Chapter 6: The Nature of Mortals

The Berserker Cain stared down both Archer and Rider, coiling his body as he prepared to lunge into an attack. Dripping from their wounds, blood spattered against the floor, punctuating the still silence of the air.

We've lost our two-front advantage, Archer thought, gritting his teeth and holding his gaze steady on the Servant in front of him. And as long as his Noble Phantasm exists on his body, we can't damage him without it coming back on us. Damn... This isn't looking good.

"So any bright ideas Blondie?" Rider asked, grinning ever so slightly as he prepared to face off against Berserker's assault.

"I've had a few ideas, but not any good ones."

"How about if we kill him in one hit?" Rider suggested. "Take him out before the curse has time to activate."

"No. See I've been thinking about that, and decided that was probably the worst thing we could do." Archer lowered his brows and took a slow step backwards. "That thing on his chest isn't a curse or a rune. It's an Act of God. A crystallised miracle. Meaning that killing him isn't going to deactivate it. If anything it would make it stronger, and anyone who kills him would also die."

Rider's mouth curled into a grin. "So what you're saying is... We need to somehow force him to kill himself."

"What I'm saying is— Wait, what?"

By the time Archer had thought to question his ally's logic, Rider had already leapt back into the fray. Ducking under the arc of Berserker's slash he crouched low to the floor and stepped into the enemy Servant's range. Flicking [Yeoui] up behind him, he slapped the end of the pole into Berserker's forearm, forcing the blade back towards its owner.

As the tip of the weapon plunged into the flesh of his chest, Berserker roared in rage.

Still crouched low, Rider dragged his feet along the concrete and dashed to the side to avoid a retaliatory attack from the enraged Servant. As he did so, he waited for the damage to rebound back onto him.

When nothing happened, he broke into another smile. Because he knew his theory was correct.

"Got'cha."

Archer stood watching, finally understanding what Rider was doing.

If the attack comes from his own hand, then it has no one to reflect the damage onto. Meaning, if we can pin him down and force him to stab himself, then we can win.

Green light took hold of Berserker's body as his Master healed him. All the while, the black-haired Servant continued his assault on Rider.

Now aware of the danger of counter attacking his enemy, Rider focussed solely on either dodging or turning aside Berserker's attacks. Dipping and diving around him, he watched for an opening.

His chance, however, never came.

Midway through a charge, Berserker slammed his foremost foot into the ground, carving a deep trench into the concrete. Bending his leg, he wound the force of the sudden stop back into his body before suddenly kicking off again and rocketing towards Archer.

Seeing the advance of the brute, Archer barely had time to think. Acting more on instinct than anything else, he threw down his bow and rapidly drew the sword strapped to his hip. Metal locked against bone as the two weapons collided in a shockwave of force.

Swinging his arms sideways, Archer threw his enemy's blade wide, before instinctively reversing his blade to aim for Berserker's face.

His enemy's own reflexes saved him. Leaning backwards, Berserker allowed the arc of the sword to pass over his nose before back-stepping and moving out of Archer's range.

Damn it, the bowman thought, blocking another strike from the enraged Servant. I'm too used to fighting to kill. If he hadn't dodged just now, I would have been at the mercy of his Noble Phantasm. But...

Sidestepping slightly, he again engaged Berserker.

I at least have a plan, now.

Deflecting another of Berserker's slashes, he moved his feet sideways. Paying close attention to his position, Archer attempted to lead the other Servant into a particular spot. Turning slightly as he blocked another attack, he guided Berserker into place. So focussed was he on Archer's sword, he didn't realise that Rider had taken his back.

Now! Archer's mind shouted. Locking eyes with Rider, over Berserker's shoulder, his gaze intensified. Restrain him!

Alberto Von Einzbern sat on one of the numerous balconies that adorned the outside of the enormous European castle. Wind washed past him, fluttering through his white hair in a gentle current. His crimson eyes were closed, the white lashes throwing faint shadows down on his cheeks, as he looked through the eyes of his familiar.

Circling the battlefield at the riverside, he stared down through the vision of the hawk and analysed the Servants engaged in the blistering melee.

Archer... he thought. And... Lancer? Maybe... His stats are curious and strange.

The gaze of his familiar sharpened as Alberto watched the battle.

Hm... An Archer that uses a sword, and a Lancer with peculiar stats. Curious.

Leaning back further in his seat, he stretched out calmly and continued to observe the unfolding skirmish. Alberto lounged blissfully, perfectly at ease and content with the situation.

Yes, he simply thought. This is the best course of action to take.

He barely heard the soft patter of footsteps as they approached him. A pretty young woman with silver hair and rose coloured eyes, Justiceviel Von Einzbern waited patiently by the edge of the balcony. Despite her beauty, the expression that she wore was pensive and listless.

