Day 4: True Lancer — Legend-Killer
Lancer Cu Chulainn stalked up the path to Ryuudou Temple, his spear drawn. His keen senses, primed for battle, caught the sharp scent of freshly spilled blood wafting down from the mountain peak. It seemed violence had broken out just shortly before his arrival. Whether this would simplify or complicate his mission remained to be seen.
He and his Master had recently been assaulted by a group of familiars in the form of skeletons. They were fairly crude creations; Bazett probably would have been able to defeat them even without his aid. From this, it seemed likely that they had not been sent specifically to attack her but rather had stumbled across her hideout by chance. Bazett had concluded that they were gathering souls from ordinary humans, accumulating prana for Caster while disguising their actions as the "gas leak" incidents that had been reported in the news lately.
This presented a problem. Accidentally or not, they had managed to locate Bazett's hideout, which meant that Caster was now also aware. Even if they were to relocate, they had no way of knowing if Caster was spying on them with a remote viewing technique; there was no sense moving into a new hideout if the enemy was watching as they did so. Furthermore, the longer Caster's familiars were allowed to prey on the populace of Fuyuki, the more prana Caster would accumulate and the more powerful it would become. Bazett had thus decided that they should aim to eliminate Caster as quickly as possible.
Using runic magic, they had been able to trace the origin of the familiars back to Ryuudou Temple. Bazett had already noticed the anti-Servant barrier over the Temple and worked on formulating a plan of attack on whichever Master had set it up; a plan which they were able to fine-tune once they knew the Servant involved was Caster and were now putting into action. Lancer would approach the temple's front gate, the one opening in the field and the most likely position for a trap, and make a frontal assault. Caster would attack him, only to find too late that he had prepared for this attack by using his runic magic to cast defensive wards on his armor, temporarily boosting his Magic Resistance parameter. The potency of his runes wasn't as great as it might have been if he'd been summoned in the Caster class, but they'd be enough to let him endure at least a couple of direct hits; more, if Caster didn't think it necessary to start off with its most powerful spells.
As soon as Caster engaged, Bazett would enter into the temple from the other side of the mountain. As a mere magus rather than a Servant, the barrier wouldn't obstruct her in the slightest. If Caster had the barrier alarmed so that it would detect the intrusion of a magus, Bazett would then serve as a decoy: upon detecting a hostile magus entering the Temple, Caster would naturally rush to the aid of its Master — at which point Lancer, not nearly as injured as Caster would have thought thanks to his improved Magic Resistance, would take advantage of the enemy's distraction to slay it with Gae Bolg. If, however, no alarm was raised, then Lancer would be the decoy; he would fight with the Caster, keeping its attention, while Bazett sought out Caster's Master. She would then threaten the Master with death unless they agreed to use their Command Spells to force Caster to commit suicide. After securing the ex-Master's departure from the War, Bazett would also judge whether the Magic Association might be interested in recruiting them — a mage deemed worthy by the Holy Grail of receiving a Servant might in all probability be a prodigy worthy of the Association's attention.
It wasn't exactly the straightforward, honorable combat that Lancer preferred, but their encounter with Berserker had shown quite convincingly that not every enemy was the type he could defeat in a simple one-on-one duel. Anyway, Caster in particular was the type of tricksy enemy which would avoid a fair fight and go for using all sorts of magical tricks and traps, which meant they'd have to employ some cunning and deception of their own in order to prevail. Well, Bazett seemed quite competent as a tactician, so Lancer would defer to her judgement in the planning of battles.
But they were just now preparing to initiate their plan, and yet bloodshed had already occurred. Lancer couldn't tell if the blood was smelling came from a human or Servant. If a Servant, it must be a grievous wound, to have bled so much before healing; but not a fatal one, or the blood would have disappeared into sparkling gold dust along with the rest of the Servant's body when it expired. If human... being able to catch the scent of the blood from this distance meant quite a large quantity of it must have been spilled, which likely meant death. Either way, his Master needed to be informed.
