Fate-profaned offering

by VitaVitaAR

The Holy Grail War. A free-for-all battle to the death between seven pairs of Masters and Servants. Matsushita Ai, at the behest of the organization that has cared for her for ten years, has been sent back to her birthplace to participate in such a clash. Together with her Saber-class Servant, Okita Souji, she will descend into a violent conflict in which there can be one victor.

5. Chapter 5

So… this was Caster…?

Ai trembled. If Saber hadn't tackled her out of the way… that spell was unreal. Such a powerful blast of mana cast in an instant, this was undeniably a magus from the Age of Gods. In a contest of power between a modern magus and Caster, the result would be the same every single time. The only victor could be Caster.

"Master!" Saber said, glancing back over her shoulder towards Ai, "I'll prevent her from attacking like that again!"

"I… I…"

"Is that so?" Caster commented, cocking her head to one side, "Fufufu, how foolish~ Perhaps I should demonstrate to you just what kind of enemy you have set yourselves against."

"Lancer!" Ai heard Tsubaki's voice call. In an instant, the knight girl sprinted forward, bringing her cavalry lance to the ready, and-
A green circle emanated from the tip of Caster's staff and another thick green beam erupted from the center of it with a scream. Lancer was engulfed in an instant, consumed in the blast of mana without a moment's pause!

Saber's eyes widened with shock, and Ai's scream died in her throat. At least, until her initial horror gave way to the realization that the laser had never actually struck Lancer. No, the mana had instead flowed around her, as if it suddenly came into contact with an invisible barrier…

Of course! Magic Resistance! The Knight classes all possessed a degree of Magic Resistance! In order to take a spell like that without suffering any harm, Lancer's must have been especially high!

When the beam faded, the blonde knight was no worse for wear, raising her cavalry lance as she watched Caster's movements.

"I believe you are the one who doesn't understand what kind of enemies you have set yourself against, Caster!" snapped the knight. At that sight, Ai's fear dulled slightly. No matter how potent Caster's magecraft was, she was against both Saber and Lancer. Even if she had range on them… there wasn't much she could do, was there?

Saber stepped forward, katana glinting in the moonlight.

"We'll put an end to this evil plot, Caster!" she declared, raising her katana parallel to the side of her head.

"Oh? Fufu, so you think this was my idea, then?" Caster cocked her head to one side, drifting back as she noted both Saber and Lancer advancing towards the hole, "Well, it doesn't matter."

She flicked her staff to the side, leaving a trail of green light as she did.

"Magic resistance, too… how troublesome," she commented with a sigh. Trying to choke back her fear, Ai attempted to consider what Caster had just said. 'You think this was my idea'? Just what did she mean? Was it really Caster's Master that had come up with the idea of using the bounded field?

"What do you mean, Caster?!" Tsubaki demanded, voicing Ai's thoughts, "If it wasn't your idea… then your Master?"

"Oh? You think?" commented Caster. Lancer stepped forward, pointing the tip of her cavalry lance towards the floating girl as Saber stepped up beside her. "I have no obligation to tell you anything else, though, you know~"

"We know enough," snapped Saber, "We know you've been building this bounded field to cover a huge amount of the city! We won't let that happen!"

Staff still outstretched, Caster flicked her wrist. There was a strange sound from behind them, like shattering glass… and then a low groan. Shaking, Ai turned towards the apartment complex. What was that? Caster had certainly cast some sort of spell, but the nature of it was impossible to discern… yet. Suddenly she found herself lifted off her feet, held close to her Servant's body as dozens of green lasers rained down on the building!

Trembling with fear, she barely noticed Lancer doing the same to Tsubaki, darting the opposite way to make it more difficult for Caster to target them all at once. Ai realized, as she tried to focus and clear her mind, that Caster's plan was simply to remain outside of the building and fire into it. Even if it was of no danger to Lancer, she could still target Tsubaki or herself, or even Saber…!

Saber suddenly placed her down and whirled on her heel. With a sound almost like a ringing bell, one thin beam was caught by the edge of Saber's katana, deflected and sent upward, blasting into the ceiling!

Rather then attempting to fire again, and hopefully getting deflected by Saber's blade, it seemed Caster's attention had shifted. On one hand, this was good because Caster was no longer firing lasers, but on the other… why was it that she had stopped attacking? There was no reason for her to cease from her position, was she planning something? Desperately, in the brief moment of respite that they had, Ai wracked her memory for any potential clues to Caster's identity.

She was using runes, and had apparently animated the dead according to Tsubaki, so she was either Celtic or Norse, and adept in necromancy. But at the moment that didn't really narrow things down at all. Her appearance, too, didn't help much. Along with these facts, it was difficult for Ai to try and focus. Her heart was hammering in her chest even as she tried to shakily adjust her glasses and think.

And then, from around the corner, from one of the old rooms, came a walking corpse.

The skin was thin and crumbling, exposing yellowed bone, as old, tattered clothing hung loosely from its body.

Ai couldn't hold back her scream.

In an instant, Saber was on the undead, her katana flashing. Before it could even react, before it could so much as try and swipe at the several, its body was cut in half, and its head hewn apart in an instant! It crumbled to the ground in a dusty heap.

"Using the bodies of the dead…" Saber narrowed her eyes, "Master, there's no way I can possibly abide Caster's actions. Even if she were not our enemy."

Still shaking with terror, Ai nodded weakly.

And then dead arms reached from the doorway, straining to reach Saber! More undead, just as decrepit and ghastly as the first, came stumbling from the doorways, arms outstretched towards the girl samurai!

Saber's silvery-gold eyes narrowed. In an instant, she pierced one of the Dead through the chest, and then effortlessly cut through its body, splitting it in two from the chest upwards. Before the first body even fell, she had taken the arms of a second undead and then sliced through its neck as it fell forward. There was no comparison. The Dead were simply unable to even touch Saber. She was too swift, too skilled. Even one of the Dead that broke away to approach Ai herself was cut in half, then quartered, its body parts falling in a dusty heap.

As she watched her Servant dance through the oncoming walking corpses, effortlessly cleaving them apart, Ai's fear abated, somewhat. She was still frightened, but the sheer world of distance between the threat of the undead and the capabilities of her Servant had comforted her, somewhat. But that raised another question.

Caster was a magus from the Age of Gods. It was impossible to consider a modern magus her equal. And yet, she had chosen to call on the Dead. While the fact that they were capable of causing harm to Servants, due to their nature as magically-empowered familiars, was impossible to ignore, they were hardly the most effective choice. Even Dead created from completely fresh corpses or those who were… still alive… were not of a particular threat to most Servants. So why, then, were these dusty cadavers Caster's choice?

If she was a legendary necromancer, who exhibited such incredible prowess when it came to magecraft, and the ability to manifest the corpses under her command behind them and in such great numbers, why was it that she had selected such poor undead to use as her weapons?

It didn't make any sense. Nothing of Caster's actions made any sense. She was no longer firing on them, but why? It was unlikely she was concerned about hitting her undead, given she had effectively thrown them away by setting them against a Servant. Had she chosen to pursue Tsubaki and Lancer instead? But Lancer possessed a high level of Magic Resistance…

A sweeping slash from Saber cleaved through one of the Dead from its left shoulder to its right hip, sending it to the floor in two pieces. By now, many of the Dead Caster had summoned lay scattered at the girl samurai's feet, hewn apart. And yet still more poured from the room, far more then it could possibly have held. In spite of the sheer number of the undead, Saber didn't appear to tire.
Of course she didn't. She was a Servant, wasn't she?

In an instant, Saber almost seemed to disappear, vanishing entirely from Ai's sight… only to reappear beyond the oncoming mob of the Dead, just inside the doorway to the room from which they had been emerging. The dead behind her suddenly fell to pieces! Saber had moved so fast, cut through them so quickly, that it had been impossible to follow with human eyes?!

There wasn't any question of it. The Dead were no threat to Saber, and though she had lost sight of Tsubaki and Lancer, presumably the same held true for the blonde knight as well.

What was Caster doing? Why was she trying to use such weak familiars when she was fighting other Servants?

There had to be more going on here, didn't there? It was hard to figure out what, though. Caster had opened with a barrage of powerful magecraft, but now she was following up with weak undead… Saber's katana flashed once more, and the last of the Dead well to pieces. She had entirely cleared all the Dead in this area of the apartment, at least on this level.

"Master, we need to go support Inoue-san and Lancer!" Saber said, glancing back at her. Ai shook her head and nodded.

"R-right!" she said, getting to her feet as Saber began to depart down the hallway. Ai followed her Servant as quickly as she could manage. Out the window, and through the holes in the walls, she could see Caster assaulting the building, firing blasts of mana through the walls over and over, but she still couldn't quite see Tsubaki or Lancer yet. From here, she could see a detail she had previously missed about the enemy Servant: Misty, batlike wings of prana drifting behind her. They weren't part of her body, but rather some sort of aura. Part of the spell she was using to fly, or something else?

This wasn't the time to really consider such things. The fear was making Ai's train of thought race through everything that came into her mind as she tried her best to follow Saber. Now, Tsubaki and Lancer were in view. Lancer was using herself as a shield, deflecting each of Caster's spells or simply taking them head on to prevent Tsubaki from being struck!

Magic Resistance of that level was truly incredible! But it would only take the slightest mistake for Tsubaki to be injured, or worse… In a way, this seemed like an ideal location for Caster to stage her attack. It was difficult to fight her at this range from inside the building, and she had a large amount of options she could utilize from a distance. And yet it didn't seem like she was taking full advantage of the situation, somehow… This couldn't be all a magus from the Age of Gods could do, could it?

Ai was thankful, but also worried. Was Caster trying to lull them into a false sense of security?

"I suppose it would be unsatisfying if you were eradicated just like that," commented Caster, simply, as Saber and Ai came to a halt near Lancer and Tsubaki.

"Inoue-san, are you alright?" Ai asked, looking the other girl over with concern. She didn't seem to be injured, but…

"I'm fine, Ai-san," she responded, with a small smile. For a brief moment, at least, before her expression turned serious again, "We have to counterattack Caster as soon as we can, though!"

