different from other people. It sure changed in the eyes of people after she defeated that bastard Imagawa and took his prized sword along with his domain, but still…
"Lady Archer?"
Archer immediately snaps back to reality. To be caught spacing out like this twice, that won't do at all for the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven… as she sees the agent walking away towards the nearest exit, apparently done with his business here, and Kazuki approaching her, looking slightly concerned.
"Did we bore you with all that talk?" He said.
"Not really. This has been quite a learning experience." And with that, she unexpectedly leaned just a bit too close to him, grinning all the while. "And I like learning about new things, you see. They excite me." She whispered right into his ear before pulling back nonchalantly as if it was nothing.
Kazuki seemed to blank for a second before blinking once and regaining control.
"... I see. That's… um… good to know?"
Archer only lets out her signature, loudly unabashed laugh.
Seems like this guy's journey is going to be fun! I'll be looking forward for more…
On another location, but still in the same building. A stern, serious bespectacled man was busy with his laptop, continuously clicking. On the other side of the room, a woman dressed in a black dress wandered around the room, tucking her witch hat as she walked around… she looks quite bored.
She gazed upon the man as she sighed in disbelief.
The man took notice of the woman's boredom.
"Settle down. Can't you at least relax for a bit?"
"Ugh, I've been resting for days already!" The woman sighed. "We've been waiting for days already, how long are just gonna sit here and do nothing Master?" The woman angrily walked around.
The man decided to turn off his laptop and stood up from his comfortable chair. He then walked near the side table and poured some wine in a wine glass. He then wordlessly sat near the fireplace.
The woman sighed once more and sat on the other side.
"Just a few more days Jeanne, you get to unleash your wyverns at our enemies, just be patient for a little bit." The man took some sip off his glass.
"Hmm, if you say so Master, but I'll let you know that I still don't trust that associate of yours."
"You mean Kazuki… why so Jeanne? He's been so kindly accommodating us here. He did nothing wrong, didn't he?"
"No, but he's giving me this wrong vibes. His… admiration to his Servant is kinda weird, I mean you can see he's taking commands from his Servant and not the other way around! Can we even assure victory in this war if that's the case?"
The man laughed as he finished his wine glass with one last sip. As expected from Kazuki the Lady Repeller…
"What's so funny? I'm being serious here."
"Well, don't let his goofiness fool you mademoiselle, I can assure you he is capable, as for his admiration to Archer, let him be. Archer may give commands and all, but I still have a say to her whims… don't worry about that, just follow my orders, and everything will go smoothly."
Jeanne simply sighed and agreed.
"Very well, Master. I'll leave the strategizing to you, I guess."
Knock knock!
"Who is it?"
"It's me Kazuki, I have something important to tell you."
Jeanne stood up immediately.
"Speaking of the devil. I'll just stay in my spirit form I guess."
Jeanne dematerialized, seemingly vanished into thin air.
R lets out a tired sigh. "The door is not locked, come in already."
Kazuki entered the room. "Excuse me."
R gestured at him to have a sit. Kazuki nodded, as he pulled aside a white monobloc chair for himself to sit across him. R ignored the questions in his own head about why he has those cheap chairs in his otherwise luxurious house. They're old friends, but there's still some things he can't just figure out.
"So what is it you wanted to tell me?" R asked.
"Well my friend, one of our insiders just made an important report that concerns us all."
"And?"
"Well, he reported that a meeting between the UN, Mage's Association and the Church has just recently happened, it seems like this Holy Grail War will have more spectators than we thought."
Digesting this piece of information properly, R stood up to get more wine. He also got one glass for Kazuki. He returned to his seat and gave one to Kazuki.
"It's actually no surprise to me that they'll have such a meeting Kazuki, I figured they would do so sooner or later… after all, we do have something they need and want."
"Hmm, the Records, are those legit? I still can't believe you pulled it off, stealing said files from the officials and deleted their backups."