Lancer halted his advance and raised the two-way, hand-held radio transceiver that Bazett had given him for the purpose of communicating with her. Though it wasn't a type of device that Lancer was familiar with using, the principles of its operation were simple enough. Bazett had figured that Caster would likely have the means to eavesdrop on any magical forms of communication, but was much less likely to be think to listen in on technological communications. Normal mages didn't hold much truck with modern technology, preferring to rely on arcane methods for addressing their problems. But Bazett was a combat mage, and a pragmatist. She was willing to consider every available tool for taking on a job, and could get over her pride to choose the less glamorous but more effective option. He liked that about her; it showed a flexibility of thought that a lot of other stodgy old magi lacked. He did, however, draw the line at calling the device a "walkie-talkie". An epic spirit had to maintain some minimum level of dignity.
"Problem, my Master." Lancer said. "Blood has already been spilled at the summit. It may be that another team has also chosen to attack this lair."
"I see." Bazett said. "We came prepared to deal with Caster; going in blind against a different opponent of unknown capabilities would be unwise. I will hold position outside the bounded field. You, proceed forwards and scout the situation inside. If Caster has prevailed over the attacker, then signal me and we will proceed with the original plan. If Caster has been eliminated by another enemy, however, try to confirm the class of the Servant and the identity of the Master, if possible, then fall back. We'll plan how to defeat them on another occasion."
"Understood." Lancer said.
Lancer resumed his ascent of the stairs leading to Ryuudou Temple. However, upon reaching the front gate, he paused and raised his lance upon suddenly feeling the close presence of a Servant. For it to appear so suddenly and so nearby could only mean that it was a Servant of the Assassin class, dropping its Presence Concealment in preparation for an attack. A moment later, a samurai with an unusually long sword faded in to visibility in front of the front gate. However, he didn't immediately launch an attack; he merely stood in front of the gate gazing cooly at Lancer.
This was puzzling on multiple levels. For one thing, Assassin was a class suited for deception and stealth, not the construction of elaborate magical barriers. The anti-Servant barrier over Ryuudou Temple could only be the work of a Caster, so why was the Assassin standing at the gate as though it was his territory he were guarding? And secondly, though the identity of the Assassin was not immediately apparent, it was obviously not Hassan-i-Sabbah. Lancer had been under the impression that the Assassin role was always filled by one incarnation or another of Hassan: the very word "Assassin" was derived from Hashshashin, the organization whose leaders had all taken the name Hassan-i-Sabbah, making him the originator of all Assassins.
The Hassan-i-Sabbah were all cowardly and treacherous spirits, and had he encountered one of them, Lancer would not have hesitated to put Gae Bolg through its heart. However, this Assassin had the noble countenance of a dignified warrior, and so Lancer was open to the possibility that he might actually have an informative conversation with it. He walked up the steps, approaching the Servant, albeit with a respectful degree of caution — it was, after all, still an Assassin.
"Greetings, Assassin." Lancer said. "Since you have dropped your Presence Concealment without launching an attack, may I assume that you wish to have a nice chat?"
"I am faced with a dilemma." the Assassin said, with a faintly melodramatic sigh. . "I was tasked to guard this gate, and to let no one pass alive. However, my Master has died, and I have barely enough prana remaining to last until sunrise. I feel no particular loyalty to my late, unlamented Master, and thus no obligation to carry out her command now that she is gone; but, if I am to disappear from the Holy Grail War tonight, I should at least like the honor of doing battle with another Heroic Spirit."
"I'm not seeing the dilemma, then." Lancer said, grinning as he twirled his spear.
"My Master was expecting an attack from Saber later tonight." Assassin said. "I have enough prana for but one battle. If I must choose I single Servant I should like to battle, it would have to be a fellow master of the sword. But you are here now, whereas there is no guarantee Saber will actually show before I fade. Do I take the opportunity for battle now presented to me? Or do I gamble everything on the chance of meeting my ideal match?"
Lancer couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic towards this Servant, even if it did happen to be an Assassin. Its desire was very similar to Lancer's own — to have the opportunity to fight other Heroic Spirits in glorious combat, regardless of whether or not he ended up winning the Grail in the end.
"Let me offer you a deal." Lancer suggested. "Let me pass the gate now, and I promise to return before sunrise. If Saber shows up as you expect, all is well for you. But even if she does not, you will still have the opportunity to cross your sword with my spear. You have my word of honor that I will fulfill this oath."
"You would do this for me?" Assassin asked. "I doubt your Master would be happy about you risking your life against an opponent who is soon to vanish regardless."
