Chapter IV

"So, do you know where the Grail War will be taking place, Master?" asked Archer as the three of us were back in the hotel room after a full day's worth of sightseeing and walking around the city.

Linnet had been so excited about our day, having gone through Herastrau park twice and visiting Bucharest's botanical garden were definitely the highlights of her day. Of course, she behaved herself well when we were in the museums, but I could tell that they bored her as she just let Atalanta or I lead her around the exhibits. Though interestingly enough, Atalanta found some interest in the art that had evolved over the centuries since her death.

After dinner, however, my plans didn't go beyond that but Linnet stepped up and suggested that we watch a movie. I didn't have protests and neither did Atalanta, who found the idea of moving pictures telling a story interesting, which ended us back in the hotel room where Linnet picked the film, because like I was going to insist that a toddler watch one of my movies. Interestingly, Linnet chose The Lion King, to which it took everything in me to keep a straight face considering whose company I was in beside my sister.

Though halfway through the film, Lin fell asleep, snuggling up to Atalanta's side, to which the Archer Servant shifted my baby sister to place the toddler's head on her lap. Finding no real reason to change the movie, Atalanta and I continued to watch the kids' cartoon film as Atalanta ran her fingers through Linnet's brown locks.

I nodded, "Yeah, my Dad gave me the details while we were in the botanical gardens. The Red Faction will be based in the city of Sighisoara, it's a lot closer to Trifas compared to Bucharest."

"Is that so?" Archer noted. "Odd that my previous Master, if only for a mere second, decided to summon me here rather than in… Sighisora?"

"Sigishsoara," I corrected her. "Though apparently, Bersinsky arrived in Romania early so as to perfect his magecraft for the upcoming war according to the grapevine. His summoning you was in response to me attacking him at his Bucharest workshop which is a lot earlier than anyone expected for although a majority of Masters have already been decided. As of right now, you are the only Servant who has been summoned for this Holy Grail War so far. Well, that is except for the Black Faction's Lancer." I rubbed my right temple, "And given what happened last time, he will be a powerful threat now that he has long acclimated to his Master and has probably gained a tactical understanding of the terrain."

"Last time?" Archer frowned.

"Approximately twenty months ago several teams were sent by the Association when the Yggdmillennia clan made a public statement that they had the Grail in their possession," I replied. "Of the fifty mages that were sent, only one returned, and the one that survived had managed to activate some sort of Grail's reserve system, hence the faction system that we're in."

"Interesting," Archer hummed in thought, "No doubt they would've at least laid traps and altered the terrain to their advantage since the time they decided to conduct this Holy Grail War."

"More than likely," I agreed with a nod. It's what I'd do, especially given that they had the home-field advantage. And if they were really smart and they had a capable Caster, they'd minefield the whole damn place. "Though as an Archer, you're more than capable of detecting such things."

"Indeed," Archer nodded, pausing as Linnet snuggled further into the Servant's lap. "If I may, Master, it would be prudent to take advantage of my skills as an Archer class Servant and allow me to scout around the enemy's territory when the time comes."

"Agreed," I nodded. "While I am familiar with guerilla and scout tactics, I have always preferred close quarters combat anyway."

"Noted," she commented before looking back down at Linnet, running her fingers through the young child's hair. "And what of your sister? The Holy Grail War is no place for her, she would only be in constant danger from the other Masters." She then grimaced, "Including the ones from our faction eventually."

"I know," I sighed, scratching the side of my head. She did indeed have a point, once a victor was decided in the Greater Holy Grail War between the two factions, a secondary war would then commence for the true victor of the Holy Grail. There can only be one winner after all. "Once our vacation here is over, my Dad will arrive here in Bucharest to pick Lin up so that we don't have to worry about her." I saw Archer open her mouth, hesitate, and then close her mouth as she instead focused on Linnet. "Something wrong?"

Archer hesitated again. "Part of me thinks that your father should come and get her as quickly as possible so that we can use our early time to our advantage," she confessed before her gaze softened when Linnet burrowed further into her side. "However…"

"Yes?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Is it selfish of me that I want to spend more time with your sister?" she murmured. "Today was more than fantastic and I was almost sad that it all appeared to have gone by so quickly."

I blinked, "Tell me, Archer. Has my sister made such a great impact on you or is it just children in general?"

"A little of both actually," Archer smiled. "When I was alive, I adored children and it shamed me that my vow to Artemis prevented me from having children of my own. As for Linnet, her light, her innocence is so precious that I cannot help but adore her. Her future is so full of potential that the person she will become will be loved by many, and I cannot help but wish to aid her or even lay down my own life if that is required."

"You've only known her for two days," I pointed out.

"And that has been enough time for me to love her," Archer shrugged with a smile. "Do not mothers feel boundless love for their unborn child the moment they know they are pregnant?" She paused with a frown, no doubt perplexed by the analogy she just used as I was. "I admit that you do have a point, but how do you truly define love?"

