The Babysitter of Heroes

by Laurence Wu

Benjamin is your average college student, he lived a simple life. But when he move to his grandpa's house, find golden cup which appears a Holy Grail that summons several servants in flesh and blood. He must not only deal with servants moving into his house but stop them from killing each other and cause chaos in the city. He did not sign up to be a caretaker for the Heroes AU 2005

27. Chapter 27

A/N: Hello again, people. I am back to give you another updated chapter (15,126) and sorry that it took a very long time to post this, almost three months now.

I've got world quest and homework that was keeping me very busy for a while and which was done with it last week ago, trying to write more words per day was quite hard as I was encouraged to keep writing my story with new ideas putting into this. The school has been keeping me busy a lot. I completely forgot to keep on writing more words to this chapter as even in free time writers have trouble getting stuff done. You know the feeling quite well. Well, school is almost over and summer would be here soon enough which it can help me speed up story progress but for now, I would focus on rewriting chapter 5 and give more focus on Benjamin with interaction his servants.

So there were 61 reviews, which is a lot, but some of them were questions and suggestions that are still terrible and badly-implemented ones, but I answered those ideas. I will not try to answer all of the reviews. I am not going to answer about summoning an OC servant, complaining about my grammar checks, suggestions for a crossover idea that has been overused already, and trying to give me a very complicated idea that is so confusing and hard for me to answer back to you. I am also not going to answer almost the same questions that some reviews keep repeating over and over. Go, look back to the other chapters to see those types of questions. I am also not going to answer almost the same question that some reviews keep repeating over and over. Go, look back to the other chapter to see those type of question. Stop give ideas about what Benjamin and Flanna should have a weapon, guns, and armors. Also, no more romance ideas for Benjamin or sometimes for Flanna.

Time to answer some of your questions.

Pedroarmin: You are welcome.

ArcherShirou: Thank you for saying that, as I want each servant to have their past/history shown to the audience, which I am sure that most of you don't really know each hero's life or their story because you either know the most popular ones or are too lazy to search it up. I would try to add more servants interaction between them without making them OOC.

Galer: Well, I love Bionicle but I am not sure to make a crossover with that. Naruto or Harry Potter is overused in crossovers and are getting steady updates that are written by 3rd graders. Mass Effect universe is going to be hard since most battles are in space or travel around the place.

MaxHD2490 chapter 26. Apr 4: Here is the part 2 of the ship docks battle. About Ben's harem, I have enough talk about that. The summoning ritual scene gives Waver, Rin, Luvia, and Shiro a proverbial dislocation of the jaw and a spiteful "fuck you" to them which they have done this the hard way.

Billy Reb: No I will not summon Sun Tzu, as those types of ideas are getting tried. Hercules would have Double Summon skill as Berserker and Archer class. For the omake, I cannot make it funny. Here is the reaction to Gilgamesh's AUO Cast Off:

Luvia's reaction: Blushing really red and yelling "Pervert, put your clothes on, how undignified!"

Waver Velvet's reaction: Facepalm and groan, saying: "Really you too?" He then talks how Iskandar the Great does when he takes a shower or sleeps on the bed like that.

Illya's reaction: Her face turns bright red and puts her hands to cover her eyes while screaming pervert. She then says how she is not going to get that image off her mind for awhile.

UNSC Know Your Place: Gilgamesh reacts to Enkidu who got a crush, he becomes jealous.

Piddle: You're kinda right.

King0fP0wers: The Fate stays night follows all of the routes in the game mixed with Fate, in the Beginning, Unlimited Blade Works in the middle, and Heaven's Feel at the end. Shirou's abilities are from UBW route and closest to perfectly balanced, as I make sure that he is not too weak or too strong which would slowly eat away at his mind and body, to the point his sense of self and memories fade away. Why Avenger is currently collecting Relics and Catalysts for Ben, the answer is summoning multiple extremely powerful Servants for his Master and his intentions are to cause chaos to the world without dirtying his hands for his personal amusement. Then he watches the whole thing go like dominoes.

The reason why Flanna takes this whole situation remarkably well is that she is a soldier, which why she is fairly calm and collected. But, she was still confused and shocked in a mature kind way when Benjamin told her the truth. She commands the servants on a raid to prove herself to them and while giving them something to do for now. The harem for Ben is not right now and Paracelsus has already built strong Bounded Fields and magical traps all around the house.

MaxHD2490 chapter 26. Apr 24: Berserker and Lancer are Beowulf and Brynhildr, which Benjamin is going to have fun with her yandere tendencies.

Darkness: Yes, they're going to think he's a girl until the Apocrypha servants tell them he's a cross-dresser right away, which they would make Adolfo wear boys clothes so it does not fool everyone.

UNSC indomitable: Thank you for saying that, as it can be annoying for readers to keep offering me some ideas that do not fit right. That is a good idea of yours and can be really funny.

MaxHD2490 chapter 26. May 2: It would sound pretty dangerous and harmful to them. The only Alter Egos class that are going to appear in my story is Kazuradrop (She looks pretty much normal), Kingprotea (In a normal human size and wearing a dress), and maybe Violet (who looks ok for now). BB would appear in my story too as Moon Cancer class and enjoys screwing with Ben and Flanna.

MaxHD2490 chapter 26. May 12: I would combine her class, which is Beast class, but her personality is slightly less lustful and not treat everyone she sees as her prey from her Alter Egos class. Flanna and Benjamin might go a little mad and crazy that they have to babysit another of Mankind's Seven Evils class that can rampage any second now.

A Certain Reader: Not yet to summon him, as I still don't really know him and his personality well enough but I will try later.

Kuudo Smith: Well, you sound offended but not at all. To answer your questions: in this chapter, I am focusing on Benjamin now while I am trying to split the focus of Benjamin and Flanna so that both of them can have a role in my story. The characterization and the execution in my story, look I am not best writer or know the characters really well, I just want to try to be a good writer and write a good

About the part where Benjamin indirectly killed many people, well most of those victims are Magi who are most likely to be psychopathic that made money on magical discoveries which are performing experiments on living people, which they justified as a means for understanding and desire to reach the Swirl of the Root and sometimes they seek forbidden knowledge for its own sake rather than to better the world, and with no thought of the consequences. They would push the boundaries of Magecraft practice beyond what the Clock Tower could tolerate which prompted some of Magi to further hit insanely unethical, experimental, empirical and thaumic-based anatomical studies with both vindication and vengeance in mind or just jerks or selfless assholes. The Clock Tower would gladly commit many horrendous crimes as long as they cover up their magecraft so it does not become a threat to their secrecy.

It's not hard for Benjamin and Flanna, who were told what the Magi characteristics are, to muster any sympathy for those Magi. Benjamin gives absolutely zero shits about what happened to them on the News report and Flanna doesn't even pretend to feel bad for them and tries, to sum up, her legacy, keeping Magi out of her state at all costs by leaving their corpses near to many cities to scare them off. There are some victims who are criminal, but they just got in their way or really deserve to die.

Why is Flanna so reckless on her orders, it is not because she is scouring the area clean and blitzkrieg to create disorganization among enemy forces and throwing them into chaos so quickly before they can respond, which they expected Flanna to slink and slide and prowl after the museum incident like a regular pattern that most people would do, an unprecedented full frontal assault completely caught them off guard. Don't worry, Flanna would not do that reckless act again as the enemy would adapt.

Why would Flanna steal from a gun shop instead of buying them, well she did buy one from a different gun store earlier that morning, which it was for Benjamin to train how to use a gun and shoot it. The other one that she steals is for her operations, as they are going to need later in the future and need to make sure that it is never traced back to her. Ever since the museum incident, which caused almost the whole world to focus on New Jersey and the nearby states a lot more seriously, which if the servants got their faces shown on the news, there is no point for some of them to make any attempt to hide their presence or disguise their faces since everybody has a cellphone and can either take a video, picture, or call the authorities which everyone know their face.

It is a divide and conquers strategy. So your last question makes no sense as for why would she go buy a gun from the gun store so she can use it in the operations, which it would be traced back to her if a single bullet shell was left on the ground for the police to use for evidence. Instead, she would be much better off with just ordering her servants to do the job of robbing the gun store. There are a lot of people who own guns in the states and have firearms licenses, which Flanna bought a gun for Benjamin to train him how to use and use a firearm's license as an alibi just in case the cops ask her questions.

UNSC indomitable chapter 26. Apr 4: Thank you for saying that about my amazing story. Yes, there is a grudge match if servants happen to have rivals or enemies back in their lifetimes or if they have fought in a past Holy Grail War. There is animosity with some of them that easily provokes into a fight despite their Master who is hopeless to stop it. Like Lancelot, Gawain and Mordred with their fresh quarrel broke out, and the old wounds opened and began to bleed again. At strategy meetings, they sit as far away from each other as possible. EMIYA who, despite claiming that he doesn't care who he gets teamed up with, still requests not to be put on the same team as Cú Chulainn and Gilgamesh who are both bitter rivals with each other. Some of them distrust each other or don't like each other.

Arminius is not complicated and interesting at all, as he is not well known to many modern Germans. In fact, despite Battle of the Teutoburg Forest and legacy after that which was only accomplished that he had ever made. He faced opposition from his father-in-law and other pro-Roman Germanic leaders as he tried to win them with the Varus' severed head with the offer of an anti-Roman alliance. He was murdered by opponents within his own tribe who felt that he was becoming too powerful and worth more trouble as the Roman Empire launched punitive operations into German land that involved four legions, 40 additional cohorts, and two mobile columns as to seek vengeance for the loss of the legions who were in the battle of Teutoburg forest.

Darkness chapter 26. Apr 20: Since Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka has fought with their servants against Medea and her Master in the last Holy Grail War, they are aware of her and her reputation and unlike to trust her for now. While Benjamin and Flanna who know her because of the Greek mythology, they have understand that she is only a victim of manipulation and from the gods which the fact that one of Medea's struggle is being a woman in a male-dominated world that treats her unfairly back in the past, well, what do you expect from stories that are over two millennia old of how everybody treated women back then?

---

The front door of the house opened as Benjamin and Enkidu walked into the living room. Benjamin put his backpack onto a chair and sat on the couch, exhausted from school, the ice cream store, and driving his car all the way back home. "God, that was some trip we had Enkidu." He turned his head to Enkidu, who was sitting on a chair facing him too.

"Yes, it was Benjamin," Enkidu said with a smile. "That was quite a trip we had." He was happy to see the wonders of the city and how beautiful each park was. The music that was playing in the streets and how a group of kids had played up a fire hydrant and were playing in the streaming rush of water. it reminded Enkidu briefly of his own youth in the forest, when he and his animal friends played the same way as these kids, getting a brief respite from the heat before being chased off by the hunters. He watched the kids for a moment, reflecting back to those long-gone, innocent days. It seemed like another lifetime now, another world.

As when Benjamin drove his car all over the place, a small smile came to his face, the beautiful lights, the smiles of the people that were walking down the streets or driving their cars, he felt at peace. It truly wasn't like anything when he himself was alive- there was a lot more violence, it was brutal. Yet now people seemingly lived undisturbed for most of their lives.

Benjamin gave the look. "Yes, it was a good trip. We almost spent the whole day wandering the city, explaining the areas where we could have gone back home much earlier. I also really don't like how my friends were flirting with you and you now being hit on." After school was over, Benjamin and Enkidu were heading back to their car until his friends ended up meeting each other. At first, Alex Tendou and Raymundo Santiago just asked who Midori (Enkidu) was, which Benjamin ended up making a good excuse of Midori for the first time.

Alex Tendou and Raymundo Santiago started to flirt with Midori (Enkidu) to the point that Benjamin had taken him right away. Enkidu hadn't really taken notice of the fact that she was referring to himself as she- even though he himself did tend to use the male pronouns, it wasn't like he was exactly male, though nor was he female. Enkidu wasn't the type to blush over being asked on a date or something like that.

Then Midori (Enkidu) wanted to go to the cities once more and Benjamin decided to agree with him, as Enkidu has a way of persuading him. "Still I can not believe that I agree with your plan," Benjamin said to him. "Not like I would mind it but you has a way of making me goes with you."

Enkidu was still smiling at Benjamin.

"You are so carefree Enkidu," Benjamin said with a tired voice. "We should only go to the cities when we need to go buy or deliver something," Benjamin knew that ever since this Holy Grail appeared in his basement, it has been getting really hard to not feel like he was being watched by cameras from seventh streets place where he can see many cameras, all of the area in the cities. One time, a helicopter was flying at a frightfully low altitude, and it headed away from the city towards the ocean. "It is no longer safe to wander around the area with almost the whole government watching the place." The government was already aware of the presence of the servants as well as accept their existence since none of them were making any attempt to hide their presence, and almost everybody in the whole world has a cellphone and can either take a video, picture or call the authorities right away when they appear to the public.

"I know that issue Benjamin," Enkidu replied back. "I also know that along with the general public, there are many Magi who are watching everywhere and gathering in many places, but it seems that they are focusing on something else." During the time when he was wandering seventh streets with his master, he activated his special ability Presence Detection to detect the presence of any magus near to his presence.

