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.

12. Chapter 12

Rider hated her Master's living quarters.

They were so… boring. Completely unfitting for someone who had summoned a beautiful and lovely Queen such as herself. He summoned Queen Medb, and yet his lodgings were so blank, dull, and lifeless? It was audacious, and not in the way she liked.

Annoyingly, he wasn't even here. At the moment, the pink-haired Servant wanted to go out again, and track down Archer and Assassin after they had ambushed her. It was… frankly, hilarious. The fact they'd believed could defeat her with such a plan… oh, just who did they think they were dealing with? The memory of their rapid retreat gave her some joy, to say the least. And yet…

Well, it was brave, even if their physical strength wasn't high. Rider had little interest in Assassin, but Archer… well, he was quite handsome as well, wasn't he…?

They didn't approach what she believed to be the greatest prize of this war, moreso then the Grail itself. The Holy Grail was something that belonged to her. As she was Queen, it was hers. It was a simple fact. But Saber… That girl samurai's beauty, the audacity she displayed her cutting away one of her bulls' horns, the courage… ah, who could blame her for her desires?

Of course, she was fairly certain of Saber's identity, as well, after the display when she cut down the great beast that Caster had summoned. It had been an utterly elegant and utterly brutal blow… perfect for the kind of person Queen Medb desired to mold into her plaything.

But it was, to be honest, rather difficult to become caught in ones' own fantasies when the location was so horribly bland. To think, she had returned her out of a desire to, for once, report on the battles she had so recently fought(admittedly mostly because she hoped that her Master would have some idea where Archer and Assassin were hiding. He was good for that, at least), only to find that he had departed without even speaking to her.

How foolish. And insulting. If there were anyone else who could support her, Rider would have considered forgetting about the drab and dull Master she'd been given and finding another… sadly, that did not appear to be feasible at the moment.

Rider sighed. Worse still was the fact he had used a command seal on her, to force her to retreat during her first engagement with Saber and Lancer… she'd been so close to making Saber hers! How could he do such a thing?! It was a disgraceful way to treat a Queen!

Maybe he would die on whatever little outing he had taken. Then she could contract with another, more interesting Master. Perhaps she could try and find Caster's Master? She was a vampire, but why should a Queen care for that? Those who were interesting, those who she found desirable, it didn't matter what their nature was. As long as they kept her attention, she would accept their existence. The fear of Dead Apostles hardly mattered to someone like Rider.

… Even if he survived whatever it was he was doing(Rider hardly had any desire to go and see what it was. Even if he'd slain a dragon he was so painfully dull in his mannerisms and motivations that it wouldn't even remotely make her warm up to him. He was so dull not even that sort of feat could build any heat between her thighs), maybe he wouldn't mind if she tried to spruce everything up. He didn't care about his surroundings anyway, so why would he care if she changed it?

The apartment was almost totally blank, save for the ingredients used for spells and a suitcase full of utterly boring and worthless items. Even if Medb did some remodeling, it would still be far too small for someone like her. Why was she being restricted to such a drab location? It was like Hirata Genjiro didn't even know who he had summoned. In spite of having used a catalyst… a piece of her throne, even! How could someone obtain something like that and still be so dreadfully, horribly boring?

To put it quite simply, boredom was the enemy of the Queen.

There was much she would do in order to defeat it. And the thought of breaking that beautiful, brave Saber down, pinning her to the ground, and watching as she was forced to use her cute little mouth to please her Queen as she slowly drowned in more and more pleasure, until she became a slave to her needs… aaah…

Well, certainly, that was enough to relieve her boredom.

It was not long afterwards that the door opened. There, walking through it, was Rider's Master. A few things were immediately noticeable upon his entrance. To begin with, he was removing one of those Japanese fox masks from his face, and his body was entirely clad in dark fabric.

"… Ah. So you returned, Rider," he said, simply, setting the mask aside on a nearby table. He'd been out for… Rider hadn't bothered to think of how long, actually. At this point the only manner in which her Master mattered to her was in that he provided her with mana so that she could remain in the world. Beyond this, there was nothing else. In fact, if anything, speaking with him dampened her mood somewhat.

"I was almost thinking of trying to give you a report, but you were out doing…"

Rider paused for a moment. There was blood on the black fabric. But her Master definitely did not appear to be injured… Had he killed something? Someone? At this point she didn't care if he'd somehow killed one of the enemy Servants. There was nothing he could do to spark her interest.

"… This blood is not mine," he said, simply, removing the stained robes and placing them aside, "I have set some of our enemies against one another. Our role in this war should go much more smoothly, Rider."

"Oh, should it?" asked the pink-haired Servant, cocking her head to one side. If that was true, she was more annoyed to be missing it than anything else.

"Berserker's Master now believes that Assassin has killed one of her servants," responded Genjiro, "I doubt that it would have worked with any of the other Masters, but given her immaturity, and the nature of her Servant, I was certain I would achieve the desired outcome."

Berserker's Master… the little girl? Well, it wasn't as if her age mattered. She was involved in a furious war, so what did Rider care what happened to her? Still, though, she was missing out on a clash between Berserker and Assassin? How annoying. It would have been interesting to see the fox masked Servant get crushed, if nothing else, but it was likely she was still allied with Archer as well…

But there was something about the way Genjiro spoke that irritated the pink-haired queen. It spoke as if he assumed that they needed to do something like that. Berserker was a mad beast. She could have easily took him down and smashed him under her chariot, no matter how strong he was. Assassin wasn't a threat at all! Archer, too, was someone she could easily defeat… what was the point of going through with a foolish plan like this?

It was almost insulting. No, in fact, it was an insult! An insult to the Queen of Connacht!

"And why, exactly, did you think this was necessary?" she asked, sharply, golden eyes narrowing at her Master.

"To ensure our victory," came Genjiro's unflinching reply. How infuriating. That he assumed he would need to do such a thing to make sure that they won. Simply allowing her to do whatever she desired would be enough to claim victory! If anything, using a command seal in that first fight was what had taken away her chance at claiming a massive victory against Saber and Lancer! It was all her Master's fault!

The fact that he thought such a thing was necessary, at all…

"There's no such thing as a guaranteed victory against Berserker," continued Genjiro, angering Rider further, "But it's likely that Archer is allied with Assassin at this point. This means that he'll be up against two Servants, even if they are weaker. The odds are in our favor."

"The odds are in our favor even against Berserker at his full potential!" snapped Queen Medb, "Who do you think you summoned? I'm the Queen of Connacht who crushed her enemies with charm and grace!"

"… Even so, I won't reject an opportunity to bring us just that much closer to victory," responded Genjiro, calmly.

"… Hmph," Rider folded her arms, "You're the worst kind of Master for me."

He didn't appear to care, which angered Medb even more. She had half a mind to kill him and seek someone else out, but… she didn't want to risk being unable to successfully make a contract. Not that she felt she would have any difficulty charming anyone she desired, but she had no idea where her prime target(the vampire) was, and aside from that it was hardly easy to locate another Master. Trying to force one of the enemy Masters to contract her, well… a single human couldn't support more than one Servant.

She didn't want to miss her chance to obtain Saber. Being removed from the war because her mana ran out would not be a fitting performance for a queen. She hadn't the least intention of perishing, especially in such an unimpressive manner. So, she would put up with this drab, uninteresting fool who thought that she required any assistance like that in order to claim victory. As she was Queen, she would win under her own power.

Queen Medb certainly did not need anyone as drab and uninteresting as Hirata Genjiro to be her Master. Even his brutality was boring. He'd casually murdered someone as part of his plan, and yet there was nothing at all interesting about it as far as she was concerned.
She didn't even feel motivated to report the allegiance between Archer and Assassin to him any longer. If he didn't already know, it's not as if it would change anything. In fact, Medb would rather have fought both of them rather then tell him and have him attempt to solve it in some manner. The lack of faith he seemed to have in her abilities made Rider quite irritable.

"… Is there something you wish to say, Rider? Genjiro asked, as he placed the bloodstained robes and the mask carefully on a metallic slab, shaking out some kind of fine red powder on them.

"Not to you," came Rider's curt response, as she cocked her head to one side. Her feelings were quite evident with every word.
Genjiro didn't say anything. Instead, he simply continued to shake out the red powder across the equipment he had used. As soon as he was done, a blue flame without smoke or scent began to spread across the robes and the mask, swiftly incinerating it.

How boring.

She barely spoke to him even when it came to discussing plans. To begin with, she was quite certain she was a better strategist then he was. She had waged wars in life. He had, evidently, killed a maid. To perform some entirely unnecessary plan that just showed how complete his failure to understand his Servant was. Did he expect her to be impressed? No, he probably didn't, actually. He probably didn't care what she thought at all. If he'd been more interesting, that would have been another point of irritation.