"Well I also had my connections helping me out, it's a good thing you arrived in time to save me." R took one sip of his glass. "I planned my escape nicely, but it turned out they were prepared to catch deserters more than I thought, they anticipated my attempt…"
It could be said that they almost outsmarted his outsmarting.
"Hmm, well anything for you, old friend."
The two both sipped their wine peacefully and as R gazed at the fireplace… he had a deep thought.
A few days earlier…..
"Delta 1, this is Delta 2, we managed to find the suspect, he's on foot, cornering him is strongly suggested."
"Roger that Delta 2, Delta 1 and Delta 3 is moving towards the other locations, keep your eyes on him."
"Roger."
Multiple soldiers fully equipped in combat gear ran through the streets as they follow a bespectacled man in red and white clothes holding a briefcase tightly to his chest as if it was the most important thing in the world. He knows he was being pursued, and so quickly made his way through the streets, and trying to avoid the pedestrians and other obstacles to the best of his capabilities.
"Curses, they are more persistent than I thought… I can't shake them off." the man with briefcase grumbled.
As he arrived in a crossroad, he noticed another group of armed men in the other street. They soon noticed him.
"Target found. Subdue or terminate?" one of the soldiers inquired.
"Doesn't matter which. Our priority is the briefcase. Don't let it out of your sights." said the other, obviously the superior.
"Roger that. Shooting on sight."
And so they began shooting at him.
The man took a sharp turn to another alley and managed to rush his way through a park, loosing most of them.
He managed to reach a rotunda but as he ran into a certain direction, some of the soldiers managed to find him and surrounded him.
"You're surrounded, put your hands up and drop the briefcase now!"
The man tucked his glasses as he readied himself. He steadily flared his magic circuits to life, pumping every single one of them with his prana. Electricity builds up on his fingertips.
I don't want to use this, but…
"We will give you three seconds… three… two… o–"
Before the soldier can finish, the wall behind them suddenly burst with great force, three figures crashing through the hole it made before one of them slamming the other two to the ground with a sickening crunch. Dust and ashes filled the area, and for a moment no one can see anything…
Except a dim blue glow amongst the clouds of dust.
"What the…" one of soldiers begun.
Then the blue glow moves closer with a startling pace! The nearest pair of soldiers raised their guns as quick as they possibly could and shoot whoever and whatever it is, but when they pull the trigger, those only produced empty clicks. Then, in a vital fraction of second, they found to their shock that their assault rifles has been severed from the chamber with a clean cut.
… and in that vital fraction of second, they also found out that they have been cut down. Two people into four pieces. Before it vanished into the smoke, they briefly saw the clear shape of a katana. A simple sword like that, gone through their protective gears like it hot knife through butter.
"...!"
The soldier that's supposed to be the unit leader quickly backed down, anywhere away from the dust smoke, hurriedly issued orders for his remaining men to do the same. He ordered them to start shooting at whoever just cut down their squadmates like nothing, while also trying to contact the other members of their squad via radio.
Static.
"No need to bother. I took care of them before coming here."
The figure calmly walks out the dust smoke, seemingly without any concern, towards the deadly guns that are pointed right at him, laser sights and whatnot. The unit leader wonders for a brief moment if he's that fearless or just crazy. But that's not important. This guy just appeared out of nowhere and cut down his men cold-bloodedly.
And judging from lack of response from his squadmates who's placed on other location, that guy definitely took them out as well. This is bad. Why is this happening? Who dared intercept this official operation…? Even if they call for reinforcements, they wouldn't get here in time. What to do…
Must keep their distance. Don't let him get close with that sword–!
"SHOOT, MEN!"
Trained men as they are, his squadmates immediately unleashed a hail of bullets towards the sword-wielding man. He would get shredded and ended up as a swiss cheese, that's for sure. Once the bullets hit him, he's just as good as dead. They would've avenged their squadmates. Once the…
Once… the bullets… hit him.