"I, too, hunger to face worthy adversaries in honorable combat." Lancer said. "My Master understands this, and has been generous enough to grant me a certain lassitude in my actions so long as I complete my assigned missions. Thus, if you allow me to complete my scouting of the Ryuudou Temple, she will not begrudge me the indulgence of fighting you afterwards. She will, after all, have full confidence that I will emerge victorious in the end."
"How fortunate you are, to have been blessed with such a generous and understanding Master." Assassin said. "If I had been summoned by such a person... no, it is too late for regrets. . I accept your offer, Hero of the Lance."
He walked to the side, giving Lancer a clear path through the temple gate.
"Do be cautious, however." Assassin warned. "My Master's killer may still be within the temple."
The Assassin then reclined his head and vanished into spiritual form, to await either Saber's arrival or Lancer's return. Privately, Lancer hoped that Saber would fail to appear, and that he would have the privilege of facing Assassin himself. After the inconclusive match with Archer and being forced to flee from Berserker, Lancer was itching for a good, honest fight. This straightforward and sword-wielding Assassin seemed like he would be an excellent foe. But business before pleasure, as the humans of this era would say; he needed to confirm the situation with Caster before he could consider satisfying his desire for a duel.
Once Lancer had entered the grounds of the Ryuudou Temple, the source of the stench of death he'd detected became obvious: a dismembered corpse lying in the courtyard. Assassin's deceased Master, perhaps? No, the Servant had implied that his Master was female, and this body was definitely male. The corpse did seem to be heavily infused with prana, though; an effect similar but more powerful to the temporary enchantments he could put on himself with his runic magic in order to boost his parameters. Definitely the work of Caster, then; this man might have been a random citizen that she had used mind-control or bewitchment to turn into an unquestioningly loyal lackey, then enhanced with her magic. Of course, even powered-up like this, a normal human wouldn't be a match for any decently strong Servant; but brainwashed sleeper agents would be an excellent way of taking out Masters. It wouldn't work against Bazett, because there was no one she knew or trusted in Fuyuki aside from that unnerving priest, but it could be deadly against one of the families like the Tohsakas or Matous which lived in the areas. Seeing someone he knew, the Master would let down his guard... and be assaulted by a brainwashed, super-empowered assassin which he would have to kill a friend to stop. That would be a really dirty trick, and one that Lancer couldn't say he approved of at all. Taking down this Caster before she could create too many such manchurian agents had to be a priority.
Lancer began walking towards the body, planning to examine it for more clues, when he suddenly heard a voice.
"Have you come to form a contract with me?" it asked. "Or else to fight?"
The voice was female and fairly young, but possessed a tone of challenge that made it clear that the questioner very much hoped that a fight was what he'd come for. Lancer turned to see a young woman, or possibly even an older teenager, walking towards him with a knife held forwards in an aggressive position. Though she wore a modern-looking red coat over a more traditional kimono, Lancer's senses told him that the interloper was a Servant — specifically, an Assassin.
On the face of it, this seemed like a very favorable engagement for Lancer. The Servant facing him was an Assassin; and one without a Master, at that. Assassin was a class unsuited for direct engagement; Assassin-class Servants could only win a fight by killing the opponent with a surprise attack before the enemy even realized they were there. Often, they did not even try to engage other Servants at all, instead trying to eliminate Masters who strayed too far from the protection of their Servants. So these were the most advantageous possible terms on which Lancer could battle an Assassin: out in the open, with the Assassin denied the element of surprise.
Still, there were some troublesome aspects. For one thing, this Servant's very existence was anomalous. There should only be one Assassin summoned during a single war; but while the Servant guarding the temple gate had definitely been of the Assassin class, this Servant was definitely an Assassin as well. There was no telling what else might be irregular about her. Furthermore, it was troubling that the Assassin had announced her presence to him. The greatest strength of the Assassin class was their Presence Concealment, the ability to hide themselves and strike from the shadows. Lancer had not immediately sensed her, so why had she willingly given up the element of surprise? Heroic spirits whose pride demanded that they confront their enemies on equal terms did not tend to be summoned as Assassins. Asking if he would form a contract with her couldn't be anything more than a bitter joke: a Servant of the Caster class might, perhaps, be capable of being recognized as a magus by the Grail and thus given the privilege of bearing Command Spells, but it was plainly obvious that he was a Lancer and had no such right. And the tone of her voice had made it clear that what she expected — perhaps even hoped for — was a fight.
