6: Your Orders, Master?

Irisviel fell to her knees and shivered, unable to defend herself from what was coming.

It seemed that Archer was not lying about the poison – he couldn't neutralize it and even his death would not help to heal Llamrei. Magic used to produce the toxin was a mix of Alchemy and Necromancy, the two of Kayneth's El-Melloi Archibald main specializations.

"Well, he's a man of many talents," Emiya admitted reluctantly after examining the mare.

"But she can be healed?"

Irisiviel gently touched Lancer's arm to comfort her.

"Of course. But we'll need some time before she recovers completely. And it's better not to ride into battle in her current state."

"I'm glad to hear it." Arturia nodded, much calmer than before. She followed her Master to the big room on the second floor of the castle.

They all gathered here to discuss their tactics. Kiritsugu showed them a map with possible locations of the materialized Grail and decided, that facing Caster head-on was not necessary. They should rather focus on avoiding him and eliminating other Masters during this mess. Arturia eventually agreed, although she preferred to finish the fiend off as soon as possible, mostly for the sake of the kidnapped children, but also to sate her pride.

And then the situation changed drastically, when Caster assaulted the Einzbern territory, bringing a group of hostages with him.

"There they are," said Irisviel, looking into the crystal ball. Behind her back Maiya and Kiritsugu had already prepared their weapons.

"The enemy is provoking us." Lancer was ready to act. "I'll go out and give him what he wants."

Exactly at this moment Caster smiled to them through the glass, well aware of the fact, that he had been observed.

"I, Gilles de Rais, have come as promised to see my beautiful Unholy Virgin! I've brought the first offering with me, so she will remember, why she's been summoned here. We may later entertain ourselves together, just like this..."

He dispelled the charm, woke the children up and explained the creepy 'survival game' to them, crushing the skull of a random boy just for show. The rest of the hostages dispersed, screaming in fear.

"Your orders, Master?"

Emiya remained silent. He did not like the idea of letting this mad Servant do as he pleased, but there were too many arguments against letting Lancer go to the forest in her current condition.

Arturia must have understood his doubts, because she explained calmly:

"Master, their lives are the most valuable things they have. I was a king once, able to decide, which lives must be sacrificed for the greater good, but I am no more. As far as I know, you're not their king either. That's why I suggest to let me crush Caster. If there is a possibility to spare lives, it's only logical to do so. Their deaths are unnecessary and clearly against the rules of the Holy Grail War."

Kiritsugu seemed surprised by Lancer's argumentation. It was not what he expected from this particular version of the King of Knights. Also, it reminded him of a certain idealistic swordsman in their team.

"You shouldn't speak with Saber too often..."

"I don't know what you mean, Master."

Emiya sighed, having no time for explanations.

"How do you intent do fight without Llamrei?"

"Rhongomyniad is a spear like any other." The lance appeared in Arturia's hand and twirled ominously. "I can fight on foot as well. Probably only my Noble Phantasm will not work at full power, but I won't be needing it in this fight."

Kiritsugu hesitated anyway. The weapon was heavy and unwieldy, not to mention that it would probably lose at least half of its hitting power without a mount.

"Master." There was something dangerous in Arturia's voice and gaze, not yet a threat, but icy stubbornness. "If you don't believe in the strength of your Servant, let me show it. I'll destroy that fiend with ease."

"Kiritsugu?" Irisviel's eyes were full of hope. She, too, wanted to save those children.

Emiya only glanced briefly at Iri, but she knew him well enough to understand his silent message.

"Lancer, defeat Caster!"

"I shall!"

"So, you go fight and I will support you from the shadows. Yeah, sounds like a perfect plan to me."

Archer stood up; it seemed that keeping balance on the moving motorcycle was not a problem for him. Actually, he turned out to be more agile than any circus acrobat. "I'll be going. I need some time for preparations. The forest is my domain, but still…"

"One more thing. Remember that you're here to fight Caster, not the Einzberns."

"Of course! What do you take me for?"

Siegfried laughed, watching Robin, who just swiftly jumped to the nearest tree branch and disappeared from sight.

Driving through the forest at night was not a very good idea, but with Saber's Riding skill it almost turned into a pleasurable experience. At least until he spotted traces of blood on the branches. Next was a severed hand on the grass. And a crushed head nearby.

