Chapter 5:

Invitation for a Duel

The morning sun rose above the ruined forest just like always, as if there wasn't a fated war of life and death currently waged in this unfortunate part of the world.

Between shattered trees and onto deep scorched trenches, the gentle beams of Sol made their way, almost like everything was right in the world. They were barely able to chase off the morning chill of the autumn. Caught up in its losing battle against the cold northern wind, the Sun paid no attention to the harsh wounds inflicted on the very Earth itself. Even the animals were gradually returning, many of them only to find their homes either utterly destroyed or outright absent. Centuries, perhaps thousands of years of growth had been erased in one single night, in one single second…

And yet the Sun was rising up as if nothing had happened and the northern wind was howling as strong as always, uncaring about the damage done to one minuscule part of his autumn realm. As if meant to show off the unimportance of the individual, the world just went on like always. All the godly kings were locked up in their heavens and deemed that, as long as the kingdoms of this Earth were strong as a whole, everything was right in the world.

It was behavior like this, putting the 'whole' above the 'individual', which made the blood boil in his veins. He was no king to judge how others should rule- after all, it was the one title he was fated never to possess. But even that rapid change in his ideals was easy to justify… once already, he had seen the death of such an ideal. Because, after all, as he came to realize perhaps all too late, no king who had become the literal embodiment of his country's needs could keep on ruling.

The ideal king who sacrificed his whole life for his kingdom, who had become a king not only in title but in identity itself, had been discarded by the very people he had striven so much to protect.

But as Saber watched the gray skies looming above him from his position on the tattered ground, his thoughts were actually far away from that bloodstained battlefield where he had found his death. No, it was something else that weighed heavily on the black knight's mind and even the overwhelming emptiness inside him couldn't distract him from it.

A field of flames existing only in a girl's stolen dream. Fire and brimstone that melted flesh and bones. Blood-chilling shrieks that threatened to overwhelm the tiny figure running for her life amidst the reign of Hell. And above her, a black tainted star, an empty hole that blotted out the sun itself and refused to go away until the merciful clouds hid it from view.

Accompanied by the signature creak of his armor, now feeling ten times as heavy as usual, the black knight turned his head around to search for his Master. His emotionless wandering eyes found her slumped against a nearby tree that had somehow managed to survive his earlier rampage. Her skin was pale and she seemed to be shuddering a bit- all clear signs that falling asleep out in the open hadn't been her best of ideas. Her irregular breaths were clearly visible in the cold morning air. Her eyes remained hidden behind the collective veil of her short hair and glasses but, judging by the slight frown on her barely parted lips, she hadn't forgotten about the proverbial nightmare that had transpired the previous night. Ayaka had fallen asleep while hugging her knees, as if trying to make herself look even smaller in a vain attempt to be overlooked by any potential enemies.

According to Saber, it was a small miracle she was still sleeping after he barely managed to get himself back on his wobbling legs. The clanking of his armor had probably informed any half-decent Servant in a several mile radius of their location. Which was, by Saber's own admission, an amateurish mistake he couldn't possibly even try to correct in his current condition. And so, one shaky step after another, the black knight approached his Master. At first, he intended to either shake her awake or outright hoist her up on her feet-

But then Saber saw her pale and almost lifeless lips, still trying to word the screams of the girl trapped in the fiery nightmare. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, the black knight nudged the bespectacled teenager with his armored foot. Ayaka awoke almost immediately. She was clearly on edge, despite her still-sleeping brain not knowing precisely why. The black-haired teen looked like a trapped rabbit as her eyes frantically darted left and right in search of some nonexistent enemy. And when she caught sight of the black knight looming above her, Ayaka barely restrained a small frightened yelp and scuttled even further away, her back pressing against the tree trunk.

"Fell free to deem me wrong, Master," said Saber with a signature lack of interest apparent in his voice. "But I doubt you can act your role better if you hide behind a tree very time you see me."

For around half a minute, the frightened girl just stared at her Servant, as if she half expected him to grow demon horns and tear her in tiny pieces right then and there. What went behind those black eyes of her, Saber couldn't tell. But even to him it was pretty obvious his actions during the fight had left quite the impression on his young Master. And exactly that kind of impression was most likely to make things harder for him, considering he was stuck with the girl for the duration of the War. While deep down Saber couldn't actually force himself to claim his twisted features weren't an accurate representations of his wretched inner self, his afterlife visage was certainly proving to be an arduous chore.