But at this point even Queen Medb couldn't muster any more anger, rather she felt apathy at the idea that this man didn't care what she thought. It was almost surreal when she thought about it, that there was a man so unbearably dull that she had no interest in how he thought about her. Even the shameful men of the modern times could be somewhat entertaining to toy with.

Her Master was not.

And so, rather then pay him any more heed, Rider's mind instead returned to things she did care about.

She wanted to obtain Saber soon.

---

So she had to meet Rider and tell her the conditions of their battle… Saber sighed to herself, slightly. It was strange, knowing that she had to put herself up as a prize to be won, but it all made sense. Rider's reaction to her skill in battle made it perfectly clear that the pink-haired Servant wouldn't hesitate at such a chance. Still, it was… embarrassing to think about making such an offer. It was the kind of thing that reminded her of Hijikata's womanizing ways, nothing like anything she herself had done in life.

As she thought about this, however, Saber suddenly found her mind drifting to the matter of her Master. Or rather, the way that her Master had been looking at her. The silvery-haired swordswoman wasn't used to being seen that way… had anyone ever looked at her like that before? She didn't quite understand it, and if anyone had done so before she simply hadn't realized. What did it mean? The way that Ai looked at her sometimes, the way she talked about her… it made the girl samurai feel a little strange inside. It wasn't bad, really… but it was a feeling she didn't know how to react to. This kind of… slight tightness in her chest…

For that matter… what had Ai wanted to talk to her about before? It certainly wasn't nothing. It seemed as if it was some important topic, something crucial to their partnership as Master and Servant. But then she'd refused to speak a word about it, insisting that it wasn't anything important. Why was that? It was something the swordswoman couldn't understand easily. She'd have to ask Ai about it again. Maybe she'd just been thrown off by Inoue Tsubaki's sudden arrival?

But now wasn't the time to be distracted by any such strange feelings.

It wasn't much longer before she was going to meet Rider. Drawing the enemy Servant out was likely a matter of simply being somewhere she was likely to be. Rider never seemed to pass up the opportunity to go after an enemy Servant, even if it was early enough that the battle could still be sighted by civilians.

For the moment, however, they were still making preparations. It was unlikely that they would even face Rider today, but it was hardly as if that was a poor decision. Saber was certain the more preparation was made, the better!

She was going to defeat Rider no matter what, but at the same time that didn't mean that her Master shouldn't do her best to be prepared for the fight.

"U-um, Saber, er…" she heard Ai's voice behind her as she waited by the window, and glanced back over her shoulder towards the diminutive brunette, "How… how do you think we should prepare? Um… I just… Rider is really powerful, s-so…"

The girl trailed off into silence. Her Master was always so nervous… Saber didn't know what to do all the time, but she did want to do her best to keep her Master's spirits up. It didn't feel good seeing her so frightened.

"Master, I'm going to win. This is a good plan, and I don't think there's any way Rider can pass up an offer like that," said the girl samurai, giving her Master a smile, "As for preparing, I think we have time to figure it out. We're not going to be fighting her immediately, we still have some time before the battle."

"R-right… right!" declared Ai with a weak nod, "U-um… eh-heh…"

After a few moments, the short magus took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

"That's right…" she said, "But… but regardless, we should try and prepare as much as possible! Um, Rider is pretty scary and all… and now we know she has such a strong Noble Phantasm… And… who knows if she has more?"

That was true as well. Rider was a class known for not having one, but numerous strong Noble Phantasms. What if she had others in addition to the chariot, her future sight, and Caladbolg? There was no way to be certain, but battles were never something that could be determined with total certainty anyway. Of course, even if she didn't, one of the chief things they needed to be wary of was Caladbolg. But Saber was confident she could keep the pressure on Queen Medb so that she was unable to use it, once the chariot was destroyed at least.

"That might be the case, but in battle you can't go worrying about possibilities," Saber responded, "You have to find the path to victory. If you get caught up in your own concerns and self-doubt, you can't fight your hardest, and you can't win when you're like that. You have to focus on your path to victory."

She paused for a moment. Certainly that was true, but after a moment of consideration she realized that it wasn't exactly everything, either.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't be aware of what your enemies are capable of," the girl samurai added, "But you shouldn't dwell on it unless you're planning on how to counter it!"

Saber hoped that would give Ai the boost she needed. If not, well… maybe it was time to change the topic entirely. Certainly, planning for the upcoming battle was important, but the truth was that it would be difficult to do so properly when her Master was feeling so frantic. On top of that, she didn't like to see Ai so upset, anyway. Besides, they weren't going to go looking for Rider yet anyway.

Admittedly, this would have been easier if they knew where Rider was to begin with, but at the moment there was no real way of figuring that out.

"U-um… right! Yes!" declared Ai, with a nod, "We, um… we should focus on making sure we're ready then… R-right?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean it's all we should do! There's time before we'll go after Rider, after all," added Saber, "And even when we find her we won't be fighting her yet."

"That's right…"

Ai took a deep breath and nodded to herself. It looked like Saber's bid to calm her down might have really worked, to the girl samurai's relief. There was no use trying to do anything serious when her Master was in such a distraught state, after all. It wouldn't help at all. For the moment, there wasn't much else they could do for preparations. After all, the had to confirm that Medb would agree to the engagement before actually getting ready to fight her, didn't they?

"For now, I don't know if there's much more we can do to prepare, until Medb agrees to the fight," added Saber.

"O-oh… really? Um…" Ai shifted from one foot to the other, awkwardly, "I-in that case… what should we do?"

Saber, admittedly, didn't really know. They should try and keep their minds on the war, as long as Ai wasn't panicking about it, but without having confirmed Medb's intention to participate in a one-on-one fight she wasn't certain just what could be done. On top of that, there were a few other matters that her Master wanted to deal with, weren't there…?

"U-um… for now, maybe we could try and search for the Atlas base, um…" Ai hesitated a little, "I think… I think that might be the best idea! It's safer to do it during the day, if we can't do anything else…"

The bid to find Yumimura Saori… The girl samurai didn't know if it would bear fruit, but they had to try, didn't they? In a way, Saber felt guilty… it wasn't as if they could have left Caster alone, but if she had known… maybe she could have done something different. But… for now, they had to look ahead. They had to keep moving forward. If they didn't, everything else would become pointless.

"… I think that's a good idea, Master," replied Saber, smiling slightly, "It's something we can do during the day… and something we can do for Yumimura-san, too."

Ai gave an emphatic nod. It was what she wanted to do, as well.

"A-and, um…" Ai shifted awkwardly, "Saber, er…"

She was hesitating. Was it about what she'd wanted to say before? What was making her so worried about speaking up about it? If it was important…

"… Er… what kind of clues do you think we need to find?" asked Ai, suddenly. But… it was easy to tell that the girl wasn't originally thinking of asking about that particular topic, even for someone like Saber. The silvery-haired girl knew she wasn't always the best at reading people, but at the same time it was so obvious that Ai had originally intended to say something else…

And as for clues about the Atlas base, Saber admittedly had no idea. She knew absolutely nothing about Atlas beyond the fact that they took Yumimura Saori, and that the operative that did so was a mysterious eighth Master.

"I don't know, I can't say I know very much about magecraft or anything like that," Saber answered, finally, apologetically. "But that's where your knowledge will come in, Master! With your magecraft and my skill, we'll find something for sure!"

"You… y-you're right! I'll try and detect anything unusual… I'll use my familiars, too!" declared Ai, her confidence finally surging. And it wasn't as if the possibility to seeing her Master's cat familiars again didn't get Saber a little excited, either. They were all so cute!

But… no, now was time to be serious.

Soon enough, Master and Servant had departed from their home again, bidding goodbye to the maids. Aside from Marianne giving Saber a somewhat embarrassing compliment about her shorts and thigh-highs combo, nothing else of note happened during their departure. After locating an alleyway to duck into, Ai called her familiars to her. Once again, Saber couldn't help but be entranced by just how adorable they all were. This swarm of soft, fluffy cats… of course, even as she knelt to pet them on their fluffy little heads, they were all completely fixed on Ai. Their attention was completely unshakable. Soon enough, she had given the cat familiars their orders, and they spread back out throughout the city in order to locate anything out of the ordinary.

Unfortunately, the search criteria were rather vague. Saber's lack of familiarity with magecraft wasn't enough to keep her from understanding that. The only thing they really had to work with was unusual spikes of mana or something of that nature, and the entire city could be an entry point for the Atlas base. For that matter, was there even necessarily an external entrance? Rani had seemingly teleported, after all.

