Within the Grail

"Whoa," Angra Maiyu breathed as he watched from deep within the Grail. He did not expect that kind of firepower from Caster. His stats should not have been suited for it. That servant had single handedly scattered the rest of the servants like they were a pile of dead leaves. That was still withstanding the fact that the rest of the servants were powerhouses in their own realms and worlds. Among the lot of them was an undead monster the fourth strongest in his world, a ballistics master, a cursed exorcist, the pinnacle of babies and a crazed rokutoryuu swordsman. And yet they all barely lasted a minute against the so called "artificial human".

"So much for names." Angra Maiya dispelled the image of the war and eased himself back into his temporary home. As Angra Maiyu did not have a physical body, his spirit needed to be tied down to an object in hopes of exacting his revenge. In this case, the Holy Grail. To be frank, the Grail was actually a decent place to spend sixty years in, if you weren't freaking obsessed about being reborn and revenge. All around were golden plates that seeming stacked towards the sky with no end in sight. The diameter of them spread as far as a dozen football fields, indicating the sheer number of them. Each of these plates represented a wish, and with a wish comes a servant. This was the throne of heroes in physical form. At the very peak of them all was a blue ceiling with artificial light shining down, illuminating each of the plates with a slight golden hue. It truly looked like paradise, Nirvana or whatever holy place that any ancient book would describe.

Then came Angra Maiyu. His mere presence was already beginning to corrode the Grail. From bottom up, a reddish black muck had begun to coat across the wall of plates. Little by little, it had begun to creep upwards, attempting to devour the Grail complete. As of now, the bottom of the Grail looked like a pitch black hell, a stark contrast between the rays of light peering down from the top.

And in the center of them both, lay Angra Maiyu. He was sprawled out, lying suspended in the middle of the air. Pretty unsightly for the Persian God of Darkness, or for any god for that matter. "Arrghh this is boring," The source of all evil grumbled. "I hope they start fighting again soon. Ain't anything to do in this damn place." A loud yawn escaped his lips as his eyelids began to close slowly.

"Yea that's because of your stupid choice of servants," another voice grumbled. That caught Angra Maiyu's attention. Was that another voice he heard? No, impossible. There was only one inhabitant of the Grail, and that was him. "Must be my own imagination," he mused and rolled his eyes.

"Don't ignore me dammit!" the voice roared again this time. That was no imagination. Angra Maiyu sat up straight and scanned his surroundings. Nothing once more, but he was sure as hell that there was another presence there and then. "Show yourself or suffer my wrath!" Angra Maiyu growled as an orb of dark energy charged at his palm. As he was nothing more than a soul now, Angra Maiyu was able to take on his former appearance prior to his destruction. He had dark skin with ancient runes burned onto every spot imaginable on his body. His head was tied with a red bandanna, the same color as the tattered robe he wore around his waist.

"I am already suffering your wrath dammit! You think being located at your ass is a pleasure!" The voice growled back in response. That stumped Angra Maiyu. The voice was coming from his rear. He felt one of the seals near his rear burn and a dark cloud was soon released, heavy with the essence of ancient magic. If anything to Angra Maiyu, it looked like a fart, a very evil fart. The dark cloud slowly congregated, twisting and warping as it took human form. At last it dissipated, revealing the source of the voice. A well-toned of a young man was formed. He had thick eyebrows and long, black hair tied together in a set of accented braids each ending in a sharp hair piece. Ancient tattoos were also adorned on his torso and he bore a large scar on the left side of his face. His eyes were glowering yellow and also possessed long fingernails while his hands constantly emitted a red and blue aura, right and left, respectively. He wore a dark breastplate, bird-shaped shoulder pads, a long scaled fauld with a thick drape of cloth lined by various ancient characters and talon grieves and a pair of bracelets. The outfit was complete with a long scarf tied around his neck with the majority of it hanging behind his back. The aura he was giving off was equal to that of Angra Maiyu, evil and reeking of madness.

"Algol," Angra Maiyu grumbled under his breath as he recognized the warrior that stood before him. The one problem with being the root of all evil is that all evil lies within you. Each rune on his body was carved in to seal a certain evil or sin that the world possessed and one such sin was the demon known as Algol. God knows how much said destruction that man had caused during his lifetime as a human, not counting the hundreds of years he rampaged in the lowest levels of the abyss as a demon after reincarnation. He had created the two most powerful blades known to the world, each capable of wiping out a small continent with a single swing. Well that was probably the main reason he managed to conquer Lower Hell and forge his fiefdom out of it. To put simply, don't mess with him.

