The last team unaccounted for was Lancer and their Master, a woman named Bazett, who just never showed up to the church for some reason. Given what Chloe described about Archer's encounter with the spearwoman, she and her Mater were likely still in the alternate realm they escaped to. There was no way to contact them so Kirei decided to start the briefing without them. Everything that had happened in the war and the full situation surrounding the Grail was explained as everyone sat among the pews.
Artoria's hands gripped each other tightly as she learned of exactly what happened to Mordred, Iri, and Gray. Mordred fought like a true hero to protect his family and Artoria couldn't be more proud. He was such a wonderful son and Artoria didn't deserve him. She rejected her own son out of paranoia and fear, and yet Mordred was still willing to bury past grievances and start again with Artoria. Poor Mordred didn't deserve to have his second chance at life stolen from him by Assassin, but there was nothing that could be done.
Iri lost herself to the Grail's influence, exactly as Artoria expected. She just couldn't bear the burden of having curses injected into her anymore. She had endured for tens years when most would have broken after just a few hours or days. Iri was stronger than she was given credit for in life. Artoria would forever miss the first woman she had ever truly loved, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to withstand encountering the atrocity that had possessed her beloved's body. The King of Knights would have to steel her will and return to her old pragmatic self to do so.
Learning Gray's fate was heart-rending. She was embraced by the one fate she feared more than anything else, losing herself and becoming just a proxy for King Arthur. It was like a cruel joke enacted by God or some other cosmic being. It was too perfectly cruel to have happened by mere chance. Artoria never felt so much like an incompetent than when she learned of how she completely failed to protect Gray from the one specific future that she dreaded most. Artoria had failed her wife, her son, and her daughter. At the rate things were going, she was going to lose everything she had.
Neither the Lion King nor Mordred Alter were present for the meeting, the former still resting in another room while being protected by the latter. That was best. Artoria was already crying, but at least she kept her sorrow silent. If she was blindsided by seeing the current versions of her two children then she'd just start wailing.
Illya was crying too. She was less successful at holding in her hiccups and sobs. Artoria was happy to know that Illya still had the ability to cry at the constant tragedies, that her heart hadn't become cold and hardened as a defense mechanism.
"So that should be everything." Kirei said now that everyone had been caught up to speed. "The next order of business is determining how we should handle the situation."
"Can't we ask the Mage's Association or the Holy Church for help?" Sakura raised her hand.
"That's a bad idea." Rin said. "They'd still want to use the Greater Grail for themselves despite the dangers it poses. They'd use our call for help as an excuse to strongarm their way into the situation and confiscate the Grail while barring us from attempting to destroy it."
"They'd just be another enemy." Sakura hunched forward.
"So we're on our own." the yakuza leader, Taiga Fujimura as she called herself, said. Of course a criminal like her would summon a wretch like Assassin. She was the culprit behind so much of the suffering Artoria's family had been dealing with. The King of Knights felt compelled to lop her head off, but she knew better than to be starting fights with her allies.
"We are." Kirei at the front of the church. "That is why we must work together to destroy the Grail, but we need to come up with a plan first. We have to determine methods of destroying all of the enemy Servants, the Black Grail, and the Greater Grail."
"Gilgamesh will be the biggest issue." Henrikka said. "His power is immense, especially when it comes to that cylindrical weapon you mentioned. We will need to exploit any weaknesses he possesses."
"His main weaknesses are arrogance and a lack of personal skill in close quarters combat when compared to other Heroic Spirits. A perfect counter to him would be someone who could force the fight into close range and who is a master of combat in such tight quarters. They also need to be someone Gilgamesh would be willing to engage in combat while also being someone he looks down on enough to avoid using his full arsenal and strength. His moodiness will make that difficult, but it is possible." Kirei explained.