There was a few magus near to him and his master, but their faces were quite tense and their fearful looks had them turning around, or glancing up like something was going to attack them at any moment. Ever since the old man of the mountain recently attacked (which Benjamin and Enkidu knew now) many of their kind, the security of magu's area was evaporated overnight. The ever-present fear that Assassin is still amongst them made many magus distrustful toward each other, even hesitating or downright ignoring people who needed help out of fear. And that's the majority, the minority developed the trigger happy syndrome for anything.

There were already multiple cases of magus panicking when they were startled, which was a thing to do when fear and insomnia took their toll on their body and mind. So far, those incidents claimed the lives of seventeen people. Many magus were diagnosed with severe cases of borderline paranoia and post-traumatic stress personality disorder.

"Well, at least a lot of them needed to be constantly looking over their shoulders since Assassin is just biding his time to backstab them with knives," Benjamin smiled at the thought of the magus who would be scared of any shadow and could become a raving, paranoid lunatic, that their leadership would do more harm to the Clock Tower than every military loss combined. "Fighting against the magus is no problem to us and our servants, as they aren't very effective at everything else except Magecraft. Sure, they are quite vicious in their own right but take their magecraft away and they are nothing when running up against someone strong enough to fight back. The main issue is the U.S government has decided to input cameras everywhere now, so I don't think you should come with me now."

The U.S government and those who are interesting of the servants ends up getting involved which it was haphazard and sudden for them, they have no idea where to start in order to deal with this abnormal situation. Since they are looking forward intending to contact the servants by put cameras everywhere in hope of finding their location in a careful measure. Benjamin really hope that U.S government did not treat them like the enemy and trying locking them up in a bunker somewhere instead of that, they should try to decide to offer them help and support in their efforts but he is not sure that his sister would agree with that options as the servants ruin the first strongest impression by attack their police task force and send most of them to the hospital.

"You've got a point, Benjamin," Enkidu said with an expressionless face as he was deep in thought. "I can use my special ability for many reasons, but exposing cameras is going to be hard for me to do. But still, I can come with you when you need to get something or help you with it."

"Well, that is alright for now," Benjamin agreed with him. "As long you don't do anything that draws their attention to us and everything will be just fine."

"Speaking of that, Benjamin, I've been wondering what did you do with most of your time before this event happened?" Enkidu suddenly asked him.

"What?" Benjamin said to Enkidu. "What do you mean about my time?"

"Nothing really. I am just curious, that's all," Enkidu answered. "I just want to know and understand more of your life."

"Hmm, well alright then, if you think that there is something special in my life, which there is not. I am considered to be an ordinary New Jersey college student," Benjamin said about his life, which he made it very clear in the beginning that there's nothing special about him that would lead him to become this kind of event which sometimes he always think that it was all a dream and thought that it would melt away into the routine of daily life before long but that was a short-lived. "I wouldn't say I was a class anything, like a class jock, clown or genius. Like most people my age, I look like a perfectly ordinary man you'd see anywhere and blends back into the crowd, just another face you would never look twice at."

"Well, I liked Scrubs (American comedy series), Stereophonics (Rock band), Goo Goo Dolls (Rock band), and Entourage (American comedy series). Snow Patrol (Rock band), Heroes (American thriller series) and the movies that have Ryan Reynolds in them," Benjamin said as he listed more stuff that he like in his life. "Then after that, I would go back home just to kick back in my bedroom, downloading my favorite television shows and jerking off," "That is pretty much about myself and my life was not excitement at all."

Enkidu listened and nodded. "Thank you for talking a little bit about yourself, Benjamin. It is good to get to know you." Benjamin gave him a nod of his head too. "What about your sister's habits?"

"Well, I don't know anything about my sister's habits since I've barely been around her for awhile because she was in the army," Benjamin answered. "You should go ask her. She has a lot of interesting things to talk about. I only know when she was still around my age when I was in middle school or high school. I now know her as a different person or a stranger to me."

Enkidu nodded as sometimes nostalgia of the past can blind people to the true and often unsavory characters of those they knew long ago. He wondered to himself sometimes that if he met his friend Gilgamesh once more, would they end up in such different circumstances that he couldn't integrate into Gilgamesh's new life that they've grown so different over the years or that Gilgamesh became wiser and more mature after he gave him a solid moral compass.

That's when the front door of Benjamin's house opened once again. Sakata Kintoki walked into the room with Alice sitting on his shoulders.

"Yo Master, is that you?" Sakata asked cheerfully.

A mocking smile formed on Enkidu's face "Sakata!" He ran and hugged his friend. "It is good to see you."

"Sakata Kintoki," Benjamin said earnestly, but he could not stop his lips from rising slightly. "You don't need to say the title." Benjamin was quite fine that not every hero need to be respected and that most of them are well behaved at least and quite humble enough that he can talk them like a normal guy.

"Bahahahaha!" Sakata laughed as he put down Alice on the ground. "It ain't Kintoki. Call me GOLDEN. I don't hate my name, but it's all about the vibe. Got it?"

"Sure, got it," Benjamin answered to him "You really love the word gold or golden somewhere in your name."

"The name's got nothing about morals or politeness, just talking about the soul," Sakata Kintoki answered. "The name, no matter what's inside, it's the outside that's gotta be the best"

"Alright then," Benjamin said as he turned to look down at Alice, which he noticed a beautiful crown of roses and flowers on her head. It wasn't without its charm, her white hair was braided neatly, but with touches to make it feminine.

"Alice, your hair looks wonderful," Benjamin commented as he ruffled her hair. Alice laughed happily and tackled him in a fierce and needy hug that he accepted and wrapped his own arms tightly around her. "So what have you been doing?"

"Play flower!" Alice said cheerfully.

"Well, you look happy," Benjamin observed of his servants.

"I am very happy!" Her dainty fingers were gently brushing up against of the golden rose petals from her crown. "Happier when we are playing with the flowers and roses than I've ever been!"

"Is there going be a tea time?" Alice suddenly asked Benjamin. "Because I demand blackcurrant-flavor macarons!"

"Now that would be a good time for tea," Benjamin returned her with a smile. "But we should all go down to the basement to see if new servants are being summoned down there. Then we can make tea with our new comrades. Is that alright for you?"

"Yeah, I also want you to be in my tea party too." With those words, Benjamin held Alice's hand with Sakata Kintoki and Enkidu and walked down into the basement to see that the area had been changing since they left. "I'm sure there will be wonderful encounters waiting for them."

They happened to notice a new servant who was working on something in his workshop, which meant he could be a Casters class.

"You must be my second Master and Flanna's brother. Has she mentioned me?" the man asked without turning his head around to them. "I can tell that your face shares the same structural shape as my first Master."

"And you must be my new servant with two more who are not here today for now," Benjamin said to him. "You're also right about me as your second Master and being Flanna's brother. What is your true name?"

"I see that you must have known me as Paracelsus von Hohenheim, who is known as The Father of Alchemy," Paracelsus who now introduced himself to Benjamin. "My servant class is Caster."

Benjamin's heart skipped a beat for a moment as he remembered the name that Caster said to his face. Paracelsus was a quite known historical figure in the modern society who contributed to the field of medicine, having been a notable physician and challenged medieval thought. Benjamin knew of him from his chemistry and history classes while reading his school books as part of his study time in college.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Paracelsus," Benjamin said as he held his hand to him, which the Caster servant shook his hand back. "I am surprised to actually meet you in the flesh. You know that people today talk well about you in the present time."

"I see that people are looking into my work and use it as a good example," Paracelsus smiled to see that his works were well known throughout the world as his students spread his works to ensure that many of his achievements and books were burned to down the ground. "Thank you for the information, Benjamin. It is nice to see someone likes my work."

"Ah, no problem," Benjamin said as he watched the rest of his servants study and look amazed at the new changes in the basement. "Speaking of it, where is the rest of the crew and did anything happen here when I was out?"

"All of them went out to do their missions with Flanna leading them to their locations," Paracelsus explained to him as he examined one of the vials of the potion that he had perfectly crafted. "While I stayed behind to construct fortifications here at home and draw energy from the spiritual ground to provide the Holy Grail with a nearly limitless amount of magical energy into it."

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Benjamin asked him as his hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. "From the way you are doing it, it looks like you are putting more nuclear into the nuclear power plant. That sounds like a bomb is ready to be made. How sure are you that the Holy Grail doesn't blow up in front of our faces?"

"Do not worry about the chance of it happening, as the Holy Grail is surrounded by powerful Bounded Fields," Paracelsus smiled lightly. "You should trust me on this. I know what I am doing, as my work with your sister orders for me to make each servant from the Holy Grail that is being summoned every time more powerful than before. The key issue that comes from being a servant instead of a Heroic Spirit is that they are actually unable to manifest all of their Noble Phantasms at once in a Class without discarding or permanently destroying other ones, simply because the Grail was not powerful enough to manifest all of them at once. My plan is to make the servants at their highest power as possible and thus for a bargain of immense power beyond many servant's wildest dreams."

"You've gotta be shitting me," Benjamin said, his eyes got wider. "Grail's got a crazy sense of humor. What is my sister doing with the Grail? Is she trying to make a super army of servants at her command? Since when did we need so many steroids on each one?"

"You should go ask her when she gets back from the mission," Paracelsus answered him as he supposed an errand to keep her enemy. "In the meantime, the Grail is ready to begin to summon more servants." He then produced a flagon with the finest honeyed mead. He tilted the container, letting the amber liquid flow from the stone, and into the crevices of the magic circle, each dropping suffused with its own prana.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

A ring glinting eerily in the light, a piece of armor with dried blood, and a golden crown banner from the boxes of catalysts for the summoning ritual began to levitate and flew towards the Holy Grail. The red circle around it glowed with a bright spark and Benjamin could feel his whole body burning for some reason.

"Master, I have a paper for you to say, it is a new chant to summon them with improved and superior stats," Paracelsus said as he gave Benjamin the paper for him to see. "With luck, there is a good chance of them manifesting more of their noble phantasms inside their class."

Benjamin read the paper and didn't know what to expect with this new chant, but he would not push it any longer as the rest of his servants watched the summoning event right now and waited for more servants to appear to them.

I, who stand in the full light of the heavens, command thee who opens the gate of hell

Answer my call, you who have a reason to fight

I'll make your wish become true, and you'll be able to sin to your heart's content

I truly swear now that I won't have any prejudice about you, and in exchange, your sword will be unconditionally under my service

May your pride, not let you fall

Envy those unfairly happier than you

Quench your greed with the treasure that is offered to you

The scepter of domination awaits you behind the gates of the illusory and the real

So, come, guardian of immorality

And sinfully fight with us

"You serve under me, and my fate hangs upon your sword. If this arrangement satisfies you, then in the name of the Holy Grail, come forth! Come forth, in the name of one who shall be all the good of this world!"

The ceremony was complete. Hopefully, his honest call would be answered by gathering enough forces who could effectively fight beside him and his other servants. Sometimes, there is no easy choice to make and no matter what he going to do, would affect the whole world. Weighing the needs of the many is intrinsic to many government decision and policy, where hard decisions have to be made to ensure the greatest prosperity and well-being of society.

One way or another, though...it was too late for him to go back to his normal life now. It is time for him an original person who absolutely has no interesting background details or special connections to famous people or crazy events to make his splash in the world that sought to explode in magical warfare around him. Sometimes, he privately laments over the stress of being an ordinary person suddenly thrust into a position of huge responsibility and authority over a bunch of heroes, wondering if there's anyone else who can possibly relate to him about this issue. At least, he has his sister who can help him on this but would it be enough to become a leader for an army of heroes so he would try his best to act as a qualified leader in front of his subordinates.

There was a brilliant flash of light from the circle, and a dull ache pulsing from his body. Had he done it? He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the quickly fading light, brushing aside hair that had been blown askew when the wind had unexpectedly kicked up.

---

There was nothing.

For hundreds of years, there was nothing.

No maddening jealousy, no agonizing pain, no soul-crushing sadness.

In the embrace of this cold, infinite void, Brynhildr, a victim of fate, of the machinations of cruel mortals and the ego of an unjust God - of a cruel father - had peace. But yet, every once in awhile she would hear it, a faint chime, an invitation to stir from her slumber from an unknown voice. Many times she had turned it down, she rather liked solitude and she felt like the risk of exposing herself to the world once more was not worth the chance to set everything right.

But the moment she entertained the thought of escaping, she would instinctively ask herself why - and in that moment it would all come crashing down upon her, like a dam yielding to the strength of a mighty river, the memories would haunt her, fresh as ever.

One would think, that after all this time, she would have forgotten him by now. But no, in that lay her mistake, she had believed death would free her from the burden of his memory, of her sin, but here where there was naught else to distract her, to occupy her thoughts - to replace those memories of sadness with joy - the moment she remembered but an echo of her life, the more acutely aware would she be of what she was trying to forget. It was like an itch, only one that never passed and ultimately, one that she did not have the strength of will to endure for long.