Then again, this was Angra Maiyu. "What now you mongrel and how the hell are you still able to maintain your consciousness within me?" Angra Maiyu sighed and scowled at the black haired man. "Well," Algol grinned savagely "to start off, I'm a being of darkness. Evil and sins are music to my ears. Secondly, what the fuck were you thinking! You replaced the King of Heroes with another overkill sized bitch. It seems like your mind really fits the stats of your previous class. Well played, well played." The demon clapped his hands sarcastically as the mocking grin remained hanging.

A tick slowly began to grow on Angra Maiyu's head. "How the hell was I to know!" he roared in fury at the lesser being. "Well maybe a little background check is in order. But then again, you were never one to think twice. Remember the third war? I was literally hollering at you to move the fuck out of the way but you were like noooooo, I will take Saber head on and can't be bothered to listen to a voice up my ass!" Algol mocked, rolling his eyes and flapping his scaly tongue. "If you have half the nuts I have, you would have taken part in the war personally, not cowering in the Grail biding time."

"Your point being," Angra Maiyu was annoyed at this point, ready to blast said demon to bits. "You are not worthy of being the root of all evil. A coward who fights from the shadows is pathetic." Algol finished, his voice now lowered and void of any emotion. "How bout I take over instead and you can go live on as an existence within me."

Angra Maiyu burst out laughing at this point, not that the threat was empty but rather of the stupidity of the request. The poor sap of a half-blood has no idea. The title of being the Persian God of Darkness is not something that could be inherited even if he wanted to. Besides, a mere demon of a few thousand years can hardly be compared to the power that came with the name of a God.

"Sorry about that. I won't let you take over. The title does not come off so easily." Angra Maiyu finished with a snort. "Even if I could, you are still a billion years too young to be challenging me whelp." "So we disagree then," Algol sighed and turned away. "Then I believe a change in method is in order!" Algol's left arm took the form of a crimson claymore, pulsating with raw energy. With a cry, he swung the bladed appendage before him, unleashing a wave of destructive energy towards Angra Maiyu. Angra Maiyu actually smiled at that. At least the being before him was not all talk and no bite.

He simply raised his hand and chopped the wave into half, dispersing its collective energies. "Bring it on! It's been sixty years since my last fight and you would make a good warm up exercise. I'll show you the difference in skill!" Another rune glowed ever so slightly in Angra Maiyu's palm, releasing the sin that it contained. This time around, a black blade appeared. It resembled a large black Scandinavian broadsword with a grey hilt with a white stripe down the middle and spikes around the guard. The Demon Sword, Ragnarok. It was capable of unleashing condensed booms of sound, crushing any solid structure in its path. Used by the Child of the Black Blood, it was havoc-wrecker in it world. Perfect for a havoc-causer like Algol.

"Bring it on old man!" Algol descended upon AM, his blade arm poised high and charged with energy. Swiftly AM brought Ragnarok up and parried the blow with quick succession. The result of the clash was instantaneous. A dark light emitted from where the twin blades clashed and black lightning raged all around them. Both fighters broke apart, each pushed back though Algol flew back slightly further. In this period of time, another half a dozen of AM's runes glowed. At speeds that no human could follow, he did a set of hand signs and formed six magic circles. "Book of Zeref, Volume 4, Verse 20, Hidden Magic: Nemesis". Instantly, demons of pure energy morphed out of thin air and roared with a vengeance. They then converged on Algol, hungry for flesh. Algol just simply grinned as the demons go closer. With the snap of fingers, a set of bony wings exploded from Algol's back, tearing through the demons like they were butter. Algol then closed his eyes and began an incantation. The air around them was slowly being sucked towards his blade and it began to hum. The wind around it began to tear at ferocious speeds, indicating that the incantation was almost complete. "Take this!" Algol roared as he launched a hurricane at AM. Instead of avoiding, AM charged straight through the eye of the storm, much to the surprise of Algol. "Evil Spark!" AM's hand grabbed Algol's face and cleaned him against the wall of the Grail. All the while, lightning flashed in his palm, striking Algol point blank in the face. But instead of feeling pain, Algol simply smiled even wider. He grabbed AM's hand, holding him in place and began to pound him with his free hand. Algol smiled as he felt each blow connect, increasing his strength and speed with each punch. Punching your boss just feels so awesome. However, his jubilation was all for naught. As soon as the smoke cleared, it was revealed that AM had blocked all his blows with Ragnarok. Now it was AM's turn to smile. With a heave, he threw Algol to the other end of the Grail. As he did so, Ragnarok began to vibrate ferociously and the minute Algol left his hand, he launched his attack. "Screech Resonance: Screech Alpha" A pink banshee was launched from the blade, chasing Algol before catching up and swallowing him whole. There was a slight shudder before the monstrosity exploded with a sonic boom, displacing the air around it. As the smoke cleared, it revealed a slightly singed but otherwise unhurt Algol. In fact, he looked rather darn happy with that stupid grin on his face.

