The Holy Grail War of Orario: The Last Fate

by ZdaTTy

Regretting the choices he made while he was still alive, a certain Heroic Spirit made a wish in his last moments. What he didn't expect was that his wish would be fulfilled. The man's resentment was so great that he was able to travel between worlds, dimensions, and even between the future and the past. Even though he was unable to remember, he would not follow the same Fate.

3. Master and Servant

Finally a new chapter!

If possible, leave a comment when you finish reading it, telling me what you thought or the interesting parts. The comments really encourage me to keep writing.

Just reminding you that this story is only about a couple. Bell x Artoria, no harem :)

NOTE: (There may be some errors or I got a little confused with some words in the chapter. My life is very busy, so I didn't proofread it properly. If you find any mistakes, this is it, I hope you understand :)

---

Chapter 3 - The Promise

"You don't deserve to walk among us. You are just a Fake Hero."

Some time before.

Adventurers Guild.

The main goal of the Guild is to manage the monster threat created in the dungeon . In addition, the Guild purchases magic stones, drop loot and maps created by adventurers in the dungeon. The Guild also provides weapons and armor for new adventurers who are just starting out.

Guild staff also take on the role of advisors to adventurers, often suggesting how deep an adventurer should go in a dungeon according to their level and skills, as well as warning them about any special dangers of certain floors and how to prepare against them. A staff member can be responsible for one or more adventurers.

The Guild has several branches outside of Orario, one of which is in Melen. The Melen branch oversees the port and controls the various trade goods coming in and out of Orario.

It was late at night when the Guild's business was over and the employees were finishing up their errands to go home. Most of the time, the adventurers would start coming as soon as the sun began to set, ready to record their findings and exchange their magic stones for val.

Eina is a beautiful half elf with a slender body, pointed ears, shoulder length brown hair and emerald eyes. She is one of the Guild's employees, and was always ahead of the other employees, finishing the paperwork well before all of them. But since she is the Guild's accountant and advisor to adventurers, she would stay and conduct business until the doors closed, which was about to happen.

The Guild would close in a few minutes, most of the employees had already left, leaving only a few who were still completing some unfinished work.

Eina was putting away some papers while sending a few glances to the Guild door.

"Come on, most of them have already left, don't overthink it," she heard a female voice, bringing her out of her thoughts.

Looking to the side, she saw one of the Guild's employees. It was a woman with long red hair and golden eyes. She had two ears sticking out from either side of her head, showing that she was of the Werewolf race. She was wearing the Guild uniform and wore black gloves on both hands. Her red hair swayed as she walked and put away the last papers she had.

The standard Guild uniform is a set of black vest and pants with a long-sleeved white collared shirt underneath and a gray butterfly tie. The only distinguishing feature between the two genders is having black and brown boots for men and black shoes for women. Both male and female Guild staff are required to wear this uniform in the Guild.

"I thought you were already gone, Rose."

Rose Fannett, a Guild receptionist.

"I wish I had left already, too," she replied. "However, the tasks have increased a bit because of the latest things that have happened recently. Even Misha hasn't left yet, she is finishing guarding the documents of the orders that were recently enacted. Fractiously, the adventurers don't know how to listen to a 'no' without expressing complaints."

Eina merely agreed with her words. There is no way she could disagree, after all, she was one of those who suffered the most from the complaints coming from the adventurers about the restrictions that were placed on the Dungeon. A "curfew" was imposed today, but the Guild had already warned two days before the order came in. All Adventurers were to leave the Dungeon before 9:00 pm, an order given by Ouranos himself, although it had many complaints from the Adventurers, resulting in more work for the Guild staff.

Even Bell grumbled a bit about this, although he didn't complain like most of the Adventurers.

Speaking of Bell, he still hasn't shown up, something that made Eina quite worried. He always showed up at the Guild after he finished adventuring in the Dungeon, no exceptions until today.

She met Bell Emiya three months ago when he came to the Guild to become an adventurer. At first, she was quite impressed by his appearance, hair white as snow and eyes red as ruby. He was also rabbit-like, although she didn't mention it. At first, she thought he was just another naïve person wanting to become an adventurer without being aware of the dangers the profession causes. But he turned out to be quite mature for his age, although he was quite shy at first, he asked her to be his advisor, and he also didn't once complain about the lessons about the Dungeon floors that she gave him. It was quite the opposite, he paid attention, showing a serious look during all the lecture she gave about the Dungeon floors.

She was very grateful for this, after all it reduced the chances of him dying in the Dungeon. At least one person died in the Dungeon every week, although in some cases it could take days for the Familia to discover that the person had really died. Some gods were already used to this, and there were also gods who still couldn't get used to the death of one of their children.

Well, that was before the whole mess started.

Several strange deaths were happening in the Dungeon, many more than they had before. This was the main reason for Ouranos to issue the "curfew" order before 9:00 at night. Not much was known about these deaths, but apparently the monsters in the Dungeon were acting strangely. Monsters from deep floors were being found on the upper floors, causing some panic on novice adventurers, as well as unusual "monster parties" happening as well.

Just today it was reported about a Minotaur appearing on the 10th floor of the Dungeon. Minotaurs are monsters that should only be found between floors 15-17, they should not appear on the 10th floor.

When she received this news, Eina was very worried that Bell might have found this crazy Minotaur. She didn't want to think the worst, so she tried to distract her mind by saying statements like "he's fine", "he must have just forgotten to come to the Guild". She wished that was really it.

Although Bell had the status to go up to the 10th floor, she recommended that he stay on the 9th floor for a while before he decided to go to a much more dangerous floor. He agreed with her without any problems, for which she was grateful at the time. However, if he heard someone in danger, he was the kind of person who would go straight to the dangerous situation without a second thought if it meant saving someone's life.

"Are you thinking about the adventurer you are advising?" Rose's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"He always shows up when he's finished adventuring in the Dungeon, but today he hasn't shown up yet. It's almost 9:00 at night."

Because of the curfew, the Guild that usually closed at 10:00 pm at night, will start closing at 9:00 pm at night. This would remain so until the situation in the Dungeon was stabilized, which it was not known whether it would take a while or be soon. The idea is that fewer deaths will happen thanks to this curfew, but it would be very nice if it were that simple.

Surely there would be adventurers who would simply "ignore" this curfew and continue in the Dungeon even after 9:00 at night. However, they would have to wait until the next day to exchange their stones for money, if they came back alive of course.

"I always tell you not to get too attached to adventurers. They always keep you waiting by saying things like 'I'll be back,' but in the end they all die," Rose sighed. "I don't want to make you sad or angry, but I advise you to prepare for the worst."

Although she spoke those harsh words, Eina knew that she was just trying to prepare her for a possible bad situation, she really didn't want to say all those words with any emotion, after all, as much as she tried to sound harsh and cold, she really cared about the adventurers.

Rose's story is a bit complicated. She was fond of an adventurer to whom she had always come to talk to a few years ago. However, this same adventurer ended up dying, leaving her shaken. After this, Rose began to reject any confessions of love that the adventurers made to her, because she does not want to be left alone after they die in the Dungeon. Her tough personality is the result of experiencing the deaths of her assigned adventurers.

"I know," Eina muttered. "But I believe he's fine."

Rose just shook her head with a sigh, but she didn't mention anything about it.

"Finally! I finished guarding that paperwork!" A familiar voice to the two shouted.

"Misha, don't yell at this time of night," Rose warned.

In a few seconds a third person appeared in front of the two. A woman with pink hair and pink eyes, wearing the uniform of the Guild. She walked up to them both, stretching her arms out in relief. Her name is Misha Flott, a Guild employee and friend of Eina and Rose.

With a smile, she spoke, "Did you guys finish packing up too?"

"I finished a little while ago, Eina too," Rose replied.

"Well, we can finally go home!"

"You seem quite excited," Eina commented.

"Of course I am! Even though we're leaving early, we've worked for longer. Fucking adventurers with their complaints," she grumbled. "Besides, shouldn't you be the one most excited to leave early?" Misha said with a mischievous grin.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Misha appeared at Eina's side, staring at her. This attitude made Eina a little uncomfortable, fearing for what she was going to say. "Not everyone who works in this place gets to live in a mansion with a handsome guy like him, Eina! So, have you guys advanced your relationship?"