She wondered, perhaps, if this was some kind of curse, the memories were so real - fewer memories now, more like a vivid dream... and at the end of it all, the last thing she could remember was the fire.

White hot fire filled her vision in those final moments - and regret. Once her anger had run its course and her grief filled her, her mistakes would haunt her.

However, this time something was different.

A voice pierced this memory, something alien from this cycle of suffering.

If she had been lucid, perhaps she would have refused it, withdrawing into solitude again - but instead, it seemed like salvation. Gasping for air, she stretched out her hand into the sky, to that pillar of white light, even as the flames of sin came crashing down from all sides.

The flame churned softly as the grip around the gigantic lance in her hands tightened… there would be no mercy given. She abhorred that they would have to slay one another, yet there was yet a thing she had to absolve herself and the one who loved her most of all. A betrayal that never should have been… a curse by the gods that had been laid upon her by the same kind of ire that would grant the Gods the hero they had needed so badly.

She knew her reasons, she knew her purpose… but she did and never would accept such a fate. She sought to live the life that had been denied to her, with the one who had once been cast to death by her own hands.

---

Light... In the distance, she can see a light... Was it someone trying to call her forth again? ... Her initial instincts are to ignore it... She who had no wish for the Holy Grail. Normally, it is only the Holy Grail itself whom she answers to. So she proceeds to try and close her eyes again and let the call be passed on to another Servant, another hero more fit to fight for a dream or goal they had in mind.

As the call is about to pass, she feels something about the caller... something she couldn't ignore... All that called upon a Servant desired something and had a regret or goal they wished to achieve but what she felt from this caller was... different. A pure and honest heart that truly wished for the benefit of the world, as a well as regret for something the caller had let down or messed up. Her eyes begin to open again as she begins to listen to callers words, whom she can now identify as a male.

"in the name of one who shall be all the good of this world!"She lingers at the end of these words which cause her to reflecting back to her life. Back then she truly believed she was sent by God to deliver France from the English and bring the Dauphin Charles to power. Her efforts did end up turning the tide of the war, but she was captured tried and declared a heretic and burned at the stake. A smile crosses her face as she reflects on that moment, as looking back she truly had no regrets. Her goal was achieved, and France was saved. So, why now would she accept the man's call? Back when she was alive she too was in need of guidance, which came in the form of voices guided by the counter force of whom she attributed them to St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine.

A Saint... she too was given that title after her death... though she felt she did not deserve it... Still, as it was, her Church had declared it such so she was to be counted among those who she herself counted as her heroes. At that moment she makes her mind, the man who called out to her was in need of guidance. So, in addition to being his sword, she vowed to do her best to lead him on a proper path and guide as her voices did with her during her lifetime. With her mind made she reaches for the light.

---

I had a great long time to ponder my life in the void where things neither live nor die. I remembered the pain so very vividly. Tearing at me, clawing. Beginning me to submit myself to death's embrace. I did not rebel. I did not die to scream. Peace. Yes. Peace. I died at peace. Not just peace with myself, but peace in my country, my people would be safe. Never again would the likes of the hag Mother, or its bastard child torment the lands, nor any foul Wyrm.

Ah yes, the great dragon. I had killed the mighty beast with a colossal blow that shook the cave in which it dwelled. The Hrunting had split into two that day, the unbreakable sword that drove like a nail had been shattered, not by the strength of the beast's tough hide, but by my own strength, that, unlike my weapons, was truly unavailable to the end, when I let go of the strings that moved my life into this world.

Not for myself. Not for honor, or riches.

I would fulfill my duty as a king.

Rise again, Beowulf. Though your strength is a far cry from your youthful vigor…

…it surely cannot be naught.

But what was this? The cave. The beast's corpse, in a heap, in a pool of its foul draconian blood. I could smell it. Odious, sickening. I could feel it on me. Wait. This was no dragon's blood. This was my own. My breath labored, my chest suddenly burned like a thousand, raging fires, hotter than that which stoked in the belly of the deceased creature before me. My body was battered. I could barely stand it. And to my knees, I fell. My own blood leaking from my form. I felt it with my fingers, the gaping wound in my stomach, my chest, my arms... It was where the wyvern's teeth, horns, and claws had punctured through Wulfsbane, the very thing that kept the hag Mother from slaying me. It too had failed me. My ears rang with a terrible cacophony of noise, of echoes as my head began to spin. One voice struck through the resonating sound.

"Your grace... Your grace... You are wounded."

Wiglaf. Oh, Wiglaf. Ever faithful. He had dealt the beast a blow, alas it was not effective. The beast's hide was too thick for his sword to cut. But he had tried. For me. For his Queen. For Geatland. I could feel his arms clutching at my own, begging me to rise.

"I know Wiglaf. I fear this is the end of me," I announced grimly. The look of horror on his face quickly turned into denial.

"No Ma'am. This is not your time to die. It is your time to rejoice. Thrice have you protected the great lands from evil. This is a time to celebrate. The doctor can-"

"Wiglaf," I said sternly, cutting him off. I saw it in his eyes. He believed it. He did not want to believe it.

"Wiglaf. You must serve your Queen one last time. I ask of you Wiglaf, servant of servants. Have the accused plunder of the dragon buried with me. Let its foul taint never stain another human life again," I asked. It needed to be. The treasure was cursed. Cursed perhaps by the devil himself. To tempt mortal souls as it did as the sun rose today. As it tempted one of my people. I reached out to Naegling. I could feel the heavy, bladeless hilt of the Hrunting, weighing me down.

"My blades also, Wiglaf. Into my coffin, they go. Along with me. Wiglaf. My cousin. My friend. Geatland needs a King. One to watch over them. You will sit on my throne."

I felt the pain again, more intense than before. It called me to sleep. Eternally. And I had no objections.

"Long live His Majesty Wiglaf. King of the Geats. Fare thee well Wiglaf."

As I drew my final breath, I heard a voice I could not ignore, call out to me. It was amongst a great wave of heat, and light. I could not stop my weak feet from pacing me towards it, whispering to me. I saw it. The Holy Grail. The Wars that had been fought over the chalice. Servants. Masters. The world. It had changed. Whom was it that was summoning me? What need was great enough that they required the great Beowulf's aid. The Wars were over, were they not? In a cascade of light, I arrived. I had arrived, free of pain.

I could feel the full forms of Hrunting and Naegling pressed against my back, as I knelt down out of the light. I was summoned. By a Master. My Master. Thus, I greeted them, as a good Servant should.

---

The bright pillar of light that erupted from the summoning circle moments ago appeared to have faded, but in reality, the jagged, almost solid spear of light that soared into the top of the basement did not simply vanish, but rather, scattered into the very air. They looked like stars - though rather than being a pale white, they were almost blue. And instead of being accompanied by silence, they seemed to hum softly, to some long-forgotten melody that had not been heard by human ears in over a thousand years.

If Benjamin looked about, he would notice the multitude of sparks that lingered around him seeming to ebb and wane in radiance as they danced around the summoning circle. More than that, they weren't merely stationary, they all seemed to be drawn into a current of air, spinning about their axis as they traveled around the circle in a spiral that would lead them to its center.

And within seconds all that light coalesced into vaguely three humanoid forms. At the very least, they looked human to him.

He put his hands to his ears to drown out the sound coming from of the Servants who were yelling right away.

"I am Ripper... Tearer... Slasher... Gouger. I am the Teeth in the Darkness, the Talons in the Night. Mine is Strength... and Lust... and Power! I! AM! BEOWULF, Berserker class!" A huge man with blonde hair yelled at top of his lung with his arms raised up into the air. He was built like a bear and holding two weapons that were as big as his whole body, yet he carried both of them effortlessly. There was what appeared to be red or green Celtic tattoos running down the biceps of the man, ending near the elbow and letting the black hand wraps cover his wrists and forearms. The blonde-haired individual had his scarred chest in full view and wore nothing more than a pair of what appeared to be black jeans for leggings in a modern fashion.

Benjamin's ears almost turned deaf by how loud his voice was. "So is this going to be a tradition of them speaking like that?" Benjamin said to himself. "And I got Beowulf as a Berserker class and I am beginning to worrying that half of my group consists of broken, violent, and out-of-control monsters."

Beowulf, the Bear of Geatland, Legendary Hero of the Geats is a legendary Geatish hero in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language. Its creation dates to between the 8th and the 11th century, the only surviving manuscript dating to circa 1010. At 3182 lines, it is notable for its length. It has risen to national epic status in England. Beowulf has been adapted a number of times in cinema, on the stage, and in books. The poem relates his heroic exploits over 50 years, a warrior who proves his superhuman strength and endurance in his struggle with the monster Grendel including his mother and with the treasure-guarding dragon. In his youth, Beowulf is a great warrior, characterized predominantly by his feats of strength and courage, including his fabled swimming match against Breca. He also perfectly embodies the manners and values dictated by the Germanic heroic code, including loyalty, courtesy, and pride. His defeat of Grendel and Grendel's mother validates his reputation for bravery and establishes him fully as a hero.

He came to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, was plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf killed Grendel with his bare hands and Grendel's mother with a giant's sword that he found in her lair. He eventually became King of the Geats. He exemplifies the ideal lord and vassal, rewarding his own men generously and accomplishing glorious deeds to honor his king, while he fulfills all the forms of courtesy at Hrothgar's court. Soon he found his realm terrorized by a dragon, some of whose treasure had been stolen from his hoard in a burial mound. He attacked the dragon with the help of his thegn, Beowulf finally slayed the dragon but was mortally wounded in the struggle. He was cremated and a burial mound by the sea was erected in his honor.

Since Beowulf has been summoned in his golden age, which he had taken down an enormous dragon in his fifth to sixth years old with his bare hands. Benjamin knew by now, this guy is a battle maniac by nature and engages in unnecessary fights.

"Hey, are you all right there, Master?" Beowulf said in a polite voice as he was worried that he had accidentally frightened his Master on his first impression. "Relax and calm down, I'm a Berserker. I'll protect you," he added as he put his huge weapons on his back.

"Sure, a guy named Berserker is going to protect me," Benjamin mused in his mind. "More like he's going to charge into battle blindly screaming and waving his two swords. What good is a Berserker class that's going to leave behind the target it's supposed to be protecting?"

"I am fine, Beowulf," Benjamin answered him, who nodded to himself in relief. "I was just waiting for you to introduce yourself. Even my ears hurt already by how loud you are."

"Oh, my bad, my bad. It's cool alright?" Beowulf asked him and he gave a nod to the head in response.

Benjamin turned to the next servants, who made his heart stop, and admired what he was looking at. He would find himself staring at a woman - only she looked like no mortal woman should.

She was certainly fair, her features delicate - too delicate even. Her silver hair that spilled seamlessly from her scalp to the round of her back appeared almost white, but somewhere along the way the long locks morphed from pure alabaster to the color of a twilight sky, a teal hue that captured that moment between day and night. In fact, that seemed to describe her perfectly, her beauty was not vibrant, it was not the look of a woman caught in love, nor of one brimming with life - but rather the fleeting beauty of twilight, the charm of darkness, of something passing, something transient, something that could not be held for long, only admired and remembered for the rest of one's life.

Her face also held an otherworldly charm, a visage only made possible in those touched by the divine. Her profile was perfectly proportioned, her lips neither too thin or thick, her amethyst eyes neither too expressive nor cold. Her body was clad in silver armor with an amethyst shine, seemingly absorbing and emanating the moonlight itself, while being of a design not known to mankind. It covered her arms, abdomen and legs alike, akin to a half-plate armor, the runes inscribed on it guaranteeing its wielder protection against the forces that awaited an Emissary of War, Death and finally Salvation in the halls of Valhalla. Even the mithril armor failed to conceal her svelte figure. In fact, they only seemed to accentuate the fact that though she was neither too small nor too large, her proportions perfectly complimented everything else about her. She had black spiky tattoos across her upper thighs.

This lance-bearing figure seemed to stare at the top of the basement, her eyes taking in far more from the heavens than mere human eyes could. She continued to stare at the basement for some long moments, ignoring the human until a time passed. Then she allowed her gaze to fall on his face.

"Brynhildr. My class is...Lancer. Were you the one who woke me from my slumber?" she asked him, her voice soft, almost a whisper in the wind. "For what purpose did you choose me, when a gallery of the strongest of tales and history were at your fingertips, what reason had you to choose me as your champion? I am a victim of my tale, not its heroine."

She blinked at him, no emotion, save that of muted sorrow marking her features. "Even now, I see that we share no affinity."

"Uh-uh- a goddess?" Benjamin said with a dumbass voice. Before him now was a woman, who could only be described as divine. When she had addressed him, he blinked and looked at the otherworldly woman in the silver armor, her spear at her side, and nodded.

