It was weird, not knowing what I wanted to do today. Considering it was Saturday, I did have options; Caster, of course, would be… somewhere… and the labyrinth was always open, but Sortiara and Johnathan would also be around in the afternoon, wouldn't they? Not like they had school, and Lancer had said that he and Saber would be out of commission for the next few days, so the kids wouldn't have any reason to leave the house, right?

"There's also that church: First Assembly of the Father…" I muttered, staring out the window of my room. "That priest last night wasn't Father Gallo; does that mean the Catholic Church has two masters? Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker… That would give the Church the last master slot, as well as Assassin. …Church with both Rider and Assassin; a disturbing thought…"

Poking around churches would be risky, for sure. Last I saw of Rider last night, he was shot off his horse, but… would someone like Saladin really go down that easily? Especially if I was right and the catalyst was the True Cross, or hell, even just a fragment of it: surely it would have a fuck ton of magical energy in it that Rider could draw from, right?

"…Could the full, True Cross be hidden somewhere in the city, within one of the churches…"

A possibility I couldn't rule out, I suppose, considering its usage as a war alter in the past. But that was just taking Rider into consideration. If there was another Executor guy running around, and he had Assassin… well, a) I doubt an assassin servant would have any moral issues with killing someone like me, and b) that Executor would have to be a real sick fuck, wouldn't he? For a supposed man of God to summon a known killer.

"Options… options…"

…Even if Rider was still around, he would be in a similar boat to Saber and Lancer, right? Also, there was no guarantee that Father Gallo was a master. I highly suspected him to be, but…

"…You know, if he is the last master, and the master of Assassin, he's doing a remarkable job playing the game…" a grin slowly crept across my face as I thought about it. "If he plans to just wait till the final three, let the other two fight it out, and then have Assassin jump in and kill the one who was left standing, thus leaving himself and Assassin as the last pair standing… I mean, that's the way one should use Assassin, no? Wouldn't that just be the most optimal play? Has to be… Has to be…"

…Meaning that even if Father Gallo and that other priest had already been in contact with one another since last night, and Father Gallo knew I was a master, he might not make his move just yet, even if I present myself right on his doorstep. Especially in the middle of the day, in a church. Then, of course, there was still my nuke, so to speak… All things considered…

"This would be my best opening for a while to go back there" I rose from my desk chair and started packing my backpack. "Alright then, for my first stop: First Assembly of the Father."


There weren't any cars around, save one, when I reached the church. Presumably, that would be Father Gallo's… I was a bit surprised, but then again, it was Saturday, not Sunday. Church was a Sunday thing for prayers or gatherings or... whatever they were called.

It was unbelievably quiet inside the church with nobody around. I hated it, if I was being perfectly honest. Using noise as cover was a staple for me nowadays, so being able to hear every single step I took, to some degree, no matter how hard I tried not to, was irritating. It showed me just how far I'd slipped from my days in high school, when I could actually walk in complete silence.

First my hands, now my steps… what was next to be taken from me…

The church itself was as beautiful as ever though. With no one around, I walked down the aisle and took a seat in the front right pew. It wasn't what I had come here for, but it was safer than trying to poke around whatever area Father Gallo had dipped into the last time I was here. If he wasn't out in the main area here, he was probably back there; getting caught sneaking about would be really, really bad. Shame I didn't have any drones; could have been useful here. Just never had an interest in them; wasn't much of a picture or video taker before, outside of my work, and cameras had been just fine-

"Is that you, Nathan?"

The voice of Father Gallo snapped me out of my train of thought. Turning my head around, I could see the man walking down the aisle towards me, slight smile on his face.

"Yeah, it's me" I put on a friendly air as he approached. "Sorry, I know there isn't anyone parked out there, but the doors were unlocked so I figured…"

"Oh, it's not a problem at all" Father Gallo took a seat in the left pew. "Not many people come here, sadly, outside of Sundays and holy days. Honestly, the amount of people that were in here the last time you visited was a bit of an anomaly. Small chapels like this don't attract a lot of folk nowadays, even when surrounded by family homes."

"Yet you're still here every day?"

"Oh, yes" he laughed. "Someone has to be around, in the case anyone does come in, like you today. It's not bad by any means though; I'm close to God as I can possibly be, and I much prefer the slow pace of this kind of life, to the frantic life of the nine to five office worker."

"I see… I can understand the appeal of a slower lifestyle."

"Ah, but what brings you here today? I confess, I did not expect to see you back here quite so soon."

"Actually, I had a question" I mentally prepared myself.

"About what, child?"

"Well, this might sound crazy…" I put out a nervous laugh. "But, well, about magic. Specifically, God's thoughts on magic, presuming it was real."

The question clearly took the Father by surprise.

"That is an interesting question" he laughed. "Don't believe I've ever heard one like that be asked before. What brought this on, if you don't mind me asking."

"Well… I heard from someone that the notion of humans using magic was heretical in the eyes of God. I admit, I was curious what an actual… member of the Catholic Church, I guess, would say about that."

"Can't say I haven't heard that before" Father Gallo sighed. "That's… well, I would say it's complicated, and not quite clear."

"Really?"

"It is true that God, and his son Christ, are the only ones with the right to perform miracles, or acts that would be considered miraculous" Father Gallo explained, eyes fixated on the cross hanging on the wall in front of us. "It is also true that, to most others of the faith, magical acts are akin to minor miracles, and thus any human performing feats of magic would be a heretic."

