Chapter 9: The King and the Witch
There was little warning given after the initial challenge was declared, one moment there was a tense silence and in the next the wyverns and Rider converged on the Chaldeans.
The Nameless King instantly raced towards the group at the same time the Wyverns descended amongst them, the initial panic to protect their Master meant that Rider could take advantage of it.
'The girl with the shield.' Rider thought as he raced towards them 'She's the weak link, clearly less experienced and their sole form of defence.'
He gripped his sword spear with two hands and went for an overhead slice at her, the girl just finished swatting a Wyvern away from her Master before she turned to the spear racing towards her. She had just enough time to widen her eyes as the spear descended and-
There was a loud 'pong' sound as the sword spear collided not with the girl's body, but with a bright red spear held out just in front of her being wielded by a man in a tight blue cloth.
"Impressive, I almost didn't see you move." The Nameless King let out a small laugh as he pushed downwards, Lancer grit his teeth as Rider pushed harder.
"What's wrong?" Lancer smirked, "Can't take out a little girl unless her backs turned?"
Rider didn't reply to the obvious taunt "Hmmm, you have the mark of divinity on you, yet you are not a God?" he mused "A child of one perhaps… Let us see if you are worthy of such an honour."
Lancer ducked to the side, the sword spear impacted the ground, then lashed forwards with a thrust at Rider's head. The Servant instantly leaned back and titled his head to the side so the spear sailed past.
Rider narrowed his eyes as he leapt back from Lancer 'His speed is not to be underestimated… He is both skilled and experienced, a worthy foe indeed.' he inwardly chuckled as he twirled his spear in his hand and narrowed his eyes at Lancer.
"Come, child of Gods." He spoke "Let us see if the Lords of this land have any strength in their blood."
"Hah!" Lancer let out a bark of laughter "If you insist!" then raced at Rider.
Ash ducked under a tail swipe, as it sailed over his head he lashed out with his left hand and gripped the tail. The Wyvern tried to shake him off, with a quick swipe of his sword the tail was separated from the body.
The wyvern scream of pain was cut short when Siegward struck it in the face with a lightning spear before turning around and thrusting his sword through the skull of a Wyvern which lunged at him.
A dark coloured wyvern latched its claws onto Mash's shield as she defended Ritsuka, the beast instantly began to flap its wings and carry both the shield and its wielder into the air.
"Mash!" Rituska shouted out, his panic alerted Jeanne who instantly turned to see her ally in the grasp of a Wyvern. Acting quickly she changed the grip on her standard then threw it like a javelin. It impacted the Wyvern's left wing, the creature instantly released Mash and unceremoniously dropped to the ground while screeching in pain.
Said screams were halted when Astolfo thrust his sword through the lizard's eye and into its skull, the beast going limp allowing Mash to crawl out from underneath it and for Jeanne to retrieve her standard.
"I'm picking up more Wyverns closing in on you!" Romani shouted out in a panic, his tone got more frantic as he went on "You've also got Servants incoming! You need to get out of there Fujimaru-kun!"
Mash grunted as she got to her feet and raced over to Ritsuka, said Master was looking around the chaos with a wild expression "Where's Lancer!?"
"Oof!" His question was answered when moments later, Lancer went skating past them on his heels. He came to a stop and his expression broke into a murderous grin as he continued to maintain his focus on his opponent.
"You do your bloodline well." Rider nodded as he advanced "Perhaps the Lords of this land are not so feeble after all…" he stopped when he noticed that the wyverns were dead and he was now the centre of attention for all of the Servants.
"It would appear I am outnumbered…" He chuckled "It seems Storm will indeed have his day…"
The group paused as he said those words, moments later the air behind him shimmered as a creature came into existence. The group began to back away as a large combination of a dragon and a bird came into existence in front of them.
Its four wings began flapping as it let loose a violent roar, the air it kicked up forced Mash to shield her Master as some of the dead bodies were blasted away by the winds.
"That's! That's a dragon!" Romani shouted out above the chaos "He's the rider of a Dragon!? Who even is this guy!?"
"A name would do you no good." Rider spoke as his mount began to calm. "That is if there were any who could remember it."
"We're gonna have to fight this out, Master." Lancer remarked, however his smirk was gone and it was clear how his eyes were darting between Rider and the Dragon how serious this had gotten.