"Well, I didn't really think that he would be hurt by something like that." AM thought to himself as he watched Algol began to charge once more.

This time though, he noticed something different. Algol's right hand was glowing with a white light this round. White was always associated with holy-based attacks and according to AM's knowledge, despite Algol being a demon he had a holy attribute blade infused within his right arm, born from his wisdom and knowledge. The solution, stop it in its tracks. AM's runes glowed once more and a weird emblem formed before his left hand. "Zebul Blast! "AM cried out as a surge of dark energy was released and struck Algol straight in the face. However Algol just kept coming, laughing like a madman all the way. "Take this!" Algol cocked his fist back and aimed dead straight for AM's face. "Naïve," AM instantly vanished behind Algol and bitched slapped him to the left.

"Huh?" Came Algol's intelligent reply, right before he smashed headlong into one of the golden plates that decorated the Grail. As he did so, his hand touched the plate and something mysterious occurred.

A bright light erupted from where the two surfaces came into contact. AM shielded his eyes with his hand as the bright light blinded him completely. When the light died down, AM was in for a huge surprise. The golden plate that he had thrown Algol onto had vanished completely. It was not destroyed for sure for there would be magical essence all over the place. It was as though the plate had vaporized into thin air. A servant, destroyed just like that.

"Get up!" AM grabbed Algol by the throat and gripped it tightly, suspending the demon in midair. "That spell of yours, what was it!"

"No can do boss," Algol still smirked even when threatened by one of the most omnipotent beings in the world.

That was when AM lost it. The string that had been holding him back finally snapped. A surge of killer intent burst through AM like a tsunami, each wave engulfing Algol completely. Even for a demon, Algol still knew what fear was, and this would be the best example.

"I would not ask again," Am growled as his grip on Algol tightened. "What spell did you use?"

Algol swallowed hard at the best he could before letting out a small sigh. "Fine, you win. It's a teleportation spell."

That caught AM's attention. Why use a spell like that in a brawl. It was not like he was going to use it on himself to get the drop on him. There simply was no logical explanation. So, he made Algol keep talking by squeezing even harder.

"Ok, ok! You know when I said you were a coward for not fighting on the frontlines, I was thinking of sending you there when I activated the spell."

One second passed

Then another

Then it all came together, with socking Algol in the face.

"YOU WHAT?!" AM roared at the demon who was snorting blood out from his nose. His nose bridge was broken that was for sure. Now it all made sense. The servant was not destroyed, but had shifted to another dimension.

Namely, Fuyuki City and now a part of the Fourth War.

"Bring it back now! The last thing I want is a prolongment of the war!" AM growled, not liking the idea of wasting any more damn time in the Grail.

"I can't teleport him back without touching him," Algol shrugged while AM face palmed and exasperated in frustration. "Buuuuut….." Algol drawled, "I can definitely terminate him from here."

"Don't you dare send another Servant in!" AM had his face pressed against Algol's who was now grinning sheepishly.

"Relax," Algol smiled and waved his hand like it was not a big problem at all. "I'll handle it personally."

That got AM's attention.

Algol snapped his fingers. There was the sound of ripping as the space around him distorted, shattering to reveal a black hole which had no end in sight. Wordlessly, Algol ripped out his left arm and deposited it into the void.

"Annihilate him, my wrath." Algol commanded as the portal closed up and vanished out of existence.

"You sure you're fine with losing one your arms?" AM cocked his head to a side, curious about the unnecessary sacrifice.

"Sure, it'll grow back," Algol cracked his neck with his remaining arm. "Besides, one arm is all I need to take you down bub."

AM sighed. The bub just did not learn his lesson.

But for the first time in a millennium, AM smiled.

After all, where was the fun if he did?

And so as the two evils duked it out within the Grail, another went Servant hunting.

Destination, Fuyuki City.

Tohsaka Manor (or what's left of it)

Tohsaka Tokiomi was silent. Being the non-expressive man he was, that silence was gold considering the frustration he felt building up within him.

One, Archer revealed too many of her trump cards in one night.