"Your undead were no match for my skills with the blade, Caster," Saber stated, bringing her katana parallel with her head once more, "But I won't forgive you for using the corpses of the dead. Can you fare any better against the sword then they did?"

"Oh, you're getting self-righteous, are you?" came Caster's amused response, "The dead are the dead. Those bodies were no longer being used, so what was the harm in taking advantage of that? Ah, if only I had fresher corpses to work with…"
She licked her lips as she gave a sly glance towards the four girls.

"… Like your Masters, perhaps. My Master would probably approve, that boy is quite interested in death…"

That boy? Caster's Master was male! It was another piece to the puzzle that was the identity of the enemy Servant's Master! But, to put that knowledge to use, they would have to escape this situation…

"I cannot stand to hear you speak any longer, Caster," Lancer spat, raising her cavalry lance once more, "Your words are as vile as your craft."

"Oh? Is that so?" Caster asked, "Well, I do apologize~"

The small Servant's voice was dripping with sarcasm. In these few moments of downtime in the fight, Ai did everything she could to try and identify anything distinctive about Caster. Pointed ears as well, that waifish appearance… was there anyone that the small brunette could recall from mythology who fit that description? But no, even that was hardly enough. After all, Okita Souji had turned out to be female, so who could say what figure of myth or history this could truly be? The only potential hints they had was when it came to her culture!

But Ai's thoughts were interrupted when she noticed what Lancer was doing. Beads of light suddenly flowed up the length of her weapon, gathering at the very tip of the lance as the knight took a low stance, drawing her weapon back… and when she thrust it forward, there was a sound like a chiming bell and a brilliant light erupted from the tip! This seemed to take Caster by surprise, and the enemy Servant suddenly hurled herself to the side. The thin beam tore through one of the misty wings, dissipating it in an instant!

"Ah?! You…!" Caster was forced to stabilize herself in the air, glaring with those intensely green eyes as she drifted.

"Let's go, Ai-san!" declared Tsubaki, making a break for it. Realizing what the impromptu plan had been, to flee to a location in which they could escape, or have a better chance of attacking her, Ai quickly followed, as both of their Servants did their best to cover them. Even as they made their attempt to escape, however, a row of Dead suddenly rose to bar their way!

"Lancer!" called Tsubaki. Without a moment's pause, the knight suddenly picked up the pace, and charged forward. Mana erupted from the tip of her lance with a sound like thunder, coating the weapon in a brilliant golden light! As she struck the first of the Dead, it practically exploded, and the light from her lance ripped its way through the entire crowd, tearing each of the walking corpses to pieces!

No matter how hard Caster tried to prevent them from escaping, they weren't going to be stopped!

And yet, Ai couldn't help but wonder just how hard Caster really was attempting to prevent their escape.

Her thoughts were seemingly met with a response. Just as they reached the stairway, another green laser ripped right through the wall ahead of them, boring another hole clear through the building. Caster had recovered from Lancer's attack, and her assault had begun again! But this time they were on the move, making them much harder targets!

Lancer didn't even pause, sprinting ahead. Tsubaki quickly followed, behind her was Ai and Saber. Ai stumbled, trying her best to keep up, but she had never been an athletic person.

And yet, Saber was right there beside her, keeping pace, and keeping an eye on the wall. Even though Saber was capable of moving so much faster, she was staying in pace with Ai to ensure she was safe.

Saber was really doing everything she could to keep her safe!

Another of the smaller beams shot through the wall, and without pause Saber lashed out and deflected with another chiming sound, sending it right into the ceiling and out of sight.

"Master, if we don't find a good place to fight her from, I have an idea!" declared the girl samurai. An idea? What kind of idea did she have? Given the situation, all Ai could find herself doing was nodding somewhat slowly. Any plan to counteract Caster's strategy would be good, wouldn't it? And Saber clearly possessed good judgement when it came to fighting, at least…

But there wasn't much more time to try and think calmly and rationally, as another beam tore through the wall. This time, it was Lancer who handled it, her lance glazing gold as she blocked the thin beam with the side of the weapon.

When they reached the stairway, Lancer paused for a moment.

"Master, Saber, Matsushita," she said, as she glanced towards each in turn. "I'm going to attack her from above. Saber, if I do not strike her, but succeed in forcing her out of the air, can you attack her from here?"

Saber nodded.

"It looks like we both had the same idea. I might not be able to fire off any beams like you can," said the girl samurai, "But I can get close to her in an instant!"

"So you're planning on trying to get the drop on her, Lancer?" Tsubaki asked, "She'll probably think we went downstairs, too…"
So that was the idea? Ai hoped it worked. It sounded like it should…

Lancer had already broken away, now, and darted off down the stairs. At the moment, they couldn't see Caster at all. But it could be assumed she was still close by.

"Trying to flee really isn't very becoming," Ai heard Caster's voice. Moments later, a beam of green light blasted through the wall just down the stairs, opening another large hole in the building. Using it, Ai was able to quickly look out the nearby window and work out just where Caster was now located, drifting several meters above their position. It looked like she couldn't quite see them from here, but it was only a matter of time before she guessed that they hadn't run downstairs as she assumed.

"Unless… are you trying to trick me?" the voice from outside said, sounding more amused than anything, "It's true I can't always keep track of your movements, but…"

Ai could see it, Caster's staff now pointed right for their position.

"I'm no fool~"

Saber readied herself. If it was one of the larger beams, would she be able to deflect it? Her Magic Resistance was much lower than Lancer's…

There was the sound of shattering glass. Lancer was coming into view from above… she'd dove out of the window!?

Light blazed across her cavalry lance as she rocketed through the air towards Caster! Surprised, the enemy Servant raised her hands, a green barrier flashing into existence ahead of her, but the moment that the tip of Lancer's weapon came into contact with it, it shattered and Caster was sent hurtling back! She slammed into the building across from them with a gasp.

"Master, I'm going!" declared Saber. With a blast of air pressure, nearly taking Ai off her feet, Saber suddenly exploded through the window! With a single leap, she cleared the distance between the two buildings in an instant, and was upon Caster before the enemy Servant could even react!

Was Saber about to defeat Caster?!

The platinum blonde swordwoman's blade lashed out, and from what Ai could see, it went in! It pierced Caster right through the chest!

… But something was strange.

Somehow, Caster had vanished. Straining her eyes to see what happened, Ai almost through she saw a swarm of black butterflies flutter away into the night, as Saber dropped down to the ground level.

Both Ai and Tsubaki hurried downstairs to meet their Servants.

"S-Saber? What happened?" Ai called to the silvery-gold-eyed girl as she approached. Saber turned to face her.

"I… I'm not certain, but Caster isn't dead," she replied, looking frustrated, "There wasn't a single drop of blood when I stabbed her, and she just seemed to vanish. It's like she was already planning on getting away as quickly as possible."

Lancer folded her arms.

"So she escaped, then… that must have been some sort of spell she used to flee," the knight said, frowning, "Hmph…"

"… None of this made any sense," Ai said, her shoulders sagging. Now that the battle had seemingly ended, all the tension was being released from her body, even though her heart was still hammering in her chest.

"… What do you mean, Ai-san?" asked Tsubaki, as she scanned the skies for any sign of the enemy Servant.

"I mean that, um…" the small brunette trailed off for a moment. Was this just going to sound foolish, or did it make sense to anyone else? If she said anything and it was stupid and didn't make any sense, she ultimately would be of no help. But if it was something useful, information that could help them against Caster… if she didn't say anything that would be the foolish option. "… Caster… Caster is a magus from the Age of Gods, I'm sure, um… the way she was so quickly using those powerful spells and all… but if she was a magus from the Age of Gods, why was she only using the Dead, and nothing else? They're no match for Servants."

"I don't know much about magecraft, but maybe it's because that's the only kind she could summon quickly?" Saber asked, cocking her head to one side as she did, "But you're definitely right about those walking corpses being no threat to me at all!"

"Eh-heh…" Ai took a deep breath, "That might be true, but if that was all, then why was she only using the Dead against Saber and I and attacking Lancer with magecraft? Lancer has the higher degree of Magic Resistance, so…"

She trailed off for a few moments. Did what she was saying make any sense?

"Now that you mention it…" Tsubaki began, "That is strange. Why would she use magecraft over and over again on Lancer even though it didn't work?"

"Maybe she knew there's no way she'd hit me!" declared Saber, with an air of pride, at least until she started trying to more seriously contemplate the enemy Servant's actions, "… Er… but it does seem a little unusual… it's not as if she would have won regardless, but if she wanted to win she'd try and play to her strengths, wouldn't she?"

"It cannot be denied that Caster was behaving strangely," Lancer said, glancing back towards the sky as she did, "But what's most important is that she let slip more details about her Master."

That was right! Unless Caster was lying, they now knew her Master was male… and that the bounded field had been his plan. Who would come up with an idea that could hurt so many people so blatantly? It was cruel and careless, both hurting innocent people and threatening the secrecy of magecraft…

"That's right," responded Tsubaki, "Now we've narrowed it down even further. I think tomorrow we can make our move."

"Um… make our move?" Ai asked. What did Tsubaki mean? They still didn't have enough information to target anyone in particular. There were plenty of male students, after all, so even with the information they had gained that didn't mean they were ready to go after anyone, now, did it?

"Well, Ai-san… I'm the student council president," Tsubaki turned to face the smaller girl with a grin, "Now that I have a smaller pool of targets to work with, one of my jobs is to make sure everyone is following the dress code. I'm sure I can figure out some kind of grounds to ask for an inspection."

"Ohh… Inoue-san is pretty devious, isn't she?" Saber commented, tilting her head to one side as she did. Ai had to agree on that point. Using her power as the student council president was a pretty fiendish move. It would be difficult for someone to suspect her of any ulterior motives(beyond, perhaps, making some of the male students' lives harder for a bit) and also quite difficult to find any grounds to refuse. No-one would want to look guilty, after all.

Well… that wasn't to say there weren't delinquents and types like that, but given that Caster's Master was likely someone with a reliable attendance record… that ruled them out to some extent.

