I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor any other Servants depicted here.

Daemon

Once more his attack was blocked, his foot striking the black shield without putting much of a dent in it. Tumbling backwards, Avenger then lunged to slash at it. Nothing.

How can this enemy maintain such a thing?

He retreated and threw his shuriken, guiding it behind the enemy with his chain. With a tug, he sent it to the shadow being's back. To his glee, it turned around. In the blink of an eye, he rushed forward to strike. Surprise once more drifted to his face when that thing actually caught his outstretched leg.

Impossible! How does he know!?

He was flung to the other side. Enraged and humiliated, he yelled to the sky before dropping into his own shadow. Moving through the inky blackness, he opened the exit and slashed upwards as he came out.

"Impressive."

It spoke as it looked on passively, his blade scraping against the jet back skin. His eyes widened.

What is this? Why can't it be hurt?

Pain surged through his body, like he was being impaled several times. He gritted his teeth through the pain, and then also noticing that he was stuck, floating in mid air.

Why can't I move? Why do I feel pain? This thing didn't even attack me!

"You seem to be confused, Avenger."

He started to struggle, pain lancing through his whole body. He did his best to ignore it, instead focusing on staring angrily at the shadowy being in front of him.

"To answer your question, look there."

His head suddenly free to move, he looked to where it was pointing. He felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. A stroke of fear. On the paved ground, to their left, his shadow was being held in place by several spikes. His legs. His arms. His body. Pinned in place by spikes that originated from the shadow of his enemy. It was twisted onto itself, an irregular shape, totally different from the opponent before him.

"So... I believe they call it arrogance. I suppose it is fitting."

Avenger returned his fearful gaze to it. He had ceased struggling the moment he saw what happened to his shadow.

"You believe yourself fully capable of defeating me with your available skills."

Movement caught his eye. Glancing to the side, he saw something large coming out of its shadow.

"You think you are skilled at navigating the shadow. You think that being born of it lets you control it as you please."

It poured out like a torrent, eventually forming the head of a dragon.

"You think wrong."

His struggling began anew. The maw of the beast came closer to his own and somehow he knew that it was not for his benefit.

"Unfortunately for you, I am the shadow. Resistance is Futile."

It ripped his shadow from him. It was the last thing he saw.

No... Kagaribi...

Flashes of red flared up as the axe blade crashed against her Origins. The daemon then swung for another pass, the dark weapon crashing against her barrier again. Quickly retracting her blades, she dropped from her suspended position and dashed in between its legs, sending her floating swords to slash at them. With four to each leg, they cut where the main tendon was supposed to be. Unfortunately, the weapons only scratched it. It was like trying to cut through earth or bone. A second later, it was as if there was no trace it had ever been cut.

"Hmm, so disabling the legs are not an option," she muttered as she dashed backwards, avoiding the daemon weapon as it slammed into the ground.

"Feel my Blade!" she said. One stein formed in front of her and shot once. The solid beam of light was blocked by its free arm. At the same time, she boosted herself up to face level and declared, "Arrows of Heaven!" She threw out her left hand, a glowing ball of light shooting straight at its face. As it roared with pain, she raised her hands as she free fell slowly, the swords gathering above her.

"Sword of Decimation," she said as slashed forward, the blades gauging a deep groove in its chest. Ignoring the blood spraying, she flew behind it as it staggered backward. She swung her arms, the four blades that trailed behind each one cutting deep into its skin, prompting even more roars as it steadied itself. Flying backwards, she called out, "Origins." The red screens flared up again as the weapon left its impact. Dismissing her barrier, she said, "Blade of Light, be Released."

One by one, three more steins materialized and shot their solid beams as it attempted to block them with its hands and weapon.

"Blessed Mirror," she intoned as she spread her hands with her head bowed. A large circle of light appeared over her head and sent light to all the four steins. All four directed its deadly payload at it, inciting more animalistic roars.

"Divine Wrath of the Heavens."

