Chapter X
In the Millennia Citadel, one Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia was staring up at the ceiling of his room from atop his bed. He simply couldn't just understand this Grail War. This was supposed to be the beginning of what should be his clan's greatest moment, seceding from the Mages Association and completing a True Magic ritual that no mage before has completed yet. But then what kind of Servant goes around pulling their own hearts out and giving a homunculus a life comparable to that of a human's?
He was glad that he summoned Berserker given what happened with Saber. He didn't know what he'd do in Uncle Gordes shoes if he had ended up summoning Saber instead. Probably a panic attack or two.
"Grn?"
Suddenly, his sight was enveloped by the visage of his Servant who was looking down at him inquisitively, a slight tilt to her head.
"Whoa!" Scrambling, he slipped to the side to avoid the horn on Berserker's head and sat up straight at the head of his bed. "Uh, hey, Berserker, what's up?"
"Unn?"
Luckily he had the Master-Servant bond, or else trying to understand Berserker's grunts and growls would've made trying to understand her impossible. God knows the homunculi were always confused whenever Berserker asked them for something.
"Uh, no, I'm okay," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Unn unn," Berserker insisted.
"Well," Caules adjusted his glasses, "I'm just worried for my sister, is all. Mages from the Mages Association are being killed in Sighisoara, which means that the Servant conducting these killings aren't associated with Yggdmillennia or the Association. My sister and Archer are heading over to investigate and, well, I'm kinda worried…"
Berserker frowned at her Master for a moment before she marched right over to him, grabbed his sleeve, and began pulling him towards the door.
"Whoa! Wait, Berserker, hold on!" Caules cried out. "What're you doing?!"
Stopping, Berserker leveled a stare at her Master, "Unn."
"Go with Fiore? No, she told me not to," he shook his head vehemently. "Since we lost Saber and this is most likely the work of Assassin of Black, we can't risk any more Servants as it is!"
Berserker's stare didn't change, "Grn…"
"Yeah, no, you're right," Caules sighed before taking in a deep breath and let it out. "As her brother, it's my duty to keep an eye on her. C'mon Berserker, we should have one of the homunculi get a car before Fiore and Archer get a bigger head start!"
"Unn!" Berserker nodded as she followed the son of the Forvedge family out.
Honestly, her Master should learn to listen to her more.
…
"Here," I held out a burner phone and Bluetooth to Sisigou.
"What're these for?" the Necromancer raised a brow skeptically.
"To keep in contact," I said patiently. Sure, the old man was a bit of a heretic like me when it came to modern technology given his sawed-off and the flip-phone he carried, but in terms of technology, his stuff was outdated. I mean he still carries around that old portable television set that uses antennas to get broadband signals rather than use one that employs wi-fi instead! "We'll use these to keep in contact, my number is the only contact in there."
"You sure they'll work?" Sisigou didn't make a move to grab the devices.
"Yes, I'm sure," I tried to hide my growing annoyance. "Now take the damn phone, it's not they're going to bite you."
"Are you sure?" Sisigou remained wary. "I heard from a buddy of mine that those headsets use radio waves to scan your brain and upload copies of them to corporations and sell them to black market dealers so they could steal your brain."
"The fuck- no! These headsets are the same as radio headphones except they're not physically connected to the phone!"
God, it was like convincing Barthomeloi to go digital with all her files! She made every excuse from outer space and back not to digitize her files, and ones that literally made no sense. How in the world would small green men enter her computer and make it sentient? Thank the Root that my parents embraced technology relatively well, though Mom still got suspicious of Dad whenever he got spam mail from Las Vegas that had pictures of hookers all over it.
"Then how do they connect?" Sisigou demanded.
"Wireless wavebands!"
"Aha! You said "wavebands"! So they do use radio waves!" Sisigou insisted.
I resisted the urge to facepalm.
"Old man, I swear…" I growled under my breath before turning to the two Servants who were apparently enjoying the show. "He's your Master, you wanna help me out?"
"Oh hell no," Saber grinned, "I'm enjoying this waaay too much."
Beside her, Archer didn't make any attempt to hide her smirk at my misery.