"When I've found our enemy Master, I'll let you know," Tsubaki continued, placing her hands on her hips, "Regardless of what she was planning, Caster made a pretty big mistake tonight, letting us know so many details about her Master. Whatever they're planning with this bounded field is going to end tomorrow.

Even if there were a few remaining doubts lingering in Ai's mind, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she felt more hopeful now about the prospect of stopping Caster and her Master. But there were still those lingering concerns about what it was that Caster was trying to do. Her actions were strange, they didn't really follow the logic she'd expect from a powerful magus like that.

"Given that we could be up against Caster again tomorrow, I think it's for the best that we get some rest," concluded Tsubaki.

"A Servant does not require sleep, but our Masters certainly do. I agree," Lancer added, folding her arms across her chest. As she did, her armor dissipated into light and her dress and hat reappeared.

Saber followed suit, her clothing dissipating into the cherry blossom lights again to leave her once again in her casual wear.

"Are you ready to go home, Master?" she asked, turning to face Ai as she did. "If we're going to be fighting to stop Caster tomorrow, you need to be well-rested."

No matter how tonight had frightened her, the small brunette couldn't deny how tired she suddenly felt, either. Two Servant battles, one against Assassin, and one against Caster… seeing her Servant become injured like that, as well, even if it hadn't lasted long… today hadn't been a very relaxing experience, to say the least.

Ai nodded.

---

Unfortunately, today wasn't going to be very relaxing either. Not that any day during the Holy Grail War would be.

From the moment Ai woke up and got out of bed, she knew that they had to confront Caster's Master today. She hoped that Tsubaki knew what she was doing with her plan. What if someone ran, or tried to slip away? Then again, was it possible she was counting on that to pick out the guys who didn't want to be inspected badly enough to try and escape? The more she thought about it, the more uncertain she felt, but she was hopeful that Tsubaki had some kind of plan in mind in order to make sure no-one could escape her inspection.

Regardless, her role in the plan for the day was a rather simple one. All she needed to do was bide her time until she was contacted by Tsubaki, and then they'd both handle the Master together. Whatever concerns she may have had about the rest of the plot, that didn't make this part any less simple. After a short period of deliberation, she decided it was for the best to leave Saber home once more. After all, alerting Caster's Master of the presence of another Servant could easily disrupt Tsubaki's inspection. Once again, this wasn't a conclusion that Ai particularly liked making, but she reassured herself, and Saber, with the fact that she could instantly summon her Servant to her side when she needed her.

Today, if everything went well, she would definitely need her.

Aside from that, her morning went fairly well. Breakfast was delicious as always, courtesy of Charlotte, and she had soon departed from her mansion.

When Ai arrived at Takahashi High School, she noticed that Natsuki Yukihiro appeared to be chatting up some first-year girls and quickly attempted to avoid his gaze as she hurried inside. She didn't even want him to look at her, if she was being honest…

The first half of the school day went about as usual. Tsubaki must have planned to put her plot into effect at lunch, when everyone would have a lot of freedom to move as they wanted, allowing her to go just about anywhere she needed to in order to perform her sudden inspections. Ai supposed that if she was going to do something like that, she would probably have taken a similar tactic. It only made sense. However… she realized it felt a little strange to be starting her lunch alone. After a moment, the small brunette came to realize that she'd spent a lot of time eating with someone, now, whether it be Saber or Tsubaki. Even if it had only been for two days, eating alone now felt strange…

Ai shifted awkwardly as she placed her lunchbox on her desk, braided hair swishing as she adjusted her glasses. After only a few days, she already felt kind of lonely eating lunch alone… So that was how things had turned out.

Additionally, there was the matter of Caster's Master. If they were able to confront him at the school, that meant that it was unlikely even he would try to use Caster to fight back. No matter what he was doing with that bounded field, even someone like that would have to think that openly calling a Servant to their side would be far too blatant, wouldn't they? So it was unlikely they would be launched into a battle between Servants again suddenly.

So deep in thought was Ai that she didn't realize that another girl had suddenly appeared until she spoke.

"So you must be Matsushita-san, huh?" asked an unfamiliar female voice.

"Hawawawa!" Ai nearly jumped out of her seat at the sudden arrival,

"… Er… I didn't mean to scare you."

Taking a deep breath, the small girl slowly looked up towards the person who was speaking to her. It was another girl, somewhat shorter than Tsubaki, her somewhat more purply shade of brown hair up in two shoulder-length pigtails. She had an almost purple-brown eye color, as well, and though she was very cute also seemed to have a bit of a sharper look to her, somehow, than Tsubaki did.

"But you're definitely Matsushita-san, right?" she asked.

"Y-yeah…" Ai replied, trying to ignore how fast her heart was beating. Aaah, she'd seen legendary heroes battle it out with one another but now a fellow student approaching her made her jump… "U-um… did you need something…?"

"Wow, you really do remind me of a teddy bear, it's just like Tsubaki-san said…" commented the girl. Ah… what… what had Tsubaki told people about her? A teddy bear…? "Anyway, I'm Kitano Sachiko. Tsubaki-san said you might be lonely during lunch and wanted me to come check up on you."

"E-eh?"

"She said since she was busy with her inspections, she didn't think she'd be able to eat lunch with you," said Sachiko, "Since she's my friend, and you seemed like a nice girl from what she told me, I decided to come down and see how you were doing."

Ah… was that what Tsubaki thought? That she was so pathetic she needed a friend during lunch now or else she couldn't eat, or something? … That was probably true given how she was feeling earlier…

"So, are you feeling alright?" asked Sachiko, setting her lunch down on the nearby desk and sliding it over.

"U-um… I'm fine…" replied Ai. What was she supposed to say to this girl, though? She didn't know her at all, it wasn't like Tsubaki or Saber where she had been spending time with them every day…

"… You look pretty nervous… it's alright," Sachiko responded, waving her hand, "If you don't want to talk, that's fine, I was just kind of worried."

"U-um… no, um…" Ai fidgeted, before taking a deep breath and trying to relax herself. "Um, Kitano-san, um… so you said you're a friend of Inoue-san?"

"Ah? Yeah. Well, it's a bit more than that, I'm on the student council too," replied Sachiko, "Tsubaki-san's doing a big inspection of all the guys' uniforms in school. Something to do with the dress code and somebody violating it, or something like that. Normally I'd pay more attention, but Tsubaki-san said she wanted to try and handle this personally. Something must have made her mad."

"Oh, um, you think so…?" asked Ai. Of course, she already knew exactly why Tsubaki was making a personal effort to handle the inspections, but she could hardly tell that to Sachiko.

"Yeah, I don't think she would do something like this unless she was really angry," responded the purple-eyed girl, "I can't say I know why, though. But she's going over all the guys in school. Maybe Natsuki-san did something again…"

"Ah? Um, you think it could be something about Natsuki… Yukihiro-san?" Ai asked. Given her experience with the male student, it wasn't exactly like this was a bad guess on Sachiko's part. Still… even if she wasn't used to talking to the other girl yet, she couldn't help but feel curious…

"That's right," said Sachiko, as she opened her own lunchbox, "He might be popular with the first year girls, but he has a habit of rubbing us on the student council the wrong way. Tsubaki-san was pretty angry at him yesterday. Apparently, he was saying something pretty callous about that girl who disappeared, Yumimura Saori."

"Oh, u-um…" Ai hesitated, fidgeting. She'd been told about Yumimura Saori in a conversation about the Grail War itself. For a few moments, the small brunette was uncertain if it was okay to mention knowing about her, even though there was no possible way for Sachiko to know exactly how she had learned about the situation. Still, Ai suddenly felt rather worried about what she was going to say. Or rather, more worried. However, after reminding herself there was absolutely no way that Sachiko could guess what context Tsubaki had explained these things to her in, Ai managed to continue. "Inoue-san told me about Yumimura-san. That's terrible."

"I can't say I'm surprised she did. Tsubaki-san feels a responsibility towards the whole school and every student in attendance," began Sachiko, "Even if she's not showing it, I know she's been beating herself up about Yumimura-san."

Tsubaki had been beating herself up about Yumimura Saori? From what Ai understood, there wasn't really anything she could have done to prevent the disappearance… It had been so sudden. Especially if it really was caused by Caster, or something like that…

"Um… but she couldn't have done anything about it… if she didn't know it was going to happen…" Ai averted her eyes, almost immediately feeling guilty. This was someone's life they were talking about, after all…

"That might be true, but Tsubaki-san thinks she has to look out for everyone at the school, since she's the student council president," replied Sachiko, "And it's not just that. The word is that the police think another student might have kidnapped Yumimura-san."

… If Caster's Master really was one of the students here, that was a very real possibility, wasn't it? But why would he have done so, then? It only took a moment for Ai to decide she didn't want to think about it, only the worst possibilities entering her mind. Even if she didn't know Yumimura Saori, she had to hope she was at least alive.

"How horrible… Do you think another student could have done something like that?" Ai asked. She wasn't sure if it would help, but maybe if Sachiko had anyone in mind it could narrow it down a bit? She had no confidence in this line of questioning, but it was better than nothing, wasn't it? At least, that's what the small brunette hoped.

"Do I? Well… hm…" Sachiko looked thoughtful for a few moments, leaning back in her seat as she did, "I can't say I'm some sort of detective or anything, and I don't know everything about why the police believe it might be another student… But it's not completely unbelievable, either. It's not nice to think someone who goes to the same school as you could kidnap anyone, or worse, but sometimes there's somebody who's just plain rotten down to the core hanging around just out of sight. Even if you think there's no way that could be true."

That… was certainly a frightening thing to think about, and Ai couldn't help but imagine kidnappers and the like lurking around every corner when she heard Sachiko describe the situation. It seemed like Sachiko realized the impression she had given the smaller girl almost immediately.

"Ah… I don't mean that there's bad people everywhere, er…" she quickly clarified, waving her hands, "Just that someone like that could be a student here, it's not impossible that it could be that way. That's what I meant."

That wasn't exactly the most reassuring message, but at least it was better than the idea of people lurking around every corner, waiting to kidnap unexpecting victims and drag them off to who knows where.

Still, it took a few moments for Ai to regain her composure and try and speak again.

