Chapter 63: More than can be chewed.

"You know you can give yourself wrinkles if you scowl so much." Euryale's voice sounded out to Ash's left, the Unkindled released a weary sigh as he continued to march along through the cave system. "Although I suppose you don't care too much about physical appearances, no?"

"Not especially." Ash eventually replied, glancing sideways and staring at the Minotaur "So how did you come across this one anyway?"

"Asterios?" Euryale tilted her head, looking down at the Berserker whose shoulder she was riding upon "I first came to the island some days ago having been shipwrecked. I met Asterios when I was trying to explore more of the island." she shrugged "After that he clearly understood my beauty and decided to protect me."

Ash gave her a bland look and then stared at the Berserker, giving a single nod in response "The Knight's of Carim are similar." he replied after a few moments "They'll devote themselves to the service of a single maiden their whole lives." he titled his head slightly "Now that I think about it, I believe that was based upon an apostle of a Goddess of mourning."

"Hmm." Euryale released a small hum in response, shifting herself to be more comfortable "Is that so? Although I wouldn't describe Asterios here as an Apostle of mine." she paused for a few moments before staring down at the Berserker "What do you think, Asterios?"

"Protect...Euryale." The Berserker replied in his unusually soft voice "All...that…matters."

The Goddess put on a satisfied smile as she pat the Servant's fluffy white hair "And this is why I like you. You're very honest, aren't you?"

"Hmm."

"So." She turned and looked down at Ash with squinted eyes "What on earth is one of your kind doing out of Hades?"

"You're the second one to ask me about Hades." Ash grumbled "I'm beginning to think that they might be related to death of some kind."

"The God or the underworld, whichever." She casually replied "Well? Are you? You certainly don't feel like a Normal Servant and Asterios went into a frenzy the second you stepped foot in here."

"I am Unkindled." Ash replied in a toneless voice "Risen undead made from ashes. As for why my presence set him off." he turned to Asterios and pursed his lips "I assume it relates to my skill in dealing with foes such as him."

"Smell...like...death."

"...Most likely." Ash quietly replied "So...what are you anyway?"

"Monster…" Asterios replied before Euryale gave him a light slap on the side of his helmet.

"None of that kind of talk. You're Asterios." She huffed "And that's that."

"...Hmmm." Asterios let out a small noise in response as their head turned away from Euryale, his form shifted slightly indicating some small level of joy at the comment. Ash watched the conversation for barely a few more seconds before he looked elsewhere.

"We've been walking through this cave for a little while now, Captain." Ritsuka idly commented as he kept pace with Drake "How far are we going to go?"

"As far as it takes us." Drake replied "Although my nose is telling me we ain't got that much further to go!" she exclaimed with a voice full of bravado "There's bound to be something worth it further in!"

"That seems to be a lot of confidence, Captain Drake." Mash tilted her head "What if we don't find anything?"

"Then I've wasted everyone's time and chuckles is going to lord it over my head." She clicked her tongue "I'd rather not see his smug expression."

Ritsuka tried to picture how Ash would react in his mind. He couldn't see anything close to smugness, more irritated vindication. But Drake was probably right that Ash would most certainly make a comment about it unfortunately he could tell that Drake would make a comment back and then they'd break into an argument again.

Shaking his head, the boy dismissed the thoughts and returned his attention to Drake "So how often have you been in cave's like this before?"

"Eh...not that often?" Drake replied in an unsure tone "Definitely been in this sort of thing more than I used to as of late but this isn't really what I normally go for. Probably what's got me all worked up in the first place."

Mash let out a small noise and then looked to Ritsuka "Do you think we'll find anything, Senpai?"

"I hope so." Ritsuka admitted "Although that's also so we can say to Ash that we got something out of this. Otherwise he'll probably be annoyed."

Mash grimaced and nodded her head "Most likely." she then thought of something "What about Havel-san?"

The boy blinked in response, unsure of what she meant "What about him?"

"He didn't say much about Captain Drake's sudden decision." She frowned "He's been somewhat quiet lately."

"Caves...echo…" The pair flinched at Havel's voice coming from directly behind them, the two whirled around to see the stone armoured Berserker looming over them "Can...hear…you." he reminded, his voice devoid of any discernable emotion. Although Ritsuka wasn't sure if that was better or worse for him.

"U-uh...w-well…" Ritsuka sputtered, searching for something to say "H-how do you feel about-"

"Waste...of...time…" Havel cut him off, voice now containing a note of irritation "Should...have...left...already."

"Don't you think we'll find anything, Havel-san?" Mash asked, the helmet turned to her before shaking.

"Don't...care...prob...ably...worth...less…"

Ritsuka cringed and looked away while Mash slowly nodded her head, the group continued on their walk through the cave before Ritsuka spoke up again. "So...what do you think about our new allies?"

"Goddess...and...her...pet?" Havel tilted his head, letting out a grunt "Goddess...useless...pet...fodder." was his assessment which had Ritsuka turn around and level the Berserker with a small frown.

"I'd rather not think of him as 'Fodder' just yet."

"Why?...Were...fighting...not...long...ago." The Berserker pointed out "Why...care?"

"It was a misunderstanding-"

"Almost...got...killed." Ritsuka flinched at the blunt counter argument "Was...going...to...kill."

"Okay...it was a violent misunderstanding." Ritsuka replied slowly "But...um...Alright, if we don't have to kill people then I don't want to, that's pretty much it." he sighed "Asterios was fighting us because he thought we meant harm so I don't really see a reason to be suspicious of him."

"…" Havel tilted his helmet at Ritsuka, leaning forwards as if searching for something "...Fine."

Ritsuka blinked at the curt reply, Havel brushed past him and continued further on ahead without waiting for a reply. The boy turned towards Mash and exchanged a surprise look with her before his eyes returned to Havel's back. "Huh...was expecting a bit more argument from him."

"Perhaps he is warming up to you Senpai?" Mash provided with a slightly hopeful expression, Ritsuka gave a grunt and a half shrug in response.

"Maybe." He murmured, then looked back to Mash "So what do you think about Euryale and Asterios?"

Mash blinked "Me?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head "I mean, I realise it was Captain Drake suddenly doing her own thing but she did kind of spring it on us." he sighed, running his hand through his hair "Do you think its a bit risky?"

Mash pursed her lips, remaining silent for a few moments before she shook her head "No, I don't think so. They agreed to take down the Bounded field and also said they would be fine coming along with us." she gave a determined nod "So I think they will prove a big help, Senpai."

Ritsuka gave a faint laugh in response "Yeah, although we still don't know who has the Grail or where to look." he frowned "And there's the matter of whoever was chasing Euryale to begin with." he paused for a few moments before he went on "I think meeting other Gods has kind of spoiled my expectations." he cringed, Mash's look of confusion encouraged him to elaborate "We've seen Faraam with his dragon, Gwyndolin can do some really powerful magic and Artemis was skilled with a bow."

"Ah." Mash nodded her head in understanding "Yes, although the Gorgon sisters weren't actually famous for their strength but their status as beings of worship. It was only Medusa that was famed for her strength and her ability to petrify heroes who came to the island to slay her."

"Aaaah." Ritsuka bobbed his head "So Medusa is probably the strongest of the sisters?"