Placing the back of my head against my forehead in an attempt to stave off my incoming headache, I sent a withering glare at the older magus. "So help me, old man, if you don't take the goddamn phone I will shove it where the sun doesn't shine. And I'll use my Mugetsu to use it."
Sisigou sent a glare at the case containing said sword hanging over my shoulder. "Fine," he grumbled, before taking the headset and phone. "So, uh, do I just put it on my ear?"
"That's the general idea, yes," I sent a wry glare at him as I put on my own Bluetooth headset. "And Saber, make sure he doesn't break his phone or anything," I said to the man's Servant before addressing them both, "Archer and I will find a spot to set up a nest and keep overwatch on the city." I looked to Sisigou, "I'll call you when we set up shop and we'll keep in contact so I can notify you when we see Assassin of Black."
"Right, got it," Sisigou nodded as he warily slipped the headset onto his ear.
"Keep that phone on hand," I nodded at the cellphone in his hand.
"Just like old times, eh, kid?" Sisigou grinned.
"Just like old times," I smirked before turning on my heel to go find a good spot with a view of the city as Atalanta dematerialized.
"You know, Master, that kid ain't so bad," I heard Saber say.
"Yeah," said Sisigou, "c'mon, Saber, we better get going if you want the final blow on Assassin."
"Right behind ya Master!"
Archer, you've been seeing more of the city than I have, were you able to spot any good vantage points that offered unobstructed views of the city?
A few spots were viable, yes. Come, I will show you.
Following Atalanta, we went to a few spots that offered various spots that were prime places to be a sniper's nest, we even considered the city's clocktower, but it didn't offer any camouflage as it was simply architecture. Eventually, we decided on one of the hills that gave Archer a higher view of the city from the tree tops. As for me, well, I was watching her six as a Servant would be able to catch us unawares up here too. Calling the phone I gave to Sisigou, I prepared my equipment. My 5.7 Custom holstered on the back of my belt, the Custom Eagle on my right thigh, and on my left thigh was a thigh pouch carrying some extra ammo besides the ones on my belt, and in my left hand was Mugetsu.
"Hey, kid, what's up? You and Archer good to go?"
"Yup," I replied as I stood on a branch that allowed me a field of vision to cover Atalanta's back and kept Mugetsu at the ready. I have to say, these trees are really sturdy considering the weight of me and my equipment had yet to make the branch I was on dip down even a little bit. "Archer, you got eyes on the old man and Saber?"
"Affirmative," the Huntress replied.
"Right, so Archer has spotted you and we'll inform you when Assassin comes out if you don't spot her first."
"Got it, kid," replied Sisigou. "And hey, watch your back too. There's no telling if Assassin will head your way instead."
"I'm sure Saber will be disappointed if that did happen," I chuckled as I scanned the area through a pair of binoculars I had pulled out from my belt. "She won't be able to deal the final blow if we kill Assassin should they come our way."
"Oh, right… maybe we'll go make some noise then, lure them to us."
"Don't make too much of a racket, old man."
As the sun had settled past the horizon and the night sky hung overhead, I knew it wouldn't be long before Assassin came out. Although the evening was the unofficially agreed time for the war to commence, the only Servants who could claim this time of the day as their own were Assassin Servants.
"Master, inform Saber and her Master that a fog is beginning to envelop the city!" I heard Atalanta's voice somewhere above me.
I frowned, "Okay? Why?"
"Because Assassin of Black is traveling through it! I cannot pinpoint their exact location, but the fog is getting closer to Saber and her Master! This fog may be part of their Noble Phantasm!"
"Sisigou, there's a fog heading your way, we think it might be Assassin making their move!"
"We- *cough cough* we al- *cough* already know!" I heard the Necromancer's muffled voice as he managed around some coughs. He probably was using a cloth or something to cover his mouth. "Don't *cough cough* come here! The fog's poison!"
"Shit," I bit back a snarl. "Archer, do you have eyes on Assassin?"