"In terms of fighting up close, you'd want a Saber probably, though a good Lancer could also get the job done." Illya wiped her tears away. "The problem is getting close enough. Gilgamesh can just keep shooting off Noble Phantasms from a distance to keep everyone away. Archer might be able to fire enough arrows to keep Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon at bay, but Archer's strength and skill, along with the fact that he's the legendary Heracles, means Gilgamesh might become excited enough to go all out, which would be bad."
"I am the best match for Gilgamesh." Assassin took physical form with his arms crossed and his back against a wall.
"And why is that?" Illya spat out. "You're an Assassin. You have nowhere near enough power."
"I have enough to do the job. Your Saber learned that the hard way." Illya was about to stand up but Artoria grabbed her arm to stop her. "I specialize in projection magecraft. I can trace and project copies of Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasms. They're weaker than the originals, but they're enough to hold off the Gate of Babylon. They'll let me get in close and overwhelm Gilgamesh and he won't think to use his best options until it's too late due to his pride. It's unlikely he'd dare go anywhere near all out against a mere Assassin who fights using fakes."
"If you are assessing yourself accurately, then you might actually be able to at least give Gilgamesh a hard time." Kirei said.
"The only issue is that to really match up to him, I'll need to use my Noble Phantasm, but that requires a long incantation. Someone will have to hold Gilgamesh off while I get ready."
"If that's the case then you and Archer should team up." Chloe reclined in her seat. "Archer can hold off Gilgamesh while you get ready. Once you're set, you two can take him on at once. You'll counter his Noble Phantasms with your copies and Archer will deal the kill shot." Chloe made a finger gun and pretended to shoot with it.
"I think that's a good idea." Assassin nodded. "Any objections?" There was silence.
"Moving on then to the other enemies, how do we deal with the mysterious Guinevere Servant?" Kirei's words sent a chill down Artoria's spine. A Servant who looked like Guinevere and had the abilities of Lancelot. The very idea of it was like something out of a nightmare, a specter of Artoria's failings in her first life.
"I should face this mysterious knight." Artoria stood up.
"Are you sure? Lancelot was supposed to be on your level and you're not in good shape because of your wounds that won't heal. You can't even use Excalibur right now. Plus, Arondight has dragon slaying properties." Illya looked up at her mom.
"I know the idiosyncrasies of Lancelot's fighting style better than anyone excluding the Lion King who needs to focus on the Black Grail and the Greater Grail. She's the only one besides Heracles with enough power to definitely be able to destroy the Grail for good."
"Are you sure you aren't letting your emotions get in the way?" Henriikka said. "Letting you fight Guinevere sounds like a terrible idea." Artoria couldn't say she was wrong.
"Let's table this for now and move on to another Servant." Kirei said.
"I'd like for my Iskandar to face the enemy Iskandar." Lord El-Melloi II raised his arm. "Like Artoria and the Guinevere lookalike, I know the peculiarities of Iskandar's fighting style and my Iskandar's Noble Phantasm is great enough to hold several Servants at bay. It's for that reason that if there are any enemy Servants left without someone on our side to face them, that I would suggest my Berserker to be the one to handle them as well."
"That sounds fine." Kirei stopped his pacing. "A Servant that we must seriously address is the Caster Gilles de Rais. He already has an army of tentacled monsters that could easily overwhelm multiple Servants. Also, in the previous war, he summoned a gigantic creature in the Fuyuki river that required all the other Servants to gang up on it to overcome. If he does that again, it would be a disaster."
"I believe that Gilles de Rais' summoning of that massive creature requires a large body of water. The only one of sufficient size in Fuyuki is the river used in the last war." Lord El-Melloi II spoke up again. "If we keep at least one Servant patrolling the Fuyuki river at all times, then we should be able to prevent Gilles from repeating what he did in the last war."
"I agree. We should send a Servant right now in that case." Kirei looked around. "Any volunteers."
"My Caster would be the best suited given they have three bodies." Luviagelita telepathically said. "They can watch over multiple spots at once."
"Then please send them."