Two, she still had the floor wiped with even after that.

Three, his study room was a complete wreck thanks to the brawl she had gotten into with Assassin. Thank the lord that his mage craft materials were not stored there.

He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. This war was going wrong from the start already. He was supposed to be winning by now. If only he had summoned Gilgamesh instead of some trigger-happy schoolgirl.

At that thought, Archer returned in a shimmering of golden dust. To put it frankly, she didn't look so good. Her clothes were coated in a thick layer of dust and were tearing in certain areas. There were several scratches on her face as well as the gaping wound in her left shoulder where Berserker's attack had struck. Despite that, she still seemed to be able to support herself, unfazed by the bleeding injury.

"Archer," he began slowly. "Why did you lose the battle on purpose?"

"Huh?" Archer blinked rapidly, slightly not comprehending Tokiomi's words.

"You know what I'm talking about Archer, please don't play dumb with me." Archer sheepishly scratched her chin and shifted her boots nervously.

Recollections

"It's time to end this charade." Archer declared. In her mind however, she was contemplating her options. She could use her Ultimate Phantasm here and now, bringing the fight to a swift end. However she relented. " It's better to let things drag out. After all, I don't want to be sent back to guard duty again." With that thought in mind, she activated her other Noble Phantasm. "Musket Ballet!" Archer called out and within a split second, thousands of ripples materialized in the air.

"You noticed that? Heh heh…" Archer chuckled nervously.

"Of course since I am linked to your thoughts." Tokiomi sighed as he scratched his forehead. Such a problematic servant of his. "Please tell me that you had some other plan in mind."

"As a matter a fact, I did." Archer replied confidently. "Two reasons in fact."

That got Tokiomi's attention and he sat up straighter in his chair.

"Firstly, I wanted to understand Berserker's abilities better. As of now, I have already confirmed that Berserker's left arm is made up of a metallic substance similar to armor. However this does not apply to the rest of his body as seen when I shot him through the leg with a regular bullet. Additionally, besides his enhanced agility and endurance, his left arm is able to change form at will. Apart from that of a claw, he has been able to convert it to a gun as well but I doubt that is the least of his abilities."

Tokiomi allowed himself a small smile. This information about Berserker was no doubt useful in the war. He did not expect Archer to learn all of that within a short span of combat. Maybe he was underestimating her a bit too much. "And the second reason?"

"The second was to access the danger level of him. Given his strength and speed, he is no doubt a top-class warrior. However he has his weaknesses as seen from his non-bulletproof skin. His left arm is not a big threat to me as well. Even if he does change it form again, I have something to match it in power and speed. Therefore my assessment is that his threat level is yellow. I can take him down when the time comes."

Tokiomi nodded in agreement having heard Archer's point of view. "Then what about Caster?" He asked, slightly worried about the seventh Servant.

Archer frowned slightly at that. "His power is off the charts. As of now, the only thing I can discern is that he can manipulate shadows. Until I find any weaknesses or know more of his abilities, he should be avoided at all cost."

Tokiomi grimaced for a split second before regaining his composure. He would have to start thinking of a strategy against Caster. If needed be, an alliance should be forged with the other Masters to deal with him first.

"Master, if that's all I would like to get some rest." Archer smiled slightly as she bowed and turned for the door. Her hand was still gripping her injured shoulder as she began to leave.

"Wait," Tokiomi called out as he got out of his chair and walked straight to her. Archer stopped dead in her tracks, a look of curiosity as she turned around.

Much to her surprise, he placed his hand on her wound. There was a small orange light that glowed beneath it and as it died down, the bleeding also stopped.

"A healing spell," Archer murmured. "Master, why…"

"I picked it up after my daughter was too clumsy and kept falling down," Tokiomi explained, recalling how he always help patched Sakura up after she kept tripping herself.

"I see," Archer allowed herself to smile. "Thank you, Master"

With that she closed the study room door, leaving Tokiomi alone in the room.

"I must be getting soft," Tokiomi thought to himself. Archer was like a fusion of his daughters and he was beginning to treat her as such.

That couldn't be bad in anyway, right?

Fuyuki Hyatt Hotel

Kayneth Archibald, Lord El Melloi and head teacher of the Clock tower. He was a man of pride and refused to admit his weaknesses, believing to be superior over all. And yet here he was, trembling in his armchair like a frightened kitten. He was still freaking from his previous encounter with Caster. The said servant was radiating waves of mana that were off the charts, not to mention the killer intent that came with it. If he wished for it, he could have easily slaughtered all of them present there and then at the docks. Himself included.