"Um… d-do you know if the police have any leads…?" she shifted nervously, "Um… do… do they know if Yumimura-san is alright or not…?"
Sachiko shook her head, her pigtails bobbing with each movement.

"I'm not exactly privy to the inner workings of the police investigation," the taller girl of the two girls replied, "I only know a little bit because my father's a police officer. But at least they don't think she's been murdered right now, either."

"… I… I h-hope that doesn't change…" replied Ai, averting her eyes. At this point, she felt certain it was a crime that the local police wouldn't be able to solve. Not if it truly was involved with the Holy Grail War. But if that were true, if Yumimura Saori was still alive, that meant they had a chance to save her, didn't they? Especially with how determined Tsubaki was to defeat Caster's Master. She felt like they were getting closer, at least, but she just didn't know how close they were getting.

Hopefully it was more then she feared.

"… Er… I came here and then we got involved in all this gloomy talk," Sachiko said, leaning on the desk, "I'm sure that's not exactly the subject you were planning on chatting about."

"N-no, it's okay, um… It's important to talk a-about this stuff… e-even if I didn't ever meet her, Yumimura-san is a fellow student…" responded Ai. "So it's i-important, um…"

"That's right… but talking about it like this is pretty depressing, isn't it?" asked Sachiko, "The point is… because it's so likely that one student committed a crime against another, Tsubaki-san feels like she has to try and resolve it. She's been working like crazy ever since Yumimura-san disappeared."

Ai knew there was more to it than that, but what this spoke of was that Tsubaki really was dedicated to the cause of finding out where Yumimura Saori had disappeared to. Not just because it was likely involved with the Holy Grail War, but because of the fact that she was a fellow student. Not that Ai had really doubted that was the case, but it was a bit different to hear it from someone else rather then inferring it based on the other girl's actions.

"… Anyway, um… that's a really nice lunch!" Sachiko said, suddenly, doing her best to change the subject to something a little more light-hearted. It was at this point that Ai realized she hadn't actually started to eat, yet.

"A-ah… y-yes!" she declared. Today, was a rice balls, teriyaki chicken, fresh fruit, and tempura vegetables. Once again, Marianne had put her all into preparing everything. "Um, one of my maids, Marianne-san, prepared it for me…"

"One of your maids?!" exclaimed Sachiko, "I heard you were a pretty rich girl, and that you'd moved into the Matsushita mansion and all, but I didn't know you were the type who had multiple maids! I wish I had even one maid!"

"Eh-heheheh…" Ai blushed and scratched the back of her head, laughing somewhat awkwardly as she did. It was pretty nice having a pair of maids to handle everything. Even the boxed lunches Marianne made were of a higher quality then the junk food she'd largely subsisted on prior to moving to her family's old home. "It is pretty nice having them around…"

"What are they like?!" Sachiko asked, excitedly. It seemed she was very into the idea of having maids.

"Um… w-well…" the small brunette hesitated for a few moments. Was it okay to just talk about her maids, when they worked so hard for her? More than that, was it okay to do that when her maids have been provided by the organization? Then again, they had run errands for her before… so it wasn't as if they had to remain secret… "Um… well… they're twins, to start with…"

"Twin maids?!" cried Sachiko, "Are you living some kind of fantasy life, Matsushita-san?!"

"U-um… well… eh-heh…" Ai fidgeted a little. A lot of people would consider elements of her life to be right out of a fantasy story… "Um… Marianne-san, the one I mentioned, is really energetic and cheerful… and she's really good at cooking too, she makes all the meals. She's best at Japanese food, but she can make just about anything good."

Sachiko's eyes were practically shining as she listened to Ai. Really, it almost made the small brunette uncertain of how to react.

"Um, as for Charlotte-san… she's very quiet, and when she does say things she doesn't express herself very much," Ai continued. The difference between the way Marianne and Charlotte behaved was massive, it was strange seeing how much they looked like one another when they acted completely differently. That being said, if they ever decided to put their hair clips on the same side and dress the same way, there would be no telling them apart until they opened their mouths. "And she's better at housework then Marianne-san. I think she might handle it all by herself."

"Wow… a rich girl living with twin maids, huh…?" Sachiko mused, cocking her head to one side, "One is even better at cooking and the other at cleaning… it's really that kind of setup! I can't believe it really exists… Hey, hey, is there any chance I could ever meet your maids, Matsushita-san?!"

Until now, Sachiko had seemed like a fairly straight-laced girl. But now that the topic of maids had come up, she'd suddenly let all her excitement suddenly manifest at once. Ai could only conclude that the other girl really, really liked maids.

A lot.

"U-um… I don't know about that…" responded Ai, shifting her seat as she spoke. Would It be okay to bright her over to meet the maids? Or vice versa? One top of that, she hadn't let Tsubaki into the mansion and she had only just met this girl. What if just introducing her maids to someone outside of the community of magi somehow violated the secrecy of magecraft?!

Then again, both maids had been out shopping before, and neither of them had reported any strange behavior towards the two of them. Though somehow Ai wanted to introduce the both of them to Tsubaki first, if anyone else. Saber had already met the both of them, so Tsubaki was the next one in line.

At least if she wanted to talk to Ai's maids. For some reason.

"Th-they, um, they're pretty busy…" The girl managed to say, "S-so I don't know if they'd have the time for something like that, u-um, Kitano-san…"

"Awww…" responded Sachiko, "… And I guess it's not really fair to you to ask about that kind of thing when we only just met. Your maids have jobs to do and all, so expecting them to take a part of their day just to meet me was pretty rude, I guess…"

This conversation had gone from the serious matter of Yumimura Saori to Sachiko getting excited over her maids. Ai didn't really know how to feel about this fact, aside from knowing that Sachiko seemed to appreciate maids even more than she herself did. There was a lot to like about maids, and Sachiko seemed to like them to an extent even Ai couldn't have imagined.

"U-um, it's just that we just met u-um… it's not your fault or anything for getting excited…" replied Ai, shifting awkwardly as she did. "I-it's just that I don't really know when you'd be able to meet."

"I still got a bit ahead of myself, though."

"Eh-heh…"

"… But if there's any chance, you can tell me!" declared Sachiko. Ai nodded slowly. Maids were truly wonderful, that was true, so… even if she had just met Sachiko, given how much the other girl seemed to treasure them Ai felt like she could at least try to get over her nerves and give her a chance to meet Marianne and Charlotte. If she'd been able to get more used to talking with Tsubaki, maybe this girl too…

"… Do… do you suddenly feel lightheaded, Matsushita-san…?" Sachiko asked, suddenly.

"Eh?" glancing towards Sachiko, Ai noticed that the pigtailed girl suddenly looked much worse for wear then she had moments ago. Her head was suddenly resting on one hand, her face had gone pale. She looked… sick…

"Kitano-san… y-you… do you need to go to the nurse's office…?" she asked. What happened? She felt fine, but all of the sudden Sachiko looked like she was ill.

"I… maybe… I…"

Suddenly Sachiko slumped forward on her desk. But she wasn't the only one. From all around her, there were thuds as students passed out on their desks. Ai's eyes widened. Was it some kind of gas leak or… or… if she was unaffected… was it possible that this…

Had Caster's bounded field managed to activate?!

Ai shot to her feet. Now that she was looking, she could identify a faint green haze in the air. But how? They'd disabled all the runes… or were they more powerful than Ai had thought? Had Caster pushed ahead with the plan now that they'd fought once already?! The small brunette sprinted out of the room as quickly as she could. Her classmates still seemed to be alive, but there was no telling how long that would last…

Even in the halls, she noticed a few people fallen, collapsed, but still breathing. She had to find Tsubaki, they had to locate Caster before things got any worse! Ai's heart was pounding in her chest as she sprinted through the halls, her energy quickly wearing down. After all, she was hardly the most athletic person.

"Matsushita-san!?" a boy's voice called to her.

She glanced back over her shoulder. Oh… it was… Natsuki Yukihiro? Memories of their first encounter suddenly ran through her mind, and her legs locked up.

"Matsushita-san, I… everyone suddenly collapsed," he said, glancing around at the nearby fallen bodies, "I couldn't wake them up, but they're still breathing… do you have any idea what could have happened?"

He… was actually concerned about the others?

"Even the teachers are out, I don't know what to do… Maybe you should stay here to keep an eye on everyone, while I go for help?" he asked.

But Ai had to find Tsubaki… that… that made sense, but she this wasn't some kind of gas leak or something like that, it was something…

… Wait… if Natsuki Yukihiro was still on his feet…

"… Y… y-you're Caster's Master, then."

For a few moments, nothing could be heard but silence.

"… I guess it was a pretty foolish gamble, thinking you'd fall for it," he said, with a sigh. Reaching into his schoolbag, he drew a knife, its blade engraved with strange grooves. Eyes widening, Ai took a step back. So it was Natsuki Yukihiro this whole time. He'd planned to create the bounded field, he'd planned for all of this… It wasn't exactly unbelievable, but now Ai found herself alone with him.

"But that doesn't matter. You're going to keep your mouth shut, and you're not going to call your Servant," he said, approaching with the knife drawn, "Or I'll drive this knife into your throat and watch you bleed out on the floor. That way I'd at least get to see the agony and despair on that cute face as you die before I go take care of that bitch Inoue."

Ai trembled. Certainly, Saber would immediately be able to stop him, no matter what kind of a magus he was. But he was close… would she have time to use her command seal before he attacked her? Her legs could barely move, her entire body shaking as he stepped closer. He was going to take her, wasn't her? He was going to use her as a hostage, or kill her, or… or…

… Whenever he was done with her, he was going to attack Tsubaki, too… and everyone in the school would die, wouldn't they? This green air… without sufficient mana, it was surely toxic. It was slowly killing everyone trapped inside the bounded field.

And it would be her fault for being unable to bring herself to fight back.

But… she was a magus too, wasn't she? All she had to do was buy just a moment… A spell she could cast quickly, voicelessly, something she could perform in a single action. It was all that Ai needed in this moment, to distract him just long enough.

She took a deep breath, her circuits blazing with mana. But it wasn't anything complex she needed, now. She just needed something simple. Something fast.