"That is most likely true, Senpai." Mash agreed "Although her form we encountered in Fuyuki was blackened in some way, so she wasn't as powerful as a normal Servant at the time."

"...She didn't look like a younger sister, did she?"

"I don't know about that, Senpai." Mash shook her head "It's like Archer-san said. Divine Spirits treat physical appearances different than us, Euryale-san seems to regard herself as a Goddess of Beauty so it is likely that she fixed her form in what she regards as perfect."

Ritsuka remained silent for a few moments "Havel seemed to disagree."

"He did, Senpai." Mash nodded her head "Euryale-san seemed quite annoyed about that."

"He said 'Gwynevere' so do you think that's Gwyndolin's sister?" He asked "I think he mentioned her when we met Faraam again in France but…" he trailed off, a slightly awkward look came to his face "He seemed a bit…"

"It seems to be a difficult subject for him, Senpai." Mash nodded "Although he did manage to get along with Artemis-san." she pointed out "So perhaps he gets along better with Divine Spirits? The Director's report mentioned that he seemed to get along with Stheno."

"Oh?~" The pair jolted at the voice, spinning around to see Euryale staring down at them with an intrigued twinkle in her eyes while Asterios steel bull helm stared straight ahead. "So 'Me' has found someone she gets along with has she?" her smile was sweet which had Ritsuka give an involuntary shiver "Tell me more~"

"Are you alright?" Ash blinked at the sudden voice, looking to the right of him he saw Boudica staring at him with a slightly concerned expression on her face "I realise this isn't exactly to your liking."

"It isn't." Ash looked away "...Normally getting distracted like this is an easy way to get lost or dead."

Boudica let out a small hum in response "I can see how it might end poorly, although do you think there's much danger?"

"We currently have no idea who is in possession of the Grail or what their intentions are with it." He replied curtly "The longer we spend rushing around on completely pointless journeys the more time the holder has to enact whatever plan they have." he grumbled "It would be best if we had just knocked her out and dragged her back to the ship."

Boudica gave him a wry smile "That might not have worked out so well."

"...No, it probably wouldn't have." He sighed "It does not make this any less irritating though. I feel as though we are being held captive by her assumed importance."

"Not so assumed." Boudica pointed out "She did circumnavigate the entire world." she paused for a few moments before adding on "She also one of those responsible for routing the Spanish armada when they attempted to invade England." Ash's eyes snapped to her, his brows furrowed "She'll actually finish her military career with a rank of Vice Admiral."

Ash stared at her for a few moments before he spoke in a quiet tone "She…" he raised his right hand and pointed down the cave "Her?"

Boudica gave a nod with an understanding smile. "Her."

"But she...what?" He frowned "She...she hasn't displayed a single hint of interest in anything other than treasure?"

"No, she hasn't." Boudica admitted "And there's a good probability that she'll keep that trait the rest of her life but I suppose there is some sense of duty." she paused for a few moments before giving an unashamed shrug "Although I am a little biased considering she's from Britain and defended it from invaders."

Ash turned away from Boudica and stared down the tunnel, a frown coming to his lips "She has a sense of duty...but rarely displays it?" the frown curled further "I cannot decide if that has improved my opinion of her or lessened it." It was something that now gnawed at his mind. If what the Rider said was true, then apparently the Captain was not simply a creature of greed but did have some fleeting instinct for duty.

Although the fact that she seemed to actively ignore it as of late made it very difficult to decide whether it was better to have a sense of duty but ignore it, or to never have one to begin with and just be motivated by indulgence.

"Knew it!" Drake's cheerful voice echoed out through the caves, Ash released a grumble as he picked up his pace into a gentle jog so as to catch up.

Drake stood proudly with her hands on her hips as the others all gathered around her in a small clearing, several other exits lined the walls while in the centre of the room lay an olden wooden chest with an unclipped rusted iron padlock and a similarly aged chain hanging from the left side of the box.

The other Servants – along with Ritsuka – soon filed into the clearing with Drake levelling a smug expression towards Ash, waving her hand towards the chest "Told you we'd find something..."

She tapered off and raised an eyebrow at Ash's expression, who was now glaring at the chest as if it had personally wronged him in some capacity. She frowned "I know you don't like the idea of me being right, but the treasure didn't do anything to you."

"Its not that." Ash denied, still frowning at the wooden chest as he walked towards it slowly, his right hand moving to the grip of Storm Ruler on his back "It's just that...I have this feeling."

"Oi." Drake crossed her arms "No hitting the treasure with a sword." the woman then paused before turning her eyes back on it "Although it is pretty convenient that there's just a treasure chest in the middle of the room." her eyes darted around "Not traps anywhere or something, right?"

"That's a thing?" Ritsuka blinked in surprise "I thought that only happened in movies."

"It's not unusual." Archer commented from his side "Especially with the placing of this thing, its probably best we leave it be so as to not risk it."

Drake stared at it long and hard for a few moments "I'm gonna risk it."

"I wouldn't." Ash warned "I really wouldn't."

Drake gave him a grin "Where there's risk there's reward, right?"

"There's also pain." He quickly replied as he stopped next to her "And possible death." emerald eyes darted back down to the box "I'm with Archer, I say we leave it be."

"You're missing that explorers attitude." Drake chided, moving her boot so as it rested atop the lid of the chest in a position where a kick would fling it open "What if we leave it and there's something really valuable inside?"

"What if we open it and its a mimic?" Ash blurted out, a haunted look in his eyes "It's best not to risk it."

"What's a mimic?" Ritsuka asked Mash, the girl gave a shrug in response.

"Nasty...little...shits…" Havel grunted as he approached the chest, going so far as to materialise his own club – his entire attention was also focused on the chest – before stopping a few feet from it. "Step...back…" he rested his left hand on the grip and hefted the club above his head "I'll...check…"

"Hey! Hey!" Drake span around, waving her arms with an affronted look on her face "Don't go swinging that at treasure chests! What if you destroy whatever's in it!?"

"Better...than...mimic…" Havel grunted in response, the stone helmet turned to Ash and gave him a single nod. Ash returned the gesture and drew his own sword, holding it with both hands so as it was directly pointed at the chest in case it reacted.

"You two are being paranoid." Drake rolled her eyes "It's a treasure chest!" she kicked the lid open "What's the worse that coul-"

The chest exploded into movement, instantly sprouting arms and legs and shooting up so its was stood over five metres in height, easily towering over Asterios, who recoiled in shock while Euryale let out a surprised cry.

While the arms appeared to be comically spindly in comparison with the rest of its body, that didn't detract from the fact they were still as thick as any of the normal servant's legs.

The lid of the chest was forced ajar, rows of sharpened dagger like teeth jutted from the rims and moved around towards the hinges, from inside two pale arms with clawed hands revealed themselves as the body hunched over. From beneath the actual trunk was the presumed body, an emaciated humanoid shape with no discernable features otherwise.

Ash was the first to react, Drake still paralysed with shock as the mimic swung its clawed hands towards her. The Saber roughly shoved her to the ground with his right hand at the same time he swung Storm Ruler towards the knee's with his left.

The pale clawed fingers stabbed into his shoulders before the blade could hit the beast, the Sabers eyes widened as the mimic charged forwards at the same time it lifted him into the air, barely having enough time to let out a shout before it stuffed the top half of his body into its mouth and the lid clamped down.

