Chapter 142

They managed to get back to the temple in one piece, with nothing eventful happening to them during the long walk back. Caster had vanished for most of it, while for Saber who was unable to do so, they were forced to grab a raincoat from nearby to cover her so that she wouldn't stand out too much.

Kuzuki went ahead first to make sure the monks wouldn't spot her in such a state while Shirou pulled out Avalon from himself, having just thought of it when they arrived at the foot of the steps leading to Ryuudou Temple.

Saber sat on the steps, her energy sapped already just from walking. She watched as Shirou placed a hand on his chest, closing his eyes to bring the form of the scabbard to his mind. It had always been there, a constant presence in his life from the moment he was saved, even if he wasn't aware of it. His body had recorded it's every speck, each facet of it until it knew it like the back of its hand, even if he couldn't fully understand the concept behind it. It was like teaching a person from the Stone Age to make curds from milk without explaining the science behind it. It was easily replicable, and they would be able to perform it efficiently after repeating the process over and over, but they wouldn't really know the principles behind it unless they researched it and discovered the knowledge for themselves.

Though if Shirou tried to research the principles behind the scabbard, he might as well try to learn how to turn the Earth into one giant cake as well. It was just that difficult, and alien to human perception and knowledge.

Golden light formed in Shirou's other hand as he felt a warmth pass through his chest, a comforting feeling that soothed the fatigue and stress accumulated from the battles earlier. It came from deep within him, a space that felt inviolable, and when it left his body, he felt like something was missing from him, a part of him that without it he was incomplete. Feeling slightly naked, he opened his eyes to see the scabbard resting in his hand, the surface cool to the touch, but inexplicably warm as well, like something was heating it from within.

Doing his best to ignore that contradictory sensation, he gave it to Saber, kneeling next to her and allowing her hands to cradle it, looking on as she hugged it closer to her body. It rested against her shoulder, the tip lying on her thigh, and then dissolved, the glowing bright as it turned into golden motes of light that passed through the rain coat like it was water to enter Saber's body, returning to its rightful owner.

Though the wounds she sustained earlier had healed on the surface, they still ached and pierced her body like thorns in her muscles. Once the scabbard returned to her, she could feel her entire body's fatigue and soreness from being electrocuted disappear, a soothing calm like bathing in calm waters washing over her. She leaned back and sighed, a content smile stretching across her face as her facial muscles relaxed, until she remembered her Master was next to her. She quickly wiped away the smile and stood up, letting the hood drop over her head to hide her face.

"Mas-Shirou, let's go. I will be fine now with the assistance of Avalon."

He didn't really know why she suddenly stood up like that, but if she felt better, then that was good.

"I'm glad. Let's go back then."

The two of them walked up the steps, side by side, as the cloudy skies parted for a brief moment to let the moon fall on the stairs ahead of them, the gray stone taking a sheen of white under their feet.

Back in the temple, Caster did her best to prepare a quick meal, her body already recovering with the help of the leylines running beneath their base, the energy rejuvenating her and granting her another burst of energy once she entered the space that was her Temple, the bubble created by her Noble Phantasm. This also extended to her allies and Master as well, and to a lesser extent even the monks, though the most they received was a little extra vitality each day.

It wasn't too late in the day yet, though the sun was already down, so she decided that a meal would probably be for them to recover, and then they could talk about the battle earlier. Cooking, cutting vegetables, cooking rice and other mundane tasks felt strange after fighting mere hours before, but it did help give her body something to do as her thoughts turned to Berserker and Avenger.

Was Berserker and Assassin responsible for Avenger? They had first seen Assassin carrying Avenger's unconscious body, and then after they had almost taken out the exhausted Assassin, Berserker had shown up to protect them. Then again, considering how Avenger was like when they saw her, it was more likely they had defeated Avenger and then wanted to do something with the Servant, rather than summoning her in the first place. Also, why hadn't Ruler come when Avenger showed up? She was fairly certain that if something like having Avenger smash an entire mansion to the ground, and then fight with several Servants, the Servant would notice something like that, especially when it was the reason she was summoned in the first place, to oversee the war and address all anomalies that appeared, which was mainly Avenger.

And then there was the lesser question of their capabilities. While by this point she was fairly certain that besides Archer, based on his appearance provided by her Master, Shirou and Saber last night at the school, was not an Artoria, all the other Servants were. That didn't mean they were equals in all aspects though, as their classes clearly differentiated their strengths from each other. To her, it also seemed like some were clearly stronger than the rest.

While she couldn't really gauge Assassin's ability after she was so tired out, owing to the fact that she had defeated Avenger and Rider before facing Caster, Berserker was a massive wall that they needed to overcome sooner or later, if they wanted to win the war. Her parameters must have been extraordinary, and after her...powerup, for a lack of a better word, it was like she was facing a demigod. Thinking about it, she should probably ask what her Master and Emiya saw of her parameters. Even with her Noble Phantasm internally active, she was still injured, her internal organs saved only due to her ability. There was nothing much she could do to Berserker, despite her vast array of abilities, but she could tell that at the very least, her spells could harm her. Marmyadose was definitely an ace in the hole that she could use, judging by how Berserker reacted to it, and her other abilities could surprise the Servant, though she didn't know if Berserker would react the same now after seeing them.

Saber's defeat also showed that there was probably a natural ability of Berserker's that countered her. She had been electrocuted after all, but for Saber to be defeated so cleanly, even with a stronger shock and Saber's inherent weakness due to her Master, was still difficult to believe.

They would have to figure out ways to increase their combat ability, and lay out plans for fac-

She realized the white radish she was cutting had been minced so finely when her thoughts were running through her head that it had turned into paste.

"Ack."

Going overboard like that was kind of bad. She wasn't especially good at cooking, though she was probably the best cook out of all the Artorias in the war, owing to her experiences in cooking for herself during her life, but during these times, it was nice to have a partner to keep an eye on her to prevent her from making mistakes.

As if on cue, Shirou walked into the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves already.

"Need some help Caster?"

"Ah, thanks! I uh, accidentally chopped the radish like that so…"

"Eh? That's really amazing! We could use that for…"

The two spent some time in the kitchen, doing their best to prepare a meal for the four of them to rest and recover their strength.