Rider raised his hand, ready to command the Dragon when another voice rang out amongst the ruins "What did I tell you?" Rider paused and if any were close enough they would have seen his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.
"I said wait for us to arrive before attacking the Servants." An irritated voice rang out, another figure stepped into the courtyard and was flanked by several others in quick succession "Are you some kind of battle junkie or something? Or are you suicidal?"
"I am more than capable of dealing with them." Rider remarked, his tone laced with his own irritation.
"Sure." The woman scoffed, "That's why you had to bring out your pet dragon."
Rider gripped his spear tighter but didn't reply, the woman then turned away from him and to the Chaldeans.
"Now who are the little worms wh-" Then froze as she got a good look at her opponents, specifically her mirror image.
"What on earth?" Jeanne - the darkened one - cringed in disgust when she saw her unblemished counterpart Jeanne "Who knew such a thing could even happen?"
Jeanne recoiled as she saw her doppelgänger, her skin was paler than her own and her outfit was a darker tone. However what clearly separated the two was the completely hostile aura which seemed to bleed from her, her hatred practically radiated off her.
"Could someone pour some water over me?" Jalter smirked and began to let out a maniacal giggle "This is bad. It's actually so awful I fear I may lose it."
The woman couldn't contain it anymore and burst out into a venomous laugh while pointing and Jeanne "It's too funny! Gilles, who is this pathetic little country girl!? A wimp? A mouse? A worm?" the laugh died down and was replaced with a smirk "Truly… only a country like this could cling to this pathetic 'me', comparing them to mice is an insult to vermin." she turned her head back to the Servants flanking her "Don't you think so Gil- oh right… we didn't bring him along…"
"This performance of yours is grating on my nerves, 'Master'." Rider seethed "If you are going to kill them, do so already this banter is good for naught but wasting time."
"Huh?" The dark Jeanne turned to Rider with a sneer "You mean like how you were just about to kill them?" she released a huff of amusement "So arrogant and you can't even kill a little farmer and her peasant friends?"
"You…" Jeanne's eyes were wide as she listened to her counterpart "Who are you!?"
Jalter turned her attention back to her more noble counterpart "I could ask the same of you. As a leader, I shall introduce myself. I am Jeanne D'arc, beloved Saint of France."
"That's nonsense!" Jeanne spat "You are no Saint just as I am no Saint!" her face shifted into one of anguish "More importantly why did you order Rider to attack this town?"
"Huh? That's pretty obvious isn't it?" Jalter raised an eyebrow "Sure as me you must realise the reason? Are you stupid or something? The reason I attacked this town is because I want to destroy France." she smirked "I am a Servant, after all, politically and economically it would take too long so it's just simpler to crush everything in my path."
"Such foolishness!"
"Pfft! 'Such Foolishness'" Jalter gave a mocking tone as she sneered at her counterpart "The foolish ones were us! What was the point of saving this country? Of saving these people? In the very end they were the very ones who spit on us and betrayed us!"
"That is…" Jeanne seemed at a loss for words, this only signalled Jalter to continue.
"I will be fooled no longer." She said with a sneer "I will be betrayed no longer. In fact, I no longer hear the voice of the Lord. If I can't hear his voice, it means he no longer blesses this country. So I will burn this country away, in accordance with his grief. That is how I will save this country. I will remake it into a land of death, although… I suppose you could never understand that given that you seemed determined to play the Saint."
"If you are quite finished…" Rider grunted and began to advance, he paused when Jalter held up a hand.
"Are you seriously gonna ignore my instructions for a second time?" She venomously spat out at him "Do you really want to die? Is that it?"
"They are here, at our mercy." He spoke again, unaffected by her tone "If you are truly that desperate to end their lives then stop gloating."
"Tch." She clicked her tongue "I suppose question time is over anyway." she turned back to Jeanne "Guess it's time for some pest control!" the servants surrounding her immediately tensed and prepared to spring into action, the dragon behind them began to open its mouth.
"Master!" Mash jumped in front of Ristuka.
"Vive la France!" A rather jolly voice called out from the sky, the servants all changed their attention towards the direction of the voice, only to see a glass carriage racing towards them through the air.
"What in Lords na-" Rider began only to be cut off by an immense sound wave directed at them.
Jalter and her servants immediately covered their ears and the Dragon shrieked in pain and discomfort while thrashing its head around at the noise.