At that thought, Kayneth began trembling even more as he feared for his life.

Sola-Ui rolled her eyes as she stared at him. Why the hell did she have to be engaged to a coward like him?

"You should really thank Lancer. If it weren't for him intervening, you would have died." Sola-Ui gestured to the servant who was still leaning by the door, hands tucked into his pockets.

At that, Kayneth suddenly straightened up. His fear was immediately replaced with that of anger and annoyance as he glared at the pale servant.

"So Lancer," Kayneth began, having gotten a hold of himself. "Why did you fail to kill Saber when I ordered you to?"

Lancer looked up and stared at Kayneth emotionlessly. "I would have killed Saber if Rider had not intervened. Also, she appeared weak to me so I did not use my blade in the beginning…"

"Don't give me the crap! You should have just listened to me. You could have killed Rider as well while you were at it; instead you stood there like a statue!" Kayneth continued to rage when Sola-Ui interrupted.

"Kayneth, enough! It's not Lancer's fault for unforeseen circumstances!" She argued. "Besides, your supposed failure of a student was more than willing to join the battle despite his fear unlike someone in this room."

Kayneth scowled at that. "I will deal with Waver Velvet personally after this war." He turned for the bedrooms, his fists still clenched in anger and humiliation.

"I will retire to bed now. Be useful for once and do some reconnaissance." He barked at Lancer who merely bowed.

"As you wish Master." With a burst of sound, Lancer was gone.

Sola-Ui growled slightly as she watched Kayneth leave. He had better start treating their Servant as a person instead of a tool. Or else he may someday come to regret it.

And when that time comes, she would definitely be there to watch it all go down.

In the slums somewhere

Kariya made a desperate attempt to calm down his ragged breathing. Every breath he took in was like a stab through the chest due to the crest worms reacting violently. Throughout the battle, he had been able to keep the pain in check long enough to witness the fight. However that all changed as soon as Berserker changed the form of his left hand. As soon as that happened, he could barely even stand properly, having to sit and lie against the wall.

As of now, he and Berserker were now finding a place to spend the night. As luck would have it, they managed to locate a small motel to stay in. Although the owner was reluctant to let two cash-stripped people stay, she quickly change her mind when Berserker plucked a button of his coat and handed it to her as payment.

Mind you, the button was made of pure silver.

"So what do you think about the rest?" Kariya asked as he sat on one of the beds with Berserker sitting directly opposite to him. He wanted to have Berserker's opinion on the other servants, having witnessed how powerful each of them was especially Caster. He would probably have to form an alliance if he wanted to last the war.

"Saber seemed like a decent person," Berserker admitted "considering how she did not take opportunity of the chaos to strike at us. Rider, though he may be loud and proud, he has the skill to back it up. Also he was the one that suggested fighting together first. So I believe that if we were to form an alliance, either would be an ideal candidate."

Kariya nodded as he agreed with Berserker's sentiments. Saber, though she lost to Lancer, was highly skilled with a blade and had a decent attack speed and dodging capability. Also she had not revealed her Noble Phantasm yet, indicating she still had an ace in the hole. Rider was very charismatic but Kariya was worried about his battle-hungry nature. Judging from how he demanded a match with every servant, Kariya was worried that he might cause more trouble than help.

"Assassin, Lancer and Caster are out of the question. Lancer had already made it clear that he would fight for his Master only; Assassin would probably not hesitate to stab us in the back to get what he wants. As for Caster, I think he views us as nothing more than bugs to be stepped on. Pairing with him would be equivalent to selling him our lives." Berserker continued. "Then there is Archer. She…."

Just as Berserker was about to continue, Kariya cut him off. "Archer is definitely out of the question. There is no way I will have an alliance with a monster like Tokiomi. Someone heartless like him does not deserve our help."

Berserker frowned slightly at this. Archer was someone who was warm and nice, plus her ability with long range weapons would have been a good defense against Caster's shadows. Too bad that his Master was blinded by his hatred for Tokiomi to see this.

"About Caster," Kariya asked suddenly, his voice laced with concern. "can you take him."

That got Berserker out of his thoughts. "I have something that could easily rival him in power but I'm more worried about you Master. When I returned, you were coughing out blood and that was just due to me activating my Noble Phantasm. I fear that you will die if I activate my trump card."

Kariya shook his head. While he was touched by the concern, he could not be dragging them down.

"Use it if you have to, I will survive somehow. I've had worse experiences, trust me." Kariya forced a small smile to assure Berserker.