All four steins exploded, engulfing it in fiery wrath. Noel floated to the ground, calmly... carefully... expecting the daemon to survive. She had a feeling it wasn't over just yet. It was able to last that long. As the smoke slowly cleared, a gust of wind parted it as the axe swung out of it. Dashing out of the way, she saw her estimation to be correct. However, whatever damage she did do thus far seemed to be slowly fading away. Still, the regeneration was slow, so what she did definitely had an effect.

Suddenly, a bright flare lit up the sky. Both combatants paused the fight to look. The light filled her with hope. The daemon roared and took a step towards the group of Masters and Servants. With a determined look on her face, she flew up and positioned herself in front of it. Her arms rose, fists aimed at it.

"Everything must be destroyed..."

One more bloodletter was punched and sent flying into another group. Two ice crystals appeared and shattered, showering the group with deadly shards.

"Another one bites the dust!" cheered on Rider as he moved on to another, eidolons covering his flanks.

Archer abandoned throwing swords to using his favored blades. Black and white, each finding the necks of these intruders to his soul made manifest.

Assassin was extremely busy, fending them off, delaying the interlopers while main fighters take them out.

To Saber's left, Shirou was wary and worried. Already once, one of those creatures attacked him while he guarded a tired Sakura. It was by mere luck that it didn't press on the attack after the first two slashes was blocked with the random sword he grabbed, as she easily bisected it. Already his arms became tensed as it struck with all its strength, giving way to minor trembling as he was not used to it. Still, he had a semblance of form, probably due to having to fend off his guardian almost every day. Rin elected to stay near the both of them, having being relegated to mana battery for the duration of the battle, much to her annoyance.

Bazett and Luvia, while their skills not having much effect on the daemons, was still useful in their own right. The Irish enforcer's strategy mirrored that of Assassin, delaying tactics that defended the others less and protected herself more. Either way, it bought herself enough time for the main fighters to take the daemons of her hands. Luvia, her magecraft clearly not effective against the enemy, stayed back with the other three while peppering the invading forces with her exploding gems.

"Face the wrath of the Eldar!"

Lancer was in the thick of it. The moment Noel flew off to delay the greater daemon, the Servant of the Lance charged into the thick of it. Deftly dancing around the black blades as well as Archer's sword bombardment, she yelled that warcry while occasionally letting off a loud wail that seemed to disorient the enemies that were near her, enabling her to take them out at will. In truth, probably more than half of the enemy's numbers were taken down by Lancer alone.

Saber maintained her inactivity, trying her best to muster as much as she could to unleash the full power of her sword. Still, she worried that after all this, she might lack the mana needed to maintain herself here. Even so, the thought of the bloodthirster rampaging through the city was enough for her to strengthen her resolve. It had to be done. And with invading force now decimated, now would be the best time.

She took a few steps forward and raised her sword above her head. A pillar of light shot up. It was not that strong, but it shone like a beacon of hope, drawing the attention of all. Especially of the beast, which let loose a great roar as it came at her. She stared at it with grim countenance. Her eyes widened slightly as Noel suddenly flew up to face it. And then, she heard the chant. It wasn't the same chant, but she could discern the power behind the words. It was similar to what was cast ten years ago.

"Everything must be destroyed..."

It roared in defiance as she threw her arms outwards, her swords radiating behind her.

"... The world is consumed in clouds of darkness..."

The swords flew out, four going up and the other four going downward. It was as if they were taking position for her Origins form, but this time it encased the greater daemon in solid blue light. Still, it was not fully immobilized, as it started slamming and punching the top part of its prison. Noel flew higher, and most surprisingly, eight more blades appeared behind her. Then they grew to an enormous size, each one triple her height. Cracks started to appear on the crystal cage.

"... All will be returned to nothing!"

She gestured at it, the swords turning towards it. Each blade then distanced itself from her, each coming from a different angle. With one final push, the bloodthirster shattered the upper part of its prison, but to no avail. As it paused to roar, the first one fell, impaling its right arm. As ferocity of the roar increased, the second impaled the left arm. It stepped forward, intent on pulling out the swords from their shallow gouges. A third fell, running its left flank through. The other four fell as it stumbled, running it through from the back, rooting it in place. The final sword struck, ramming through the right shoulder, finally stopping it in its tracks.

