I am by no means an early riser, but there is something soothing about the dawn. The sky is clear and the birds are chirping happily. Dewdrops fall off the nearby plants as a cool breeze blows by. The sun rises from the horizon to signal a new dawn - a new beginning.

I take a deep breath, enjoying the tranquil scene as I walk down the street with Jeanne. It almost feels like the fresh start of a new life.

If only that were true.

Well, savoring this peace and quiet is a little difficult considering where we are going.

Another mutilated body has been found this morning. I'm fairly confident it's the work of a Servant but there's only one way to find out.

That being said, my companion is a bit too quiet. Jeanne walks behind me, her golden hair swinging as she runs her fingers through it. One time, several times - until she notices my stare. She walks faster and catches up, keeping pace with my strides.

"You're unusually quiet this morning," I say. "Is something the matter?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking about yesterday," she answers, bowing her head in apology. "I am deeply sorry for my rude behavior."

"Oh, that," I reply. "Don't beat yourself up about it. What's done is done. Just keep out of my personal stuff in the future. I don't want to talk about that topic anymore."

"I see..." she responds. "Thank you, Master."

We arrive at our destination about five minutes later. It's one of the small houses in the rural area of the town. What's immediately noticeable are the police cars parked in front of it with several cops walking around the estate.

We approach the entrance to the front yard where a policeman steps in front of us, blocking our path.

"Halt. This is a restricted area," he says, holding out his hand. "No access for civilians."

"My name is Sekino Ryozo, Private Investigator," I say to him as I reach for a card in my pocket which I hand over. "I was hired to investigate a series of murders that have been occurring here lately."

"And who is this?" the officer says as he looks at Jeanne.

"This is my assistant, Laeticia," I reply promptly.

The officer raises an eyebrow but takes the card from my hand anyway. He scans over it carefully before excusing himself for a moment.

"You have a false identity?" Jeanne whispers to me.

"About a dozen, in fact," I reply. "It's standard practice in this business to get just about anywhere you need to."

"That sounds really useful," Jeanne replies.

The policeman comes back and hands me my card.

"You're free to look around but we are just about to wrap this up and bring the body to the morgue," he states, stepping aside. "Oh, and word of advice: what you're going to see inside is not for the faint of heart."

"Thank you for the warning, officer," I say, already moving towards the house with Jeanne.

We step into the house and walk past a few more policemen. I see one of them slightly hunched over and covering his mouth. Looks like he's about to vomit. Another one is next to him, seemingly to make sure he's alright.

We step into the living room that has become the crime scene. No policemen are here at the moment.

I narrow my eyes at this horrifying sight in front of me. It looks like something out of a horror movie. A woman lies on the ground on the center of the room next to the dining table. There is a pool of blood around her body and what appears to be some of her organs beside her.

The room itself is relatively small and modest. There is a small table near the wall on the opposite side with a few chairs, to the right is the window with a view to the front yard, and to the left is the access to the kitchen. I reckon that she lives here alone, judging by the singular plate on the table.

I put on my gloves. I've come face to face with death a lot of times. I've seen worse than this.

I approach the body carefully and crouch down. The victim appears to have been in her early twenties. She was eating dinner when the attack occurred judging from the food on the table that is now rotten. The chair she sat in is knocked over.

Her throat is severed by two cuts. No signs of any struggle. The abdomen is ripped open and there is a long, deep, jagged wound. Most of her organs in that part of the body were taken out and arranged next to her remains as if this is a showcase. Whoever did this seems to be proud of his work and wants others to see it. Disgusting.

"Can you ask one of the policemen if they found any evidence or clues that might lead to the killer?" I ask Jeanne who nods, leaving the room soon after.

What is interesting to note is that while this may look like a butcher's work, the killer did it with surgical precision judging by the clean cuts. That means that he has at least some degree of knowledge about anatomy.

The giveaway, and the one clue that I was looking for, is that she is extremely pale. In other words, she has been drained completely of her prana.

I get back up just as Jeanne returns. I turn towards her, waiting for her to say if she found anything of use.

"They have not found anything to give us a lead on the killer," she says before looking back at the victim with a mournful expression. "But there was a strange cloud of fog around this area when the woman died."