"No!" came Atalanta reply. "The fog is moving too erratically for me to even guess where they might even be! This is definitely a Noble Phantasm! I could probably disperse it with my own, but with Saber and Master in there, they too would be caught in it, not to mention the city itself."
"Old man, the fog is Assassin's Noble Phantasm, you have to be Archer's eyes if you want her long-range support!"
"Dam- *cough cough* dammit!" Sisigou coughed as he tried to regain his breath. His voice didn't sound muffled this time, they must've found a clearing outside the fog. "Saber managed to lead me out of the fog- holy shit!"
I heard Atalanta from above me, "I have eyes on Assass- Master! Berserker of Black is heading our way!"
That got my attention. "What? How far is she?"
"A kilometer and a half maybe and closing," Atalanta replied as I spotted the glints of light from her arrow tips.
"Can't you shoot her down?" I asked hurriedly.
"My arrows did nothing to her in our last fight! The only thing that might take her down would be Noble Phantasm, but again, its area of effect might hit the town even at this distance!"
As the sound of falling trees and upturned ground kept getting closer and closer, I knew we would have to prioritize fighting Berserker before we were able to help Saber and Sisigou. Dammit. "Okay, how close is she now?"
I got my answer when some trees in front of us fell.
"That close!" said Archer as she landed on the branch I was on, grabbed me, and jumped some distance off just as our own tree was knocked down.
Upon landing on the ground, I couldn't help but feel frustrated. "Dammit, hey Old Man, looks like Archer and I won't be any help at all," I said into the earpiece. "Berserker of Black almost engaged us, so it probably won't be long until she either finds us or we find her."
"What?!" Sisigou snapped. "Dammit, well doesn't the Yggdmillennia clan have great timing…"
"Yeah," I nodded, empathizing with his frustration. Assassin was generally the weakest out of all the seven Servant classes in open combat given that their specialty was well, assassination. Of course, they were never to be underestimated, but taking an Assassin out with two Servants of the Knight category should have made taking out the enemy almost like using a cinderblock to kill a mouse instead of a mousetrap. Overkill, but at least you knew or hoped, that the Servant best suited for killing the Masters in a Grail War was eliminated. "Listen, we'll take care of Berserker. Hopefully, we can take out both Servants and make the War that much easier for us."
"Right, well, Saber's armor is able to counteract Assassin's poison in the fog," Sisigou replied. "She just went in to go fight Assassin."
"Understood," I responded back, "if Archer and I take out Berserker first, we'll go back to giving you support."
"Got it. Good luck, kid."
"Same to you, old man."
Turning to Archer, whose lion ears twitched at every sound in the forest beside our own, was looking around.
"I can lure Berserker away, Master," she said, turning to address me. "While I deal with her, you can search for her Master and take them down."
"Agreed," I nodded as my thoughts raced, "her Master can't be too far since Berserkers tend to put a heavier strain on the master than most Servants. They would have to be close by if they wanted to properly support her." My head turned toward the city. "The outskirts are probably the best bet, its streets and alleys can provide a decent amount of cover."
"Then I'll leave you to it," Atalanta nodded. "Be careful."
"Right back at you!" I returned with a smirk before sprinting off, uttering the name of the haste runes and reinforcing my legs to ease the pressure I was putting on my limbs.
…
As the Berserker of Black tore through the forest after her, Atalanta could not help the nostalgic smirk that edged from the corner of her lips. This was starting to remind her of the times Artemis trained her in the use of the bow as one of her Huntresses. Often as a child, the Goddess of the Moon would train her agility by well, hunting her down. Nothing puts the fear of a divine being in a mortal than being stalked in a forest and shooting arrows at you. Of course, Artemis never aimed for kill shots until she got older and more stronger, but she remembered when the white-haired goddess would hum some merry tune while shooting arrows from her bow. Of course in this day and age, humans could possibly call that child abuse, but honestly it was better Artemis shooting than someone like Ares or Enyo, both of whom didn't really care for much other than war and bloodshed.
Not that she met those particular gods of war.
Landing on an overhanging branch of a tree, the Huntress spun on her heel, drew Tauropolos' string with an arrow notched, took aim, and released it. As always, her one arrow turned into many, only to be met by a flourish of Berserker's mace.