"I… I tried to move you to my house," finally said Ayaka. Her words were barely audible even in the silent forest. "But you were too heavy and… and I was tired and s-scared so I just sat down to wait for you to wake up and I must have fallen asleep and-" the bespectacled girl cut herself off and just finished with a small "Sorry."

Now that she mentioned it, Saber noticed the bruises and scratches, many of them still oozing blood, which littered the girl's small palms. Now that his appearance proved detrimental even to his Master's health, Saber felt fully obliged to curse Fate several times more for forcing him to be stuck in it until this War ended and he was summoned back.

"I guess I should be thankful you didn't leave me behind for the scavengers," said the black knight and crossed his arms. "But next time you want to help, Master, I suggest you lend me at least some amount of prana. Death by over-exhaustion is not exactly the most honorable way for a knight to go."

Ayaka just blinked in confusion and a shocked expression appeared on her face.

"But I thought there is a link between Master and Servant that transfers all the prana needed!"

"And do tell how precisely are you expecting it to transfer anything else than hot air if you have closed off all your circuits?"

"But I thought-" the bespectacled girl was cut off by her Servant before she could even begin.

"Close your eyes."

As reluctant as Ayaka seemed to close her eyes around him, she eventually obliged.

"You feel prana like electricity running through your body, correct? But any time you aren't actively using it, you just seal off the whole grid and prevent any movement of prana inside and outside the circuits."

Ayaka furrowed her brows, like a student trying to comprehend the teacher's lesson while still in class.

"Now imagine that there is an on and off switch to this grid. It's on when you cast a spell and it's off when you want to preserve energy, but using that switch, you can use a chosen amount of circuits and not strain yourself by turning everything on and off every time you need to use prana. Try to turn some circuits on."

A tiny crevice appeared on Ayaka's forehead as she bit her lower lip and struggled to control her inner energy grid. After some time Saber finally felt it- the gradual flow of foreign prana entering his body through their bond. It was still somewhat shaky and certainly nothing overwhelming, but for a day or so he deemed he would get back to his average fighting potential.

A tired smile appeared on Ayaka's pale face when she finally decided her Servant's lack of reprimands meant she was doing it correctly. The bespectacled girl let out a weary sigh and let herself slump down to the base of the tree. After a minute or so, Saber's emotionless voice once again cut apart the silence.

"Master, did you by any chance make this forest our base of operations while I was busy lying half-death from exhaustion?"

Ayaka was up on her feet in record time, frantically muttering apologies and looking around to find the right way out of the forest amidst all the natural wreckage. In the end she ended up going straight ahead, hoping that the small island forest's end was near enough. Like the previous night, the mismatched duo walked in silence. Ayaka was 'leading', with Saber half a step behind her and ready to fight off any potential danger. It was daytime but there could be plenty of cheating opponents in the War and, besides, the location was remote enough for the usual rules to be ignored. And Saber wasn't about to let a repeat of his first fight in the War.

A victory was a victory and the situation had been in his enemy's favor, but being forced to resort to using a Noble Phantasm against a mere Assassin was shameful for the supposedly strongest class in the War.

"Hey, Saber," suddenly said Ayaka and stopped, dragging her Servant out of his musings and back into reality. "I… well…"

The bespectacled girl took a deep breath and, finally forsaking all kinds of mumbling, muttering and babbling, blurted out:

"I thought you didn't like me but you risked your life for me and nearly died. Why?"

"Some Master you are," said Saber, his even voice showing his lack of concern for Ayaka's emotions. "A knight is obliged to protect his king with his life if need be. And as your Servant, I am your sword and shield for the duration of this War- your enemies and goals are mine as well. Besides, I can't survive without you supplying me with prana."

"So, metaphorically speaking, I am your current king- or rather, queen?" asked the girl and tapped her lips as she tried to wrap her mind around the concept. "I hadn't thought about it in such way. I always pictured it as a mere familiar-master bond."

"Heroic Spirits are far above mere familiars, humans or mages," hastily said Saber, his cold voice finally showing some clear signs of irritation. "And, I assure you, your role is that of the king. No offense meant, Master, but I find it difficult to compare your abilities to those of the queen piece."

But this time, instead of slumping her shoulders or averting her eyes, Ayaka just kept on going forward, posture unchanged. The mismatched duo resumed their silent walk, but somehow the black knight's overwhelming presence didn't seem to affect the bespectacled girl so much anymore.