"They're attacking the enemy?" Ritsuka blinked, only to turn his head when the carriage landed in front of him.
A pale girl with white hair popped her head out of the carriage window and then shouted at the group "Get in! We're escaping!"
"I'd recommend following her advice, Master!" Ash shouted as he raced to the carriage, swiftly followed by the other Servants who leapt onto it or its horses. Ritsuka was quick to follow them as he and Mash raced into the compartments.
"Let's leave Maria!" The pale man shouted to the girl who instantly responded with an affirmative.
"What!?" Jalter shouted in anger as she saw the glass carriage flee into the distance, carrying the Servants with it.
Rider remained silent as he turned to Storm, the Dragon whimpered slightly at the noise before seeking out its Master's protection. The Nameless King stroked the Dragon's beaked mouth as it let out a deep purr "...I will refrain from offering my opinion on this development." He said after a few moments.
"Shut up!" Jalter whirled on him in fury "Not another word! Follow them and this time, don't attack them!"
"...Fine."
"Doctor?" Mash said as they left the carriage, it quickly dispelled after everyone was outside.
"Don't worry." Roman replied "I'm not detecting the Servants in your vicinity anymore… well the enemy Servants anyway."
"Regardless…" Ash let out a sigh as he turned to the pair of Servants who had aided them "I must thank you for your timely intervention, I very much doubt we could have escaped and that would have been without the God we were fighting."
"...Huh?" Everyone, save Siegward, blinked at what Ash said then exchanged looks with each other.
"Ash-san…" Mash began, looking decidedly more nervous "...Are you saying Rider was a Divine Spirit?"
"Hm?" Ash turned to her "Is that how you classify Gods?"
"He spoke like he knew you." Jeanne pointed out with a frown "Did you have History with this Heroic Spirit?"
Ash shrugged "We actually only met once… sort of."
"Sort of?" The pale girl stepped forwards with a raised eyebrow, Ash turned to her and asked the question that had seemingly been forgotten.
"My apologies, it seems we have forgotten our introductions."
"Oh, yes!" She straightened herself out and did a curtsy "My Class is Rider, My true name is Marie Antoinette"
"Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart" The Tall thin man did a small bow "Class is Caster...I'm more of a musician.
"R-right!" Mash nodded "My name is Mash Kyrielight, my Class is Shielder. This is my Master."
"Um… Whassup?" Ritsuka awkwardly waved.
"My what an interesting greeting!" Marie beamed "Wh-whassup my homies!"
"I feel as though I have witnessed something rather embarrassing." Siegward mumbled while scratching his helmet "Anyway, I am Siegward of Catarina. I'm a Saber."
"Ash. I'm a Saber."
"Cu Chulainn, Lancer."
"Whassup! I'm Astolfo and I'm a Rider… that really is a wicked greeting isn't it!"
"Jeanne D'arc. I'm a Ruler class Servant."
"Ahem." Roman coughed "Saber, can we return to what you were saying about Rider?"
"Ah, yes." Ash nodded his head "He is… was a God of War."
"Doctor?" Mash turned to the Hologram "Is the summoning of Divine Spirits even possible?"
Roman released a sigh and massaged his head "With the Chaldea system? No, it's practically nigh impossible to summon a Divine Spirit."
"Ummm..." Rituska raised his hand "What's the difference between a Divine Spirit and a Heroic Spirit?"
"Huh? Oh, right. A Divine Spirit exists as a higher being than elementals… whether or not they exist in our world is… hard to tell, it would probably be simpler to think of them as Gods, like Saber described."
"Oh...We're fighting a God…" Rituska paled, while Ash nodded.
"Fighting a God with a Dragon mount, mind you." Lancer pointed out with a scowl "That guy wasn't a pushover in combat either. He was slower than I was but was definitely more experienced."
"Unsurprising." Ash said with a sigh "He was likely around since before the Age of Fire… which would be… an uncountable millennium and given his Status as a God of War…"
"He would have devoted his life to conflict." Jeanne finished with a frown "What do you know about him, Ash?"
"Nothing."
"...Huh?" Jeanne blinked at the Servant's reply "B-but there must be something you can tell us?"
"Right now, you know as much about him as I do."
"If he was a God of War, Ash-san, why wouldn't anyone where you're from know about him?" Mash asked with a curious expression.
