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.

17. Chapter 17

Rani IV opened her eyes.

The last thing she remembered before everything went dark was Avenger's face. She sat up, quickly, wide-eyed, looking around. But this was not the test chamber in the Atlas base in Minami. There were no bodies, nor the smell of burning flesh, nor that terrible black mud. There was not a single sign of that destruction that had been unleashed when Avenger had been summoned. Instead, undeniably, this was her room back in one of Atlas's larger facilities, prior to her arrival in Japan. For a few moments, she looked around in confusion. But… there was no ignoring it. This absolutely was her living quarters. There wasn't much in them, aside from the occasional piece of equipment and a few other minor items. There were even the adjoining doors, connecting her room with Rani III and Rani V's rooms. Through them, she was also able to quickly contact Rani I and Rani II, as well. But it didn't make any sense.

She was just in Japan, wasn't she? She was just facing the result of their mistake, Pandora summoned into the class container of Avenger instead of Caster. And yet… now she was in bed, back at her home? None of it made even the slightest amount of sense to the dark-skinned homunculus.

Now having confirmed where she was, Rani IV raised her right hand. Bare, smooth skin, unmarked by the angular shape of her command seals. But how could that be? Seals could not be removed unless they were all utilized, or the Servant was destroyed. Did that mean that Avenger had been destroyed? But how? She couldn't remember anything after first meeting her in that chamber… But certainly, it seemed like she was now back in her room. Had she been recovered? But then why would she be alone in her room, rather than in a secure location? It would have made sense to place her somewhere where any medical attention required could be granted, and they could make any necessary repairs…

No, Rani couldn't accept this. Something strange had to be going on. She was going to speak to Rani V immediately.

Rising to her feet, getting out of bed quickly, Rani made her way to her fellow homunculus's room. She'd figure out what was happening right here and now!

She opened the door…

Rani IV opened her eyes.

The last thing she remembered before everything went dark was Avenger's face. She sat up, quickly, wide-eyed, looking around. But this was not the test chamber in the Atlas base in Minami. There were no bodies, nor the smell of burning flesh, nor that terrible black mud. There was not a single sign of that destruction that had been unleashed when Avenger had been summoned. Instead, undeniably, this was her room back in one of Atlas's larger facilities, prior to her arrival in Japan. For a few moments, she looked around in confusion. But… there was no ignoring it. This absolutely was her living quarters. There wasn't much in them, aside from the occasional piece of equipment and a few other minor items. There were even the adjoining doors, connecting her room with Rani III and Rani V's rooms. Through them, she was also able to quickly contact Rani I and Rani II, as well. But it didn't make any sense.

She was just in Japan, wasn't she? She was just facing the result of their mistake, Pandora summoned into the class container of Avenger instead of Caster. And yet… now she was in bed, back at her home? None of it made even the slightest amount of sense to the dark-skinned homunculus.

Now having confirmed where she was, Rani IV raised her right hand. Bare, smooth skin, unmarked by the angular shape of her command seals. But how could that be? Seals could not be removed unless they were all utilized, or the Servant was destroyed. Did that mean that Avenger had been destroyed? But how? She couldn't remember anything after first meeting her in that chamber… But certainly, it seemed like she was now back in her room. Had she been recovered? But then why would she be alone in her room, rather than in a secure location? It would have made sense to place her somewhere where any medical attention required could be granted, and they could make any necessary repairs…

No, Rani couldn't accept this. Something strange had to be going on. She was going to speak to Rani V immediately.

Rising to her feet, getting out of bed quickly, Rani made her way to her fellow homunculus's room. She'd figure out what was happening right here and now!

She opened the door…

Rani IV opened her eyes.

The last thing she remembered before everything went dark was Avenger's face. She sat up, quickly, wide-eyed, looking around. But this was not the test chamber in the Atlas base in Minami. There were no bodies, nor the smell of burning flesh, nor that terrible black mud. There was not a single sign of that destruction that had been unleashed when Avenger had been summoned. Instead, undeniably, this was her room back in one of Atlas's larger facilities, prior to her arrival in Japan. For a few moments, she looked around in confusion. But… there was no ignoring it. This absolutely was her living quarters. There wasn't much in them, aside from the occasional piece of equipment and a few other minor items. There were even the adjoining doors, connecting her room with Rani III and Rani V's rooms. Through them, she was also able to quickly contact Rani I and Rani II, as well. But it didn't make any sense.

She was just in Japan, wasn't she? She was just facing the result of their mistake, Pandora summoned into the class container of Avenger instead of Caster. And yet… now she was in bed, back at her home? None of it made even the slightest amount of sense to the dark-skinned homunculus.

Now having confirmed where she was, Rani IV raised her right hand. Bare, smooth skin, unmarked by the angular shape of her command seals. But how could that be? Seals could not be removed unless they were all utilized, or the Servant was destroyed. Did that mean that Avenger had been destroyed? But how? She couldn't remember anything after first meeting her in that chamber… But certainly, it seemed like she was now back in her room. Had she been recovered? But then why would she be alone in her room, rather than in a secure location? It would have made sense to place her somewhere where any medical attention required could be granted, and they could make any necessary repairs…

No, Rani couldn't accept this. Something strange had to be going on. She was going to speak to Rani V immediately.

Rising to her feet, getting out of bed quickly, Rani made her way to her fellow homunculus's room. She'd figure out what was happening right here and now!

She opened the door…

Rani IV opened her eyes.

---

An anti-world Noble Phantasm capable of attacking all of humanity…

Those words had been echoing in Ai's head ever since she had heard them the previous night. In a way, no matter how frightening it was to learn such a thing, she supposed it only made sense. The fact was that Pandora's box was something that had effected the entire world when it was opened in myth, it only made sense that its target would be the world itself if it was used now. If that was the case, though…

Why hadn't Pandora already mounted her attack, if she was already bent on revenge? There had to be some reason… Rani speculated that her Master was unable to support it. Therefore, if Pandora had utilized the box's strongest attack, she would run out of mana and disappear after consuming everything that her Master had. Which was why she needed the Grail in the first place, to use it as a battery of sorts in order to fuel the world-consuming attack that formed the backbone of her revenge.

To this end, the Holy Grail War was no longer about capturing the Holy Grail for the use of the participants, for the sake of the organization that had raised her. Now, it became a battle to preserve the future of humanity.

"Matsushita?"

Ah? The sudden interjection of a small voice cut into Ai's thoughts suddenly, and she shook her head to clear her mind. It was Alys.

"You were wandering around with this kind of glazed look on your face… I got really worried!" declared the white-haired girl. At this point, her maids had arrived as well, and were helping to supplement Marianne and Charlotte's work. Which was… probably a good thing, really, given how many people were now staying in her home.

"Um, no, I was just thinking, Alys-chan," she asserted, "I'm fine, really!"

The little white-haired girl frowned slightly.

"Was it about Avenger? Rani V told me about her. If she's Pandora, there's no doubt she's really dangerous," she said, with a nod.

For a brief moment, Ai questions to herself why Rani would tell Alys, a little girl, about something like that. But then she recalled just who Alys really was. A homunculus of the Einzbern family. One of the original founding families of the Holy Grail War. If there was anyone who might have further information on how Avenger intended to use the Holy Grail, it wasn't as if Alysvial von Einzbern was a bad candidate.

"There's no doubt that her identity is Pandora," replied Ai, "She said so herself, and even if she hadn't that box gushing forth black mud made it obvious enough."

"If she wants to get the Holy Grail, um… she probably wants to use it like a battery! It might be a fake Holy Grail, but I think she can probably still use it that way," Alys continued. This was something Rani and Ai had already guessed at, but it wasn't as if a confirmation was anything bad.

"I think she needs a battery because if she didn't, um… Avenger is probably using the box as the source of her mana," Alys added, "So since it's constantly sustaining her, her Master is probably just her link to the world."

Ai paused for a moment. That… did make sense, Avenger and her Noble Phantasm were heavily intertwined with one another. No-one could talk about Pandora without talking about Pandora's Box. Indeed, it could almost be said that the box itself was just as much the star of Pandora's myth as Pandora herself. Perhaps moreso.

"So, maybe if Avenger uses her Box's abilities as an anti-world Noble Phantasm, it stops sustaining her?" Alys concluded. "The mana that normally keeps her present in this world can't be used by her anymore, so she rapidly consumes her Master's mana and then fades away after using it all."

If that was the case… then the reason that Avenger needed the Holy Grail was as a substitute for Pandora's Box, or for her Master. Either way, it would sustain her or the box itself with unlimited mana, allowing her attack on all of humanity to go on completely uninhibited…

"S-so… so she'll use it as a limitless source of mana to just keep her attack going forever, then… or at least until she's decided that her revenge is finished," Ai mused aloud. To be honest, even with her own brief interaction with Pandora she felt as if it was unlikely that someone like that would ever feel as if her revenge was finished. She was Avenger, after all…

Ai hesitated for a moment. There was something else she wanted to ask Alys about… she really did seem like she knew a lot about the Holy Grail War and Servants, in spite of being so childish before, so…

"… Did… did she tell you about Lancer?" asked the small brunette, "Do… do you think there's any way we can save her?"

For several long moments, that seemed to take forever, the Einzbern girl was silent.

"… I don't know," she said, finally, averting her crimson eyes as she spoke, "Um… I don't know anything about a situation like this! I've never heard of another Servant making a Servant into their own, or using evil mud to do it…"

The little girl shifted quietly.

