Chapter 28

Atrum looked up at the peak of Mount Enzou from the bottom of the stairs, the only path leading up to the temple at the top. Based on the reports he had received, there was a strong Bounded Field around the mountain that prevented unnatural spirits from entering the area. He only had to extend his sense slightly to feel it, and he could faintly hear a buzzing around the area, signifying the presence of a Bounded field.

However, the path that acted as the the focal point for the ley lines was the one and only spot where Servants could enter, and so if he and Caster used this place as their base, they could take advantage of the natural barrier and place a guard at the front gate to stall any Servants from entering. They could still try to enter from elsewhere, but their powers would be significantly reduced by the Bounded Field, making them easy prey for Caster to take out, unless they were immensely strong to the point of the penalty not mattering at all to them. If he could also secure an alliance with Lancer, they could simply have Lancer guard the front gate of the temple while Caster tapped into the convergence of ley lines to continuously deploy her Noble Phantasm, permanently strengthening Lancer as long as he was in the vicinity. She could further support him with her spells and act in an offensive capacity as well, from what he'd seen, so this would serve as the perfect base for them.

"Hmph, sometimes, my genius, it's almost frightening." He shook his head in self-admiration for having found such a prime location.

"You're really confident in yourself aren't you, Master." Caster teased him from the sides, watching him get worked up about his own intellect.

"At the very least, I'm confident I surpass your mental capabilities." He deadpanned.

"O-oy! I'll have you know I can also read and write like anybody else!"

"That's the basic level of education for most people nowadays…"

"Huuhh?!"

As they were talking, a loud voice called out to them from behind.

"You there mongrel. Show me your Servant."

He stiffened at the word "Servant", and slowly turned around to face the person who had said it.

The moment he laid eyes on Gilgamesh, his knees weakened as all his instincts screamed at him to run as fast as he could, as far away from him as possible, even to the far corners of the Earth and beyond. Unconsciously, his body started to tremble as his palms turned sweaty, the chill night air biting him far more acutely as sweat ran down his back as well.

"W-who are you?" He managed to regain his presence of mind after Caster mentally patted his back, reminding him of her presence. He couldn't show any weakness, especially not before he had even fought a single battle.

"Mongrel, normally I'd kill you immediately for asking that, but this time I'll make an exception. I wouldn't be able to judge your worthiness as your Master if I just killed you. Now show me your Servant, and face me in combat, lest I get bored of you." His stance was relaxed, but Atrum could sense that his words were all true, and he was ready to engage them at any moment. Despite being empty handed and seemingly alone, he could sense an unsettling air of confidence from his entire body, assured that he could easily win against him. Moments passed as he froze up, unsure of what to do.

"Master, should we fight?" Caster's worried voice cut through his panic, reminding him of his duty as her Master. No, he couldn't freeze up in front of her. He was her Master, and they were going to win the war! He wouldn't be afraid of some random stranger coming out of nowhere and challenging him to a fight.

"Since you seem to know about Servants, I take it that you're involved in the Moonlit World. Very well, though I know not who you are or where you're from, what is clear is that you're an enemy who bears hostility against me, and I shall answer in kind. Caster, let's defeat him right here and now!" The month of living with Caster had rubbed off on him, making him psych himself up by saying battle lines as well.

Instantly, she materialized from thin air in front of him, staff at the ready as a blue glow outlined her body, reinforcement kicking in to enhance her strength and speed.

"Engaging in combat, Master! I won't lose!"

She settled into a stance, prepared to intercept the first blow.

But instead of starting the fight, the blond haired man stared at Caster incredulously, recognition dawning in his eyes as he pupils traced every contour of her face, the lights going off in his head. The shock quickly faded to be replaced by anger as he turned his attention to the Master standing behind her. His face contorted into a furious god's as his absolute fury was brought to bear against the human, his dignified stature further enhancing his image as a deity wrought of hatred. Then it vanished in an instant, replaced by a blank look.

"Mongrel, how did you summon this Servant?"

A deceptively calm voice asked him, but Atrum immediately felt compelled to answer him truthfully as soon as possible, lest he suffer his wrath.

"I tried to summon another Servant with a catalyst, but I somehow got her."