"I figured as much…"

"But" Father Gallo continued. "But where I have trouble with this idea is that, well, God has a plan for all of us: from the moment of our creation, until our end. If a human were able to perform acts of magic, or even miracles, then… is that not just a man doing as God intended for him to do? Is that not just God's plan at work?"

"…I suppose it would be, yeah" I nodded. "Unless we were to assume that God is flawed, or can get things wrong, but-"

"But how can God be flawed, and still be God" Father Gallo laughed. "Indeed, it doesn't make much sense, does it? So that's why I say it's complicated, and unclear. But that extends to all of religion, and all religions. People claim to speak for God; write books and scriptures on how to live as God intends for us to live. But… how can a man, any man, truly know God's plans, and speak on his behalf?"

…This man… He was smart enough to understand the hypocrisy in religion. He was brave enough to acknowledge it existed. Yet, he clung to it all the same. A shame; as smart as he sounded, he was still so, so stupid…

"If you ask me, the only thing anyone can know for sure about God is that God created us all in his image, and as such we must love and accept one another, without exception, as equals; as his children" he finally returned his gaze back to me. "Of course, I recognize I'm in the minority when I say such things. People will hate others for their own beliefs and claim that it is only them living as God has decreed we should. I suppose that's the real reason why I'm still here, keeping this place open; so that anyone, from any walk of life, can find God's love."

"That sounds nice" I faked a smile and tried not to vomit.

Receive God's love? I don't know about anyone else, but I am so not interested in receiving any of this so called 'love' for the invisible, creepy old dude up in the clouds somewhere.

Also, this was a) unexpected as an answer, and b) really unhelpful. This only made me believe that I had been wrong; that Father Gallo wasn't another one of these Executor guys. I mean, sure, it was unlikely that every priest was an Executor, but still… I had thought for sure this guy would be one. Taking that… fairly rational… explanation and belief into account though, and I was left very unsure…

"It has been a while since I've heard Father Gallo speak with such passion. He must have truly taken a shine to you, boy."

…Oh, fuck…

From somewhere behind me, I heard the sound of a familiar priest. Turning around, and I could see him striding down the aisle towards Father Gallo and I. The entire time, his face maintained a state of neutrality.

"He is also correct when he says it is a minority belief on the matter though. A very small minority, at that" he came to a stop in between the second and third rows of pews from the front. "You must be Nathan; the good Father has told me quite a bit about his first meeting with you."

He knew; no way he didn't know. Then, he was pretending we have never met. Which means… Father Gallo has nothing to do with any of this. Shit; jumped the gun on suspicion, and didn't even bother to figure out where this psycho was staying… Two minor errors in the grand scheme of things, but that was the kind of shit that would get you killed, every time…

Keep the performance going then… if Father Gallo isn't involved in any of this magic nonsense, then his presence might very well keep me alive…

"Ah, you're awake" Father Gallo smiled at the other priest. "Considering how exhausted you seemed to be this morning, I was sure you'd be sleeping till the evening after you ate."

"That was the plan, originally. Alas, my mind was simply too restless for me to make any progress."

Bullshit; way too convenient! Either he never tried to go to sleep to begin with, or… or Rider alerted him that I was here! Right, if he's here, then Rider must also be around here, somewhere. Hiding in spirit form, no doubt…

"If you don't mind, Father Gallo" the priest continued, "I would like to borrow Nathan for a bit."

"I have no problem, so long as the child agrees" Father Gallo turned to look at me. "Christopher here is from the Vatican, helping out myself, as well as a few other churches in the area, with administrative tasks, though he stays here overnight."

"I see…" I glanced over at the priest.

Christopher… you know, not the name I was expecting from a man that worked as an Executor. Just thinking to myself 'sup, Chris' was enough to shatter any notion of him being, well… intimidating. To me, at least.

"Still though, I-"

"Consider this a good opportunity to get some of your… more unique questions answered" Christopher cut in, finally showing off a smile. "I have some questions for you, too; it's not often that Father Gallo takes such a shine to an individual, so you must have something to you. So... consider this a deal, of sorts; being from the Vatican, I may be able to give you a better insight into what you're looking for, seeing as you're clearly not looking for common answers."

"That's a bit of an understatement" Father Gallo laughed. "You are far more knowledgeable on the scriptures for your age than most."

"You flatter me, Father, though without the ability to interpret the scriptures as you do, I'm not so sure just how good having all that memorized does me."

This guy... You're not a good liar; everything about the air you're putting off is so obviously fake.

…This had to be a trap, right? No way he just wanted to talk, after he had tried to flat out kill us less than a day ago.

…But…

Then again, I did want to sit down with this Executor and talk to him myself. I do have questions for him; ones probably only he could answer. Plus, maybe Saladin would reveal himself and be present as well. A chance to talk with someone like Saladin… well, that alone made it worthwhile, didn't it? Even if it wasn't guaranteed.

…Not like I was one to avoid dancing with fire to begin with…

"…Very well" I nodded, standing up. "What did you want to ask me, though? I doubt I have much you'd want to know."

"I suppose I will find out in a moment. Come with me to the back office, just to be safe; wouldn't want anyone walking in here on us, would we?"