Except, they didn't. All the bullets slowed down dramatically, they still maintained their trajectory but now even an untrained man can just dance between each shots and not touched by a single one. Mesmerized by such a sight, the soldiers can only watch as the man spins his sword around with practiced ease and repelled those slowed bullets, seemingly effortlessly.
Then it just occurred to them.
"He's using Magecraft!" the unit leader shouted in alarm. "Quick! Everyone switch to Anti-Magecraft Gea–"
His realization and warnings came too late, however.
The sword-wielding man took off towards them and speeding up much faster than anything they could have expected from his distance to them. One flash of silver, two and three… and the next moment, the remaining squad of armed soldiers fell to the ground, dead in pieces.
Only the squad leader remains, because he was in the furthest back. He pulled out his radio as fast as he can–
"Headquarters, can you r—"
Only for his hand that's holding the radio to come off and fell to the ground. The sword-wielding man stomps on the radio, along with the severed hand, until no one can tell which is which. The now one-armed man, resisting the urge to scream in pain caused by the dismemberment, quickly reached into his holsters and pulled his sidearm and pointed it at–
"Not a chance."
The soldier choked painfully. He felt like something just went through his chest from behind. Indeed, in fact it was a wakizashi going through his chest, right in the heart. And the voice that spoke is different from the first man. This voice sounds much younger… a teenager?
Unfortunately that was the last thought of the unit leader as the wakizashi owner pulled the sword out his heart and ended his life.
"Good work, Len."
The katana-wielding man spoke earnestly at the teenager. The teenager was a young man with short black hair and combination of western and eastern attire. As in–white haori, black t-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of geta.
"I wouldn't mind letting you stay in the backline, but that was a pretty good sneak attack."
"I can't just let Sensei fight alone in the battlefield, you know?"
"And that's why you're my star pupil." After patting the young man's shoulder encouragingly, the man then swept back his own hair, having been slightly ruffled from the previous confrontation. "Well then, now let's get back to business…"
Both of them walk towards the bespectacled man, who surprisingly didn't take the opportunity to make a quick getaway while both parties were occupied with each other. He sure took his time to carefully examine the man who is approaching. That hairstyle, that fashion style, that sword…
"Hello R, it seems we're just punctual."
He let out a mirthless chuckle. "You're late for fifteen minutes. What's the hangup, Kazuki?"
"You're welcome, by the way." Kazuki smirked. "I just had to do a bit of cleaning before picking you up."
"Cleaning, you say… if anything, you made it more messy."
"Hmph, semantics. Let's just get out of here before more of them come."
"I thought you took care of the rest?"
"I cleared one unit. Two with the one I just done with. But I believe they came here with three units."
"That's just delightful. Better get moving then–"
"That's them!"
BANG BANG BANG!
More soldiers arrived from the way where the previous ones came and begun shooting their heavy machine guns at them. R, Kazuki and Len decided to retreat and left the rotunda.
Once they got to a safe distance, taking cover behind a short wall…
"Hold this. Don't you dare drop it."
R gave the briefcase to Kazuki.
As he saw the soldiers approaching them, he pointed his open palm towards them and in just a few seconds, he unleashed a powerful stream of red lightning towards his enemies. It looks like a relentless small storm that threatens to engulf anyone that's caught in its path.
With that, he managed to paralyze most of them while the others either took cover or back steps to avoid the bright red lightning. After a few seconds maintaining that and make sure he caused enough damage to hinder them, he stopped abruptly and continued running.
They managed to reach the Parking Lot where Kazuki parked the cars with the driver, R assumed another of Kazuki's men, already urging them to hurry and come in. However, they spotted some more soldiers running towards them.
The soldiers tried to shoot them again without hesitation, but R once again used his red lightning to disarm them from their weapons and disable their working hands.
"Persistent bastards, aren't they?" muttered Kazuki. "Satoru, let's go!"
"Wenn es meines Herr Wille!" the driver firmly responded as he started the car engine.