"I'm sorry… I wanted to help as much as I could…" Alys said, her shoulders sagging as she spoke, "But I don't know anything about that at all. I know lots about the Holy Grail War, but if something like that ever happened before I was never told about it…"

So not even Alysvial knew anything about it… but they had to try and figure out some way to save Lancer, didn't they? It was just so… so wrong that she had been twisted into Avenger's servant. Ai knew Saber felt the same way, and the way that Tsubaki felt was obvious… So…

There had to be some way to save her, didn't there?

"… It's okay, Alys-chan," said Ai, reaching out to pat the little girl on the head. "You've been very helpful, either way."

"Even so…" the Einzbern girl paused for a moment, as if thinking something over, then suddenly turned to leave. "If… if you need anything, be sure to tell me, Matsushita! Saber can, too!"

She hurried down the hallway.

"It's not just Berserker who was strong!"

Watching her leave, Ai took a deep breath. She couldn't see herself asking Alys for help. Not only because she was a child, who had been in enough danger already, but because she didn't know where to start herself. It was terrifying, much more so then the idea of the Holy Grail War itself had been. They were going to fight someone who wanted to mount an attack on the entire human race for the sake of their vengeance. A Servant who had summoned her own Servants to compose a fighting force capable of defending her… who had taken Lancer away from Tsubaki…

How did they even begin?

And yet… Ai took a deep breath as she tried to calm her nerves. They didn't have a plan yet, but… but… they had to think of something, didn't they? No matter how frightened Ai was, this wasn't something she was undertaking just out of obligation. It was the right thing to do. It was for the sake of every single person in the world.

She couldn't allow herself to falter now. The brunette magus knew that this was the time where she had to hold her head high, and act in whatever way necessary to stop Avenger's plan for her revenge.

She just didn't know how.

Rani had wanted to bring together as many of the remaining Masters as possible, but at this point it seemed unlikely that they would be able to quickly get into contact with Shimada Yukiko, and the Atlas homunculus had been adamant that time was of the essence. With most of the original Servants participating in the war dead, the Holy Grail Would be descending any day now. In fact, it was most likely it would descend in less then a day's time. From the very moment it appeared, whatever plan they decided on would be operating on borrowed time.

One of the first things Ai had done upon returning home was to send one of her familiars to get into contact with the overseer as soon as possible. It felt like the best course of action at the time. Estrizia was here to monitor the Holy Grail War, so when something as disastrous as this had occurred in only made sense to make her aware and attempt to seek her assistance.

If nothing else, Ai had felt certain of that.

Aside from that… she was hoping to just get a chance to talk everything over. To compose a plan of attack. Rani intended to, but…

Tsubaki still didn't know just what had happened to Lancer. And Ai still wasn't sure how to tell her. It was bad enough that she had lost her Servant, but knowledge of what had truly happened to her…

"Ai!"

The short girl turned towards the source of the voice. It was Saber.

"Oh, Souji-chan…" she half-murmured, as the silvery-haired girl approached her in the hall. "How are you feeling…?"

"I'm great!" declared the samurai girl, thrusting one fist into the air as she spoke. That made Ai relax, a little. Not just because Okita Souji's boundless optimism never failed to brighten her mood at least somewhat, but also because it let her know that there were no lingering effects from the activation of her Weak Constitution skill. "I should be just fine from now on!"

"A-are you sure?" Ai found herself blurting out almost immediately, "I don't… I don't want to see something like that happen to you again, Souji…"

It had been horrible, seeing her swift and agile Saber suddenly weaken and be unable to move, suffering multiple injuries because of something like that… If it happened again, now, would she be able to recover in time? The only reason she hadn't been killed by Avenger outside of the park was because… was because even corrupted, Lancer still wanted to meet her in one last battle. But if she hadn't been there…

"I'm sure I'll be fine!" declared Saber, brightly, "I wish I didn't have a skill like that, but since I was summoned in Japan, the air is nice and clean for me! I can breathe pretty easily."

That was promising, at least. The fact that the Grail War took place in Japan gave Souji certain advantages she wouldn't have elsewhere, and one of them was the reduction of the possibility of the skill's activation. But still, Ai couldn't help but worry about it. If, by any chance, it did activate again…

Ai took a deep breath to try and stop herself from focusing on that. She had to look ahead to the future, to whatever path they could use to win, right? That's what Souji would tell her. So it was something she had to keep in mind.

"I'm glad…" responded Ai, before taking a deep breath, "Rani-san wanted to start working on a plan. Um, to stop Avenger, so… so we should…"

"We should get everyone together to talk?" asked her Servant, with a nod of her head, her ponytail bobbing. "I thought so, too. Rani V-san doesn't seem like the assertive type, so she hadn't called everyone to a meeting yet."

Even if she had been assigned to recovering Rani IV, Rani V didn't really seem like the type to lead anything. Not that Ai herself was, either.

But another important topic now drifted to the forefront of the diminutive magus's mind.

"… Have you seen Inoue-san?" Ai asked, "How is she doing? Um… I just…"

Souji's shoulders sagged slightly, and her smile faltered before fading entirely.

"She's spent most of her time in the guest room," responded the platinum blonde swordswoman, somewhat morosely, "I was worried about how to tell her about Lancer… I don't think she knows just what happened, yet."

Ai grimaced. Losing your Servant was bad enough, but having her taken away, corrupted, twisted to serve your enemy… Ai couldn't even find herself imagining it happening to Saber. She had no idea what she would do if it did. Souji wasn't simply her Servant, after all, but the one she loved as well. For a few moments, all the small brunette girl could do was stand there as these frightful thoughts played repeatedly in her mind over and over, every fear suddenly brought sharply to the forefront once more, even as she attempted to dispel them.

It was Souji's voice that brought her back to reality.

"Ai," the girl samurai began, taking one of Ai's small hands into her own, "I'm not about to go anywhere, okay? I'll stand by your side forever! But we can't just leave Inoue-san hanging. She has to know."

Slowly, Ai nodded. She knew that, in the end, it was for Tsubaki's benefit. If it was left a mystery, and then she suddenly encountered Lancer in her corrupted state, then the shock could completely cripple her. Her grip tightened on Saber's hand, as she shifted quietly, averting her eyes. Just holding her Servant's hand, feeling her warmth… it was reassuring.

"I know, Souji," responded Ai, taking a deep breath as she did, "B-but… I don't know how to tell her something like this. I… just seeing Lancer like that…"

She took a deep breath to calm herself. No. She had to move forward with a clear mind. For Tsubaki's sake, and for everyone else's as well. She couldn't allow herself to become frightened. She had to move past that, just as Saber had told her before.

"Losing her Servant that way has to have been painful," she said, "I can't imagine how it would feel to see you like that Souji…"

Even as she tried to keep her mind moving forward, it was difficult not for the terrible possibility to linger within her mind.

"I won't let it happen," asserted Souji, her smile returning, "Avenger probably played some dirty trick and caught Lancer off-guard, but now we're ready for her, right?"

Her smile vanished once more.

"But that doesn't make it any less difficult to tell Inoue-san, does it?" she asked, averting her silvery gaze slightly as she did. "Knowing we're ready for Avenger doesn't cure Lancer and bring her back. Swordplay came so easily to me, but things like this never did."

Souji laughed awkwardly, but there was no humor to it, her shoulders sagging.

But then, suddenly, the girl samurai brightened.

"But we won't quit, right? If there's any way to save Lancer, we'll find it!" she declared. Any way… Ai nodded, too. Even if she wasn't sure there was any way to even understand just what had happened to the knight, if there was a single solitary method that could be used to cleanse her and free her of Avenger, Ai would do everything she could to locate it.

"… That's right, Saber," replied Ai, "If there's even a single possibility, we have to find it."

But was there?

Ai relaxed her shoulders and took another deep breath before she continued to speak.

"But we still have to let Inoue-san know…"

Finally, the short brunette came to a decision. She wouldn't make Saber try to do it… No, this was something that she would have to deal with first and foremost. After all, Inoue Tsubaki was the first person who had even spoken to her when she came back to Minami… and in spite of the actions of her father, she was someone who truly cared and desired to be Ai's friend. It felt only right to be the one who spoke to her about it in the first place.

"… Don't worry, Souji, I'll handle it," said Ai, finally, looking up at her Servant and nodding to herself as she did.

"… If you're sure, Ai," replied Souji, her grip on the smaller girl's hand tightening slightly as she spoke. She knew this was going to be difficult for everyone involved, but especially Tsubaki.

A few moments later, Ai had made her way to the guest room. It was one of several, the others being devoted to Rani and Alysvial's maids at the moment. For a moment, just a moment, Ai wondered how all those maids had seemingly packed themselves into a single room, but for now there were more important things to do.

After a moment of hesitation, she knocked on Tsubaki's door.

Initially, there was no response. Then, finally, she heard the other magus speak.

"Come in… Ai-san."

The door opened. Tsubaki was seated at the desk, leaning back in her chair as she sighed heavily, her eyes drifting towards the short brunette magus as she did.

"… There's part of me that's still in disbelief you even wanted to talk to me, after all that…" murmured the tanned girl, sitting up slightly as she did, "I really just broke down and cried right in front of you, didn't I?"

She gave Ai an awkward, half-hearted laugh, scratching the back of her head as she did.

"I made a mess of myself right in front of you, that sure is one way to have a reunion…" she leaned back in her seat once more, eyes drifting away and downwards towards the floor. "I… I'm glad you're okay."

Ai smiled as she entered the room, weakly. Tsubaki wasn't acting anything like the usual bright, cheerful girl that she'd gotten to know before… and she could hardly blame her.

… She was about to make it all worse, wasn't she…?

"I-Inoue-san, um…" Ai mumbled, shuffling her feet, before managing to compose herself. "It's… it's about Lancer, Inoue-san…"

Tsubaki looked towards her, silently. The look in her eyes…

"… I know, Ai-san," she began, "I know she's gone. There's no way I couldn't. I watched the command seals fade from the back of my hand right in front of my eyes. I know that I absolutely failed her. You don't need to tell me."