I chuckled. "I dunno, wiser people than me have been trying to answer that question since time immemorial." I look down at my hand with the Command Seals. "Hypothetically, Archer, if ever I commanded you to save Lin over me…"

"Then it would be a waste of a Command Seal," snorted Archer in amusement, following my train of thought. "But I will admit this, Master, my own wish for the Grail is something I so desperately wish to achieve, however, I would forsake my wish if it meant saving your sister."

"Must be some wish," I comment.

She looked up to me, giving me a smile so bright that it caused my heart to race and my mouth to dry. What was… oh no. Oh no no no no no. Was I really…? Mom can never know of this… like, ever.

"Perhaps one day I will tell you."

…

Master, are you sure this is wise? Archer asked me via our bond. I know we should keep up appearances for Linnet's sake, but moving through Romania with the enemy faction in the country is very risky. Especially given that since I will have to remain with you and Linnet physically, I am unable to keep watch over you two in case the enemy faction decides to send scouts or a vanguard.

Glancing at Linnet, who was sitting between the two of us as she played on her tablet, I looked up to meet Archer's eye. Which is why I am using the army of familiars my dad sent my way to do that for us. They don't have your eyes, but there's no way a stupid amount of eyes that everyone would pass off as unworthy of attention wouldn't notice the enemy faction coming to Bucharest or Băile Herculane.

Speaking of which, Master, why are we going to this Băile Herculane?

I blinked before smirking slyly. Even though the Grail gave Servants enough information to catch them up on what happened in the world since their respective deaths, that didn't mean they knew everything. You'll find out soon enough, I laughed internally.

Archer frowned, no doubt annoyed by my behavior, but didn't say anything.

"Atalanta, look!"

Looking down, she gave her attention to Linnet as my baby sister turned her tablet around to show the Servant something, which surprised the Greek heroine. My curiosity piqued, I looked down at Linnet, "Hey, Lin, whatcha got there?"

"I made a scrapbook of our vacation!" Linnet declared proudly.

Looking down at the tablet, I raised brows impressed with her work, especially since a four-year-old managed to do this. A few didn't take me by surprise, some were of Linnet and I during the first two days of our vacation; a few were from the Heathrow airport while some were taken during the first morning as well as when we were wandering around Bucharest. Though I had to suppress a chuckle when I saw a few selfies that Linnet took, making silly faces. A few that did surprise me were pictures of her and Atalanta together and a few pictures of Atalanta that must've been taken when the Servant wasn't looking.

Placing my hand on her head, I ruffled her hair with a smile aimed at her, "Well well well, looks like we have an upcoming professional photographer on the way."

Linnet beamed with a large smile before looking back down at the tablet to fiddle with the collage app's settings, probably to make the collage more pretty or something. But I was actually being serious, the pictures were pretty well taken for a four-year-old. I was expecting pictures that were out of focus, blurry, or even a few where her finger was covering the camera lens and obscuring the picture.

The vibration from my pocket distracted me, causing me to reach into said pocket and take out my phone. Barely blinking as I saw a text notification, I unlocked my phone to pull up the text, it was from Dad.

Got the identity of some of the masters in your faction. Jean Rum. The Pentel brothers. Feend vor Sembrem. And a representative of the church; Father Shirou Kotomine. The last spot for the last Master for your faction is currently vacant and the Association is trying to fill it. I'll let you know when they do. Stay safe.

"Who was that, Fae?"

Looking up, I saw Linnet giving me an inquisitive look. "Oh, it was Dad asking if we got to the train station okay. You know how Dad is."

"Yeah, Daddy's silly," Linnet giggled before something growled and gurgled loudly. Specifically, the near-bottomless stomach that only a growing four year old could have. "Fae, I'm hungry," she whined, giving me a pitiful look.

"All right, let's go," I chuckled after checking the time, we still had enough time for a quick bite to eat, sharing an amused look with Archer, grabbing the tablet from Linnet and placed it in the backpack. Luckily we still had some time before our train arrived. Given we were still in the city, there had to be a decent restaurant nearby. Standing up as I shouldered the backpack and Linnet was quick to latch onto my hand and took Archer's with her other one. "So whatcha hungry for, munchkin? Want a hamburger?"

"Blegh, not here," Linnet made a face. Not that I could blame her, since Bucharest was a popular city, restaurants from the West had made their way over here given that a number of Americans actually liked to travel. Such fast food joints from America like McDonald's and Burger King were easy to spot. Sure they were okay once in a while, or when you're drunk, but Linnet hated fast food places with a burning passion that surprised me and Dad. Mom, however, was extremely proud though. Which made sense given that Mom was a bit of a health nut and always looked disappointed in me whenever I brought fast food home once every blue moon. It's not that she didn't like hamburgers or pizza, but Mom was always adamant that either we, mostly she, cook such foods at home.