But regardless of any of that, the fact was they had to find something! Some kind of clue, they'd locate it for sure!

As they began their search, Ai had explained that in addition to using her familiars, she'd be utilizing the full extent of her ability to perceive things via her nature as a magus. While it was likely that the Atlas base would be using some kind of capability to hide itself from even other magi, it was also unlikely they could totally remove the presence of any increased amount of mana nearby. Especially if they had recently summoned a Servant. For that matter, Saber could potentially sense the Servant they had summoned, as well. Ai's current theory was that it was a second Caster, which is why Rani had waited until Caster was dead in order to reveal herself.

It was equally possible that it had simply been the timed that way due to the fact she was sent to collect Yumimura Saori, but it wasn't a terrible theory. It made sense that the Servant they summoned would be a replacement for the one who had died, at least insofar as Saber could tell.

The more populated locations of town were largely ruled out, mostly due to the fact that it would have been difficult to establish a workshop in a public location without anyone knowing. It wasn't as if it was impossible, but it was certainly unlikely.

As a result, to begin with, their search was mostly restricted to back alleys and other more isolated locations. Initially, Saber suggested the forest, but Ai pointed out that it was unlikely the base would have been established so closely to the location in which Caster had established her workshop. As soon as she mentioned it, it made perfect sense. Why would you try and make for base of operations directly on top of one where someone with hostile intent was? When waging combat against enemies, the Shinsengumi certainly never established their operations, so why would it be any different for Atlas?

And so the forest was dismissed, in favor of searching the outer portions of town and working their way inward. Whenever there was no-one looking, Saber would pick Ai up in order to move more quickly around town. This never failed to get the smaller girl blushing, and at this point the girl samurai would find her own cheeks coloring somewhat as well, though she did her best to ignore it. Now was the time to remain as focused as possible, after all, and not get distracted by anything else! They were going to find some kind of clue! They had to, in order to claim victory against this mystery, and find Yumimura Saori!

Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple as that.

Just as the both of them had guessed, the Atlas base was well-hidden. Whatever they had put in place in order to conceal it was extremely effective. Was it something similar to the bounded field that concealed Alysvial von Einzbern's mansion, or was it something entirely different? Certainly, Saber didn't know. But she remained optimistic! Even if it was completely hidden from the eyes of mundane civilians, a magus and a Servant had many more options when it came to locating something hidden from the public eye! Admittedly, it was sword skills and not tracking that she was famous for, but that didn't mean she was completely unaware of how to hunt!

Ai, on the other hand, seemed to be growing steadily more demoralized. They had already been searching for most of the day, and neither her familiars nor herself had been able to find anything even remotely out of the ordinary. Briefly, they had been intrigued by the sight of an old Japanese mansion, but eventually that turned out to be fruitless. Even if there was some sort of magecraft in place there, it was not the Atlas base.

However… it was certainly someone's, and it was important to keep that in mind for the future. After all, they'd already discussed going on the offensive…

As the sun sank lower and lower in the sky, and they continued to find nothing of particular note that could lead to the Atlas base, Ai began to feel less and less optimistic. Concerned, Saber had attempted to convince her that even finding nothing they had at least ruled out where the base wasn't, but that didn't seem to help very much. Rather, it also seemed like it made Ai feel even worse, which sent a pang of guilt through Saber's heart. She hadn't intended to upset her Master at all.

By this point in time, the sun hand sunk below the horizon, and the streets were largely empty once more. It was night.

"… Come on, Saber…" Ai said, despondently, "We're not going to find anything. We might as well just give up already… We have to prepare to fight Rider, anyway…"

Saber paused for a moment. While she didn't necessarily think they should keep searching right now, she also wasn't willing to give up entirely. If there was any chance of finding Yumimura Saori, they had to take it. They also have to figure out what was going on with the whole 'eighth master' mystery…

"Master, I think it's fine to take a break. We've been out all day, and I can tell you're tired," she said, with a smile, "But… We can't just give up! We should be prepared to fight Rider, but that doesn't mean we should just forget about this! There's plenty more town to cover tomorrow, and I know you can do it! With your familiars and your own skills when it comes to magecraft, I'm certain we'll be able to find some kind of clue if we just keep at it!"

Perseverance was something that had affected Saber's life greatly. If she hadn't persevered in her training, even with how people praised her as a prodigy from the very start, she would never had become the famous samurai who qualified to be a Heroic Spirit. She would never have become a Servant at all. And so, naturally, she was going to advocate perseverance to her Master. Not simply because it was how she had done it, but because she didn't want to see her Master so sad. The simple fact was that, due to the nature of the Holy Grail War, if Atlas was summoning a Servant they had to be here somewhere. They had to have made some kind of base at some point. Which meant there had to be some kind of sign of its existence.

If Rani had been willing to reveal herself, they couldn't be somewhere completely foreign.

"But… we haven't found anything at all yet," Ai responded, shoulders sagging, "It's hard to persevere when it looks like there's nothing to strive for… You said yourself that all we'd done was prove where it wasn't."

Saber winced. But… it was true. However, that wasn't how she had meant it.

"… I did, Master," replied the swordswoman, inclining her head to one side as she spoke, "But what I meant is that we've narrowed it down. There's plenty of places in Minami City that we haven't searched yet, and it could be in any of those locations at all. With your familiars sweeping over every nook and cranny, there's no way they can keep themselves so perfectly hidden that we won't find something!"

She gave her Master a confident grin, and she saw a small smile form on Ai's lips. Even if the short brunette didn't seem entirely convinced, at least she was smiling again.

Then, the short girl suddenly paused, as if she had some sort of epiphany.

"… Spatial warping and teleportation are incredibly difficult for a modern magus," said Ai, looking thoughtful, "I… I didn't think about it before, but that means they're probably not too far from where Rani-san picked up Yumimura-san. They must have some kind of ritual in place in order to quickly move from inside their base to outside of it!"

Saber's gold eyes widened. She hadn't thought about it before, either, given her limited knowledge of magecraft, but if that was the case…

"To keep their base hidden, it can only be so big unless it was established very far in the past, before the city was built," Ai continued, "But Minami City only became something extraordinary, that Atlas would be interested in, with the first Holy Grail War. So that means that the network they created has to be close by!"

"If that's the case, then we know exactly where we need to look!" declared Saber, brightly. They finally had a lead! Ai was already deploying a message to her familiars to focus their search, and both girls immediately turned to set off in a direction near the alleyway where Yumimura Saori had been taken. With a much narrower search criteria, they'd be able to locate some sort of sign of the base's location without question!

And then…

Something blurred through the air, and without thought, acting solely on instinct, Saber grabbed her Master by the shoulders and pulled her back, hugging the smaller girl to herself. Now able to focus on just what was happening, Saber realized it was a car, flipping through the air and slamming into the pavement, its hood crumpling like tinfoil.

But it didn't seem like it was an attack aimed at them…?

"Wh-wha…" Ai stared, wide-eyed.

And then both girls saw it. The familiar masked figure that was Assassin suddenly darted from an alleyway, spinning and hurling several kunai back towards some sort of pursuer as she twisted in the air before continuing her retreat.

And then, behind her, that hulking, dark figure wielding twin golden axes, a tiny, pale girl seated on his shoulder, her features marked by fury as the massive man bellowed in unearthly sound…

"Berserker?!"

But the other Servants paid Saber, nor her Master, no heed, the chase proceeding across the street in a span of mere seconds.

"… We… we…" Ai hesitated for a moment, then… "We have to follow them!"

Saber nodded, quickly, shifting Ai carefully to her back as she turned to make her pursuit.

There was no way that they could ignore this.

But a battle between Berserker and Assassin, Alys looking so enraged… There was no way that Assassin had a chance of fighting against Berserker. So had Berserker attacked Assassin? But why would Alys prioritize Assassin over the others? Had something gone wrong?

Something seemed strange to Saber.

She couldn't ignore it.

---

It had happened so fast, so suddenly. Assassin's patrol route had suddenly been interrupted in an instant. The massive axe-wielding figure, the little girl perched on his shoulder, declaring she was a murderer… It wasn't necessarily a point that she could dispute. The very nature of her existence as a Servant was founded on her existence as an assassin who killed for the sake of her lord. But at the same time, both herself and her Master had concluded targeting Berserker or his Master was foolish so soon. She had yet to even attempt to scout of the homunculus girl's home! So why was she being pursued so fervently?! They were undeniably enemies, but why would she suddenly have become such a priority?!

Even as she attempted to conceal herself in a nearby shadow, that golden axe came crashing down and forced her to keep moving. Assassin's mind raced in her moment of desperation. This was not simply a pursuit because she was their enemy. That much was certain. This was an attack on her as if she had directly wronged them.