Rose just stood watching everything without saying anything. She heard a big sigh coming out of Eina's mouth before she started to speak.

"I already told you that our relationship is nothing like you think, Misha. I simply ended up helping him a while ago."

"What kind of person gives a 'mansion' as a gift because you helped him!? That doesn't make any sense, besides, if that's the case why the hell are you living together? You can't fool me with this cheap lie."

"Stop meddling in someone else's personal affairs, Misha," Rose warned with a small slap on her head. "Besides, Eina is quite concerned about the adventurer to whom she is an advisor. He didn't show up at the Guild today."

Eina sent a look and a small nod of thanks to her.

Misha who had his hand on his head from Rose's slap, looked at Eina. "Bell didn't come today?"

She now showed a slightly concerned face, something quite different than usual since she doesn't interact much with the adventurers unlike Eina. Even Rose was a little surprised by this, although she did not show it on her face. Eina just nodded her head slowly.

Misha met Bell the same day he came to register as an Adventurer. At first she didn't pay much attention to him, but as time went on, they ended up interacting with each other. Before long Misha ended up becoming a friend of Bell's, she found it quite amusing to chat with him from time to time.

"This is weird, he always comes after he gets back from the Dungeon," she muttered. "Wait, he didn't this morning, right? Usually he always lets you know when he's going to the Dungeon, but he didn't come today, so maybe he didn't go to the Dungeon today?"

It was a good point, but it didn't say much, after all, even if there were days when Bell didn't let them know he was going to the Dungeon, he still ended up going and would show up at the Guild to trade the monster stones for money after he came back from the Dungeon. It was just a situation that she thought about so as not to think the worst, exactly the same thing as Eina.

"Maybe..."

"Hey, we're closing, go home soon!" The voice of a man they know very well shouted.

"Yes!" All three replied in unison.

As they left the Guild, they said goodbye to each other as each went their own way. Misha, however, muttered something that the other two did not hear. Sighing, Eina made her way home, a path quite different from what anyone working in the Guild does.

All along the way, Eina was paying close attention to her surroundings. Ever since the strange deaths started happening, he warned her to be very careful on her way home. It wasn't only in the Dungeon that the deaths were happening, they were becoming frequent on Daedalus Street as well, and since her "home" is a little close to this place that is known as the second Dungeon, she takes great care when walking.

The walk back home lasted a few minutes.

She quickly looked at the "mansion" in front of her, a large mansion painted in gold with some black and white details. And yes, this was her "home", something that you surely would not believe was possible, after all, she is just an employee working for the Guild, there is no way she could get enough money to buy a mansion like this that is located in one of the most noble neighborhoods of Orario.

She advanced to the mansion doors, and before she opened the doors, she let out a sigh knowing how she would be greeted by him.

She entered the mansion. It was a mansion that had several luxurious rooms, the first of which was the living room that was very close to the door. Large, luxurious sofas were scattered everywhere, and above, on the ceiling of the mansion, you could see several elegant chandeliers.

"Are you back already, you mongrel?"

Eina sighed upon hearing his voice. Whenever she returned from work, he greeted her in this way. Initially, she tried to get him to stop calling her this way, but he simply ignored it and continued calling her this way. As time went by, she got used to being called this way, so much so that she stopped seeing his greeting as an insult.

"Yes, I'm back, Gil."

After greeting him, she went to the kitchen, where he was.

As soon as she arrived in the place, she saw him, a glass table with various gold details, a man with golden hair and red eyes - much like Bell's - was sitting casually in a chair also made of gold while drinking wine in a cup - also - of gold. He was looking casually at her with an indifferent face as he drank the wine from his goblet. His clothes, however, were quite casual, unlike all the luxury he is surrounded in.

His name is Gilgamesh, someone she met three months ago, a few days before Bell arrived in Orario. For some reason, she found him unconscious on the ground one night near her old house, covered in blood and several bruises were on his body. She didn't think twice before doing everything to help him recover, something that took far less time than she initially expected it would.

However, when he woke up, she witnessed his personality different personality.

Apparently, he was some kind of King, since he always said things like, "A King doesn't need help from those who are weaker than him." However, she didn't mind his lines much at first, but again, she didn't like the way he referred to people as "mongrels."

For some reason, she feels that she has heard his name - Gilgamesh - before at some point, but she can't remember where she heard it. He was quite mysterious.

After she witnessed his "strange ability", she stopped doubting that he really was a King - or just a very rich person - she still wasn't sure. Some of the things in this mansion was furnished by himself, such as some of the chandeliers and other things he took out of that strange golden portal. When she questioned him about this ability, he just said:

"No matter where he goes, a King always carries his treasures with him."

She remembered the day he presented her with a glass of wine that he had taken from his "treasure" for the fact that she had taken care of him when he was injured. At first she refused, since she didn't like to drink, however, she eventually gave in because of the way he looked at her. When she drank that wine, all she could say was that the wine was very good. Totally different from anything she had ever tasted, in fact, it was even better than the Soma Familia wine - which she had the opportunity to try once on a special occasion.

When she questioned the reason for the state in which she found it, he just said:

"None of your business, mongrel."

She didn't pester him about this subject again. And as for her living in the same "mansion" as him... well, that's a story for another time.

Gilgamesh noticed that Eina looked a little different than usual. Normally he would just ignore her, but she seemed to be a bit different than normal, she didn't try to exchange words with him at any time. After continuing this way for a few seconds, he questioned her.

"Spit it out, what's wrong?"

She looked at him for a moment before walking to the kitchen to cook something for them both to eat.

"Well, a lot has happened recently," she began. "Even though we were leaving work early, we had a lot more work than usual because of the new Law to leave the Dungeon before 9:00 at night. Because of this, several adventurers came to complain non-stop for the past three days, but today which was the day that the Law officially went into effect, was much more tiring as more adventurers came than on the other days."

"It was to be expected that these mongrels would complain. After all, this is the fault of the imbecile god who made that Law, since he is not capable of making people follow his order. If I were in charge of all this, no one would complain."

He replied sarcastically as he took the last sip of his wine.

He was probably the only person who would call Ouranos an imbecile. Even if he was only saying it to her at this moment, she really has no doubt that he would say it in front of Ouranos' own without a second thought.

In fact, when he learned about all the gods living among humans, he asked her about one goddess in particular. The goddess Ishtar. And when she mentioned that she was indeed living here with a Familia, he showed a face that startled Eina. She didn't have the heart to question him about why he wanted to know about this particular goddess, but she prayed that nothing bad would happen in the future.

"However, it's not just that, is it?" He questioned her again. "There's something else that bothers you, so stop the drama and spit it all out."

He heard a sigh come from her as she began to speak.

"It's about Bell," the moment she mentioned his name, Gilgamesh raised his eyes in her direction. "He usually shows up at the Guild when he comes back from the Dungeon, but today he didn't show up at all, and there are these recent cases of people dying, so I'm a little worried about him. I hope nothing has happened to him..."

There was a short silence while Eina was preparing something simple. However, it didn't take long for Gilgamesh to break the silence.

"Your concern is completely useless."

"Eh?" she looked at him in surprise.

"Exactly what I said. You worry in a useless way. There's no way that mongrel can die so easily. Not when we have business to settle."

"Business to settle? What are you talking about?"

That again. Ever since she told him about Bell Emiya, for some reason, he was curious about him. And after a while, he started talking as if he knew him and when she asked if they actually knew each other, he just replied that it was none of her business. She wasn't satisfied with his answer, so she went to Bell and asked him if he knew anyone with golden hair and red eyes, but he replied he doesn't remember seeing anyone like that before.

"None of your business," an expected response from him.

"Sure, whatever," she replied with a sigh.

After a while, Gilgamesh felt something and narrowed his eyes. He stood up, making some noise, catching Eina's attention. She saw Gilgamesh with a strange expression on his face, something she had never seen before. Without saying anything, he started walking to leave the mansion.

"Wait, where are you going? Aren't you going to eat?"

"Something interesting is going on right now," he replied. "You can save my share for when I get back, it shouldn't take more than an hour," he replied and grabbed the door handle of the mansion, but he didn't leave. He sent one last glance at Eina who was looking at him strangely, and then he warned.

"Under no circumstances leave this place, do you understand?"

It sounded more like an order than a warning. He didn't wait for her response as he left the mansion, leaving a totally confused Eina behind.