I suppressed a chuckle, "Alright, fair enough."

Is there something wrong with the hamburgers here? Archer asked through our bond, meanwhile letting Linnet gently swing their joined hands as we searched for a decent place as the little girl hummed a little tune. Given we were in the middle of the city, we would be hard-pressed to find one.

No, not really, I replied before explaining further. But Lin inherited my mother's penchant for healthier made foods. Not that I don't blame her, whenever I feel like eating fast food I always regret it because of the greasy feeling I get afterward.

Then why get it in the first place? she questioned.

Cravings, I guess, was my sheepish excuse. Anyway, I always make sure that my next workout is more intense after eating fast food.

Hmm, was her only reply. But I could tell she was judging.

"Oh, what kind of place is that?"

Both of us looked down to see Linnet staring at something in unrestrained curiosity. Following her gaze, I saw that she was staring at a restaurant that stood out amongst the throng of other restaurants that were more centered around consumerism. "Wanna try this place, munchkin?"

"Can we?" Linnet looked at me.

"You okay with eating here, Atalanta?" I looked back up at my Servant. Though I knew that asking her was pretty much moot considering Linnet could get away with murder with Atalanta, all she had to do was… well, what she was doing now. Which was giving the Archer Servant the biggest doe eyes that probably made a critical hit through Archer's heart.

"I do not mind," Atalanta answered, covering a light cough.

With permission given, Linnet eagerly marched forward, pulling the two of us along.

…

Lunch went along without much fanfare and we got onto the train with more than enough time to spare. My family being as rich as we were, buying first-class tickets wasn't an issue, though to be honest, I had briefly considered buying standard economy seats to save the money considering it was a six-hour ride to Băile Herculane. But I was already paranoid enough as it is considering that I am now a Master in this Holy Grail War.

On the ride, Lin got the window seat of course with Atalanta sitting right next to her due to Lin's insistence while I sat in the seat across from them. Not that I was complaining, with Atalanta entertaining Lin, it allowed me to open up my laptop to go search for maps of Trifas. As the Red faction, our side will primarily be playing as invaders due to the fact that the enemy faction had the home-field advantage. So that also meant they would have the advantage in almost nearly every combat scenario.

Luckily, the Black faction would not even consider the idea that one of their enemies would "stoop so low" as to use modern technology to gain a slight advantage such as scoping out the terrain. Seriously, the whole Mage Association will get left in the dirt if they aren't too careful. I wasn't there when the leadership of the various institutions learned of how mundane humanity figured out how not to only cause destruction on a massive scale, but leave the area a desolate, cursed waste after the fact as well, but I could only imagine their gobsmacked faces. Especially since the Russians lost a large portion of their old mage families due to the Chernobyl disaster. While none of the families actually lived in the city itself, they did, however, live in the surrounding area. Their magic could offer no defense against a force of nature that was radiation, especially in those dense levels, and had left their families crippled.

I glanced over to see that Atalanta and Lin had lifted the hand rest between them so that they could enjoy watching a movie on Lin's iPad in order to pass the time. Lin got cuddly whenever she watched a movie.

Looking back at the maps of Trifas, I began to think. As an Enforcer who employed modern human methods, such as using modern technology other than a flip phone, firearms, and the like, it gave me an edge that always took my quarry by surprise. Especially since my boss kept my file heavily restricted and if what I assume was right, it was likewise heavily redacted save for her own personal files. Doing the same in this Grail War would also provide me an edge.

But I would have to be extremely careful about doing so. There could be a chance that my methods could be revealed during the course of this war. And while I highly doubt the Black faction would openly declare that I barely follow old mage ways given their own situation having broken off from the Association, there was always the chance they could leak it anonymously. Or hell, the people in my faction would blab about it. I mean sure, they were mercenaries and freelancers themselves, but I'm sure they'd talk for the right price, they are magi after all.

"M- er, Faelan, is everything alright?"

Glancing back over to Archer and Lin, I saw that Archer was looking at me through the corner of her eye. And I didn't need the Master-Servant bond to see the concern there. Shaking my head, I gave her what I hoped was a comforting smile.

"Mm, nothing to be concerned about at the moment," I said, giving a meaningful glance to Lin, hoping Archer would understand.

Luckily for me, she nodded before she returned her attention back to the movie on the iPad before Lin could notice that Archer had been distracted. I looked back at my laptop, specifically a folder that I had been keeping. It contained my notes of not only my family's research but notes of my own. And staring at it, I was beginning to think that for this Holy Grail War, it may become necessary for me to pull out more than just the usual stops. I had better email Dad about increasing the list of the things I was going to need.

…

When we arrived in Băile Herculane, we made our way to our hotel that I booked for the night; Hotel Aphrodite. A name in which Archer raised a brow at.