"Murderer!" she heard the little girl scream behind her, followed by a roar from Berserker. While she was certainly faster than her attacker, Berserker's persistence made him incredibly difficult to shake… Why?! The last thing she had wanted to do was get into a direct conflict with Berserker! The strategy she had planned with her Master had been to avoid him until he came into conflict with Saber and Lancer!

A golden axe swung far too close, and Assassin could almost feel the pavement beside her explode! Spinning, her momentum carrying her through the air, she drew kunai from her kimono and threw them towards the hulking figure. He was unable to dodge, and they each embedded into his chest, but…

It just barely slowed him down. She knew such a huge and dangerous Servant wouldn't be killed by one of her most basic attacks. Even her Noble Phantasm wouldn't be able to slay such a hulking monster of a man unless she could strike a vital point!

She rounded a corner, and Berserker exploded out of the alleyway moments afterwards in pursuit!

Mori Ranmaru was usually one to conduct her strategy based on orders from her lord. In life, this had been the beautiful demon lord that dwelled within her heart to this day, Oda Nobunaga. For the moment, it was a substitute who shared her true lord's blood. Shimada Yukiko possessed a measure of the spark that was Oda Nobunaga's fire. It was only a tiny spark, but it was enough to make her a worthy substitute lord in Ranmaru's eyes.

So she couldn't allow herself to fail so utterly during this chase! Even as Berserker's footsteps shattered the concrete beneath him, falling here would be a shameful display towards her substitute lord and to the true lord that remained in her heart!

But her options were running low. She couldn't fight Berserker directly, it wasn't within the capabilities of an Assassin-class Servant. And she couldn't simply keep running forever. Since he was already aware of her presence, Presence Concealment was largely useless.

She had to think of something, anything…!

Her Master had recently made an allegiance with the Master of Archer. It was quite temporary, only until they dealt with Rider. Given their previous plan to defeat Rider had failed, the alliance was still ongoing. For that matter, her Master had even proceeded to Archer's Master's base of operations in order to construct a new plan, intending to share it with her upon her return… And Archer was still there…

Neither of them were Servants whose capabilities lay in direct combat. However, with the both of them working together, wasn't there a chance of defeating Berserker?

It was the only chance that Assassin had!

But that meant she had to make it there first. Berserker was far too close for comfort, even if she could outmaneuver him…!

The enormous bellow came again, as Berserker's axe swung down! She darted to the side, but then his second axe swung right for her! She had no choice but to try and block it, it was far too powerful of a blow to try dodging it at this range!

When her katana struck the golden axeblade, there was a resounding crash of metal on metal. For the briefest moment, Assassin's defense held, and then the street beneath her cratered and she was sent rocketing back through the air! Wind rushed past her as she slammed into a lamppost, bending the metal from the impact of her body! Even as a Servant, she could feel dull pain radiate through her arms and back…

But…

"You shouldn't try to match yourself against Berserker, you murderer!" cried the Einzbern homunculus, from Berserker's shoulder, "There's no way you'll win!"

But that wasn't what Assassin was trying to do.

Rolling to her feet, the fox-masked girl was off again without a moment's pause! It had been painful, but the force of that blow had sent her some distance away from her pursuer! With the ground she had gained, she could reach her destination before being killed!

Realizing that Assassin was taking advantage of the distance she'd been flung, Berserker let out another unearthly roar and charged after her. But with the distance she had gained, it would be difficult for him to catch up!

She could make it…!

Archer's Master was currently staying at a small, yet high-class apartment he had prepared specifically for the Holy Grail War. It wasn't much further. As long as she took the quickest possible route to her destination there was no way that Berserker could catch up to her! Still, though, he was close enough that attempting to use Presence Concealment simply wasn't an option. There was no way that she would be able to vanish when he could still see her.

There! The building was just ahead! She could see it! Even though she could still hear those thunderous footfalls behind her!

That glimmer of gold from the rooftop…

She could feel Archer's presence.

Almost immediately after Assassin perceived the golden gleam, a trio of gunshots rang out! Berserker suddenly stepped back and raised his massive arms defensively, and when Assassin glanced back over her shoulder she could see the impact of bullets, burying themselves in his arms. Unfortunately, to such a hulking beast of a man, it was hardly enough to damage him, but it had brought him to a halt!

"I'm not gonna ask what kinda mess you got yourself into, Assassin," came Archer's instantly recognizable voice, as he kept his revolver trained squarely on the hulking Servant, "But I reckon it's a doozy."

Reaching up, Ranmaru removed her fox mask, allowing it to dissipate into green motes of light as she swiftly drew the longer of her two katana.

"Berserker attacked me during my patrol!" she declared. She still wasn't certain as to why Alysvial von Einzbern had become so convinced she had somehow wronged the homunculus specifically, but that no longer mattered. They had to defeat Berserker, no matter what. Leading him here had been a gamble, given the presence of both their Masters so close by. But the fact was that this was her only chance, and she couldn't have allowed herself to die pathetically without a fight.

"Because you're a murderer!" cried Alysvial, "What did Lysvil ever do to you?! What did Velvie ever do to you!? What did Ivyrette ever do to you!? All they were doing was their jobs, and you still attacked them and killed Lysvil! Why?!"

Assassin didn't understand. She would never have been so sloppy as to leave so many dead and injured that weren't her target, to begin with. Aside from that, she had no idea who Alysvial was even talking about.

"Somethin' you need to tell me, Assassin?" asked Archer from above.

"I am a killer, but I have no idea what it is that she speaks of," protested the black-haired girl, as she raised her katana carefully, eyeing Berserker. The massive man's entire body seemed to tense again, "I was merely on a patrol route dictated by my Master."

"Liar!" screamed Alysvial. Berserker let out another unearthly roar, spreading his arms wide. Darkness almost immediately seemed to spread from his feet. From the darkness rose skeletal warriors… the very same minions that Berserker had summoned previously! Just who was he?! A mad warrior with an army of undead?!

But any time Assassin could have spared on attempting to discern her opponent's identity was lost when the hulking brute charged, along with his skeletal soldiers.

Archer sprang down from the rooftop, taking aim as he fell, his other hand kept on his hat to keep it from blowing off. With each shot that rang out, the skull of one of the undead warriors exploded again and again, the rest of the bodies collapsing into a pile of bones that dissipated into nothing. Before they could attempt to deal with Berserker, the numbers had to be thinned…!

And Assassin had to ensure that no threat came to her Master. Even if she was just a substitute, Shimada Yukiko was still her lord, and still a woman who possessed the blood of her true lord. She could not allow her to be harmed, no matter what the cost may be.

Reaching into her kimono, Assassin drew another set of kunai. When she threw them, each of the skeletal dead that the blades struck staggered, and when she stepped into their shadows, she disappeared! Immediately, she reemerged in their midst, her blade flashing as she cut through bone! Against an enemy Servant, she was hardly the most capable combatant, but against these dead…!

She could thin their numbers! They were like automatons, her ability to disappear into the shadows was an insurmountable obstacle for them! With Archer working to keep Berserker's attention, she could cut down as many of the undead warriors as she could! If she followed this path, this strategy, was it possible that they could defeat Berserker?!

Even if there was a slim possibility, she had to strive for it. It was what her lord would have done!

Elegantly, like a dance, Assassin cut through the skull of one of the dead, then spun, her blade cleaving through the ribcage and spinal column of another one of the strange skeletons. Before she could be struck by a thrust spear, the black-haired killer vanished into the shadows again, emerging once more behind her newest assailant to take off its head.

But even with Berserker distracted, it wasn't as if the enormous warrior had simply vanished. Any single moment he had to spare between Archer's gunshots was spent advancing on Assassin, his golden axes raised. Thankfully, with the large number of shadows here, she could quickly relocate to avoid the brilliant golden axeblades as they swung down, cleaving into the pavement! And as soon as Berserker had attempted his assault again, Archer had already fired! His bullets were not successfully harming the massive Servant, but they were doing some small amount of damage and keeping his attention. Assassin guessed it was more likely due to the potential harm to his Master then the minor damage the bullets were inflicting to his body.

As for Archer… he still wasn't using his Noble Phantasm. Assassin could only assume he was waiting for the perfect chance. But without knowing what it was, the ninja girl couldn't be certain if it would be enough to slay the monster that was Berserker!

Darting back and out of the way of a swinging sword, Assassin faded into the shadows once again, leaping out of them to cleave cleanly through the body of another warrior. Her work was swift and efficient, she was cutting her way through the skeletal undead as swiftly as she could! As long as Berserker remained distracted, as long as they still had an opportunity…!