An unidentifiable killer with a strange cloud of fog following him wherever he goes. Every victim had its abdomen ripped open which isn't necessary to extract a person's prana. There was no need to mutilate the corpses to this degree but he did it anyway because that is his signature. That is all I needed to hear.

"This was definitely a Servant," I say in a low voice. "Let's talk outside. I've figured out what we're dealing with."

We leave the house and say farewell to the officer that is guarding the entrance. Once we round the next corner and are out of hearing distance, I check one more time in case anyone else is nearby.

"We are up against the boogeyman that every child in London has heard stories of so that they would behave," I scoff. "Jack the Ripper."

Tch. I still remember those caretakers in the orphanage trying to spook us with stories about him. A serial killer who haunted the Whitechapel district of London in 1888 and spread fear. Five murders were attributed to the Ripper while a handful of others couldn't be conclusively linked to him. Of course, he was never caught so the Ripper's true identity remains a mystery to this day.

"The fog must be one of his Noble Phantasms then," Jeanne adds. "Since London is sometimes referred to as the Mist City."

"You're right," I reply. "Now we just have to find him and take him out before he can get stronger."

"There has been at least a couple of murders every night," she says. "So, if we stay vigilant, we might find him this evening."

"Sounds like a plan," I conclude. "A massive cloud of fog should be easy to spot."


"There, up ahead!" Jeanne says.

We come to a stop in front of a massive cloud of fog after our short sprint. We spent the whole day in the city to pass the time until nightfall. It looks like it paid off.

I look around to check if there are any civilians nearby. Once I confirm that the coast is clear I draw my revolver while Jeanne materializes her battle attire.

"We have no choice but to go in blind," I mutter. "But this is our chance to take out Assassin before he can become a bigger threat."

Jeanne nods. "Stay close to me, Master."

With that, we venture into the unknown, carefully taking one step at a time and staying vigilant for anything that comes our way. Unfortunately, I can't see more than a few meters with how thick this fog is, so I'll have to rely on my hearing.

An eerie silence settles in. The only sound I can perceive is our quiet steps and my own breathing. Assassin, Jack the Ripper, could strike at any moment.

A loud thud drives us both to flinch.

"It seems to have come from somewhere ahead of us," Jeanne whispers.

"Let's check it out," I reply before slowly moving forward.

As we approach, the sound of steel clashing against steel echoes in our surroundings. I also notice that we're no longer walking on asphalt, but on grass. We must be in a park.

I can make out one huge silhouette moving rapidly in the fog ahead of us and a smaller one appearing for short moments before vanishing again. The smaller one seems to be throwing knives judging by his movement which the other one deflects with ease.

The bigger silhouette suddenly snaps his head towards our direction. He makes one thunderous clap with his hands. The resulting shockwave momentarily clears the fog in our vicinity, giving everyone a good look at each other.

I see a man wearing a dirty and ragged coat with a white piece of cloth around his head to cover his face and a top hat standing on a lamp post. That must be Jack the Ripper.

STR: C+
AGL: A
LUK: E
END: C
MP: C
NP: C

Nothing too spectacular except his agility. What's more surprising though is that the opponent he has been fighting until now is Berserker of all people. How in the world did he recover so fast?

Wait, something's wrong. He seems kind of different. He has a completely neutral expression and the fire in his axes isn't burning. Additionally, I see none of his undead soldiers running around. It is possible that he doesn't think Assassin to be enough of a threat to use them but he wouldn't have to worry about others watching thanks to the fog.

I see Jeanne getting in front of me, materializing her flagpole in her right hand and assuming a battle stance.

"Hmph, this is too much," Assassin comments as he looks from Jeanne back to Berserker.

He leaps out of sight and the fog vanishes along with him.

I now get a clear look at my surroundings. We're in the middle of a park. Parts of the ground are shattered along with what was once a fountain. The result of the fight between Assassin and Berserker no doubt.

How Assassin was able to keep up with-

Wait...

What did Assassin look like again? What were his stats?

"Saber," I whisper to her. "What did Assassin look like?"

"He was-" Jeanne stops. "Uhm... I do not remember?"

Well, at least I can rule out that I suddenly suffered short term memory loss. Must be one of Assassin's skills. More importantly, Berserker has been patiently standing there, just watching us with an indifferent expression.

I eye him a little closer.