Although Berserker did not buy that, he decided to let it slide. After some further discussion, they decided to ally with Saber and her Master. Tomorrow they would seek them out and propose an alliance till Caster has been dealt with.

Little did they know that Caster was very soon going to be the least of their problems.

Mackenzie Residence

"Rider are you crazy! What the hell were you thinking, dropping us into a death match?" Waver exasperated as he laid in his room. There was a perfectly good reason for that though, considering how his servant got him killed three times in a row within 1 hour.

"Cool off Master," Rider waved his hand like it was no big deal, all the while chugging down a bottle of sake. "They were both fine warriors, strong and smart enough to get out of a horse's path when they see one. Besides, they were prime candidates to join my army. I couldn't just let that opportunity pass."

"That's not the point! You just announced your name to the whole world and mine as well! Now, everybody knows who we are, especially him…" Waver's voice trailed off as a chill ran down his spine.

"You mean that coward who issued death threats?" Waver nodded fervently.

"Yeah, he was my Master at the Clock Tower. Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi. I stole his catalyst to summon you and take part in the war. I wanted to prove to him that my thesis was right, about how lower generation families could surpass higher generation ones."

"Is that it?" Rider asked with a dumbfounded look on his face.

Then it was Waver's turn to look stupid. "Huh?"

"You are a fool boy!" Rider then clubbed Waver on the head.

"W…W…What was that for?" Waver exclaimed as he rubbed the swelling bump.

"You have already proven yourself my boy! One who dares to ride alongside me, without fear of death is truly fit to be my Master. That man was a spineless coward that lurked and struck from the shadows. If such a man were to be my Master, I would have lost all my pride as a samurai. So shape up and smile for you have shown the marks of true bravery!"

"But what should I do if he shows up. He would definitely take his revenge on me!" Waver exclaimed worriedly, only to have Rider club him onto floor again.

"Don't worry about that! If that ever happens, I'll beat him and his servant's ass to next week." Rider grinned but he received no response from Waver. "Hey, you listening boy?"

Too bad for him, Waver was knocked out cold from the force of the second blow.

"Well, that's that." Rider shrugged as he hauled Waver's unconscious ass onto the bed. "I should start training though. After all, I'm itching for a fight with Caster. That bastard should make a good head start for the war. If he topples, I'll be at the top. If not, I'll just get a heck load of fun from it."

Caster's hideout

"Hatchoo!" Caster sneezed. Either someone was talking about him or he had caught a cold.

"Stupid human body and its ailments," Caster cursed under his breath. He really should start seeking for a new container. The current one that he was in had already been seen by all Servants, essentially painting a virtual bull's eye on him. It would not be long before they tracked him down. In addition, the body was already beginning to fragment, slowly peeling off like strips of decaying flesh. Well what was to be expected. He did unleash his Noble Phantasm from within his body after all. A regular human body would not have been able to withstand the sheer power of his shadows and repairing it would be just a waste of prana considering the number of live candidates to choose from. He would definitely need to find a more durable one the next round instead of filling up any corpse at random.

His thoughts were interrupted by screams and shrills that reverberated down the sewers. They sounded like an animal that was stuck between a rock and a hard place while at the same time being stripped clean of its flesh very slowly.

Considering that that was exactly what was going on, Caster did not seem very mindful of it. After all, it was him who put that "animal" there in the first place. In the other end of the sewers, Uryuu Ryuunosuke looked like a child on Christmas Eve.

A very bloody child that was in the midst of "opening" his present. Every now and then, the sound of a limb dropping could be heard followed by frantic screaming and gasps of "WOW!" and "COOL!", no doubt the latter belonging to Uryuu, who was now caked in thick layers of blood and reeked of innards. His victim was struggling to break free of his bonds but the shadows encasing him there were holding fast. This was a punishment session and he was told to endure it but endurance was not one of his best sides. So he did exactly the opposite, screaming for help. Who was this poor sap who was going through a living hell at this moment? It was none other than Gluttony.

The in cumbersome brute had made a mess of Caster's plans and almost got himself killed. It also cost Caster his present for his Master. So as punishment, Gluttony became Uryuu's new toy, a doll that never dies.

"Hey Mr Selim, where did you find this excellent specimen!" Uryuu chuckled in glee as he continued to carve up Gluttony. "It lets me try out all my different artworks. This is the COOEST gift yet!"

"It's one of a kind Master. I hope you enjoy it." Caster replied just as another yelp of pain erupted from Gluttony. He really should have gagged that lump of meat.