Another of the Einzbern Homunculi, Justiceviel had travelled to Fuyuki as part of Alberto's entourage, to aid in his acquisition of the Holy Grail. Her devotion to him was steadfast, ensuring her commitment to the War, and her capacity for Magecraft within the Einzberns was second only to him. It was for that very reason that she was chosen as his personal assistant.

Severing the mental connection with his familiar, Alberto opened his crimson eyes and allowed his gaze to fall upon the woman.

"The first battle of the War has begun," he said, calmly.

"Saber is currently exploring the castle," Justiceviel replied. "Should I summon him for you?"

"No," Alberto responded. "He is not needed. I am using this opportunity to observe the enemy Servants and identify their weaknesses. If he were aware that a battle was occurring, then he no doubt would be compelled to join in."

Justiceviel smiled and tilted her head to one side. "You really do think of everything."

Alberto merely hummed a simple response before rising and striding towards the balcony's edge. When he arrived beside his companion, he didn't so much as look at her. Narrowing his eyes, he stared over the trees at the red horizon.

Standing in quiet thought for a long minute, he gave no indication of what was going on inside his head.

"Justiceviel."

When he did speak, his voice was low and flat.

"This War," he said. "What is it to you? What does it mean to you, to obtain the Holy Grail?"

"That's a very strange question," she replied. "I thought that Grandfather Acht created you without the ability to feel emotions. But what you just said... It almost made you sound human."

Alberto's empty gaze lingered on her but he otherwise did not reply. Taking his silence as a cue that he did not care for the topic, Justiceviel returned to the question she had been asked.

"The Holy Grail is..." She paused for a moment to adjust her phrasing. "Something that I would very much want to see."

"That's all?"

"Does my reply displease you?" Justiceviel asked.

Alberto thought for a moment. "No. The fact that you have your own view on the situation is valuable. And to feel displeasure would mean that I had the capacity for emotion — which, as you have pointed out, I do not have. Rather I was inquiring if there was any more. Or do your ambitions only stop at seeing the Grail?"

"To see the Grail would mean that I escaped my fate," she replied. "If I were to see it, it would mean that I would be alive."

"So your desire is to live?"

A brief flicker of distress touched Justiceviel's face. As soon as it was apparent, however, the expression was already passing. "Yes. I suppose you could say that. I do want to live. But doesn't everyone?"

Alberto slipped his hands into his pockets and turned his gaze back onto the horizon. "I suppose. Though what does it really mean to live? You and I... Could you even consider us alive in the first place? Manufactured as we are. When we die, nobody mourns us — we are simply thrown onto the disposal heap. Life is sacred and respected... Not something churned out off of a production line."

Tears beaded in Justiceviel's eyes. Yet she did not cry. Smiling politely, she bowed and excused herself from the balcony. As she left, the woman passed by the large form of Saber, stood with his arms folded around the corner of the doorframe.

Once he was sure she was out of earshot, the Heroic Spirit joined his Master on the balcony. Brows knitted, he glared down at the man. "That was cruel."

"I do not have the capacity to be cruel," Alberto replied. "I was merely musing upon my own mortality. Malicious intent does not dwell within me."

"Just because you don't feel doesn't mean that others are the same," the Servant replied.

"Do not ask me to empathise. Such a thing is impossible. Some things are just in one's nature. Anything contrary to that would reject the natural order of things. I can change my lack of feelings no more than a human could walk on water."

"But isn't that what Magecraft is for?" Saber replied, pointedly. "And I thought you'd said that you were the most powerful Mage in this War?"

"An interesting take on my words," Alberto nodded. "Though the analogy is not necessarily correct. Besides..." Sitting on the stone railing, the pure white man close his eyes and breathed gently. "My nature does not change her reaction. Justiceviel heard something that was not there. My comment was meant less as a slight to her and more as a self-observation."

"Is that right?"

Alberto re-opened his eyes. "Everything fades, Saber. We are no exception. But... Could you really call it death? Even you, brought back through the power of the Grail... Are you truly alive?"

The sinking sun licked at the Master's profile with a deep orange light. Warmth took over the scene and a subtle air of silence settled on the pair.

"The first battle of the War has begun," Alberto continued. Despite his earlier insistence not to inform his Servant, his actions were contrary to his words. "Perhaps from here will we see."

Lunging from behind Berserker, Rider prepared to loop his staff around the other Servant's neck. As he did so, the flexed the fingers of his left hand, readying himself to grab the Heroic Spirit around his dominant wrist.

However, despite the distraction of his battle with Archer, Berserker still noticed the Monkey King at his back. Deflecting his frontal enemy's sword, he rapidly turned about himself and made a slash at Rider, aiming for his throat.