She looked down at the food she had just finished. Did he really have to leave at the exact moment she had finished everything? Taking one last look at the door of the mansion to which he left, she simply took her portion and his and didn't think twice before deciding to eat both portions. She hadn't eaten anything at work because of the lack of time due to the adventurers who had been complaining non-stop.

If she was sure of one thing, it was that he liked her food, even if he wouldn't admit it.

That would be his punishment for not answering her questions properly.

Well, anyway, she was hungry.

---

The Throne of Heroes.

A place that functions as an afterlife, a place that houses people who have done enough in their lives to be considered heroes.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she was faced with a situation that seemed familiar. She had been summoned again as a Servant who would participate in a new Holy Grail War.

The moment she appeared, information about the place she was in was provided. Dungeons and Adventurers. A kind of new world where gods and goddesses existed. She was actually quite surprised by such information, but was even more surprised when she learned that the same gods and goddesses lived among mortals in exchange for giving up their powers and being allowed to use only a few basic things.

It was really something that left her surprised, after all, knowing the reason why the Age of the Gods ended in her world...

However, it seemed that there were legends about her here as well, something that left her confused. Of course, she showed nothing on her face.

Moreover, it seems that the rules of this Holy Grail War are different from the previous ones.

After she put these thoughts out of her mind, she focused on the most important thing at the moment. Looking at the person who seemed to be her master, she couldn't help but feel a strange familiar sensation. She didn't know why, but she felt as if this wasn't the first time she had seen him, although it really was.

White hair and blood red eyes, he seemed to be the same height as she was. She couldn't help comparing him to a rabbit, quite cute. However, there was no time for her to waste thinking about such things, for she had an enemy Servant a few feet away from them, eyeing her warily.

As soon as she made her introduction to him, she felt a little shock.

"Are you my Master?"

Even after asking, the boy answered nothing for some time. He had a surprised look on his face, looking at her without averting his eyes. He seemed to be quite charmed by her beauty, yet after he registered her words, he simply spoke the only thing on his mind at that moment.

"EH!?"

The woman was a little surprised by his sudden outburst. However, before she or he could say anything, Lancer's voice was heard.

"I see, it seems that my Master was right after all. However, I am a little curious." He looked at the woman with some interest. "You clearly hit my shield with something, but it seems to be a hidden weapon. Is it a sword?" He asked as he looked at her hand which was closed, as if she was holding an invisible weapon.

Bell who was confused by all this, looked at Saber's hand. He could swear that he saw... wind? The wind seemed to be circling the shape of a sword. However, for Lancer to ask her that question, he didn't seem sure. So only Bell could see that?

Saber turned to Lancer completely, standing in front of Bell. She took her other hand under the hand that was closing, and she also closed her other hand, now appearing to hold a gun with both hands. Looking at Lancer, she replied with a small confident smile.

"Who knows? Maybe I could be holding an Axe."

Lancer snorted, "Please don't think this cheap psychological mess is going to work on me. You are clearly Saber. You must have received the information from that war, right? No use trying to hide your class, after all you are certainly not the only Saber who is participating in this war."

As soon as he said that, Saber showed a slight sign of confusion, which Lancer noticed.

"Oh, I see," he said suddenly. "You didn't get all the information, did you?" Seeing her silence, he just nodded in understanding. "I see, that's interesting. But this is no time for that," he said then raised his spear and pointed at her. "My Master has ordered me to kill this boy, so can you make it easier for me?"

Her response came with a sudden burst of speed, shattering the ground where she was initially standing.

Lancer quickly defended himself with his shield as she raised her hands and lowered herself to him. A big sound was heard as Lancer caught a small glimpse of Saber's expression, which to his surprise, she was showing a really angry face. Well, that's normal, since he wanted to kill her Master, but this kind of fury didn't seem normal.

A shower of blows were sent in his direction. He defended himself against most of the blows with his shield, while using his spear to try to attack her and deflect some blows coming from the invisible weapon she was using, which he was sure was a sword by the way she was attacking.

Using his spear, he attacked again, aiming for her head. She narrowly dodged it, moving her face to the side, but his spear grazed her face, leaving a small cut. She attacked in as many ways as possible, but his shield was proving to be a big problem for her.

Stepping back a little, stopping near her Master, she looked at Lancer who had his spear raised in one hand and his shield in his other hand. He was in a pose that was easy for him to use the shield to defend himself while attacking with the spear.

"You know," Lancer's voice spoke again. "I know I mentioned about killing your Master, but that explosion was a real surprise. Before we continue, let me introduce myself." He positioned the spear on the ground as he looked at it, the moon's illumination reflecting off his armor.

"I am Leonidas I, also known as King of Sparta. It is a pleasure, Saber."

The moment he said his name, Bell's eyes widened. He knew the history of Leonidas thanks to his grandfather.

Leonidas I was the king of Sparta, the country that became the etymology of the term "Spartan discipline." Leonidas reigned as king of Sparta, but as the state of Sparta itself fundamentally transformed into a land that produced "hot-blooded idiots," he also had difficulty managing the nation. In order to contain an invading Persian army of 100,000 troops, he stood up with only 300 men at the famous Battle of Thermopylae.

Saber looked at him, her expression softening before she began to speak.

"I understand. It is a pleasure to meet you, Spartan King. Since you have told me your identity, it is only right that I do the same. I am-"

"I don't need your identity, Saber," he interrupted her. "I told you my identity because I wanted to, it is not wise for you to do the same, especially in this war. Besides, even if they are far away, you can never be too careful, right?"

"Huh?" Bell who was just observing everything became even more confused.

If that was the case, why did he reveal his identity?

Saber quickly looked to some distant places where there were other Servants watching the fight between her and Lancer. Even if they were far away, there's no way to tell if there aren't some Servant with the ability to listen, so telling her identity was certainly careless. However, Lancer had revealed his identity, so it would be dishonorable for her not to do the same. She was the King of the Knights, she has honor.

However, she could not say anything when Lancer suddenly attacked. She was taken by surprise by it, but quickly tried to strike back in a blow to which he deflected without having to use his shield. Her blow destroyed the surrounding ground.

Lancer took advantage of the moment, and instead of attacking using his spear, he attacked using his shield, which surprised Saber. The blow was right in her belly, leaving her a little stunned. He took the opportunity to attack using his spear, again aiming at Saber's head. However, she managed to come to her senses at the very last moment and used her weapon to deflect his spear.

A cry of surprise came out of Bell's mouth as the two Servants came close to him.

Saber quickly stood in front of him.

"Master, stand back a bit. This is going to be a little harder than I first thought," she said and didn't wait for his response as she again advanced towards Lancer.

The fight between the Servants continued.

...

...

Bell didn't understand what the hell was going on. All he knew was that all this shit was his own damn luck. There was no other possible explanation to explain this whole mess. First the fight against the Minotaur that he almost died and now some crazy guy wanting to kill him on orders from his "Master".

However, that beautiful woman appeared and protected him.

He stepped back a little, obeying the woman who saved his life. In fact, she didn't seem that much older than him.

Watching the fight between the two, he saw the disaster they were both making. Luckily, they haven't hit anyone's residence yet, but the street is all destroyed due to their blows. He watched them both fighting, and to say that he was surprised is considered an understatement. For some reason he couldn't take his eyes off the fight.

He could just run away and let these crazy people fight on their own, but something stopped him from doing that.

Blue and yellow sparks were coming out when the woman's weapon met Lancer's shield or spear. Saber was trying to attack in every way, but Lancer's defense was too powerful. He not only defended with his shield, but also deflected the blow of her weapon with his spear from time to time. As if that wasn't enough, he also attacked with his shield at times.

A spear that defended, a shield that attacked, and vice versa.

Saber's hair swayed with every attack she made, the moon lighting made the fight between them quite incredible.

But no matter how Bell looked at it, she was clearly at a disadvantage.

Clenching his fists from not being able to do anything but look, Bell began to think about why he got into this in the first place. He really can't imagine anyone wanting him dead, as he has never given them any reason to be angry with him to the point of wanting to kill him. Well, he really hopes that he hasn't given any reason for other people to want to kill him.

He remembered what Lancer had said. Something about a war. He was apparently a Servant who served a Master.

At that moment, Bell remembered Saber's words.