Ash's muffled cry of pain seemingly jolted everyone else into action, Havel charged towards the Mimic and swung towards its legs.

The Mimic performed a perfect roundhouse kick and slammed its heel into the side of the Berserker's helmet with enough force to snap his head to the side and send him tumbling away – all the while Ash's legs were flailing around inside the mouth – before it charged forwards. Boudica let out a muffled gasp of surprise before she raised her small shield as the mimic swung its leg back until its body was parallel to the ground, suspended on its single leg, and then launched it forwards in a powerful kick.

The foot smashed into the shield and lifted the Rider off her feet, briefly letting out a grunt as she slammed into the roof of the cavern and fell back down to the ground.

"Mash!" Ritsuka cried out "Get is legs! Archer go for the joints!" he managed to order through the chaos as the Mimic continued to chew on their Saber – who was still letting out a muffled shout from inside the mimic – as it span around. Mash adhered to the order and charged the monster.

The mimic span on its heel and raised its right leg high, performing a full three sixty manoeuvre and crashed its offending limb into the centre of Mash's shield, the lilac haired girl grit her teeth at the surprising force behind the attack. Archer charged towards the raised leg and swung Kanshou upwards, slashing across the back of its heel and causing the creature to let out a growl of pain as it attempted to retreat.

Ash's muffled cry turned into a shout as the hinges of the wooden jaw began to creak as the slowly tried to pry the mouth open, the mimic hobbled backwards as it tried to find a new avenue or attack.

Havel's armoured fist impacted its left knee, the joint released a sickening crack as it bent at an awkward angle. Without any ability to stand correctly, the mimic fell onto its knee's as the interior of its mouth began to glow. Ritsuka widened his eyes as he realised what was about to happen "Take cover!" he shouted out, Mash leapt in front of him with her shield raised as the other servants took a step back, Archer dragging Drake away.

The top half of the mimic was consumed in a ball of fire, the bright orange flames burned away at the wooden body and dry skin, the mimic released harrowing screams as Ash pulled himself free of its mouth. He stamped down onto the bottom jaw with his right boot and thrust his left hand – still glowing bright with a pyromancy – into the gap in the back of its head and pulled. There was a groaning of metal before the jaw gave way, Ash ripping it from the top of its body and carelessly hurling it away from him.

He raised Storm Ruler, pulling it backwards before thrusting it towards the soft pink flesh inside, the blade instantly skewered itself through the body and buried itself into the rocky ground beneath. Ash abruptly twisted the sword with crunch before ripping it free of the corpse.

The Saber remained stationary for a few moments before he raised his left hand like a claw and thrust it into the body, Ritsuka grimaced at the noises before Ash ripped something free of it. A glittery looking metallic crystal around the width of a small melon now lay in his palm.

Ash took a single step back and slowly turned his head to stare at Drake, the woman's expression was still slightly ajar as she tried to compute the last thirty seconds that had just occurred, he raised the rock up so she could see it and spoke only three words "I'm keeping this." Drake mutely nodded her head before Ash turned to Ritsuka, his expression still set in an irritated scowl "...That was a mimic."

"O-oh…" Ritsuka swallowed "L-lets...avoid chests in the future."

"Hmm." Ash grunted "At the very least." his eyes fell on Drake again "Wait until we've checked them first!" his voice contained a hint of barely restrained anger.

"Ash-san…" Mash timidly called out "Are you alright? Do you need to heal yourself?"

Ash's head turned to her before his eyes fell down upon him, he frowned as he stared at the neat line of holes which had cleanly punctured through his armour and into his body, cold dark blood slowly leaked from them. He clicked his tongue "I am not that injured." his anger died away and left only an exhausted frown "...I almost forgot how much I hate mimics."

"Dead...now…" Havel grunted, kicking the burning corpse for good measure before his helmet's attention fell onto the glowing rock in Ash's hand "Twin...kling...tita...nite?"

"Hmmm." Ash nodded, raising his prize up with an aggrieved look "As unfortunate as it is to admit...this is useful." before he lowered his hand and moved it towards his bottomless box "For now...lets just go."

"Y-yeah…" Ritsuka numbly nodded his head, eyes darting between the burning corpse and Ash "Think that might be enough treasure hunting, right Captain?"

"Probably." Drake admitted as she climbed to her feet, dusting herself down "...Well, thank you for the save."

"I'm more durable than you." Ash replied, still looking down at his bottomless box as he deposited the Twinkling titanite within it "And whatever else, you are still important enough that protecting you is a given." his head raised itself and he sent a pointed expression towards her "Don't do it again."

"I didn't think it would try and eat me!" Drake exclaimed, throwing her hands up "How was I supposed to expect that!?"

"Because you're a mimics favourite prey." Ash scoffed "The type who'll leap at opportunity to acquire treasure." clicking his tongue, he turned away "There is a reason that greed is not commonly practised where I come from. It more often than not gets you killed."

Ash turned on his heel without waiting for a reply and marched towards the nearest exit, quickly disappearing into the darkness and leaving all the other Servants behind.

"...Well." Drake let out a sigh "That was my bad right there...probably got a bit too excitable."

The continued voyage throughout the cave system was far more sombre, the sudden attack by the Mimic and its surprising show of strength had left everyone on edge more so than they had been, Drake especially was paying close attention to the corners. Ritsuka, however, was still concerned about Ash.

Giving Mash a small parting, he jogged towards the front of the small exploratory party – passing by Drake as he did so – and quickly caught sight of the back of the Saber, a torch held in his left hand and illuminating their way forwards. Ritsuka quickly closed the gap between the two of them and fell into step alongside the Servant.

Ash's eyes briefly glanced down for a few moments before they returned to their original direction, the two remaining in a comfortable silence before the Unkindled eventually spoke up. "Are you still concerned about my health, Ritsuka?"

"A little bit." He replied with his attention now drawn to the puncture marks along his chest and back "Sure you're alright?"

"A mimic can do far more damage than this." Ash gestured with his free hand towards the wounds "I suppose we can count ourselves fortunate that none of us died."

"Right...so that was something from your world?" Ritsuka inquired with a disturbed expression "Was everything like that?"

"Out to kill you?" Ash gave a half shrug "Yes. Mimics are horrible but as long as you can recognise them they are easily countered." he paused for a few moments as a grimace came to him "But they can be in possession of useful materials."

"Like the glowing rock?"

Ash gave a single nod "Twinkling Titanite. The metal of the Gods." he explained.

"Woah...sounds useful." Ritsuka hummed "So would you say it paid off?"

A grumbled sigh was his answer "...In part. However, that did not make it any less risky for us. I've seen a Mimic kill a Demon, they are formidable and we are fortunate to have outnumbered it so."

The Master nodded his head lightly in response "...You're still angry, aren't you?"

"Angry?" Ash frowned "I'm irritated but we have been able to gain something out of this venture, so it is not a wasted effort." his expression reverted to a more passive one "I already have some Titanite but having surplus in case of an emergency is always practical."

Ritsuka furrowed his brows at Ash "I-is that...are you actually okay with this?"