"Yes, I am indeed the one who had summoned you here, even though I am inexperienced as a Master," said Benjamin, a soft smile on his features, a contrast to the sorrow that seemed to permeate the very presence of the woman before him. "... Yes, it is true, there were countless others I could have chosen to summon with my own hand, but I am letting the Throne decide who will be most appropriate to be summoned to my side for now. You say that you are no hero, and simply a victim of your story... yet if that were true, you would not be among those whose spirits reside within the Throne of Heroes. Even if your story and you yourself do not paint yourself a hero, the potential is there."

When she had noted their incompatibility, he sighed. He supposed that would come as an issue, given the use of a catalyst, that letting the Grail summon three servants at random chance and times.

"Hmm, Brynhildr as a Lancer class and a battle-maidens valkyrie," Benjamin said to himself. "I pity anyone who is not a servant fighting against her."

Brynhildr, which has other names: Brunhild, Brünnhilde and Sigrdrífa the Goddess of War, Love-Burdened Valkyrie, daughter of Odin and Shieldmaiden Valkyries, is a shieldmaiden and a valkyrie in Germanic mythology, where she appears as the main character in the Völsunga saga and some Eddic poems treating the same events. She was ordered to decide a fight between two kings, Hjalmgunnar and Agnar, and knew that Odin preferred the older king, Hjalmgunnar, yet she decided the battle for Agnar. For this, Odin condemned her to live the life of a mortal woman, and imprisoned her in a remote castle behind a wall of shields on top of mount Hindarfjall, where she sleeps in a ring of flames until any man rescues and marries her with a kiss, which she was by Sigurd, the dragon-slayer.

But unfortunately, Sigurd was deceived by Gjuki, king of the Burgundians, whose wife, the sorceress Grimhild, prepared a magic potion that made Sigurd forget about Brynhildr so he could marry their daughter Gudrun. When she found out about Brynhildr, they let their son Gunnar go to her castle. Gunnar was only able to cross the ring of fire when he switched places with the enchanted Sigurd and convinced Brynhildr to marry Gunnar instead of Sigurd. Sigurd later regained his memories. However, Gudrun and Brynhild later quarreled over whose husband was greater, Brynhildr boasting that Gunnar had been brave enough to ride through the flames. Gudrun revealed that it was actually Sigurðr who rode through the ring of fire, and Brynhildr became enraged. Sigurðr, remembering the truth, tried to console her, but to no avail. Brynhildr plotted revenge by urging Gunnar to kill Sigurðr, accusing that he took her virginity on Hidarfjall, which he swore not to do. Gunnar and his brother Hogni were afraid to kill him themselves, as they had sworn oaths of brotherhood to Sigurðr. They invited their younger brother, Gutthorm, to kill Sigurðr, by giving him a magic potion of enragement, and Gutthorm murdered Sigurðr in his sleep. As he was dying, Sigurðr threw his sword at Gutthorm, killing him.

She then killed Sigurðr's three-year-old son. Distraught over her actions, she willed herself to die. When Sigurðr's funeral pyre was aflame, she committed suicide by throwing herself on Sigurd's funeral pyre – thus they passed on together to the realm of Hell.

Brynhildr did not know quite what to think of this summoner. He was certainly capable as a Master, maybe even talented. That much she could tell from the quality of the steady stream of energy that flowed into her being. She stretched a hand out before her, opening and closing it before she turned it over to observe the back of her hand. The flow of prana was steady, there would be no need to have to draw prana from alternate sources if this was the case. A welcome relief, for as pragmatic as Brynhildr could be, she would rather not have her hands forced to tasks that might sully her honor - or whatever honor she still could call her own.

"The potential to become a hero matters little to a person whose tales are already etched in stone, long since concluded," she told him, her wistful tone a reflection of her acceptance of her fate. They truly did stand at opposing sides, one who had already been dealt the cards of fate, the other yet to be tested, yet to be proven - bearing the promise of a bright future, and quite possibly ruin. "I suppose I cannot fault you to expect to be a great leader right now. There are personalities whom one such as you could never command."

The fallen Valkyrie looked at the naive, young magus and once again blinked as she took in his features. In her era, he would already be counted as a man, but in this age, he probably wouldn't count as one. "You are innocent," she told him plainly, neither judging nor accusing him of the fact. She merely pointed out the obvious, something he seemed blind to. "Perhaps too innocent for the burden you mean to shoulder... No, I suppose you have taken it upon you already as you bear upon your person the mark of a master."

"If nothing else, you have promise. I, Brynhildr shall guide you along the path that will lead you to Valhalla, even if I can no longer escort you all the way."

"Where do you mean to go now? Who - or what do you fight for, summoner? Do you fight among others, or tread a road of solitude?" she didn't bother to ask him his name, it would be made known to her before long. Besides, he did not seem the sort to bear deep and dark secrets.

Benjamin listened to her speak, and sighed, his expression becoming somewhat melancholy. "Though, I suppose you likely already knew that. Things have... changed, to put it simply. Magic is starting to become a common knowledge, yet the truth of it still remains hidden to most of the people, preserving the mystery that allows it to be. Thus, the Grail War is to be something of a public spectacle now."

He closed his eyes, feeling the night's breeze against his face, and exhaled. "Though I suppose that is a topic for another time."

Brynhildr nodded her head to leave this talk later for now and step aside to allow the last servant to show in front of him.

Benjamin turned to face the next figure. What he saw there ― was another beautiful woman once more. First of all, she was standing 159 cm tall and weighed 44 kg, with a very feminine figure, including an incredibly curvy figure with amethyst-colored eyes that looked like they were completely pure and stern but had a hidden warmness to them. She wore a Knight's armor designed for women, ornately designed just for her. She had waist-long blond braided hair tied in a ponytail going along her back and wore a silver headband-looking plate where the arrow looking the part in the middle covered her forehead. It was made up of a mix of metal plating and blue cloth, even featuring a skirt and stockings to reveal her thighs. Her standard blue battle outfit also featured a cape, lined with crosses to hide her body. Her left hand rested on the hilt of her sword while her right hand grasped a large banner.

To put it bluntly, she was beautiful, almost like an angel that had descended from the heavens. If Brynhildr was suited for the quietness and darkness of beauty tinged in the night, then this woman was a radiant beauty filled with warmth and vitality.

"I, Servant Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, have heeded your summons, It's clear enough in this Holy Grail War you are in need of a Sword to aid you. I'm really glad to meet you!" She paused for a second to gauge his reaction before adding. "But that alone is not enough to call me forth. You... have a good heart, but I sense you are also conflicted with the weight upon your shoulders. I too had such weight upon my shoulders in life, and had those holy voices from Heaven to guide me through it all, up until every end."

She reflected back on her life as she said these words. Yes, the Servant Jeanne d'Arc, despite her end, truly believed that God had never once forsaken anyone... even she who was unjustly burned at the stake for the simplest of trumped-up charges, by political enemies who used her Church as nothing more than a political tool.

"So I come forth to act as they did and also aid in guiding you down a righteous path and help see your goals realized as well." She smiled at him one more time before finishing her introduction. "With this in mind, Master, I swear my sword to aid you not only in battle but to help guide along to the path where whatever your doubts are cleared up."

Jeanne d'Arc, also known as Joan of Arc with other names Jehanne d'Arc, Jehanne Tarc, Jehanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maid), Jehanne Romée or possibly Jehanne de Vouthon, the Saint of Orleans, Maid of Orléans, Holy Maiden of Intervention and War Goddess, less charitably, the Armagnac Whore as her oppenents called her. She was a peasant girl living in medieval France, believed that God had chosen her to lead France to victory in its long-running war with England. With no military training, Joan convinced the embattled crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orléans, where it achieved a momentous victory over the English and their French allies, the Burgundians. After seeing the prince crowned King Charles VII, Joan was captured by Anglo-Burgundian forces, tried for witchcraft and heresy and burned at the stake in 1431, at the age of 19. By the time she was officially canonized in 1920 and long been considered one of the history's greatest saints, and an enduring symbol of French unity and nationalism.

Ironic despite being the English greater enemy back then, there are more churches and shrines dedicated to her in England than in France later on. Even before she died, her name had become legend. And in the centuries that followed, she would come to become associated with various ideologies and causes, in time becoming intertwined with the French nation. According to many urban legends, she actually never killed anyone in battle, even in the Hundred Years War despite being called to lead the French army to victory in the front line, as she is only a standard-bearer which was a part of her battle strategy, painting a giant target on herself by being the standard bearer, making her troops fight all the harder to see the maiden of prophecy (search it up) live to see the next sunrise. And this so-called religious visions of her, it's a matter of personal belief or opinion whether you believe it or not.

"Joan of Arc?" Benjamin said with his eyebrows risen and nodded to her. Not really surprised that the Holy Grail summoned her too. "It is good to meet you, Ruler."

"As for the Command Seal proves that I am your Master," Benjamin said to her as he showed the back and front of his hands. "We can discuss that later when my sister arrives to explain this to you."

Completing the required lines of their contract, he listened to Joan of Arc discuss the circumstances of the summoning. How she was so easily able to guess his situation, his circumstances...she really did have the same kind of situation. He could tell. Nodding at her resolution, he smiled. "...Thank you, Ruler. I will be happy to trust your insight on the situation, in that case. It's not too often I meet someone as, well, I suppose driving would be the right word, as I am." Nodding, he continued. "I can imagine you might have reservations, as you too likely seek a wish. I would imagine that at the end lies a Grail that can suit your needs, but I don't know, so I can promise little." He shook his head. "Are you still willing to work with me, despite that knowledge?"

It was not what she expected to look upon her master as she was first summoned. But still, he truly was in need of salvation, and through her guidance perhaps he might find it through the Lord and the accomplishment of his goal. The boy affirmed to her about his status as her master by showing his bare hands, about none of the command seals on him and would explain later, to which the maid smiled her gentle smile of understanding.

After properly introducing herself to him, she reaffirmed what she felt as she was summoned, the man in front of her really did have a kind and honest heart, but it was burdened with burden and doubt. She had no desire for any wish of the Grail, but she still accepted the man's call, because she saw a man who needed functional moral compasses and advisers who could offer him sensible advice. As such, he looked genuinely grateful that she saw it fit to lend him her sword, and noted how the two servants that were with her also answered the call too. The maid couldn't help herself giggle at this remark of his, noting her master is quite insightful. "As for the thought of being denied a wish, I have none to speak of. I simply saw a man in need of salvation and sought to help you in finding answers to questions you seek. Worry not, Master, for the sake of our goal, I will fight with every ounce of strength that I am able to, even if it should cost me this life I have been given."

"Wait, I have a question..." Benjamin who had suddenly thought for a moment with the word Ruler and what she said about her Class. "What the hell is a Ruler class?" "I have never heard that type of class in the book."

---

Back at the Shipyard and about a few minutes before servants launched their attack

That evening, the doors of one of the shipyard warehouses opened, and several men in formal suits stepped inside as the cold air was shut behind them. As they did so, the similarly hard-faced group in gang-colored clothing that was already inside nodded to the newcomers.

"Glad to see you made it in time," a serious nasty fella man whose name is Bruno, with a face sprinkled with peach fuzz, greasy red hair flopping over his eyes, one of which was squinty, and on his head he's got a tipped-back brown derby, which made his ears stick out like cute cauliflowers. "Where is Mr. Cordelion?"

"He will be here any second now, as he's already left the Correction Center. But, he should take his time getting here," a man — seemingly an underling — answered, his brow bathed in a cold sweat.

Bruno scowled as he gave him the eye, things were going to be bad. "Well, what is taking so long for him to get here?"

"Faldeus said it wouldn't look good if anyone from the Scladio Family came to the police headquarters... We only know that he was there to make a report after the recent news..." the henchman said nervously. Bazdilot Cordelion was part of the Sicilian Mafia who had patronized a large number of mages over a wide area, both inside and outside of the country's borders. Many of the mages accustomed to this one-sided relationship felt that their path to the Root of their ultimate objective would be closed if they lost it. Only very few of the mages felt any real obligation to the Scladio Family; most voluntarily aligned themselves with the organization after rationally considering their own interests as mages.

"Tch... you and your government lapdogs are getting on my nerves already," Bruno said angrily, feeling hatred, clenching his fists. "Just because you have powerful friends does not mean you go thinking you're better than us."

"You don't need to keep asking," the henchman said slowly, smiling as he showed a photo of Bruno. "All we need to do is give the police a tip about the location here and this photo, which they'll use to identify you and your members. And when they do, you will all be arrested. And-"

"Don't need to go telling me all that stuff again," grumbled Bruno. "It's blackmail, that's all. Now, can you go looking for Mr. Cordelion as we—"

The door of the shipyard warehouse opened once more as the group looked in the direction the noise had come from, to show a man who appeared to be in his 30s or 40s and wore a black suit. He's smooth-shaven and his hair was slicked back. His features themselves may have been well-regulated, but that monstrous, piercing gleam in his eyes seized the soul of anyone who stood before them. The hard-faced men, however, were not afraid of that gleam. They knew. Knew that the man's insides were far more frightening than his piercing glare.