Slowly, Noel turned and looked straight at her. Saber nodded, getting the message. Her sword seemed to glow more brightly, if only slightly.

"Ex-"

The greater daemon roared in defiance as it increased its struggling. It leaned forward, its legs carving deep grooves into the ground as it strained to free itself from the swords.

"-calibur!"

She swung the sword.

"Do you have anything else to throw at me, Caster?" queried Eddie as it crossed its arms in front, turning to face her. She seemed to be tense as well as sending angry glares at him. It cared not for it. All he wanted was her answer.

"You... are a strange thing," she started. But after having stepped in front of her Master, she held up her hand and formed a swirling ball of flame, "Even so, if I must, I will burn you down myself."

It chuckled, making her stop. He had already gotten rid on one Servant. Eventually, the rest will follow. This was merely just a little incentive. "A Servant has died and has returned to the Grail. The War can continue. It must continue. there can only be one winner... and I hope you remember that, Caster."

It brought itself back into the husk of its host, giving the impression that the inky blackness seeped back behind it, into the shadow. Having done so, it in turn sunk into it, leaving behind the Servant that had a look of surprise on her face. Travelling through the shadows was a quick thing and it arrived at the church in only a few seconds. Kotomine's face smiled. For certain, there will be a death tomorrow.

Everyone had their feet on the ground. The other Servants sans Saber had turned to their spirit forms after a most exhausting ordeal. The only trace that anything happened were the discarded clothes of the police officers. A frown found itself to Noel's face. Things might get very... complicated with the future mysterious discovery. She didn't know what to do about it either.

"I'll be leaving now. It seems that there is much to think about. I shall contact you in the morning, Noel MacKenzie," stated Bazett before leaving. As soon as the enforcer was out of sight...

"Saber!" exclaimed Shirou as said Servant stumbled forward, only able to prop herself up with her now invisible sword.

"No, I'm... fine..." she muttered weakly as she tried to steady herself.

"I should have known..." Noel thought to herself worriedly, "She used too much energy in that attack... But it's odd. Shouldn't Emiya here be able to help with her upkeep?"

"Eh? Was she still too drained from fighting Berserker the other night?" asked Rin in surprise.

"Impossible," muttered Luvia in disbelief, "Enough days have gone by. Surely..."

"Saber... can I?" asked the red head hesitantly.

"I... suppose... too late now," was her reply as she was able to right herself, but a careful look over could see her swaying slightly just to keep herself on her feet. Her sword hasn't left the ground either.

As Shirou proceeded to let the others know about his faulty link with Saber, Noel walked up to the Servant of the Sword and grabbed her free hand, pulling it over her shoulder. "...I learned that it's fine to depend on others in this world," she informed the surprised King of Knights, "So, let me help you this once."

"But, wouldn't it be too... well, it will attract attention," said Shirou hesitantly as he averted his blushing face, "Besides... your clothes, Officer..."

"Ah... true, it would raise a lot of questions," agreed the former Servant with her own blush.

"Have you forgotten already?" spoke up the Edelfelt heiress. When the other Masters looked at her blankly, she continued, "The car?"

Rin sighed and stated, "Edelfelt, we are pretty much tired and spent. No doubt that the car slipped out of our mind, so will you stop insulting our intelligence just this once?"

"I am not trying to insult you, silly girl," she retorted before stifling a yawn. "Admittedly, I am tired as well. I'm sorry if you don't fully understand what I'm talking about."

The former gritted her teeth and moved to answer back, but a tug on her arm put a stop to that. "Rin-senpai... let's go back now," said Sakura tiredly, but still able to muster the energy to smile.

The twin tailed magus breathed in deep and exhaled, "Fine. I suppose we can talk tomorrow. Let's go back to Emiya's house."

"Er, are you sure Rider could still drive us?" Shirou asked suddenly, "He isn't here either."

Everyone pretty much froze in place. Very slowly, Luvia pinched the bridge of her nose, her other arm on her hip. "Rider too... it seems I have misjudged the situation as well..."