Ash shrugged "I still believe we should have returned to the ship after having the Fog Wall taken down, however this venture has not been as pointless as it could have been." pursing his lips, he gave a single nod "Perhaps it will also be valuable experience for Drake to not carelessly open chests in the future, or teach her that ventures such as this can very easily end in death."

"A learning experience then?"

"I suppose so." Ash admitted "Although it was rather tame for a learning experience – given the lack of dying – but the message remains the same. Despite this, I am dubious as to whether it will stick."

Ritsuka stared at Ash in silence for a few moments before he eventually decided to voice the question brewing in his head "Ash...if we hadn't gotten anything from this, would you be angry?"

"It would have meant we would have wasted valuable time on nothing." Ash replied instantly "We would have gained nothing as well. Despite the unnecessary fight with the Mimic, we have obtained something we can use and therefore this was not a meaningless endeavour." he shrugged "That's really all I can say about it."

The Master's eyes squinted at Ash with his face slowly morphing into a conflicted expression, something about that reasoning didn't sound right to him. What Ash had said wasn't wrong, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about it which wasn't correct. Did they get something out of this? They did, but Ritsuka felt as though there had to be more than their exploration than just getting something and calling it a day.

"How long do you think they'll be?" David asked as he looked down at Oscar, the man released a quiet hum as he stared at his fishing line going over the side of the ship.

"I've not much experience in exploration." He admitted with a self-depreciating chuckle "My first true adventure lasted for barely a month before I went hollow. I was not of great skill either, so perhaps It was also my own shortcomings which lengthened it."

David remained silent for a few moments before he looked over towards the sea "Have you managed to catch anything yet?"

"Not as of yet, no." Oscar replied without much in the way of annoyance at his lack of success, it was closer to resignation "Although I feel as though a burden has been lifted over my shoulders as of late."

"Yes, if I were to hazard a guess I would say that whatever was keeping the ship stuck here is gone." The Ancient King stated "That is good news, I should imagine they will return soon."

"I should like to believe so." Oscar commented "All accounted for as well, it has been some time since I had sane company and would rather not lose it."

"I'm sure we'll be fine." David reassured with a carefree tone "It's a voyage on the sea with a famous ship captain and myself as a humble shepherd. There's very little that can go wrong."

Oscar's head turned to look at the man over his shoulder "I do not wish to cause offence to you, but I am still surprised you are a King."

"Really?" David blinked, then frowned "Well, I was a Shepherd first and the two roles aren't that different from eachother."

"I...I believe they are." Oscar looked him up and down "Are they not?"

"They both involve guiding your flock." David shrugged "Both man and animals have a plan within God's design and be it a Shepherd of either, you still work towards fulfilling it. I trust that everything I do is in accordance with God's will and for me, that is enough."

"Hmm." Oscar hummed "I envy this singular confidence you have that all your actions are fulfilling in some way. You are certainly less overbearing than some of the Clerics in Astora." he paused for a few moments "Do not tell Bishop Havel of this."

"Hahaha!" David gave a boisterous laugh in response "He's a reasonable man once you get to know him, an odd fascination with mages to be sure but not a terrible one." his laughter died down "In truth, it is probably best he does not know more of my legend as well."

"Truly?"

"Well...my successor was a Mage as well, you know." His expression softened "A good one too as I'm led to believe. Most people know him as a King though." he waved his hand, looking up and staring across the horizon "Just one of those things. Looking back at it now...I didn't think he could have been anything other than a King."

"It must be rewarding, to have your life so cleanly laid before you." Oscar sighed "I am quite envious...I do not know if I ever truly had a fate."

"Is it rewarding?" David blinked "I like to think that some of the most rewarding parts of life are discovering God's plan as you go...but I was a different sort of person and so was he."

"...Are you proud of him?"

"Proud of him…" David frowned "Pride...well, they say pride is a Sin. But I am glad he built the Temple to God. So I'm proud of the achievement." he tilted his head "As for pride in his Kingship? Well...I don't know if I could have pride in it because I don't think he did either." he shrugged "That's neither here nor there though. I did my thing and Solomon did his."

Oscar stared at him for a few moments before he released a small huff of amusement "My father once told me that to take pride in another man's work is conceited. I suppose you're similar enough." he paused "Then again, he was a fisherman."

"Simple trade." David smiled "See? We wise men all have humble beginnings. Although I wonder if I'm special?"

"And there it goes." Oscar released an amused breath "Well, you have a better sense of humour at least."

"Thanks." David pat him on the back, then looked over the side "I think you have a bite." his head nodded down to the water surface, Oscar followed his gaze and saw his fishing line begin to bob and move, creating ripples beneath it.

"So I do." Oscar's lip slowly curved into a faint smile "I had feared my skill gone for good."

"Eh, it's like herding sheep." David dismissed "Although it will go a lot better if you listen to my exact instructions…"

"How much longer do you intend to spend in this dreary place?" Euryale gave a weary sigh "It is ill-befitting of a Goddess."

"Weren't you here first?" Boudica sent her a flat look, the Goddess responded with one of her own.

"I was inside the Labyrinth. There is a marked difference between something with a sense of architecture behind it and a musty cave." She frowned, resting her hands on Asterios helmet and patting it down "If it weren't for Asterios being so helpful as to carry me, I'd have to dirty my feet walking along the floor alongside the rest of you."

"How...terrible…" Havel grunted as he walked past her, the complete lack of emotion in his voice caused the girl to let out an indignant noise.

"Honestly, it's as if Asterios here is the only one who truly appreciates a Goddess." Euryale pouted, crossing her arms "Although...I am quite curious as to the one whom seemed to get along with 'me'." her smile turned more mischievous "I wonder...Gwyndolin, certainly an interesting name."

Havel briefly stopped, looking over his shoulder at the girl for a few moments before he turned away and continued his walk. The reaction was not missed by the Goddess, whose eyes instantly narrowed in suspicion at the Berserker and a sly smile formed upon her lips "Oooh~ Do you perhaps know the name of the God?"

"Long...time...ago…" Havel replied "Doesn't...matter…"

"I should think it matters." Euryale cooed "After all, he's apparently enamoured with 'me'." she paused "Not that I blame him, after all. The beauty of 'me' and myself is truly special. Perhaps it takes a God to understand true beauty after all."

Havel's helmet turned to her, the Berserker stared up at her for a few moments before a quiet scoff of incredulity escaped his helmet and he turned away "What...ever…" his clear dismissal had the Goddess frown at him, her eyes dulling over before letting out a huff of her own and looking away.

Boudica watched the 'conversation' with morbid curiosity before she leaned towards Archer at her side "He's very casual about meeting a God, isn't he?"

"Considering he has history with the Gods, I would be more surprised if he showed a reaction at all." Archer dryly replied "I imagine he just doesn't care."

"Hmm." Boudica hummed "Still, what about you?"

"Considering we've already been burgled by the Goddess Artemis and we have another Moon God who occasionally patrols Chaldea, there isn't much to be surprised by the appearance of another God." He shrugged "If what I've heard is also true, they encountered a War God in France on both occasions they went there." the tanned Servant let out a resigned sigh "At this point I should think we'll have to get used to the notion of meeting Divine Spirits."

"I suppose that's true." The Rider admitted before a thoughtful look came to her face "I wonder if I'll be able to give proper thanks to the Goddess Andraste."