"Are you my Master?"

What did she really mean by that? He is no one's Master. However, a War, Masters and Servants...

... why does he find it all strangely familiar?

---

On the porch of a small hut located in a distant village, you can see two people sitting, watching the night sky.

"A war?" The white-haired boy repeated as his father finished telling a story.

"Yes, a war I took part in," the man said with a tired tone. "I lost people who were important to me. All I wanted was to be a hero, but I ended up becoming an assassin," giving a sigh, he continued. "People are greedy and selfish, Bell. Even if you are kind, be careful around unknown people."

At the man's warning, the boy, Bell merely nodded. Looking up at the moon, the boy felt his father place his hand on his head. They both looked up at the moon. After some time in silence, the boy asked.

"Do you think it is wrong to want to save all people?"

"Wanting to save someone is not wrong," he replied. "However, you have to be prepared for the situation where saving everyone is not possible. In that kind of situation, you will have to make an extremely difficult decision."

"Even if it may not be possible to save everyone...I still want to try," Bell said with determination.

Again a silence settled for a few seconds before the man broke it.

"Bell."

"Yes?"

"If at some point, you end up being drawn into a war...protect the people important to you."

---

"You seem a little frustrated, Saber," Lancer commented casually as he blocked another blow from her with his shield.

She didn't respond, just continued to attack him with great speed. However, no matter how hard she attacked, she couldn't break through Lancer's defense. This made her frustrated, after all, she knows that she is much stronger than what she is demonstrating at this moment, but there is no way she can show much more strength than that right now.

Apparently, her Master doesn't have much Mana to make available to her. This has meant that she cannot fight with all the strength that she knows she is capable of. However, she cannot lose this battle. She has to protect her Master, but if Lancer decides to use his Noble Phantasm, things could get very complicated.

But she hopes he won't do that, because there are at least 4 Servants watching their fight. She can't rule out the possibility that an Assassin is watching as well. That was also one of the reasons why she could not fight very efficiently. Although she was fighting against Lancer, she always had a small amount of her attention focused on her Master.

The Assassin class is made up of cowardly people who would take the chance to kill her Master while she was fighting someone else.

Of course, Lancer realized this.

"You seem to care quite a bit about your Master, Saber. Even if he ends up dying, if you escape you still have a few days to get a new Master. And I think you are much stronger than you are showing, but you can't exert your strength because of him, right?"

He spoke as he attacked with his spear, which was deflected by Artoria's weapon. The spear hit some wooden boxes near an establishment and broke them. However, his attack didn't stop, he simply attacked again with his shield towards her head. The attack was a success

Saber fell to the ground as she felt a great pain in her head. She didn't have much time to think as she rolled on the ground, dodging Lancer's attack. The spear pierced the ground in great depth. She stood up as she gasped, blood coming out of her mouth.

"You didn't answer me, Saber. Why don't you just leave your Master and go find someone more capable? My target is him, not you, we don't have to fight," he proposed.

"You can go to hell with your proposal!" She shouted as she attacked again.

Lancer only defended with his shield. The woman again started attacking like crazy. Now he was sure. This fury of hers always came out strongly when he mentioned something about killing or making her leave her Master. It was very strange, as she had just met her Master.

There were two possibilities.

"Tell me, Saber," Lancer began to speak as he stopped Saber's invisible weapon with his spear. "Could you tell me the reason why you refuse to leave your Master? You have just met him, but the way you act suggests that you have known him for some time."

Leonidas knows this kind of fury. This is someone's rage when they have someone important to them threatened. This kind of thing should not be possible.

Artoria's countenance was clearly angry. With sawed-off teeth as she put strength into her hands, she answered him.

"What kind of knight would I be if I let my Master be killed for such a ridiculous reason!?"

She narrowly beat Lancer when she pushed him hard, but she didn't stop there when they both started exchanging blows. Again, blue and yellow sparks were visible. The speed with which they were attacking was simply insane, a great gale was created by the exchange of blows, slicing and breaking everything in their path.

"Knight, huh," Lancer muttered as they still exchanged blows. "I see, I think I might have an idea what your identity is."

If she really was who he thought she was, her attitude made some sense.

However...

...was it really just this?

...

...

All Bell could see were the blue and yellow sparks, along with the great gale that forced him to shield himself with his hands. Forcing his eyes with reinforcement, using what little energy he had, he saw the image of Saber attacking with everything, the expression on her face looked furious. He noticed their mouths moving before the rain of blows began, but he couldn't hear what they were saying at that moment.

He had almost no energy left to use reinforcement in his ears or anywhere on his body. His eyes quickly returned to normal when he could no longer bear to keep the reinforcement on them. Still with his hands in front of his face, he clenched his fists tightly when he remembered Saber's expression.

For some reason, he felt furious.

Furious that he could do nothing but stare.

He could feel his blood running cold.

Why was he feeling this way? She is just a strange woman who appeared out of nowhere and called him Master.

Yet whenever he looked at her, he felt a familiar sensation that he couldn't explain. It was all very confusing for him.

When the confrontation stopped for a while, he finally managed to look at them more closely.

Lancer didn't seem to have suffered any major damage, but Saber seemed to be quite bruised as she gasped deeply. Her hands were shaking around her invisible weapon, she seemed to be quite frustrated as she looked at Lancer, who didn't seem too badly hurt.

Just as he prepared to attack again, Saber braced herself.

However, he suddenly stopped as he looked back.

This action confused Bell a bit. Saber was also confused.

"Well, it looks like our meeting has come to an end," he said, confusing them both.

"What do you mean by that?" Saber asked cautiously.

"My Master has asked me to return, for his true purpose has been fulfilled. I will see you another time, Saber, Saber's Master."

Just as he was ready to leave, Saber's voice stopped him.

"Will you run away, Spartan King!?"

At that moment, Leonidas stopped and then turned toward her. A great pressure was released in the surrounding air, causing Bell to fall to his knees. Saber just looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Watch your words, King of Knights," Leonidas' voice came out in a very strong tone. "I'm no coward, so don't get the wrong idea. If you showed all your strength without using your Noble Phantasm, I have to warn you that you will not last long in this War."

He turned around again, preparing to leave.

"Besides," he began, gaining her attention. She realized that he was looking at Bell. "I could have killed your Master any time I wanted to. I just didn't do it because it would be dishonorable."

As he said those words, he walked away.

She felt irritated by his last words. However, she sighed as she put away her sword.

"...Is it over?" Her Master's voice made her turn to him.

"...For now, yes. How are you, Master?" She approached him and helped him to his feet.

He did not refuse her help in getting up. The boy looked at her more carefully. Her appearance was a bit finished, there was blood dripping from her mouth and forehead. He again felt that strange sensation. The great discomfort at seeing her in such a state. He simply became angry, although he didn't show it completely on the outside.

"Well, aside from the fact that I almost died to a Minotaur today, along with the fact that a crazy person wanted to kill me, I'm completely fine," he replied. What can he do, his luck has always been completely shit.

She didn't miss the bit of his sarcastic tone as she said this. For some reason, that sounded quite familiar, although she didn't know why.

"Master, I think we'd better get out of here as soon as possible. I have sensed other Servants watching my battle against Lancer, I fear they may want to take advantage of my condition at the moment."

As soon as she said that, Bell's eyes widened.

'Other Servants!? There are others of those out there!?' He thought alarmed before nodding quickly.

He wasn't in the mood for another crazy person wanting to kill him. One was already enough. He's also not fully aware about the situation he had gotten himself into, but apparently it was some kind of War. And that made him completely scared. Had he gotten himself involved in some kind of crazy war? If that was the case, he was demanding to speak with the God who represented luck, and when he met with such a being, he would not go away so easily.

The two of them started walking quickly. At every moment Bell was looking everywhere, fearing that some other crazy person would show up.

"Are we going to your house, Master?"

Saber's voice brought him back to his senses for a moment before he answered her.

"Yes. Well, it's not exactly my home. I live in the Mansion of the Goddess Hephaestus next to my Goddess, Hestia."

Saber paused for a moment before walking back. "Goddess... Hephaestus? Wasn't that supposed to be God? The blacksmith God?"

Her Master was living with two goddesses? Wait, Hephaestus in this world is a woman? As much as the Age of the Gods is over, it is known that Hephaestus is a man.