He picked up a cigar from an ashtray on the table with his black gloves, took a puff and blew smoke up with an air of severity.

"Ah, Mr. Cordelion," Bruno said. "You're late."

"You got the money?" he asked Bazdilot Cordelion, who instead of responding, opened a silver briefcase to reveal money in what appeared to be $5,000.

"Had some business," Bazdilot Cordelion answered as he offered the cigar to Bruno. "I'm done with it. Want some?" he stated quietly with a slight smile.

Bruno, fighting the anger he had inside, took it.

"Now, let's get this business started," Bazdilot Cordelion said calmly. "Did your men bring the girl that I requested?" Bruno nodded and signed his men to bring in a small cage with a girl of 16 or 17 years old wearing a brown dress. There were red wounds all over her pale body with a short black hair that was greasy, as it hadn't been washed in some time and her blue eyes were frightened as she looked at Bruno and Bazdilot Cordelion.

"Why did we need this girl? I could find you a dozen others with half the trouble. Why specifically this one?" Bruno asked as Bazdilot Cordelion stared at the girl.

"Well, I should tell you," Bazdilot Cordelion said calmly as he walked slowly towards the cage, causing the poor girl inside to back away until she had her back pressed into the bars. "She shares the blood of our kind. Her blood is strong and will grant me additional strength when I am done with my work. This will be the beauty of it and I can feel the Root coming closer to a true experience! At last now!"

Bruno stared at the girl and lowered his head in sadness, he plainly felt bad for the girl for what was going to happen. He heard that magus had experimented on corpses of humans and animals to a crazy level. "What a sick way of experimenting." He kept a stern disapproving look on Bazdilot Cordelion.

"And the guns?" Bazdilot Cordelion asked him "Where are they?"

Bruno took a brown bag and took a gas operated self-loading assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge, and put the gun on the table for everyone to see it. "You'll be pleased to know that I have a truckload of these gorgeous dolls just outside of the warehouse."

"This is not what I have ordered," Bazdilot Cordelion said to him. "We ordered M16s and this is a Beretta AR70, a different weapon. It is not what I ordered."

"You know what?" Bruno said angrily. "I'm not driving a fucking pizza delivery service! You want the weapon or you don't want the weapon? This is an assault rifle, this is what's available, you know."

"Watch your mouth, Bruno," Bazdilot Cordelion warned him as he pointed his finger at him. "Any disrespectful words come from you one more time and you spend your life in prison."

"Oh, I know that Mr. Cordelion, but perhaps you should keep your mouth shut or I will make you shut up," Bruno said with a smirk. "I've got an itchy feeling to pull my gun."

Bruno and Bazdilot's group members started to pull their weapons out and point at their targets. That was when the lights inside of the warehouse died down and the street lights shut down one by one outside.

"What the hell is going on?" one of Bruno's gang members yelled.

"The lights just shut down!" one of Bazdilot's mages said.

"Everyone calms down!" one of Bruno's gang members cried out.

"Fuck you asshole!" Bazdilot's mage said as he pointed his weapons at him.

Bruno gave Mr. Cordelion a death look and asked him as he pointed his gun at him. "You tipped the police, didn't you?"

"What?! No!" Bazdilot Cordelion answered him. "And get that fucking thing out of my face!"

"What are you waiting for you bitch!? C'mon, bitch tits! I know that it's a trap!" Bruno shouted at him "I know that we will outlive our usefulness and you will walk away from this!"

"Oh, let me tell you something!" Bazdilot Cordelion grinned. "There is no value to human life, now that I have what I want. Is there anything wrong with me enjoying my work?"

"I know it," Bruno said as he started to get ready to fire his gun at him. "There is when your work suffers and—!"

The sharp sound of something being crushed cut off the rest of his words.

"!?"

In unison, the men looked in the direction the noise had come from — the roof of the plant.

Smashed window glass tumbled, sparkling, through the air. An extremely tall, slender, dark man with his right arm bandaged fell with it, seemingly clad in its darkness, clutching a lump in his left hand.

"Wha—"

The lump in the skull man's hand was a human head. Not a severed head, however — his body was still attached. The body fell through the window, the skull man pulling the body down with him, and within a few seconds, the body had been smashed against the concrete floor. Blood spit from his mouth; apparently, he had still been alive for a few minutes. The skull man slowly rose to his feet, heedless of the fact that several drops of blood had splattered on his skull face. Despite the fact that he had fallen from the skylight as well, the man showed no expression on his skull-like face, as if nothing had happened.

A shiver ran down the spines of the all of the hard-faced men in the warehouse when they saw the man's face illuminated by the moonlight that filtered in through the broken window. They had been overpowered by the man's eyes, which were a deeper darkness in the darkened plant.

"M, Mr. Cordelion! What should we do now?" a Bazdilot mage asked his boss. "This is a servant we are facing."

"..." The Bazdilot Cordelion whose name had been called did not return the men's stares. He just reached into his pocket. When they saw what he took out of it, the men next to him widened their eyes.

"Wai—"

Boom! An explosion rang out in the air as all hell broke loose as the warehouse and the area near to it soon erupted with the sound of automatic weapons firing and people used anything as covers. Bruno and Bazdilot's groups ended up firing at each other with Hassan of the Cursed Arm right in the middle of the fight as the barrage of bullets fired around the room with bodies starting to drop to the ground in bloody messes.

Bazdilot Cordelion opened fire with his pistol at two Bruno gang members. Round after round fired from a handgun fitted with a suppressor, each accompanied by a muffled thud, destroying the prone bodies.

While Bruno grabbed his shotgun, that was a double barrel shotgun and opened fire at three of Bazdilot's men at a close range that was able to gib them with ease as his enemy shrieked in agony for a few seconds.

A Bruno thug slammed one of Bazdilot's men with a bottle in the head and shot him down with a Smith & Wesson Model 66.

One of Bazdilot's men charged at Hassan of the Cursed Arm with a sword, which the servant sidestepped the swing and slashed the man across the belly, causing the man to try to hold his guts in. Hassan brought his small black dagger into his eye and snapped his neck by his hand.

The Hassan of the Cursed Arm quickly dodged bullets firing from Bruno's gang members and threw three of his small black daggers with the force of bullets without any visible movement, as the three daggers hit their marks with the gang members screaming in pain with one of them clenching his legs before dying three to four seconds later by a stray bullet in the head.

One of Bazdilot's men used his magecraft and threw a lightning strike at Bruno's thug who got zapped and screamed in agony after he's shot, then his scream faded out as he went offline.

A Bruno thug managed to decapitate one of Bazdilot's men in the head with a machete.

One of Bazdilot's men launched his fire, likely magecraft, at Bruno's thug in the chest and his eyes started to glow red and smoke poured out of his mouth before he collapsed into the ground.

The Hassan of the Cursed Arm threw two black daggers into a man whose hand got skewered and impaled into his neck.

A Bruno thug managed to stab Bazdilot Cordelion in the rib cage with the knife. Mr. Cordelion activated his Reinforcement magecraft and punched through the guy's ribcage, grabbing it and lifting him into the air before dropping the poor bastard as he ripped the thug's heart out, covering his left arm with blood.

Bruno grabbed a grenade launcher and fired at two mages who were activating magic shields from gunfire. While it can protect almost anything, it still can not protect the back as Bruno fired from a blind spot angle. The explosion warped the shield from the side, picking the two mages up and hurling them backward into the ground, where they lay motionless. "Screw you magic wizards, not so invisible now!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Bazdilot Cordelion unleashed his magecraft and fired lightning bolts, hitting one of Bruno's men. The charge then jumped to another one and then to another one. In less than a few seconds, four smoking corpses fell to the ground.

The Hassan of the Cursed Arm threw smaller black daggers with extreme speed and surged towards the Bruno and Bazdilot's group, too fast for some of them to react but too slow to leap into a cover or trigger their magecraft barriers. Some had daggers embedded in their faces or chests. Others were hit in the joints and lost either a limb or a joint.

"Oh my god!" was all Bruno managed to say before he placed two round of bullets directly into a magus' head and chest with his double barrel shotgun. "Bloody wizards and their magic," he spits on the ground as he grumbled. "Should have gone back to where you came from!" He noticed that Bazdilot was slowly falling back with his men to the other door.

"Cordelion!" Bruno shouted at him "Don't you dare run away from me!"

Bazdilot Cordelion simply took out the knife from his rib cage and threw it at one of Bruno's men next to him.

Bruno turned to see the man next to him fall as the knife dug deep into the man's head. He took a breath and ordered the remaining of his men to retreat as they ran to the other door. "Let's get out of here, get everyone to take the ledgers, account books, and everything! Don't let the cops get their hands on them!"

Hassan-i-Sabbah quickly struck the heart of one of Bazdilot's men with the dagger and one of the lungs. He twisted the dagger a little and wretched it out as he turned to face another of Bazdilot's men and put the dagger through his eye. The Assassin took off his right arm that was wrapped in cloth and unleashed it, ripping away from his flesh and flapping like a one-winged spear to a nearby person.

"Shit, let's get out of here!" one of Bazdilot's men yelled as he used two overturned tables as cover. "We are not going to survive facing that servant!" As Bazdilot Cordelion turned to see one of his men get the tentacle-like arm into his chest and his heart pulled out.

"Get the girl," Bazdilot Cordelion ordered his men. "We are getting out of here, the police will be here soon enough." One of his men grabbed the small cage with the girl inside and dashed to the door with the rest of his group while being shot at.

Bazdilot Cordelion grabbed the doorknob, only to get impaled by a black spear through the door which he opened his eyes in shock. The door soon got sliced in half with him too, revealing to be Achilles.

"Sorry, mages," Achilles said to them, whose facial expressions suddenly changed to a horrified "we're fucked" look. "Can't let you leave here, not without the girl," the hero of The Iliad announced as he noticed the girl inside of the cage and started to mow down his opponents effortlessly while they were hopelessly shooting him with their guns and magecraft. The ones not immediately struck down were variously crushed, stabbed, choked or shot by their own deflected bullet.

All they could do was scream at their fellow compatriots as one of the poor mages was slammed up onto the ceiling by Achilles, then sliced in half by Achilles' sword. All he could do was scream horribly as he died, and the two halves of his corpse dropped onto the floor behind Achilles as he continued his attack, not even looking back.

The last trapped mage accepted his inevitable death as he got a spear to the face.

"Well, that was easy," Achilles said as he pulled out his spear from the last mages' head. "You should have seen the face they were making when they saw me. Their attacks had no effect on me."

"Did you find anything that looked important to you?" Hassan of the Cursed Arm asked as he ate the heart, which Achilles shook his head. "Well, I did find something...or more like a person." Assassin grabbed the small cage with the girl inside, who backed away until she had her back pressed into the bars, as her face was full of fear seeing the blood stained servants. "This girl looks to be important, as I heard them talking about something to do with her blood."

Achilles stared at the girl as he was studying her. "Hmm, well let's take her with us. I don't think we can give her to the police yet." Achilles smashed the keylock with his spear, pulling the girl out of the cage. She did not make a fuss when he carried her in his arm. "Girl, make sure that you keep hold of my hand, it is going to be a bumpy ride."

---

In the shipyard and the areas around it

"Can someone in charge tell me what the hell is going here!?" Sergeant Jeffery Smith asked his comrades as they took cover behind their police cars and barricades. "And don't keep me in suspense, guys!" The police group returned fire back at the gang members

"It's a bad scene, Jeffery," Detective Valerio replied. "Two of our men scouting stumbled right into a war between gang members and servants." He pointed at the group of men.

"The gang members were trying to get inside their headquarters. We've had them cornered, but they opened fire," Detective Augustus added, nodding his head toward a nearby building. "We're keeping 'em pinned down, but those officers are bleeding to death."

Jeffery Smith glanced over the hood of the car toward the two officers lying, bleeding on the ground. "A bad scene was an understatement," he thought as he took a look at the criminals who were using their cars as cover. "Let's see what they have in their hands. Heckler & Koch G3, IMI Uzi, AKM, Franchi LF-57, Ruger Mini-14, and Steyr AUG i. God, they are well armed with so many guns, I bet that they have Browning M2, M60, Barret M82 in their armory." However, the usual: when the job needs to get done, the feds were there to do it, which supposedly the feds had jurisdiction on this one, the area that is so close to their government headquarters. Supposedly, according to the latest word back from the headquarters, the feds were supposed to know about this area and its history but it seems that no word was mentioned of that place.

"Where the hell is Special Weapons?" Sergeant Jeffery Smith asked curtly "They were supposed to be here any second now."

"They are tied up in a traffic accident down in the highway," Detective Augustus replied with a grimace. "Most of our helicopters are still getting repaired and two just started to pilot. I didn't think we would end up seeing them in use, as those damn servants shot down one of our choppers, it was a real mess."

"Well, we're suckin' hind tit until they get here to provide cover fire," said an officer named Regger crouched behind the rear of the car. "Mills and Johnson won't last much longer. We need an assault vehicle to get to 'em."