Rider's coal black eyes snapped open wide. Hurriedly thrusting his right foot forwards, he attempted to anchor himself and backstep. The speed at which the bone blade was heading towards his neck, though, was far too fast. He wasn't sure if he would make it in time.

"Berserker, stop!"

The distorted sound of the hidden Master's voice echoed through the overflow, freezing Cain in his tracks. The sprig of bone stopped inches from Rider's throat.

Archer stood stunned, his expression matching that of Rider's dumbfounded face.

Why did the Master tell him to stop?

Stood within the alcove of an alleyway, several hundred feet above the overflow, within the streets of the overlooking city, sweat beaded against Enrique Aleghieri's forehead. Stretched out in front of him, his hand blazed with a searing pain as the deep crimson Command Spells reacted to his order.

His eyes slowly lowered, moving from the glowing red outline of his stigmata, to the glimmer of silver light beneath his chin. Reaching out, as if it were phasing through the solid wall behind him, the black arm of a Heroic Spirit held a blade to his jugular.

"Good," rolled the pleasant voice of Assassin, his face rising from the wall beside Enrique's head, as if it were a pool of water. Within the depths of his long white beard, the Servant's mouth broke into a slight smile. "Now... Have Berserker retreat. This is a warning."

Enrique swallowed. "Why didn't you kill me?"

"If I were to kill you before you were even aware of me, then it would be nothing more than cold blooded murder," Assassin explained, his eyes shining coldly. "Or do you disagree?"

The tanned Italian man hissed between his teeth.

"Good," Assassin continued. "Once your Servant returns to spirit form, leave this place. This is enough battle for today."

"So you're just going to let me go?"

"For now. However, now you are marked. Aware of the danger to your own life, I doubt you will dare do something so impulsive again. Though, should you exercise your right to poor decisions again... Then I will kill you."

Dissolving into particles of light, the form of Berserker disappeared from the battlefield, leaving both Archer and Rider stunned at the development.

"Well that was lucky," Rider chuckled, humorously wiping sweat from his brow. Tossing his pole into the air, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Contract, [Yeoui]." As soon as he spoke the command, the weapon shrank to little more than the size of a pencil, ready for the Monkey King to tuck it behind his ear.

"Undoubtedly," Archer replied, sheathing his sword and letting out a long breath. "I'm surprised that we're still even alive."

"I know," Rider grinned. "Exciting, huh?"

"I'm not even going to justify that with a response."

"Well isn't that technically a response?" Rider winked and strode over to the other Spirit. Licking his palms, he swept them back through his unruly black hair, removing it from his face and revealing a red and gold line tattooed across his forehead. "You were good. Better than I thought. Really strong actually." Bowing low, he kept his hands to his sides before straightening back up. "Consider that my gratitude for when you saved my life."

Surprised by the sudden show of humility, Archer smiled and waved one hand. "Don't mention it."

"Well, I best get going," Rider laughed. "My Master is probably worried about what I've been up to. I can't say I blame him, really... I am quite impulsive."

Archer said nothing in response, instead smirking to himself and folding his arms over his chest. If anything his companion was underselling his rash and impulsive nature. If the tales of his exploits were anything to go by then over the course of their afternoon Rider must have exercised great restraint.

Clicking the heels of his gold-plated boots together, The Monkey King waved once at the other Heroic Spirit. "Until next time, blondie!"

With a white flash Rider disappeared skyward, trailing a bright bolt of lightning behind him like an ethereal cosmic tail.

Turning back towards the city, across the froth and waves of the river, Archer spied the distant form of Isaac sprinting towards the site. Equal parts impressed and dumbfounded by his Master's bravery, he dissolved into spirit form and began to make his way across the river.

As he did so, a single thought played inside his head: How on earth am I going to explain this?

Watching the conclusion of the battle, from the summit of an overlooking rooftop, Mitsuomi Tanaka turned to his Servant and lifted an eyebrow. "So? What do you think?"

"They're all strong," Lancer replied. "However... It's the Berserker that I am worried about. That Noble Phantasm of his is dangerous. Even if I were to use [Gae Bolg] on him, the blowback would kill me as well." She paused for a second and dashed her eyes over the ruined concrete of the riverbank. "My advice would be to steer clear of him, unless absolutely necessary."

Mitsuomi nodded in agreement and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"However, right now..." Lancer continued. "Our priorities lay elsewhere. Namely," she turned her attention away from the river and onto the city behind them, "this strange network of bounded fields that I'm sensing." A dangerous light glowed in her eyes as her senses latched onto the Mana signature. "Someone is planning something dangerous here... And we need to figure out what."