"We meet again, Berserker of Black," spoke Atalanta as she remained on her perch, her bow at the ready.
"Grnn," the Berserker wearing a wedding dress growled as she held her mace up and at the ready for the coming fight.
"A shame that grunt and growls are all you can manage to say," Atalanta shook her head, "but I guess that is the Berserker class for you. Trading sanity for power."
"Grahh!" roared Berserker as she swung her large mace up, causing a wave of green bolts of electricity to cascade towards the Archer Servant's tree.
Dodging the attack by jumping off her perch, Atalanta fired a few more arrows that Berserker took without bothering to care for her wounds as the projectiles were easily pushed out of her body and her wounds healed nearly immediately. No doubt aid from her Master.
Landing on the ground, Atalanta smirked as she drew another arrow from motes of mana, "Yes, you're right. There is little time for words, we must fight!"
With that exclamation, the Huntress dashed forward with her bow drawn and fired. Berserker answered her by running forward as well, her mace reared back to slam the nimble Archer. Of course, a wild fighting Berserker would be unable to strike a blow against a quick Servant that had an A rank in agility, however, Berserkers weren't made for precise attacks like some Servants of the Knight category would be. So as Archer's arrows flew, the ground quaked and broke under Berserker's mace, making it the epicenter of a wave of electrical mana that burned Atalanta's arrows.
Leaping back a bit to avoid the wave from Berserker's strike, Atalanta then began to run circles around the enemy Servant. She would have to be careful in this fight, her own Endurance was low compared to Berserker's rank in Endurance which would undoubtedly be high given the Mad Enhancement that all Berserkers had. Her Phoebus Catastrophe was powerful enough to take Berserker down as the Anti-Army Noble Phantasm would create so much damage that the Mad Servant would be unable to heal that damage in one instance.
Still…
Dodging one more bolt of lightning thrown at her from Berserker's mace, Atalanta jumped onto the branch of a tree and fired a few arrows at Berserker. Undaunted as Berserker brushed them away with her mace this time, the Huntress smirked before she was momentarily distracted to see a bolt of red lightning coming from the direction of the city. No doubt that was Saber fighting Assassin. Bringing her attention back to the fight before her, the Archer Servant leaped from her perch just as Berserker crashed into it, causing the tree to tilt and fall.
Jumping from one branch to another, going further and further away from the city, she called over to taunt the enemy, "Come, Berserker, you still have yet to catch me."
If she could put some more distance from the town, she would have enough space to unleash her Noble Phantasm, which would either kill Berserker outright or buy more time for Faelan to find Berserker's Master and eliminate them.
"Grrnnn!" Berserker snarled as she chased after the Huntress.
…
Now, if I were a Master where would I hide?
…
Okay let me rephrase that; if I were a Master who was a regular magus, where would I hide? It's like I told Archer, which had been more of me thinking aloud rather than telling her something, a Master of Berserker would have to be closer to their Servants compared to Servants like Archer or Assassin given the drain on their Master's mana. So it would make sense that Berserker's Master would be somewhere in the outskirts or the edge of the city to keep their connection to their Servant strong.
It's a shame I left my familiars with Mom and Dad, even one of the low tier familiars I made from a swallow or a random bird would've been ideal in looking for Berserker's master. Ah well, hindsight and all that, it's not like I would've anticipated Professor Meloi asking me for a favor. Guess I would have to do this the old-fashioned way.
Making my way to the rooftops via ledges and balconies, I drew a rune of Kenaz to enhance my sight. Running around the city rooftops was less than ideal, especially when I was looking for one person, but at least Assassin's fog had gone away. Hmm, maybe the old man got lucky and managed to take down Assassin or their master. And if what he said was true, that Saber of Black was also gone, that meant we could be almost halfway through the enemy's Servants in only a mere few days of the war. Though I wasn't looking forward to fighting the old man if our faction did beat the Yggdmillennia clan.
There is only one winner in a Grail War after all…
No, focus.