Archer's face looked as though he'd sucked a lemon "I'd rather keep encounters with Divine Spirits to a minimum, considering how most legends involving them normally end with someone being cursed or dying." he nodded towards Euryale and Asterios "Take those two for example."

Boudica sighed "I realise they aren't always the best ends, but it would still be something I would be truly grateful for." looking back down the tunnel, a warm smile came to her "If only because she granted me her blessing to fight the Romans, despite the fact I did fail she still bestowed her favour upon me."

"Hmph." Archer grunted in response "Do as you will."

Ash paused, holding his right hand up and causing those behind him to stop.

"What is it?" Ritsuka asked him, feeling a sense of worry enter him as the Saber seemingly stared into nothing ahead of them.

"Can you feel that?" Ash asked, the Master blinked before he went to answer. Before he could provide and answer, he felt something tickle the side of his face. His head turned away from Ash and faced the direction they had been walking.

"I...I can feel a breeze." Ritsuka widened his eyes "That means we're almost out!"

"Indeed." Ash nodded his head "Come, once we are free of these tunnels we can make out way back to the ship." emerald eyes briefly glanced at Ritsuka "I admit, I am curious as to how you will explain this detour to Olga."

Ritsuka's expression froze, his eyes glassing over as Ash raised a very good point. It was very, very good point and he – rather unfortunately – was left without a means of answering that at the present time. The Director would probably be more than unhappy at the detour and not immediately contacting her. His mind already went to work in trying to figure out an excuse.

"Senpai?" Mash's concerned from behind him brought his attention to the Shielder standing behind him "Are you alright?"

"...Ask me again after we contact Chaldea." Ritsuka cringed "Unless…" he trailed off, looking towards Ash "Hey...how valuable is that titanite stuff?"

"Twinkling titanite was the rarest that could be found." Ash replied before raising an eyebrow "Do you intend to use it curry favour with Olga?"

"Do you think it would work?"

Ash shrugged "I never found a use for it aside from reinforcing my weapons but if you believe she might be able to find an alternative use for it, then I do not see the harm. I still have more mundane titanite within my box of varying sizes."

"That's not an answer." Ritsuka replied with a slightly pleading expression at this point.

"We all face the consequences of irrelevant actions in different ways." Ash replied with a perfect mask of an expression "For Drake it was the Mimic...for you?" he let out a quiet hum "I cannot say, it depends on how pleased Olga is with the materials and if she can find a use for them."

"That sounds quite…" Mash struggled to find the correct words for a few moments before replying "Cold." she decided on "Although I do agree with him, Senpai." Ritsuka shot her a slightly betrayed look which had her flinch "Well...The Director might not be happy we didn't immediately contact her."

Ritsuka's shoulders slumped "I know...at least Roman will be on my side, right?"

"I do not know if that is an achievement you should boast of." The girl frowned "Doctor Roman is quite absent minded at times." she squinted her eyes ahead of her "I think…" they widened before a relieved smile came to her face "I can see light, Senpai!"

"That the way out then?" Drake's voice echoed out behind them, the sounds of footsteps soon followed as the woman closed in. Ash took a single step to his left to allow her to walk past him, she sported an oddly impassive expression upon her face. Giving a single nod, she jerked her head towards the faint glimmer of light towards the end of the tunnel "Well, looks like our adventure is almost over then, eh?"

"Hm." Ash grunted and soon began walking ahead of the Captain "So it seems. With luck we will not be far from the shoreline so our journey towards the ship is not arduous."

Drake pursed her lips and gave a single shrug "Well. That's the response I was expecting to be honest." she turned to Mash and cracked a smile "Come on kid, my instinct is kicking in again."

Ritsuka paled "Is it the same as last time?"

The Captain cackled, slapping the boy on the back and sending him stumbling forwards "Nah! Nothin' like that. This is my instinct that says ' something good will happen'."

"There's an instinct for that?" Mash inquired with a downright awe filled expression "That's amazing, Captain Drake!"

"Hehe!" Giving another short laugh, she ventured on ahead of the two of them "Come on then." gradually picking up the pace until she was in a fast paced walk while not quite being a jog "I got a good feeling!"

Ash heard her footsteps gradually getting louder behind him before he stepped aside, allowing Drake to pass him with her usual expression of mirth. His own face remained blank as she passed him, he craned his head back to see Ritsuka and Mash soon follow after her and moving passed himself as well.

Letting out a weary sigh, he picked up his own pace as well so as to keep up with the two of them. The light at the end of the tunnel gradually grew in size, intensifying as they approached with the strength of the breeze picking up into a gentle current accompanied why a quiet whistling sound of wind.

Drake was the first to clear the mouth of the cave, instantly being bathed in light as she came to a halt at the foot of a small drop further down into the island. The woman paused and stared straight ahead, her hands moving down to rest on her hips as her expression softened.

The sounds of Ritsuka and Mash's arrival soon followed, the boy sounding far more out of breath than the Shielder – which was to be expected – although still not panting. The Master paused as his vision cleared, his eyes growing accustomed to the sudden change in lighting, and his breath caught in his throat. Arms falling limply by his sides as he slowly moved towards where Drake was stood.

Mash herself had all but frozen and remained so long after the other Servants had emerged from the cave and moved to stand outside, her eyes were still transfixed on the sight that lay before her.

"-ould be getting through now." Ritsuka blinked at the sudden voice, mutely aware that he was raising his wrist and pressing down on the button "Ah! Fujimaru-kun!" Roman's relieved voice echoed through the speaker "Thank goodness, we were worried when we lost contact with you but-"

"Roman…" Ritsuka cut him off quietly "Can you just...be quiet for a few moments…"

"...eh?" Roman's voice almost cracked as Ritsuka activated the holographic screen "What do you...oh." the Master span the projection around so as to give the command centre the same view. "...Wow…"

"Hey, Mash." Drake called back to the Shielder, turning around and giving her a lopsided smile "How good would you say my instinct was?"

Mash didn't reply, still staring ahead of herself towards the horizon.

The Sun was already halfway set with the gentle orange rays being reflected by the expanse of ocean which seemed to go on forever, with barely a cloud in the sky there was nothing to obscure the view from them. It was almost as if a painting had come to life.

For Mash, it had been the first time she had ever seen something like this in person. Seeing pictures was one thing, but to see a sunset like this and feel the gentle breath of the wind against her skin was something else entirely.

"Senpai…" Mash quietly called out, Ritsuka slowly turned his head towards her, the Shielder's lips traced themselves into an awe-filled smile "I'm glad we could stop to see this…" Ritsuka's own lips quirked upwards at her reaction, giving her a slow nod as he cast his sight back across the horizon.

Drake watched her reaction with faint glint of softness on her face before her eyes fell onto the others, most of whom were watching the sunset with varied expressions of awe themselves. Save Havel and Archer, the former was hidden behind his helm and the latter still held that blank expression on his face although his shoulders had relaxed themselves considerably.

Then her eyes fell to Ash.

The Saber's eyes were upon the sunset without even a hint of emotion in them.

Ash himself stared at it for a few moments, his lips drawn into a thin line, before he looked around towards everyone else and finally falling onto Mash's expression. Her own face full of wonder which he had not seen present in the young girl before, as if she had found something.