Suddenly, a larger skeleton's sword came crashing down, forcing her to block with the side of her blade. Ah?! Had she lost track of one of Berserker's warriors!? Well, as long as-

Suddenly, for an instant, Assassin's entire world went white.

When her vision returned, she found herself in the air. Her entire right side felt white-hot with pain, and she slowly began to realize just what had happened.

She could see blood in the air. It was her own. She could see that golden axe splattered with it. And then she could feel it… an enormous gash cutting through her side, nearly severing her entire body in half.

… She'd made a mistake.

She had become too confident… She thought Archer had been able to keep Berserker from focusing on her.

The wall of the apartment complex crumpled inward as she struck it, and before she landed she could see the look of shock on her Master's face. That beautiful face that could only belong to someone who shared the blood of her beautiful Lord… When Assassin hit the ground, she left a smear of blood as she rolled once and then lay still.

"Assassin!" she heard her Master cry.

Ranmaru knew she'd failed.

She knew, indeed, that this was the end of her second life.

To think it would end with such a dishonorable performance…

To think…

---

Her life had begun without reason or purpose.

It had been years of a meaningless existence before she first met her. That beautiful, black hair. Those crimson eyes. That delicate, pale skin. Until that moment, Mori Ranmaru had felt she was leading her life without purpose. She had been unable to understand why she existed. But then…

Oda Nobunaga had not been a tall individual. Nor had she been frightening. Rather, she had been a short, almost doll-like and youthful girl, who had given Ranmaru a quite cheerful smile when they first met. Ranmaru herself had barely entered her early teens, but even than she had already become taller then Nobunaga. And yet, when she looked upon the delicate girl, she had felt something inside herself, something she had never experienced before.

It was warmth. Her heart had begun to beat more quickly. At the time, the girl couldn't understand. Her life until that very moment had been aimless. She rarely expressed even the slightest hint of emotion, let alone anything like happiness. But in that moment… when she looked upon Oda Nobunaga's beautiful, doll-like form…

She could only describe her feelings as joy. Joy at being allowed to gaze upon someone so beautiful, so lovely. Joy at finally discovering a purpose. Indeed, Ranmaru's life was suddenly painted with colors she had never even dreamed of before.

She had found a reason to live.

The girl took to her duty as Oda Nobunaga's retainer with gusto. She did everything, absolutely everything, that she was asked.

Ranmaru could not see any point in living for herself, but she could see a point in living for the beautiful demon king Oda Nobunaga.

But it wasn't simply the duties of a retainer that she fulfilled. It wasn't anything simple and mundane as that. She had to become Oda Nobunaga's shadow. A shadow that consumed the lives of her enemies.

This was a duty that Ranmaru dedicated herself wholly to. In order to become a better assassin, in order to fulfill the purpose that she had been given, the girl trained daily. She honed every skill she had into being the sort of killer that the beautiful, lovely demon king required. All she wanted to do was see that smile. To know she had done well, to know she had conducted herself honorably, for the sake of her Lord.

Beyond that, nothing else mattered.

One night, Nobunaga asked Ranmaru to her room. It had been after a long and difficult conflict, that had finally ended, for the time being. Ranmaru had been happy, as simply spending time close to her lord filled her heart with joy.

They had spoken for quite some time. Nobunaga had confessed that even someone like her was not immune to the effects of such a battle. She had simply wanted to talk, to speak with someone normally, and Ranmaru was her most trusted retainer.

And so, for quite some time, they had spoken at length.

Ranmaru didn't quite remember, exactly, how it had happened. But she remembered how it felt. The warmth of Nobunaga's lips against hers, the softness of her delicate skin, her silky hair… she remembered her own shock at first. It was not that she had never hoped for such a thing. Rather, she had never expected it could come true.

Nobunaga's small, frail-seeming frame pressed against her, her warmth… she remembered embracing her lord, and the smaller woman had not resisted.

It was exactly what she had wanted.

That night, for the first time, the both of them made love. It was hardly the last time. There was a reason, even if their real gender had been forgotten, that the relationship between them was widely understood.

The act of sharing pleasure with the one she loved, and easing the burden of her stress… it was a renewed fuel to the fire of Ranmaru's life. In those days, she had burned even more brightly then she ever had before. She wanted to live on, for the sake of that wonderful smile.

There had been a time where she once wondered if the world would be any different if she lived or died. But that thought no longer occurred to her. As long as she could see that smile, and feel that warmth… Ranmaru had a purpose to her life.

They won victories time and time again. Oda Nobunaga's name was burned into history, just as she had wished. They would unite Japan and end the period of the Warring States.

At the time, Ranmaru had begun to think there was no way this endeavor could fail. As Nobunaga claimed victory after victory, Ranmaru struck down her enemies silently in the shadows. Blood was spilt over and over, but for the sake of Japan's unity, and for that smile, it didn't matter. She could keep going until the very end.

For the honor and love of Oda Nobunaga, there was nothing she wouldn't do.

Absolutely nothing.

Perhaps it was because of her own adoration of her lord that she didn't realize one of her very own allies could possibly come to hate Nobunaga. She understood the feelings of enemies, and those who currently stood in a neutral position. She had killed many of them, after all. But the idea of someone who fought under Nobunaga turning against her was completely unfathomable to Ranmaru.

Which was why the betrayal of Akechi Mitsuhide came has a complete shock.

At Honnoji, they had begun to realize just what situation they were now in. Ranmaru had thought her lord unbeatable, but now she had begun to realize that this was a situation they could never have fully prepared for. They had no strong force of defenders in place, those few who were capable of fighting were quickly destroyed, overwhelmed by the traitor's forces. Even Ranmaru's brothers had died that day.

When it was only the two of them remaining, Nobunaga told Ranmaru her final wishes.

To burn down the temple.

Ranmaru undertook this action understanding what it meant. Nobunaga, the love of her life, the woman she had devoted herself to completely and utterly, knew she was going to die.

It felt like her heart had simply shattered.

As the temple began to burn, as the woman she loved killed herself rather then die at the hands of the traitor, Ranmaru knew there was only one thing left for her to do, one final act of loyalty.

As the temple burned around them, she followed her lord into the afterlife with the edge of her own blade.

---

… Ah… she wasn't gone yet…? Her existence as a Servant… it hadn't come to an end… The pain reverberating through her body was burning like fire, but even in spite of her body nearly being severed in half she could still move.

For a few moments, Assassin's eyes drifted across the room.

"You… you had to have ordered her to do it, didn't you!?"

It was the Einzbern homunculus, still sitting atop Berserker's shoulder, pointing at her Master. Tears were in her eyes.

"You told her to kill Lysvil! Why?!"

Assassin had never received such orders from her substitute lord…

… Her Master…

Shimada Yukiko was on her knees, those beautiful red eyes wet with tears, too. She was crying… was she crying for her? It wasn't as if she had seen her Master's entire life, but to see her cry was something that Assassin had never expected…

Archer suddenly darted into the room, and let off a hail of shots at Berserker. But the monster's body was so powerful, so durable that even those attacks weren't enough to do serious damage.

He was so strong…

And she was already dying.

What was there that she could do, now, at the end of her second life? Assassin's eyes remained on her Master, even as the battle continued to rage.

… There was one more thing she could so, wasn't there? Before she faded away.

There was one famous act Assassin had performed in life that she was remembered for. Her very final, final moments…

In spite of the damage her body had sustained, Assassin rose to her feet. Her left arm was limp and useless, and blood spilled from the massive wound that tore into her waist. Perhaps it was only due to her nature as a Servant that she was not simply falling apart.

In her still-working right hand, she gripped her katana.

It was the final honorable act conducted by Mori Ranmaru.

Her Master realized she was back on her feet, her eyes widening in shock.

"A… Assassin!?" cried Yukiko, "You're alive?"

Part of Ranmaru hated to disappoint her, given how like Nobunaga she was. But there was only one thing she could do in order to do honor to her true lord, to save the substitute lord that the grail had given her to.

Berserker turned, his gold-adorned head looking back over his shoulder. It occurred to Assassin that he could still attack her, but at this point there was nothing he could do to stop it. She would not be able to kill him.

Even if she had possessed a technique that could certainly slay a monster like Berserker in a single stroke, the state her body was in rendered such a thing impossible.

But she would ensure he died here.

Assassin raised her blade. It gleamed in the moonlight that streamed through the windows, and the damaged wall. But soon, it became possessed of a light all its own. Brilliant red and orange flames ignited across its surface.

For a scant few moments, no-one in the room moved. Assassin felt rather certain this was due in part because they simply didn't understand what she was doing.