There was a deafening silence after that as the blonde man scrutinized Atrum's face. His mouth suddenly turned dry as what felt like an enormous weight pressed against him, his body no longer shaking but frozen in fear. The king paused in thought, his narrowed eyes still boring lasers through Atrum's head, before he finally spoke.

"Mongrel, since you did not deliberately summon her, I will not kill you immediately. In addition, she is not the Saber I know. However, if later on I learn that you mistreat her in any way, you will pay the full price of harming one of my treasures."

With that, the oppressive air that seemed to be crushing Atrum lessened, though he still felt like something was pressing on him. No longer under pressure, he almost collapsed, but the sight of his Servant's steady back managed to revitalize him to some degree, retaining his mental fortitude.

"Now come, I grow weary of words. Prove your worth with your swords!"

With that, half a dozen golden portals opened up behind the man as blades peeked out of them, their shapes ranging from the most common longsword to some type of jagged rock sword with chains running down into the portal. They ejected out of the golden ripples without a sound, the air whistling as they traveled towards Caster.

Caster stood her ground and went into action, raising the staff high into the air as the curved top glowed with intense blue light, several golden spinning discs appeared, cutting through the air and leaving behind golden trails as they swiftly intercepted the projectiles. The rest of the projectiles were batted aside by her staff as soon as they reached her, the swords deflected to stab in the ground, sinking deeply into the tarmac.

"Ah, I was hoping he wouldn't know her identity, but it seems he's met her before. I don't understand though, if he's a Servant, does that mean he's been summoned before in a previous Grail War and met her? He said "Saber", so it doesn't look like he met the exact same version as Caster. Well, at least there are no obvious weaknesses in Arthur's legend, aside from perhaps Mordred. It's a bit strange that I don't sense anything like a Servant's mana signature off him though, it almost seems like he's a regular human, with a body of flesh. Yet, those golden portals are clearly something beyond any magus, and must be the work of an enemy Servant. Perhaps he's an Archer? Though all his projectiles are swords, so he could be a Saber. However, I've never heard of a Saber that throws swords before. If I could figure out his identity, I might be able to pinpoint a weakness of his that could help us win."

Despite being stuck on the back lines, Atrum acted like a Master should, constantly analysing the situation and looking for a way to lead his Servant to victory. He had pored over many historical documents containing the legends of hundreds and thousands of heroes, from the famed Hercules to the little known Eric Bloodaxe, and he was sure he could find something about him that hinted at his true identity.

The half of a dozen portals continued spitting out swords at Caster as she parried, blocked and deflected each one with various methods, ranging from simply batting them aside with her staff to firing explosions of mana with the mana capsules to knock them aside midway. Her white dress fluttered as she moved gracefully, her body unwavering even when the swords came within an inch of skewering her.

With a single glance, Gilgamesh could tell that she had higher than average physical parameters when compared to normal Casters, almost the same as the average Archer, and her magecraft was crude and unrefined. He could almost read what she was doing the instant she started moving, as her magecraft was less a system and more a trigger that activated as soon as she willed it with a catalyst in her hand. Her staff was particularly important to her in this manner, most likely serving as the main catalyst, though he was sure she had other catalysts available. Most likely, she possessed a special skill that allowed her to use this unique brand of magecraft. However, he couldn't deny that her spells packed a punch, despite their relative inefficiency and lack of sophistication. In addition, he could tell that there were several powerful enhancements and blessings supporting her, probably some combination of fae protection and fate manipulation. Some of the swords seem to bend out of her way automatically, her staff swinging after the fact to make it look like they had been batted aside, when they had actually been fated to miss in the first place. He concluded that while she was decent at direct combat herself, she would probably serve best in a supporting role, unless her Noble Phantasm helped increase her offensive power.

All of this was deduced in a single glance, the information and analysis flowing through his head so much faster than Atrum that it was like comparing a Turing computer to an A.I. developed a millennium later. In addition, all of his deductions were spot on.

After learning nothing new about her for a few seconds, he decided to increase the rate of Noble Phantasms fired at her. The swords, which previously flew at her with the speed of a car, started speeding up until they were as fast as a bullet, the new velocity lending them much more force. Furthermore, all six portals started spewing out swords at the same time, increasing the volume of swords she had to deal with, and the staggered pattern that they came in made it even more difficult.