Ash shrugged "No idea… perhaps his name was struck from History… All I knew when I travelled to Archdragon Peak was that it had something to do with Dragons… turns out they were all dead save a rather Large Wyvern and the Nameless King."
"Nameless King?" Amadeus quizzed with a raised eyebrow.
"That is Rider's… well that was what he was known as there… more of a title than a name."
"How did you meet?" Astolfo asked with an excited tone "Was he one of your weird companions like Siegward here?"
"I rang the bell of Challenge. He answered. We fought and I killed him."
"...Oh…"
"...So you just turn up at his home, call him out, kill him, then leave?" Lancer raised an eyebrow, Ash shrugged in response.
"That is a gross oversimplification of events… but yes."
Cu snorted.
"So… you can kill him again, right?" Ritsuka had a hopeful gleam in his eyes.
"Probably not… I killed an old man and if what you say about Heroic Spirit summoning is true then he has appeared to us in his prime...It would likely take all of us to kill him, that would be excluding the King of the Storm."
"That King of what?"
"...His Dragon mount."
"Well… what are his capabilities?" Romani asked "You fought him, you must know his strengths and weaknesses?"
"His mastery of lightning based Miracles is frightening, he was capable of using the highest level of lightning spears, similar to Siegwards but far more powerful, as well as charging his spear with them. He would often thrust it into the sky, which in turn would cause a bolt of lightning to strike you where you stood unless you avoided it, his strength is obvious given his status as a Lord…" Ash crossed his arms and sighed "Frankly he himself doesn't have too many weaknesses I am familiar with… his mount however is actually lacking in durability… a few well placed arrows to its head or lightning based attacks and it will die."
"Oh…" Romani blinked in surprise "That's something at least… You're close to a leyline… we'll send you some supplies and it may be best if you try a summoning, nothing against you guys!" He frantically pointed to Marie and Amadeus "...But we are fighting against a God here…"
"No, that makes perfect sense." Amadeus nodded his head "I'm actually a better artist than a fighter, besides I… don't really know why I was summoned, given that I don't have a Master."
"Me neither." Marie frowned "I don't really know why I was summoned either…"
"… How far are we from the Leyline?" Ritsuka asked, while pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You're actually pretty close to it, about a few hundred metres east of you." Roman replied, I'll have Marcus work on getting those supplies to you."
"...Who is Marcus?"
"...He was the chef and is now in charge of logistics…" Roman nodded his head "I'll just get him now. Marcus? It's Doctor Romani, I ne-"
"I swear to Christ Roman, if you are calling me about another cake I will personally come up there and tear out your-" The call to Chaldea was promptly cut as Roman went increasingly pale.
There was a brief silence before Ritsuka spoke up "He seems to be on top of things. Let's head to that Leyline."
The servants have a few nods of affirmation before they began their small journey.
"So… you're an artist?" Ash asked as he walked side by side with Amadeus "You refer to paintings?"
"I'm a musician." Amadeus replied while smiling "Perhaps it's arrogant of me but I think of myself to be a rather talented one."
"...Is that so?" Ash nodded his head "I've never met a practitioner of rhythm before…"
"...What?" Amadeus turned to him with a somewhat confused expression "Was your homeland culturally dead or something?"
"...Yes."
"How tragic… to live and die without ever hearing the beauty of the music… I will create a song just for you…"
"That's… very kind of you to offer." Ash responded with, not actually knowing how he was meant to reply to such a proclamation.
"You just want to write a new song, don't you?" Marie turned back to them with a frown.
"Maria! Are you saying I would use a poor man's ignorance of music just to write myself a new song!?" Amadeus placed his hand on his heart in mock offence.
"Yes. That's exactly the kind of thing that a music obsessed pervert like you would do." The girl replied with a straight face before turning back to her conversation with Jeanne.
"...She's right, you know." Amadeus turned back to Ash, only to see the Servant had fallen back and was now talking with Lancer "Oh…"
"What? Not enjoy your conversation or somethin'?" Cu asked with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk.
"I have never heard music in my life, so this man wants to start creating songs for me…" Ash replied and shook his head "His companion also referred to him as a pervert…" he then looked around "Where's Siegward?"
"Huh? He went up and talked to the little ladies, think he took Rider with him."
"What could they possibly talk about?"