"Uhm... maybe I can help?" Sakura said as she raised her hand, "I... might be able to teleport us back... in a way..."

"But you're quite tired too, Sakura. You shouldn't," protested the red head but she shook her head.

"I... I can make it. I know where your house is and I'm sure that it wont take much to transfer all of us there," she tried assuring him, "But, the only problem would be that Luvia has to spend the night there too."

"Well, that is only a minor inconvenience," said person proclaimed.

"Alright. Please stand close to each other," she directed. Noel looked to Saber, who nodded weakly. Once everyone had moved closer to each other, she closed her eyes and raised her arms. Moving them slightly as if to hug them, large shadows rose from both sides to envelope them. They were shrouded in darkness for merely several seconds before she lowered her arms, the darkness sliding away, revealing the empty compound of the Emiya house. "Ah, we made it," she was able to mutter before toppling over, falling into Shirou's arms in deep slumber.

"Uhm... er... Tohsaka, can you carry Sakura to her room?" he asked sheepishly with a blush.

"Oh, sorry, I'm feeling quite tired now," she said with a sly smile, "Besides, it falls to me to make sure Edelfelt is settled in."

"Wait, what do you..." Luvia sputtered out before being taken by the arm and pretty much dragged inside.

Noel just giggled a bit and asked, "Saber, could you show me to your room, please?"

"...This way..."

She was not surprised when she was led to a room next to Shirou's. She sat Saber down against the wall while she laid out the futon and the blanket. She then tucked in Saber, who had already dismissed her sword and her armor.

"My thanks, Noel," the Servant was able to mutter before drifting off to sleep.

"Rest well, Saber," the former Servant replied as she left the room.

"Wait, Officer... you too?" he muttered in despair as he watched the police officer shuffling hurriedly off to Saber's room.

He looked down at her, his blush growing a bit more. This was a bit too close to his liking. Then again, she does look pretty under the moonlight. He blinked and blushed a deeper shade of red. Bad thoughts! He quickly shook them out of his head.

"It isn't polite to do this without permission... but I guess I have to make this an exception," he muttered to himself as he gently lifted her bridal style and carried her to her room, "I really hope this doesn't happen too often... so awkward..." In her sleep, Sakura smiled.

Commentary:-

Ah... sorry for taking so long. I... sorta went on a Darkest Dungeon binge and finished the game on normal... so, that took much of my time. And... beta has gone on a mini holiday, so this is pretty much an un-beta-ed chapter. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some feedback from him when he gets back. I will edit and add a note below if I do get it.

And welcome back, dear readers! The battle has ended, but not the War. And this will not be the only time the Masters and Servants have to fight Chaos. Not only is the battle over, Eddie has killed Avenger by eating his shadow. Yup, his shadow... as reference to his Instant Kill technique. Right! Now that the battle is over, time to go home! But what's this? Sakura has fainted? No worries. Our Knight in shining armor is here to carry her to her room. Too bad she is asleep... then again, she would probably pass out in bliss.

Honestly, this would be the shortest chapter in this fic. What do I do now... how about...

"It feels strange."

Shirou looked at Saber, puzzled by her frown. "What feels strange, Saber?" he asked. Perhaps what Shinji said was true? Did Saber sense a Servant?

"... Like there is a hidden power, waiting to be unleashed..."she told him cryptically. She looked grimly up the stairs. "Let us go, Master. We have come this far, let us see which Servant has fortified itself here," she stated as she took the first step.

He nodded. It was what they were here for in the first place after all. The journey did not take long. Not a word passed between them as they went up the flight of stone. When they finally reached the final step, they paused, taking careful look of their surroundings. The temple courtyard was bathed in moonlight, looking calm and serene. Not a soul to be seen. But they knew, it only looked so outwardly.

"Be on your guard, Master," warned Saber as she turned round to look at him, "We do not know which Servant has laid claim to this place.