Despite Ayaka's promise to visit the overseer first thing in the morning, the amateur Master and her Servant ended up staying at her house until noon. The bespectacled girl was a mess both physically and emotionally after the events that had transpired mere hours before, so Saber had insisted she had some sleep because a half-conscious Master would only hinder him in any potential battles.

When Ayaka awoke, once again in her familiar bed in her familiar room, for one fleeting moment the thought that maybe everything had been just a dream invaded her mind. And then the pain from the bruises littering her back returned along with the unfamiliar feeling of the 'electricity' running through her body being gradually sapped out. The black-haired teenager tried to pinpoint her Servant's location through their new-forged bond but all she felt was merely his oppressive yet familiar aura emanating from somewhere inside or near the house. She chalked it up to a still forming bond instead of some kind of failure of hers and prepared to head down and try to finally pry out Saber's identity out of him.

Finding the black knight had taken more time than Ayaka liked to admit. After checking every room in her house, the garden shed and even peeking over in her neighbours' yards, she eventually found him down in the basement, inspecting the hidden magical diagrams she had used as an anchor for the bounded fields around her home. Saber's only comment on their quality had been a curt nod.

Ayaka decided to try and please her Servant a bit before trying to pry out any information so she used whatever products she could find in the fridge to make him something to eat. His comment upon being presented the slightly burnt dish of unknown origin was:

"…I think it will be just fine if you merely keep supplying me with prana."

After the initial blunder, things didn't go much smoother either. When Ayaka finally asked who he was, Saber just pointed out anyone could pry out the information from the mind of an amateur magus like her and even only the image of his face would be enough for some contemporary Servant of his to recognize him. The bespectacled girl just let out a heavy sigh and nodded diligently at her Servant's cold explanation. Truth to be told, their Master-Servant bond felt either nonexistent or just flipped upside-down. In the end Ayaka had spent nearly an hour prowling through her father's clothes to find some hoodie which Saber could wear to hide his face when going out in the city… only for the black knight to just point out he could turn invisible on a whim.

When noon finally neared, the mismatched duo decided they had finally rested enough. A strange feeling, like the expectation which children usually experienced on the night before Christmas, weighed on Ayaka's mind. It didn't help that it was combined with the usual gloomy feeling that took over a student's mind before an important exam. The bespectacled girl both dreaded and desired what was to come but, in the end, she just admitted it was way too late to give up now. And so, with an invisible Saber following her through the rooftops, she headed towards St. Patroclus's Cathedral as instructed. The trip certainly took quite some time- her home in Hillsdale was quite far away from the gothic cathedral located at the very end of the Crestford district. But eventually she reached her destination- and to her surprise, she found herself getting calmer when she sensed Saber's still somewhat ominous presence next to her.

"This is technically neutral territory but it wouldn't hurt to be careful," suddenly said the black knight. His still invisible gauntlet gripped the teen's shoulder to make her stop. "There is another Servant here, near the main entrance. You will probably feel the presence as well when you walk past but just ignore it. I will stay near to interfere if need be."

"Can't you go inside with me?" asked the girl as she squinted and tried in vain to locate the invisible enemy Servant.

"Normally it isn't allowed. They are probably keeping the Grail in there so any Servant going near it until all the others are defeated could have… unfortunate consequences."

Ayaka nodded slightly to indicate she understood and when she felt Saber letting go, she kept on going forward and tried to look as confident as possible. Usually the cathedral was a major tourist attraction as one of the biggest in the world, but for about a month or so there were signs posted around it that proclaimed it was currently under renovation. It was easy to guess that whoever was in charge just wanted to keep out unrelated people from the War but even though no one should technically be allowed to go in, there were many tourists from various nationalities hanging around and taking pictures of the majestic building.

It was considered an important symbol of gothic architecture from whatever century it had been made. To Ayaka it was more like an ominous castle of some eerie dark lord, given how the numerous gargoyles, dragons, demons and angels with raised swords perching atop its spiky walls made her blood chill even in the clear daylight. Its steel double doors, decorated with golden embeddings depicting some gloomy artist's depictions of scenes from the Bible were like a monster's maw just waiting for its prey to willingly walk inside it. Still, the bespectacled girl didn't slow down or show any discomfort. Inwardly, she was trembling but the outside world could never guess it only by watching her.