"Good girl, you get to live a little whi-eh?"

Natsuki Yukihiro paused in confusion, staring as the moisture in the air condensed in front of him, forming a perfect sphere of ice. Before he could simply brush it aside, however, the sphere suddenly exploded, sending sharpened shards of frozen water through the air!

"Agh!" he raised his hand to shield his eyes, stumbling back as he did.

"S-Saber!" cried Ai, her command seals blazing as she raised her right hand, "I need you!"

One seal faded. There was a crackling sound, a flash of light, a gust of wind as the air swirled in front of her, lights twisting away from the center of a single point on the floor. In an instant, Saber appeared, her katana raised and pointed directly at Natsuki Yukihiro, a crater in the floor around her feet.

"So, you must be the Master of Caster," said Saber, silver-gold eyes narrowed, "I won't allow you to touch my Master!"

"Tch…" Yukihiro stepped back, his knife raised defensively. But there wasn't any question of who would win in a battle between Saber and a boy armed with a knife, and the look in his eyes said that he knew that.

"Grr… Caster!" he called. Saber stepped forward confidently.

"At this range, there's no way that I'd lose to-eh?" the girl samurai glanced back over her shoulder, at something behind Ai. "Master!"

Glancing back herself, Ai's eyes widened when she saw three of the Dead emerge from the shadows, decrepit corpses far too close for her to quickly defend herself with magecraft. Even if she wasn't as frightened this time around, at this close range…!

In a silver flash, Saber intervened, slicing the reaching arms from their owners, before cutting the head from one of the Dead's bodies and slicing the other in half vertically, the bodies practically crumpling into dust. Her Servant had performed just as well as expected, destroying the undead in an instant with almost no effort!

But that, as it turned out, was all that Natsuki Yukihiro had needed. The moment that both Ai and her Servant had turned back around, he was already gone.

"Ah, he got away… Saber, can you tell where he went?" Ai asked, stepping forward. She shook her head, narrowing her eyes.

"I can't, but he must have fled down this hallway…" with that, Saber sprinted down the hallway, covering the distance almost instantaneously. Ai followed her, at a much slower pace, but it was clear that Yukihiro had somehow managed to quickly vanish in the time it had taken for Saber to kill the Dead. How? Had Caster done something, or had he found a place to hide? Grimacing, Saber peered down the hallway one last time, before kneeling next to a teacher who had fallen to the side of the room. After a moment, Ai recognized her as her homeroom teacher, Hayashi-sensei.

"What happened to them all? I can feel how thick the air is here…" Saber said, placing a hand on the fallen woman.

"I-it's the bounded field… somehow Caster managed to activate the bounded field, even though we've been disabling all the runes!" Ai responded. She didn't understand it, how was it possible for the enemy Servant to create the field without all the runes fully activated? Unless… was this some sort of weakened version of the spell? Was it possible that it was meant to be far more potent? Given the effects it had already had, Ai dreaded the possibility. "They've all passed out…"

"Then there's no time to waste," replied Saber, shooting to her feet, "We have to find Caster and put an end to this bounded field, to prevent it from progressing any further!"

"Y-yes!" But where was Caster? She had to be nearby, given she had summoned those dead so quickly to help her Master escape. The bounded field had caused everyone inside it to fall deathly ill, there was no telling what it would do if allowed to reach its full effects. Ai tried her best not to just keep worrying about what could happen and focus on what they had to do. That was the only way to save everyone!

"Ai-san!" called Tsubaki's voice, and Ai turned to look over her shoulder. "Ai-san, we have to find Caster immediately! This bounded field… even if I can't tell exactly what it's working towards, the air is growing more poisonous by the second!"

At least Tsubaki had quickly sought them out. Now that they were together, maybe it would be easier to find Caster!

But first…

"It's Natsuki Yukihiro!" Ai declared, as quickly as she was able to, "Natsuki Yukihiro is Caster's Master!"

"What? He's…" Tsubaki trailed off for a few moments, before her hands curled into fists. "That bastard! I always knew he was a piece of garbage, but this… this is completely inhuman! What is he expecting to accomplish by killing so many people!?"

It was an action Ai couldn't comprehend. Even the most amoral magus would at least see that there was no value in killing so many people en masse, not when it would draw so much attention. What was it that he wanted from this? Why would someone, even someone with that kind of attitude, possibly kill their fellow students and their teachers?!

"What am I expecting to accomplish?" asked Natsuki Yukihiro's voice, seemingly from no-where, "Why would I tell you!? Watching you bitches suffer as you struggle to try and understand is fantastic! It's just what people like you deserve, isn't it!?"

His tone was like a beast's snarl as he spoke. And yet, he was no-where to be seen.

"… Master, this boy is foolish, or confident in his ability to hide," said Saber, as her silver-gold eyes scanned the hallway, "By the sound of his voice, he's somewhere close by. He's not inside any of the rooms, either. His voice isn't muffled."

How was that possible? Where could he be? If he was close, but he wasn't in any of the rooms… Wait… if his Servant was Caster…

"Inoue-san, do you think he might have been given some kind of mystic code to make him disappear?" Ai asked, her mind racing as her heartbeat quickened more and more, "Something that would let him stall!"

"… That sounds exactly like what a cowardly scumbag like him would do!" snapped Tsubaki, taking a step forward, "Lancer is on her way, but I have no idea how much time we have before the toxic air grows strong enough to hurt us, or start killing everyone! We have to find either him or Caster!"

But how? If he was invisible… If he had a mystic code that could hide his appearance… But it wasn't as if he was being granted Presence Concealment. After all, he had spoken to them without revealing himself, and yet he was apparently standing close by…

"… I-if he's being hidden like that… i-it's probably by using the light to trick our eyesight," she said, "Meaning… meaning he might need direct light to stay hidden! Saber, attack the space under every light!"

"I don't understand but I'll do it!" declared the samurai! Darting forward, she thrust under one of the school lights, meeting empty space as she did. But if Ai's guess was correct, Natsuki Yukihiro couldn't flee without exposing himself to attack, either!

The second she made herself ready to attack again, Natsuki Yukihiro stumbled out of the next light, clutching a small mirror!

"Gaaah, what kind of worthless trick is this, Caster?!" he snapped, turning to run. Even if he was a magus himself, there wasn't much he could do against Saber! Had they cornered him!? Saber darted forward, her katana raised…!

In a shower of sparks, it clashed with a green barrier.

"… Master, there's no way this will end well for us if we remain," said Caster, both hands raised to maintain the circular barrier that took up almost the entire hall. She'd managed to get in that quickly to defend her Master?! She must have been waiting nearby the entire time!

"Caster!" Saber pressed the tip of her katana down, trying to force her way through the barrier, "What kind of a monster are you, to threaten the lives of all these people?!"

"… I don't think you would understand, even if I told you," said the enemy Servant, giving Saber a smile full of false sweetness. "… Master, don't worry, if we get to a high enough vantage point… this plan can still work~"

Natsuki Yukihiro placed a hand on the small, pale girl's shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell me how easy it was for it to fail!?" he practically growled, "Fine. As long as it can still work…"

"Damn it, you bastard, you're not getting away!" cried Tsubaki, breaking into a sprint towards the pair even as Saber tried to break through the barrier. It was cracking, Ai could see it, if she could just force her way all the way through…!

But both Caster and Yukihiro disappeared into a shower of black butterflies.

Almost immediately, the green tinge to the air faded into nothing. The bounded field had been cancelled? But why? Caster shouldn't have needed to stay here… unless she had forced the field to activate even though they'd deactivated all of the runes. Regardless, they'd forced Caster to turn off the bounded field, so that was good news, wasn't it!? And yet, Ai felt uncertain… what the enemy Servant had said, about being able to complete the plan…

"Grrr…" Tsubaki shook with anger as she glared at the spot where the Yukihiro and Caster and once stood, her fists clenched. After a few moments, she turned towards the nearest student on the ground, what looked like a first-year boy, and placed her fingers against his neck.

"A-are they going to be okay?" Ai asked, stepping towards Tsubaki as she spoke.

"… I think so," responded the black-haired girl, "He's breathing normally, and his pulse is normal as well… Damn it, that son of a bitch got away…"

It was the angriest Ai had ever seen Tsubaki, and she couldn't blame her. What Yukihiro had done here was terrible, nearly killing every single student and teacher in the school without even a second thought.

"Master, there's no way they're giving up," Saber said, giving one last glare towards the space that Caster and her Master had occupied before approaching Ai, "But Caster mentioned a high vantage point…"

That was their only clue. A high vantage point. Where would they be going to get a high vantage point? There weren't any particular natural formations in Minami that would allow for a good overlooking view of the entire city, so that left buildings, didn't it?

"Y-you're right… um… if that's the case then… she has to have meant one of the buildings downtown…" said the small brunette. It was the only thing that made sense to her.

"Ai-san, Saber," Tsubaki began, rising to her feet and facing the other two girls, "We're leaving before everyone recovers. We're going to track down Caster and Natsuki Yukihiro. Who knows what they'll do if we give them enough time!"

"I agree, we can't wait any longer," Saber nodded as she spoke. On this matter, there would be no argument from Ai. It was obvious that Caster intended to try this again, and soon, as well. If they left before everyone woke up… Though she was worried about her fellow students and the teachers, she trusted Tsubaki when she said they would be fine.

"R-right!"

"We'll meet up with Lancer outside," Tsubaki continued, turning to proceed down the hall, "We can't waste any time!"

Tsubaki was right, there wasn't any time to waste! As the three girls turned and began to swiftly leave, however, Ai felt doubtful again. Where would they find Caster and Yukihiro? Would they find them in time? Even if they narrowed it down to downtown, that didn't mean anything when it came to the buildings down there. Even checking one of the skyscrapers would be a time-consuming process, and they were working on borrowed time. It was reasonable to assume that they wouldn't launch their plan into action until nightfall, given that the top of a tall building was a lot more noticeable than the interior of the school. But it wasn't guaranteed, either. Yukihiro seemed reckless… Aaah, what could they do?