She spun the katana around in her hand, as the fire raced across it.

Glancing towards her Master, Ranmaru inclined her head slightly to the side, towards her. And then, she smiled.

It was the first time since her summoning that she had given a genuine smile.

"… Berserker… whatever land's hero you may be…" she began, her grip on the sword's hilt tightening, "Let me show you how deeply the devotion of Mori Ranmaru runs."

The fire blazed brighter, illuminating the room.

"These are the very same flames that consumed Honnoji!" she cried. It seemed as if Alysvial and Berserker realized that she was attempting to use a Noble Phantasm, but still had no idea what it would do, even as they turned to attempt to stop her.

But Archer's bullets delayed them.

She had just enough time…!

"Shi no Eiyo!" she declared. Her katana blazed its brightest, and she thrust it into her chest, running herself through. There was a sharp stab of pain, but compared to the constant blazing agony of her nearly severed waist it was almost nothing.

As coils of flame began to flow from the wound Assassin had put through her chest, she fell to her knees. Her vision was dulling, but she could hear her Master cry out for her again. But the smile didn't leave Ranmaru's lips. She had, in this single action, sealed Berserker's fate. As the fire left her body, it twisted through the air and suddenly surrounded the surprised Servant, who sprang back as it coalesced around him. But it didn't burn him. These flames were not those that incinerated flesh. No, they burned away at something else entirely…

Assassin shut her eyes, and her body began to fade away, golden motes of light rising into the air as she faded.

"Ah… Oda-sama…" she murmured, as she fell on her side.

"Did I make you proud?"

---

Berserker reeled with a roar, almost immediately grabbing Alysvial off of his shoulder and placing her down. The little girl's red eyes were wide.

"Berserker?! What's happening?!" she cried Alysvial, as the hulking figure fell on one knee.

It was difficult for Ai to understand what she was looking at when Saber and herself had arrived quite late into the apparent fight, in time to see Assassin sent flying, grievously wounded by one of Berserker's axes that nearly split her in half. Assassin might have been an enemy, but… it was an awful sight, seeing someone injured like that. Ai couldn't even begin to try and speak in the wake of such a gruesome scene, placing one hand to her mouth.

And yet…

Assassin had returned to her feet.

"… So that's it," Ai heard Saber's voice beside her. For a moment, the short brunette couldn't understand what her Servant meant, but suddenly Assassin plunged her sword through her own body.

"Wh-why…?!" she choked out. Assassin… she was already so heavily injured, and then she… she killed herself?! It was… it was awful, even knowing that Assassin was one of their enemies, one of the Servants who had tried to kill her…

"… She knows there's no way she can survive, with an injury like that," said Saber, her tone somewhat morose, "So she's using… it must be her second Noble Phantasm. After all… Mori Ranmaru was famous for committing seppuku to follow Oda Nobunaga into death, wasn't she?"

In that one moment, Ai suddenly understood just what was happening. A Noble Phantasm that was activated by the user's death… the flames that suddenly swirled around Berserker seemed to abruptly seep into him, as if they were taking root inside his very being. But they weren't burning him? They were… ah?

The fire had vanished entirely. It had flowed into Berserker's body. Slowly, the massive man rose. Had it failed to work…? Even though they were never allies, the idea that even Assassin's suicidal attack had failed to harm Berserker was a depressing one… Ai didn't know what to do aside from watch… He turned, and with that terrible and unearthly roar, raised one of his golden axes to strike at Archer…

The cowboy Servant fired his pistol directly into the hulking figure's arm. Just as before, Ai expected it to do little in the way of damage, but instead… instead Berserker let out another roar, and stumbled back with his arm hanging limply, blood trickling down his arm.

"… Then… Assassin's Noble Phantasm…" Ai trailed off. It hadn't been an attack, had it? At least, not one intended to harm Berserker physically. But if Archer's shot had disabled the huge man's arm…

"Master, what should we do?" asked Saber, one hand on her the hilt of her katana, "Alys-chan is in danger, but… I… everyone here is an enemy."

"I… I…" the short brunette trailed off. She didn't know.

Then, she heard Archer's now-familiar voice.

"… So that's what the lady was doin'," he said, with a sigh as he glanced towards the spot that Assassin's body had once occupied, "A Noble Phantasm that weakens the target… 'n yet she had to kill herself to do it. What kinda show is that?"

He glanced towards the massive figure, who roared again.

Archer calmly loaded his pistol.

"Not one I'd call worth watchin'," he continued.

"B-Berserker," came Alys's voice, as she trembled, "Wh-what's wrong? You're… you're not… this is…"

Ai couldn't figure out what to do. Should she help Alysvial? But Berserker was one of their most dangerous enemies. Archer, too, was an enemy, even if he had so recently been an ally against Caster…

Berserker raised his remaining hand, the axe gleaming.

"Uh-uh, I'm not lettin' her death be in vain," responded Archer. He quickly stepped back and out of range, and even the impact of Berserker's axe seemed weaker, doing less damage to the floor then it had before, at least insofar as Ai could tell. Ah… Saber wasn't moving, not unless she gave the word. She didn't know what to do in this situation, either.

"You can strike first, if you want," continued Archer, holstering his revolver as he did, "It won't matter, 'cause I'm faster."

"Master," Saber repeated, "What should we do? I know it, that's Archer's Noble Phantasm!"

She could tell too, there was no question of it, even as Berserker raised his axe. How could she respond to this?! Berserker wasn't a friend, neither was Archer. Alys was so innocent, though… but Assassin had sacrificed her life to defeat the little girl's Servant! What could she do? What was the right option!?

And the axe swung down, tearing through the air, but the power behind it was so much less…!

"Draw!"

Three shots rang out in an instant. They were nearly simultaneous, though not truly so. Even with how rapid they were, Ai could still hear that one followed the other. But she hadn't even seen Archer unholster his gun. It was almost as if it had suddenly flown into his hand, as if it had simply teleported. Such blinding speed…!

There was a flash of brilliant light, a sound like shattering glass… blue fragments seemed to scatter into the air as each bullet hit home, drilling themselves into Berserker's body!

The massive, dark-skinned figure hit one knee.

"B-Berserker!" cried Alys, suddenly running towards the hulking man as he fell to his side. Desperately, she grasped at one of his massive hands, even as he lay there. Ai could see it now, the impact of the shots had blown a hole clear through his body. Quietly, Saber took her hand off the hilt of her sword.

"… Master, don't blame yourself," said the girl samurai, "I… couldn't decide what we should do, either…"

"Berserker! Y-you'll live, right? You'll live!" sobbed the little girl, tears streaming down her face as she pulled at the huge man's finger.

Archer holstered his revolver, pulling the brim of his hat down as he did.

"Well, that's one victory I'm never gonna feel good about," he commented, simply, turning away as he spoke.

Alysvial desperately tugged at her Servant's had, but to no avail. The huge hole that had been blasted clear through his body was undeniably fatal, even for such a massive figure. Assassin's Noble Phantasm made sure of that. Even from this distance, Ai could tell just how much damage had been done to Berserker's body. She didn't need to ask Saber if it was fatal or not, she could tell on her own. The pale little girl was sobbing as she grasped at that massive hand, clutching it to herself. Berserker could only let out a rumbling noise, unable to even rise to his feet once more.

"Y-you can't die, you're the strongest!" came Alysvial's pleading voice. And, slowly, one of Berserker's enormous hands raised up… it was still working, just enough… to gently, carefully, place itself on the little girl's head, as if to pet her hair in a reassuring manner.

And then it fell with a dull thump.

Moments later, Berserker's body began to dissipate into golden light, fading away into nothingness as the heroic spirit summoned into the beastly class container left the world. In a single conflict, both Assassin and Berserker had been killed. Perhaps another Master would be overjoyed to know that two enemy Servants were dead, but witnessing this sight made it feel rather hollow. Alysvial was on her knees, sobbing into her hands over the death of Berserker, and Yukiko… Yukiko had stopped crying, but she was simply staring dully at the spot in which her Servant's body had once been.

Theomanius simply watched the aftermath of the battle quietly, with a grim expression.

But then, suddenly, Yukiko was on her feet, advancing towards Alysvial immediately. Her fan was unfurled, a strange light seeming to travel across its edge. It didn't take much thought to understand what she was about to do.

"Saber!" cried Ai, but her Servant was already moving. In a flash, the girl samurai closed the distance between herself and the kimono-clad former Master, even as she raised her fan. Her arm was effortlessly caught by one of Saber's hands, and the swordswoman forced Yukiko back firmly, causing the black-haired woman to stumble.