"Shit, what the hell went wrong?! There wasn't supposed to be this much resistance!" Sergeant Jeffery Smith yelled as he took a pot shot at the gang member. "How the hell did they have so much firepower here and we are getting our asses kicked here." Jeffrey continued, as one of his men got shot in the chest and fell down to the ground.

"I knew there was something going on here!" Detective Augustus added his own scent. "I cannot believe there was activity right under our noses and no one bothered to take their effects of searching this place. And there's something flying in the sky!"

"What is it? A drone?" Regger guessed as he looked up in the sky.

"No, it is that flying ship back there," Detective Valerio answered his question. "You know the vehicle that the servants used to take off when they robbed the museum." The Solar Ship of the Dark Night fire several beams of light that sink a ship in the yard with nearby buildings caught on fire or demolish a sizable portion of it. "Holy shit!"

"Haaaaaa! let me burn you with the radiance of the sun, look upon me- and despair!" A proud disembodied laughter echoed from the flying ship. "Haaa!"

"Well, one of those servants is in there, shoot laser everywhere!" Detective Augustus said as he tries to see him much closer with his own eyes. "I still tell that he is from Egyptian!"

"Yeah, I can see him on my phone, someone took a picture already to show it!" Detective Augustus showed his cell phone with the title "The mysterious Egyptian flying ship appears once more over the shipyard, Police urge nearby residents to be cautious." "I am betting those damn servants are up to something right here and now!" "Well, I can hope that someone can actually get a clear picture of him!" He hope that new report crew who are probably almost here to unload their video equipment and film it

"Yeah, I got it now as we have better something to do about this then about that flying ship. We need a large cover for our men to push up and get the wounded out of the fight," Officer Regger pointed out. "If we wait too long, then those poor bastards will bleed to death or catch it from a stray bullet."

Sergeant Jeffery Smith turned to notice an abandoned truck filled with barrels that had petrol into them. An idea popped into his head. He took a short, pistol-gripped shotgun from one of the other officers. "I'm gonna go chat with those assholes," he said to Regger, handing him the scattergun. "When I give the signal, give me a little cover."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking right now!?" Detective Augustus yelled back as he noticed what Jeffery Smith was going to do. "This is going to be a crazy idea of yours!" The Detective pulled down the truck's boot support, which contained a barrel full of petrol, and stabbed a hole with a knife in it as the gasoline poured down to the ground.

"Yes, I am," Sergeant Jeffery Smith shouted as he racked the slide of the .12-gauge riot gun, jacking a shell into the chamber. "Light the match very soon!" He climbed into the truck and started the engine, as Augustus knew precisely what he intended to do. It didn't exactly make him feel comfortable that Jeffery knew what he was going to do, as there is only one way to get to those wounded officers, and that was to put something between those damn gang members and the downed cops.

He put the shotgun down on the seat beside him and tucked the barrel in between the seat cushion and the backrest so that the weapon wouldn't slide around. Then, holding the driver's door open, he turned the key in the ignition and floored the accelerator pedal, out of reverse, hoping the sidewalk and fishtailing toward the barricade, blasting through the barricade while criminals opened on the truck that was rapidly approaching them with everything they had before they noticed that it was not going to stop and tried to get out of the way. The Detective took out a lighter and ignited the flame as it went down to a straight line, right in the middle of the path.

The Sergeant jumped out of the door. The truck knocked down the barricade as it continued along. It then crashed into a car and exploded sets, some of the criminals on were on fire or flying into the air.

"Go, go, go!" Jeffery Smith said as he waved his hand to his men. "Come on! Come on! Get' em out of here! Now!" Several cops ran forward from their barricade, staying low and keeping their head down as they dragged their fallen brother officers back to safety behind their barricade while others moved fast to deal with the changing situation. The gang members decided to race for the building while the officers moved into new positions, laying down a heavy field of bullets firing. They took down five of them trying to retreat back into the door of the dilapidated building that was their home base which Jeffery blasting rapid-fire through the car door and blowing two of the member off their feet.

Jeffery Smith felt the hairs crawling on the back of his neck and spun around, holding his shotgun ready to see anyone come his way which there was no one. He exhaled heavily. His nerves were hair-triggering sensitive. He was getting too old for this crazy sort of actions.

He stared up to see a news chopper arriving at the scene and watched it briefly, frowning and tossing the shotgun back into the police car. He reached inside his gun hold and drew the pistol as Detective Augustus and Detective Valerio came running up to him.

"Jeffery, you okay?" Valerio asked, a concerned expression on his face as he quickly gave him a once-over to see if he was wounded.

"Yeah," Jeffery Smith replied curtly, still wired, still in combat mode, knowing that they weren't finished yet. Not by a long shot. "Let's get the rest of 'em," he said as the rest of his men took their positions, ready to storm into the building.

Augustus was out of breath and panting heavily. "Jeffery, we just got an order from Chief Davis. Secure perimeters, surround the area and wait for backup. Let no one get out and escape."

"What?" said Jeffery Smith, with anger and astonishment. "Wait for what kind of backup?"

"I don't know, some bullshit special team from the government," said Detective Augustus, who was also sounding equally annoyed. "Feds, DEA, NSA, or CIA, who knows?" He paused to take a deep breath. "Christ, I'm out of shape. This weather is freezing me."

Sergeant Jeffery Smith looked back toward the building that the gang members had entered. He compressed his lips into a tight grimace and shook his head. "We let those bastards get dug in deep now, we'll have to level the whole building to get 'em out." It was typical. Months of work trying to flush out the headquarters of criminals, listening to the street noise, paying off informants and milking every lead for everything they had and the place where they're holed up and stashing all their drugs and ordinance.

It happened that way so often in police work back in the past, if it happened now. And now that they had the damn bastards pinned down and trapped, the feds wanted to come in and hog the whole show, taking all the credit. Well, to be fair on that statement, city police forces generally don't have a very good opinion of the FBI, which was due to the traditional role of the FBI as investigators of police corruption and to other law enforcement organizations with their smart ass words and their advanced technology that gave them a huge start over the normal police technology. Now in recent years, the CIA and FBI rivalry have the NSA entered into their rivalry to create a triangle where nobody likes each other or feels inclined to share information, thus making an already bad situation worse with normal police seeing them all of the same.

"All right, surround the area in the shipyard and secure each one," Sergeant Jeffery Smith ordered his men as they slowly spread out the place while the reinforcement, who just arrived here, dropped out more SWAT men. "Watch out for stragglers, check the windows and doors!" Typical. And God only knew what the gang members had in there. Their arsenal would include everything from machine guns to grenades to LAWS rockets and bazookas. Give them time to dig in and get set up, thought Jeffery, and the only way to flush them out of there would be to nuke the whole damn block. It would turn into a firefight that would last for hours, possibly even days. Fire would break out, and these old tenement buildings would go like tinderboxes. The media would have another field day, shooting lots of dramatic footage and screaming about police overkill. "Damn it, what in hell was Chief Davis thinking?"

"What should we do with that flying ass ship?" Detective Augustus asked the sergeant as they both stared at the flying ship. "Shoot that damn thing down with rockets?"

"No, we leave that flying vehicle alone as long as that person who's piloting that thing isn't shooting us down with laser beams, then we can mind our own police business for now," Sergeant Jeffery Smith answered him as he looked around the area. "Speaking all, where the hell is the rest of those called servants? We have not seen them since we got here. Shouldn't they be here by now?"

"Could they have been down at the dock?" Detective Augustus guessed as he checked the bodies that either had arrows, knives, swords, or spears wounded on their body. "Or are they inside the buildings?" He studied one of the victims who had a knife stabbed into his throat. As in, it was pushed forward very brutally. "God knows what they are doing here."

"Let's hope that they don't attack us," Sergeant Jeffery Smith said to him. "Because I really do not want my men to face them in combat." He heard helicopters approaching with news crews holding cameras or on the ground, setting up their stuff with a group of people crowding around. It would be much longer with television sets all over the country watching by the hundreds, even thousands of people and with luck, the video would hit the internet and be seen by millions.

God, it was just what he wanted, "Can someone put police barricades outside the perimeters! The next thing I want is people trying to sneak in!"

---

Inside the building, Bruno's group wasn't wasting any time. They were scrambling about like demented worker ants in the dingy, brick-walled loft, dimly illuminated by skylights twenty feet overhead, with heavy boilerplate shutters fastened over the broken windows and open steel cabinets filled with racks of weaponry and ammunition lining the walls. More cases of ammo and grenades were stacked up on the floor, as well as crates of Cannabis, also known as marijuana.

There was no thought of retreat in their mind.

"All right get your weapons up!"

Someone hand me that grenade!"

"Get back up now!

"Where is the rest of our group?!"

"They are down in that warehouse with those groups of those so-called magic magi or some shit!"

"I got the automatic weapons!"

"Quick! Take this ammo!"

"Let's go! Let's go!"

That was when Bruno and several of his men arrived with ledger account books and everything that was important. "What's the situation in the area?" he asked as he sat down on a chair to catch his breath.

"It quite possibly might be the biggest shitstorm I ever saw," the henchman answered him, which caused him to facepalm himself.

"I need numbers here buddy. Causalities, damage report, the sites with the most trouble. Also, have you heard anything on Sparky?" he explained

"You want damage reports and trouble sites, just look out the window. You want casualties, well I can tell you the number of our group is not going to be the same the next morning with the cops and those fuck freak shows slaughtering our men!" the henchman said while twiddling his thumbs. "And I thought you didn't like Sparky anyway and why do you call him that name."

Burno sighed at the statement. "What is wrong with those freaks? Don't they have anything better to do than leaving the mess all over my work? Sparky is our getaway driver and the reason why he is called that name is that I shoved his face into a fuse box. It's how he got his twitch name. Someone give me a gun right now!"

The group could hear the sirens outside, and the whupping of helicopter's blades overhead. They knew that they were well enough equipped to stand off a small army and that nothing short of a bomb would force them out of the building. They knew that the police would never go that far. It was going to be a brutal stand-off, a nose-to-nose slugfest to the death.

In a frenzy of activity, the members tripped weapons out of the racks, jamming in the ammunition clips. Breaking out an M-60 machine gun, several M-203 grenade launchers and AK-47's, as H&K MP-5's and chopped-down shotguns, they loaded up for bear, suiting up with Kevlar vests and some of them psyching themselves up for the conflict by snorting cocaine.

"Is everyone ready!?" Bruno asked his men who cheered back. "Alright now, let those cops come to us!"

"Remember, when you see the freaks, shoot them. Never fails."

Then there was a sudden, deafening crash as one of the skylights overhead imploded in a rain of glass as, as if in answer to the shouted challenge, a loud, bone-chilling, and unearthly trilling sound filled the loft. Something came flying down through the ruptured skylight, something huge and indefinable that landed with a jarring thump in the center of the floor.

Bruno and his men whirled their weapons, prepared to face the sudden threat, but there was no way that they could have been prepared for what they did face. They stared with their jaws slack and their eyes wild.

"I gladly accept that challenge of yours," a Black Knight that wore a draconic suit of armor with a helmet that glowed eyes of doom. "Try not to die that fast, it would be a shame to do so."

They opened fire. They didn't know who she was or what she was. The screaming started right now.

"Fire at that bitch!"

"Kill that freak!"

"What the hell are you?"

"I am the Storm King and you are all my lambs, sent forth to the slaughter to appease me." The Wild Hunt of the horde simply answered to them. "But I am still not appeased."

---

Sorry, it took so long to update this story as I have a busy life which slows me down but I would try my best to update so as possible. So in the chapter, I have summoned Beowulf, Brynhildr, and Joan of Arc which I admit that I don't want to summon her as she starts to appear way too often when Fate Grand Order was released but Joan of Arc's personality is easy to write than another one. So here is part 2 of shipyard battle which the next chapter would be the last one. Yes, I do know some of magu were easily kill by normal gang member by guns and explosions because one, I don't how magu actually fight against normal people who use guns and two, I only show magu can not automate steam roll over normal people just because they have magecraft does not mean it is automated win for them and nor does it make them untouchables but I did show what would happen if the gang member get hit by magecraft which it not pretty to look at or get hit by it.

I am really bad at write down battle scene because it is really hard to describe to you and balance it. So the next summon would be Siegfried, Skuld, and someone that I have not able to pick yet.