The small brunette struggled to think of something more concrete. Anything. They were going to a high vantage point, so naturally they would want to guarantee their success as much as they possibly could, wouldn't they? Assuming the high vantage point was necessary to ensure Caster's spell being successful, then they'd naturally want to pick the highest possible point in the city, wouldn't they?

"I-Inoue-san," began Ai, as they ran, "U-um… if Caster's intent is to ensure her spell works by going to the highest point in the city, and she's probably going for a building… what's the tallest building in Minami City?!"

Tsubaki's eyes widened.

"That would have to be the Tachibana Municipal Building!" she declared, "That's absolutely the tallest building in downtown Minami! Damn it, that's pretty far… but we should be able to make it before nightfall!"

"So we have a destination?" asked Saber, pacing herself to stay in step with the other two girls.

"That's right!"

Ai's confidence rose somewhat. Certainly, it was difficult to be completely optimistic, when she was still less than helpful… but now they knew where they needed to go!

They could stop Natsuki Yukihiro!

---

They'd thrown a big wrench into his plan.

He'd thought that it was bad enough when they kept disabling Caster's runes. She was a magus from the Age of Gods, anyway, how was it possible that those bitches were able to pull that off? But then Caster had activated them regardless, saying it would only take a little longer to kill everyone inside than it would have if the runes had been fully functional. But then Matsushita had immediately seen through his ruse, before he could really do much of anything, and Saber and Tsubaki showed up…

Well, it didn't matter. Not anymore. Even if they got here, they'd lose, wouldn't they?

Natsuki Yukihiro was confident about that, as he stood on top of the Tachibana Municipal Building, overlooking the city of Minami as the sun began to set.

"So, Caster, it'll cover the whole town like this?" he asked, glancing back over his shoulder. The small, pale girl nodded.

"There won't be a single human left alive after my spell is complete. Then I'll simply bring every corpse under my control~ You'll have an army, Master," she said, with a smile up at him.

An army of the dead… That was perfect. Even if the enemy Masters survived, there wouldn't be anywhere for them to hide. What did he care about the lives that would be ended? In fact… wasn't it better for them all to die? Of course it was. That way no-one could ever talk back to him.

Even those stupid girls who crushed on him at the High School were better off dead, because then they'd never be able to think of anything else but listening to his every word. That was all they were good for, wasn't it? It was only a shame that he wouldn't be able to watch them choke on the air and suffer as they perished.

"Perfect. This entire town is going to die for me… heh, all those stupid bitches at school will be my thralls, everyone will be! Isn't it amazing, Caster?"

Caster was looking out over the town as he spoke, and didn't immediately seem to react.

"Caster?"

"Ah? Of course, Master," she responded, without looking away from the view out over Minami City, "As long as I am your Servant, all the undead in my control will be yours as well."

Yukihiro had no idea what that yellowed shard of bone would summon, but it turned out to be the perfect Servant for him. He, whose desires were filled with death, and someone who could animate the dead… what could be a more perfect Servant? There wasn't anyone else.

That didn't stop him from feeling somewhat impatient, though.

"… When will you be able to activate the spell?"

"In a few hours, Master," replied the dark-haired girl, finally turning to face him, "As a magus, I'm sure you're familiar with the fact that your mana, your capabilities, it becomes more potent at certain times. Even as a Magus from the Age of Gods, this holds true for me as well. I'm waiting until I'm as potent as possible before I kill them all~"

"Right…"

That did make sense. Yukihiro waited until nightfall to perform his summon, after all. And what a summon it had been…

He'd needed blood, after all. In order to properly summon a Servant. Of course, the ritual didn't demand anything in particular. Chicken blood would have worked. But how was that worthy of summoning someone from history to serve him?

Of course it wasn't, oh no.

He had planned for weeks. To exchange one life for another.

"Heheh… I'm so excited, Caster!" he declared, grinning, "This… this is even better than my first time!"

"Your first time?" Caster questioned, cocking her head slightly to one side.

"When I summoned you. You remember that poor lump of flesh lying there, don't you?" he asked, chuckling at the recollection. The expressions that she had made were wonderful, the agony she'd suffered through as she laid there bleeding… the horror at the way he'd split her open…

"… Ah, that girl…"

"I can consider her one of mine forever! The very first person I ever murdered!" cried Yukihiro, spreading his arms wide. He'd barely been able to contain his excitement, leading up to the kill. The girl hadn't suspected a single thing. She'd thought that he was inviting her over to study with him, or something like that. It didn't matter what she thought as long as she came with him, to be honest. She was a pretty girl, but a dumb bitch like all the others.

Besides, her looks made everything even better.

When she'd gotten there, Yukihiro almost blew it just from how excited he'd been. But he managed to stay composed, long enough to keep her thinking that everything was fine, that there'd be nothing out of the ordinary. Until he bound her arms and legs with magecraft and dragged her down the stairs, to the basement. Where he'd set up his summoning circle.

If he was bringing someone into the world, why not do it by taking someone else out of it? It only made sense to him, but he hardly needed some kind of special justification. Killing was its own reward. He'd fantasized for so long about murdering the people around them, especially pretty girls like her.

The excitement it made him feel could barely be described. It was almost erotic.

Yukihiro had killed a neighborhood cat when he was younger. Caught it and cut it until it died. But that feeling paled in comparison to the sensation that crept through his body when he saw the horror and pain in that girl's eyes as his knife pierced her belly over and over, before cutting it open. He'd let her bleed out in agony, and used the blood to summon his Servant.

And the best part was that after he was finished, Caster hadn't even batted an eye at the body. In fact, she'd asked if she could have it! She was just like him, wasn't she? Why else would she say such a thing?!

Yukhiro almost felt giddy.

If he was being honest to himself…

He felt nothing but gratitude towards the dear, dead Yumimura Saori.

---

They had met up with Lancer outside of the school, just as emergency vehicles began to pull up outside. Tsubaki filled her Servant in on what was going on, and where they would be going.

Saber felt confident in herself. They more or less knew what it was that Caster was capable of at this point, and while she could be dangerous, and the situation was quite a dangerous one, as long as she could get into a close range battle she knew she would be able to emerge victorious. Few words were shared as the four girls made their way downtown. While the girl samurai knew she would be able to clear the distance far more quickly then they were now, she also wanted to remain close to her Master and her allies. They had to take on Caster together, after all. It wasn't that Saber didn't feel as if she could defeat Caster by herself, but it was important to stay close to her Master, and Tsubaki and Lancer would make it far easier to close the distance and reach her.

"Master, you don't need to keep walking if you're tired!" she declared, as the four of them made their way through the streets. By this point, the sun was already setting, and her Master looked quite tired, but she was still managing to keep up, "If you need me to, I can carry you the rest of the way!"

"A-ah? Y-you… I… i-if you… think you need to…" Ai trailed off. Without pausing, Saber swiftly scooped the smaller girl into her arms. Certainly, Saber herself was on the short side, but her Master was easily mistaken for a child, and was just as light as she looked.

"If she's at the top of the building, we will have to make our way up as swiftly as possible," Lancer commented, glancing over her shoulder at the others. While it seemed obvious, the simple fact was that going through the building would take quite a while, even with Saber's parameters when it came to her agility.

"Going through the building's going to be slow, and they might have alarms, anyway," said Tsubaki. By this point they were walking, to avoid drawing too much attention as well as conserve their Masters' energy. After all, Ai had slowed down quite a bit before Saber had picked her up… and now she was flushed and clinging to her Servant as if her life depended on it. "If we're going to catch that bastard we need to do it as quickly as we can to keep him and his Servant from escaping again!"

"U-um… if… if going through the building is too slow, what can we do?" Ai asked, still holding on tightly.

Saber, however, had no such concerns. She knew exactly how they were going to be able to handle this.

"Don't worry, Master," she replied, with a confident smile, "When it comes to covering a distance in a flash, I'm second to none!"

Her Master nodded weakly.

"Saber, the best option is to corner her together," said Lancer, "But if that's not possible, I'll be counting on you."

"And I'll be counting on you, too, Lancer!" responded Saber, brightly.

The situation was growing quite dire, but that didn't mean it was time for pessimism. The girl samurai was certain that too much doubt would lead to failure when faced with an enemy like Caster. More than that, however, she had to be wary. Her Master had brought it up the previous night, that Caster's behavior had been unusual. That a mage of her status would be able to raise more powerful minions then simple Dead, and that her choices of targets didn't play to her strengths. It was possible that the enemy Servant had concocted some kind of complex plan, but there was no way to be certain if that was the case.

Given that they were working on such a short time limit, as well, Saber was quite sure there was no time to simply try and assess the possible intentions behind Caster's actions. She had demonstrated her willingness to kill mass amounts of innocent people earlier, so while attempting to plan ahead and create an effective strategy was usually a good choice, there simply wasn't much time to do so.
She could see it more clearly now, the building that Tsubaki had mentioned. There was no question of it; that was the tallest building in the city for sure. Certainly it was not alone, there were other structures taller than anything that Saber had seen in life towards the center of the city, as well. But when it came to sheer height, in this town, at least, the Tachibana Municipal Building outdid all the others. It had to be where Caster had gone.

As they came closer, the sun sank lower and lower on the horizon. For the moment, she doubted that any other Servants would interfere. Given what they already knew about Assassin, there was no way that she would consider attacking both Saber and Lancer. Archer was something of a wildcard, but he likely had no reason to interfere on the part of Caster, who was threatening the secrecy of the war as well as thousands and thousands of lives. Rider was potentially a threat, but she hadn't made an attack on them again since her first appearance.

That left Berserker. They had no way of knowing what Berserker and their Master was like, but it was hopeful that they wouldn't attempt to intervene.

Ai's grip tightened, and Saber could practically feel the rate of her heart quicken as they grew closer to their destination.

"By this time," began Tsubaki, "The Tachibana building should be pretty isolated. Once we're there, it shouldn't be a problem for the both of you to cut loose."

"I understand, Master," replied Lancer. Saber nodded.

They couldn't have anything holding them back, there was no choice but to stop Caster as quickly as possible.

By the time they reached the building, the sun had already set. Tsubaki was right, there was no-one around in the immediate area. They didn't have to hold back, to try and remain hidden and covert.