"Hell if I know…"
"I spent several days naked in that Well before Ash came and found me." Siegward recounted with a slight chuckle "I didn't even know what happened, I fell asleep then woke up naked!"
"That sucks… how did he get your armour back anyway?" Astolfo asked with raised brows.
"...You know, I never asked him…"
"You are a rather interesting fellow, Sir Siegward." Marie giggled "You sound like a bit of an airhead sometimes."
"Well…" He chuckled and scratched his head "Perhaps I'm not always as vigilant as I like to be… More importantly…" He turned his head rather abruptly and faced Jeanne "How are you feeling, child?"
"Huh?" Jeanne blinked then fidgeted "I'm… I can't understand her… that Dragon Witch, I can't understand her motives at all…"
"Hm? Is revenge not a natural emotion to feel?"
"No… its…" Her face turned wistful "I told you how I never viewed myself as a Saint? I shed so much blood when I raised my flag and fought for what I believed in… but even so I don't regret doing it and I don't regret the end…"
"You mean your death?" Siegward asked with a titled head.
"It was only the consequences of my actions that made me a Saint… but I don't think that such a title should be given to the dreams of a little farm girl."
"So… you're not a Saint?" Marie nodded her head then smiled "In that case, may I call you Jeanne?"
Jeanne blinked then smiled "...Y-yes! Of course. It feels like that would bring back old memories."
"Wonderful!" Marie beamed "Then you can all call me Marie. If you are simply the girl, Jeanne and not a Saint. Then I am simply Marie, and not the Queen."
"...You have a real habit of meeting monarchs don't you, Onion guy?" Astolfo whispered to the knight.
Siegward was silent for a few moments before he released a mirthless chuckle "...I suppose I do… the dead ones anyway."
"Guys!" Rituska shouted out from ahead of them "We're on top of the Leyline. We're gonna camp here."
"I'll collect some firewood then." Siegward nodded then headed off into the forest.
"I'll join you." Jeanne swiftly followed him.
"Maybe I can requisition a few tents or something." Ritsuka mumbled to himself "The forest floor is kind of uncomfortable."
Mash giggled "I suppose it is, Senpai."
"Are you enjoying 15th Century France?" Da Vinci spoke with a small smile, she shook her head at the groan Ritsuka sent her way "Thought I'd let you know that the Director's soul has been placed in the Puppet body."
"That's a relief." Ristuka smiled and let out a breath, next to him Mash smiled and placed a hand on her heart.
"Yep, I'm monitoring her now, with luck she'll be awake either today or tomorrow. She'll probably be a bit out of it but medical matters are what Romani is for." She nodded her head then gave the group another small smile "The summoning circle looks good and you've got supplies on route, so maybe we'll talk later."
Several boxes appeared before them in a flash of light, one was marked 'camping supplies' while another was labelled 'provisions'.
"Senpai… should we try to summon another Servant?" Mash asked.
"...We'll give it a go." Ritsuka nodded as he fed 'Saint Quartz' to the shield to act as a catalyst. Several moments went by until the shield burst to life with light.
Ritsuka was left disappointed by the results… he got mainly craft essence. The shield burst to life one final time, when the light cleared there was a tall man wearing light purple robes and a long thin sword on his back.
"Servant, Assassin." He nodded, "My name is Sasaki Kojiro."
"We got more help!" Ritsuka turned to see Astolfo punching the air "Yes!"
Assassin merely chuckled, "I assume this is a rather unusual situation?"
"Yeah…" Rituska nervously chuckled and scratched the back of his head, then went about explaining the situation to him while Astolfo ran off to tell everyone else about the new arrival.
"Guys!" Ash turned to Astolfo walking up to them and grinning, Siegward and Jeanne stopped placing sticks into the campfire and turned to the pink haired boy "Master just summoned a new Servant!"
"Who did he summon?" Cu asked with a bored expression.
"Assassin." He replied while grinning.
"...Terrific." The Lancer shrugged "What's his name?"
"Ummm… Something Kojiro, I think?" Astolfo cupped his chin and tapped his foot in thought.
"Sasaki Kojiro." Ash turned to the voice, he saw Ritsuka and Mash coming into the camp while being followed by a man with a think robe covering him and long blue hair, a somewhat amused smile on his face "I assume you are my fellow Servants." he bowed slightly "It is good to make your acquaintance."