A German? Kazuki managed to recruit one? R wonders as he sat in the backseat, along with Kazuki, while the one named Len took the seat beside the driver. He thought about it, and in result, missed one moment where his old friend briefly cringed for some unknown reason.
But, that aside…
"How come did you find me, Kazuki?"
"I have my sources." Kazuki folded his arms. "Leave it at that for now."
"I left no information to my whereabouts, no one should be able to..."
"But those people knew," Kazuki interposed. "And if those people know, then I would know too."
"Those people are from the Government."
"Exactly."
"So you too are…"
"Were." Kazuki said steadily. "I have already severed ties with the government that was my former affiliation. Don't start, R. I didn't save you and risk all this for purely altruistic reasons. I have something I want from you, and I know I can't get it with you being hunted or worse, dead."
"Wow, that's comforting." R said with the smallest hint of irony in his voice.
Kazuki simply nods away.
"Hmm, anyways, I still have some other stuff I left back in the hotel, I'll go there first."
"Very well, Satoru, take a stop on someplace hidden."
"Jawohl!"
The driver, who R just noticed wearing a yellow military uniform, did what he was told and took a stop in a nearby alleyway.
"R…"
Kazuki handed R some new clothes.
"Here, just in case your old clothes get recognized."
"Thanks."
R removed his shirt and wore the new one, after doing so, he took the briefcase with him and got out.
"Pick me up after a hour, ditch this car just to be sure."
"Yes I know, I already prepared the new one, we'll be seeing you later."
The car drove away inconspicuously. R got out the alley, luckily he managed to hail a taxi. Just a few minutes later, he arrived at the hotel. Without wasting any time, but remain composed as not to look suspicious to anyone around, he rushed towards the elevator and reached his room.
He placed the briefcase in a nearby table and cleaned up his other stuff. He then decided to open the briefcase and sorted out most of them, he took a USB inside and place it in his pocket, he then took out some of the files and checked them.
He finally picked one of them and had a good glance. This moment, it all comes to this…
"I finally found you." He muttered as he placed it to his table, he then sorted out some other files and a strange relic, an old piece of robe and laid it on his table.
He took out a strange circular machine and placed it on the ground. He connected it to a laptop and once he secured the details, he then proceeds to scan the file he took from briefcase, and after some tinkering, he begun activating the machine.
As the data were inputted through the machine, R placed the old relic in the center and coiled two wires to his hands.
As the machine got activated, he used his magecraft to supply it with some energy. An electricity-based magecraft is quite convenient in tandem with his technological devices.
He focused himself as the room's light starts to flicker a bit.
He started chanting.
"Let fire and brimstones be the essence.
Let steel and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let darkness be the color I pay tribute to.
Let rise a wall against the unjust 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.
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.
Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth.
An oath shall be sworn here.
I shall attain all knowledge unbeknownst to man;
I shall have dominion over all evils of man
From the Seventh Heaven, attended by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, denied by the cruelty of Man!
You shall serve with your eyes by your own accord. In violence you have thrive, in violence you shall strike back, I shall wield your power."
The machine started to work as the entire place is being filled by a strong amount of mana. R kept his hold with the wires as he let his lightning power flow through.
In a matter of seconds, he noticed a form taking shape in front of him.
As it continued, a humanoid figure slowly took form and finally…
BOOM!
R was pushed away a bit from the machine.
"Whoa…"
He was not severely hurt so he slowly got up.
Some smoke covered the room but it subdued after a while.
"Hmm, I got to thank Neno for adding so many precautions with the machine… it worked nicely."
As his thought slipped, he noticed a peculiar figure floating serenely in front of him. As the smoke cleared, he finally had a proper look on the figure he just summoned.
There in front of him, a woman clad in a black dress, kind of similar to a witch, a pointy witch hat covers her white hair. She was looking around, seemed surprised and perplexed at her surroundings.
"Hey!"
The woman finally noticed R.
She gently landed back on the ground and stared for a while at R.
"Impossible… how… did I..." The woman looked confused as R just waited for her to calm a bit down.