In that instant, she suddenly put on a burst of speed, having intentionally made it look like she was struggling with the swords earlier, and surged forward towards the man. Atrum had already left for a safer spot further back, so the swords that flew past her only hit the road and trees surrounding the edge of Mount Enzou.

Her physical capabilities increased due to her magecraft and fae protection, the staff lending her strength as she ducked and dodged each and every projectile, letting her rapidly reach the man in seconds. The man made no attempt to retreat, instead grabbing a sword from a portal that appeared at his side and holding the ornate blade in a one handed stance, his body sideways akin to a fencer's pose.

*CLANG*

Sparks flew as the staff and the sword clashed, each side struggling to dominate the other. With the self-enhancements applied to her, a disparity was created in their originally equal ranks of strength, allowing her to slowly push down his sword as the ominously glowing blue crystal at the top of the staff started lowering towards his face.

Almost bored, he jumped back, escaping the deadlock as several portals bombarded her from close range. Without hesitating, she thrust her staff into the ground.

"O Staff of Selection, Shine!"

She barely made it in time, the blue pillar of light swelling up from the ground to shatter all the swords inside it, the staff lightly glowing. The surroundings lit up with the sapphire light, the leaves turning blue under their influence. As soon as the light faded, Caster charged forward again, her staff lighting up as she sent spinning golden discs flying towards the blonde.

Atrum noticed that there was something twinkling on the ground with the golden light, but he was too far away to see exactly what it was.

This time, instead of standing still to take her attack, he advanced, golden portals shooting swords in response to her discs as he himself ran forward with swords in both hands, switching to a dual wield style.

*SZRK*

*CLING, CLANG*

The sound of energy discs and swords colliding echoed on the road as Caster approached him. But just as she was about to reach him, she suddenly turned the staff sideways, a jet of mana bursting from the tip of her staff to send her sliding to the left, then small explosion of mana from the mana capsule triggered under her feet send her catapulting forwards behind the man. In a moment, she soon reached his back, as he ended up standing where she had originally stood.

"Hoh, it seems like you have some sort of plan." He didn't miss the glint in her eye as soon as she stopped, her legs taut as they served as brakes to stop her momentum. As soon as she stopped, the staff was thrust at an angle into the tarmac, blue light filling the air as the crystal at the top of the staff glowed, before the energy flowed down the length of the staff and was conducted into the ground. Nothing happened for a second.

*ZZSSHH*

*KABOOM*

A loud buzzing noise could be heard for an instant, and then the ground lit up with multiple explosions that rocked the ground under Atrum's feet, the blue novas completely obliterating the area the man was standing in, and then some more.

Earlier on, Caster had planted the mana capsules in the ground with the tip of her staff, shooting them out one end without triggering them. She had then baited him into stepping into the minefield, then activated it.

"Not bad, but it could use some refinement. For example, what would you do if I just flew into the air?"

She looked up in surprise to see him simply floating in the air, staring down at her with an arrogant smirk once more on his face. Shaking his head, he manifested more portals around him.

"I overestimated your ability, and you've proven to be quite boring. Even though you have some interesting abilities, it seems to be a waste of mana to keep you around. Unless, your Noble Phantasm proves otherwise."

This time, hundreds of golden ripples appeared, turning the sky into a sea of gold that possessed hundreds of weapons, each and every one of them a unique Noble Phantasm.

"H-how, how can this be?" Seeing such a terrible and yet wondrous yet, Atrum couldn't help but whisper.

Just as he was about to fire off the flood of swords, he stopped. Something was wrong here.

*ZZSSHHAAA*

A dragon's roar emanated from the ground as a huge tower of light engulfed him, shooting all the way up into the clouds and cutting a hole in them. For a split second, Atrum worried about it's visibility, but it quickly faded away, leaving the skies clear once more. Once it cleared, the man was nowhere in sight. Slowly, Caster hobbled over to Atrum.

"Ehehe, looks like I did well this time. It's all thanks to Master for supporting me from the back." She was visibly tired, slowly shambling over to him while leaning on her staff heavily. In spite of this, a cheerful smile still remained on her face, quietly lifting up his spirits after the stressful events that had just happened.

"FUHAHAHAHA! It's been some time since my eyebrows got singed, but the fight has been most entertaining!"

Caster turned around in dread, seeing the blonde man mostly unharmed, as several golden chains wrapped around his waist slowly uncoiled and slid back into the golden portals.