"Well, I guess there are some differences with what you should know. Same for me, after all, in the history books here, King Arthur is a man."

"You figured it out?" she looked a little surprised before she realized what Lancer had said at the end, before he left.

"It's not so hard to piece that together when he called you King of the Knights." As Bell chatted casually, he quickly realized something.

He didn't seem so shy when talking to her. In fact, he seemed quite comfortable, which was quite strange. Always when he talked to some new person, he was quite shy. That shyness would go away over time as he interacted with such a person, but how could he be talking in a way that seemed to be confident with this girl he just met?

"Well, really. However, there are a few reasons why I am known as a man in the legends. My real name is Artoria Pendragon," she replied. She didn't miss the small gleam in Bell's eyes, but he didn't say anything.

He seemed to be on alert all around, probably wanting to get home as quickly as possible.

'Kami-sama and Hephaestus-sama must be going crazy with my absence! I hope I don't die when I get home...' Bell thought fearfully. His Goddess, Hestia, would not let him sleep before he talked about everything that happened today, this was a great certainty.

"Master... do you have any idea what you have gotten yourself into?"

Although she was sure she didn't, she still asked.

"Other than the fact that I was dragged into some kind of War, and that I am apparently your Master, no. I have no idea what the hell I got myself into. However, I'll quickly get used to it. Believe me, my luck has always been total shit, I'm used to being put in insane situations." Although being dragged into a war is on a much higher level of insanity than anything he's ever gotten himself into.

'He doesn't seem to like his luck much,' she thought. Since he didn't seem to be asking for details, she assumed he first wanted to get home to discuss it. She wasn't against that thought, in fact it was quite positive. She could spend the time being on guard.

In the middle of the walk, Bell quickly spotted a person. At this moment, Saber quickly placed herself in front of him, to protect him. She looked at the person in front of her with wary eyes.

It was a man with blond hair and red eyes. Wearing a casual outfit, he had his hands in his trouser pockets as he looked intently at the two of them. His face looked bored, as if he was angry about something.

"What do you want?" Saber asked cautiously as Bell prayed that it wasn't another nutcase.

"Normally I would kill anyone who dared to talk to me this way, but since it is you, King of the Knights, and since we are seeing each other after so long, I will let it go just this once," he said, his voice coming out with a tone of arrogance.

"Don't talk nonsense, I've never seen you before. Are you another Servant?" She asked.

At that moment he raised his eyebrows and looked at her again. After that he looked at Bell, and then at her again.

He laughed.

It was a small laugh that made Saber angry.

"Why are you laughing!?"

"It's just an unexpected situation," he said. "Besides him, you also forgot, huh."

What did he mean by that?

"You didn't answer my question."

He didn't seem to be any Servant. However, he knew her identity, and she could sense that that man was dangerous. As much as she didn't like to admit it, if they fought now with her in this condition, she would surely lose.

"Don't bark, if I really wanted to kill you or your Master, I would have done it already."

Again, another person saying that he could kill her Master if he so wished...

"Don't look at me like that. I don't want to waste my time with two useless people who can't remember anything. My conversation is with you, mongrel," he said looking in Bell's direction.

"What do you want with my Master?"

He, however, ignored her question and spoke to Bell.

"You'd better remember quickly. I won't wait long," he said before turning around, still with his hands in his pockets. Before leaving, he turned one last time to the pair, and at that moment, his red eyes met Bell's red eyes.

"We have a score to settle, Faker."

He again walked away.

Bell was completely confused, but the moment that man said his last words, Bell's body seemed to freeze. He only came back to his senses when Artoria spoke to him.

"Master, do you know that man?"

"I can't say I know him..."

However, he quickly remembered something. One day, Eina came to ask him if he knew someone with an appearance she described, and he said no. His appearance was quite similar to what Eina had once said, so was it him? If that was the case, did Eina know him?

"I think we'd better hurry, Master. Can you run a little?" she asked. It would be best if they got to his house as quickly as possible.

"I think I can manage, at least until we get out of this sparsely populated area."

"That will be enough."

Bell took a short breath before nodding.

They ran, with Bell in the Front to guide the way.

Bell just hoped it wouldn't become too much trouble when they reached the mansion. Besides, there was Saber with him who could explain the situation in a better way, so it shouldn't have too many complications, right?

Well, who was he trying to fool?

His luck had always sucked.

---

Host of Fertility

A pub well known to the adventurers of Orario, as well as being their favorite place. The place was very quiet in the morning and afternoon, but at night, when it became a bar for the adventurers who returned from the Dungeon to vent their frustrations, it was very lively.

This place was also a favorite of the Loki Familia, they used it when they wanted to celebrate something important, like a successful expedition or other things. When the Familia members were on an expedition, the goddess Loki usually came to drink alone, in order to talk about a lot of things that made her frustrated or something.

The place had closed early today because of some occurrences. All the employees were girls who had a tragic and mysterious past, but also knew how to fight very well. The vast majority of them lived inside the pub itself in a room system that was upstairs.

Inside one particular room, a green-haired elf was reading a book. The window of the room was open, letting the night wind sway her hair. The book she was reading was about heroes, and right next to her bed was what appeared to be a small stack of books on the same subject on top of a small table.

The wind blew stronger, causing several pages of the book to flip.

"So, how was it, Assassin?" She asked casually.

Leaning against the wall of the room was a tall man in a rather peculiar outfit. A man who exudes a respectable physical build, enjoying defined and noticeable muscles - quite normal for someone who is a warrior. He has light skin, a medium height, visible facial hair, long black hair in a shape that is inexplicably maintained, even tied and divided with a kind of cloth that was a gift from his ward, dark brown eyes and medium-sized eyebrows. His clothes are composed of a kind of blue cloak torn in half that covers the upper part of his torso, coming close to his face, together with pants in the same shade, with white details, being tied around his waist with a brown rope.

His equipment consists of his sword, which comes with a sheath, obviously, together with metallic objects that surround part of his two arms, one shoulder - this one in particular having pointed features, which are attached through a belt wrapped around the body - and the lower part of his legs. Besides his traditional blade, the samurai carries with him a simple flute and a bamboo container containing the beloved sake.

"It is as you said, Master. The boy really has terrible luck, almost reminds me of myself," the man commented quietly. "And just as you found, he has become a Master as well."

Ryuu Lion sighed upon hearing that.

"Bell has always been an unlucky person. At first, I just thought he was being overdramatic, but after witnessing a few things, I came to believe him," she spoke as she closed her book and placed it on the table beside her bed.

She met Bell two and a half months ago when he came to eat at the pub. At first the boy was quite shy, barely able to talk to her without stammering. But with time, he quickly got used to the point of talking to her normally. He came to eat in the pub at least two or three times a week.

In the meantime, they talked a lot and became good friends.

But to think that he was also dragged into this crazy war...

"Did you see what his Servant looked like?" She asked.

"A beautiful golden-haired woman in armor. She seemed to be talking some things with Lancer, but I wasn't able to hear. The two of them certainly noticed my presence, as well as those of the other Servants," he replied.

She thought about the description that Assassin said and tried to remember something like that in the hero stories she had read. However, she hadn't read her legend yet, after all, she would remember if she had. Sighing again, she asked another question.

"Other servants?"

"The Servant of the captain of that Loki Familia was there, as well as three others that I don't remember seeing before. We remained at safe distances since our goal was the same, to observe. However, I noticed a blond man who seemed to be quite peculiar, he was the one closest to the battle."

"What do you mean by peculiar?" she asked curiously.

After some time in silence, he replied.

"...He looked like a Servant...but at the same time, he seemed to be an ordinary human."

It seems that things will be much more problematic than she initially thought.

---

Hephaestus Mansion.

Things were not looking good inside the mansion.

It was past 11:00 at night and Bell had not returned. Hestia, of course, went crazy, wanting to go out and look for him, but was stopped by Hephaestus, who was very insistent that she not go out. She promised that if he didn't arrive by 00:00, they would both go and look for him without fail. Even though Hestia had complained at the beginning, saying that the more time they lost, the worse it could be, she gave in at the end, but was still not happy at all.

If things get worse, Hephaestus will probably have to ask Tsubaki for help.

She really wanted to avoid that, after all, when she first met Bell, she didn't sit still until he agreed to be her pillow for at least 1 night. That's one of her quirks, she apparently likes to hug nice little faces, and that's no different from Bell.