"Are you the one who summoned me?"
"Yes, I am the one who summoned you… Jeanne d'Arc Alter."
The woman sighed in disbelief.
"How did you do so… wait!" She noticed her clothes being akin to a witch. "... hmm, a literal witch now? But how could I… oh." She suddenly felt something weird, some whispering voices flowing through her mind.
She paused for a moment and sighed after.
"Hmm, witches huh… it seems you have summoned me with some… additional factors," She clicked her tongue. "Seriously how many so-called witches Europe killed, yet alone France…"
"You heard them did you…"
Jeanne took a good look at R.
"Hmm, by the looks of it, it seems you did something extra to summon me… heh… you seem to know something."
"I am aware about you being erased after the Lostbelts got fixed and the Human Order finally got restored, I simply tested a method to summon you and… it worked."
Jeanne smirked and laugh a bit. She noticed her sword and flag pole are no longer with her and was replaced with a wand. She then pointed at R, right at his face.
"Hmmm, a test huh… seriously, why did you summon me of all people, it seems you know some things about me… that I can also remember… how… how did you…"
"I can tell you everything if you calm down first."
Jeanne stopped pointing the wand to him and calmed a bit.
"Now, to keep it short, I summoned you using Chaldea's records about you, I also used some records and some relic from the other so called witches who died in France. I just thought by doing so… I can try to summon you as a Avenger… but it seems it ended up with a different result."
Jeanne was left speechless and wandered the room a bit… and finally laughed with her situation.
R simply looked at her, letting her continue, watching her every move until she stopped on her own.
She sighed. "Seriously… very well, I guess I am Caster now, anyways, you summoned me for a Holy Grail right, why summon me of all the Servants, you could have picked more stronger ones, that b–, no, I mean he managed to get in touch with stronger ones, why chose me specifically?"
R tucked his glasses again.
"Let's just simply say it's out of… idea, well you're a strong Servant, the strongest Avenger in battle stats according to what I read in your file."
"Heh…" She sighed. "Sorry to disappoint you, well I guess you can just cancel my…"
"No."
Jeanne was perplexed.
"Why not… are you really just gonna let me…"
"Well why not, I already summoned you, might as well let you be my Servant."
Jeanne was dumbfounded with R's remarks but… she considered the opportunity for a moment.
"You look like your typical mage, but you're a weird one, aren't you?" She sighed again. "Very well, I guess you're my Master now."
R sighed as he finally had Jeanne agree to be his Servant.
R then cleaned up the mess as Jeanne took a seat in the bed and watched him.
"Say master… what is your wish for the Grail, for you to have planned all this, you seem to have a great wish."
R managed to put the machine back to its box and got the wires placed back neatly. He then stood up and returned his attention to Jeanne.
"My wish… hmm… I will tell you at some other time. It's a long story and we don't exactly have much time to waste."
Jeanne shrugged.
"Very well, if you say so…"
"How about you, what's your wish?"
"Hmm, I guess the same with you… in some other time as well."
"Fair enough."
R seemed satisfied, he then opened the briefcase to place some files back but all of sudden, the door room was forcefully opened.
Both of them looked at the door and noticed a purple haired woman wearing a lighter purple, skin tight battle suit, standing on the doorway with combat ready stance.
"I finally found you." The woman muttered as she rushed towards R with a dagger.
Before she can reach him though, Jeanne swiftly stopped her push her back. The rogue woman managed to keep her pace and swiftly attacked in another direction.
However to her surprise, R pointed his open palm at her and shoot his red lightning to push her back to the wall. The woman lost her dagger which clattered on the floor and was weakened.
She tried to stand back up but R quickly threw a peculiar device near her and in a matter of seconds, her entire body was tied up by some kind of concentrated rope made of pure magical energy.
"What is this…?!" The woman snarled at R and Jeanne.
"That my dear, is a prototype device for people without manners like you… now, mind telling us who are you? Did the US sent you? Or is it the Association?"