Saber gently placed her Master on the ground, and her katana appeared in her right hand in a flurry of cherry blossom petal lights. Before them was a great tower of steel and glass, unlike anything Saber had seen in life.

The Tachibana Municipal Building.

It was time to bring an end to Caster and her Master's plans.

"Saber, I… u-um…" Ai hesitated for a moment, fidgeting, before taking a deep breath, "Saber, I… I wish I could do more to support you in a fight… But… but we'll meet up with you and Lancer once you reach the roof!"

Tsubaki nodded.

"Ai-san and I will go through the building. With just us two, our spells should suffice for avoiding alarms and getting through locked doors," she said, "… I can't say I know what the both of you are planning, but you're Servants."

Saber smiled.

"Just wait and see!"

But of course, it wouldn't be that simple.

"Saber!" called her Master's voice, as she pointed upwards. Indeed, the girl samurai had felt it, the presence of an approaching Servant.

There, drifting down from above, was Caster. The misty black wings drifting behind her holding her aloft once more. She stopped ten meters above the group, looking down at them.

"… I guess it was obvious where we would be going, wasn't it?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. She shrugged. "Well, I only need to delay you for a little while, anyway~"

Before anyone could say another word, Caster waved her skull-tipped staff. Immediately, a wave of Dead emerged from the darkness, seemingly from the faint shadow cast by the Tachibana building. They weren't dangerous to Servants, even in such great numbers, but to their Masters…

Saber drew her katana parallel with her head once more, both hands firmly gripping the hilt as she did. They'd cut their way through!

"Your abominations won't stop us, Caster!" declared Lancer as she raised her cavalry lance, light faintly travelling across its surface.

"Stay back until we've cleared the way!" Saber added, looking back over her shoulder towards her Master and Tsubaki.

"Didn't I just tell you they only needed to slow you down?" asked Caster, with a giggle.

The Dead lurched forward. There were hundreds of them, and there was only so much that the two Servants could do to clear their numbers, but…!

Saber darted forward. The tip of her blade met the skull of one of the walking corpses instantly, and she sliced upwards to part its head in two! The animated bodies were so decrepit that they almost immediately crumbled into dust upon falling, as well… There wasn't any time to think about why Caster was using almost exclusively old bodies, though!

Saber's silver-gold eyes traveled across the advancing horde of undead as her blade caught the moonlight, and flashed, cutting down another of the Dead. And another. And another. With every strike, one of Caster's minions fell! Eventually they'd kill them all!

Spinning in place, Saber darted back into the horde and cut one of the Dead cleanly in half, at the waist, and then another lost both arms before losing its head! She could see Lancer, as well, using the side of her weapon to knock the walking dead away, the tip to pierce them, and blasts of magical energy to destroy as many as possible in a single blow!

It was delaying them, to be certain, but they were going to make it through! But why was Caster simply watching, without attempting to attack, herself…?

There wasn't any time, she couldn't try and focus on Caster's motivations. Even if the dead were of little threat to Saber herself, if one of them reached Ai she couldn't rely on Tsubaki to be able to defend her. Her katana flashed with moonlight once more, slicing one of the dead from shoulder to hip!

Suddenly, without warning, a hail of arrows struck from behind! They rained down, piercing Caster's Dead and sending them to the ground in clouds of dust. Surprised, Saber was barely able to cut the arrows out of the air or knock them aside as she darted to the right to avoid being struck, while Lancer used her cavalry lance and a burst of mana as a defense!

Arrows? But Archer used a gun! And it wasn't as if Caster's dead were armed…

Then she saw them.

Skeletons, with blackened bones, an eerie green haze drifting around their bodies as they made their approach. They were armed, all of them, with blades or spears or bows.

She heard Caster's voice from above.

"Those… aren't mine…?"

Caster's dead dealt with, Saber sprinted to her Master's side, Lancer following to do the same.

"Wh-who… what are… where did those come from?" Ai stammered, as Saber stepped in front of her, katana held at the ready. There was a small army of skeletal warriors present, all of them armed.

"It has to be another Servant!" Tsubaki quickly said, taking a step back. But who? No-one they had seen so far was capable of calling on the Dead other than Caster, so that left-

There was an unearthly sound to their left. A wail, a roar, a noise that did not belong in this world. As Saber turned, she saw them.

The man was huge. Gigantic. Even in life she'd never seen such an enormous person before. His body was dark-skinned, nearly black, with golden markings and decorations. In his huge hands, he gripped a pair of golden axes.

Beside him was almost the complete opposite. A tiny, waifish girl, even smaller than her Master, with pale, almost paper-white skin and red eyes, with long white hair. She was wearing a light, pale purple dress, and she curtsied with a bright smile.

"Hello. My name is Alysvial von Einzbern!" she declared, cheerfully.

Out of the corner of her eye, Saber noticed Tsubaki's eyes widen.

"Einzbern?!" she heard the black-haired girl exclaim.

"Oh, so you know me! That makes it easier," the tiny, white-haired girl said with a giggle, "Um, I don't really want to kill you, though… so if you would just surrender, Berserker can kill all your Servants and we don't have to fight!"

The little girl's cheerful demeanor and smile contrasted with every word she said.

"… Master, Saber, Matsushita," came Lancer's voice, "We cannot afford to be held back fighting Berserker."

The blonde knight stepped forward. The little girl, Alysvial, tilted her head with confusion.

"I will hold off Berserker, so that you can make your way to the top of the building," she said.

"Lancer…" said Ai, wide-eyed as she stared at the other Servant.

"… You won't die here, will you, Lancer?" asked Tsubaki.

"Of course not. I have my duty to you, and to duel Saber, do I not?" she asked, her voice filled with confidence.

"That's all I needed to hear."

Saber had faith in her ally, too. The Lancer-class Servant was a powerful fighter, even against a hulking enemy like Berserker, if she fought defensively… she could hold out!

"Let's go!"

The group split. Lancer broke into a sprint towards Berserker, and as Saber turned towards the building she heard that unearthly sound once again. Ai and Tsubaki ran towards the front entrance, and though Saber wasn't certain what they did, moments later they were inside.

Saber took a deep breath, squaring up her stance. She was the fastest and most skilled wielder of the sword in the Shinsengumi, was she not?

She could surmount this challenge.

"… Well, it's not as if it matters," said Caster, "Berserker provided a nice distraction to split you up~ I didn't even expect that!"
Green lights ignited around the enemy Servant.

But Saber was no longer there when they fired. She had erupted forward, hit the building, and gone straight up!

For a Servant, especially one of her speed, things like this were possible. To run directly up the sheer face of a tall building-It was the fastest way to reach the top! Caster, having realized what Saber was planning, almost immediately began to ascend, facing downwards as the swordswoman sprinted across the smooth surface without pause.

The wind whipped past Saber's face, buffeting her body as she scaled the building, Lancer was fighting to give her this opportunity, there was no way she was going to waste it!

Green light ignited ahead of her, and a flurry of blasts of mana tore through the night sky towards her! But even at these speeds, even scaling the side of a building, there was no way she'd let herself get hit by something so obvious! Saber darted to the side, avoiding the beams of mana that ripped towards her! Caster fired again, and Saber dodged. She wouldn't be hit! She was gaining on the enemy Servant!

Realizing this, Caster flew away from the building and turned, attempting to remain parallel with Saber and firing on her once more. Even as she heard glass shattering from the impact of Caster's rain of mana, Saber was darting left and right, making her rapid advance up the side of the Tachibana building!

She wouldn't allow herself to be stopped! Indeed, the rooftop was coming closer and closer, even as Caster's attacks came faster and faster! She'd make it…!

There!

Saber's feet hit the rooftop. There was the stunned figure of Natsuki Yukihiro! As long as she could reach him, this would be the end!

The hail of green lasers said otherwise. Caster had made it to the top moments afterwards, and halfway across the roof, Saber was forced to stop and defend, turning to deflect the beams with the blade of her katana.

She felt white-hot pain sear through her left shoulder. One blast had managed to strike her… Saber stumbled back, but caught herself. It wasn't serious. It wouldn't stop her from fighting.

"What the hell is this, Caster?!" she heard Natsuki Yukihiro's voice from behind her, as the enemy Servant swiftly took a position in front of her Master, still drifting off the ground. "You were supposed to make sure none of them got up here!"

"… There were some unexpected developments, Master," responded his Servant, "But this is nothing I can't handle~"

Saber raised her blade parallel to the side of her head once more, as she readied herself. If she could just get close to Caster, the battle would be finished. Caster was strong at range, but if she was unable to fire off her spells quickly…

"What kind of a Servant are you, Caster? To cooperate with such an evil plot?" she asked, sliding her feet into a ready stance.

"Ah? I am simply one who acts in accordance to my Master's wishes~ I hardly care about getting my hands dirty, fufu~" replied Caster, green lights spinning in the air, circles of mana forming around her, "Do you really think I'm the only one~? That's incredibly naïve."
Of course she didn't believe that Caster was the only malevolent Servant that could be summoned. But for someone to participate in the attempted murder of thousands of people without hesitation… what kind of person must she have been in life?

"Well, everything is going to end here, regardless," Caster said, simply.

The beams fired. Saber danced to the side, air whipping around her as she did. This time, Caster wasn't bothering with the Dead against her. Knowing that her Magic Resistance was low enough for her to pierce, she was using her spells instead.

But that didn't matter!

The world seemed to slow for a moment, as Saber cleared the distance between herself and Caster in an instant! It was a valuable skill, especially in a fight like this!

But when her moonlit katana flashed, it struck another barrier, a circular green shield of mana. Before she could try and force her way through it, there was a screaming sound as another beam of magical energy fired from the center! Saber was forced to leap back, the blast screeching past her into the night sky!

The backdraft from the girl samurai's next charge whipped across the roof, but once again she found her blade striking a barrier of mana. Once again, even as she attempted to pierce it, a series of lasers fired to force her back, followed by a thicker beam in a bid to disable her! But she wouldn't allow it to strike!

