Chapter 6: Strategic Layer
"Maaaan...I just dont get it" Luca mentioned as he looked at the map they had in the distance. He was dressed in a very active and wild way, complete with a leather jacket and such, as he watched the people around him plot and plan. "You know giving them more time will only make things worse for us, so why dont we just charge right in at full force?"
"Because Luca Danvers, it is not that easy" Terry Blood mentioned, as he interacted with the mana projected three dimensional map. "From the battle with Berserker, we confirmed the placement of traps. They also have a massive magical set up around the city, and who knows what else they have in store. They have irregular, and quite honestly impressive, patrol patterns, they outnumber us in terms of Servants if you count the HOmunculus, and we do not know the identity of their Castor and Sabre servants. We are not either side from the earlier Greater Holy Grail War, which had decades to prepare...although I suspect the Black Faction has had at least one or two years".
"Yeah, but thats why we should rush in. If we do, it would probably disrupt all their predictions and plans".
"But we tried that with Berserker already..."
"Berserker alone yes. But what if we sent Lancer, Sabre, and had Archer there for support".
"Oi oi. Don't leave us out of this" Rune said as he and Set walked in. Luca clicked his tongue a little.
"What was that?!"
"Brats like you should just stay out of the way".
"Now now you two. Cant you calm down and not fight?" Kasai Kori mentioned as she walked in. "Just so you know, Rider of Red is also ready. If you want us to join in, just say so".
"No, its not time yet for the big conflict. Instead, I want you and Rider to scout the other approaches around the school, such as the sea route".
"Alright, fine...she wont be happy about it, but she will listen. After all, our Wishes are that important to us".
As that was said and done, Castor came over to talk to Terry.
"So then, tell me. Who is Rider of Red?"
"Neither of them will tell me. Since after this, we would be enemies and all".
"Well, I suppose that makes sense. That said..."
At that point, Castor looked over at some of the people from the Mage's Association.
"...I am not sure we can trust them. I have a strange feeling some of them are quite happy slitting our throats and trying to claim the Greater Grail themselves".
"Don't worry. Compared to us, the Mage's Association is all bark and no bite. Besides, its just they dont trust some of us. They also dont want anyone to make a wish that will cause massive changed to the world".
"I suppose. Still, everything about this era just feels wrong. Mages forced to hide in the shadows, the fact that we cannot reach true magic like what was in the old days. After all, in the Age of Gods, there was a lot less coldheartedness and sacrificing then in the mages of today".
"I guess that is just the tides of change".
"The tides of change can be bought and manipulated just like anything else" Castor replied, as he walked off to go teach his Master. Terry had some...concerns...over that man sometimes, but he would help in keeping the world safe from the whims of these children.
That said, meanwhile he could sense his own servant was...unhappy...with waiting for so long. Which meant, the time to strike would have to be soon.
"Why cant Sabres ever just be known for their patience...they always just have to charge directly in".
Although, when he thought about it, his Sabre was far from a normal Sabre as well.
"Rune, Luca" he called out to them. "Prepare your storm gear as well. And tell Inuzuka and Archer to prepare, I want them to check something out also".
"Understood!"
"And what is this?"
"Don't touch that!"
"And what about this?"
"Dont touch that either!"
"And how about this?"
"Definently dont touch that!"
Meanwhile, in a room where Set had claimed his own, a certain young Archer with wings had decided to come to chat, and got curious with all the stuff inside. This included various jars of liquid, which had skull and crossbones labels on them.
"I swear! I labeled them so obviously, so how do you not understand what you are handling is deadly poison?!"
"Ehhh? Really? I thought maybe it was a Pirate Transformation Potion, or maybe a potion to generate a pirate ship like that one guy did last night!"
"Archer!"
Set wanted to bang his head, repeatedly, into a wall as he heard what came out of Archer's mouth.
"No! And definently dont touch that poison" he said, quickly taking away the jar Archer was currently holding. "This is a very special poison I brought with me. Its a poison so powerful, it can even fell gods".