Luviagelita didn't even need to say anything for her Caster to leave for the river.
"We still need some way to deal with the army of smaller demons." Artoria sat back down. "Even when I was at my best, I needed help to deal with a small platoon of those creatures. This time Gilles is being much more cavalier in killing people to create these monsters. It's likely due to this Gilles being less concerned with 'artfully' killing his victims and instead just wants an army to help his 'god.' He may even be killing more people to bolster his forces as we speak."
"The Lion King may be able to clear away all the monsters with her raw power." Illya said.
"That would distract her from dealing with the Grail. She needs to destroy the Greater Grail as fast as possible, because that would mean all the Servants powered directly by the Grail would disappear and we'll have won." Artoria explained.
"But then what do we do about the tentacle monsters?"
"Mordred Alter has a lot of raw power thanks to being the Lion King's Servant along with having high endurance." Kirei pinched his chin. "He'd be suited to holding off the monsters, but he's also one of the few fighters on our side who we can confidently say could beat one of the enemy Servants. Iskandar would also be good for dealing with the tentacle demons, but he's also too useful to have not fight against the enemy Servants. We need someone who's capable of holding off the demon horde who also isn't so useful that they would be better used to fight the Servants."
"I can fight the tentacle demons." Rin Tohsaka's Saber Servant, who was apparently a future version of her, volunteered. "I'll die but I can hold them off for a good while if I pull out all the stops. I might even be able to destroy Gilles de Rais' grimoire which would get rid of all his monsters."
"You can't just sacrifice yourself." Sakura Tohsaka clutched at the Saber Servant's shoulder.
"Why not? I still haven't regained enough of my memories to use my Noble Phantasms. I'd be all but useless against the Greater Grail's Servants. The best I can do is handle the jobs nobody else can be wasted on."
"Th-Then I'll fight against those monsters with you!" Sakura's audacious claim made both the human and Servant Rins jump in their seats.
"There's no way that's happening. You'll get killed!" The human Rin stood up.
"Sakura, I won't be able to protect you effectively when we'll be surrounded by those creatures." Saber Rin spoke like a parent to their child. "I'm sorry but how much help could you even provide me?"
"I still have the Command Spells!" Sakura pulled out the Book of False Attendant. "I can boost my power with the Command Spells!"
"Wouldn't it be better to redistribute the Command Spells to all the Masters to help their Servants fight?" Artoria said.
"Oh." Sakura shrunk in her seat. "I can still use jewel magecraft to help."
"Sakura, I don't even know if you should be participating in this fight." the human Rin said. "We Masters need to be present to support our Servants, but you're not really a Master, you were just a temporary one for Saber while I was incapacitated. There's no reason for you to risk your life."
"I can't just sit by and do nothing. The World is at stake, and so is your life." Sakura's voice regained its strength. "I can't wait around while my sister is fighting for everyone's lives!"
"Sakura-"
"I'm not a little kid anymore! I can take care of myself!"
Sakura, please-"
"I can help too." Taiga Fujimura interrupted the argument. "I'm not gonna be much help to Assassin against that Gilgamesh guy or any of the enemy Servants. I can fight on a Servant level thanks to the Noble Phantasms Assassin's given me, but I don't have the skill necessary to be a real threat. Those tentacle things though, they sound like the kind of enemies I can at least hold off from troubling the rest of you."
The Tohsaka sisters and the Servant Rin all stared at the yakuza boss like she was scum. Artoria knew what they were thinking. They wanted to reject Fujimura's offer of assistance due to their hatred of her, but they also knew that they needed all the help they could get.
"You can fight with me." the crimson Saber Servant said. "Thank you for the help."
"Sakura," The human Rin took a deep breath. "you can help fight against the tentacle demons, but I'll also be helping fight them. I need to stay with Saber anyway. You need to stay with me so I can protect you. I'll give you father's pendant, you can use it to save yourself if things go south."