If she asks Tsubaki for help, she is sure that she will demand to sleep with Bell for a few nights, and it was quite difficult to calm Hestia down the first time...

"I can't wait any longer!"

Hestia, who was sitting on a couch near the mansion door, exclaimed with her arms up. Hephaestus just sighed and looked at her.

"Calm down, Hestia. You must trust that Bell will return."

"I cannot calm down when the first member of my Familia may be in a dangerous situation!" She shouted. "Besides, it's over two hours past the Dungeon curfew, even if he left it to deliver his letter at the end, it shouldn't take this long!"

As annoying as Hestia's shouting voice was, Hephaestus could do nothing about it. Bell was the first member of her Familia, of course she would be worried about him. Hephaestus himself is worried about him, although she didn't show it much on the outside. She really hoped he wasn't involved in this.

But knowing his luck...

At that very moment, the door to the mansion was opened, causing Hestia and Hephaestus to look, the first goddess, however, ran.

"Bell-kun! Where were you, we were worried about-"

Her outrage quickly stopped when she saw Bell in a rather haggard state.

"Bell-kun what happened to you!?" She shouted before running to him.

His clothes were torn and his armor had been broken. Hephaestus didn't notice Bell's weapons with him either. However, when she noticed the beautiful blonde-haired woman next to him, as well as the red "tattoo" with some white details, she sighed wearily.

"Kami-sama... you are suffocating me." Bell said as he tried to breathe, but to no avail, thanks to Hestia with her breasts on his head. He is taller than her, but she basically forced him to crouch down as he had no remaining strength to fight her embrace.

At this moment, Hestia noticed the beautiful woman in armor in a blue dress next to them. She narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"Who are you?"

Before the woman or Bell could say anything, Hephaestus was quicker.

"Seriously, your luck really sucks, Bell," she said as she slowly shook her head.

Bell's response was a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his neck.

---

"So... let me get this straight," Hestia's voice spoke. "You almost died to a damned Minotaur, were saved by the Loki Familia, and then went to deliver a letter that a damned old woman gave you, and the location of that place was damned Daedalus Street!?" She was completely annoyed. "Not only that, but you found a crazy man wanting to kill you, and then this woman showed up to save you, right?"

"That about sums it up," Bell said.

Presently, they were all sitting around a round table that was in the living room. Bell summed up everything that happened to him for Hestia and Hephaestus. Hestia, as expected, was very angry. Hephaestus, however, was listening to everything in silence as she sipped her tea that she had made earlier.

"The Master summoned me as a Servant to fight in the Holy Grail War," Saber said. Currently, she was wearing a more casual outfit, instead of her armor from before.

It was time to discuss the important things.

"I really dreaded that," Hephaestus sighed.

"Wait, what did you say?" Hestia thought she was hearing things. That woman really hadn't said anything about a war, right?

"You know," the woman ignored Hestia's question and focused her eyes on the goddess Hephaestus.

"I'm a little lost here..." Bell commented.

"Well, I really hoped you'd stay out of it, but knowing your luck, I've always had a little doubt in my mind. And seeing the Command Seals in your right hand, along with your Servant, I just accepted that," Hephaestus said before taking a sip of her tea.

Something Hephaestus didn't mention was the fact that Bell's Command Seals were a little different from the normal standard for Masters.

"Command Seals?" Hestia looked at Bell's right hand, and then saw some kind of red tattoo with white details. "Bell-kun, what the hell is going on?" She simply wasn't understanding anything else.

"I'm as lost as you are, Kami-sama..." he answered honestly. "You seem to know what I've gotten myself into, Hephaestus-sama. That being the case, can either of you two explain the situation to me and my goddess?" He asked as he looked at Saber and Hephaestus.

Saber looked at Hephaestus before speaking. "I would like to know what you know. I received information from the Grail, but I'm afraid I probably didn't get everything." The fact that Lancer said she didn't receive all the information didn't get out of her head.

"What I know is only the information that is released to all the gods."

"Still, it would be nice to hear and compare with what I know," Saber insisted.

"Very well," Hephaestus sighed.

"Wait!" Hestia rose from her chair as she slammed her hands on the table. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but whatever it is, if it's been divulged to all the gods, why don't I know anything about it?"

"You came to the mortal world not long ago. Actually, I was planning to tell you this week, but I was a little afraid, because I'm sure you would try to make Bell stay home until this is all over. But I can see why, after all he is the first member of your Familia."

"Of course he is!" She shouted. "I care about Bell-kun." Sitting down with her arms crossed and a pout, she looked away.

Hestia was clearly annoyed with Hephaestus for not telling her about it earlier. Because of this, Bell had gotten herself into a very problematic situation, although she was not that surprised. Of course, she was totally concerned for Bell's safety.

"Before I start talking, can you tell us your identity, Servant? Don't worry about us leaking any information, after all Bell is important to both of us, and also, the gods and goddesses are forbidden to interfere in anything having to do with the Holy Grail War," Hephaestus was curious, and so was Hestia.

The blond woman just thought about it. These goddesses were living with her Master, and they didn't seem to be bad people. However, she still had that little doubt in her mind. According to Lancer, classes didn't seem to matter so much in this War. But the goddess of the forge was telling the truth about gods and goddesses not being able to interfere in anything related to the Holy Grail War. At least, that was some information she got.

"It's okay," her Master's voice caused her to turn to him. "Kami-sama and Hephaestus-sama would not do anything that could put me in a bad situation. You can trust them."

Looking into his eyes, she felt a strange comfort. However, her eyes quickly went to the necklace that was on his neck, where it seemed to have a miniature sword on it. As soon as she looked at that necklace, it was as if time had frozen for a certain period, where she couldn't take her eyes off his necklace. It was strangely familiar, but she doesn't remember ever seeing anything like it.

Time quickly returned to normal when she managed to take her eyes off his necklace, and then, she decided to trust her Master.

Rising briefly from her chair, she introduced herself.

"I am the Servant of the Saber class. My real name is Artoria Pendragon, however, you may know me as King Arthur in the legends. It is a pleasure to meet you, goddesses."

At that moment, Hestia's eyes widened and Hephaestus merely raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Wait, King Arthur!? But he's a man!" Hestia shouted, pointing at her.

"There's a reason I'm known as a man in the legends, but that's a subject for another time. Besides, where I come from it is known that Hephaestus is a man," Artoria retorted, looking at Hephaestus.

Hestia just opened her mouth, but said nothing.

Hephaestus looked at Bell, but realized that he was quite calm, which was very strange. He was almost obsessed with the legend of King Arthur, it was one of his favorite stories, along with the story of Argonauta. She knows this because he almost always mentions them at some point. Yet here he was, sitting next to one of the most famous historical figures, and he just barely reacts?

Furthermore, how was he able to summon such a legend?

After taking her mind off these things, she just shook her head before standing up, attracting the attention of all three others. The ones who seemed to pay the most attention were Bell and Hestia, which is justifiable, since the two of them knew absolutely nothing. She put her hand on her chin and began to think for a while about how she should explain. After she decided to start by telling things from the beginning.

"The Holy Grail War. That's what you got into, Bell," she began to speak. "In the beginning it was just a ritual and was not known as the 'Holy Grail War'. That name was given from the second war on. The first time was a small dispute of interests among mortals long ago. Those involved apparently had different opinions and interests. However, some people say that the gods were involved as well, although no one has been able to confirm this."

Bell was just listening to everything with great attention. Hestia and Artoria were the same.

"One family of Alchemists experimented to create the Chalice, another family provided the necessary terrain, and a third family put together the sorcery to stabilize the initial materials. Although little is known about these families or their names, they became known as the Three Families, thanks to their mages. They were holders of the Chalice, so to speak," Hephaestus paused as he sat down in her chair and crossed his arms.

She continued her explanation.

"Originally, they were going to use the Chalice together, but after perpetuating the system to summon the Chalice, they realized that only one person could use it. I guess you guys can tell where this is going to go, right?" She asked.

"They betrayed each other, right?" Bell was the one who spoke up.

"Exactly. They all had different opinions on how to get to that goal. In the end, these Three Families partially undid the alliance between them. The system and the way to create the Chalice remained the same, but they would become enemies after the invocation," she closed her eyes and let her words process in their minds before continuing.