Ayaka refused to flinch even when she finally sensed the other Servant. While her Saber's aura was, while ominous, that of a natural disaster, of a raging dragon born to be a natural killer… this one was truly that of a cold-blooded reptile. It was alien, calculated animosity as cold as ice. The kind of ice cold enough to burn you when you touched it.

"Figures I must wait for some two-bit amateur to arrive before I can finally receive at least some information!"

The irritated female voice was easily heard even from the distant end of the cathedral, the acoustics of the place able to turn whispers into a normal voice and a normal voice into shouts. And whoever was speaking certainly wasn't whispering.

"Come now, child, there is no need to raise such a commotion in the house of God," responded a far more subdued elderly voice. "And, besides, isn't learning more about any potential opponent an advantage to you as a Master?"

"Well, I guess sparing some time wouldn't hurt if I really must…" muttered the female with annoyance and then finally noticed the newcomer, whose steps had finally been heard over the commotion. "Took you long enough to come, some people don't have all day to spare, y'know."

The speaker, who had treated Ayaka as one normally addressed an acquaintance hours late for a pre-scheduled meeting, was a girl seemingly her age. A lock from her bright blond, almost golden hair which went all the way down to her waist, was being rather irritatedly twirled around her slender fingers. Her icy blue gaze was rather unsettling as well- the look one usually gave to a subordinate who had done something wrong. But what struck Ayaka as strangest was the girl's attire- how anyone dressed like that was allowed to enter a church was a mystery but since she was most likely another Master, some rules had been probably stretched in her favor.

The blonde's lean legs were clad in fishnet stockings- one going all the way up beneath her black-and-yellow skirt and the other- only up to her knee. Despite the rather cold weather, the blue-eyed girl wore something like a black corset with yellow highlights… whose purpose was probably to make the blonde's… assets stand out a bit more, given how lacking she seemed to be in the chest department for a girl her age. On her right arm was a fingerless glove going all the way up to her elbow and her left was covered almost whole by an intricate tattoo of something akin to vines and flowers interweaving with little stars. But what really caught Ayaka's attention was the crimson marks that easily stood out amidst the normal tattoo. The spear-like sigil surrounded by spiky wings was certainly different than her sword-shaped Command Spells but were more than similar enough for Ayaka to draw a conclusion.

"It's not wise to alienate a potential ally," said the aged priest and smiled wryly.

The man, dressed in a traditional priest's frock, looked lean but wiry, like an aged tree still capable of enduring many storms. His sardonic smile showed he had managed to keep all of his teeth and even his grey hair was still in its place. At first glance, one could call the old man somewhat suspicious- he had a thin goatee and his shallow cheeks were sunken, not to mention his skin was rather pale. But the cheerful spark in his steel-grey eyes which showed he was certainly not willing to give up on living any time soon and the somewhat casual way he held himself quickly dispelled such suspicions. The priest was leaning on a worn-out walking stick, the cane carrying an intricate gold-trimmed design that reminded Ayaka of the carvings on the front gate a bit.

"As if I'd need any allies to win," spat out the blonde and bridled up. "This is a War, remember? Everyone's an enemy."

"True," admitted the priest and shrugged nonchalantly. "But why shouldn't one try to understand their enemies and turn them into allies, hm?" he suddenly asked and the blonde found herself with the tip of his cane pointing at her face in accusation. "If this is something as great as a Grail you are fighting for, why not share this seemingly unlimited power with the rest?"

"How should I know?" blurted out the blue-eyed girl and slapped away the cane. "You are the ones ordering that only the last one standing can have it, not any of us Masters."

"I'm afraid it's a tad more complicated than that, child," said the priest and shook his head. "But, enough babbling is enough! Now for the serious matters. As you probably know since you are here, every Grail War is supervised by a member of the Church assigned as overseer. This time the unfortunate chosen one is this humble servant of God, known as Father Luciano, that you now see babbling before you like the old man he is," said the priest and leaned a bit forward in a mock bow. "My job is explaining the boring stuff to you and cleaning up after your blunders. Which, given your age, you will surely make and provide me with probably several sleepless nights. The War itself is simple enough. Seven Master, seven Servants, last one gets the Grail and it grants him or her any wish. Fighting during the day is forbidden. And even while fighting at night I suggest you do it at remote locations where few people usually go. Any non-mage witness has to be, sadly, disposed of. But don't think even for a minute there won't be repercussions if your mistakes cost the lives of innocent people, understood? I've seen more than enough good folks die for good reasons and I don't intend on seeing any more losing their lives because of some petty mage contest."