"You still don't trust me?" Sakura looked downward.
"I trust you, but I still need to protect you. It's my prerogative as your older sister."
"Fine." The word was like a growl as it came from Sakura's throat.
"I can help." Leysritt said. "I'm strong, but probably not enough to beat the bad Servants."
"So Rin, her Saber, Sakura, Ms. Fujimura, and Ms. Leysritt will be the ones to handle Gilles and his army." Kirei summarized. "Next we must address Siegfried. His ability to become the legendary Fafnir makes him one of the most dangerous of the Grail's forces, but I believe Mordred should be able to handle him as long as he fights with all his Noble Phantasms."
This new Mordred was powerful enough to take down the ultimate dragon on his own? Artoria's anticipation to meet this reborn Mordred increased, though so did her apprehension and dread.
"Next is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. His magecraft negating spear and maneuverability along with being a deadly fighter overall means he will be difficult to deal with. Artoria, you have experience fighting him so perhaps you would be best suited to be his opponent." Kirei said.
"I'm not sure." Artoria disliked remembering her relationship with Diarmuid in the last war. It ended so bitterly. The fact that this was the same Diarmuid and that he was solely motivated by revenge made him even more unappealing to face. "This version of Diarmuid is desperate to kill me specifically so he will fight with all he has. He also has experience fighting me and is more maneuverable than he was in the previous war. If I didn't have my unhealing wounds, I'd be more confident, but as I am now, I don't know if I could win."
Illya almost said something but stopped herself. She knew that any loss of Artoria's strength from her wounds was canceled out right now since Illya being her Master gave her a significant power boost. In truth, Artoria just didn't want to face Diarmuid again, in stark contrast to her desire to confront Guinevere, and Illya understood that.
"I think both my and my sister's Casters working together might be suited to facing Diarmuid." Luviagelita said. "Their Mystic Eyes can petrify Diarmuid as long as his mana parameter isn't above A+."
"He can cancel out the petrification with his spear. He can also nullify their offensive spells with it." Chloe said.
"Only what the tip of his spear touches." Lord El-Melloi II interjected. "If he wants to protect himself from Mystic Eyes of Petrification, then he'll have to constantly be touching his spear's tip to himself. He won't be able to use it to fight or destroy oncoming spells while keeping himself from turning to stone."
"Not only that, but he'll have his attention split between a total of four enemies." Luviagelita continued. "His unstable mental state means he'll have trouble fighting multiple well coordinated opponents. He'll get too distracted dealing with one or two. With any luck, one of the sisters who his attention isn't on will be able to take the spear from him and he'll immediately turn into a statue."
"This all hinges on him not having a high mana parameter." Henriikka was the next to speak. "Also, he can keep moving at full speed as long as he keeps his spear's tip against his skin, plus he can still use his sword freely. We still don't even know what his sword is capable of."
"We might be able to end the fight immediately if our Casters use all four of their Breaker Gorgons at once. It will be extremely difficult to dodge them all, especially if Assassin arms our Servants with projections of his wrappings that make them undetectable."
"Not for someone as maneuverable as Diarmuid, if the overseer has been accurate in his assessment of him."
"Perhaps Artoria could also join the fight. They would definitely be able to win if they all worked together."
"Can we afford to have three Servants all working to handle one enemy?" Taiga said.
"Indeed. We still have to figure out who will face Guinevere." Kirei grimaced. "It is also likely that the Grail summoned the Assassin of the last war as well, though we have yet to see them."
"What was the Assassin of the last war like? What's their True Name?" Chloe asked.
"They were one of many who held the name of Hassan-i-Sabbah. They manifested as a collective of one hundred individuals that each had their own unique abilities. If they fought all together, then they could take down almost any Servant who lacked an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm or the like. They are an unusual Servant who could manifest in myriad possible ways once corrupted by the Grail. There's no way to know what their current capabilities are."