"…"

Ai hesitated. It was hard to get any words out in the face of that reaction, but… but Tsubaki had to know what had really happened to Lancer, didn't she? Before they could try and make any kind of plan, before anyone could do anything, it was only fair to Tsubaki to let her know. If she didn't know, and then she was suddenly confronted with the truth… it would tear her apart, wouldn't it?

"… I-it's… it's not only that, Inoue-san," murmured Ai, "There's… Avenger, she… Avenger… did something to Lancer, she's… something has gone wrong…"

Ai trailed off, uncertain of how to tell her. Dully, she thought that 'something has gone wrong' wasn't very specific at this point…

To her surprise, however, all Inoue did was nod, quietly.

"… I'd… already guessed, to be honest…" replied the black-haired magus, looking down towards her desk once more, "That black mud didn't seem as if it was just something that existed to destroy. It felt like it was evil itself. Like it was something that could taint a Servant down to their spiritual core."

Tsubaki's shoulders sagged.

"It wasn't enough to take her away, then?" she asked, as if addressing Pandora herself, "But you had to twist her into your servant, too?"

"Inoue-san…"

"I don't know what to do anymore, Ai-san," continued the tanned magus, despondently, "I've failed as a Master in the Holy Grail War in the worst way possible. It's like some kind of terrible joke that forgot it was supposed to be funny. The only thing I can do now is help bring all of this to an end. It's the one single way that I can repent for the failed Master I've become."

She sighed.

"But I don't even know how I can do that, do I?" she asked herself, leaning on the desk once more. Ai wished she could say something to the contrary, but it was true. There wasn't any sort of plan prepared. Aside from defeating Avenger and securing the Grail, they didn't really know what they were supposed to be doing. And time was ticking by faster and faster… The longer that they waited, the more likely it was that Avenger would obtain the Grail for herself.

"… You're right, we don't have a plan yet, and we need to think of something as soon as possible," Ai said, finally. "We don't have a lot of time, after all. But… Inoue-san…"

Ai clenched her fists. Inoue Tsubaki was someone who had welcomed her, who had helped her nearly from the start. Even knowing the painful past their families shared now… Ai had to return the favor, and she was going to do it now.

She wouldn't let herself remain by the sidelines while someone who truly was her friend wallowed in misery. She knew that Tsubaki wouldn't have done so, after all.

"… Inoue-san, Lancer wouldn't have wanted to see you like this," she began, stepping towards the taller girl, "No matter what's become of her now, the Lancer we both know was proud of the Master she served. You couldn't possibly have been prepared for Avenger. You were the sort of Master any Servant would be happy to have been summoned by."

Inoue didn't say anything, but the black-haired girl had shifted in her seat, quietly, to face Ai as she spoke.

"You aren't a failure as a magus, or as a Master in the Holy Grail War," the short brunette continued, "Every moment I spent with you, you were giving it your all. You were even the one who came up with the plan to defeat Rider. There's no way anyone could consider you anything like some kind of failure, Inoue-san. Lancer certainly wouldn't."

"I…" Tsubaki trailed off for a few moments, before averting her eyes, "… Even so, I lost her, didn't I…?"

"Would Lancer think of it like that, though?" asked Ai. She couldn't let Tsubaki keep sitting there. For her own good, for the sake of defeating Avenger… she wouldn't let her friend stay there feeling guilty. "She was a proud knight, proud of the way she could serve you. You didn't lose her, she fought for you as hard as she could. It wasn't because of you that Avenger took her."

"I… but… Ai-san, what am I supposed to do? Lancer asked me to run, and I did," Tsubaki said, clutching at her lap as she spoke, "And then Avenger took her away. How am I supposed to respond to this? What do I do?"

Ai hesitated. It was hard, hard to think of something specific, something she could tell Tsubaki. But she had to tell her something. There had to be something she could say to her friend. She looked back on everything Lancer had done since they first met. Since that first battle they had, between Saber and Lancer on that dark night, then when they became allies and fought together. Everything after that, every moment they spent working as a team…

"… If you really want to do something for Lancer, then… we need to figure out a plan, to defeat Avenger," Ai said, finally, "Then you can really do something that would have made her proud."

"…"

For several moments, Tsubaki said nothing. She sat silently in her chair, leaning on the desk. Then…

"… Make Lancer proud, huh?" she asked herself, straightening, "Taking out the bitch who did this to her in the first place… that really would make her proud, wouldn't it?"

She exhaled heavily.

"You're right, Ai-san," she continued, a small smile forming on her lips, "Sitting here knowing that I had to do something but unable to do it… that wasn't going to stop Avenger, and it wasn't going to do anything for Lancer, either. And, certainly, it wasn't the kind of thing Inoue Tsubaki would do, was it?"

Ah… she could hear it! Tsubaki was sounding like her old self again!

"That's right, Inoue-san!" responded Ai, a smile forming on her lips as well.

"Yeah!"

For a moment, both Ai and Tsubaki froze at the sound of a third voice, before realizing that Saber had suddenly burst into the room.

"… Ah… sorry, Ai-chan, I…" Souji trailed off for a moment, "I felt bad not trying to cheer Inoue-san up, so I couldn't just walk away, but I didn't know what to say, either."

"'Ai-chan'?" Tsubaki remarked, cocking her head to one side, her smile growing slightly, "Is there something the both of you would like to tell me?"

For several moments, Ai was silently, fumbling with herself over how to respond. She hadn't expected any of this, how could she reply so quickly?! Ah, she'd been so composed, able to help Tsubaki's mood a little, but now when she was suddenly faced with that question… It had immediately become difficult for her to say anything, let alone try and explain. She glanced towards Souji, and wasn't surprised to see that the platinum blonde samurai, too, had also gone quite red, certainly embarrassed at the idea of trying to answer Tsubaki's question.

"W-well…" she stammered, shifting from one foot to another. Tsubaki cocked her head to one side, and Saber looked away almost immediately.

"S-Saber and I… er…" Ai began, trembling slightly, "Um… we… we… we found love! W… with… um…"

She trailed off again. Of course, she wasn't ashamed from her relationship with her Servant. Far from it. But it wasn't exactly easy to discuss the fact that she was in love with Saber, so suddenly as well. Ai had never been in a relationship like this before, after all, and suddenly having to try and answer Tsubaki's question… it wasn't easy, to say the least.

It was like Inoue Tsubaki had sprung some kind of dastardly trap. Obviously, that wasn't the case, but that didn't mean that it didn't make replying all the more difficult.

"… W-with each other…" murmured Ai, finally, "S-Saber… Souji-chan is just… she's so beautiful and kind… even if she's a spirit from the past, sh-she's also a wonderful girl and just being near her, um, it's… lovely…"

"… Yeah… I… Ai-chan is… she's such a good Master and er… I-I don't really know what I'm doing, but I'm doing my best!" declared Saber, insistently nodding to herself as she did. "I-I didn't really understand what I was feeling, at first, b-but Ai-chan helped me realize…"

Tsubaki chuckled, lightly. Seeing her laugh again… that was a good sign, too. Ai didn't believe Tsubaki would be fine just like that, but it could certainly be said that the taller of the two magus girls was behaving more like she always did. It was obvious to Ai, at least, that she'd managed to help a little bit.

"I'm glad, Ai-san, Saber," commented Tsubaki, though her smile seemed somewhat less strong than it had moments earlier, "It was pretty obvious to anyone who paid any attention, though."

"W-was it…?" Saber averted her eyes again. "Was I the only one who didn't know…?"

But the brief few moments of levity were cut short when Tsubaki spoke once more.

"So… this is the final stage of the Holy Grail War, then, isn't it …?" mused the dark-skinned magus, speaking mostly to herself before her attention turned once again fully to Ai. "Ai-san… I still don't really know what happens now. But I suppose that's why we're all here, then, isn't it?"

That was exactly right. Rani had gathered as many of the remaining participants at Ai's mansion as she could the moment that Ai had offered it, in order to construct a plan to assault Avenger. No matter how much Ai worried, she knew that this was something they had to get done as soon as they possibly could.

"It's not as if… as if I'm not frightened, but…" Ai took a deep breath, "Avenger has to be stopped."

Tsubaki nodded. For a few moments, whatever remnants of a smile there had been once more faded from her expression, and her gaze drifted back towards her desk. Looking concerned, Ai stepped forward, and Saber followed, but before either of them could speak, Tsubaki looked back up again.

Now, her expression was dead serious once more.

"There's no way we won't be fighting Lancer, then," she began, "… Before that… I…"

She hesitated for a moment. Her hands were clutching at her lap.

"… No matter what she's like, no matter what Avenger has done to her… I want to see her again," said Tsubaki. Her tone was quiet, with only a little inflection, but the words made it obvious just how the girl was feeling. "Just one more time."

Her faltering smile returned again.

"It's going to be my last chance to see her, no matter what happens," she continued, "So… so if I can get at least that much…"

If Ai had any say in the matter, it wasn't something she was going to deprive Tsubaki of. She didn't know if they could save Lancer. Even if they could, the end of the Grail War was approaching quickly. This truly could be the last time that Tsubaki would ever see her Servant. Even if she'd been corrupted by Avenger, the opportunity to see her one last time wasn't anything that Ai could ever deny to the other girl.

"… Of course, Inoue-san," replied Ai, "I… even if it's like this, you should be able to see her one more time before it's all over."

"No-one would ever want to deny you that… losing the chance to see someone you cared about before they're gone…" Saber trailed off for a moment, then shook her head, "And… if that's what it comes to, I'll give Lancer the duel she wanted from the very beginning."