For the life of him, he could not understand what they saw in the sunset. He was a Warrior of Sunlight so he gave praise to the Sun but it was always something that gave him meaning. As long as the Sun rose, there would always be a tomorrow. He knew he lacked the same devotion as Solaire, he could tell that when he first met the Saber. Had that man been here now, Ash wasn't sure what he would do.

Still, he was glad that Mash had found something in the Sun's rays.

'Like a warm father indeed.' He thought to himself as he crossed his arms, completely missing the almost pitiful look that Drake was sending him as she turned away.

"...Well." Drake crossed her arms "We should probably get going, no?"

"Hmm." Ritsuka gave a gentle hum as reply "Yeah."

"Someone got a picture of this, right?" Roman whispered to the control room.

"Don't worry, I got it." Kerry's voice came through soon after "Anyone want a copy or am I printing this thing out?"

"Depends on if the Director even lets us use the printer." Roman replied "I don't think we have much in the way of spare ink."

"Fair enough."

David and Oscar stared at the new arrivals with unblinking expressions for a few moments before their eyes moved away from Asterios and Euryale and towards the rest of the Servants – and Drake – with equal looks of bewilderment. David's expression soon morphed into one of amusement.

"I know that you can find some interesting things while going exploring…" He chuckled, levelling his hand in the direction of the two new Servants "I wasn't quite expecting this."

"I confess, this development is a shock to me as well." Oscar murmured, staring at Euryale with an expression of pure awe "You...You are truly a Goddess?"

"I am indeed." Euryale nodded with a smug look upon her face "You are clearly ensnared by my beauty, no?"

"W-well, I…" Oscar fidgeted, soon taking his helmet out from under the crook of his arm and placing it back atop his head "I-I will um…" his voice cracked slightly as he turned away from them "Make sure the ship is well cleaned...new crewmembers to...right." he shuffled away, casting one final glance over his shoulder at the pair before darting off.

Euryale watched the reaction with visible satisfaction before turning her head towards the others "That is the type of reaction you should have when in the presence of one such as I." she smirked "Clearly he and Asterios are the only ones who recognise my true beauty."

"Yeah, yeah." Drake dismissively waved "You're pretty as a peach, whatever you say." the woman stopped in the centre of the ship and soon shouted out "Raise the sails! We're setting off away from here!"

"Aye, Captain!" The crew hollered back before Drake turned around to stare at Euryale and Asterios.

"Gotta find something you two and do now…" Her eyes fell on Euryale and frowned "Well, you're a bit too small for much physical labour...don't think you'd be much good at it either."

"Are you suggesting that a Goddess such as myself should dirty her hands in the muck alongside this rabble?" Euryale spoke with an indignant tone "I am to be worshipped like the pillar of beauty that I am, not seen scrubbing floors and-"

"Okay, okay…" Drake pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh "Well...you can be our good omen then." she decided on "I'm sure you can bless our voyage or something, right?"

"If it's blessing you're after, I will require appropriate worship." She leaned back into her throne of white fluffy hair with a coy smile "But I'm sure you can manage something of that calibre, no?" she then paused as she realised something, her eyes snapping down to Ritsuka "Ah yes...I can speak with the God who became enamoured with 'me' now can't I?"

"H-huh?" Ritsuka blinked, his head snapping up to Euryale and mouth forming an 'O' shape "You want to talk with Gwyndolin?"

"Yes."

"Alright then." Ritsuka muttered, pressing the communicator on his wrist "Roman?"

"Hm?" The Doctor's face appeared on the screen, the man looked up from whatever was on the monitor to his left and towards Ritsuka "Is there something wrong, Fujimaru-kun?"

"Not really." He replied "It's just that Euryale-"

"Eurgh!?" Romani released a violent cough "W-what!? Another Goddess!?"

"What!?" Ritsuka winced at the Director's high pitched scream that came off from the Doctor's left, the woman soon appeared onto the screen and pushed Romani out of the way and fixing her wide eyes onto Ritsuka "You've encountered another Divine Spirit!?"

"Y-yes." Ritsuka nodded his head quickly "Euryale of the Gor-"

"I know that." Olga sharply cut him off before composing herself "I suppose your lack of communication for the last hour can be explained if you were dealing with a Goddess." she frowned as she looked him over "You don't appear injured and I know that Doctor Romani would have made me aware of anything of the like." pursing her lips, a sudden thought came to mind "I assume the Goddess is with you now?"

"Yeah…" Ritsuka absently nodded his head, looking up towards Euryale and Asterios "We managed to get her help and the help of her friend."

"Friend?" Olga raised an eyebrow "Another Servant?"

"Yep." Ritsuka replied, turning back to the Director and giving her a smile "His name is Asterios-"

"The Minotaur!?" Ritsuka winced – once again – at the volume of the scream "Are you-!?"

"Hey!" Euryale shouted down at the Director "At the very least call Asterios by his name. He is my guardian and therefore deserves some common decency."

"H-huh?" Olga sputtered "Wha…" her eyes snapped back to Ritsuka "...Well...I suppose having the Minotaur from the Labyrinth would be a valuable ally." she frowned "Have you discovered any clues relating to the Holy Grail yet?"

"Not as of late." Ritsuka shook his head "Although we did encounter a monster from Ash's world!" he cheerfully exclaimed with a strained look.

Olga gave him a raised eyebrow, standing up straight and cupping her chin "Perhaps the link between the two worlds is growing stronger." she muttered under her breath.

"It's not impossible." Romani chimed in "The other Singularities drew in creatures of mystical origin that should have long since departed the world, even in the time period you're in." he shrugged "Perhaps the Grail in this era is drawing them in as well. It is certainly something we'll have to watch out for." the Doctor's eyes fell on Ritsuka as he pulled his chair forwards "What can you tell us about the creature you encountered?"

"It was disguised as a treasure chest." Ritsuka replied with a distant look "Moment the lid came off it sprouted arms and legs...also the lid was a big mouth."

"...Well that's…" Romani blinked "That seems really horrible. Kind of the worst monster a pirate could ever encounter now that I think about it." he paused for a few moments "What about combat wise?"

"It tried to eat Ash."

"...Ooooh." Romani cringed "Is he alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Ritsuka nodded "Well, we did get it. Although it was a lot quicker than I thought it would be." he frowned "Ash called them a 'Mimic'."

"With a natural disguise I can see why." Romani nodded his head "You'll have to be more careful of treasure chests in the future, Fujimaru-kun." he replied with a tone of absolute seriousness.

"Or not go opening chests at random." Olga dryly replied "So, what else did you have to report?"

"Well...Euryale wanted to speak with Gwyndolin." Ritsuka explained "She says she wants to meet the person who got along with her sister."

Romani and Olga stared at him, then looked at eachother and then back to Ritsuka "You called us...so she could speak with Gwyndolin?"

"Yes."

"And not because you wanted to tell us about your encounter with a phantasmal being from another world?"

"When you put it like that…" The Master muttered under his breath "So...where is Gwyndolin?"

"I'll…" Romani sighed, spinning around in his chair and rolling it towards another desk "I'll call him."

Olga continued to stare at Ritsuka blankly for a few moments before speaking again "Your priorities are disturbing skewered." she spoke with a dead tone "Anything else?"