Time to answer some of the Guest reviews

Guest chapter 26. Apr 4 This a dumb question how big is their front door, Darius III is 11 feet tall and Babbage is a guy in a mech suit: The front door is a double door.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 4 Have you tried to explain the Nasuverse or the Fate series to your friends, to me it wasn't easy: I did explain to my friends and it was hard to say this in simple words, as Nasu Kinoko's works have a nasty habit of setting up incredibly complex and detailed rules regarding what is possible and what is not possible and how people meet the energy requirements for what they do, then having a character with some really rare ability break those rules. Needless to say, the rules in the Nasuverse are extremely complicated to the point of having your brain hurt to try to understand it. Even for me, who has studied and learned this magecraft in the wiki page for two years before I started to write this story, as you can't just makeup stuff with magecraft and expect Nasuverse fans to accept it, who then argues over whether that magecraft makes sense to their point of view. In fact, I don't really know how magi fight with other magi or normal people really looks like, as it was never shown that much or what is the most simple combat or mundane utility magecraft or said about what did Clock Tower teach their students about the basic magecraft and even the Holy Church combat skills with their students.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 4 I noticed a saber servant hasn't been summoned yet. I get their methods are too straightforward and predictable, but every other normal class of servant has been summoned. I'm surprised the class that has appeared most are berserkers and riders: Well, it is because a lot of people choose Saber class when they write their stories for the first time as their servants. Sometimes it is Archer or Lancer class which it's more or less the same. The reason why most of the servants in my story are Berserkers and Riders class is that I want servants that have not been used.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 4 in the scene where Benjamin and Enkidu were standing in line at an ice cream shop and there was that one lady in front of them, was that a Fujimura cameo: Yes, it was the female protagonist (Gudako) from official Let's Play FGO manga.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 5 How old is Flanna?: Age 23

Guest chapter 26. Apr 5 Laurence, thanks for answering several questions. In regards to Emiya Alter, dude used to be EMIYA until he ran into the crazy b!h was known as Kiara Sessyon and may have bought into her crazy...Also, nice use of Cursed Arm Hassan's back story from f/go. Servants feel like magical white elephants with all the power of a tactical nuke...it feels like f/go, only without working command seals, and no Chaldea structure or clear enemies. Instead of a secret battle royal where it's killed or be killed to the point where you have to watch your own back regarding your battle buddy, you have a series of incidents that result in several misunderstandings, the accidental summons of legendary and infamous individuals, and a multi-side war brewing where your more likely to get back-stabbed by fundamentalists Nuns, deluded alchemists, and the American government...and a normal teenage boy who's trying to cope with the sudden 180 his life suddenly taken when he accidentally opened Pandora 's box: Thanks for saying that. Yeah, the servants are like white elephants who are in consideration as a bomber lemming resting on the nuke button and cannot return back, which Benjamin has to watch over them without command seals, who more or less would not follow his orders very much, really. Since there are no secret battles for a wish or enemies who won't be much of a fight scene, that is more like swatting a fly. Benjamin would have to deal with a series of incidents that have fundamentalist church members who want to hunt down the heretic who have the Holy Grail, mislead magi who take interest in the Holy Grail to grant their wish and governments who have taken interest in them.

Benjamin's life turned 180 degrees and has the stress of commanding a three-front war. Also, I'm surprised by how many servants don't really care about the Holy Grail. I'd expect heroes to be more ambitious and given that most of their lives have been tragic, you'd think they'd have more wishes. But I think that most of the servants in GO didn't answer the call for an HGW but for the protection of human history is probably why.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 8 Are we going to know some sort of revelation about the sibling's grandfather like (this might be already answered) how did he get or create a holy grail and does he know that Zelretch is trolling vampire magician that lived over at least two hundred years. Also is he going back to see Ben and Flanna and help about their situation also if he's traveling over the world I doubt he uses a cane I bet he's like Joseph Joestar in JJBA part 3 inexplicably muscular and a really silly personality: This has already been answered at least three times, as there is nothing dramatic about Benjamin and Flanna's grandfather, who only met Zelretch (he does not know the true face of him) during a business trip and became friends with him, then exchanged gifts which are Relics and Catalysts. No, Grandpa is not Joseph Joestar, as those types of cliches about the main characters who have special backgrounds or connections are getting old.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 9 How do Stheno and Euryale think of Ben and Flanna if they been summoned despite looking like little girls unlike their younger sister Medusa? Also, Hotblooded crazy Hijikata Toshizou Berserker which was quite unexpected.: The Gorgon sisters would tease and flirt with Benjamin and Flanna, also because the Gorgon sisters are goddesses, they are extremely lazy servants as, without the command seals, it is going to be a problem to actually get them to do any orders. They prefer to walk around wherever the other servants are working and watch them, as though they think they're a foreman on the job site. They generally refuse to perform any tasks that Benjamin suggests they do.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 11 Are Ben and Shirou going to cross paths or bump into each other without like Ben not knowing Shirou is a magus and Shirou not knowing that Ben is the mastermind: They would cross paths without realizing it. Bumping into each other and then apologizing is so cliche.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 15 Which of Artoria's forms will appear as separate characters? Saber, Saber (alter), Saber (lily), Lancer, Lancer (alter), MHX, MHX (alter). Only Artoria (saber) going with Shirou after the war, right? What will Benjamin's relationship with MHX (Alter) be like? She's my favorite version of Artoria for obvious reasons (Star Wars): Alright to clear this up of which Artoria alternate versions are going to appear in my story, that is normal Saber, Saber (alter), Saber (lily), Lancer Alter, and normal Artoria Lancer. Yes, normal Artoria is going home with Shirou after the war. Benjamin's relationship with MHX (Alter) would be like an adorable cat that needs to be pet.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 15 If Iya dies due to her homunculus body, will she or her counterpart be summoned as a caster or will she somehow get a normal lifespan?: There will be no such thing as that.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 21 A way that Jackie and Alice to meet Bols would be where the Jeagers go to that village they burned down and they could act like they were slaves especially Jackie with her clothes and Bols would take them to the capital to meet his family and becomes friends with his daughter and maybe add a scenes where Jackie and Alice start to develop attachment for them in a way they become part of the family like Jackie always wants a mother and they would try to protect them: That could be a good one.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 23 In the akame ga kill x over how about the servants create teigu like weapons for the people they will recruit to protect them self's like for example Sayo getting a bow like teigu and for the rwby x over how about the servants recruit humans and faunus to make the world not hate the faunus and instead concentrate on the Grimm also to recruit the Faunus servants like Chiron, Atlanta, and Tamamo because of their animal features makes look like faunus: The teigus weapons are really hard to create and get ingredients as it said the First Emperor gathered many materials and hired many scientists throughout the world to make strong weapons and defenses. Many Teigu were created from the remains of Danger Beasts that had unique powers, imbuing the equipment with special abilities. Many weapons and armor type of Teigu were forged from a rare metal called Orichalcum. It's going to be hard for servant's standards.

The RWBY x over is another good idea with the servants focused on making the world a better place with faunus and humans.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 21 How will Flanna react to Jackie wish for the Grail: Flanna would be fine with Jackie latching onto her as she can be a surprisingly good kid.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 21 will Gilles de Rais (Saber or Caster) be a more comedic character like thinking that Flanna is Jeanne reincarnation that constantly grabbing her by the leg or waist that unless next chapter ruler is actually Jeanne herself so you can scrap that Idea: That idea is scrapped the moment Jeanne was summoned.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 23 Hey are you still thinking of adding Sylvie from teaching feeling in the story and if so with the whole war how about one the servants find her and bring her to Benjamin's house: Rejoice, Sylvie is in the chapter here and the idea of yours is here.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 26 Does covering Diarmuid mole on his face with a band-aid cuts off the effects the wiki says "Any woman who gazes upon the spot instantly fell in love with him": I think it does cover up the curse unless you are blind.

Guest chapter 19. Apr 27 What will Arturia's reaction going to be on Monthy Phyton? Mordred and Merlins too?: Arturia, depending on her mood, if it was her from fourth Holy Grail War, she would rage and yell the mockery of this movie. If this was her from Fate/hollow ataraxia, she would be amused by that. Mordred would grab her sword and smack the tv. Merlins would just laugh it off.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 28 Is there any plans for Sigma (Maiya son) appearing any time: Not for now as Sigma has only appeared in three to four scenes in Fate/strange fake, which the update is slow to translate into English and a new novel is coming really slowly, like in a year.

Guest chapter 26. Apr 29 Does Vlad extra look way more berserker like then Vlad Apocrypha in fate grand order Vlad Apocrypha is put in the berserker class: Sane-looking gentleman standing gallantly in a white background while holding a lance (Berserker) and Insane-looking old man holding nothing, standing like a badass in a bloody background (Lancer). Yeah! I see the logic here, which he sounds outright righteous and gentle to his Wife and needlessly cruel and preach to his enemies.

Guest chapter 26. May 3 Will Archimedes be a good guy or a bad guy?: He would still more likely to be a bad guy, but not with so many servants watching him and they can kick his ass much of the time, he never fights the heroes himself in Fate/Extella The Umbral Star since this is after the game, he pretty much gives up his plan, really.

Guest chapter 19. May 4 Wait, Justeaze will be a SERVANT? How strong she will be?: As Ruler class, she is strong with her Noble Phantasm, that is almost a complete version of the Third Magic and can incarnate someone's soul and allow them to realize immortality, granting them an unlimited source of magic due to the soul becoming analogous to a perpetual motion machine which Ruler's incomplete version allows her to transfer someone's soul to another body/object without the soul-degrading, as well as partially incarnate a Heroic Spirit as a Servant.

Guest chapter 26. May 7 If Emiya Archer is summon does that mean he knows of Ben and flanna future and what will happen to them also after the war will he go back to his original time: No, he does not know Benjamin and Flanna's future as they are one of the normal people you'd see anywhere and just another face you would never look twice at. No, Emiya Archer would not go back to his original time as his home is dead to him.

Guest chapter 19. May 8 OMG! TURNS OUT, ARCHER ALTER EMIYA IS NOT FROM CCC TIMELINE BUT FROM THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE, OR MORE ACCURATELY, HEAVENS FEEL ROUTE-"MIND OF STEEL" ENDING!: Now, that is a plot twist there.

Guest chapter 19. May 8 Are we gonna include Kiara Sesyoin into the story?: Yes, she is going to appear in my story.

Guest chapter 26. May 21 Kiara Ssessyoin x Archer Alter - is it gonna be? And are you gonna summon Kiara or is she going to be alive in the story?: I am not sure as the line between them looks like Archer Alter wants to kill her or avoid her. She would be a servant.

Guest chapter 19. May 8 Is Emiya alterxSakura going to happen?: Not sure, since like he is going to be breaking down because he's slowly regaining his identity when he sees Sakura and Illyasviel von Einzbern face to face.

Guest chapter 19. May 8 BOOM!-Property damage! THIS LINE CRACKS ME UP EVERY TIME: I got that line from team fortress 2 comics.

Guest chapter 26. May 15 Is it OK for Chiron to back off from mage hunting to train Ben how to defend himself: Yeah when they are done with the shipyard event then he will train Benjamin.

Guest chapter 26. May 15 will Arturia Lancer Alter take off her armor?: When she takes a shower, sleeps or relaxes.

Guest chapter 26. May 24 Will you be using OC in the other x over ideas like a summoner to call them to those worlds: No, I would not use those ideas of OC

Guest chapter 26. May 25 Just got a crazy idea: Make Cu Chulainn(lancer-fate stay night) sing: "Down to the old pub instead": ...Sure, I'll take that idea when Lancer meets Shirou once again.

Guest chapter 1. May 24 Will your characters gonna go to the reverse side of the world?: I am not even sure that is a place or habit for the Phantasmal Species. He would die if he set foot into that place.

Guest chapter 26. May 20 Managed to find out how Charles Babbage looks like: here is a web page for a picture: You cannot put image link here in fanfiction.

Guest chapter 26. May 30 Your work is awesome. You have my full support. Keep it up!: Thank you.

Guest chapter 26. May 31 If one of Bens girls, were to have kids with him, will the children be like half servants or something similar: Either, half servants or a normal human with no special powers or talents. Take your pick.

Guest chapter 26. Jun 3 Are you gonna do a Benjamin x Ereshkigal, because in Grand Order she is a Tsundere Like Rin, and like Ishtar. In fact, a lot more than them TOGETHER, due to loneliness, resulting in her gigantic crush on the protagonist and her desperate attempts to look evil and uncaring: For the love of god, I said no more romance ideas for Benjamin.

Guest chapter 26. May 25 Rather than summoning Lancer version, rather summon caster version of Cu Chulainn: Np is less Op is weak, but skilled fighter( enough to outsmart EMIYA on his own-Fate Grand Order) in fanfic usually always use Lancer, it would be good SOME change for at least: I would summon Cú Chulainn in double summon class as both Lancer and Caster class, which his outfits are blue skinsuit with some heavy armor and with a protective amulet, a wolf's head holding a crescent moon from the Fate Prototype. This is a change for Cú Chulainn with almost all of his skills and Noble Phantasms combined into one person.

Guest chapter 26. May 28 When Siegfried saves Sheele will she fall in love with him because he saved her because it would interesting to see them interact with each other after the battle: Sure, that would be a really good idea despite looking a bit ridiculous when they stand next to each other of how tall he is (190cm) and how short she is (160 cm)(5'3").