"Wait...you broguht it with you?"
"Yeah. I guess because me and my brother repeatedly tried to kill each other, many of the weapons and tools we had collected and used over the years came with us. I think my brother also has the same poison to be honest. Its a poison that is especially effective on beings with divinity, like me and Horus. It is also extremely valuable, so do not play with it unless you want to die!"
"But, I thought you might have some cool toys here..."
Set could not help but twitch at the boy. Even though they looked the same age, Set was actually much much older. He and his brother HOrus fought each other for over 80 years after all. Their divinity just kept them looking young. Actually, a lot of gods in truth had more child like appearances then what they were depicted as. It was the lust of men and women that adultized them all.
Much like how the Knights of the Round Table accepted women, but all of them were pretty much genderbent as the tales were told due to gender discrimination.
"Oooh...is this a bow?!"
"Dont touch that either!"
Set quickly pulled the bow away from Archer, but not before Archer spotted something.
"...I thought you two said you hated each other. That was engraved 'To my cherrished brother, Set. From Horus, your favorite'".
"Shut up. We didn't always hate each other. We were family after all. BUt now, we just want to kill each other" Set said, as he stored the bow spiritually.
"Okay" Archer said. "But then, why are you holding onto that bow?"
"...because its a really good bow made with some incredible stuff. There is only one other like it, and its with my brother Horus".
"Huh...so, this is just a family feud then?"
"No way! I will kill him! Just watch me! But watch me elsewhere, outside of my room damnit!" Set told him as he pushed Archer out of his room. As he did, the two spotted their masters walking down the hall.
"Hey, Set. Its showtime".
"Time to go Archer".
"You know, its fine to call him Icarus in front of me. I already know" Rune added, with a smile. Inuzuka was a bit surprised Rune had figured it out though.
"How did you..."
"Not many heroes with wings. Most are female. One technically rides a winged creature, but from what I heard, Astolfo can no longer be summoned as a Heroic Spirit".
"Why not?"
"Apparently, that one won the last Greater Holy Grail War, and is now wandering around the earth being happy and doing random stuff. No one seems to know where though".
"Huh".
"Anyways, we should probably get going. They will probably end up needing our support, and they also want us to investigate the flank positions".
"Fine then. Time for a rematch with my dear brother".
As they were about to leave though, Icarus whispered something into Set's ear.
"I think it shows how kind you both are though, to give matching bows to each other".
Set's face went all red as Icarus skipped off ahead.
"Idiot...I never said anything like that..."
"Wonderful. This is all coming along beautifully" Castor, or rather Dandolo said. In truth, he had no desire to hide his identity as he himself believes in his superiority. What he wants instead is to own everything, to buyout everything, and to have all the treasures of the world.
And currently, he was walking through the territory he created, his vast and grand Trade Emporium. Of which, of course, there would be a "Tax" for any enemy who entered, their power would slowly be drained, and stored for Dandolo to use. The longer the better. There were also various "Merchants", "Games", and "Luxuries" set up, that would have the potential to take even more.
And as a nice little twist, there was also a schoolhouse. This was where he was helping to instruct his Master, Marco, in profit and design. And if that was not enough, he had musicians dressed in more old fashioned designs, artists and actors, all of them real people of this era that he had essentially "bought". Of course, slavery was illegal in this era, but he owned their houses, they worked for him, and he had all their debt transfered to him. He had them sign contracts with very strict and severe terms, and so basically, they did belong to him.
It was rather vicious, but he was not known for holding back or denying himself what he desired.
That said, there was something that was being denied to him. He tried it, to see if he could use that to encrouch on their territory, but it was a complete failure. It was impossible to purchase and own any territory near that school and turn it into his. The people wouldn't even interract with him if he tried, and some form of magic blocked any direct attempts. And when he tried to investigate, the people turned it into a legal maze.
It was actually kind of impressive, and he would admire it if it was not stopping him. Besides, he would never admit to admiring non-european trash, or that is how he would call it.