"To think that you would be able to cast illusion magecraft, and well enough to affect my perception to such a degree, how unexpected. The blast was also of an astonishing level, the power output almost on the level of a Noble Phantasm. That's quite the large hole in the ground there."

Indeed, there was a large sinkhole in the ground where the blue tower of mana rose from.

"But at this point you must have used up all your mana capsules and mana reserves from casting that illusion and firing off that blast, so I doubt you're in any condition to fight anymore. Since I escaped unscathed with the help of my friend, you've been defeated."

Indeed, she had tricked him into thinking she was staring at him in shock while he prepared the bombardment in the sky, while in reality she had been maintaining the illusion and channeling the mana required for the blast. Her earlier straightforward tactics had served as a method to implant the notion that she wasn't capable of complex battle plans into his mind, and served to enhance the effectiveness of the solution. She had also held back from using any other type of magecraft besides direct mana shots, to hide the fact that she could use illusion magecraft as well. She had then used the remainder of the mana capsules that she had not triggered in the ground to serve as a magic circle that focused the energy into a streak of energy that shot into the sky like a roaring dragon, and struck him down while he remained trapped in the illusion that started the moment the blasts of mana hid her from his view.

But he had managed to overcome all that, and now she was fatigued and low on mana, while he still possessed an unknown amount of Noble Phantasms that could easily tear through her given the chance. Still, she wearily took up her staff in both hands and stood in front of her Master, unwilling to give up just like that. Even with her body trembling from exhaustion, the leather pouch at her side empty of mana capsules, she would still stand and fight for her Master, as the star of hope.

"Hmph, even though you may be different, just like her you shine with a radiance unlike any other. I can see it in your eyes as well, though you may be young, you are yet to be broken like her."

She didn't know what he was talking about, but she could tell he was praising her.

"Thanks for the praise, but save it for after my victory." She grinned fearlessly, even as her arms shook minutely while holding the staff.

"Fuhahaha! To think that you would have such steel even in your youth, truly something to rejoice! Very well, I suppose you have proven your worth. I will watch over your progress through the war eagerly. Take care to not let me down, dear Caster."

Smiling in amusement, he dismissed the portals hanging in the air, turning around to leave.

In a flash, inspiration struck him. He suddenly knew who their enemy was.

"You're Gilgamesh, aren't you?" He was convinced he was mostly correct. After seeing the chains and him referring to them as "my friend", the dots suddenly connected as he remembered the oldest epic in the world that he had read in the process of doing his research, the being Enkidu known as the" Chains of Heaven", and his status as the sole friend of the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh stopped and turned his head slightly, looking to the side.

"It seems that not all mongrels are worthless. Although you should have realized it from the moment you met me, being able to deduce it so quickly is certainly not bad for a mongrel of your level."

Turning back, he disappeared into the night.

With him gone, Atrum found his courage returning, the fear that he had forcefully suppressed bursting out like a dam as relief flooded through his body, his emotional state at its peak.

"Phew, that was a tough fight. We didn't win, but still I count it as a victory in my books for repelling that goldie!"

She smiled brightly at him, fueled by a seemingly inexhaustible well of optimism.

"Yeah, I suppose it's our first win. Let's go, Caster." Privately, he was very worried that Gilgamesh would return any time to attack them, and he also had to think up plans to counter him, as well as the mystery of his body. But for now, they could return to the workshop to rest.

*SHWIP*

*Splorch!*

A sword protruded out of his ribs, having run through his back to pierce his heart and come out his chest. Just as soon as he saw it, it was pulled out, releasing a gush of blood that spurted through the air in a straight line, a line of blood left on the tarmac.

After that, everything seemed to move in slow motion for Atrum, as if he were in a dream.

"Master? What was that?"

Caster turned around, pale face aghast to see her Master impaled with a glowing sword protruding out of his chest as he reached out to her, before tumbling to the ground, a rapidly spreading pool of blood forming on the ground. Behind him, she saw a blue scarf with golden lining along the edges flit in the air, before it disappeared around the corner and vanished into the shadows.

"ATRUM!"

Screaming his name in panic, she knelt down next to him and cast as many basic healing spells as she knew, ignoring the blood staining her white dress as it soaked it up like a sponge. When that didn't work, she switched to the Protection of Vivian that imparted the blessings of the fae to others. Golden light sank into his body, the blood flow lessening for a moment, before it gushed out with renewed force.