STR: A
AGL: A
LUK: C
END: B
MP: C
NP: A++

This can't be right. I am positive that Berserker had completely different parameters. None of the material I went through mentioned anything about Servant being able to change their parameters. This is a Servant standing before me, but I highly doubt that this is Berserker.

That reminds me, where is his Master?

"Master," Jeanne says. "Someone is hiding behind that tree."

I look toward the tree behind Berserker just as the person in question steps out of hiding. A woman with long white hair and ruby red eyes stands before us, wearing a white winter coat. An Einzbern homunculus. She looks just like what was described in the information I gathered. Well, they technically all look the same.

"Greetings, Master of Saber," she says, bowing formally. "I am Isasviel von Einzbern."

She's standing too close to the fake Berserker. If I'll shoot her now, he'll probably block it.

Upon seeing my lack of communication, Isasviel continues, "Have none of the Masters in this war been taught manners?"

"What does it matter if we are going to kill each other anyway," I reply. "I don't care for your name and you don't care for mine. Am I wrong?"

"You have a point," she answers, snapping her fingers. "Berserker, kill them."

The fake Berserker assumes a battle stance, drawing his right foot back while leaning forward.

"Saber, be careful," I whisper to her. "This is not the same one you fought the other night."

The two Servants stare each other down, waiting for their opponent to make the first move.

Suddenly, the clouds in the sky part and a radiant light shines on the environment around us. A massive creature descends from the heavens and lands on our right.

"What the-" I mutter to myself, trying to fathom the sight in front of me.

This is... a sphinx? Its skin looks like a piece of space. What's more, is that I can see two people on top of it. The tanned man with a white cloak, gold and blue gauntlets, loosely fitting brown trousers, and a scepter in his right hand must be the Servant. The one cowering behind him, a tanned girl that looks younger than me with light brown hair must be the Master. They kind of look like father and daughter.

"Heed my voice!" the man on the sphinx announces as he places his hand on his hip, looking down on us. "I am Pharaoh Ozymandias, King of Kings! Worship me, for I shall allow you to prostrate yourselves before me like the sun!"

All of us, including the girl behind him, stare with different degrees of disbelief at him, except Berserker who remains stoic as ever. He just revealed his true name to all of us. I'm not complaining about this free bit of information. However…

STR: C
AGL: B
LUK: A+
END: C
MP: A
NP: EX

An EX rank in Noble Phantasm?! Part of me doesn't want to know what else he has besides this cosmic sphinx.

"I cannot do that," Jeanne replies firmly. "For the only one I worship is the Lord and no one else."

Ozymandias looks at her in disdain now. "You would defy me, Ozymandias, the ruler of the earth and he who strikes fear in the mighty gods themselves?"

"Nonsense!" another voice, brimming with arrogance, speaks up before Jeanne can respond.

Another light appears to my left but much smaller in scale than the previous one. Fine golden dust appears above a lamppost and begins to take physical form.

A man clad in excessive golden armor with a red cloak around his waist appears. His hair is equally golden and standing up like a blazing flame. He looks down on us with his crimson eyes.

"I am the only Hero King in heaven and earth," he states. "The rest of you are merely just a rabble of mongrels."

Well, someone's convinced of himself. Let's see his parameters.

STR: B
AGL: C
LUK: A
END: C
MP: B
NP: EX

Another one with an EX rank in Noble Phantasm?! Is this a bad joke or something?

"Oh?" Ozymandias smirks. "I see that fate has summoned a king of high caliber in this war. However, kings are not comparable to the absolute pharaohs!"

"Is that so?" the golden man replies. "Then shall we put it to the test?"

As he says that, two golden portals appear just above his head with two Noble Phantasms peeking out of them. One seems to be a sword and the other a spear from what I can see. Pretty bold of him to just showcase them for us to see.

Ozymandias narrows his eyes at the weapons that are pointed at him but he doesn't move at all.

I can practically feel the tension in the air rising. One more move and this powder keg is about to detonate. The golden king on the lamppost must be Archer. Since Jeanne is the Saber and we've already met Berserker, Assassin, and Rider, that only leaves Archer, Lancer, and Caster. He doesn't seem like the close combat type and isn't using magic either. By process of elimination, he can only be Archer.

