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A Fated Knight II
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Riser

Riser was 13 years old as the Fuyuki issue began. Izuko sent him here to deal with the mess these mages were creating. People were disappearing and dying left and right in Fuyuki city. As the new powerful authority surged in recent years, Gaen-san didn't like it when a supernatural race messed with innocent humans one bit. Gaen was a powerful woman, a human who wanted to meddle in the affairs of the supernatural, even though they've been around since forever, and she was in her thirties. Gaen was powerful and wanted to protect the livelihoods of those living in the normal. Which meant she was heavy-handed in many affairs.

She had ordered me to kill whoever was involved in this incident in Fuyuki city, and my investigations led to this port. Two mighty warriors, one wielding an Excalibur-like weapon, and the other a cursed golden spear, and another red one. I'm not the luckiest kid around. I knew that from many confrontations, and many times getting hurt.

However, I also had the power of the Gamer, and with it, I achieved regeneration powers only seen in dreams. I wasn't—Ahh, it's challenging to discuss now with people readying themselves to kill me.

Artoria Pendragon | Level 2,643

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne | Level 2,278

Both were extremely high level, and their statuses were off the charts. They could have probably matched some of the higher-level demons in the Rating Games, perhaps even win against them. However, their strength seemed to be flawed, like something or someone was artificially weakening them. Hrm, this is strange. They don't feel like actual people, almost like some sort of doll or vessel. Maybe familiars…?

But who could summon such strong familiars?

I was frayed. These two were potent opponents that no one could underestimate.

Sure, he was stronger than them, and he'd faced many opponents in the past with similar strength. Kiss-Shot and Jallzen, for example, were so vastly superior in strength compared to these two warriors. Still, the two were highly skilled in combat. A weaker opponent can bridge the gap with focus and skill.

"Who are you? Are you a servant?" Diarmuid asked me that question.

"I am under no obligation to answer that question, spearman."

When I focused on him, there was a bit of desire for his body, a charm spell just like Jallzen. Was this man an incubus?

It was that mole that had some sort of spell, or curse, put into it. However, pretty faces and bodies wouldn't sway me to anyone's side. Diarmuid had nothing to gain using that sort of trick. Or maybe it was something uncontrollable. Still, using a charm spell like this made me remind of Jallzen, that succubus woman. When reminded of her, the only thing on my body that aches is the rage of a thousand suns. Just because Diarmuid reminded me of her meant he was already in an unfavorable position.

The night was just starting, and it seemed I interrupted their duel. They were using an invisibility technique I hadn't seen before, but now that wouldn't work anymore. Unfortunately, I never faced a mage from the Clock Tower and their associated groups before—so I am not aware of their tricks yet.

There was no point in asking questions to either of them now—this was a battlefield. So, the aim was simple. The German-looking homunculus doll would have the info I needed. My eyes focused on her, and the knight-girl Artoria blocked my view of her.

Her name is close to the Pendragon legend, with the same family name. Could she be a descendant of that line—is that why she has a similar-feeling blade to the Excalibur fragments, only much worse?

However, Arthur's descendants are on the Hero Faction, are they not?

The girl in front of him stumped his mind completely, almost like she shouldn't be around or shouldn't exist usually. That blade by her side made him feel shivers. Honestly, Gaen, you didn't explain what is happening here on purpose, and you're probably laughing at me from somewhere. He was indebted to Gaen and Oshino for helping during the Kiss-shot incident a year ago. Still, Gaen was always like this.

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Irisviel

"Saber, I can't read the stats of the man in front of you. Something is hindering my sight." I said towards Saber. This man was peculiar. He appeared as a minor might have, and he showed ordinary clothes that you might wear in your residence, with a checkered white and drab coat loosely hanging on him and baggy pants and a frayed shirt. Almost as if he was in pajamas instead of armor. This man appeared to be a servant. However, he was an enigma. This unknown man just arrived in the middle of the confrontation.

"He's focused on you, Irisviel," said Saber, the tiny knight servant, shielded her and pointed at Excalibur, hidden by the wind. The man's focus was on me and Saber's blade. Does he know who she is? Then this meant trouble if his Master knew her identity—they could play off her weaknesses.

Lancer, riddled with anxiety, rushed forward towards the man who interrupted his and Saber's duel. Lancer was an honorable man—he did not allow interruptions to his fights. The blond arrival faced Lancer, then his mouth glowed red and then spit many flames. Heavy flames—no, that was magma.

It surprised Saber to see a lake of lava falling towards Lancer, and with one exhale, flames pooled the port from below like he was a fire-breathing dragon. Lancer looked upwards and thrust with his red spear. It broke through a section of the lava, and Lancer escaped by jumping above. It scared me because Kiritsugu was watching from above somewhere. However, Lancer hadn't noticed where Kiritsugu was. Saber picked me up and jumped on top of the containers as we oversaw a hellfire from below. The spit of lava pooled over the paved ground and exploded.