"What the…"

The sounds of fighting became louder with each passing meter. Siegfried was getting closer to the battlefield, but he could barely focus on the upcoming duel. The images of massacred children filled his mind, making his blood boil. It was something he couldn't forget or forgive.

Easy, don't let your anger control you. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Turn it into power to defeat your enemies. Just like… that!

With a swing of a sword, powered by a mana blast and impetus of the braking vehicle, he destroyed the nearest anemone-like monsters around Arturia. Unfortunately, his strike did not reach Caster, who summoned more of demonic minions and used them as his shield.

"You're late," Lancer said shortly. She did not stop piercing and smashing the creatures, which kept reappearing instantly. Their regeneration ability was far beyond average. Saber quickly realized, what was the real problem in fighting them. "Maybe we should buy you a cell phone?"

"Sorry." Siegfried had already entered his battle stance, standing next to Arturia. With their powers and range combined, no tentacles could break through. "And it sounds like a good idea, to be honest."

"Who are you?!" To say, that Caster was furious, would be an understatement.

"Lancer, should we tell him? After all, we're the last persons he'll ever see."

"I don't think he deserves it. I won't give my true name to a filthy beast."

"Well said."

The two knights unleashed hell together. The summoned creatures couldn't harm Saber in any way, but he needed to stay cautious to not get wrapped in too many tentacles and immobilized. It was only a matter of time for them to reach Caster. Also, he should run out of his magical energy soon.

It seemed that Arturia was also enjoying this back to back fight. She even dispelled her helmet and parts of armor, probably because of their weight, quite troublesome for a foot soldier.

"What's with that smirk?" – Siegfried asked, seeing Lancer's self-confident expression.

"Nothing." She smiled even wider. "You're the only person, who's not commenting on my fighting style tonight."

"Why should I? Every swordsman can use spears, more or less efficiently. I know what you can do with this thing. And don't get so cocky, I can use my sword with one hand too. I'm not yet impressed."

"Well said." Arturia's chuckle drowned in the splashing sounds of the anemone-like monters, mercilessly cut to pieces all around her.

The door literally exploded and an elegant man slowly entered the castle.

"I, the ninth head of the Archibald family, Kayneth El-Melloi, have come. Einzbern mage, let us duel for the Grail with our lives and our honor!"

There was no response to his challenge, so he proceeded through the empty hall. Many traps exploded around him, but they were all stopped by his favorite weapon, Volumen Hydrargyrum.

"You have really fallen so low, Einzbern, to rely on such petty tricks? Very well. This will be an extermination."

Irisviel looked back at the castle with a worried expression. Kiritsugu had been left alone to fight with the enemy magus and she didn't like this idea in the slightest.

"Madam, please hurry." Maiya, even if she, too, had some doubts, did not show it, reserved as always.

Another electric-like shock came through Irisviel's circuits, informing her about an intruder, but this time she smiled. Maiya raised an eyebrow, waiting for explanation.

"Saber is here." Iri couldn't hide the fact, that she liked and trusted this Servant, probably even more than Arturia. "And he's brought someone with him."

"Good. Now we don't have to worry about Lancer and her condition."

"So it seems. Ugh!" Iri winced, struck by another impulse. "This time…"

"What's wrong, Madam?" Seeing Irisviel's frightened face, Maiya instinctively prepared her weapon.

"It's him!"

The two women looked at each other in silence, knowing, what needed to be done.

Kirei Kotomine, the one enemy Kiritsugu did not want to face, had come here after him. It was only natural for Irisviel and Maiya to do what they could to stop him.

"His magical energy…."

"Yes."

"So we should…"

"Yes."

"It's a pleasure to work with you, Lancer." Saber chuckled. It was probably the shortest discussion about tactics he had ever had.

To end the battle quickly one of them needed to use a Noble Phantasm, while the other keeps the tentacles at bay. Siegfried was not very happy about the idea of revealing his identity here and now. He prepared to guard Arturia's back instead, but something deeper in the forest alarmed him. It was unusually noisy out there; first he could hear gunshots, and now some dull, heavy sounds, like if someone was trying to knock down a tree with their bare hands.