"Something wrong?" I asked her when we got out of the taxi.

"No," she shook her head, "it's nothing." She looked at the sign once more before sighing and helped Lin with her belongings.

I raised my own brow at Archer's behavior, but given she appeared tight-lipped about it, I didn't want to push her. At least, not in front of Lin anyhow. Grabbing the rest of our stuff from the trunk of the taxi, I paid the driver before following my Servant and my sister into the hotel itself.

After confirming our room reservation and getting our room key, the hotel concierge pointed us in the direction of the elevators. Upon entering our room, Lin dropped her things onto the floor and immediately leaped onto the bed with a giggle.

"Don't get too comfortable there, munchkin," I laughed at her exuberance. "We have time to wander around before we go to the hot springs tonight."

"But the bed's so soft, Fae!" Lin giggled as she rolled around.

I rolled my eyes and was about to grab her and give her an attack from my tickly fingers when I spotted it through the window. It was only a short moment, maybe three seconds tops, but I saw a figure on a building not far from ours. I had to use Reinforcement to see general characteristics, but there was someone definitely there.

Archer. The building far off, half a kilometer, on the roof. I saw a woman; long hair, medium build, she was looking into our room.

What? I didn't see them, are you sure? On the outside, Archer retained her calm composure as she went about putting her things away so as not to scare Lin. But I knew that on the inside, she was panicking a bit. Just like I was.

Positive. This has to be something unrelated to the Holy Grail War, however. We are way too far out of the area designated for the location for the War and the movement of the identified person was too quick to be a regular human. It could either be a magus or…

Or?

A vampire.

… we are in Romania, the land of the most famous vampire in history.

Indeed we are…

I… what do you want to do?

Keep Lin unaware. Lin has an average amount of magic circuits, but the quality of them is exceptionally high, even for a magus. It's why Berzinsky was interested in taking her and why I decided to become an Enforcer rather than take my family's crest and magecraft. Lin is much more suited to it than I.

Archer's eyes narrowed as she turned enough to send me a glare over her shoulder. If that is the case, then why would you and your family risk coming here? For a vacation of all things? I understand that you did not intend to participate in this iteration of the Holy Grail War, however, you are tempting fate by coming here to Romania, a land that gives vampires strength due to Count Dracula's legend. And if Lin does indeed become a vampire, especially with what you've told me about her… As a Heroic Spirit, it would become my duty to eliminate her before she could become a threat to the world.

Sighing slowly through my nose, my eyes flickered to Lin as she began playing with one of the pillows on the bed. Lin… before she was born, my parents fully intended to enact their plan for her to become the next head of the Ashford family.

Archer must've seen my hesitation, for her glare lessened as she frowned softly, Then why?

Even though my family regularly deals with regular humans, the Ashfords are still a family of magi and we conduct ourselves as such, even if our behavior is considered lax compared to the other magi. But certain events occurred and… well, you've seen how Lin is. She lights up whatever room she is in just by being in it.

Archer's gaze softened as she turned her head to regard Lin as she continued making a mess of the bed. Yes, she is a light I have never seen before. A light that… is brighter than those of the gods themselves.

Then was it wrong of us that we allow Lin to enjoy the simple pleasures in life before we have to take her into a world that walks the line of death for the rest of her life? As I looked at Lin, I couldn't help but feel two things, love for my sister as an older brother… and that I felt sorrow and regret that she had to be born into our family. Our parents and I loved Lin with all our hearts, but we knew she was too good for our world.

I… I see, but no, it is not wrong… but what is to be done with this threat?

I moved to go put the rest of our bags in the closet, We don't know what exactly it was that I spotted. A vampire is the worst-case scenario here, so we will continue on the scenario in that it was a magus who was looking in on us. We will spend the rest of the evening with Lin, once she is asleep, you will head out and use your skills as a tracker to find out who it was, and then eliminate them.

Archer took out the green leather jacket she bought and shrugged it on just as Lin bounded over and wrapped her arms around the Servant. Smiling down at the girl, Archer brushed a lock of hair from the little girl's beaming face.

"What do you think we should do until dinner, Lin?" she asked the child.

"Go to the park!" Lin said matter-of-factly.

"Of course," Archer smiled in both amusement and exasperation, her hands on her hips.

"Well, unfortunately, Lin, the only park in the area is more of a nature park that's more like a big campground," I said as I approached the two. "We'd actually have to hire a guide for a full day if we were to go there. And we're only here for one night before we go back to Bucharest."

"Aww, that stinks," Lin pouted. "Then why did we come here, Fae?"

"Now, now, none of that, little one," Archer bent down to Lin's level to gently poke the little girl's tummy. "I'm sure your brother brought us here for a good reason."