Strangely he felt no pain. What was she panicking for? It wasn't really that bad, but he was starting to feel a bit tired. Maybe he should close his eyes for a bit, just a little bit of rest before he got back up to face the king…

"No, *hic*, Master, you promised me, *hic*, that we'd win together!"

That's right, she'd said they'd do their best together right? Was this his best? Dying after a single battle from a surprise attack?

Ah, he could see her now. The girl who had promised him they would live together, away from the magecraft chaining down their families. Her white dress fluttered with the wind as her black hair cascaded past her shoulders to her waist, hands reaching out to embrace him.

"Isabel...I'm, I'm here."

Seeing the light slowly fade out of his eyes, Caster, with no other method available to her, gripped his shoulders tightly, took a deep breath, and yelled into his face with all her strength.

"WAKE UP MASTER!"

Like a jolt of electricity into his heart, the glazed eyes cleared up again as he suddenly felt the pain through his entire body, causing him to bite his lips in agony as the pain shot through his nerves, blood spilling down from his lips and nose. However, his mind was clear, and he knew what to do.

He had still had one last thing to do as her Master, before he passed away.

Weakly raising up his right hand, the Command Seals with a shape reminiscent of her staff started glowing, the red marks highlighted against his dark brown skin.

"Caster, I order you to retreat from this location to a safe zone." His weak voice could barely be heard, yet the effect was instantaneous. She disappeared with a crack as the space warped before returning to normal, an approximation of True Magic occurring with the power of the Command Seal.

As his consciousness slipped away with each breath, he gave the next order, clinging to the last line of thought still occupying his rapidly fading memory.

"Caster, I order you to exist until you find a new Master." At this point, he was barely audible, his bloodstained mouth moving weakly as his vocal chords struggled to produce the sounds necessary for the command. He lay on his side as the swords prevented any other posture, his right hand slowly dropping down from being raised to gently sinking onto the cool tarmac, now coated with fresh blood. Dimly, he could sense the moon watching him silently, keeping vigil over his last moments. With his final breath, he used up the last of his Command Seals, forfeiting his right as a Master, and imparting his last will upon his Servant.

"Caster, I order you to fulfill your fate."

That brightly shining star, it would find its rightful place in the sky to illuminate the path and gather the true companions.

There was nothing more to say. His lips stilled as his eyes closed shut, his skin rapidly turning pale from the blood loss. He could see Isabella take his hand and lead him to the cottage that they'd live in after escaping from their magus families, and his lips weakly twitch into a gentle smile. Then he was no more.

*clack, clack, clack*

Leather shoes rang on the pavement, getting closer and closer to the corpse, until it stopped right at the edge of the rapidly cooling pool of blood.

"Mongrel, how pathetic. To die after your first battle like this, slain by a cowardly assassin."

He cast his gaze among the surroundings.

"And not a very skilled one at that."

Gilgamesh looked back at his corpse, not with disdain, but with grudging respect.

"But even though you died like this, in the end you had the resolve to fulfill your duty as a Master, and found the strength of will to overcome your imminent death for a few seconds. Mongrel, for that, I will personally deal with your remains. Be honored that the King of Heroes was here to witness your end."

The air next to him rippled, and from the portal, he pulled out the very same sword that he had used to incinerate the geis scroll. With a simple swing of the sword, the heat completely vaporized the body, turning it into fine ash that scattered with the winter winds. In a few moments, all that was left was a piece of melted tar on the ground, and the grey flakes that drifted with the wind to lands unknown.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The moral of this chapter is to be careful of people stabbing you in the back the moment you let your guard down.

Hey guys and gals, it's the author here, first of all thanks for taking the time to read this fanfic up til now, and I hope you've enjoyed the ride so far.

Next, I'd like to inform you that the rate of updates will slow down with the beginning of the school year, what with school starting and all, so expect at most 4 chapters per week, but I'll at least post 2 chapters a week unless it's exams/projects week or something.

In addition, it's possible that I'll rewrite the Caster Artoria sections, depending on the information released with the upcoming sixth Lostbelt.

With that, I hope y'all will keep reading and enjoy the rest of the story.

-Calloist