"You up to speed?" Lancer asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Master has informed me of our purpose here." He then raised a lone eyebrow "Along with news of fighting a God?"
"Yeah… we're pretty much up shit creek without a paddle." Lancer smirked then gave Assassin a wave "Welcome to the team!"
"I could think of worse teams to be a part of." A familiar voice cut through the forest, which was precisely the problem considering the Chaldeans recognised whose voice it was. The group turned to see the Nameless King standing just on the edge of the clearing, his arms folded in front of his chest.
Instantly the group bolted to their feet, dropping whatever they were carrying, and unsheathed their weapons and pointed them at Rider. The Servant merely watched as the group armed themselves, nodding his head to the left.
The group turned to see the head of his dragon peering at them from just inside the woods, smoke leaking from its mouth.
"I was ordered to observe you… or more accurately to avoid fighting you." Rider spoke again "I assume you realise how simple it would be to end your lives right now...perhaps the shield bearer could save a few of you, but it is no challenge to kill her while she defends you from Storm."
"Then… why haven't you attacked yet?" Ritsuka asked with slightly narrowed eyes.
"My orders were to avoid fighting you… I was never told I could avoid contact." The servant shrugged "Besides… I felt it necessary to provide you with information."
"Why?"
"...Personal interest." Was the vague answer he got.
"I suspect you aren't here to join our side, are you?" Romani awkwardly chuckled.
"You would be correct, formless voice." Rider waved him off "However that is not to say I am not betraying my Master in some capacity."
"What is this information?" Jeanne asked, her expression set in a frown.
Rider looked at her with what amounted to intrigue. "...You really do look like her." he chuckled "How can the same person be so different…"
"The information." Jeanne repeated.
"...Several days before I encountered you, I was dispatched to the city of Lyon." Rider began "Upon my arrival, myself and the other Servants encountered a man known as a Dragon Slayer. We did battle and he was subsequently overwhelmed and killed… is what I told your other half."
"What do you mean?" Mash asked with a confused face "Did you not kill him?"
"It is entirely possible that the wounds he suffered did indeed end his life… however I suspect him to be stronger than that, his very nature scared Storm and forced me to engage him in single combat." Rider tilted his head "If you hope to have any chance of victory, you should travel to Lyon and pray that my intuition into the warriors' durability holds true."
"You want us to find a Dragon Slayer to kill your mount?" Ash scoffed "Do you think we're fools?"
"I would hope that my killer wasn't a fool." Rider easily replied "But it is not for Storm, it is for my Masters dragon. A rather dangerous beast, far greater than my Mount. Not quite an Everlasting Dragon but certainly close enough to kill all of you."
"Why tell us this?" Lancer asked, then narrowed his eyes "What do you gain out of it?"
"A war worth my time." Rider replied "If I wanted to fight those without a chance of victory I would recluse myself to the countryside and spend my time killing peasants."
"Aren't you concerned that your Master will know of your betrayal?" Roman asked "Surely she can see everything you are doing via the Master Servant link?"
"...Careful now., you come dangerously close to insulting me. Human." Rider remarked "I am more than capable of keeping that witch out of my mind."
"What will you tell your Master?" Jeanne asked, "Surely she will ask what happened when you encountered us."
"Hm?" Rider turned to her and chuckled "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean… It seems that you escaped further than I could track and all I discovered were the remnants of a campsite, long since abandoned.'' He turned away from the group "This is a courtesy I will not extend a second time. I have every confidence that you will ultimately lose…" He paused as he mounted his dragon "...But I had every confidence I could slay a lowly unkindled… perhaps I shall encounter another surprise defeat in this second life."
With that the Dragon took off into the air, leaving the group alone to their thoughts.
"He… seemed rather intense…" Marie pointed out "But to think he was able to just betray his Master like that…"
"He would rather betray his Master than his nature…" Ash pointed out "We should consider ourselves fortunate he at least wants us to defend ourselves before he kills us."
"Indeed." Amadeus nodded "We now know to travel to Lyon." he turned to Ristuka and grinned "We should probably hurry to Lyon in the morning, right?"
"Yeah." Rituska nodded, then turned to Assassin "Like Lancer said, welcome to the team."
"...Certainly a memorable greeting you have given me, Master." Assassin chuckled.