"Indeed I did, Atalanta," I smiled at my Servant in thanks, before looking back at my baby sister. "Remember when you said you wanted to visit a hot spring after seeing one in that one Sailor Moon episode?"

"Yeah?" Lin tilted her head.

"Well, this town is known for its hot springs," I smiled at her. "Like the one in this hotel, which we have a reservation for tonight."

Lin's smile could not grow any bigger as it threatened to split her face in two.

…

The rest of our afternoon passed without anything happening of note. We walked around town and took in the sights of this quaint town. It wasn't as exciting as some other places, but it was a nice change of pace. We had dinner in a nice little restaurant where Lin ate the local cuisine with gusto before we headed back to the hotel for our reservations to the hot spring to relax. And given what was about to come, we would need some rest.

I was currently in one of the springs that we were assigned while Archer was helping Lin get changed out of her clothes for the hot spring. Thankfully, this hot spring was more of a modern one, allowing the use of swimsuits given that it was a mixed-gender setting.

"Ah, I really did need this," I sighed to myself as I leaned back against the rocky ledge.

"A hard worker, huh? Yeah, a dip in any hot spring is sure to do wonders for anyone's stress, no matter how much!"

Eyes sharpening, I glanced from the corner of my eye to see a man nearby. He was close enough that we could hold a conversation but far away enough to be polite given we were strangers.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," the man smiled sheepishly, "but I couldn't help but agree with you. Ah, but I'm being rude, my name's Marcus, Marcus Spongea. Nice to meet you, my man."

I stared at the curious, easy-going man for a moment before closing my eyes, "Faelan Ashford," I replied. Hopefully, the guy will stop talking now.

"Never seen you in town before, and I know everybody in town. You a tourist?"

And my hopes were dashed…

"We are in a hotel built for tourists," I sighed, keeping my eyes closed. "So it stands to reason that I am one."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, you're right," Marcus said sheepishly. "Bet you're wondering why I'm here then since I'm not a tourist."

"Not really…"

"Well," the man continued on, unperturbed, "I like to take soaks in the hot springs here in ol' Băile Herculane every once in a while. But I don't stick to just one hot spring, no siree! I cycle around every hot spring each time so I can always enjoy the hot springs without ever getting bored of 'em!"

"Good for you…"

Seriously? Did this guy not get that I didn't want to talk to him?

"Faaaeeee!"

One of my eyes opened to see Lin wearing a cute little pink, flower printed one-piece running from one of the changing rooms. And behind her, my eye widened upon seeing my Archer Servant. She wore a black bikini-esque swimsuit with a bright orange shawl with a flower print design that matched Lin's swimsuit, wrapped around her waist.

…

Shit.

My gaze couldn't be drawn away from Archer. I mean, she was beautiful, but this… this was just not playing fair at all!

"Are you alright, Faelan?" Archer spoke, breaking me out of my reverie. She then frowned as she looked down at herself. "Is it the swimsuit? The girl at the store said that this one would look good, however, I confess I have my doubts."

… Is she for real?

"No, no!" I shook my head as I felt my cheeks begin to warm as they no doubt began to redden. "It looks really good on you, honest!" As Archer's own cheeks began to blush, I felt my own intensify. "I, uh…" Dammit, my life used to be relatively normal for a magus.

Sorta…

Sure, my parents were a little eccentric in how they raised Lin and I. Even before Lin was born, Mom and Dad didn't raise me like a typical magus. Of course, they trained me in the family's magecraft to be a viable heir to the Ashford name, but they were pretty lax compared to other families. Given our family's research into Noble Phantasms and only Noble Phantasms, we weren't concerned with the Root or True Magics like other families were. And add in the fact that Barthomeloi scouted me out pretty early on while I was still in school also didn't allow me much time to socialize with people my age as the Queen of the Clocktower often called me in to thoroughly question me on the subjects I was taking.

But goddammit, why did Archer have to be so hot?!

"Of course Atalanta's pretty!" Lin beamed as she pulled the Archer Servant with her into the hot spring with her so that she was settled between Archer and I, though Archer paused to undo her shawl and set it aside so that it wouldn't get wet.

"Oh, you are indeed pretty, Miss," Marcus complimented as he grinned at her before looking at me. "Dang, man, I didn't peg you for a family man. But given how beautiful your wife is, I don't blame you."

The three of us blinked upon looking at the guy who intruded on the conversation so casually.

"Lin is my sister," I said as Lin shifted so that she was hiding behind Archer. Despite Lin's sweet disposition, she was always wary of strangers, especially the more boisterous ones. Not that I blamed her.

"Really?" Marcus looked surprised, "huh, could've fooled me."

You didn't deny his statement that I was your wife, Master.

I don't want to leave any true information while we're here as much as possible. Not with that unknown out there, and something tells me it wouldn't take much to get this guy to talk. Lin probably wouldn't understand if we tried to play as a family visiting, so we'll have to go with what we've got. Just pretend you're my wife if he presses the issue, the more we're a step ahead, the better.