Returning my thoughts to my current dilemma of finding Berserker of Black's Master. And given that they would've probably wanted to avoid Assassin of Black's poisonous fog, they probably would have avoided getting closer to Assassin and Saber of Red's fight on top of that. So a place that's far away from the city center yet still within city limits to mobilize quickly enough given that they're probably after their rogue Servant too…
Landing atop a roof and stared off into the East, I saw a mage wearing glasses running Eastward, which coincidentally I could feel Atalanta moving in somewhere to the East as well. So if she was leading Berserker of Black in that direction, then the Mad Servant's Master would be moving that way to remain in contact with their Servant.
Smirking, I began heading that way, intent on cutting the Yggdmillennia Master off. To which I had to say, it didn't take much time at all. Landing before the bespectacled Master, I raised a brow when the guy yelped rather loudly and summoned a group of spirits and animals that rushed at them. Flicking Mugetsu's guard with my thumb, I drew the blade with my dominant hand and slashed through the mage's summoned familiars.
The hell?
Those things were barely worth cutting through with my sword! I could've done the same with a knife or my 5.7 for crying out loud! Frowning at the guy before me, I recognized him from the files Dad emailed me concerning potential Masters for the Black faction. Caules Forvedge Yggdmillennia. I wasn't expecting much from the clan that broke away from the Association given that they preferred quantity over quality concerning their magecraft. Sure, it was a viable strategy, even the best of knights could fall to a mob, but I was expecting better than weak familiars. At least the lamyros, Bell's familiars, while fragile due to them being insects, were capable of creating a working, combat-ready clone of himself and if not that, were homing projectiles. This guy was weak!
Great, now I would feel bad for the guy given the large gap between us.
"Holy shit…" I heard Caules whisper, "you… you're…"
"Faelan Ashford," I bowed my head, "I see that my reputation precedes me."
"You're the Wolf the Vice-Director of the Clocktower chained up…" Caules uttered, still dumbfounded by my appearance.
"It's just a title, don't take such things literally," I sighed.
"H-Hey, I just hear things alright! It's not like I'm the type to go about starting baseless rumors!" Caules kept his hands raised in surrender. "So you're a Master too, I'm guessing?"
I nodded.
"Figures my first fight one on one in this war would be against someone powerful like you…" Caules' shoulders drooped down despondently.
Breathing out a sigh, I was about to just knock the poor guy out and go find Atalanta and Berserker of Black to strongarm his Servant to retreat if she didn't want her Master harmed further in any way. Well, that said, I was about to. Hearing the sound of claws on the stone street, I ducked underneath one dog familiar and cut the second one down the middle in two before it dissipated into smoke and mana. Flipping Mugetsu to hold it in a reverse grip, I stabbed the first dog with the blade into its maw and down its throat. Though I had to dodge and duck into an alley when several Gandr shots were fired at me.
Well well well. Weak though the guy maybe, but at least he wasn't dumb.
"Nice tactic, using Gandr when I was distracted by your familiars," I chuckled from behind cover. "Simple, but effective."
"Uh, thanks?" came the confused reply from Caules, no doubt baffled as to why I complimented an enemy. "Compliments or not, you're still my enemy!"
Smart.
"Wouldn't expect anything less!" I exclaimed as I charged out of the alleyway with a grin on my face.
I barely batted an eye to see a small army of low-quality familiars between me and the Yggdmillennia Master. It would make sense he used such low-quality familiars considering that he was the Master of his faction's Berserker, they would be less draining on his reserves and allow him more options. Low-tiered options, but all he needed was either careful planning or just plain old luck. Hopefully, he wasn't one that got through via the latter.
Still, it would be amusing enough not to go all out and use either of my guns or runes in conjunction with Mugetsu.
"Let's see what you're made of, Yggdmillennia!" I grinned in excitement.
Cutting down one familiar, I had to tilt my head to avoid a Gandr shot from the Black faction Master but had to roll forward to avoid the swipe of another spirit familiar. A lynx familiar bounded out of nowhere, aiming for my face, but I used Mugetsu's sheath to stop it in midair when it had jumped and redirected the animal to the ground before cutting a spirit dog in two that had hoped to capitalize on my divided attention. Only to dodge a few more Gandr shots from the Black faction Master that was my opponent.