Meanwhile, that blond arrival was just sitting there amid all that hellfire, looking fine. Saber had a worried look on her face. A worried look from the Arthurian legend herself. I couldn't believe it.

"Can't you defeat him? Is this too harsh?"

"No, it's just. This amount of magic is strange. Maybe he's Caster, but something feels off."

Servants had an innate instinct given by the Holy Grail War, and this unfamiliar man felt out of place here. Not that his strength scared her. This was completely normal. Even Lancer had successfully escaped that attack. Nevertheless, there was something intrinsically odd about his arrival that unnerved Saber. First, the ground melted, then the unknown man looked up.

"The name's Riser."

He introduced himself to us. This was the second time he ever spoke to us. The first one was to rebuke Lancer, which he had called spearman for some obscure reason. This Riser was quiet with his voice. And that name did not rouse any information within me. I studied history and its major heroes to prepare for this war, yet I never heard his name within legends. I put his identity as a servant into question.

But that strength was—"Saber. What is your class?" Saber introduced herself while asking.

"Class?" That question also weirded him. Something unnerving was happening here, and I didn't like this development one bit. "My class, like from an RPG? — Pyromancer? Fire mage? Creature of Fire? My class is a Cosmic Phoenix."

He hung his head as he thought he looked like a child doing that. Maybe he was. He had a youngish appearance despite being tall. He couldn't be older than 16 years old. Still, this made me realize either he wasn't a servant, or there was something wrong with his summoning that made him lose his memory or something. He was probably Caster if he was a servant. However, if he wasn't a servant, things get even more complicated.

Saber rushed and arrived near his feet, her metal boots and armor stomping the heated and melted rubble on the previously paved ground. Saber was fast, and as a Caster, the thing you want to avoid is a close-quarters confrontation with either Lancer or Saber in the Holy Grail War. I have known this for quite some time. If our opponent doesn't know of this, then he would suffer.

Saber's sword was about to slash right into his midsection, exactly where his liver would be. However, he did something that frightened me so much I shivered. He used his right fist to bash Excalibur to the floor, surpassing Saber's incredible strength and deflecting the slash with his bare hand. Riser made no expression of smugness or even a hint of a smile. He was devoid of any emotion—he was always looking cold. He probably never smiled once in his lifetime. Riser approached the small Saber and whispered.

"I also enjoy a physical brawl like any other."

Riser said that and then extended his arm and bashed Saber onto the floor. Cracking it and launching her tiny body into the air. Then his body flared with flames and, like a freight train, that body-slammed Saber forward. Riser kept charging like a maniac, jumping over their port and bashing her armor with his own body. Then they landed on the sea, and he kept charging her body despite both being underwater. His flames heated the entire ocean as he kept charging forward, with Saber suffering.

Still, Riser kept using his whole body's mass and his extreme speed and strength to roll her body over the seafloor as they passed the Hadal zone. Finally, the pressure started breaking her armor. His flames lit up the eternally dark ocean. As he passed through the giant squids and fish, the fire burned and ripped anything in his way in half. As Saber kept rolling forward without being able to rest. Saber, barely injured and resilient as she was, didn't die to a pressure that would have crushed 30 airplanes' worth of mass.

Riser kept charging on the bottom of the ocean until they reached an underwater wall, and he crushed her body forward. Then he grabbed her by the hair and went up to an uninhabited island near the coast of Japan. Riser threw her body on top of the mountain as his body felt the flames as he rushed forward like a meteor. He crashed on the waterfall Saber had fallen to and destroyed all that land around them. Saber coughed blood as he beat part of her armor and hit her liver with his fist.

However, by his side was Excalibur, thrusting itself on his left thigh. Riser fell to the side and jumped back as the golden dust settled and his leg healed.

Saber lifted herself from the crater and the falling waterfall on her shoulders. Her golden hair was messy because of the confrontation, and she walked forward. Her green eyes glared fiercely at her new opponent.

"Now I know why Gaen sent me here." Riser whispered to himself. "Irisviel, was it? Irisviel-san might know more about this whole situation." He was always quiet and cold.

"I won't let you touch her, you fiend." It was clear now this man couldn't ever have been Caster because of the confrontation under the sea. This man was an anomaly.

"My dream is one day making ocean exploration available as well. Since I'm already trying to explore space, I might want to make that into a reality for humanity."

Riser put a hand over his chin and thought, forgetting why he was there. Exploring the depths of the ocean was so interesting for a second. Maybe making that accessible for humanity as massively accessible tourism might be a wondrous new experience.

He looked at her without a smile. Riser never smiled. Saber looked at the man before her and spoke.

"You're insane."

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Author's notes
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