"… Heh, even like this… there's no way she'd ever pass that chance up, is there?" mused Tsubaki, a weak, sad smile on her lips, "Even if she's been corrupted, as long as Lancer is still Lancer there's no way she could ever ignore that chance."

Her gaze drifted downwards, her smile still a very sad one.

"I can't decide if that makes it better or worse, really…" she added, morosely. "… But… I'm not going to let it stop us. We have to defeat Avenger, no matter what. If her goal really is revenge by attacking all of humanity, then we can't let anything slow us down anymore."

That was right. Now that Tsubaki was ready, they had to start the final step as soon as possible. They had to formulate a plan to defeat Avenger.

"So, there's no more time to waste," continued Tsubaki, getting to her feet. Her morose, sad smile had vanished now, replaced by the much more familiar, determined look that Ai had come to associate with the tanned magus. She placed her hands on her hips, and nodded to herself.

"I'm ready, Ai-san. Let's go."

With that, the three girls proceeded out of the room and down the stairs. It wasn't as if Tsubaki had been cheered up, exactly, but it was unlikely she truly would have been anyway. No, as long as she was feeling better, that was what Ai had hoped for.

Now she had to focus on keeping herself from getting too frightened. But as long as Souji was by her side… it felt like, just maybe, things would be alright. Or rather, they wouldn't get any worse. It was hard to say anything was alright when Avenger had taken Lancer, summoned her own set of Servants(albeit as shades) and set up base where the Grail would descend. But as long as they could prevent it from getting any worse… as long as she was with Saber…

Reaching out, she wrapped where small fingers around her Servant's hand. Souji glanced towards her, and gave her a small, reassuring smile, holding Ai's hand as the two proceeded down the stairs alongside Tsubaki.

Ostensibly, Rani had a guest room, but she had decided to spend much of her time in the dining hall, making preparations… or at least, that's what she said. Marianne and Charlotte had seemed quite pleased with all the guests, and with the additional help offered by Alysvial's maids, and the former was happily preparing snacks at regular intervals. But, given that Tsubaki was hardly feeling well before now, the one who was usually receiving these snacks was Rani. Who was always in the dining hall. The diminutive girl had been fed quite a few sweets, a steady stream of them from the kitchen, in fact. Certainly, it seemed like Marianne was enjoying having someone who seemed to nearly eat as much as Saber did.

… Nearly. No-one could top Souji's appetite for sweets, but Rani seemed to quite appreciate the snacks she was receiving, regardless. At the moment, she was seated at the desk, pouring over several stacked documents with a half-eaten cream puff sitting near her. When she noticed the three other girls entering the room, she straightened.

"Matsushita, Inoue, Saber," the dark-skinned, childlike girl greeted the three of them, with a nod of her head, "Excellent. I was hoping to begin preparations soon."

The girl rose to her feet.

"The likely location of the Grail's descent is the parking garage outside of the Minami apartments," she stated, "Familiars dispatched by Atlas have determined that there had been increased activity in that location. Therefore, that is likely where Avenger has made her workshop."

Workshop…? Avenger could also qualify as Caster, as Rani had mentioned, and there was no reason her capabilities as a mage would be diminished in her current class. It wasn't as if someone who could be summoned as Caster was summoned as Rider, or something of that nature. No, Avenger as a class was defined by hatred rather than a weapon or technique. So if her chief capabilities were in magecraft, it stood to reason she would retain them. Hatred alone, at least in most cases, was not enough to create a strong combatant.

"If she's created a workshop, does that mean that she's set up defenses? She's a magus from the Age of Gods…" Tsubaki's question reminded Ai of the original Caster in this Holy Grail War, Skuld. She, too, originated from the Age of Gods, and she was an incredibly formidable opponent. If Pandora had created a workshop, a territory of her own, could she have bolstered herself as well?

Rani was silent for a moment as she considered the possibility.

"Skuld had a Noble Phantasm that gave her the same advantages she'd have if she was summoned in her homeland," Saber chimed in, "Does Avenger have something like that, too?"

At that remark, the Atlas Agent shook her head.

"I do not believe so," she responded, "Avenger's Noble Phantasm is Pandora's Box, the very symbol of her existence. I find it unlikely any other aspect of her myth would meet the same qualifications. A workshop generated by Pandora would be based purely off of the artifice of her magecraft, and therefore likely not provide the same benefits that Caster's bounded field."

That was a relief to learn, at least. Avenger had already seemed strong, so being able to enhance herself with something like that would have been terrifying. It was bad enough if she already had so many allies under her control and a base of operations, they didn't need her empowering herself even further, if they could help it.

Ai took a deep breath.

"Then… what can we expect from her?" she asked.

"Pandora's box contains a black mud that is the embodiment of All the Evils of the World," Rani started, "This is her most dangerous asset. The mud is the physical incarnation of a myriad of curses and hatred, strong enough to burn away at any living thing it touches. As demonstrated by Avenger's attack on Lancer, Servants who are effected by this mud become blackened and twisted into a dark reflection of themselves."

Ai glanced towards Tsubaki. She could see the other girl's determined expression falter for a moment when Rani mentioned Lancer's fate, but the magus didn't say anything.

"On top of that, she seems to have used the box as some sort of false Grail," continued Rani, "Allowing her to summon heroic spirits. However, they do not appear to be true Servants. It is a sort of half-summons, a shade of a Heroic Spirit rather than a Servant."

That explained the second set of Servants that they had met in the park well enough. Some of them appeared to be more robotic then anything, so if they weren't true Servants, perhaps they didn't really possess their own wills.

They seemed quite limited, which made sense if they were shadows of sorts rather than true Servants. This was something that she could take solace in, in a way. Rather then facing nearly a full set of Servants, they were facing shades. Aside from Lancer… and Avenger herself. But at the same time… one of their number, he was someone that Saber knew in life. Hijikata Toshizo. Another member of the Shinsengumi, summoned as Berserker. She had seemed prepared to fight him, but… It had to be painful to do battle with someone who had been a comrade and friend in life. Especially when the circumstances were like this.

But Ai would place faith in the girl she loved. She had to.

"… So the only true Servants among their number are Avenger and Lancer, then?" asked Saber. She seemed to have already suspected this was the case, as well, but the confirmation of that fact was good. Rather than the least cooperative Servants being controlled, they were removed from their usual demeanors entirely due to the nature of their summoning.

Rani nodded.

"Prior to his death," she continued, "Archer was able to eliminate Shadow Caster, so there are only five Shadow Servants that must be defeated. I speculate that if Avenger is killed, the Shadow Servants will disappear as well, if any yet live by that point. Given the nature of our opponents, however, I believe they must be removed as swiftly as possible, before confronting Avenger or Lancer. There is also the possibility of Lancer fighting alongside the Shadow Servants, which would be a far more dangerous threat."

"… I agree," Tsubaki said, her tone quiet and hesitating. It was obvious to Ai that even speaking about Lancer as an enemy was difficult, but Tsubaki still knew that she had to do. "Lancer… Lancer is well-suited to fighting with allies… though I don't think she will, if her enemy is Saber. She wanted to fight with Saber in a final duel, one-on-one. I know Lancer… even like this, I don't think she'd give up on that."

"Is that so?" Rani asked, glancing from Tsubaki to Saber.

"I've got no doubt in it, Rani-san!" declared Saber, confidently, "Lancer said so herself when we met again. She even stopped Avenger, so we would be able to fight one on one when I recovered. Seeing her like that was terrible…"

The platinum blonde girl trailed off for a moments, unable to hide her feelings about Lancer's fate.

"… But even like that, she's still Lancer."

For a few moments, silence fell across the table. There was no way of telling, really, if it was better or worse that Lancer's personality still existed even in her blackened state. It was hard to imagine how Tsubaki must have been feeling during this conversation, but it looked like she was going to be okay for now. At least, Ai hoped so.

"So she most likely will not attack while the Shadow Servants are still active," Rani concluded, "And additionally, it is likely that Avenger herself will be preoccupied with the descent of the Holy Grail, using her guardians to delay any attackers. So, we will likely have the opportunity to defeat her Shadow Servants without any intervention."

That was good news. However, the Shadow Servants were still dangerous… and now that they only had one Servant… Ai wanted to have faith in Souji. And she did. But the idea of her going against that many opponents alone was terrifying. It had been a struggle the first time, and now… Well, they had to fight rather than escape. They had to clear out all of the Shadow Servants that remained.

"… Saber… is there anything you can do to narrow the playing field against that many enemies? I…. I don't want to see you get hurt again…" began Ai, as she turned to face the girl samurai.

"It's true that I'm best suited to one-on-one duels," Saber responded, folding her arms, "But don't worry, Ai-chan. I'm sure you realized I don't just have one Noble Phantasm!"

Ai thought back almost immediately. That's right… her Servant's parameters included two more Noble Phantasms. For that matter, Mumyou Sandanzuki was less of a proper Noble Phantasm and more of a skill, but its function was like the former more than the latter.

"… Then… then one of your Noble Phantasms will let you take them on all at once?" asked Ai, hope rising in her heart as she looked up at her Servant.

"There's no doubt in my mind," replied the swordswoman, with a confident nod towards her Master, "Even… even if Hijikata-san is with them."

Her confidence faltered in that instant. Meeting one of her comrades only for him to be an enemy…

"Then I believe in you," Ai asserted. It had to be hard for Saber, fighting someone who was once her friend, but the platinum blonde girl had surpassed so many dangerous enemies already… even something like this… She had to win, to stop Pandora. And so, Ai placed all her faith in her Servant. The girl she loved. The girl who had helped her become more confident.