"Saber... is there any way for you to check to see if the monks are alright?" he asked. Now that he thought of it, there was no way they could go in unannounced or unnoticed. If anything, he would be facing many angry people should he get caught 'breaking in and entering' so to say. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

His Servant shook her head. "It seems we are at a disadvantage. I suppose the best course of action would be for me to go in myself and check," she told him as she turned to make her way to the main building.

"I did not think you would slink around in the dark like an assassin, Saber."

Startled by the nonchalant voice, the pair turned their attention to the left side of the courtyard. Standing right in the middle was a man. His hair was of a peculiar style, three rows with the two spaces in between shaven clean. He wore a rather rich green robe with gold trim. A gold colored breastplate with its shoulders colored green. His right hand held an intricately carved walking stick. A crow alighted onto his right pauldron; the sight of it disturbed Shirou as it had not one, but three beady red eyes. Behind them, the red head noticed something faintly carved on the ground.

"Which Servant are you?" asked Saber as she raised her hands, grasping her hidden sword in front of her.

"I am Caster," he said before the crow cawed out.

The grip on her sword only tightened. Shirou then asked, "Do you intend harm to the people here?"

"Since they are not my people, I do not really care for them," he replied, "Although, it seems you do. Not very wise to let your enemy know such things, is it?"

"Then why are you killing people in the street?" pressed on the red head, not really getting why he talked about 'his people', "They aren't your people either."

"And why not? Their souls will add to my already formidable powers," Caster stated as he gestured to himself with his free hand, "Any other would do so as well."

"You cannot do this anymore!" he shouted passionately, horrified by what he was saying, "They are people too! They have their own families! Their own lives to live! I cannot allow you to take that away like that."

"...You remind me too much of those Demacian fools," the Servant growled out, "I suggest you leave, boy. Do not push me any further. I have things to do."

"You are killing people. We have to stop you," declared the former as Saber immediately charged at the Servant.

"Hmph, the fools," was the only thing Caster muttered before ordering, "Beatrice, if you will."

Cawing loudly, the crow flew up and much to the red head's surprise, a beam of purple and green lanced out of its mouth.

"Shirou!" shouted Saber as she halted her charge and dashed back to protect him. The beam splashed against her, completely blocked by her magic resistance. Shirou had fallen on his back out of surprise and shock.

Making sound of contempt, Caster turned around and started chanting.

Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill.

Let each be turned over five times, simply breaking asunder the fulfilled time.

Let silver and steel be the essence.

Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation.

Let my great master be the ancestor.

Raise a wall, against the wind that shall fall.

Close the four cardinal gates.

Come out from the crown.

Rotate the three-branched road reaching the Kingdom.

I shall declare here.

Your body shall serve under me.

My fate shall be with your sword.

Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail.

If you will submit to this will and this reason… then answer!

An oath shall be sworn here!

I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven.

I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!

From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Balance!

At the last word, the now brilliant magic circle started to emit smoke. It coalesced into a human form. White hair. His... her body was covered in tattered white cloth armor. Over that was a leather corset with two shoulder guards, the right side leather and the left, a strange green metal. She had a giant gauntlet of similar metal that covered the entire right forearm as well as a metal greave on her right shin. In right right hand, she held on to a large, broken sword.

"A Servant!?" Saber shouted in shock, the crow having stopped the attack the moment the newcomer was summoned.

"I have come forth summoner, I... you!" the new Servant shouted in shock and rage, "How did you summon me here!?"

"...Interesting, to think I got you," he muttered aloud, fully focused on her, "What is your class?"

"I will not..."

"What is your class, Exile? Do not make me repeat my question," he asked a little more sternly.

"...Avenger..."

"...I suppose it is suitable enough," he murmured. Turning back to Saber and Shirou, he pointed at them with his walking stick, "Kill them, Avenger, and we will be one step further to winning this pitiful War."

"As you command... General," she conceded with a scowl. Turning to her opponents, "Know this, I'm sorry for what is to come."

Raising her broken sword, she dashed towards them.

Wel, how's that for an omake? Care to guess who was Caster and Avenger? I'll let you know in the next chapter. And of course, please read and review, would you kindly?

EDIT: Now its beta approved.