Understood.

"Hold up, neither of you are wearing a ring," Marcus frowned.

Well shit…

"My family follows the old Greek ways," said Archer before I could say anything. " To us, we don't hold as much significance for a ring indicating marriage as other religions. Faelan was kind enough to respect my family's traditions."

"Oh, I see," Marcus then grinned at me knowingly, "happy wife, happy life, huh?"

"Something like that," I shrugged.

Before another thing could be said, however, Marcus perked up. "Oh, crap, is that the time? Listen, I gotta go!" Hurriedly, he climbed out of the hot spring, "It was nice meeting you three!"

"I don't like him," Lin said when the man was gone, frowning at the door he left through.

"It's okay, Lin, I don't either," I said as I leaned back to relax. "He talked too much."

If Lin agreed with me, she didn't voice it, for her frowned gaze remained on the door.

"We are here to relax, why don't you enjoy the waters, little one," Archer smiled down at Lin, trying to distract her.

"Mm-kay," Lin mumbled as she began to wade through the waters, though given her height, the only thing of her above the water line was her chin and up. Every moment or so, she would send another baleful frown at the door again. Weird.

Archer's eyes flickered to mine before her gaze returned to Lin to keep an eye on her.

Master? Is Lin's behavior normal?

No. She's wary of strangers, that moment where she was shy when she realized that guy was there was pretty standard. But that glare? That was new, I've never seen her glare at anyone, period.

What do you make of it?

… Until it becomes a problem, it isn't. We already have enough to worry about with our mystery voyeur and I didn't detect anything magical related coming from that idiot, so he's a bog-standard human.

Master, there are ways to hide one's abilities, even from other mages.

I know but in this day and age? No, the artifacts and Noble Phantasms that are capable of that are with the Mages Association being studied for research. And if they were to be brought outside, they would require top-level authorization and a large amount of paperwork that would take years to go through. As an Enforcer, I am brought up to speed of the number of people who request those items. And the requests that are close to being finished for final approval are still years away. As I said, until he becomes a problem, he isn't.

I see… you're right, we do have more pressing matters.

I shifted to glance at Archer at the corner of my eye, she was staring down at the misty waters as she lifted a hand to watch the water drip from her fingertips. I looked back over to Lin who was still roaming the hot spring pool. Thankfully, besides that one guy who couldn't shut up, we were the only ones in this pool tonight. Leaning back against the pool ledge, I stared up at the ceiling.

Lin should tire herself out at around eight, eight-thirty, so at nine o'clock, I want you to head to that hotel roof and see what you can find.

Understood.

…

Landing atop the hotel roof where her Master saw the individual, Archer bent down to check for any signs that someone had been on this roof. Given that her Master saw the person disappear quickly, it meant that they either had an escape plan and route ready or they were of the moonlit world and had no issue in making their tracks disappear. So on top of evidence of someone's presence, she was also looking for evidence of someone manipulating this area so that was no evidence.

However, as she searched, she could not find anything. It was worrying. She did not doubt her Master's observation skills, though she was a bit disappointed in herself that she, a Huntress of Artemis, had missed it. However, this could mean that the threat was a bigger one.

Master, my search is coming up empty. I cannot find anything that proves anything or anyone was here. Not even any hints of a bounded field or anything else that would tamper with the area that would prove that nothing was here.

…

Master?

…

Master?!

Her gaze snapped back to the Hotel Aphrodite, nothing appeared wrong… That is until two shots of gunfire rang out from within. On the same floor, their hotel room was on. Materializing her bow, she burst forward with speed only a Servant could display, enhanced by her own speed as a great Greek foot racer, she jumped to the roof of the Aphrodite in a single bound.

Or rather, it would've happened if a bounded field did not appear and had nearly broken her nose when she slammed into it.

"Dammit," she cursed aloud as she landed on an adjacent rooftop.

"Oh, and what are you, I wonder?" a voice asked aloud.

Snapping around, she released her bowstring, sending a volley of arrows at the speaker's location, only to hit concrete. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a figure had leaped back to avoid her arrows. The figure wore a long, tattered cloak that concealed much of their person, however, she was able to tell that the figure was female given the voice and the contour of their body.

"Who are you?" Archer scowled, "Reveal yourself!"

"Sorry, can't," the cloaked female smirk was evident beneath her hood as she raised her weapon, a gun, revealing that her hand was heavily covered in bandages. "See, my master is a paranoid fellow and told me not to reveal who I am, but he is a curious one as well. Especially when two young mages and… whatever you're supposed to be, comes into his territory."

"I am a Servant of Red of the Great Holy Grail War," Archer declared as she notched another set of arrows to her bow.