"Why?!" snapped Yukiko, the rage evident on her face and in her voice as Ai quickly tried to make her way closer, "She's the reason Assassin is dead! My part in this war is over, all because of her! Assassin is dead all because of her!"

"Assassin is dead because of Berserker," responded Saber, as she carefully placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, "Not because of Alysvial von Einzbern. Archer has already avenged Assassin's death. I cannot allow you to wreak your own misguided revenge on a child."

"A child?!" Yukiko practically snarled, "That child is an Einzbern homunculus! She's one of the most dangerous people left in the war! And she's the one who gave the orders! She's the one who wanted Assassin to die!"

It was plainly obvious that Yukiko was distraught, but that didn't simply make it okay for her to attack a little girl. Alysvial seemed to barely notice what was occurring around her, too upset to focus on anything but the fact that Berserker had perished.

Ai stepped forward, taking a deep breath. She had no idea how to respond to Yukiko, but she had to say something.

"… Even so… i-it's not like hurting Alys-chan would make Assassin come back, would it?" she asked, "This is… this is the Holy Grail War, so your Servant was prepared to die from the start if things went wrong… but Alys-chan isn't. She's… even if she's strong, it's wrong. It's wrong to hurt her."

Yukiko was about to speak, likely to snap again about how Alysvial had still given the order, but Saber cut her off.

"You joined this war with the understanding that your Servant could die," she asserted, "As did everyone else. But Alysvial is not a Servant, nor did she join this war with a full understanding of what it entailed. That is a crueler punishment for a child than anything you could do."

It was, wasn't it? Thrust into a battle like this… it had been clear from the start how little Alysvial understood the war, but just how much so hadn't been clear until they had spoken with her in her mansion. Alysvial had been placed in a battle to the death when she had not even been told what that truly entailed.

It wasn't as if she couldn't understand Yukiko's anger and sorrow, however, either. It was hard for her to imagine how she would feel if Saber had suffered a similar fate. But even so, attacking Alysvial, or even killing her… it wasn't something she could allow to happen.

"It's not only that," Saber continued, "But with Assassin and Berserker dead, neither of you are participating in the war any longer. Anything you did now would be the act of murder, nothing more and nothing less. Is this truly what you want, Shimada Yukiko?"

For the first time since she had approached Alysvial, Yukiko faltered. Had this fact not sunk in to her, before? It wasn't exactly surprising if it hadn't, given how distressed she was.

"I…" Yukiko's hand lowered, the glow fading from her fan as it did. But then, she was slowly raising her hand again…

"Shimada," came Theomanius's voice, "They're right. Harming Alysvial von Einzbern will get you nothing at this point. Even the most ruthless magus would acknowledge that."

Silently, Yukiko turned away. She said nothing else, instead quietly walking away from the scene. Soon enough, she had vanished into a nearby hallway, no longer visible.

Slowly, Ai's attention drifted back to Alysvial. The little girl was still on her knees, her trembling hands reaching out as if in hopes to somehow feel Berserker. But he was no longer there. Her eyes could tell her as much, and it was likely that the Einzbern girl knew this was the truth, but she so desperately wanted to believe anything else…

Ai hesitated. What could they do for her? While they did know her circumstances to some extent, they didn't really, truly know what her situation was in the event of her loss in the war. Would someone from her family come to pick her up? That's what Ai hoped, at least, but some part of her feared that would not be the case. After learning the Einzbern family had effectively tossed her into the war, and created her for such a purpose, the small brunette couldn't help but feel doubtful that Alysvial would be welcomed back after her loss.

She glanced towards Saber, who seemed uncertain as well. But neither of them could simply leave the little girl crying on her knees. After a moment's pause, Ai finally crouched beside the white-haired girl. At least being so short made it easy to get on the same level as her to speak with her directly. Slowly, Ai placed her hand on Alysvial's shoulder, doing her best to be reassuring.

"Alys-chan," she began, "Berserker would have wanted to keep you safe, wouldn't he? So… even if you're sad… you can't just stay here. It's not safe for you to stay here."

Alys didn't respond immediately. Instead, her face was still buried in her hands, and Ai could feel the way her small body was shaking with each sob, and each sharp intake of breath. Ai clenched her free hands, slightly. She hadn't known what to do, at all. All the Servants present had been enemies… It had just been so hard to figure out what she could have done. But… it was too late now, wasn't it? She had to do everything she could for Alys. She was a child, after all…

"Alys-chan?" said Saber, kneeling on the opposite side of the little girl, "… I know you have to be upset. Berserker and I were enemies, but I can tell how much trust and faith you had in him. If you just stayed here crying, is that what he could have wanted? You could be in danger here."

Slowly, Alys looked up from her wet palms, tears still trickling down her cheeks.

"B-b-but… B-Berserker… he…" she trembled, "H-he's g-g-gone…"

"I know, Alys-chan. But he would have wanted you to be safe, and you're not safe here," Saber continued, doing her best to give the little girl a smile. The immediate thought that occurred to Ai was that it would probably be safer to take the Einzbern girl to her own home, rather then the mansion, due to the fact that it had already been attacked recently. But that meant getting Alys up on her feet. It meant making sure that she was willing to go, in spite of how crushed she must be feeling.

"Berserker would be sad if you got hurt after all this, wouldn't he?" Ai added. That seemed to be getting through to Alysvial, if nothing else. "He worked so hard to protect you, so he would want you to get to safety as soon as possible."

There was a long period of silence. Ai wasn't certain how Alys would respond. The white-haired little girl kept glancing towards the spot that Berserker's body had once occupied without saying anything.

"B-Berserker…" stammered Alys, her voice trembling. "He… wouldn't want me to…"

Quietly, Ai took Alys's hand, and gently pulled the little girl to her feet. She didn't say anything, but she didn't resist, either. Ai glanced back towards Theomanius and Archer. The magus was watching them quietly, but doing nothing. Marion had appeared, now, and was quietly tugging at Archer's clothing, but the Servant idly patted her head. He hadn't appeared particularly pleased by the victory he had won here… Though after a few moments, he did indeed kneel to tell her it was okay.

As Saber, Alysvial, and Ai began to depart from the ruined apartment, Saber paused, and glanced back towards Archer.

"Archer…" she began, "That three round burst of shots, drawn at the peak of the enemy's strike… There's only one outlaw of the wild west known for such a technique."

Her silvery-gold eyes narrowed.

"Your identity is Billy the Kid, isn't it?"

For a few moments, the blonde boy looked somewhat surprised. Then, with a half-hearted chuckle, he scratch the back of his head, rising to his feet.

"Guilty as charged," he replied, simply, before glancing towards Alys, "… Make sure she gets someplace safe, right?"

Saber nodded, simply, and the three of them left the building. So Archer… Archer was Billy the Kid? That explained a lot about his capabilities. Someone who was famous for wielding a gun, and yet still achieved the position of a Servant… their skills would have to have been on a scale beyond almost any humans who existed after the invention of the weapons. As Ai understood it, simply killing with a gun was not enough to achieve a position as a heroic spirit, because guns made killing others so much easier. Someone who was famous for their use of the gun would have to exceed all others, to be a name that stood at the paramount of marksmanship. That meant that Saber's conclusion, that the cowboy Servant was Billy the Kid, was only natural even without considering the exact traits of his Noble Phantasm. With that in consideration, it became something unquestionable.

That being said, there were other matters to attend to now.

Alys's hand clutched her own more tightly. For a brief moment of self-deprecating levity, Ai considered the fact that the three of them looked more like a pair of grade school children being guided along by a highschooler then anything else. But for the most part, she was simply glad that Alys had agreed to come with them.

The little girl was silent, and neither Ai nor Saber said much of anything either. There wasn't much more that could be said, now.

For a brief moment, Ai felt as if she was being watched… but just as quickly, the sensation vanished.

More than anything else, they had to get Alys home.

---

Everything had gone just as he had hoped.

Hirata Genjiro's plan had been tailored to wipe out at least Assassin, or Berserker. He had been hopeful that the both of them would be killed, but hopeful wasn't enough. The results, however, spoke for themselves. Two Servants were dead, and now only four remained. He had predicted the Einzbern homunculus's reaction quite accurately, and it was with satisfaction that he watched Assassin's fatal injury and suicide and the following death of Berserker. On top of that, Archer's identity had been revealed. By this point, almost every Servant's identity had been revealed. Even including his own, to his dismay, but now everything was on a more even playing field.

The only exception was Saber. Rider had implied that she knew, but it was information she had refused to disclose to Genjiro, to his frustration. Rider had continually proven to be more of a nuisance than anything, even considering her high level of power and capabilities. Her habit of doing whatever she wanted at any given time was frustrating at best.