Speaking of excellent specimens, Caster thought about what Gluttony mentioned earlier that night. He had said something about the silver haired women smelling like him.

"That should not be possible," Caster pondered as he thought of all possible reasons. A homunculus without a philosopher's stone should not have been possible. Add on to the fact that it had a soul made it all too unbelievable. From where Caster came from, alchemy was the prevailing science. Its quality of equivalent exchange made it sure that something could not be created from nothing, especially a soul. Even Caster did not know the price of that. The only being that Caster knew was able to do that was his Father. But Father had a philosopher stone within him whereas the women had none. So how was she created then? So a bored Caster, an investigation seemed like a good way to pass time.

"Seems like I have to find out first hand, by cutting her to bits," Caster licked his lips as the morbid image passed his mind. "Looks like a visit to the Master of Saber is in order."

Fuyuki Church

Kirei crossed his hands as he pondered silently in the main hall about the battle down at the docks. The battle had taken a surprising turn when all seven servants appeared and engaged in an all-out brawl. Assassin had been exceptionally blood-thirsty that night, all strikes aimed to kill. Thanks to that, all the masters have been exposed to the fact that Assassin had survived. His Master was going to have to rethink his plans because of this.

Additionally, there was the presence of a third party. An unknown human had suddenly appeared and interfered with the battle between Berserker and Archer. Sure, Kirei had seen and practiced certain martial arts that taught one how to shield and protect their limbs. But no one said anything about losing them. That man tanked everything that Berserker threw at him and even survived having his head blown off by Archer. To make matters worse, it seemed as though that he was allied with Caster. If Caster had the ability to implant regenerative magic into normal humans, things were going to get very messy.

Despite all of this, Assassin had returned with a smile. His thirst for battle quenched, he seemed to be in a better mood. Now, he was seated next to Kirei, using poker cards as darts on the cross hanging opposite them even though the both of them were at each other's' throats hours ago.

"So Kirei," Assassin began as he launched another volley of cards at the hopeless statue. "What do you desire from the Grail?"

Kirei turned towards him. "I have no wish at all."

"Oh really?" Assassin raised his eyebrows. "The Grail chooses each Master very carefully, Kirei. The one thing they all have in common is that they each have a wish desired to be granted. The fact that you were chosen means that you are no exception."

"Like I said before Assassin, I have no idea or desire for the Grail." Kirei retorted.

"Don't lie Kirei," Assassin mused. "What was that excitement I felt emitting from you during the battle. Can you truly say that you are not interested in battle Kirei, that you do not take joy in watching blood spilled?"

"Ridiculous! That would be a sin!" Kirei exploded in anger.

"There's nothing wrong from obtaining joy from others suffering Kirei, so you can stop denying it. After all, you had held the regret of failing to kill your wife yourself for so long." Kirei's eyes widened. How did Assassin know?

As if anticipating Kirei's question, Assassin answered. "I have seen your memories, your emotions and your desire through our mental bond. Since you keep denying it, I have no choice to postpone our discussion." Assassin sighed ever so slightly. "The next time we speak, I hope you can have looked into yourself. For now, your father seems to need help."

Kirei was about to ask when Risei Kotomine collapsed as he arrived through the side hall. "Father, what's wrong?" Kirei asked as he rushed towards Risei, helping the old man to sit up.

"It's not possible," Risei muttered weakly.

"What is?" Kirei asked in a worried tone. This was the first time he had seen his father in such distress.

"Another two servants have just been summoned." Risei whispered softly, though loud enough for Kirei to hear and make his eyes widen.

"What?!"

Summoning place of Caster

The home which Uryuu had summoned Caster was currently being cordoned off due to the murders that had occurred in there. The police had spent the whole day picking up the bits and pieces of bodies scattered around the house that they were too exhausted to clean up all the blood stains. That included the giant summoning circle right smack in the living room. After all, it was perfectly logical for a bunch of tired officers to clean up the next day and collect evidence. No one would possibly enter a crime scene for no reason.

No one from this world anyway.

No one was there when the circle of blood glowed once, then twice.

And then the whole house exploded

Amidst the dust and debris, two silhouettes could be faintly made out. The first one was a rather sleek figure, slightly hunched over. It resembled nothing like a human but more of a dinosaur. It had yellow eyes, wing-like ears, a long and strong tail. On its belly was a strange symbol that resembled a hazard sign. On each of its large hands, there were paws and three fingers with long claws; and on each foot, he has two clawed toes and a claw coming out from the heel. Stripes and triangle patterns decorated certain parts of his body and another symbol on his snout. It was sweating furiously as it dodged yet another earth shattering strike from its pursuer. Panting, it rushed into the nearby bushes, desperate for cover.