There was only one possibility he could think of: a Noble Phantasm. Perhaps Assassin thought that the only way she had of defeating Lancer was by utilizing her Noble Phantasm. If that was the case, then the way to maximize her chance of victory would be to set up conditions so her Noble Phantasm would have the greatest possible effect. It would make sense to give up the lesser advantage of a surprise attack in order to gain a greater advantage from being able to utilize her Noble Phantasm to its fullest degree.
Since Lancer didn't know this irregular Servant's identity, he didn't know what kind of Noble Phantasm she might wield. Weak as she seemed, she might possess a truly devastating Noble Phantasm that would defeat any opponent. In that case, it was clear what he had to do. If he allowed her to escape now, she might make a contract with another Master and gain a steady supply of prana to power her Noble Phantasm. It would be best to finish her off immediately, while she was at her weakest.
"I'm not in the habit of fighting little girls; but seeing as you're a Servant, I'll make an exception for you." Lancer said. "But promise you'll give it your best, okay? It wouldn't be decent if you didn't put up a fight."
Lancer leveled the point of his cursed spear, Gae Bolg, at Assassin. Assassin responded by slowly walking forwards, the arm holding her knife stretched out before her. Lancer silently appraised the distance between them. Her knife was a short-range weapon; it was far outranged by Lancer's long spear. He should be able to step forwards and thrust it into her heart while still staying out of range of the knife. Given this range advantage, his opponent should have been trying to close the distance between them as quickly as possible. However, instead of rushing him, she was advancing cautiously, as though daring him to attempt to strike her down while he could.
Perhaps she was trying to trick him, Lancer realized. He had been assuming that the knife she held was her Noble Phantasm, as she didn't seem to be carrying any other equipment. And since it was balanced for cutting, not throwing, he had been assuming that her Noble Phantasm required her to be at close range. But what if her Noble Phantasm was something else, something she was concealing from him? Something that was capable of killing at a distance? If the striking distance of her Noble Phantasm was greater than the length of Gae Bolg, then when the distance between them closed, he would enter the range of her attack before she entered the range of his. By relying on the apparent disparity in the length of their weapons, he would actually be falling right into her trap.
However... Gae Bolg was not merely a thrusting weapon. It could also be activated by being thrown. Assassin might be counting on him underestimating the range of her Noble Phantasm, but she was also underestimating the range of his.
Lancer poured prana into his demonic lance, activating its curse. Sensing his killing intent, Assassin halted her advance. She probably thought that she was still out of striking distance; that she could land a fatal blow on him when he tried to rush forwards and spear her.
"Sorry; but it's already over." Lancer said. "Better luck next time. Piercing Lance of Death Flight — Gae Bolg!"
The lance shot from his hand like a red bullet. Though the method of use was different, the curse of the lance remained the same. It was a demonic lance that sought to unfailingly pierce the enemy's heart. So, it could not be dodged by any means. The girl had been moving with deliberate slowness so far, so Lancer had not been able to judge her true speed; but no matter how fast she might be able to move, she would not be able to avoid the shaft of red death streaking towards her heart.
But the girl did not try to run. She stood her ground as the flying spear bore down on her. Her eyes were wide; not with fear, but so as to take in every detail of the approaching weapon.
"I can see it." she said.
She swung her knife. She made a single, short stroke towards the tip of the onrushing spear, as though attempting to cut it from the air. However, she had not imbued her knife with any prana. Which was to say, Lancer's assumption had been correct: it was not actually her Noble Phantasm. It was only an ordinary knife. A simple tool that could not possibly withstand the overpowering magic of the Noble Phantasm that had been thrown at her. When the two collided, the knife would be blown away without the slightest resistance, and the lance would continue forwards to pierce Assassin.
There was the sound of metal striking against metal.
And, there was the sound of metal breaking.
The sound of something striking the ground.
"...Impossible!" Lancer finally gasped.
Gae Bolg, the spear of mortal pain, carved from the bone of the Divine Beast Coinchenn, had been cleaved neatly in two. Assassin's simple knife had split it directly down the center, so that the halves landed on the ground on either side of her. Sundered, its Divine Mystery unmade, the legendary spear disintegrated into golden sand and vanished from the mortal world.
"You... girl... just who the hell are you!?" Lancer demanded.