"I admit, you're giving me somewhat of a workout," I said honestly as I took a step back.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Caules panted a little, no doubt it came from the adrenaline from the whole situation rather than actual physical exertion, "considering that I'm up against the Crimson Wolf of all people and have managed even this long."
Oh? So the guy was self-aware of his capabilities. Shame he had to be on the enemy's side, he was already a hundred times better company than the large majority of mages back in the Clocktower.
"Well, shall we continue?" I asked as I got into a ready stance with Mugetsu.
"Heh," Caules chuckled nervously, the rest of his conjured familiars gathering to his side.
But before either of us could make a move, I heard something that was similar to automatic gunfire.
"Was that an LMG?" I frowned.
"Fiore!" Caules gasped, his head moving in the direction of the sound that it originated from.
"What, she your girlfriend or something?" I raised a brow.
"What?!" said a disturbed Caules, affronted. "Ew no, Fiore's my sister!"
Oh, that Fiore, his elder sibling. Right, she was the designated heir for the Forvedge family and had inherited the Family Crest. Though I thought that the Crest had crippled her legs, how the hell would she be able to carry around an LMG?
Still…
"Sister, huh?" I murmured under my breath.
Relaxing from my ready stance, I sheathed Mugetsu, causing Caules to look at me, bewildered.
"Huh, what're you doing? Is this some sort of trap?" he frowned, trying to comprehend my actions.
"You want to go help her, right? Your sister?" I sighed as I crossed my arms, Mugetsu still in hand. "If you want to go help her, fine, I'll let you go this one time."
"You're letting me go?" Caules regarded me with suspicion.
"In exchange, you order your Berserker disengage from fighting my Archer of Red and pull your Servant back," I nodded. "Do that, and you're free to go."
"... I assume you want me to do that with a Command Seal, right?" he bit out.
"If you want to, dude," I shrugged as I walked over to a nearby bench and sat down, leaning against the wooden backrest so I could stare at the night sky. Huh, shame. Even here in Sighișoara, light pollution made the stars barely visible. "I kinda lost my motivation for fighting for the night, so as long your Berserker and my Archer stop fighting, for now, I couldn't care less how you do it."
I could feel the guy's stare on me, no doubt confused by everything. He probably thought this night was his last when I showed up out of nowhere in front of him with the intent to fight, not that I really blamed him. Mages tended to think in absolutes. Huh, there was a Star Wars joke there somewhere.
"You're weird," Caules eventually decided to say.
"Ha! That's probably the nicest thing a stranger whose a mage has ever said about me."
Sadly, it was.
"...Still thank you."
Hearing the guy's hurried footsteps echo off as he ran off to go help his sister, I merely waved a hand lazily in his general direction. "The things we do for our sisters, right?" I muttered quietly.
Master, did something happen? Berserker of Black suddenly retreated out of nowhere.
Something like that.
… Can you tell me what?
Let's just call it empathy towards a fellow sibling who is a brother with a sister.
"Brother with a sister"? Does this have to do anything with Linnet?
No, not really… Why don't you head over my way? I have a feeling the old man and Saber have probably finished their own fight by now too.
She was silent for a moment, probably trying to figure out what happened on my end.
As you wish…
Some moments later, Atalanta materialized in front of me.
"How went your fight?" I asked, still keeping my gaze at the night sky above.
"Reasonably well," she replied as she sat down beside me. "I couldn't get far away enough from the city to unleash my Noble Phantasm, not if I wanted Berserker of Black on my tail enough that she wouldn't have lost me in the woods. And her injuries can be easily healed, though I doubt that she would care given that she is a Berserker. What of yours? You said something about "empathy for a fellow sibling"? What's that about?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," I chuckled a little, ignoring Atalanta's pointed look, before taking out my phone and dialing Sisigou's burner phone number. "Hey, how'd it go on your end?"