The woman smirked in defiance.
"The only thing I can tell you, is that I'm here to end you, a madman like you deserves to die."
If she expected a dramatic reaction with that statement, R was rather unfazed.
"Say Master, want me to burn her? I can make it quick and crispy."
Jeanne sadistically smirked as she suggested her idea.
"Hmm, a burnt body is a bit messy to clean up… hmm, I'm rather interested who is she working for…"
Thud!
The two heard something behind them.
As they looked back, they saw a teenage girl, taking one of the files from the briefcase as if it's the most natural thing in the world.
"Wai–"
Then the girl ran quickly from the scene, turning tail as quickly as she entered. R was so bewildered by this unexpected turn of events, he just can't even.
"Damn it!"
"If you got that one handled, then I'm going after that girl, Master."
"Wait Jean…"
Jeanne dematerialized before R can stop her.
"No one listens to me…" He sighed. "Hmm, in any case, Jeanne is quite stubborn, as the file says."
R looked back at the rogue woman, making sure she is still bound by the machine. She in turn looks at him with a chilling glare. Whoa. If looks could kill, I'd be dead right now…
Deciding that he wouldn't get anything from her for now, he sighed and quickly left the room to catch up with the two. There's a more pressing matter now.
On the other hand, Kazuki arrived at the hotel with some of his men.
They got in the hotel and walked towards the counter.
"Ah miss, good day, umm, I am looking for a particular….."
Thud!
They were distracted by a young teen who bumped a staff pushing a trolley filled with luggage, the young girl continued to ran as she left the entrance.
A second pause before Kazuki conveniently decides to ignore that. Kazuki was simply about to go on with his query towards the receptionist when he gets a glimpse of R from the edge of the hallway.
"Ah nevermind miss, I already saw who I am looking for."
"Hey!"
Kazuki called out R, he noticed Kazuki.
"Kazuki… just in time…" R pant as he tried to catch his breath.
"Hey, would you calm down a bit, what happened?"
"No time to explain… did you happened to see a young girl running out of the hotel."
"Yes? What about it?"
"Just follow me."
R ran like his life depends on it as Kazuki got confused, but nonetheless he and his men followed him.
On the other hand, the young woman reached the parking lot of the hotel, afraid and confused she tried to go to the other exit of the parking lot but all of a sudden, Jeanne materialized in front of her.
The young girl tried to ran away but in to her surprise, a winged lizard suddenly appeared. Not an ordinary lizard, at that. A big one that likes to feast on human flesh. She was afraid and cornered.
"Hmm, it seems I can still call upon wyverns… no, in fact, this was easier than before!" Jeanne looked at her summoned creature. "Fufufu, it seems being a Caster is not so bad… anyway, you've been enough trouble, little girl… so hand me that file now!"
The young girl was obviously afraid, but even so,
"No, I will not…." The young teen was persistent.
Jeanne quickly lost her patience.
"Alright then, no more Ms. Nice Witch… now, teach her a lesson."
The wyvern crept closer to the young teen as she crouched in fear. She was already crying as she begged someone to help her.
What she doesn't know is that, there was a glowing sigil beneath her feet. It expands quickly into a full magic circle, seemingly drawn by invisible hands. Then it emits an even brighter light! The girl still doesn't realize it because she was busy crying, but Jeanne and her wyvern stopped in alarm.
And then… In a span of seconds, a strange light surrounded the area.
The wyvern and Jeanne lost sight for seconds and once the whole light disappeared….there she saw a figure standing in front of girl.
The young woman looked at the figure in front of her, it looked back to her, her gentle smile calmed her a bit. She managed to have a better look and she noticed the figure was a dark skinned woman, clad in a not so showy clothes, but also exposed in some parts, kind of Middle East attire.
"Don't worry, I will protect you, master."
The young teen remained silent.
The dark-skinned woman looked back at the wyvern and Jeanne.