Assassin gave no verbal response. Her empty eyes focused on Lancer, and she extended her knife towards him.
"Damn it!" Lancer said.
He didn't understand this strange Servant's power, but one thing was clear: he couldn't win. She had destroyed his weapon, the legendary Gae Bolg, without even using her own Noble Phantasm. There was no way Lancer would be able to kill her now. At this point, the most he could hope for was to escape alive.
Assassin broke out into a run now, and Lancer saw that she had indeed been concealing her true speed. She was incredibly fast; the distance between them was disappearing at an alarming rate. But disengaging from combat was a specialty of Lancer's; it was one of his personal skills. He coiled his legs and leaped, launching himself backwards through the air.
"Ghk!"
Except he couldn't move. An invisible force had seized him by the throat and was holding him in place. He tried shifting back into his spiritual form, but whatever was holding him had gripped not merely his flesh but his spirit itself.
Too late, he sensed the intense surge of prana from Assassin's left arm. She had finally activated her Noble Phantasm. It wasn't something she used to kill her enemies after all; just something to stop them from escaping so that she could get close enough to use her knife.
How utterly ridiculous. This was a Servant who shouldn't exist. She was a second Assassin when there should only be one; an Assassin who announced her presence instead of striking by surprise; who had a Noble Phantasm that didn't even kill but who could destroy a Noble Phantasm using just an ordinary knife. How could such a ridiculous Servant even exist? Just what kind of farce was this war?
"How utterly unreasonable..." Lancer said.
A moment later, the knife plunged into his chest, and Assassin's face was painted crimson with blood.
==Interlude: False Assassin==
False Assassin stood at the shore of the lake, staring at the reflection of her blood-splattered face in the dark water. Her reflection's eyes looked blank and empty. Of course, this was because her own eyes were blank and empty.
All she felt was emptiness. Emptiness, and the urge to kill.
When she'd spotted the blue Lancer approaching, she thought that it might be pleasant to kill him. It had, after all, been very pleasant when she'd killed the Caster who had summoned her. She enjoyed it so much, in fact, that she was a little troubled by it. Logically, she knew that killing Caster was a poor strategic decision. She required a source of prana to remain in the world; since Caster was apparently the one who had summoned her, it would have made sense to make every effort to convince Caster to form a contract with her. By killing Caster, she had denied herself a Master, and so doomed herself to a rapid disappearance. But even knowing this, her desire to kill was so strong that she'd done it anyway. And in that moment, fully aware of what a foolish decision she was making, she had nonetheless found the sensation of killing so rapturously pleasant that her only thought had been to wonder how many more people she'd have the chance to kill before disappearing.
It really was disturbing. This was the Holy Grail War. She should be thinking about killing her opponents, yes; but killing them with the goal of being the final remaining Servant so that she could claim the Grail. But when she'd seen Lancer, she hadn't thought, "good, there's another opponent I can eliminate from the war"; she'd thought, "good, there's another person I can kill for pleasure".
It had made her feel guilty. Without a doubt, any Heroic Spirit summoned by the Grail must be willing to kill; but it seemed to her that a hero should not enjoy killing. That was why she'd called out to Lancer and challenged him, rather than attacking right away. She thought if he attacked first, killing him would be justified self-defense, like killing Caster had been. Even if she enjoyed it, she could say that she was killing to defend herself rather than killing just because she wanted to.
But then, instead of trying to stab her, the idiot just had to go and throw his spear. He'd been left defenseless, had been rendered helpless, had tried to run away. And yet, she'd still wanted to kill him. At that point, she couldn't call it self-defense anymore. She just wanted to kill him for the pleasure of killing.
Perhaps she was evil. Only an evil person would find such pleasure in the thought of killing. But then, why did she dislike herself for finding killing pleasurable? Wouldn't a truly evil person see nothing wrong with killing simply because they found it pleasant?
She was filled by a terrible emptiness that could only be eased by the pleasure of killing. But the thought of killing in order to ease the pain of that emptiness filled her with guilt. So that meant that no matter what she chose — to kill or not to kill, to be filled with the pain of emptiness or filled with the pain of guilt — she would never be capable of happiness.