The girl who would win. She had to.

"I shall place my trust in Saber as well, then," said Rani, with a nod, "In that case, the first step is to allow Saber to use her Noble Phantasm to defeat the Shadow Servants by using her Noble Phantasm. Ideally, she shall have a moment of recovery before facing Lancer, but we may not have the time to allow for that. As a result, I suggest preparing as much as you are able, Matsushita."

Ai nodded swiftly. That was the plan from the very beginning. She was going to prepare in every possible way, to make sure Saber was as ready as she could be before they went to assault the parking garage. It was all she could do to ensure that they won. To ensure Saber would be safe…

"… If that's the case… Rani-san, I'll work with Saber to draw out the Shadow Servants, and defeat them," said Ai. "While you work to weaken Avenger's workshop defenses. She might be a magus from the Age of Gods, but… I think it might be possible to at least dull them, to make it easier to get inside."

The small brunette wasn't certain about her proposal, but it seemed like the most solid start they had when it came to beginning a serious plan beyond general proposals of how to attack the Shadow Servants or take on Avenger. They had to start somewhere.

"I was about to make a similar proposal," Rani responded, with a nod, "While I cannot match a magus of the Age of Gods, Atlas created me with the intent of allowing me to utilize numerous countermeasures against other magi. If I am permitted to work in concert with the other three Ranis currently available, I will likely be able to create a hole in her defense. I cannot imagine I will not be granted permission, due to the gravity of the situation."

"In that case, I'll work with Ai-san," said Tsubaki, "I can't really help drill a hole in Avenger's defenses directly, but I'll do everything I can to help Saber take down the Shadow Servants."

What Tsubaki hadn't said was that this gave her the best chance to at least get to see Lancer one more time, but Ai knew that was one of the reasons that the girl had decided to support Saber as well was in order to do so.

"There's no way I'd let myself lose!" asserted Saber, confidently, "So you can count on me. Even if the shadow of Hijikata-san is there… I'll show him that I'm still the person he knew, back then. I can't let Ai-chan down."

From there. The progress on constructing a plan of attack had gone… well, it wasn't exactly a well-defined, structured plan. There was no way of knowing exactly what they would be up against, once they entered the parking garage. But they at least knew how they were going to begin the assault. Apparently, Theomanius had signaled to Atlas that he would prepare some sort of support, but after the loss of Archer his resources were not as significant as they had been previously. But there had been no response from Shimada Yukiko.

In the end, there was little else that they could rely on other then their own power. Saber was the one remaining Servant in opposition of Avenger, and therefore they had to rely on her however they could. Ai had placed every ounce of her faith into the beautiful, silvery-haired girl, but she still feared for her as well. She didn't know what she would do if this failed, not only because of what it meant for the human race, but because of what that meant for Souji.

But she had to try not to think about it. To keep herself from getting distracted by thoughts of doom.

As they all left the dining hall, to begin preparing for the attack on the parking garage.

"… Hey, Souji-chan…" she said, glancing towards her Servant.

"… Can we talk for a while?"

---

And so the Holy Grail War had been tainted.

Estrizia reclined in her seat with a sigh. She'd received word from Atlas, who had immediately apologized for their interference, that an experiment had gone wrong. That they had unleashed an eighth Servant in an irregular class, who immediately went right for the Holy Grail and summoned her own set of shades. To be honest, deep down, the Executor had suspected something was going wrong for some time, but she had been uncertain as to what it was. Regardless, her duty had to be fulfilled, and that included bringing this all to an end. As the representative of the Church for this war, she had pledged all of her resources and capabilities, if they were needed. There was not much she could do in direct battle against a Servant, but she could still provide support. Preventing Avenger from obtaining the Holy Grail was now the main goal of the war itself.

The Holy Grail… Estrizia didn't think it was the true relic, not really. But it was something similar enough that it was worth protecting, a recreation of sorts that was something 'similar to the real thing'. But it wasn't merely the Holy Grail's nature that determined the new objective of the few remaining participants in the war. It was the fact that Avenger seemed to desire to use it to attack all of humanity.

It seemed like quite a foolish goal, in the blonde woman's mind, but that was hardly going to change Avenger's mind.

There was only one remaining Master and Servant pair left, even if Lancer was apparently still alive according to Atlas. That adorable little girl(who wasn't actually as young as she looked) and the beautiful Saber… ah, at least it was them who remained. Not to say there were not other Servants and masters who drew her attentions, but the Saber had been quite delicious.

Estrizia had to force her mind back on-course after a moment. There were far more important matters to attend to. While fighting enemy Servants directly was not exactly something she was capable of, she could at least hold them off. The blonde nun was considering her options, and among them was the possibility of joining the attack in order to assist the remaining Masters.

But that required surviving.

It had not been long after being made aware of Avenger's existence that she had begun to set up defenses around the Church that would make her aware of spiritual interference. And the fact was that she had been notified of said interference several moments ago.

Something was coming. Had she not known to put defenses in place, she likely would have been taken completely unaware. If her enemy was a Servant, all Estrizia would be able to do would be to defend herself.

However…

A crimson blade flashed through the air. In an instant, its edge bit into Estrizia's seat, slicing through the wood as if it was butter. But, the true target was no longer there.

The blonde woman and leapt away, spun on her heel in moments. Her capacity to move swiftly was not on the level of a Servant, but it was undeniably beyond that of an ordinary human being. The hilts of swords without blades slid from her sleeves, and she quickly gripped them between her fingers. A tingling sensation ran through her arms as Estrizia passed prana through them, straight, thin, double-edged swords materializing as she did.

Black Keys. The armament of Church Executors, sacraments capable of harming even spiritual beings. In spite of their appearance, they were best suited to being thrown, though Estrizia was fond of their odd balance and any Executor could use them as a melee weapon if necessary. But a Servant could not be slain by them.

However…

The figure that stood before her, crimson katana gleaming in one hand, stepped around the chair. He wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, his face cloaked in darkness save for his fiery eyes. Indeed, the blonde nun could practically feel the corruption radiating from the man's body as he stepped forward.

"In spite of this Church's defenses, you managed to infiltrate it and attack at the very last moment without alerting me…" Estrizia commented, cocking her head to one side as she did, "Then, your class is Assassin?"

"Assassin?" the man asked, raising his katana to bear, "What kind of an insult is that? I'm a Manslayer! My existence, everything about me, is honed for killing humans! I'm the greatest swordsman in the world!"

"A Manslayer, hm?" questioned Estrizia, taking a step back. Someone whose existence was honed for killing humans… An enemy of Mankind, as it were. The Executor raised her Black Keys, the gleaming lights of the candles shimmering off the blades.

Assassin lunged forward, his crimson blade seeming to leave a trail through the air as he closed the distance between the two combatants in an instant. The first Black Key among the four clasped in each of Estrizia's hands split almost immediately when she raised it to block, but the second managed to hold against the enemy's attack! Estrizia used the side of the Key to slide his blade back and away as she moved swiftly back. For a moment, just a moment, she could see her attacker pause, as if he was confused. Perhaps his movements did not feel as fast, as fluid, as he would have expected. Perhaps he hadn't thought that an enemy such as this would have been able to evade his attack.

Whatever the case was, Estrizia took advantage of that brief moment, hurling one of her Black Keys towards Assassin! As expected, he was still quite swift, and the weapon missed entirely as it hurtled past him. It buried itself deep into the wall some distance behind her, and he lunged forward for another attack. Replenishing her two lost Black Keys as swiftly as she could, Estrizia crossed the eight blades in an x-pattern in front of her to form a protective net, reinforcing each individual Black Key with their fellows! This time, not a single one of the blades gave way to Assassin's strike, and she was able to hold her ground! Perhaps not push him back, but to keep him from pushing her any further…

The Shadow Servant stepped back. Estrizia guessed he was already able to discern that something was wrong, even if he couldn't tell exactly what it was. But, truthfully, how could he possibly have been able to tell? He was no mage, nor anyone connected to the Church, and he had likely been a regular human in life in spite of his extreme physical capabilities.

He never would have been prepared for this.

Estrizia could tell, with his every strike, that he was the far more skilled wielder of the blade than herself. Had this been an ordinary battle, she would most certainly have lost and been killed no matter what she utilized. No matter how skilled she was, fighting in a duel against an immensely swordsman was never something she had been trained to do.

However…

"What is this?!" the man practically snarled, "I'm the greatest swordsman in the world! There's no way you should be able to evade me like this! Those swords shouldn't be able to even withstand my blows! Why can't I reach you?!"

"You're right on all accounts, Manslayer," responded Estrizia, a smile on her lips as she lowered her blades, "You're undeniably more skilled. And in most cases, you should be much stronger and faster than me, as well."

The Shadow Servant lunged forward, as if to take her off-guard! And he nearly did, but she managed to trap his flashing blade between her net of Black Keys and force it back before his strike could reach its target. Had he been operating at his full potential, Estrizia doubted she could ever have done so.

"Had you been a true Servant, none of what I've done to defend myself would have been powerful enough to stop you. At most, I could have held you off in hopes that assistance could have arrived," the blonde nun continued, now pressing her own attack, lashing out with one set of Black Keys and forcing him to defend! "Had you been human, none of these defenses would have worked in the first place."

She pressed her assault again, the surprised Shadow Servant using his blade held at an angle to deflect her. Almost immediately after pushing him back, Estrizia hurled another Black Key! This time, he was just barely able to dodge the black blade as it sliced through the air!

"But right now, you're neither of those things, are you!?" declared the Executor, manifesting another key to replace the one she threw, "You're a blackened and twisted spirit that defines himself as an enemy of mankind!"

Estrizia lowered her stance, drawing one hand back.