Guest chapter 26. May 28 In Karna vs Esdeath will be after she returns than does that mean the Jaegers will be formed and if so which servants will join Karna against them because Esdeath is mostly shown with them so how about Siegfried, Paracelsus, Caesar, Sasaki or Musashi, Hans, and Lancelot: Regardless of battle, the Jaegers would still be formed as the death of Esdeath's former elite team, the Three Beasts which because Karna involved a fight with her, that caused The Empire to take those servants' threat a lot more seriously now and they reacted with a mixture of shock and alarm because there is someone who can go toe to toe with Esdeath, the high-ranking general of the Empire, who estimated that would take an entire army as well as ten Teigu-users on Akame's level to take her down. And Karna was able to push her back off by himself without any backup. Also, there is Siegfried who can emerge unscathed with his Noble Phantasm Armor of Fafnir that is almost literally more scar tissue than skin. Those two servants are able to give Esdeath to feel that they are a worthy opponent to her and able to give her a sense of fear.

The servants that would appear in Akame ga Kill crossovers, which are Karna, Siegfried, Oda Nobunaga, Paracelsus, Lancelot, EMIYA, Charles-Henri Sanson, Medea, Sasaki Kojirou, Cú Chulainn, Hassan of the Cursed Arm, Robin Hood, Mata Hari, and Ryougi Shiki(Saber). Yeah, I know this servant's list is pretty much overpowerful for a power level but they are not going to steamroll the whole story as Akame ga Kill's world is more like a politics and skirmish than fighting a battle despite how the manga and anime show it.

I am going to make Akame ga Kill's world into a realistic way of black and gray morality and focus on the aftermath of the Empire who implied that it is beyond redemption or reform. Here is some deconstructed list that I think would be put in a realistic scenario:

Prime Minister Honest: It is clear that everything he does is for evil or being a monstrous hedonist, well since he ran from his responsibilities to pursue other activities while engorging himself with food and whoremonger, resulting in the realm falling into ruin, debt, and starvation that caused no small amount of trouble leaves the responsibilities of ruling to his more competent advisors because of that Honest surrounds himself with sycophants who became as bloated and corrupt, either insane or incompetent (even those are under extreme question at this point) rather than honest and competent advisers as he fills the Council who are doing as they please, the treasonous schemes and secrets that are occurred right under his Honest's nose that boil over into a civil war soon enough when crack are show.

Sure, having a 0% approval rating makes him well-known, feared and ultimately hated by everyone in the Empire, that even most of his own subordinates unwillingly serve him with much effort, so he actually has very few competent supporters who can win his war for him and zero public support which he is not realizing that it is difficult to rule over millions of people who want him dead. Near to the end of the Empire, various advisers and officials decided to switch sides and parlay his actions for a plum position in the new government.

The puppet Emperor (Makoto): Well, since he is secretly a figurehead controlled by other elements but he still have some real authority which he is still officially the emperor, and soon comes to realise that whatever his advisors tell him to do, they have to obey any public proclamations he makes or the illusion will be broken. If he ever gaining an urge to grow stronger, acknowledging that he should do something then he would realize himself raised to be a puppet has no chance in a place full of schemes no matter how much he wants to be strong.

The corrupt regime of the Empire was successfully overthrown by the Revolutionary Army: Sure, the Revolutionary Army won, they have to deal with the fact that the Emperor (Makoto) was the last king of a nearly thousand-year-old dynasty and trying to put someone new in that place, creating new alliances and making the new government legitimately acceptable to people in a power vacuum is pretty hard. Turns out, killing the last Emperor doesn't really serve as much of a conflicted killer for other social and political issues, or at least not in the long run. Uniting warring factions against a common enemy is easier said than done, and just because these factions are working together now doesn't mean the differences or grudges between the lot will vanish or be forgotten, especially when the dust settles. Since they united behind one leader with one purpose. Now their purpose died with the corrupt Empire. Now they've got as many armies as there are men with gold in their purse, and everybody wants something different. Backstabbing doesn't prepare you for a fight. And that's all the realm is now back way it started once again, back-stabbing and scheming and arse-licking and money-grubbing. The aftermath would still bring with it much war, destruction and political turmoil and tension, rather than the end of warfare and civil order. Also, usurping the reigning monarch can have devastating consequences, even when justified and necessary.

Rebuilding and Reformation from scratch: It is not that easy to build from scratch as the society rebuilt itself on the bones of the old ones. Not because it was the sensible solution, but because it was easier to build on something that already exists rather than starting everything from the beginning. It was easier to build something on the bones of the fallen ones. The lesson is the same one: pushing reforms too far, too fast and primed to ram against the culture of the rest of the ruling class gets you a massive mess in a very short space of time. The result would be relatives having to try mitigating the disaster with hurried repeals and attempts at other back-peddling and concessions that even undermine their own agendas.

The Revolutionary Army: Since they are the major rebel force that is fighting against The Empire's government, you would believe the force must command universal respect, right? Wrong, low-rank rebel soldiers don't have any stake in their high commander's quarrels and like to rape and plunder as much as the next army and burning villages, killing innocents, and raping women just like any other army; the country folk hates them just as much as the Empire.

Slavery: Since it is common in the Empire but what would happen when you free them, it screws the economy of the Empire right up, meaning the knock-on effects of the downturn are going to be global in scale. Half the slaves that are liberated starve to death living in the economically frozen ghost city or have nowhere to go, which many of the ex-slaves would try to sell themselves back to the trader ships for sale elsewhere where they at least had enough to eat and somewhere to sleep. Many former slaves are much worse off and having trouble surviving now they are free as there are limited alternate possibilities are since they are so used being a slave as half of the Empire's entire economy was based on the training and export of slaves. Whoever is in charge of the Empire is going to attempts to rebuild the territory to a slave-free society.

Path of Peace: A Religious organization sure charismatic religious figures preaching against the corruption of the ones in power whether the Lord has noble goals, but a religious frenzy and the control it has over its population carries with it the threats of riots, chaos, and mob violence. A greater instability hits everybody as many an outlaw, ruffian (male or female), and mercenarily is likely to join up; if only for the promise of regular meals and a stable mode of living that won't get them hanged. They'll still be doing pretty much the same old things, only now it's sanctioned by the clergy.

Night Raid's assassinate targets: Sometimes, the tactic of killing the enemy leader or client target doesn't always work or make little to no impact which hardly works in the long term. It also doesn't end the war or even weakens their enemies. They just clear the way for someone else more dangerous rather than helping their allies they acted on their own accord just for personal amusement. Sure sometimes the Night Raid's main targets are abusers of privilege/authority but some of them tried damn hard and mostly succeeded of making money flourish and move the food supply into the Capital city and other places as they were also the pillars stones of leadership and authority which many of them are get kill one by one now there vacant position in the hierarchy where inexperienced second or third in command subsequently rose to power to fill in the graps but unfortunately they were never properly educated and utterly competent which most of them were simply unable to cope with the responsibilities of leadership that cause the condition of each city much worse than before or get replace by much worse leaders.

Guest chapter 26. May 18 I really love this story and the protagonists, Benjamin and Flanna. To be honest I never liked most fate protagonists very much like Kiritsugu and Shirou because of their deluded ideals. Even most comic book superheroes aren't that idealistic and I love superheroes. Hakuno, due to being such a bland character with no personality. The only protagonist I like is the fate/grand order protagonist. Benjamin and Flanna are similar to him/her in various ways. When Benjamin fights Shirou, I hope Ben wins even if it's just barely. Have you seen the anime Re Creators? that show gave me the same kind of vibe as this story: Thank you for saying that about my OC protagonists which I was trying to make them act and react in a mature way. Benjamin is a person who could reconcile between the ideals and reality while Flanna is more grounded in reality than Kiritsugu, even by way of a well-intentioned extremist. Yes, I have seen the anime Re Creators as it was something different and unique compared to other anime that are more or less the same as there is copy and paste ideas. Benjamin would barely win against Shiro who is an experienced warrior who knows how to deal with enemies with his advantages which EMIYA has to provide backup support as not to get shot by Noble Phantasm's arrows.

I agree with you about not liking most of the Fate protagonists, as they are quite bad and I cringe watching them do the most stupid things. Yes, even most comic book superheroes aren't that idealistic and they don't shove their ideals down someone's throat. Do you know what makes a true hero? Well, in my point of view, a hero needs to know when to abandon principles that limit himself or herself from doing what is right. Being a hero doesn't mean that they are a martyr, it simply means doing what is right even if everyone is not doing it. We as humans have a hard time admiring someone who seems too good or perfect because it only reminds us how mediocre we feel compared to them. Most people adopt that mentality and stay that way instead of realizing that we can overcome some of our flaws. It reminds me too much of the negative nihilistic mindset that has plagued the Marvel and DC comics. At least DC is trying to undo some of the damage with the Rebirth series, but time will tell.

Kiritsugu who can't imagine a practical way to achieve his ideals without some sort of a miracle. He has resorted to wearing away at his soul, and when he learns that the miracle he counted on will never come in spite of everything he did to reach it, he breaks. His so-called speech about that it is necessary and war is hell is a damn ass hypocrisy. His suggestions sound more like orders and recriminations. Also, despite Kiritsugu saying that he has no pride or no honor in him, actually he sounds like an arrogant and proud man who didn't like to listen to the advice of others who tried to give him useful (rather sensible) advice because it clashes with his warped extremist thoughts about what is going on. Being extremist, which sure, a ruthless approach to his problems tend to have rather better results than those who try moderate ones or simply hit the half-measures, but is quick to point out that well-designed and justified ruthlessness can fall apart if challenged from an unexpected or unanticipated angle because there are some blind spots here and there.

Another great weakness of his (aside from the whole, doesn't really trust anyone but himself and maybe Maiya with his plans issue). When faced with someone who doesn't act like your typical Nasuverse mage, his strategies start falling apart (even in canon he was trembling like a frightened lamb at the mere thought of facing Kotomine before the War even started). He's static at this point, as he never really faced a point where he screwed up monumentally. The whole war he sat on his thumbs while the real MVA of the war went out and did shit. Kiritsugu has no faith in anything but his own methods, leading him to sabotage his own allies at the worst possible moment. The fight between Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine in the anime highlight how much Emiya is a glass cannon and a one trick pony. Which is no wonder Kirei was able to defeat and subdue the Mage Killer with not much trouble. Kiritsugue is a hard man and his pride will be his downfall, he is a good man but hard to please and harder to get along with. If he does not bend, he will break as Kiritsugu is not a man of steel. Instead, he is a man of iron and will break before bending.

Shirou Emiya is a lot worse with his idealist ways, as he treats his idealism like Holy Writ that will never be wrong. That can cause him to lose his grip on reality and be blinded by his ideals as being impossibly idealistic, yet not necessarily a bad thing... but only if he actually can keep his sense of perspective. He believes being a Hero of Justice, fighting for the concepts of benevolence, justice, loyalty, and love, in which he believes but he seems more enamored by the idea of this intent on the idea of becoming a hero that he is willing to do just about anything, and he tends not to think about what being a "hero" really means or what you have to do to become one. His obsession and opportunity he found to act as a hero, sacrificing everything else for the sake of others instead of knowing the ideology face-to-face in a realistic and mature way.

Being blinded by the glamorous image of his idealism and of the role that he would play in it, namely Hero of Justice. Experience has not been kind as eventually he was killed as a scapegoat. Even when he died alone, he didn't regret following his dreams, but his existence as a Counter-Guardian changed that. He died because he wasn't willing to stand up and fight against the adversary and abandon his sense of honor to accomplish it. To make it even worse, once he reached his new abilities of Unlimited Blade Works, all checks on his power were removed. He ran himself into the ground as he tried to play hero to do what is right - without fully considering the consequences and treating his new abilities as a power fantasy became drunk with power. That is because when Shirou Emiya got his new abilities by random chance, winning the Holy Grail War, and defeating the undefeated came out of the experience with a rather inflated view of himself, thinking it would be much easier play hero with his new power abilities.

Guest chapter 26. May 20 Servants I'm interested to see:

- Francois Prelati (Gilles' teacher, the true owner of Prelati's Spellbook and a powerful illusionist): Well, until the next light novel volume comes out, then I should most likely summon when enough information about him is shown.

- Hassan of the Shadow Lantern (By far the most lethal assassin after Azrael): Until more information is revealed to me, then I can mostly likely summon him too.

- Jekyll (Unique ability to perform as Assassin and Berserker class): he would be summoned in both classes.

- Siegfried (The only Saber next to Mordred I really like): I actually like him the most of all Saber classes, which he is going to appear in the next summon, he does have a good fanbase but unfortunately he is overshadowed by Artoria Pendragon and EMIYA in fanfiction stories

- Archer Heracles (with God Hand and Nine Lives): Not until more information about his moves are revealed to me

- Caligula: Really, this guy would attack people the moment he is summoned until the rest of Rome's servants are summoned, then he would be last

- Thomas Edison: I have mixed feelings about him being one of the first to be summoned.

- Perseus: I actually want to summon him early but not enough information for me to summon him, which I hope that Fate Grand Order puts him in the game soon.