"If they manifest in the way they did last war then we're fucked." Chloe pressed her forehead into the pew in front of her. "We don't have enough manpower. If Lancer and her Master were here then we could have them deal with Guinevere. We'd still have nobody to deal with Assassin unless we had Artoria do that, but then the two Casters are on their own with Diarmuid."
"I might be able to take down a Servant." Illya said and Artoria hated that she knew where she was going with this. "I have a sword that can permanently mangle the Magic Circuits of a target, magecraft that lets me move at the speed of a Servant, and inside me is Avalon which can prevent me from being harmed. As long as I'm fighting a target with little armor, then all I need is to give them a little cut and they're done."
"Illya, Diarmuid is too fast for you and the Hassans have multiple bodies so taking out one or two won't matter." Artoria was having none of this.
"I can take your place in helping the Casters fight Diarmuid. As long as I keep using Avalon then I'll be safe. Not even his spear can hurt me when I'm within the land of the fairies. I'll wait while hiding with one of Assassin's invisibility cloaks and cut Diarmuid with the Origin Sword when there's an opening. Meanwhile, you can handle Guinevere." It was then that Artoria knew why Illya was suggesting this. Illya wanted to grant Artoria's wish to confront the Servant who bore Guinevere's face. Why did Illya have to be so thoughtful? It made it so hard to chide her when necessary.
"Illya, you'll be putting yourself in unnecessary danger."
"It's not unnecessary, the World's in trouble. How could I sit around doing nothing when everyone's fighting a Threat to Humanity?"
"If I may interject." Lord El-Melloi spoke up. "I understand your concern, Ms. Artoria. That said, our effort would be greatly buoyed by Ms. Illyasviel's assistance. Her sword could legitimately incapacitate Servants with a single wound. If she can take out even just one of the enemy Servants with a surprise attack, then that could tilt the power balance in our favor."
"I understand that." Artoria kept imagining Illya dead. That couldn't happen, Artoria couldn't lose the last of her family. "I think it would be best to have some of us in reserve in case the fight goes poorly."
"Dividing our forces like that would only guarantee our failure." Luviagelita crossed her arms. "Not using all our trump cards is not a luxury we can afford."
"Ms. Artoria, I know this may sound cold hearted of me, but you can't let your emotions hamper your ability to think pragmatically." Kirei's words were frustrating because he was right.
"I apologize."
"So we'll go with what I suggested? I'll help against Diarmuid and mom will fight Guinevere?"
"Unless anyone objects." Kirei was met with silence. "Then that's what we shall do. As for Assassin, we will just have to be ready for anything. Let us pray that God's on our side and Assassin is weaker in their corrupted manifestation."
"We should act quickly, but without rushing into the fray." Lord El-Melloi looked out the window where the Sun was rising. "We should attack when the Sun sets. We would have time to prepare while minimizing the amount of casualties Gilles would create in the meantime. The more we wait, the more he bolsters his forces."
"I think that is best. Any objections?" The response to Kirei was silence once again. "Then the plan, or at least the outline, is set. We still need to work out the details of things like how we'll effectively separate the enemy forces, but we should take a break first. We've been conversing for a while and I'm sure we'd all like some time to process everything. I'll distribute the extra Command Spells and then everyone can rest."
And so Kirei took the Command Spells from Sakura's grimoire and passed them out evenly to the gathered Masters. Then everyone began to filter out of the room to recuperate from the stressful conversation. The plan was far from copacetic, but there was at least a strategy of some kind for the upcoming assault. Artoria wasn't happy about it given Illya was going to be involved. If Illya ended up at risk of dying, then Artoria would go against the plan and save her. The King of Knights refused to allow Illya to die. It would be heartbreaking and would take away the last thing Artoria had to live for.
"I'm going to be okay, mom." Illya saw Artoria's expression and knew what she was thinking.
"I know." Artoria wanted to believe in her daughter, but this war had taught the king that staying hopeful only ended up making her suffer more.