The other figure was taller than an average human, staggering at 2 meters tall. Dark blue armor covers most of its body. In actual fact, it didn't have a body. Its body was just a mass of dark energy, swirling and spreading throughout the armor. What was once flesh has now fully transformed into a compound of metal and bone. The mouth covering the chestplate from before has split open around his entire waist, connecting the legs and torso with a torrent of evil energy. Its most prominent feature is its right arm, which has been twisted and transformed into a large three-digit claw whose flesh overlaps its entire right arm and shoulder. It also donned a helmet that sported a crimson horn, revealing crimson eyes despite the lack of a physical body. The second most prominent feature was the goliath of a sword that it sported in its left hand. It was a gigantic double edged claymore, with a giant crystalline structure with a red hue covering the blade and a crimson core while having formed a proper handguard. An eye sleeps within the center of the core, constantly gazing about. This figure radiated pure evil and sheer madness. Wordlessly, the second figure raised his weapon and slashed the air horizontally. A crimson wave erupted from the edge of the blade, vaporizing everything 500meters in front of it. Any unlucky bystanders were all eliminated instantaneously, leaving no traces of their existence behind. The same went to all buildings and fauna.

Sensing that it did not get its target, the figure began to move. It had orders to eliminate and orders it would follow. Sensing the mana flow of its target, it departed. To the direction of where a certain King of Knights and her Master resided.

The hunt was on, and no one, Servant or Master, would stand in its way.

Hey guys I'm so sorry for the very late update. Please be assured that I'm not giving up on this story though I can only update very rarely. Please bear with me and thank you for your continuous support. Btw, a shoutout to whoever can guess the last two servants.

Class: Caster

Spirit: Selim Bradley aka Pride (Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood)

Armaments: Shadows

Alignment: Chaos/Evil

Strength: C

Endurance: D

Agility: B-

Mana: A++

Luck: B

Independent action: A+

Presence concealment: D

Expert of Many Specializations: B+

Self-Modification: B

Noble Phantasms

The Light of Darkness: B+

Caster is able to control any shadows produced by any light source for over 500 meters. Does not work in any magically reinforced areas or barriers.

The Seven Sins: A Anti Unit type

Caster is able to use the abilities of all the homunculi known as his brothers when he was alive. Including his own ability of shadow blades, Caster is only able to use two abilities at once.

1) Wrath: Caster is able to see through his opponents next 10 moves

2) Envy: Caster can change his appearance for up to 3 minutes

3) Lust: Caster is able to reinforce his shadows to cut through any known substance. Noble Phantasms not included.

4) Gluttony: Caster can replenish his mana supply by devouring any living thing.

5) Sloth: Caster can move his container at the speed of sound for a few seconds. Shadow Blades not included.

6) Greed: Caster can harden his container to that of diamond for up to 3 minutes, preventing anything of less than A-rank strength from hurting him.

The Philosopher's Stone: EX

Caster has total of seven stones in his body. They are his source of prana in the event he does not have a Master and can allow him to use his Noble Phantasms though it would cause a huge drain on the stone. The stones are able to instantly heal any of Caster's injuries in a flash of red lightning. In addition, Caster can prevent himself from dying by completely draining two of the stones of energy for his rebirth. Caster must have at least one stone in order to exist physically due to it being his spiritual core as well.

Tendrils of possession: C

Caster is able to absorb and gain the abilities of anyone he devours, Master and Servant alike. In addition, Caster can transfer himself into the empty corpse of a living being, potentially preventing himself from being killed and making it difficult to track him down. Caster can also control any inanimate objects using this ability.

Walpurgis Night: E~EX Anti unit (oneself) type

One of Caster's two Ultimate Noble Phantasms. Once a day, Caster is able to absorb any Noble Phantasm of any rank by using his shadows. As the rank increases, the mana consumption increases as well putting increased strain on the Master. Once absorbed, Caster will be left vulnerable for 20 seconds before he can move again. As such, Caster tends to perform this from a far distance away during combat.

Pride of the Homunculi: E~EX Anti unit ~ Anti world type

The second of Caster's Ultimate Noble Phantasms. Caster is able to replicate an exact copy of the Noble Phantasm he has absorbed once. However, during this phase Caster is extremely vulnerable to external attacks as all efforts will be directed to the recreation of the Noble Phantasm.