Surely something must have gone wrong with her summoning. That must be the explanation for this unbearable emptiness within her, this feeling that she had only half a soul. Unless the summoning had worked perfectly, and the defect truly was within her own soul; in which case, the only conclusion that could be drawn was that she had been defective from birth. A wretched, empty existence capable of finding pleasure only in ending the lives of others. How could such a person ever have become a Heroic Spirit and been summoned by the Grail? She couldn't remember many details from her life; she knew her name and her abilities, but everything else had been lost to the emptiness and void, replaced by a desire to destroy everything.
Evil.
She was cursed.
Her life and fate were cursed.
"Kihihihihi! How wonderful, how spectacular. You are indeed a remarkable Servant, False Assassin."
False Assassin turned around and tried to locate the source of the voice. It was weak and raspy, like an old man's; however, she could not sense any human presences. All that reached her ears was the unpleasant sound of millions of writhing worms. She hadn't heard any before, but it now sounded like the temple grounds had been covered by a carpet of worms. The worms were unnatural things; she could sense that their slimy bodies were steeped in vile prana. It rose from the worms blanketing her surroundings like a foul miasma, thick with lust and agony and violation.
"I believe your skills would be most useful to me in my endeavor." The rasping voice emanating from the sea of worms said. "Therefore, I propose that we enter into a contract as Master and Servant. Lend me your aid as Servant Assassin, and together we will win this War."
The worms were slowly creeping closer to False Assassin. She didn't at all like the feel of the magical energy emanating from them. They must be something truly vile, if even someone as empty and evil as herself found them repulsive.
"If I decline?" she asked.
"Oh, that would be most unfortunate." the worms whispered. "You will soon disappear unless you find a source of prana to sustain yourself. It would be most unfortunate if a Servant of such spectacular ability were to be eliminated for such a trifling reason."
The one commanding the worms had set his eye on obtaining False Assassin as a Servant, that much was clear. From the way the worms had encircled her and were closing in, she didn't believe that he would simply stand back and let her disappear peacefully. Could these worms bind her into servitude by force? They were clearly familiars bound to the hidden man's will. Their unpleasant shape suggested that they had been designed to bore into flesh. If they entered her body, their master might be able to channel prana through them and into her, like an indirect contract. Depending on their function, he might even be able to use them to control her, turning her into a grotesque worm-infested puppet.
"And if I accept?" False Assassin asked.
"Why, the Holy Grail, of course." the voice said, a touch condescendingly. "I do intend to win this War."
"I have no interest in any such thing." False Assassin replied.
"Oh?" The voice sounded interested now. "And just why would you turn down an omnipotent wish-granting device?"
"I have no wish." False Assassin said. "I am empty of all desire."
Kihihihihi, how amusing." the voice said. "You remind me of a certain man, who was defective from birth. A man who could find meaning only in the suffering of others."
False Assassin was silent. After all, the voice's assessment of her seemed correct. Her only desire, the only thing that gave her pleasure, was to kill. It was the only desire she could remember. What else could this be, if not a defect of birth?
"Ask yourself this, then." the voice continued. "Is it truly that you have no desire? Or is it that you simply don't know what your desire is?"
It was possible. The fact that she had appeared without a contract to Caster suggested that her summoning had been defective. Then, it was possible that the emptiness that tormented her was not her essential nature as a Heroic Spirit, but rather a result of the botched ritual. Wasn't the mere fact that she was eligible to summoned for the War an indication that she had lived a rich and heroic life, and was simply unable to remember it? Perhaps in life she was not devoid of emotion and desire, but had possessed all manner of hopes, dreams, and aspirations, which had only been lost when she had taken this imperfect form?
"Join me... and perhaps you can rediscover your true nature." the voice said.
The worms had nearly reached her. It was time for her to decide. If she was to refuse the magus's offer, she should quickly kill herself in order to prevent the worms from violating her. Naturally, she had no fear of death; living without desire was the same as being dead already. But if she died now, she would never have the opportunity to learn the truth about herself. Was her longing to kill a defect of birth, or of summoning? The faint hope that the voice danged in front of her — that she was merely the victim of an incompetent Caster rather than an inherently evil, accursed existence — was so alluring that False Assassin could not bring herself to cast it away.
"I accept the terms of your contract." she said.
The worms surrounding her halted their advance, then began retreating back into darkness.
"Excellent." the voice said. "Now, come to me quickly; now that all of the Servants have been summoned, the Grail will reveal its true nature."
A river of worms flowed through the night, and False Assassin followed them.
==Interlude Out==