For the moment, however, there were other matters on the man's mind. Matsushita Ai, Saber, and Alysvial von Einzbern had departed from the ruined apartment… That was one of the few things that had gone wrong. Ideally, Alysvial would be left alone and in an emotionally distressed state. Her capabilities as a magus were incredibly high, but in such a state she would be far less capable of using them to defend herself.

He'd intended to quickly kill her, eliminate any remaining threat she posed to his bid for victory. However, now that the Einzbern homunculus was accompanied by Saber, that plan was made considerably more difficult and unnecessarily risky. While he was certain of his skills when it came to quickly kill a human, a Servant was something entirely different. Trying to engage them now would be suicidal, as Saber would unquestionably win.

So instead, Genjiro observed them, in order to keep tabs on their movements and where they were headed. He could have guessed it would be to the Matsushita estate, but certainty was an important thing if he were to plan a later attempt at an assassination. Or, perhaps, to directly assault the mansion with Rider. Given that it would be guarded by Saber, personally attempting to kill the homunculus seemed like a foolish endeavor. But attacking with Rider and using that as cover, perhaps…

For the moment there was no real time to focus on future plans. It was getting to the point that tailing the three girls was growing more risky then it was worth. Saber's senses were finely-tuned, making it a challenge to avoid detection. As a result, Genjiro broke off of his covert pursuit, instead taking a different course away from them, through the alleyways. Even if he had been unable to kill the Einzbern homunculus, the fact was that this was absolutely a satisfying victory. Rider, if she cooperated, could proceed to eliminate the remaining Servants with her chariot. Being too confident was dangerous, but at the very least he knew his Servant was capable of that much.

Genjiro would take a carefully-planned pathway back to his place of residence. It would be indirect, designed to throw off potential pursuers. His apartment wasn't exactly the best place to hold as a defensible position, after all. Rather, it had been chosen for its subtlety.

Genjiro had to win the grail. For the sake of the lives of every human being in the world, it was absolutely necessary. Therefore, there was nothing he would not do in order to achieve this goal. Killing the Einzbern homunculus was just another step to ensuring that this goal would come to its fruition. It was a consideration for the danger that she posed, even if it would be possible to achieve victory without killing her the fact remained that she was powerful enough to pose a direct threat to his path to victory.

So Genjiro had to remove her, if he could. There could be no risks to his victory, it was as simple as that.

The tall man dropped from the low rooftop, carefully landing in the isolated alleyway below. Reinforcing his legs ensured they would be unharmed by the impact, and he was careful to dull the sound of his fall as he landed. He did not believe that Saber or her Master would currently be capable of noticing his presence, but there was no reason not to be cautious.

And then, he heard it.

It was an odd sound, almost like something dripping. The repeated patter of some liquid on the hard ground. But it was not raining, and there was no clear source for the sound. For a few moments, the man was completely silent.

The sound had suddenly come from behind him…

Genjiro turned.

The sight that greeted him was that of a young woman, her skin deathly pale and her hair white, with golden eyes. She seemed to drift off of the ground about a meter. Beside her floated a cube, colored with unusual purples, blacks, and browns. It was open, near the top, the tiniest sliver, oozing a black mud that was dripping onto the concrete. There were faint tones of red seeming to glisten inside of the substance…

It was… familiar… it was…!

That night in Fuyuki City.

All those years ago.

The great flames, the conflagration that had killed so many people. The devastation that he had survived against all odds…

The very same black mud that had spawned that disaster was now what flowed from that box.

Genjiro could feel his heartbeat grow faster, as he eyed the seething blackness as it dripped onto the concrete.

But it was not from fear.

He could remember it. Remember the heat and fire around him. Remember the sight of people dying, the distant glimpse of a young boy with red hair wandering lost through the fire, unable to comprehend what had happened.

He could remember how he felt that day.

It didn't make sense to him, for a moment, how glad he felt. But then he realized it. The fact that he had survived such a horrible catastrophe… it was proof that his existence had meaning, that his life was one with value. The same went for that boy whom he had glimpsed. The same went for anyone else who had managed to survive.

It had become a memory he truly cherished, for it was the day that let him know he had worth.

Why would he not strive to do the same for others?

This mud had been what Genjiro strived for. The reason that he had to win the war at all costs was to bring about its return. If he could give others this sense of self-worth, every single death he had ever brought about, every single deception, it would all be worth it. He had never once looked back on any of it and thought that it wasn't worth it. In fact, given his goals, he'd even enjoyed it, though he had never let that cloud his judgement. And now… now that same black mud was pouring from the box drifting beside this…

Was she a Servant?

She had to be. Her nature was certainly not that of an ordinary human, to say the least. But each Servant was accounted for. Caster had been killed in the forest, Assassin and Berseker had just perished in the apartment. Saber, Lancer, and of course Rider were all accounted for. So that left no-one… had an eighth Servant somehow been summoned, all along? If that was the case, just who was she, that gave her access to the black mud that could subsume everything with fire? To be able to use something like that at will…

"Hirata Genjiro," came her voice. It was soft, and almost sounded gentle, "I can see… I chose to speak to the right person, of all the Masters in this 'Holy Grail War'."

She'd wanted to speak to him… Genjiro could guess at the reason why. Did she see through him, and understand what he wished for humanity? But even now, he had to remind himself that he must exercise caution. He did not know what this Servant intended, even if she wielded the mud that had proven his worth. He had to find out what was going on.

"Who… who are you?" he asked, eyes drifting across the Servant. She was… beautiful, and yet somehow incredibly unearthly. While her body exhibited no strange deformities, and in most respects she retained a human appearance, the paleness of her skin, the whiteness of her hair, the shade of gold that her eyes exhibited… it all came together to give an appearance that did not seem to be of this world.

"Servant Avenger," she replied, simply. Avenger… an irregular class summoned outside of the standard seven? That explained how she had appeared in spite of the others being fully accounted for… She simply wasn't being summoned into the same class container as any of the others. But who had summoned an eighth Servant…? If there was an eighth Servant, that meant there had to be an eighth Master.

"My Master is perfectly capable of supplying me with mana," continued Avenger, her soft voice now almost without inflection or emotion, "But she cannot serve as a proper support. I have sought an alliance with another Master as a result… so that I may claim victory."

She raised one hand towards the box, and her lips slowly curled into a small smile.

"I am certain you understand why I have extended this offer to you, Hirata Genjiro."

Was her intent… did her desires fall in line with Genjiro's own? To unleash the black mud upon the world, and to leave everyone who survived with their own sense of self-worth, just as it had happened to himself… was that what she desired from the Holy Grail? If so, if that was the case, then there was no question of this alliance. He absolutely had to accept, there was no way that Genjiro would ever reject such a proposal. It could not be any more perfect.

But even now, he had to ask a few questions.

"Is your Master aware of this?" he asked.

"My Master is not capable of cooperating with me during battle," responded Avenger, cocking her head slightly to one side, "Instead, she is being kept somewhere safe and isolated. She is completely unaware of what I am doing now."

So her Master was being used as a battery, more than anything else? Did that mean that she had not intended to summon a Servant such as a Avenger? It would be difficult to analyze the intent behind this Servant's summoning under current conditions, but that black mud… It was less difficult to judge Avenger's motivations.

If Genjiro could use this path to achieve the goal of bathing the world in this mud, to grant what remained of humanity true self-worth, there could be no more hesitation.

"Avenger, you can consider our alliance sealed," he responded, "You chose to approach me and did not attack, even when you could have destroyed me in an instant. And…"

Genjiro found himself feeling almost gleeful.

"That black mud…"

Avenger's smile slowly widened.

"This is truly why I approached a man such as yourself, Hirata Genjiro," she commented, her lips parting into a grin. Moments ago she had seemed almost devoid of emotion, but now… "Surely, there is no-one in this war more suited to being my ally then one such as yourself."

Yes… no-one else in the war understood what truths that black mud could offer to them. It was the ultimate way to grant oneself a feeling of worthiness. Before, his life had been a listless one, but when he survived the fire that raged in Fuyuki… he had become something more due to the understanding he had obtained.

"Be ready to provide me assistance, Hirata Genjiro," said Avenger, "I shall make my move to bring this war to a close quite soon."

With that, the Avenger-class Servant faded away, her body dissipating into golden light as she assumed spirit form.

Soon after, Genjiro had made his way out of the alleyway. Even with the almost rapturous joy he had experienced upon seeing the black mud once more, he did not forget to take an indirect path towards his apartment. There was nothing that could shake his sense of strategy, even now.

But it was difficult to hide his own excitement. After all these years, he had seen it again, at last…

And with Avenger's appearance…

He no longer needed Rider.