Archer suddenly diverts his gaze from Rider to Berserker on his left, who has been staring at him intently ever since he arrived.

"Who gave you permission to look upon me, you rabid dog?" he sneers, his two golden portals turn towards him. "May your death provide me some modicum of entertainment, mongrel."

As he says this, the weapons from his portals shoot towards the imposter at an incredible speed.

Berserker drops his axes, and catches both weapons flying towards him. He then uses the momentum to spin on the spot and hurls them back to Archer.

Two more golden portals open and swallow the projectiles before they can hit their mark.

"You dare lay your filthy hands on my precious treasures?" Archer says, turning towards him. "You must long for a painful death, cur!"

Sixteen golden portals open behind Archer. Swords, spears, halberds, and axes in all shapes and sizes peek out of them, each a different Noble Phantasm. Just how many does this guy have?

"Very well, mongrel," he says. "Let us all see just how long your impudent thievery can keep you alive now!"

With that, he fires off his Noble Phantasms. Berserker manages to pick up his axes just in time to deflect the first couple of weapons before running to the side to dodge the rest as they hit the ground, creating small explosions.

Archer isn't letting up and continues to fire more and more weapons out of his portals like a gatling gun. Berserker runs up to the cosmic sphinx with the barrage of Noble Phantasms right behind him.

The faceless sphinx fires a beam of blue light at the approaching Servant who jumps high into the air and throws his axes at Rider.

"Pathetic!" Rider exclaims, two beams of sunlight shooting down the axes.

The sphinx takes to the air to avoid Archer's bombardment just as Berserker lands and continues to evade the attacks aimed at him.

"You are a fool to raise your blade against the Pharaoh!" Rider adds, the sphinx now in pursuit of Berserker.

I'm questioning the strategy of this imposter. If there is one to begin with. First, he makes the golden Archer angry. Then, he attacks Rider before picking up his axes again, all while dodging the attacks from both Servants. He turns and runs towards our position now. I see what he is trying to accomplish. He wants us to get caught in the crossfire.

"Master, stay close!" Jeanne says, readying her banner.

Berserker rapidly approaches and jumps over us in the last possible moment. Jeanne rotates her flagpole very quickly, shielding us from Archer's projectiles and Rider's sphinx.

The area around us gets obliterated by the various swords and spears thrown by Archer. Chunks of the earth patter against my clothes. Following that, Rider's sphinx scorches the ground with its beam as it passes over our heads, creating a strong gust of wind.

Just then, in the corner of my vision, one of the swords stuck in the ground next to us catches my eye. It looks awfully similar to Jeanne's sword. The only difference is that this one is missing the blue coloring and ornamentations at the handle.

"Saber, do you see that sword?" I say, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Hm? Which one?" she replies.

"The one over-" I say, stopping halfway as I notice that it vanished into fine golden dust along with the ones around it. "Never mind."

Berserker continues to run as he steps sideways, jumps, or deflects incoming fire with his axes while keeping up his pace. I've got to admit, it is really impressive how this Berserker manages to dodge both Archer and Rider's attacks in a manner that looks almost graceful.

However, this may be an excellent opportunity to take out the Einzbern Master while she seems distracted.

"Saber, keep your guard up," I say behind her back.

I quickly draw my revolver and take aim. I stare at her head through the iron sights for a moment before I fire. Just when I think I have her, a snow-white familiar in the shape of a bird made of strings dives in front of her. It blocks the bullet and shatters like a porcelain cup on contact with it.

Isasviel looks at me with an expression that might as well translate to: "Really now?"

Damn it. It was worth a shot though.

"I tire of this!" Archer says.

Another two dozen portals open in the area above over Berserker, blanketing the entire area with explosions. Rider's sphinx is also hit by a few of them but just shrugs it off as if it's no big deal.

As we wait for the smoke to clear to see what has become of Berserker, the Einzbern homunculus says: "Berserker, retreat at once!"

Berserker emerges out of the smoke, unscathed, and lands next to the homunculus. He picks her up in his arms and jumps away with one massive leap.

"Hmph, how disappointing," Rider comments, crossing his arms.

"A mongrel will always be a mongrel," Archer says.

They now look at each other as if to continue where they left off before they engaged Berserker. The sphinx lands on the ground again. I can see Rider's Master clinging onto the sphinx with a terrified look. It must have been a bumpy ride.