Both girls nodded. Ayaka's was that of a student getting reprimanded by her teacher and the blonde's – a curt, disinterested one.

"Each of you has three Command Spells somewhere on your body. That's three absolute orders you can give to your Servants which are impossible to resist, but keep in mind that after using the third one the Servant will no longer be bound to you. If you lose your Servant but still have a Command Spell, you can enter in another contract with some Servant who has lost his or her Master but is still around. That's why both Masters and Servants are dangerous in this War. Technically, anything is allowed, but I would prefer if you refrain from more… grandiose or backstabbing tactics. If you want to give up or your Servant has been killed and you need refuge, you come here. The doors of the 'Casa di Angeli Piangeti' will always be open for you seven."

As if to emphasize his point, the aged priest pointed at the seven statues looming above the altar. The marble sculptures of the seven archangels, tears streaming down their faces, were certainly majestic but to Ayaka, they were more fear-inducing than anything else. Those raised swords and other kinds of blades in their hands certainly looked dangerous enough and the statues were frighteningly life-like.

"Is that all?" asked the blonde and raised a delicate eyebrow in annoyance.

"Almost," replied the aged priest and glanced intently at both girls. "Before you go and join that certain slaughter raging out there, I've one thing to ask the two of you. Why do you fight?"

Those four simple words echoed in the spacious cathedral. Ayaka suddenly found herself biting her lower lip at being forced to divulge her reasons but the blonde answered immediately, almost laughing at the 'silly' question asked by Father Luciano.

"To prove to the world I'm the strongest, of course. This War is just a means to show off my abilities. I don't even care for this Grail of yours. A truly strong person can reach their dreams without the need of some miracle-machine."

The words of her blue-eyed peer cut deeply into Ayaka's soul. The nails digging into the flesh of her clenched fists almost drew out blood but despite the shame and her burning cheeks, despite admitting that she was weak enough to need a miracle to achieve her dreams when she already had magecraft, the bespectacled girl managed to answer with her head held high.

"I guess my reason is… to set right what once went wrong. Y'see, my parents, my real ones anyway, died in a fire some years ago and-and… I want to bring them back. And I'll win this War to do so!"

"But you have parents now, too, right?" suddenly asked Luciano.

"Well, yes, I do."

"And they probably raised you like their own, gave you a roof over your head and cared for you all those years? And you probably have no siblings?"

"That's… right, yes," admitted the girl sheepishly and wondered why the priest was asking all those strange questions.

"One a self-centered brat who wants to fight just to earn some bragging rights," spat out the priest and glared at the blonde. "And the other an ungrateful child who wants to take away the whole life of two innocent people who have spent so much time giving her a real family," he finished and shifted his glare to Ayaka.

"Bah! Do what you want," said bitterly Luciano and turned around to leave into some back room, walking away with surprising sped for a cripple. "Just try not to kill each other immediately after you go out. I sincerely hope I didn't take too much time to explain the rules because I would be surely crushed if you think of me as a ranting old coot."

Dumbstruck, both girls could only stay rooted at their spots for a whole minute after Luciano had disappeared from view. The first one to recover was the blonde, who just shook her head in irritation and headed out. Ayaka followed soon after, lost deep in thought but still as eager as ever in her decision to correct her past mistakes.

"How did he even know I was coming?" mumbled the black-haired girl and tapped her lips in curiosity.

"Duh, there are dozens of bounded fields around the place," said the blonde and turned around to face her fellow Master. "Seriously, are you really such an amateur? Didn't you feel them at all when you entered?"

"Well, I-"

"It's decided then!" cut her off the blonde and pointed at Ayaka as if she was accusing her of some gruesome crime. "Since this War is going to be the stage where I am meant to shine, the weaklings like you have to be dealt with first. You are going to be my first opponent so, remember this! Those who face me- Meissa Scintillare- face surefire defeat."

The end of Meissa's boast was followed by a slow sardonic clapping coming from somewhere nearby. Both girls looked around immediately, weary of any possible danger despite being out in a bright day and on neutral territory no less. The newcomer turned to be surprisingly familiar to Ayaka. He was leaning on a nearby tree and was rather easy to spot, considering how his black pants, white dress shirt and long blue scarf contrasted with the palette of fallen leaves surrounding him. Like the last time, his peculiar dark-blue hair was covering one of his eyes- and his visible one was currently looking rather intently straight in Meissa's icy-blue eyes.