"I'm sorry, Lancer. I have a bad feeling about it," he threw through his shoulder, dematerializing in a hurry.

"Wait!" Arturia frowned angrily. She was now forced to face Caster and his monsters alone, which would probably lead nowhere. Not to mention, that Saber had betrayed her in the crucial moment again!

"Hey, don't worry, Iron Lady." The voice, which echoed between the trees, sounded familiar. "Give the fish-eyed bastard what he deserves, I'll cover you!"

As to confirm those words, the rain of arrows had fallen at Caster and his army of slimy fiends. The toxin somehow slowed down their regeneration and even summoning process, but, judging from Archer's tone, most likely not for long.

"Go!"

Arturia needed no more encouragement. Her lance was already raised to a strike, swirling like a creepy drill and gathering dark energy into a miniature tornado. It was far from the real power of the weapon, but Lancer suspected that nothing more was needed to get rid of the abominable Servant they were facing.

"Rhongo-myniad!"

"Whaaaa...?!" Caster squealed, hit by the wave of purple energy. Even such small blast was enough to wipe him out, along with his partially materialized army of monsters.

The two women could only helplessly look at the falling tree. Kotomine, now free from Iri's magical strings, slowly walked up to Maiya.

"Bastard!" She was still fighting, trying to shoot him down, but a strong kick in the throat excluded her from this battle.

Irisviel fell to her knees and shivered, unable to defend herself from what was coming.

"Is that all you can do? Kick defenseless women?"

Unexpected strike of the great sword almost blew Kotomine away. Despite his inhuman reflex and speed, the Executor could not dodge this attack on time. Only a sacrifice of one of his Assassins, who took the blow on his unprotected chest, saved Kirei from an immediate death. The masked Servant disappeared in a cloud of blood, literally cut in half.

"S-Saber…" Irisviel was surprised and grateful, but also scared. Siegfried's eyes were shining with a strange, cold light. She didn't expect to see such bloodlust in the gaze of this calm, good-natured warrior. It was obvious that he would not show mercy to this enemy. It was the look he had for evil monsters.

"Lady Irisviel, forgive me for arriving late. Please, take Miss Maiya with you and retreat."

She nodded and obeyed. Saber did not wait either, just swirled his sword and charged at the enemy Master.

"How did he break through your guard?" Kirei was focused on defense, throwing at Saber one Black Key after another, but this question bothered him too much to just ignore it.

"Forgive us, Master. We didn't see him coming."

That sounded like another interesting information, but there was no time to think about it. Kirei faced a far more serious problem. His Black Keys could not stop an enraged Saber class Servant, it was a job for Assassins.

"We will secure your retreat, Master," one of them said and a rain of daggers fell down at Saber, forcing him to stop and block them. "Should we defeat the enemy or only slow him down?"

Kotomine, now relatively safe, quickly considered both suggestions. In the forest Saber was at disadvantage, there were many options for Assassin to hide, surround him and strike from all directions at once.

"Try to eliminate him. But withdraw if it's not possible."

"Understood."

Kayneth was pursuing Emiya through the empty corridors, bleeding from the wound on his shoulder and activating every single trap on his way. He just couldn't believe that such a scum managed to break through his defense. This insult couldn't be left unpunished.

He found his opponent at the highest floor and their usual 'battle' began.

"You don't think that the same trick will work twice, do you?" Kayneth smiled viciously, safe and untouched by the bullets behind the curtain of liquid mercury.

Kiritsugu did not answer. He was about to unleash his ultimate attack and take lord El-Melloi down with his Origin Bullet, but something sharp hit his hand. He growled painfully and almost dropped the rifle.

"Hey, Master! I'm taking you away from here." Archer materialized between the fighting mages. "Lancer may show up at any moment, let's hurry."

Emiya stepped back, but the enemy Servant had no intention to attack him. Robin only grabbed his surprised Master, when he lowered his Volumen Hydrargyrum, and escaped through the broken window. He stopped at the edge of the forest, far beyond the reach of Lancer or her Master.

"Why have you interrupted my duel, Archer?!" Kayneth did not look happy at all. He probably did not realize, that his life had just been saved. "I told you to go after Caster!"

"That fight is over," Robin explained simply. "You were in danger, Master. Actually, you still are."