"Hmmm… Scheherazade… but how can she… nevermind, can you please move over? I just need to get that file back."
"Hmmm, Jeanne d'Arc Alter… I surprisingly remember you….,it could be because of the file this girl used to summon me. However I can't let you get near this girl though."
"I'm not gonna hurt her Scheherazade, I just need the file back and I'll let her go."
"There's really no guarantee you will actually do that, isn't it?"
As the two Casters bicker, R and Kazuki finally caught up to them.
"Jeanne!"
Jeanne noticed R and some unfamiliar men approaching.
R and Kazuki quickly got close.
R caught a glimpse of another woman in front of the young teen.
"She managed to summon a Servant! But how? Without any magic circle or summoning device…?!"
"Is this man your master, Jeanne?"
Jeanne sighed.
"Yes, this man is my Master."
"Wait a minute, you're… Scheherazade the Storyteller… so the file she took was from Agartha…"
As they were trying to process this in their confusion, the rogue purple haired woman from before leaped down from somewhere and quickly threw a smoke bomb.
"THAT BIT—" Jeanne started to swear but,
Cough cough!
A few seconds later, the young girl, Scheherazade and the rogue woman was gone.
"Dammit…"
"Who is that woman R….what happened exactly?"
R clicked his tongue irritatedly. "I'll tell you once we got back to my room, we need to secure the files there this time."
R immediately walked back to the hotel, Jeanne dematerialized and the wyvern vanished into thin air. Kazuki and his men followed R.
A few minutes later.
Back on R's room, Kazuki's men was already moving out some of R's stuff. R on the other hand was arranging the files as he sorts them in the briefcase.
"Very well, so you mean to tell me, that woman nearly killed you, and… some random teenage girl somehow barged in and stole one of your files while you were sorting things out with the woman?"
"Yes Kazuki… well, she managed to somehow snatch the file about Scheherazade… and I just finished rechecking, it seems another file was missing."
"What file?"
"The Shimousa file… ah, good thing I managed to save the digital copies in a USB."
R took out the USB he hid in his pocket. He took a glance and returned it into his pocket.
"Wait, why did you have these files anyways if you have digital copies?"
"These files are the only copies America had, as for the digital copies. I deleted every single one in their databases, basically these files and that USB is the only copies left from Chaldea's files."
"I see… you really planned a long time to pull this off, impressive. Regardless, I already got your stuff packed in the car, we need to return to Japan ASAP."
"You can go down first, I just need to sort these last files. I'll meet you downstairs."
"Very well, I shall wait."
Kazuki left the room along with his men.
After a few minutes, R managed to sort out the last files and closed his briefcase. He sighed.
Jeanne materialized without warning.
"Yes, Jeanne?"
"Who's that guy?"
"Oh, he's an old associate of mine, he's the one who asked me to join this Holy Grail War."
"Hmm, do you trust him?"
"Yes… and you?"
"Not really, well anyways, it seems whoever that rogue woman was, we might encounter her again at some point."
R took the briefcase.
"I assure you mademoiselle, the next time we see her… she won't easily escape."
Jeanne seemed dissatisfied.
"Did I say something wrong?"
"Cut the whole mademoiselle crap master. That sounds so… sleazy."
R simply shrugged.
"I will call you on how I want… just accept it… mademoiselle..."
R smirked and walked out of the room.
Jeanne slowly grinned and sighed.
"Ah, I guess he's different than that person…" Jeanne cleared her throat and dematerialized.
Back to the Present
"Hey R… R…"
"Yes…"
"You seemed silent all of a sudden."
"Just remembered our past encounter back in the US… hmm, anyways, what time is it already?"
"Hmm…"
Kazuki took out his phone to check the time.
"11pm, are you expecting someone?"
"Yes…..I wonder what's taking him so….."
Knock knock!
"Speaking of the Devil… is that you Neno?"
"Yes boss, it's me, I have the package with me."
"Then what are you waiting for? Enter."