"Just try it," grumbled the blonde and for a second there Ayaka thought she had seen lightning arc around her peer's clenched fist.

The blue-haired newcomer clicked his tongue in annoyance but didn't seem that surprised. He scratched the back of his head and flashed both girls a suave smile that was promptly dismissed by the two of them.

"Now, I'd like you to know that this seems to be kind of an off week for me, it doesn't usually happen," said the young man with a distinct English accent. "When I met you those bounded fields in the shop interfered with any magecraft performed inside and you blondie have strong magic resistance and-"

Both girls just stared at the blue-haired teen, one not knowing what to say and the other in annoyance.

"-Ahem, anyway, let's cut it straight to business, shall we?" asked rhetorically the blue-haired teen and, after shoving his hands in his pockets, drew closer to the two girls. "I'm here to propose an alliance to both of you. Frankly, I was just passing by but then I saw you two pretties and said to myself 'hey, Graham-', that's my name by the way, pleased to meet you, '-why don't you help out those two considering how much of an outstanding mage you are'?"

Meissa didn't even bother answering his question. All she did was point at the newcomer like she had at Ayaka and declared he was going down second. Graham didn't seem fazed in the least. He only scratched his chin and flashed yet another pearly-white smile.

"Why wait for you two to finish your little game? Let's just settle for a threes-"

The lightning this time was more than real enough to prove its existence to Ayaka. Like dancing light, the blue electrical arcs engulfed Meissa's fist for a second before they shot out when she slashed her hand in Graham's direction. Like a whip, the blue lightning jolted forward, straight at the young man who didn't even bother to step out of the way…

And then the skies seemed to shatter as, with a thunderous roar that gathered the attention of everyone present, the bounded fields around the cathedral were pierced one by one by one with some invisible object. Shattered, melted or torn apart like paper, they all gave in in the span of a mere second- and then Meissa's lightning whip suddenly found itself embedded to the ground. With ominous crackling and sizzles, the blue electricity dissipated to reveal a small leaf-shaped blade connected to the blonde's arm by a thin wire. And, piercing the blade right through the middle, was a seemingly ordinary arrow that melted into the air seconds later.

Meissa could only blink. The strange mix of hot and cold ominous auras that suddenly blanketed the area probably meant the girls' respective Servants were now by their side and ready to battle. The blonde's lips could only mumble a quiet 'how'.

"My Servant can't stand by and watch you lash out at me in such a crude way without interfering, y'know," chided her Graham and shook his head as if trying to explain to a child why what they had done was wrong. "And no need to worry about fighting him. As I said, I want to form an alliance and this is neutral ground after all. Although he is outside said neutral ground and at the top of that tall… swirly building over there," the blue-haired boy finished with a smirk and pointed confidently at the tower.

Right where he was pointing at, Hartcroft's second tallest buildings, located half a city away from the cathedral, was standing tall and proud.

The Skyspire.

When Ayaka realized the frankly insane distance that Servant had shot the arrow from, her heart skipped a beat. The enormous distance, the line of sight, the interference by the strong wind currents raging around the many skyscrapers in Hartcroft, the several bounded fields around the cathedral and merely the fact that the arrow had nailed down a lightning-fast moving object roughly the size of her palm were just few of the indicators that this kind of a shot was… impossible. There just wasn't any other word capable of describing it.

"Impressive, right, love?" cheerfully said Graham when he noticed Ayaka's shocked expression. "That's kinda Archer's main shtick, getting his arrows through the smallest nooks and crannies when faced with impossible odds. Well, think about my proposition. It's always open for the two of you. Farewell, for now!"

The blue-haired foreigner waved them a casual goodbye and, not even bothering to return the glare Meissa shot him as she retrieved her peculiar weapon, walked away in the direction of the cathedral. The blonde fumed a bit more before storming to somewhere far away, pausing only to order Ayaka to wait for her at the docks at midnight.

Somewhere on her right, Saber voiced his opinion almost amusedly.

"I guess it goes without saying we are going to be there, right, Master?"

Alas, after seeing what that blonde was capable of, the bespectacled girl was somewhat less than willing to grant her Servant his wish for battle.