"To conceive energy for the Chalice, seven Magi and seven Heroic Spirits became necessary. Because of this, the Three Families invited external Magi to participate. 'We were able to materialize the Chalice. If you want to witness this miracle, join us and become Masters,' was what they said. Well, at least that's what Ouranos said," she sighed.

"I see," Bell said, attracting the attention of the three women. "Basically an ad that opened the doors to other outsiders. Thanks to that, several people went against each other, and in that way it became a War ritual, right?"

"Yes," Hephaestus confirmed.

"But there is something I don't understand. What is so special about this Chalice that so many people want it to the point of warring over it?" Hestia muttered.

This was also a big question Bell had. He was planning to ask it soon, but since his goddess pointed it out, he won't have to.

It was Artoria who answered her question.

"The Holy Grail can fulfill any wish anyone might have. The Chalice will appear before the last remaining pair, granting them the right to use it. You can ask for anything, be it reviving a dead person or even going back in time, if you wish. A wish is granted for the Master and Servant who won the Holy Grail War. Well, at least that's what they say, but since I've never had the opportunity to find out if this is true, since I've never won before."

"Wait, you've never won before? Does that mean you've participated in other wars?" Bell asked.

"...I don't know," she replied.

"Huh? What do you mean you don't know?" Hestia looked confused.

"It's...just confusing. Servants usually keep their memories of past wars, but I for some reason can't remember anything. That could also be the reason that I apparently didn't get all the rules of this new war, but the information about this world was pretty complete." Well, apart from the fact that the Grail did not provide detailed information about the gods, the information about the world was complete.

"That's really confusing," Hestia commented.

"Back on topic," Hephaestus attracted their attention again. "After this ritual became a War, it also turned into rampant alien killing. As a result, everyone ended up dying."

Bell felt a tightening in her heart when she said that.

"Thanks to that, the Three Families learned that lesson and established strict new rules. To put it more clearly, the participation of a third party. Tell me, Bell, have you ever heard about the Holy Church?"

Bell has heard about this name before. Searching through his memories, he quickly remembered.

"They are the eternal enemies of the Magus, right? According to my father, this Holy Church had been destroyed in a war..." He quickly connected the dots.

"Yes, the original site where the Holy Church stood was destroyed in the past Holy Grail War, although I don't have many details of it, as it happened in a different location than Orario."

Almost all the information the gods knew about the Holy Grail War was provided by Ouranos, the first god who descended to the mortal world.

"The Holy Church had the role of overseeing the Holy Grail War. Although the Chalice is created through magic, it is still a holy relic. And since the Holy Church has jurisdiction over holy relics, then they have an obligation to oversee the Chalice's provenance. The Magi coerced the Church by saying, 'Come and supervise us if you don't want the victor to use the Chalice for his own benefit."

"I believe the effect was immediate," Bell sighed.

He looked like someone completely different as he was totally focused on this conversation, something Hephaestus and Hestia noticed, but they didn't comment.

"But I am curious about something," he spoke up, attracting everyone's attention. "Has the Chalice been used before?"

That question surprised Hephaestus. It actually sounded more like a statement than a question, which left her a bit speechless before she recovered and answered.

"No. According to what Ouranos told me, the Chalice has never been used before. The Holy Grail War has yet to have any victors. Although we are not sure how many wars have occurred before, it is safe to say that for sure, at least three wars have happened. However, in none of these wars was there a winner, as all participants lost simultaneously."

"What?" Bell's voice sounded strange when he said that.

Hephaestus knew what he must have been thinking at that moment. This whole situation is very suspicious. Looking at her friend, Hestia also looked quite confused, her hands were over her head as she seemed to be straining to make sense of it all.

And seeing Artoria's expression, it was certain to say that she didn't know about this information. Not even Hephaestus is sure about this, she is just saying what Ouranos once told her. Shaking her head, she spoke again.

"Because it was unable to find a bearer capable of activating it, the Chalice disappeared from this world for some time. It took about sixty years for the accumulation of power to be regained, thus marking the beginning of a new Holy Grail War. That's the way it all started."

"That's pretty interesting," Artoria commented. "I had no idea about that story, or at least, I don't know if I knew about it. If I did, then it was lost along with some of my memories..." She looked quite thoughtful about it all.

"Well, am I to assume that the other Servants are all legends like Artoria?" Bell asked.

"Basically," Hephaestus replied. "The Servants are invocations of Heroic spirits from ancient legends and tales that were essential to the establishment of their peoples."

"I also have a question," Hestia who was silent raised her hand. "Why do they refer to Servants using their simple titles like Saber and Lancer?" She remembered Artoria introducing herself as "Saber Class" and also Bell calling the person they fought against Lancer.

Artoria was prepared to answer Hestia again, but Hefestoi was quicker than she was.

"Obviously, part of this is to conceal which Heroic Spirit the Servant is. The Holy Grail War is a multiple battle. It's not as simple as going out defeating every enemy that appears in front. If the Servant reveals his identity to defeat his opponent, and another Servant knows about it, he can use that against the Servant with the revealed identity, am I right?" Hephaestus looked at Artoria.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Usually Servants have a weakness tied to their legends. If the other Servants know the identity of such a Servant, they can use the information provided by the Grail to find that Servant's weakness."

"Besides," Hephaestus spoke, drawing their attention. She was cross-legged and eyes closed. "The more famous the Heroic spirit is, the more weaknesses and details about his death are recorded in the legends. It is not something you would want to reveal considering that there should still be several enemy duos left around you."

This would also reduce the chances of the Master and Servant winning the war.

Bell quickly looked at Artoria and thought about the weaknesses she might have...

...he really should be careful about her identity.

"What are the rules of this war?" Bell asked casually.

Actually, Hestia found it a little creepy that he asked about it in such a calm manner. Didn't he hear Hephaestus talking about killing? Also, all the people dying, especially on Daedalus Street... it was all other Servants from what Bell told them.

He couldn't really be planning to participate in this, right?

"It's a bit complicated to mention everything now. It's late and you'd better go and rest soon. I'll try to summarize, so listen carefully," Hephaestus put his hands on the table before continuing. "Things are more complicated. In the old days it was a total of seven Servants and Seven Masters - who were magus - who faced each other in war, the Servants being the classes, Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Assassin, Caster and Berseker."

"Lancer mentioned something about me not being the only Saber in this war," Artoria commented.

"In fact, this war is quite different from the others," Hephaestus said. "It's likely that this war is the biggest of any ever, as there really isn't a known limit of Masters and Servants like there used to be."

Bell and Artoria both widened their eyes upon hearing this.

"You mean..."

"There is no limit to how many Servants of each class you can have. As long as you have people who can become Masters, there will be more and more Servants joining the war. There could be four Archers, as well as five Assassins. Of course, that's just a theoretical number for the explanation."

Hephaestus did not notice the disgust in Artoria's expression when she mentioned the 5 Assassins. Well, the Assassins are known for trying to kill the Masters quietly, without getting into a full confrontation against the Servants, after all, they are technically the weakest class.

"...That sounds rather problematic," Artoria commented with clear irritation.

'Indeed it is,' Bell thought. 'If there really are several Assassins and they decide to enter into an alliance... things could get very scary.' He really hoped that wouldn't happen, otherwise a big disaster could happen.

"Bell-kun, you're not thinking of joining this war, right?" Hestia asked with concern in her eyes.

"...Well, I summoned Artoria, so technically I'm already participating."

"Besides, the other Servants who were watching sure saw my Master's appearance. He's not really safe. Even if he doesn't participate, he'll still be in danger with the other Servants coming after him," Saber said wisely.

Hestia seemed very concerned about all this. Artoria, of course, noticed this, so she added.

"You don't have to worry too much about it. I was summoned by the Master, I will protect him with my life." Although she was technically dead.

Hestia still seemed reluctant about this, but Hephaestus' look, saying that he couldn't escape participating in the war made her say nothing more about it. In fact, she asked another question.

"Is there a standard for summoning Servants?"

"Usually people use Catalysts to summon the Servant they want. These Catalysts are usually something that were from the Servant themselves when they were alive. If you don't use a Catalyst, it is said that the Servant that the Master summons can be anyone and any class. Basically, it's random," Hephaestus replied.