As the other bespectacled man entered the room with a box in hand, R stood up and placed his wine glass on the side table.
Neno placed the box carefully in R's table.
R immediately opened the box and took out a fancy looking container.
R slowly opened it as Kazuki and Neno watched R.
R slowly took out a sparkling red gem. R then took out a strange device from his drawer.
"Hey R, what is that?" Kazuki curiously asked.
"A side project I am working on, of course Neno helped me a lot."
"Hehehe, well, place the gem inside already boss, so the fun-loving guy can see." Neno chuckled.
"What form…"
R did placed the gem inside and it's socket closed after placing the gem inside. R then readied the device and as he push a button, a stream of light burst from the device. The light was rather contained though.
"What form of power is that…?"
"A genuine ligh… no, I will call it lichtsabre…well yeah, something like that."
R slowly swung the device around, as if he's wielding a real sword. It gives off a distinctive hum.
"You… you just made a lightsaber with gemstones as fuel… really now…?"
"Well, let's just say while I was looking in some of the Servant files Chaldea recorded, I came across one that hails from a specific place, well that Servant had a sword similar to a light saber, and she actually shared how her sword works. I gave that details to Neno so he can work on it, and with some magecraft, specifically this gem from the Clock Tower…."
"What a brilliant invention. Hey McNamara, I suppose you can make me one as well? With your level of genius, you can easily…"
"Sorry Kazuki, but I heard this gem took two months to be bought," R replied before Neno can open his mouth. "It's very rare even… also you're just gonna get one so you can impress that Servant of yours, right?"
"That's not fair, don't do me dirty like that, let me borrow that at least. We're old chums, right?"
"No can do Kazuki, this is mine and mine only… anyways, thanks for the help Neno."
"No problem boss, the Clock Tower never gave me something this interesting to work on. This project really helps my creative juice." Neno gave a salute. "Well gentlemen, I think I need to go back to the lab to work on some sensitive matters, if you'll excuse me."
Neno nodded and left the room.
"Hey R, let me borrow it, please." Kazuki still eyed that device with marvel more suited to a twelve years old seeing a new toy in the store. "Can I at least touch it…?"
"A No… is still a no… Kazuki. No matter what you say. Besides, you already have your own sword…"
Kazuki continued to beg at R through that night until he eventually gives up and comes out of the room slightly sulking.
Meanwhile, on another place, undisclosed location…
A purple haired woman with skin tight battle suit of lighter shade of purple took a sip from a glass of green tea, kindly provided by the host, Gombigobilla. Now she's sitting on a simple wooden chair, her posture rigid and official.
"Well, you can start your story now. Take it easy if you want." said the old man kindly. "Right, where was you… ah, you just started talking about the dangerous man Kazuki Takeru and his madman of an accomplice named R?"
"Yes! I apologize for the wait." the woman in battlesuit nodded affirmatively. "This Aine Casec will now divulge the truth. However, I do not know everything that happened in the event, so I will require your help for this one, um, Miss…"
She directed her words to the youngest person in the room, a young woman with wavy black hair and slightly tattered blue dress. Feeling the attention of everyone in the room suddenly directed at her, the girl swallowed audibly.
"Um, Peckerwood-Owens! I'm uh, Trixie Peckerwood-Owens. I'm–I'm just a tourist in this country…"
"Hoo, a tourist huh?" The bearded, yet kindly middle aged man nodded in understanding. "You're actually a civilian… You have no idea what you're getting into, I presume."
"Yeah, I have no idea what you guys are talking about and what are you fighting for." Trixie shook her head in resignation. "But if it comes to memory, I can remember everything that happened clearly!"
"What she says. She will fill in the parts I have no knowledge of." Aine nodded in support. "So, if you would, Mr. Picerno…"
"Just call me Gombi, young lady. No need for formalities around me. Just talk freely."
"Very well, Gombi." Aine easily agreed. "Let us just get this over with. This starts when I…"
Thank you guys so much for reading. I'll see you later. Buh-bye!