"We found something Ash calls 'Metal of the Gods'."

"...Of course you did." Olga grumbled as she pinched her nose "And of course its apparently nothing but a mere afterthought at this point."

"...Sorry."

"Don't-" She cut herself off with a loud sigh "Just...just keep searching for the Grail."

"Alright." Ritsuka gave a small nod "We'll let you know if we encounter anything else."

"Hmm." The screen shut off, Ritsuka remained stationary for a few moments before looking up at Euryale – who was still staring expectantly – and gave her a half smile.

"They're just getting him now."

"Hmph."

"So…" David came to a stop next to Havel, his face in a mirthful smile "First impressions of another God?"

"Piti...ful…" Havel grunted without looking down at the man "Tiny...girl...like...doll…"

"I imagine that's probably the point." David admitted "There is an ethereal nature to her beauty that can't really be matched by other women…" he paused for a few moments "Aside from Abishag, of course." he shrugged "I can see how some might be tempted to fall for her?"

Havel paused in his work, slowly craning his head towards the man "Bea...uty?" the Berserker's voice was incredulous as he stared at the Archer, then looked over to Euryale and then back to the Archer "...Bit...young...no?"

David stared at the Berserker "She's got to be thousands of years old." he pointed out "She probably looks good for her age."

"Am...fifteen...thousand...years." He replied, David paused and stared at Havel with wide eyes.

"Oh...should I refer to you as an honoured Elder?"

"…"

"I joke!" David let out a laugh – while also taking a single step away from the Berserker – and raised his hands in surrender "But man...that's quite the surprise. Although considering I can feel a sliver of Divinity from you, I imagine that might be it." he cupped his chin "Still...I am a Servant of God first and foremost, and I won't be tempted by any other divinity." he nodded his head "I am loyal only to Abishag."

"…" Havel continued to stare at him in silence for a few moments before slowly looking away from the Archer, staring down at the cannon in front of him and then moving his hand towards the cloth he was using to polish it "Al...right…"

"A full on Lord…" Oscar still muttered to himself "It's...never in my wildest fantasies could I ever have imagined meeting one."

Ash stared at him, then furrowed his brows "I...suppose?" he frowned "Although I imagine you never encountered one before."

"No." Oscar shook his head "I was only a recent arrival into Lordran and was unable to spend much more than a week there before I lost myself to the curse." he let out a disbelieving chuckle "It is...I still cannot believe there is one here!"

The Unkindled shrugged his shoulders as he moved towards the swords on the rack "I have met more impressive Gods...but they were different, I suppose." he admitted "They were either Lords of Cinder or...of Gwyn's family."

Oscar paused and looked towards Ash "Y...you met those who linked the fire and those of Lord Gwyn's family?" he whispered in shock before breaking into a louder laugh "Hahahaha! I-I can imagine this is quite the common event for you, no?" the laugh died down as the man turned away "To think you lived such a storied life...I am jealous, I admit."

"It...it is nothing to be jealous over." Ash sighed "Besides, her purpose appears to be better suited towards idol worship."

Oscar blinked once before nodding his head "Like the Goddess Gwynevere then." releasing a hum, the man went about polishing the swords "Yes, that makes sense...what of the creature with you?"

"His name is Asterios." Ash replied "He's…" the unkindled shrugged "I'm told he is a minotaur."

"...What is a minotaur?"

"I do not know."

The early rays of dawn and gentle breeze were soon signalled by the awakening of crew members. The Master was one of the first onto the deck, stretching his arms out before he moved up towards the top of the ship, near where Drake was steering the ship - having awoken earlier - before coming to a halt at the top of the stairs "Do we have a new heading, Captain?"

Drake shrugged "Don't know." she sighed "Been quiet waters since we picked up those two yesterday. Haven't spotted anything so far. We'll probably have to sail around until we spot another island…" she grimaced "Or we could end up running into him."

"...Him?" Ritsuka blinked, tilting his head slightly "Who's him?"

"An asshole." She grumbled "Been harassing me and my boys for a little over a week before your lot arrived. Been able to avoid him often enough but he keeps turning up when you don't want to see him."

Ritsuka frowned "Do you think we'll be in trouble?"

The woman paused, her lips pulling into a tight frown "Hard to say. Until you arrived I've been trying to escape confrontations with him." her eyes snapped to Ritsuka before her mouth pulled itself into a confident smile "But now I got crew such as yourselves, I'd say we'd manage to send him running."

The Master released a barely amused breath from his lips, shaking his head and turning away to move down the stairs.

"Master." He stopped when he heard Archer's voice in his head, looking up towards the crows nest where the Servant had assumed the position as lookout "I think there might be trouble."

"What do you mean?" Ritsuka frowned "What do you see?"

"A ship in the distance to the aft-starboard. Around two kilometres out." The Servant replied with an edge in his voice "It's moving fast too, even if it had the wind on its side the speed its travelling isn't possible without some method of enhancement."

Ritsuka felt his blood run cold "A Servant?"

"Most likely. You should alert the Captain and ready the other Servants."

"Got it." He replied "Good work, Archer."

"Don't thank me for doing my job." The Servant's dry voice came back "I still can't clearly make out the crew, but I shall inform you of further developments."

Ritsuka released a small snort before turning around and facing Drake "Captain, Archer says he's spotted a ship closing in on us."

Drake scowled "What direction?"

"Aft-starboard."

"Tch!" She clicked her tongue "Closing fast, I'm guessing."

"Yeah."

"Great…" She grumbled "All hands to attention!" she bellowed out "Man the guns! We've got a clipper coming up on our aft-starboard!"

The crew instantly bolted into action, frantically running around as Drake scowled "Open water too and not a cloud in the sky." she hissed "Damn, bet you're feeling really clever this time scallywag." she grumbled under her breath "Tell that Archer bloke to keep the ship in sight." she ordered Ritsuka, the Master gave single nod and darted down the stairs.

Oscar and Ash paused as they heard a heavy commotion coming from the decks above them, the pair of Saber's frowned before they looked to eachother.

"That is not the sound of good news." Oscar grimly spoke "I fear as though something is happening."

"Quite so." Ash frowned, setting down the sword he was polishing and moving to the door "Lets move."

"Indeed." The undead followed after him, the pair of Saber's quickly making their way above deck just in time to see the crewmembers all rushing to prepare the cannons alongside the ship with Havel, Boudica and David all doing their best to provide help where they could.

As for Euryale and Asterios, the former held a look of resignation on her face while the latter remained stationary.

"Ash-san, Oscar-san!" Mash called out to the pair, bringing their attention towards her "We've got a ship closing in on us fast."

"Not just any ship." Roman's voice popped up as he rematerialized the screen next to her, his expression set in a heavy frown "Looking at these readings, I'm sensing at least half a dozen Servants approaching you...such a tightly knit together group as well." he frowned.

"It means prepare yourselves for combat." Olga cut off his musings "Mash, protect your Master." her eyes turned to Ash "You two should make ready to fight as well, Francis Drake is the holder of the Grail and as such can at least hold her own against some Servants but it only goes so far."

"Keep Captain Drake alive then." Oscar surmised "I shall endeavour to see this duty completed. You have my word, Milady."