"Holy Grail, huh? Like the gold cup that the Knights of King Arthur found? That thing is real? Well, I mean, we're real. So it would make sense it would be real too," the individual mused to herself.

"And what exactly are you supposed to be and why have you erected this barrier?" Archer's eyes narrowed.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the individual mocked. "But I'll give you the courtesy, my master set up this field and once we found out you three were in the Hotel Aphrodite, we considered ourselves lucky. Do you know how many resources we put in to keep it hidden for you mage types? As for what I am… isn't it obvious yet? I'm a vampire." And dodged nimbly when another volley of arrows was sent her way.

"Would I be correct in assuming that the only way of taking down the Bounded Field is to take you down?" Archer's green eyes narrowed.

The individual barked out a laugh, revealing sharpened fangs. "Oh, is this where we fight to the death now? That's cool, most of you mage types tend to talk yourselves to death before I gut 'em.." Reaching into her tattered cloak, she pulled out a large dagger-like weapon, one that Atalanta didn't recognize. "But please, despite everything, I hope you enjoy this fight till your bitter end."

"It is not I who will die today, vampire!" Archer replied before firing off another volley of arrows as she jumped back to avoid the gunfire..

As the battle progressed, she could not help but worry for her Master. A standard Bounded Field should not be able to interfere with the bond between Master and Servant, not since she was still close enough to feel the bond between them and she could still feel the mana provided to her by Faelan. So whatever this was, this field and the vampire who erected it was not to be taken lightly. Whomever the master of this woman was, they were no doubt well versed with magecraft.

Master, Lin, please be safe…

…

How the hell did this happen?

I was just in the hotel room, waiting for Archer to scout the rooftop where I saw that one individual who was looking in on our room. And then, nothing. I couldn't contact her via our bond as Master and Servant. And to make matters worse, this Spanish smuck broke down the hotel wall like the goddamn Kool-Aid guy instead of using the door.

"Hello, whoever you are," the man grinned grotesquely. "You know, we don't get many of your kind here, mages and such. But when we saw you and your delicious-looking sister," here he glanced down at Lin who was hiding behind me. "Well… we couldn't just resist. Now hand over your sister if you know what's good for you."

"Drop dead," I snarled.

Luckily enough, I decided to arm up just in case Archer needed support. I would not be like other Masters in past Grail wars, I would not skulk in the shadows while another did my bidding like one of those brown-nosing nobles that were always kissing my boss' ass.

Unfortunately, I was still awaiting Dad's arrival in Bucharest for my gear. My raid on Berzinsky's workshop left my ammunition count nearly depleted. Luckily the fight Camden only required me to use my knives since using bullets on him would've been pointless with Archer providing cover fire. Beside the magazine in my 5.7 sidearm, I only had two more full magazines left. Each magazine held twenty rounds, so that left me with a mere sixty rounds to use. Even though they were enhanced by runes and magecraft, against an unknown, it will be risky. Doubled by the fact that I also had Lin to worry about.

"Fae," Lin whimpered, her grip on me tightening.

"Stay behind me, Lin," I said to her, hoping my tone was comforting to her.

The moment the Bounded Field was erected, I detected it instantaneously. However, given that my familiars and neither Archer detected anyone around the hotel with magical abilities, it meant that it was set up a long time ago and was left on standby until it could be used effectively. Risky, given that it could be a one in a million shot unless you put Bounded Fields around every hotel in town. Which these guys no doubt did.

But what worried me was that Archer was not responding. This kind of Bounded Field had to be extremely powerful and likewise had to be done by someone equally powerful in magecraft. Unfortunately, the list of people who were capable of this kind of field also included vampires and highly skilled mages.

"Aww, look at you, being the brave older, big brother," the man gushed. "Why I cannot help but feel a little jealous, my big brother certainly was not as caring as you are, mage. But alas, not all of us can be blessed to have a loving older sibling." He then shrugged to himself. "Oh well, what can you do?"

The man's arm snapped and sent a volley of throwing knives.

"Tch," I clicked my tongue as I grabbed Lin around her middle and leaped to the side to dodge the knives. But to my surprise, those knives suddenly turned into blade-like insects that spread their wings and corrected their trajectories, and aimed themselves at me once again.

Drawing my sidearm, I quickly drew a rune to enhance my eyes to aim at them properly given their thin bodies. Pulling the trigger eight times, each Gandr enhanced bullet striking each insect-knife straight into their heads and out their thoraxes as Lin began screaming due to the gunfire. Grimacing, due to Lin's screaming and my own feelings on the situation, I ignored everything but the target as I moved my arm to aim it at the man who threw those knives and scowled as he dodged every shot.