"The whole thing has been a wash," came the exhausted tone of the Necromancer. "Assassin of Black retreated, then we got attacked by Archer of Black and his Master. Saber engaged the enemy Servant and I almost had his Master until her brother showed up and they both retreated. I'm guessing he did something you didn't see coming if he managed to get by you of all people."
Oh, so that's where he went. My bad.
"Hmm, something like that," I said sheepishly. Yeah, probably a good idea to not let the old man know I let Caules go. "Well, either way, no one on our side died, so hey, silver lining, right?"
"Right…"
"Wanna go grab a drink?"
"I wish, but I'm pretty sure every bar's still closed because of Assassin's murders," the old man sighed.
"Oh yeah, right…"
"Saber and I are gonna head in for the night," Sisigou said after a moment. "We'll be heading for Trifas in the morning, given that Archer of Black retreated and it's more than likely Assassin of Black will head to Yggdmillennia's territory soon enough too. If anything, it's likely to harvest more hearts."
"Agreed," I nodded as I glanced over at my Servant, "Archer and I are heading that way too, we've been handling reconnaissance of the enemy's territory ever since we registered with the priest."
"You wanna carpool?"
"No it's fine," I replied as I checked the time on my watch, it was barely even midnight. "Archer and I are gonna head over there after we get our stuff from the hotel. Plus, I have some things back at our base camp I'd rather not leave unsupervised for too long."
"Understandable. All right then, all roads lead to Trifas."
"Seems so," I chuckled, "don't die on the way there, old man."
"Cheeky brat…"
Ending the call, I returned my phone to my pocket, stretched my arms and stood up from the bench. Tonight was well… interesting. Still, it would suck that I would have to tell Professor Meloi that the hunt for Assassin of Black would be on-going. But hey, if we could take out the Black faction and then agree on a ceasefire with the other Masters of Red until Assassin of Black has been taken care of, things could be manageable. After that, the only ones I was really worried about were the priest and Assassin, and Saber and the old man, though for different reasons.
"Shall we go?" I asked Atalanta who had stood up as well.
"Of course," she nodded, her lion features disappearing and her human ears appearing once more.
Grabbing Mugetsu, I let the sword rest on my shoulder as we made our way to our hotel. Hearing the short tune from my phone indicating a text, I reached into my pocket and was pleasantly surprised to see that it came from the priest.
Was the matter concerning the rogue Servant dealt with?
I wasn't surprised that the priest had discovered that I was one of the Masters who was investigating the killings. The priest's church wasn't that far from the city proper, a familiar could've easily spotted us and reported its discovery of me being back in tow. I didn't see a reason to keep the priest in the dark, however, that didn't mean I was going to divulge everything. So I sent a quick reply saying that Assassin of Black escaped.
I see. A shame. I'd like to request that you return to your post providing reconnaissance in Yggdmillennia's territory as soon as possible. The greater battle against the Black faction for the Holy Grail will begin soon.
Raising a brow in intrigue, I sent a text back in confirmation before stuffing the phone back into my pocket.
"Something amiss?" asked Atalanta.
"Hmm, not really, just the priest asking if we got Assassin of Black and likewise asking us to go back to our post," I shrugged.
"Our caster must be powerful indeed if I wasn't able to see any of their familiars within the city," she frowned.
"Probably," I shrugged again, though absently this time as my thoughts were more focused on possible tactics for the upcoming battle the priest mentioned. "Well, at least we know the war's in our favor. With Yggdmillennia's Saber gone, that's one major obstacle gone that we don't have to worry about."
"Especially with their Assassin having gone rogue," Atalanta nodded. "With that Noble Phantasm deployed on the enemy's side, it would've spoken disaster for us if they… odd."
"Hmm? What is it?" I turned to my Servant quizzically.
"I know I saw Assassin of Black, even if momentarily, when they engaged Saber and her Master, but I cannot recall their appearance," the Huntress frowned, frustrated by her inability to recall Assassin's appearance.
"Perhaps a Noble Phantasm?" I offered, as I didn't see Assassin of Black myself, all I could offer was speculation.
"Perhaps," she nodded.
"Still, best to leave that on the back burner until it becomes relevant again," I said as we continued on.