"So you defeated Caster?"

"He's been damaged badly and disappeared, so I can't really tell." Archer shrugged. "That Lancer is scary. You should retreat, Master."

"But, fortunately, her Master is an amateur, a small fry, who just had enough luck to scratch me in this round."

Yes, this extremely lucky amateur almost killed you! Robin tried hard to remain silent and even looked away, to not provoke lord El-Melloi any further.

"Master, you should retreat," he repeated and checked his weapons, preparing for the next battle.

"Where do you think you're going, Archer?"

"To help Saber. Our plan was to…"

"What?! 'Your plan'?" This short sentence had somehow become a trigger to activate all the worst of Kayneth's personality, including his galloping paranoia. "You made a pact with the enemy behind my back? Without my permission?! How dare you decide about such things?!"

"You ordered me to find Master of Saber. It was the best way…"

"Then show me the results! Where's his Master?" A heavy silence was the only answer. It enraged Kayneth even more. "At least tell me that you know, how to defeat him! I'm sure that you're hiding something. Maybe you're plotting against me with Saber, huh? 'Rescuing me' forcibly was a part of the plan?"

Robin clenched his teeth, cursing his own naiveté and bad luck. Kayneth couldn't be reasoned with right now. Maybe it was because of a blood loss? Or he just couldn't recognize failure and defeat, even thrown right in his face?

"Master, I suggest…" – the bowman tried to stop this madness.

"How dare you instruct me?!" But he got an attack of mindless fury in response. "Damned Archer class and its Independent Action skill! You asked for it, I'll tell you what kind of plan we're going to follow! By the power of my Command Seal..."

Archer stepped back, not really sure, how to react.

"Master, please reconsider this!"

"…I, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, order you…"

"Master, I beg you!"

"Oh? You – begging me? Ha, ha, ha! So I hit the spot? You won't hide any information from me anymore. Shut up!" Kayneth clenched his fist and almost hit his Servant, when he tried to interrupt again. "By the power of my Command Seal I order you…"

When he finished, a circle of red light reached Archer and forced him to obey. Having no other choice, Robin turned around and ran through the forest, to ambush his prey.

Siegfried held his breath, focused as never before, his sword at the level of his eyes, senses sharpened to its limits. He was at disadvantage, surrounded by invisible enemies, but did not intend to give ground.

First daggers came straight to his face, to blind or at least distract him. He blocked them with his metal glove. Although such blades couldn't really hurt Saber, he decided to keep his invulnerability secret as long as possible. Revealing it just like that might provoke Assassin to actively search for his weak point.

Another moment of silence, then a sound of throwing weapons from the right, and an attempt to stab Siegfried with a short sword from the left. Turn, block, turn, block. Saber was moving mechanically, trusting his skills. The fool, who attacked him openly, quickly regretted this decision, when his severed arm flew into the bushes. The next one, with two strange daggers, fell on the ground just a moment later, with his head crushed by Balmung's hilt.

Some attacks were prepared only to lure Saber into a trap, others to tire him up or make him lose focus. Faster, faster, one blow after another. Assassin, along with Archer, was the most dangerous opponent for Siegfried. The swordsman began to wonder, how much longer he would last...

A thin dagger hit him in the back, just few centimeters from the cursed mark. It was not an accident, someone missed the target on purpose. Then all Assassins retreated, leaving Siegfried startled between the trees. It was really strange, like if the enemy had suddenly changed his plans and left a disturbing message before departure.

'I could have killed you,' it said.

"Then why you didn't?" – Saber asked, but no one answered.

A long while must have passed before Siegfried let himself relax a little and lower his sword. The forest was quiet, with no signs of Servants nearby. Maybe even too quiet.

"Saber!"

His eyes widened. He had just heard Illya's voice, but how was it even possible?

And then the Dragon Slayer understood. It was a barely noticeable feeling, like the slightest movement of the air or a distant swish. Like a sound of a feather flying with the wind.

An arrow was coming from behind, straight to Saber's mark on the back. He couldn't dodge it. He couldn't block it. He had no time to run or even turn around. It was pointless. The arrow was already too close, moving too fast...

Saber knew that, whatever he tries to do, he won't make it on time.