Dammit, without Archer, this would be difficult, both the fight itself and keeping it hidden from the mundane. I could always use my familiars, especially my owl, but she was mostly effective in fighting off mages, and I'd rather not have her cut down by those big-knives. Eyes glancing over to the hole made by the big guy, it was only a few meters away and I could make the run, even while carrying Lin. Raising my 5.7, I fired at the man as grabbed Lin again and ran to get out of the room. If I could get outside and regroup with Atalanta, she could use her Noble Phantasm to cut this guy down. It would suck having to explain myself to the Clocktower as to why I allowed a Servant to release an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm in a populated city without any precautions to keep it hidden, but right now getting Lin out of here outweighed all of that.

The thrashing I was going to get from the boss lady was gonna be a bitch though…

"Fae…" Lin whimpered as her arms and legs latched around me.

"It's going to be alright, Lin," I said to her. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Where are you going?! Can't you see I want to play?!"

"Fae!"

Listening to my instincts and Lin's warning, I dove around a corner and heard the dull sound of knives hitting the corner of the wall where I just was. Drawing one of my own knives from my belt, I used Reinforcement on it before cutting up the man's bug-knives before they could pull themselves out and fly at me again. Leveling my 5.7 Custom, I fired two more times at my adversary but to my annoyance, he threw more of his bug-knives at me.

He must be a mage or something whose magecraft specialized in bugs familiars, wouldn't be the first time.

A quick glance around revealed that there weren't any windows in the hallways. Meaning all of them were meant for the hotel rooms. With the big guy there, there was no way I could've made it out the window back in the room, not with the bug familiars on his side and I wasn't too keen on jumping out a window on the ninth floor of the building. My only option was the stairwell on the North side, it was still a good distance off to the door to the stairwell, and given this bug throwing shitstain, it wouldn't be that quick of a run there.

Still… I had to try, for Lin's sake.

"Come on, big brother, at least make this interesting for me!"

"Lin, I need you to hold on to me real tight, okay?" I whispered to her, ignoring the bug-wielder. "Can you do that for me?"

She didn't say anything as tears leaked out of her eyes as she looked back at me, only managing a whimper and a nod.

Muttering the name of the haste rune on the soles of my boots, I holstered my weapon, Reinforced my legs, and made a mad sprint for the stairwell door. In a mere few seconds, I had to Reinforce my arm to slam the door open as my momentum nearly didn't even offer me enough time to register that I was there. Only to meet the grinning face of the man that should have been long behind me. Reacting quickly, I drew my 5.7 and raised it at the man's head to fire.

But before I could even pull the trigger, that man grabbed my gun arm in his grasp. Realizing what he intended to do, I tried to Reinforce my arm, but I wasn't fast enough as the man squeezed. Feeling the bones in my arm break in two places, a small wince and a grunt of pain as my only response to that pain, I let go of Lin with my free hand to pull out one of my knives and to stab it in the man's face. Wing clipped and no back up against an unknown, I had to end this. Unfortunately, that was what he seemed to be waiting for. With a yank on my broken arm, he then sent me to the wall. No doubt cracking my arm in several places if not making other breaks in it.

With a grunt of pain, I dropped my knife from my left hand and caught my sidearm from when it had flown from my grasp and fired it at the man, but he sent out a swarm of his bug-knives to take the hits for him. But I still kept firing, he can't take Lin. He won't! I won't let him!

I swung my broken arm up so that I could catch the sleeve in my teeth to minimize any more damage to my arm, especially given that it was the arm whose hand contained my Command Seals to Archer. Eyes narrowed in fury, I Reinforced my legs with mana to burst forward, firing and firing. Lin, who had ran off to a corner, was cowering from there. I had to keep her safe. I promised I would keep her safe. I was going to keep her safe!

But how could I…?

The man grabbed me in midair before I could react, a sick grin on his face as he reared his arm back and sent me flying into the wall again. I knew with the amount of force he used this time would've killed a regular human, so I poured as much mana as I could that was not used by Archer and my familiars to Reinforce my body. Grunting in pain as an outline of my body was made into the wall, I fell to the floor as the edges of my sight began to darken.

No! I won't let him take her!

…

But what could I do? As I tried to get up, the second man put his foot on my stomach and slammed me back down to the floor, causing me to choke up some spit from my mouth. The twin grinned down at me as the first one joined his brother in leering at me. No, not a twin. For a moment later, the man that had broken into our room began to dissipate into a swarm of bugs, the same bugs as the knives, and retreated into the second man's jacket.

"Clones, eh?"

That sick grin and his boot were the last things I saw as Lin screamed for me before I became drowned in darkness.

AN: Right, so the plan was to release this chapter tomorrow since college will officially start for me on Tuesday, but the chapter ran longer than I thought it would, and I realized that I reached past my usual limits for a chapter. So I decided to end the chapter here and continue where this leaves off for the next one. Since basically chapters 4 and 5 were originally intended to be one chapter, I will release chapter 5 later this week since most of it is already done anyhow. Lucky you guys, getting two chapters in one week.