Assassin of Black's best move was to remain unseen as the War raged on, especially given their class, and do what they've been doing harvesting hearts. Though I had to wonder who Assassin's Master was given that those summoned under the Assassin class should be easy to maintain since their mana consumption was the most cost-effective amongst all of the Servants.
Ah, well, a thought for another time.
Although, if what the priest said in his text was true, an all-out siege was probably going to happen against the Yggdmillennia and their home city of Trifas. Maybe I should be getting that ready for use.
Omake: Where were Karna and Achilles while the Battle was Occurring in Sighisoara?
Within the city of Sighisoara a couple of men, exotic in appearance compared to the rest of the city's denizens, were inside a supermarket known as PROFI. And what were they doing you ask? Well…
"Buy him groceries, that's what the priest said," Achilles groaned in irritation, dressed in modern clothes that consisted of a pair of dress pants, white dress shirt, vest and tie, and a pair of brown shoes. "I did not answer the call of the Holy Grail to be treated as a damned retainer! The term "Servant" is supposed to have a different definition!"
"Would you quiet down?" sighed Karna, as he pushed the grocery cart while reading from the list that Shirou Kotomine gave him. He himself wore rather casual clothing that consisted of a pair of black jeans and shoes, a grey v-neck, and a black leather jacket. "It's just a small errand, it's not like he asked us to remodel the church." Pausing, he grabbed a two-liter bottle of a Dr. Pepper Cherry from the shelf and placed it in the cart before moving on.
"I would've preferred it!" the Hero of Greece protested. "Honestly, at least then I would've been able to do something with my hands and it would've passed the time! This? All we're doing is playing butler! He should've had Caster do this considering I hardly ever see the guy even leave his room!"
"If you keep making a ruckus, Achilles, you're going to attract the attention of everyone in the store," Karna resisted the urge to rub his temples as his sight drifted from the grocery list to the surrounding aisles and what they contained. It was then he noticed the gazes of parents and elderly folks giving them glares as well as stares of desire from young women. "Well, if you haven't already."
"Is this your method of coping or something?" Achilles sent his fellow Servant a suspicious look, his hands jammed in his pockets as he followed the Lancer Servant, not even acknowledging the looks he got from the young women that passed by. "I thought you'd be disappointed too that Saber of Black kicked the bucket, especially since you were the first one to fight him."
"This is a Grail War," Karna shrugged as he opened a refrigerator door and grabbed a gallon jug of chocolate milk, and added it to the cart, "anything can happen. And yes, I am a little disappointed I am now unable to finish a duel with a worthy opponent, however crying and whining about it like a child isn't going to help anyone, is it?"
The Servant of the Chariot glared at the pale, white-haired Indian demigod, but didn't say anything lest he prove the Lancer Servant right.
"If you'll behave, we can buy some candy on our way out," offered Karna as he continued pushing the cart and reading from the grocery list.
Achilles opened his mouth to refuse but then thought about it.
"Fine," the green-haired Greek pouted, arms crossed as he trailed after his fellow Servant.
Later, as the two Servants were walking back home with their groceries in hand, Achilles was happily munching on treats from his collection of candies while Karna was more than happy that he had managed to buy some moments of quiet from the Rider Servant. Well, that is until Achilles started chewing on bubblegum, and started blowing bubbles and popping them for the rest of the walk back.
AN:
Another Monday, another chapter.
I had wracked my brain for hours thinking how to avoid killing Jack outright since she wouldn't survive a battle between two Knight class Servants. And honestly, I thought why not, Caules could use some recognition. Although fair warning, last week's omake is the only time we will see Jack in this story. Sorry, not sorry, Jack fans.
And yes, this week's omake is a reference to the canceled Fate/Apocrypha Abridged series where Shirou is trying to get everyone to do his groceries. Such a shame it was canceled, but I understand and respect the creator's reasons for doing so. And Karna's and Achilles' clothes are based on their Fate/Apocrypha Epilogue event outfits.
In regards to FGO, I wish everyone and anyone luck who are rolling for any of the Sakura-face Servants for this year's BB event, god knows you all need it.
See you all next week!