"And so, Manslayer, did you know what the Executors of the Church are trained to destroy!?"

The blonde nun could see those fiery eyes narrow.

"So you knew you couldn't win against the greatest swordsman, and resorted to methods like this?" the Assassin asked. Immediately, she darted forward, one arm lowering for an upwards swing, her Black Keys crashing against his blade and forcing him back. Yes… with the defenses she had applied to the Church, she truly was forcing the Shadow Servant back! Even now, he was still set off-balance, having never anticipated that it was not truly his target, but rather the environment that his target had created, that would be the most dangerous enemy!

"That's exactly right, Manslayer!" declared Estrizia, using the manner in which her attacker's movements have been slowed to parry a sudden thrust of his blade! Had he been at his full potential, she likely would only have barely been capable of deflecting such a strike, or perhaps not even at all. But with his capabilities dulled, she was able to do it just as if she had truly been the superior fighter. Indeed, he was a dark phantom, a Manslayer who in life had trained himself to slaughter humans like some kind of beast. But what were the Executors of the Church trained to slay, if not beasts that slaughtered humans?!

"You're a blackened monster that exists to kill humans! So, this Church has become a fortress of god," Estrizia continued, as she used the side of her Black Keys to force that crimson katana to the side and strike out once more, the Shadow Servant barely capable of defending himself with a red flash and a shower of brilliant sparks. When he had first attacked, even with his abilities already being dulled, he had been setting the pace of the battle. But now, Estrizia had taken the lead in this dance, and he had been forced to follow her tempo! "If you had attempted to attack me outside of it, I couldn't expect such a performance as this. You likely would have succeeded in your mission to kill me, unless I was able to hold out long enough for assistance. Wouldn't that be such a shame~?"

He practically growled as their weapons clashed once more, and she used her leverage to send him reeling back several steps! The executor had already forced the dark spirit back towards the back of the church, where she had once been seated. From the very moment Estrizia was informed of the existence of the Shadow Servants by Atlas, she had set about making the Church into something that would be anathema to their existence! A normal Servant would have been unaffected, of course, but a dark spirit born from corruption, on the other hand…

A sudden, surprising thrust from Assassin's blade took her off-guard! It slammed into the base of one of her Black Keys, fragmenting it there before striking the one behind it and doing the same. The third that it struck broke at the base two, with only the final of the sacraments in her left had surviving, sent hurtling high into the air!

Due to the defenses she had put in place, Estrizia had barely been able to move out of his range for his next slash, but the damage had been done. That blow, strong enough to break multiple black keys, had also twisted her left wrist. Whenever she tried to move it, a shock of pain reverberated up the length of her left arm, leaving her with only her right usable, for the moment at least. Even under the effects of the Church's conversion into God's Fortress hadn't totally dulled Assassin's abilities. The blonde nun winced as she raised her right arm, the remaining four black keys gleaming.

"That's enough of that!" snapped the manslayer, drawing his katana back as he took a wide, ready stance, "You're nothing but a moron if you really thought something like that would let you match the greatest swordsman to ever walk the Earth!"

He drew his blade up. Even with his form cloaked in darkness, it was possible to tell his entire body was tensing, ready to strike in an instant.

"I'll show you a blow that will cut through those defenses and make you another one of this Manslayer's victims, Executor!" he declared, raising his katana. Indeed, with only one functional hand and four remaining black keys, it would have been difficult to block whatever deadly stroke he had in store.

However…!

The Black Key that had been sent hurtling into the air fell. It met its mark immediately, embedding itself in the floor behind the Shadow Servant, sinking deep into his shadow. With the sacrament piercing his silhouette on the stone floor, Shadow Assassin suddenly found himself completely unable to move! His fiery eyes widened in shock, but try as he might there was nothing he could do to force himself onwards.

"Wh-what?!" he stammered, in shock, "You…!"

"As I was saying, Manslayer," Estrizia said, drawing her right arm back as she took aim at her restrained foe, with a wink, "A man-eater in the House of God never stood a chance. Not even once."

The blonde nun swung her arm down, and let loose the last four Black Keys. They whistled through the air as they hurtled towards their target, and each and every one hit home. Shadow Assassin let out a strangled gasp as they pierced his chest, burying themselves up to their hilts in his body, their tips protruding from his back as each of the Keys ran him all the way through.

The Black Key pinning his shadow dissipated, and he staggered back, clutching at the hilts pressing against his chest with wide eyes.

"… I… w-was defeated… by cheap tricks…?" he stumbled back another step, "… You… rotten woman…"

With that, the Shadow Servant fell backwards, his body rapidly breaking apart and fading into a black mist that drifted into the air before fading away entirely. Estrizia lowered her arm, taking a deep breath as she did.

She'd won.

"Guilty as charged, Manslayer~" she chirped with a wink and a smile, brightly. But that had hardly been as effortless as she had hoped it would seem. No, even with his movements and capabilities restricted, Shadow Assassin had been capable of striking in a manner that damaged her even without actually hitting her, even in spite of his blade being deflected by her Black Keys. Now given a chance to take stock of her injury, Estrizia swiftly realized that her left wrist had not merely been twisted, the blackened swordsman's attack had broken it. In addition, it had taken the majority of her Black Keys to kill him…

While it was absolutely her victory, it had come at a higher price than Estrizia had hoped. The bones in her wrist, insofar as she was able to tell, had not just cracked. They'd been fragmented. While magecraft could certainly mend her injury, it would be difficult to get such assistance with the current state of the Holy Grail War. Every motion of her left hand made it twinge with sharp stabs of violent pain. The Executor was in no position to provide serious assistance to the remaining Masters in the Holy Grail War. At least, not when it came to utilizing her skills as an Executor. At most, she could provide them with support from a distance, such as information. With a broken wrist, she was not capable of bringing her full capabilities against the remaining Shadow Servants. While fighting them alone without any sort of preparation was foolish, acting to support Saber would likely have been successful.

But not with a shattered wrist. She would absolutely only succeed in slowing the girl samurai down. Additionally, seeking assistance from Ai was not among her options, at least for the moment. It was undeniably far more important that the final Servant and Master pair did everything they could to prepare for an assault on Avenger rather than spending their time mending her injury. The repair of her fragmented wrist would have to wait, as painful as it was.

Instead, she would do what she could to keep it in place. Estrizia sat down against the pulpit, dragging a medical kit from her clothing. Her own capabilities when it came to magecraft were quite limited. She could reinforce her body, but mending seriously damaged bone was beyond her. A part of her mind reflected that it was somewhat ironic that someone who was part of the Church, which often professed its kind intent, was unable to perform any sort of healing magic. Then again, perhaps that simply indicated she was a perfect example of the Church's other face.

All that the blonde executor could do now, as she wrapped her wrist, using a splint to hold it in place, was wait. Each time she wrapped her arm, she winced slightly from the pain. Wait to see just what the outcome of the final battle with Avenger would result in. If they failed, Estrizia could confess that she had no idea what would happen.

But she could guess that it would be something that could be called Hell on Earth.

---

If there was one thing that Ai could count on, it was the fact that Souji had been happy to talk. Indeed, immediately the girl samurai followed her back upstairs and to her room without hesitation. The whole time, Ai's Servant had proven again and again just how much she enjoyed her time with her Master. For a few moments, that made the small brunette's heart rise… but then she recalled the mission they would soon be undertaking, and fear reawakened within her.

But that was just the reason she wanted to talk to Souji alone. The fear of everything that could go wrong, no matter how carefully they planned. The odds they were against were terrifying, the idea of doing battle with multiple Shadow Servants, Lancer, and finally Avenger… not to mention the presence of Hirata Genjiro.

Ai had to talk with the girl she loved. Together like this. It was strange, they'd been so busy all this time that after realizing they loved one another, there had not been much time to talk. Everything had simply happened so suddenly…

When the both of them entered Ai's bedroom, the short brunette crossed the room quickly and sat on her bed. Without a moment's hesitation, Souji followed her, sitting on the bed beside her. Ai could feel her cheeks color slightly, heat flowing into her face. Even now, after everything, she was still having that sort of reaction…

"Things have been pretty heavy, haven't they, Ai-chan?" Saber asked, resting her hands on her knees, "I know Inoue-san is still in pain on the inside, and Lancer… if there's no way to save her, we still have to fight."

The fact that the platinum blonde swordswoman was talking in such a serious, somewhat morose fashion made it clear that even the ever-optimistic Okita Souji was having trouble dealing with recent events.

"But… I'm still certain we can win, Master!" asserted the girl, with a firm nod, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Ai gave her Servant a weak smile.

"I guess… that's just it, Souji-chan," murmured Ai, looking down at her knees as she spoke, "I… I'm scared. I know we have to win. I know we have to stop Avenger. But…"

Her golden gaze drifted back up towards the other girl.

"I did everything I could to stay calm when we were going over the plan of battle. I know that we need to stop her," continued Ai, her hands clasping at her skirt, "But I can't help it. Avenger… she's really strong, isn't she? She could summon her own Shadow Servants, and she was able to do that to Lancer…"

Ai's shoulders began to shake, and she gripped more tightly at her skirt. The thought of anything like that happening to Saber… it was just horrible. Truly horrible. And yet it was a thought that wouldn't leave her mind.

"… Yeah, she is pretty powerful, isn't she?" commented Saber, nodding slowly, "I certainly never faced anyone like that in life… but there's a lot of things I'm doing now that I never even dreamed of doing in life, isn't there, Ai-chan?"