"I take it that you are also after my treasure like those thieves, King of the Sun?" Archer says.

"My invocation in this day and age can only mean one thing," Rider says proudly. "I am needed to save the world from its wretched state. Therefore, I will require a body that will allow me to do so and burn everyone to ashes that stands in my way!"

Archer claims that the Grail already belongs to him while Rider says that he is destined to save the world.

At this point, I am wondering which of them has the bigger ego. It even seems like they forgot Jeanne and I are still here or they simply don't care.

"Oh? In that case, there is only one thing left to do!" Archer announces with a smirk. "I had doubts that this farce could bring forth someone worth my time, but unusual situations do arise."

More golden portals open up behind Archer. As expected, a different Noble Phantasm peeks out of each of them. However, there's a clustered group of portals above Archer's head where there isn't anything. It's just an empty portal.

Archer's eyes widen for a moment as he looks back to those portals. His confident and arrogant appearance falters for a moment before he regains his composure. The portals all vanish a moment later.

"But it would be quite vexing to do battle on such a grossly insufficient stage," Archer says.

"Indeed," Rider replies. "We shall settle this once the lesser Heroic Spirits are dealt with."

Archer diverts his gaze to us as if acknowledging our existence and says: "Mongrels, see to it that you are prepared for our next encounter. Only a true hero may look upon my glorious presence."

With that, he disappears into fine golden particles. Finally, Rider turns towards us with a smirk.

"Rejoice, I have changed my mind," he says. "Saber, you stood steadfast in the face of two rulers with unwavering resolution. I do hold interest in Heroic Spirits who are pure and honest in nature. All the more so if they are heroes who saved the world. Therefore, I will not end this war just yet. Rather, I am interested to see where this goes. Until we meet again!"

With one final laugh, his sphinx takes flight and vanishes into the night sky.

Seeing that the danger has passed, Jeanne's battle dress dematerializes into fine blue particles again. I look around and take in the view of what was a peaceful park an hour ago. Small craters blanket the ground. A stench of burnt grass lingers in the air. It almost looks like someone ordered an airstrike on this place.

Oh well, it's up to the church to cover this stuff up.

"Let's go home," I say, putting away my revolver.

This will be a difficult fight. We couldn't eliminate Assassin. On the upside, we have Rider's identity. It's a good thing that his Master doesn't seem to be an experienced mage, otherwise we'd have an even bigger problem.

Then there is that Einzbern Servant. There is no way it was a copy or familiar, so it must be a Servant with a shapeshifting ability. Meaning that it must be Lancer or Caster. Furthermore, they must have observed our fight with Berserker.

Finally, there is that golden Archer. As arrogant as he may be, he is very powerful. He just vomits Noble Phantasms out of his golden portals like it's nothing. The next step will be to figure out his identity. He is in possession of Saint Catherine's sword, so we just have to track down a king who owned it.

"Master, are you alright?" Jeanne asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply. "I was just thinking about what's next. I'll work on figuring out Archer's true name once we're home."

"Oh no," Jeanne says. "You are going to rest. Do not think that I have not noticed you practically falling asleep on your laptop, or how your eyes sag with every little move you make. Exhaustion is the enemy, Master."

"Seriously, I think you worry too much," I say. "I've been doing fine so far like this."

"All the more reason for me to look after you," she says.

"Alright, fine," I concede. "If it'll ease your mind, I'll rest. I suppose it's only fair to take your advice to heart since you do most of the fighting in this war for me."

"I was never one for fighting, really. But I am not a coward afraid of blood either," she replies.

"You were able to hold your ground against Archer and Rider though," I say. "Considering how powerful their attacks were, I'd say you're a proficient fighter. And… I'm glad that someone as reliable as you got my back."

Jeanne's cheeks are suddenly tinged pink as she avoids eye contact with me. I find myself unexpectedly smiling a little bit at that sight. It's remarkable how her personality is completely different in a fight compared to situations like this.

Nevertheless, there is one more Servant out there we have yet to encounter. We are up against very powerful Servants already and our every move in this war will be crucial to winning.


Author's Note:

Hey there! Thanks for sticking with me so far. As always, I'd appreciate if you can leave a review. I do read them all!

Next chapter: "The Chains of Heaven"