Caster was remaining highly defensive, and that made plenty of sense. She needed to stall to win, not to go for the throat. The longer this took, the closer her spell would come to completion, and the more of a chance there was for Lancer to get injured, or worse, as she held off Berserker. She had to find a way to surpass Caster's defensive strategy and slay her!

And yet, every time she came close, that barrier would appear and deflect her katana in a shower of sparks. It was strong enough to last for a moment, just long enough for her to fire another beam of mana and force Saber to disengage to avoid being hit. The injury to her shoulder told her to avoid being struck anywhere more vital if she could help it.

But she'd noticed the barrier cracking every time they clashed. It wasn't as if it could last forever! If she could put in enough power, strike hard enough, she could break it before Caster could fire another laser!

It was what she had to do.

Saber's next blow had to end this.

"Isn't this growing tiresome?" Caster asked, "We clash again and again, but neither of us advances. That's not very exciting, is it~?"

Saber's grip tensed. The moment that Caster's next attack was fired, the platinum blonde girl suddenly seemed to disappear. But in reality, she was moving at almost unthinkable speeds, in a way that made it appear as if she was simply vanishing and reappearing at her goal!

But even as she reappeared on Caster's location, that green barrier sparked into existence once more! This was it, the blow she had to shatter it with!

"Haaaaah!"

With a cry, the girl samurai thrust her katana forward! There was a sound like a ringing bell as the tip struck the barrier, and immediately cracks spiderwebbed out from the point of impact! She could do it! Just a little more force! Caster's green eyes widened, and she attempted to disengage, when…!

The door to the rooftop opened.

Before anything else could happen, Tsubaki came sprinting through it, right towards Natsuki Yukihiro. Faint lines were visible on her body. Some sort of magecraft!

"NAAAATSUUUUKIIIIIII!" she screamed, as the boy tried to grab something from his bag.

But it was too late.

The tanned girl's fist flashed forward, and with a crack it struck Yukihiro straight in the jaw! He let out a wheezing sound as the impact of her fist against his face carried him into the air, his body rotating once before descending and rolling across the ground, the knife he'd attempted to draw skittering away across the rooftop!

Unfortunately, this brief moment of distraction gave Caster her chance to disengage. Even as her barrier shattered, the small, pale girl retreated swiftly, drifting to her Master's side as Yukihiro, knocked senseless, attempted to get up.

"You won't escape, Caster!" cried Saber.

And then-

A brilliant beam of light erupted from below. In an instant, everything else seemed to fade away. The world went quiet. The glowing, blazing light tore into the night sky. Nothing else made a sound. Nothing else even registered as existing. It was simply a blaze like sunlight that pierced the heavens in a single instant, before fading away.

In that instant, Caster took ahold of her disabled Master's shoulder, and they were gone.

"Ah, Caster, but…"

Had that beam been…?

"Lancer!" cried Tsubaki, rushing to the end of the rooftop to look down. Caster had escaped, but if she was here no longer, then… then she'd failed, hadn't she? Ai emerged from the doorway as well, following Tsubaki to the edge of the roof.

If Lancer was in trouble…

Saber took a running start, and leapt from the roof.

---

Pain reverberated through his skull. For a moment, all he'd seen was a brilliant flash, but now his vision was returning to him.

That bitch… that bitch Tsubaki had punched him! And then Caster had run away?! Damn it, they'd been so close, hadn't they? Caster had said they were close to success, close to victory, close to killing every single damn person in Minami City! So why had they fled?! Couldn't she have just summoned more Dead in order to kill or defend from those stupid bitches while she kept Saber at a distance?! Isn't that all she needed to do?!

Yukihiro didn't even recognize where they'd gone! It was some dark room, somewhere… but it wasn't his basement, that was for sure. Why was it so damn cold down here, anyway?!

"Caster?!" he stood up, even though his head was throbbing. He could barely see anything, too… suddenly, a sliver of light appeared, illuminating the room just enough for him to see his Servant. Slowly, it grew, revealing that wherever they were it was largely made of stone. "Where are we!? Why did you run!? We were so close!"

"Saber broke my barrier, and the two Masters had arrived. With Berserker and Lancer below, there was simply too great of a risk that we would die. I'm certain you'd rather have another chance to succeed, wouldn't you~?" she said, smiling sweetly.

"… Hmph."

He didn't like it, but it was hard to argue with Caster's logic. He'd so badly wanted to watch those girls suffer… that Saber, too. She was beautiful, so beautiful he just wanted to ruin it. But she was a Servant, so he'd have to settle for the emotional pain she'd feel on watching her Master die. Ah… even with the pain in his skull, the anger he felt at his failure, the thoughts of those bitches dying brought him nothing but happiness.

Caster simply watched him in silence, as his excitement grew. Sure, they'd retreated for now, but next time… next time they would win. His Servant just had to be more careful and covert. Just put the runes in places that were harder to get to, that would do it, wouldn't it? Aaah, he so badly wanted to make everyone, especially those bitches, suffer and die before becoming his thralls, corpses under his command!

The thought filled him with joy. Seeing those dead faces, unquestioningly following his every order… Tsubaki and Matsushita, unblinking, their bodies slowly going frrm beautiful and cute to rotted and decrepit husks… they wouldn't be able to fight him, to say anything against him, to say no to any command he gave. Even as their looks faded, he'd keep them, until their corpses collapsed into nothing but dust. It didn't matter at that point if they looked like they did when they were alive. Not one bit. It mattered that he knew how much they would have hated to be used as his slaves in life. The fact that they would despise it so thoroughly was enough to make him desire to use their bodies until there was nothing left but dust.

It was only fitting.

"… Heh… even if we failed this time… I can't wait until the next chance!" he cried.

"Oh?" Caster said, in a wondering tone.

"Of course!" Yukihiro declared, "We got this close this time, so there's no question we'll succeed when we try again! I can't wait, I can't wait to see the horror on their faces, the pain! I want to see them cry and piss themselves with fear as they die! Won't that be wonderful!? You think so too, don't you!?"

Caster was silent for a moment, so Yukihiro simply continued. She had to want to hear more, didn't she?

"Hehehe… Hey, Caster, maybe we should grab someone tonight? I don't care who," he continued, "Maybe a little girl or something… See how long she can last! I've been imagining all kinds of things I could do to someone if you used your magecraft to keep them alive for as long as possible… hehe…"

He spread his arms wide, eyes wild.

"This is a whole new world of death! This is the kind of thing any other killer could only dream about!" he felt giddy. Even if they'd failed tonight, there was all kinds of things they could do together! The pain and terror they could cause, the murders they could commit…!

"There won't be a next time, 'Master'."

There was a flash of green light.

For a moment, something felt… wrong. His right arm felt… strange, oddly warm, especially his shoulder. Then the pain struck. He let out a scream of agony. Why… why did it hurt?!

When Yukihiro's eyes fell on his right arm, lying on the floor in a pool of blood, it became obvious. Clutching at the stump attached to his right shoulder, the boy howled as he fell to the floor, writhing in pain.

"You made a great deal of assumptions about me, 'Master'~" said Caster, cheerfully, smiling, as she approached him. The agony was overwhelming, but even now, he managed to speak, even through the pain and confusion…

"Y-y-you… bitch... you… I'm your Master!" he snarled, trembling on the ground as he felt warm blood on his fingers. This time, it was his own.

"Of course, you summoned me," Caster replied, still smiling brightly, "But that didn't mean I felt any loyalty towards you. In fact, from the moment I saw you, covered in that girl's blood, I knew…"

She stood over him, as he shook.

"… That you were the type of man I hated the most~"

Yukihiro couldn't understand what was happening. Caster… Caster hated him? But why? Weren't the kindred souls? The perfect match? Before now, she had went along with each and everyone one of his desires. She'd happily cooperated with his plan to kill everyone in Minami! She'd even volunteered that spell of hers in order to slaughter everyone and raise them as her minions! So why… why did she…

"From that look on your face, I can tell you're confused~" she continued, picking up his limp arm. On it were all three command seals, "Which is hilarious~ Did you think I was incapable of lying, 'Master'?"

He stared in shock, unable to articulate himself. The bloodloss, the pain, the confusion… his Servant… his Servant had hated him? His Servant had been lying to him?"

"Y-you… you…" he trailed off.

"For example," Caster added, looking the severed arm over as she did, "Tonight, when I said I had to get high up for my spell? That was a lie~ There never was any such spell in the first place! Sure, I could poison everyone with a bounded field, but I didn't want to at all~"

"Y-you… you bitch… you…" he quivered on the ground, trying to get to his knees, "Y-you'll… y-you'll fade away when I die! You'll fade into nothing!"

"… Oh? Is that what you think?" she asked, tilting her head, "That's cute~ I planned for that, too~ I found someone far more worthy of these~"

Caster held Yukihiro's severed arm out, gesturing to the command seals.

"It's funny… you thought this whole time you'd killed that girl, didn't you?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

That girl… Yumimura Saori? What was she talking about? Of course she was dead! Caster had even taken the… taken the body…

Yukihiro heard someone approaching from behind.

"… Ah, there she is. Yukihiro, you're not a murderer at all~" Caster said, cheerfully.

On his knees, blood still trickling from his right shoulder, the boy turned, wide-eyed.

Standing there, alive, was Yumimura Saori. Her dark hair was messy and disheveled, her clothing, too, was dislodged. But there was no sign of the injuries he'd inflicted on her. But that wasn't all… her cute, pretty face had flecks of red around the mouth. Her eyes… her eyes were bright red… But they'd been brown before, they'd been…

"C-Caster…" came Saori's voice, hoarse and weak, "I… I smell blood… is this… did you bring me… something to drink…?"

"Of course, Master~" declared the pale girl brightly, "I brought you a meal~ This one should give you your full strength back, fufufu~ And after you're done, I brought you a little present, too~"

"… I… th-thank you… I…

Yukihiro shook with fear. He'd… he hadn't checked if Saori was dead. But she had to be, didn't she? Those red eyes… those eyes were…

… The eyes of a Dead Apostle… a vampire…

Caster had turned the dying Yumimura Saori into a vampire, to save her life.

Yumimura Saori sprang towards him.

Natsuki Yukihiro screamed.