With a reassuring smile, the platinum blonde Servant placed her hand on Ai's shoulder, leaning slightly towards her. And it wasn't like it didn't help, a little bit, but… that was just it, wasn't it? It was Saber's optimism, Saber's everything. If that was gone…

"That… that's true…" Ai replied, slowly, "A-and… and I know we have to win no matter wh-what… But I… I… what if something goes wrong? I… I guess I just can't help it…"

The small brunette looked down at her lap again. All of her fears and reservations had been bubbling to the surface ever since she witnessed her Servant's near-death when her Weak Constitution skill had activated during her fight with the Shadow Servants. Seeing what had happened to Lancer had only made it even worse.

"I… I really love you, Souji-chan," she continued, "I'm so scared of something happening to you. Avenger was strong enough to… to do that to Lancer, if she can defeat you… w-would she do the same thing? Would… would she…"

Ai buried her face in her hands. Ah… all these worries and fears… it was just how she had started the Holy Grail War, wasn't it? So nothing had really changed, after all. No matter what she had hoped.

"I'm a mess, Souji," she bluntly stated, her head still in her hands, "A complete mess. Nothing really did change, did it? I… I-I thought I was getting more confident, and I'd found someone to love, but the truth is no matter what happens I'll always be like this. A mess of a human being that worries about everything and can never pull herself together and a magus who's too afraid to do what she has to. The kind of person who can only be scared of losing what she has and can't just cherish it for what it is. I… I'm completely pathetic, Souji…"

For a few moments, the only thing that filled Ai's bedroom was silence. For that brief period of time, the small girl was certain this was because even Saber couldn't refute her words, so certain was she in her own failings.

But then…

"That's certainly not the Ai-chan I know," said the swordswoman. Surprised at her Servant's words, Ai looked up to see that Souji was smiling at her again, "The Ai-chan I know is sometimes a little lacking in confidence, sure…"

The girl samurai reached over with her other hand, taking one of Ai's in her own and interlacing their fingers, holding her hand tightly as she did. Her hand felt so warm…

"But she's also the kind of person who does everything she can to help those that she cares about, even when she's scared," she continued, "Whose belief in herself grows whenever she has to do something hard, because even though she's frightened, she'll do it anyway. You're the one who helped Rani-san finish her plan and consoled Inoue-san not so long ago, aren't you?"

Ai hesitated. That might have been true, but the entire time she was doing that, she'd been choking back her fears about what could happen to Saber. No matter what, she'd had to keep pushing it to the back of her mind. Every time there wasn't anything else to focus on, it immediately rose to the surface. Ai simply couldn't stop being afraid of what could happen to Souji.

"You're talking like it's wrong to be worried at all, but I thought that worrying for the safety of the people you love was one of the ways you showed just how much you care for them," added Souji, holding Ai's hand tighter, "I always hoped that everyone in the Shinsengumi would make it out just fine when something happened, after all! And… I want you to be safe, now, too. So, what's so wrong about worrying for the safety of the one you love?"

For a few moments, Ai wasn't certain how to respond. But… she knew this had to be wrong. To be frightened about it like this, to be worrying any moment that her mind wasn't focusing on something else.

"… I… i-it's because… it's because I keep thinking a-about it, I… I h-have faith in you Souji-chan but I'm… c-can I really be a Master who helps defeat Pandora?" she asked, desperately, "Can someone like me really support a Servant in order to save the world, to stop something like Avenger? Am… am I really enough for you, Souji? I d-don't know… I just don't know if I am… a-am I really good enough for you?"

Souji's response wasn't verbal. No, instead, she raised her arms and wrapped them around the smaller girl, embracing her tightly, pulling her against her chest. For a few moments, neither of them said anything. Ai trembled. Saber was hugging her… pulling her close, she could feel her Servant's warmth… the warmth of the girl she loved, so close… she could even feel the beating of Souji's heart. The heartbeat of a girl who died long ago, and yet had been given a second life… a second life because of her. To fight for the Holy Grail War… and yet she was so beautiful, so lovely. She was the one Ai loved, but…

"… I don't know much about love… it's all new to me, Ai-chan," said Saber, after a long period of silence as she embraced her Master, "But what I do know is that I love you."

The silvery-eyed girl leaned back, blushing a little.

"Even if I didn't realize it before, eh-heheh," she added, scratching the back of her head awkwardly, "But… Ai-chan, that alone makes you good enough. You always were, after all! You're the one I love, and you're the one who's going to help me defeat Avenger."

Ai's mind drifted back, not so long ago, when she had confessed her feelings to Souji, and Souji had realized what she was feeling all this time was love as well. There was still a small part of her that really did wonder why a beautiful girl like Saber would ever have fallen for someone like her, if she was being honest to herself. But at the same time, there was no end to the gratitude that Ai felt, to the fact that this lovely, wonderful, kind girl truly did love her. Was she really good enough? Ai still had no idea, but… Saber really did believe in her, firmly and unflinchingly. And, without a doubt, the short magus absolutely believed in Saber.

"I love you too, Souji-chan," said Ai, as she looked up into her Servant's eyes, "But… but that's why… that's why I'm so scared. If I lost you now… I… I don't w-want to think about it, b-but I can't stop…"

"So, you won't lose me," responded Souji, with a warm smile, "As long as I have you by my side, this manslayer feels like she can do anything! It's just like I told you before, Ai-chan."

The girl samurai's fingers were still interlaced with her own, even though the both of them had stopped hugging one another by this point. Saber's words… ah, they always did so much for her. Saber really had been something of a guiding light, no matter how dark it because.

"So don't go saying things like that you're pathetic, or anything like that," the swordswoman added, with a nod of her head, "Because the truth is that you're a lot stronger then you seem to realize. When it really mattered, you were able to do everything you could in order to help me win, in order to help others who you felt were your allies, or were in need. You wanted to take Alys-chan in, after all."

Ah… if that was the case… if Ai really was like that… shouldn't she have been able to focus on the plan, rather then have images of the worst possible outcome play in her mind? Wasn't that how it should be? But then, she recalled her Servant's words… that it was just further proof that they loved one another.

"… I-if all this worrying is proof that I love you…" Ai murmured, half to herself, "Th-then… then I must really love you a lot, huh?"

She gave a weak smile up towards Souji. It was really a silly think to say… and yet, when Ai told it to the silvery-eyed girl, she felt like it had been just right. She remembered the words that she'd spoken when she confessed her love, the words that Saber had replied with… It filled her mind.

"And I feel the same way about you, Ai-chan," responded Saber, brightly, pulling her Master in close with a growing smile, "We'll fight together, and end this war. We'll stop Avenger for sure, I know we can!"

In spite of the still-lingering fears, Ai could feel her heart rising. If there was one thing she knew at this moment, it was that maybe they really, truly did have a chance. Any time she stood beside her Servant, any time she was close to her, she felt so warm… even when she feared for what could happen to the swordswoman, it felt right to be close to her. Simply listening to her breathing, her heartbeat… Indeed, just being beside her was enough. No matter how frightened the short brunette was, it seemed as if nothing could change that fact.

Ai found a small smile making its way onto her lips.

"… I… I know this is what we have to do, Saber… so… so even… even if I feel pathetic for how frightened I feel about facing someone like Pandora…" she trailed off for a moment, "… I'll stand together with you, and… and I'll do everything that I can to make sure we win."

To be honest, it was the only right thing to do. And it was the only thing she could do in order to stand beside Saber. So, even until the end, she'd remain beside the girl samurai no matter what. After all… they'd only reaffirmed how they felt about one another, now, hadn't they?

"That's exactly what I thought you'd say, Ai-chan," Saber responded, smiling brightly as she spoke, "You're the kind of person who does what you think is right, no matter what. So no matter what things end up like, that's why I have faith in you."

It was those sorts of words that made Ai just so thankful for having summoned someone like Saber… even now, she still wasn't sure she deserved it, but Saber was so kind, so upbeat and cheerful… How could such a wonderful girl exist?!

Finally, Ai could take it no longer. Overcome once more, her small hands gripping Souji's, she leaned up and pressed her lips against the taller girl's. This time, the pale swordswoman wasn't so shocked, only taking a moment to return the kiss. The warmth of her body… Even if it was a transient, spiritual form, it was still warm. Still felt like flesh and blood. But, of course, Ai had already intimately familiarized herself with that fact. For some time, both girls simply remained like this, sitting in one another's embrace, feeling the warmth of their lips.

Indeed, they only stopped when they suddenly heard the door open. Embarrassed, and surprised, both girls swiftly looked towards the doorway. Standing there, looking mildly flustered from the sight herself, was the now-familiar form of Alysvial von Einzbern.

"Ah, er, you were doing those things again!" the little girl mumbled, shifting awkwardly, "Um… I just wanted to wish you good luck, though, since I couldn't figure out how to help out… I wanted to do something, at least!"

Ah… Alysvial was really trying hard, wasn't she? Ai took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down in more ways than one.

"That's alright, Alys-chan," Saber said, managing to quickly recover from her embarrassment, though Ai noted that her cheeks were still rather flushed, "As long as you stay safe, we'll be happy, I'm sure."

Alys was silent for a few moments. It didn't seem like she liked the idea of being unable to help, and in Ai's recovering mind it was rather obvious why. While she didn't wish for the little girl to risk her life, the fact was that she was an Einzbern homunculus, a magus of incredible power. No, perhaps 'magus' was an incorrect label for her. Rather, she was magic circuit in the shape of a human being. That was the sort of power exhibited by a top-ranking homunculus like Alys.

But ultimately, the idea of placing an innocent girl like that in danger because of her power didn't sit well with Ai. If she did something like that, wouldn't she be no better then the old man who had done it in the first place? Even if Alys better understood the conflict she would be entering, not only did she lack a Servant, but she was still a child. There was no way that either Saber or Ai could every consider something like that to be the right option.