"If that's the case, how did Bell-kun summon Artoria? I mean, she's King Arthur, right? He doesn't possess anything of hers, so he just randomly summoned her?"

At Hestia's new question, Hephaestus turned her eyes to the necklace that was around Bell's neck. 'Could it be...?' She thought as Artoria began to speak.

"They say that Servants summoned without a Catalyst are suitable for their Master. So, even without a Catalyst, I am probably the most appropriate person for my Master."

Hephaestus doubted that was all it was.

"Right," the goddess of forging stood up. "I think that's enough for today. It will be good for Bell to rest well for the morning. I assume you'll be staying with him, right? From what I know, Servants have a spirit form that they use to recover and follow their Masters without attracting attention, although other Servants might be able to see through it."

"I can't use my spirit form," Artoria said. "My Master doesn't have enough Mana for that, so I will have to recover slowly."

"That is a problem. In that case, will you sleep next to him?" As soon as Hephaestus asked that question, Hestia jumped up from her chair and looked at the blonde, daring her to say anything.

She, however, didn't care about that.

"Exactly. Being in the same room as him will help in case some other Servant might want to sneak attack. Especially Assassin..."

"Uh, there's one rule I forgot to tell you about this war," Hephaestus said suddenly, attracting their attention. "Fights between Servants are only allowed to happen on the middle floors of the Dungeon, as well as Daedalus Street after 10:00 PM. They must take place as inconspicuously as possible from the outside population."

Bell held back from saying anything at that moment. 'Most discreet way possible, huh. That would be nice... if they really were discreet!' He thought. Several deaths occurring in the Dungeon and on Daedalus street, where the hell is that discreet!?

"So, put it this way, it's very unlikely they would try anything outside of those places," she finished.

"Still, I will sleep with Master to be sure. I cannot rule out the possibility that there may be some Master who will not follow these rules."

Well, she had a point.

"Denied!" Hestia who had been listening quietly, finally shouted. "I will not let you sleep next to my Bell-kun-!" She couldn't say anything else as Hephaestus quickly went over to her and covered her mouth with his hands.

"Wow...uheh...!"

"Anyway, you guys can go to sleep. I will take her to my room."

"Blyf...dsfd...gfdf." Hestia was trying to scream, but couldn't.

With that, Hefestou left, dragging a terribly swaying Hestia, trying to get loose. However, before she was out of sight, she spoke again.

"Bell. Do you remember what I said before that the gods can't interfere in anything related to the Holy Grail War?"

"Yes?" He was confused.

"That means that your statuses won't work. Your Falna has been blocked. Hestia cannot update your statuses as long as you remain in this war."

There was a short silence before Hestia began to struggle even harder, but to no avail. They quickly stayed out of sight, all the while Bell was listening to Hestia's noises, probably wanting to scream.

However, he never took his eyes off the direction in which Hephaestus had left. After a while, he finally managed to utter something.

"... What?"

---

Bell was sitting on his bed, lost in thoughts that he was having at the moment.

Artoria was looking at the moon through a glass window that was in Bell's room. She couldn't help but think that it would be easy for any Servant to break into that place, so she would be sure to stay in a state of alert.

Her mind quickly went back to certain words that were spoken to her by Lancer and that blond man.

"I could have killed your Master any time I wanted to. I just didn't do it because it would be dishonorable."

"Don't bark, if I really wanted to kill you or your Master, I would have done it already."

She clenched her fists as she remembered those words. They both said he could kill her Master at any moment, and that made her furious with herself. She couldn't do anything against Lancer, even though he revealed his identity to her. And then there was that blond guy, who was quite strange. He seemed to be a Servant at the same time that he didn't seem to be a Servant. Yes, it's very confusing, and she doesn't know why he makes her think like that.

She can't stay like that. She would protect her Master at any cost.

"That's it, I've made up my mind!" Her Master's voice made her turn to him. "Artoria, I have finally decided what I am going to do."

"And what will it be, Master?"

"First of all," he remarked, standing close to her, the window with the moon behind emitting a mysterious glow. "Call me Bell from now on. It will be strange to have you call me Master everywhere I go."

That was true. Since she could not enter her spirit form to recover, she would have to follow him in her physical form. If she called him Master in front of many people, that might alert a Master nearby.

"Understood, Bell. What have you decided?"

Happy with her calling him by his name, he spoke. "I will focus on winning this War."

She seemed surprised by his words. For some reason, it didn't seem like it was really him saying that. It simply wasn't in his personality to say that. Wait. How could she know what his personality was like if she had only just met him when she was summoned?

"Do you have a wish to make to the Grail?" She asked.

"Yes," he replied. "You are the same, right?"

She merely nodded.

"However, to enter this war for good with intent to win, I have one condition."

"Condition?" She didn't seem to like where the conversation was going.

"I, too, will fight."

Artoria just looked at him. She understood the full meaning of those words. He wanted to fight, even if it meant fighting the Servants themselves.

"I don't think that's a good decision, Bell. The Servants are too strong, leave the battle to me," she insisted.

"I refuse."

"The Falna... that thing you use to increase your strength in this place. It's blocked, isn't it?" She asked.

"That's what Hephaestus-sama said. Why?"

"Do you really plan to fight without the one thing that gave you strength? I can't allow that. Please reconsider."

She seemed quite insistent on that. She didn't want to let him fight. The mere sight of watching him die... simply drove her crazy.

"It doesn't matter," he spoke, moving forward a little more. "The heroes of old don't need Falna to get strong. The story of the hero Argonaut is a good example of that. Even without Falna he managed to defeat a Minotaur, a monster that can kill level 2 beginners here. In addition, you have yourself. Even if I don't have Falna, that's no reason for me to be sad or afraid."

"But..."

He sighed a little and raised his hand toward her. Artoria was a little confused.

"That's a promise and an agreement. You will not fight alone, I will fight with you. We will be partners. We will fight together and win this war together. What do you say, Artoria Pendragon?"

She stared at his hand for quite a while. At that moment, when she saw the small smile on his face, she swore she saw another image behind him. It looked like a man quite similar to him, only a little older. Her heart began to beat uncontrollably before she grabbed his hand on impulse.

Seeing her grab his hand, Bell's smile grew a little wider.

At that moment, the light emitted by the moon shone through the window, illuminating the presence of the two of them.

Artoria smiled.

"I, Artoria Pendragon, will be your sword from now on, Master. Your victory is my victory. Your defeat is my defeat. We will defeat our enemies together. We will win this Holy Grail War."

The promise was made.

A great change in Fate has taken place.

---

I would really like to know what you think about this chapter. Your comments encourage me.

What do you think about this beginning? Eina and Gilgamesh living together? What the hell is going on? Who is this Gilgamesh? Well, tell me your theories and what you think about this little arrangement. It is something quite different, I had fun writing this initial part.

The fight between Saber and Lancer was not as long and detailed as I wanted to write, but I think it's fine for a first fight of the story.

Gilgamesh behaved a little strange in this little conversation of his with Artoria and Bell. While he will still be the Gilgamesh you all know, there will be some differences caused by something you will probably learn about later in the story. Also, which version of Gilgamesh is this? Also, he seems to know a little too much, huh? Tell me your theories :)

Artoria seems a bit forgetful of things...

Who is the Servant of our green haired elf? A hint, he is not exactly from the Fate series, but I thought he suits her very well because of everything that happened to both of them. I think you can guess from the description I gave, right?

I would like suggestions for who Finn's Servant should be. I have a brief idea, but I would like to know if you know someone better than I think. The Servant doesn't necessarily have to be from the Fate series, but it is preferable. So if you know someone who matches him, be sure to let me know! I also have a little plot prepared for Finn.

Most of the rules of the Holy Grail are the same, with a few noticeable differences. I could have gone more in depth on that, but I can do it in later chapters with a few mentions. The essentials were talked about in the chapter.

The names of the Three Families were not mentioned here. Can anyone guess who they are?

Bell did not reveal Lancer's identity to the goddesses. We can say that his mind was focused on too many things that he forgot this small detail. I know that I have not revealed who is supervising this crazy War, this will be shown in later chapters, patience.

Tell me what you thought of this final conversation between Bell and Artoria. I admit that I rushed it a bit, but I really wanted to post this chapter quickly, after all there was none for a long time.

Let me know what you think about the story so far :)