Even this Mage's Association, even though it should have originally been European blooded, was all twisted and corrupted. Not just in blood, but in ideology and ability. In his day, it was a far more impressive sight. But now? It was practically worthless, barely able to take action. While it certainly seemed like they were on the surface, it was really just Terry Blood that was leading what he could. Most likely, if it all failed, they planned to blame him and make him a Scapegoat. If they were really able to take action, they would lead an army of their best mages and overrun the entire place. Even if those kids had Servants and the Greater Grail, they would be unable to beat thousands of trained mages.
"Is a proud Heroic Spirit really supposed to make those faces?" Lancer asked from behind, watching the Castor as he had his inner thoughts.
"Lancer...shouldn't you preparing to Sortie? And do you think it is wise to enter my Territory so easily?"
"We are allies aren't we?"
"For now...what do you want?"
"Just curious really. What would Sabre think if he saw your face".
"You think that Sabre is the real thing?"
"Yeah. I do. That said, that Terry Blood must have impressive Magic Circuits, to summon a servant of that level".
"You sound like you want to fight him..."
"Maybe once we deal with the Black Faction. I wonder what sort of glorious battle we would have, before I killed him" Lancer mentioned, before he left to join the sortie.
"...more like, before he would kill you".
Dr. Warren looked over at the artifacts in place.
"It wont be much longer now..."
As he watched them, he picked up a phone, and made a call to someone.
"I think its time to start an experiment".
"Alright, so lets go over the plan".
Terry Blood projected a map of the region, including where their forces would be approaching from.
"Our goal this time is simple. We need to eliminate at least one Servant, and make sure if they eliminate one of ours, we eliminate one for that one too. If you see Assassin's Master, try to eliminate him as well, since it would take out two birds with one stone".
That was when he highlighted the forest and mountain regions.
"We believe various traps and defenses have been lined up in these areas. We also believe they have likely set some up in the city, though probably not as much. Even if they can charm everyone, it should be nothing more then a perception blocker. They wouldn't be able to make them constantly avoid specific things, it would take too much mana".
"How are they generating the mana to maintain these things? Sacrifices?"
"About that..."
Suddenly, a projection of several modern, and maybe even a little futuristic looking, windmills, with their location marked around the city.
"...it appears they have designed some sort of alternative energy into mana device".
"Seriously?"
"I doubt its more efficient then sacrificing, but...I suppose its effective in its own way".
"Yeah. By using the wind power they get from the ocean and mountains, they dont need to get things to sacrifice. After we crush them, we should seize their designs...maybe we can combine the two methods..."
"As expected...instead of replacing, they just desire more power by using both".
"Another goal we should have is the elimination of the girl who appears to be in charge. She is the one who is in command of the homunculus, and likely has connections to the entire project. That sort of abomination work cannot be pardoned".
"Agreed. And if we can lure Sabre out, then we should find her somewhere nearby as well. Therefore...we shall make use of that Noble Phantasm".
The groups all nodded to each other, although a faint tension could be felt. However, they were all united and agreed on taking out the woman who they believed to be in charge. The fact is, if she possesses both the knowledge to maintain the homunculus, and also has the only surviving one, then despite her appearance as a high school girl, she was the true enemy. Not even the boy compared to the danger she may possess.
"Its time we clashed head to head" Terry Blood muttered, as he prepared his own weapons.
"Do you plan to take to the battlefield yourself, Commander Blood?"
"No, but it never hurts to be prepared".
And as Terry said this, two people watched from the shadows.
AN: As some of you predicted, after a chapter focused on the way more social and carefree Black Faction, now we have the more militaristic and uptight...err, responsible Red Faction being run by the Mage's Association! For the record, I am officially making Masters for the Red Faction now. Luca is Lancer's Master, and he has sort of a wild biker appearance if you will! And now, the upcoming battle approaches! Will we finally see the first loss of a Servant? What is the true identities of Rider and the Sabres? Who knows what my chaotic mind has done to this story?! Guess you will have to keep reading to find out!