"That's right, Alys-chan, if you wa-"

Ai paused for a moment. Her thoughts about the pale little girl's nature had reminded her that Rani V, too, was a homunculus. Due to her lack of capabilities in direct combat, at least against Servants, Rani was to aid in dismantling the defenses that Avenger had placed around the parking garage. No modern magus, no matter how powerful, would have been able to completely destroy them, but she could weaken them, or make a hole. She would be both out of harm's way and still assisting them.

"… Alys-chan, what kind of magecraft are you best suited towards?" she asked. If Alys so badly wanted to help… there was a way for her to remain out of danger and still do everything she could to contribute.

"Ah? Well… I'm good at defensive spells. Not just making them, but disabling them, too!" declared the homunculus, helpfully, "I also have familiars made out of my own hair, but I didn't get to use them much… That's not all I'm good at, but it's one of the things I'm good at! … Um… why did you ask?"

"… There's a way you can help, and still stay safe, then!" Ai responded, with a nod. She could feel a confused look from Saber. The brunette girl was still nervous, but… Alys's desperate desire to provide assistance made it seem wrong to ignore the possibility, "Rani-san is going to be working to open a hole in whatever defenses Avenger has created. If you helped her… I… I think there's no chance that we wouldn't make it through!"

The little girl's crimson eyes widened. Two homunculi, one created by Atlas and the other by the Einzbern, doing all they could to drill a hole right into the workshop that Avenger had created. Even the Magecraft of the Age of Gods couldn't withstand those combined efforts, at least, not without straining just a little. Just enough.

Ai couldn't be entirely certain if this had been the right thing to do, but at the same time it seemed wrong to turn the desperate girl away, and the fact was that they'd be at a safe location while Saber, with Ai and Tsubaki's support, did battle with the Shadow Servants. No matter how much the idea of that frightened her, she had been able to recognize the possibilities that were granted. On top of that, as far as she understood, Alys's maids had enough mild combat ability that they could serve as guards, just in case.

"It might be Magecraft of the Age of Gods," Alys began, brightly, "But an Atlas Homunculus and I should be able to make a hole for you! I'll go talk to her right away!"

Excitedly, the pale little girl sprinted off, presumably to locate Rani and inform her of her newfound role in the plan.

"Letting her assist from a safe location that lets her use her best talents…" commented Souji, "It's not like we can be certain if it really will be totally safe, but it's as close to safe as possible. I thought you kept saying you weren't a planner, Ai-chan."

"… I… I still don't know if it was the right thing to do," said Ai, holding her arm, now that Alys was out of earshot, "She's… she's a little girl, but… she's also a powerful magus, and she wanted to help so badly…"

"… I can't say I would have been sure what to do either," said the girl samurai, with a deep breath, "I don't want Alys-chan to get hurt, but I think there isn't much of a chance of that if she stays close to Rani. I'll be keeping the Shadow Servants occupied, after all! And with Avenger busy and Lancer waiting for me…"

The Saber-class Servant nodded firmly to herself.

"I was already fighting to make sure everyone stayed safe, so even if Alys-chan is on the scene I won't falter! Even…"

Souji inhaled deeply, letting the air drift out of her at a much more sedate pace.

"Even knowing Hijikata-san will be there. I can't let myself think about anything else but victory."

Hijikata… But, if Hijikata was going to be one of the first enemies that they faced… Ai had to have faith in her Servant. And no matter what fears she held, Ai did. If Saber said that she could fight Hijikata, that she had a Noble Phantasm that would allow her to counter all of the Shadow Servants at once, then she would believe her without hesitation.

"But right now… it's late," Souji added, glancing towards her Master, "… We have to start preparing for the battle tomorrow, don't we?"

That was exactly right. Ai hadn't realized just how late it was, moments ago. Alys must have been keeping herself up worrying about how she could help, too…

Ai nodded.

"I'll be by your side the whole night, Ai-chan."

And so she was.

The next day was spent largely on greater preparations. A plan had been coordinated between Rani and Alys, the both of them coming to an agreement on how to begin work on penetrating Avenger's defenses. In the end, the idea was what Ai had suspected it would be, to begin to erode them from a long range with the help of familiars as a sort of 'delivery service'. It was likely that the familiars would not survive the process, but at this point they had to do whatever they could in order to stop Avenger. The sacrifice of a few familiars was a loss of resources, but they were not complicated ones with their own thoughts and feelings.

Speaking of familiars, they had been contacted by Theomanius. He had put forth his own familiar, Marion, as a potential assistant. The little girl had arrived late that morning, not long after her assistance was accepted. She was silent, but her capabilities laid in a strong supportive role. She was able to apply reinforcement quite effectively to other magi, beyond Ai could do, at least. While it seemed like a small thing, it would help to prevent more serious injuries and allow them to evade attacks. Additionally, she was excellent at detecting spiritual presences, meaning that anything short of an Assassin would struggle to ambush them. Any assistance was welcome, and Marion's was no exception. However, Ai couldn't help but notice that she seemed rather sad… thinking back to the previous few times she had seen the little familiar, there was no way to ignore the fact that it was likely due to Archer's death.

A pang of guilt struck her heart when she realized this. Archer had perished saving the lives of Saber and herself. He may have been an enemy Servant, but he had died as an ally, fighting to keep the Shadow Servants at bay. She couldn't help but feel guilty, especially seeing how it had affected Marion. The small familiar seemed to become angry any time the enemy Servants were mentioned, and quite and morose otherwise.

Ai couldn't blame her. She had seemed to be very close to the Archer-class Servant, after all… But unfortunately, there was little time to spend on comforting her.

Tsubaki had been spending time hastily preparing air capsules. By her explanation, they were small containers of folded air, a sort of 'discount' Mystic Code that could function as a grenade by releasing the air contained inside of them all at once, or to bolster a spell.

There were a few things the tanned magus was certain of. One, was that she was going to see Lancer again, no matter what happened and no matter how dark her former Servant had become. The second was that there was no chance that Hirata Genjiro wouldn't be there.

Hirata Genjiro… He was still a mystery to Ai. Just why was he doing the things he had done? To ally with a Servant like Avenger… to tell her about her parents… while it was ultimately better to know, no matter how painful the knowledge had been, the fact remained that there was no way that the man had shared that information with the intent of helping her. Not given his other actions.

Saber had suggested his intent was to break the alliance between two of the knight classes, and at the moment Ai agreed with that, especially given the fact that Tsubaki and Lancer had immediately been ambushed after they parted.

The small brunette felt a pang of guilt for that, too. To think that Lancer had fallen and been corrupted because they split up… if they'd still been together, could Saber have stopped Avenger from defeating the knight?

Ai struggled not to let past regrets get the better of her. She had to keep pushing forward, just like Saber had told her. They had to stop Avenger.

As the day wore on, the apprehension in Ai's heart grew stronger and stronger. Avenger was someone with a Noble Phantasm that could assault the entire world, and they had never seen her fight before. Was there any way to predict just what kind of abilities she could possess? But whenever she began to grow frightened, Ai reminded herself about Saber's words. She was someone Souji had faith in… so she had to have faith in herself.

It felt like it was almost too soon that the sun was beginning to set. By Rani's reckoning, there was no further time to make preparations. This was the final few hours. The Holy Grail's descent would begin tonight, and if Avenger obtained it as she hoped then that would be the end. Every time she thought about the fact that Avenger truly possessed the capability to attack all of humanity if she gained the Holy Grail, it made her even more frightened. But at the same time… somehow, it filled her with even more determination. Was this truly the effect of Saber's words, then? Of… of Saber's love? Was it all because of what the both of them now shared? She didn't know. She couldn't know, really. But… deep down, Ai knew that something about herself really had changed.

It was almost time. Everyone was beginning to gather in the mansion's main hall.

"Ai-chan," she heard Saber's voice, and the words of her Servant snapped her out of the somewhat messy train of thought she had been following all day.

"Souji-chan?" she asked, "What is it? S-sorry I've been all over the place today, e-er…" she trailed off. Of course, Saber had been participating in the preparations as well, so it wasn't like she wouldn't be aware…

"… I'm sorry, Ai," continued the girl samurai, taking a deep breath, "We're so close to beginning the final assault and I almost forgot. This whole time… there's been something I haven't shown anyone."

Something she hadn't shown anyone…? Wait… Saber mentioned that she had two other Noble Phantasms, hadn't she? If one was the tool she intended to use against the Shadow Servants, then there was still another…

The beautiful swordswoman raised one hand. Her katana appeared in a flurry of cherry blossom light, and then the rest of her clothing did as well.

"I thought it would immediately give my identity away," she continued, "So I chose not to use it. But now, there's nothing that can possibly be held back any longer. Please allow me to show you the true Okita Souji, Ai."

The last streams of sunlight through the windows caught the blade of Souji's katana. And then…

"Chikai no Haori!"

There was a brilliant flash of light, and cherry blossoms seemed to flow suddenly from Ai's Servant's body. The short brunette took a step back, golden eyes widening. There was no ignoring it… suddenly, her Servant's physical parameters had suddenly leapt up in power!

When the light faded, it was revealed just why.

Okita Souji now stood clad in the coat she had worn in life that most perfectly symbolized her role in history. The blue and white of the Shinsengumi. It was a Noble Phantasm that enhanced-no, not enhanced. It allowed for the use of Souji's true capabilities. That was the nature of Chikai no Haori.

"… To even tell you of it slipped my mind…" added Saber, reaching back to scratch the back of her head, awkwardly.

"… It's fine, Souji," responded Ai, with a smile, "… You know, you look even more beautiful like that."

Her Servant returned her smile.

The final preparations were completed.

It was the beginning of the end.