"R-right." Olga stuttered, slightly caught off-guard by the tone he used before composing herself again "Understood?" her eyes fell onto Ash, the Saber remained silent for some time before he gave a small nod in response. Satisfied, Olga pressed a button and the screen disappeared.

"Closing on us fast…" Drake muttered to herself, then looked to Ritsuka "How good is Archer at shooting things?"

"I…" He paused "Archer? How skilled are you at shooting things?"

"...I'm an Archer, Master." The Servant dryly responded "Given my class, I would hope to exhibit some modicum of skill in the profession. I should be able to hit them from here, but Arash is certainly more skilled than I."

"But you can do it?"

"I can." Archer agreed "Is that your order to open fire?"

Ritsuka looked over to Drake for a few moments before closing his eyes and releasing a sigh "Yeah…"

"Understood." Archer responded, the servant held his hand out and a large black steel bow manifested in his left hand. Blue energy coalesced around his right as he manifested a simple arrow and nocked it into the metal wire and pulled, the bow released a groaning sound as it bent as far back as it could before Archer released it in the direction of the other ship.

The projectile shot through the sky with a trail of red light left behind in its wake, a muzzle flash went off in the distance before the arrow was consumed in a small explosion. Archer released a small hum "It appears they have an Archer Servant of their own."

"Is it going to be a problem?"

"It is certainly going to be vexing." Archer admitted as he prepared another arrow "But it depends how skilled they are."

Ritsuka made to reply before he heard a clunk of metal behind him, he turned around to see Ash with a bow made of pure steel and taller than he was. The Unkindled Saber proceeded to nock an arrow larger than his arm – and looking more like a small spear than an arrow – and aim it in the direction of the enemy ship.

"A-Ash!?" Ritsuka sputtered "I thought...I didn't know you could use a bow!"

"I am Unkindled Ritsuka." Ash replied with a steady voice as he pulled the string back as far as it would go "There are few weapons I cannot use."

Before Ritsuka could make a reply to that claim, he heard an amused chuckle from behind him, turning around he saw Boudica watching the exchange with a hint of amusement in her eyes "An Archer who uses swords and a Saber who uses a bow." she commented before giving an exaggerated roll of her eyes "...Should I be expecting a Caster who uses a spear next?"

Ash release the arrow with such force that Ritsuka felt his hair flutter slightly, the spear – because it couldn't have been anything else – shot across the surface of the water before it seemingly impacted something in the air and instead of hitting the ship dead on, seemed to veer off-course and strike the bow and an angle and glance off the planks and slam into the water.

"Hmmm." Ash frowned "It would appear the Archer is of passing skill."

"He shot your arrow out of the air." Oscar commented as he rushed past, having caught a glimpse of the attack "I believe that goes beyond passing."

"True enough." Ash agreed as he nocked another arrow, this one being equally as long but much simpler and in the shape of a traditional arrow. He then paused as he noticed something "...They do not appear to be slowing down."

Ritsuka blinked and then looked towards the ship – getting larger by the second so that he could make out most of the details of it at this point – as it continued to approach them without any sign that it was going to slow down.

Or change course.

"Is-!?" Mash's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull "Are they going to ram us!?"

"Hard to starboard!" Drake shouted out after coming to the same realisation "Try and turn into them! We'll unload a broadside!"

"Aye, Captain!" The crew leaned heavily as Drake span the wheel and caused the ship to abruptly turn, flashes of red light still continuing to dance through the sky as Archer maintained his salvo upon the enemy Servants. At this point only few of his arrows were getting through and they didn't appear to be causing much in the way of damage to the ship.

"Something's wrong with that ship…" Boudica frowned "It might be similar to my Chariot."

"A noble Phantasm then?" Ash frowned as he took aim with the bow "Most unfortunate then."

"Broadside!" Drake shouted out as the ship continued to turn "Sight the masts and prepare to fire on my command!"

Ash released another arrow towards the ship, this time the projectile hit home.

And bounced off the hull without so much as leaving a scratch.

"...Oh." Ash blinked "It seems as though Rider was correct."

"So it seems." Boudica frowned "That is quite the mount as well." she pushed Ritsuka behind her and rested her hand on the pommel of her straight sword. Mash took it as a cue for her to move in front of Ritsuka as ship closed in on them.

"Fire all!" Drake ordered, the gunners lowered the igniting sticks onto the fuses and covered their ears. The cannons cried out as gun power exploded and propelled the steel balls across the surface of the water and directly into the ship – the few that were even close anyway – but once again, failing to do no form of damage.

"Damn!" Drake cursed as she continued to try and turn the ship "They're still closing! Cannons did nothing either!"

"Master, I'm going to try something." Archer's voice came through Ritsuka's ear "I suggest covering your ears, they'll soon be too close."

"Go ahead!" Ritsuka encouraged him.

Archer took in a deep breath as he held out his right hand, the shape of a coiled sword soon began to take form before he nocked it into the string. Pulling back the 'arrow' the weapon groaned as the steel elongated into a thinner shape. Archer focused his eyes entirely on the centre of the ship towards the base of the mast.

"I Am The Bone Of My Sword." The words of power left his lips easily as the sword began to hum with power, soon degrading into a crackle as fractures appeared in the weapon itself "My Core is Twisted In Madness."

He made to released "Calad-" he let out a cry of pain instead as something slammed into his shoulder, his aim abruptly jerked off to the side as he released the arrow in completely the wrong direction. The coiled sword tore through space as it soared far above the ship in question before disappearing into the distance.

The Archer servant stumbled back, clasping his right limb as the trail of blood soon began to follow. His eyes narrowed at the wound before a fizzled of light dissipated and revealed a simple wooden arrow buried in his shoulder. He grimaced as he jumped from the crows nest towards the centre of the ship, his boots roughly collided with the ground as he rolled to the side.

"Archer!" Mash's worried voice came to his ears, almost making him wanting to crack a sarcastic comment. He was in a bit too much pain for that.

"What happened?" Oscar grabbed his uninjured shoulder and pulled him away whilst raising his shield to cover the pair of them "Their enemy bowman?"

"Uses invisible arrows." Archer cursed his luck as he grabbed the shaft and pulled it free, hissing in pain. "No wonder I didn't see it."

"Quite the trick." Oscar grimly remarked "How wounded?"

"Knew where to shoot me." He sighed "Won't be able to stop them all that much now." he stared at his left arm, his fingers twitched slightly "As for how long it will take to heal...not long, but in our situation."

"Tis far too long." Oscar surmised "Worry not, the fault of this does not lie with you." the Saber assured him as he rested the Servant down "We will make do."

"Hm." Archer grunted "I'm not an invalid. I can still fight." he tried to roll his shoulder and cringed "...Not as well as I used to though."

"Brace for impact!" Drake called out as she tried to turn the ship so that it would just graze the bow of the enemy vessel, unfortunately it turned into her. The strut on the bow of the ship aimed straight at the centre of their ship.

"Senpai!" Mash exclaimed as she grabbed Ritsuka and rushed away from the point of impact "Quickly!"

Ash dissipated his bow and made for safety as well, his hand going for the sword on his back.

The vessel slammed into the Golden Hind, the bow punctured through the side of the ship and caused the entire vessel to abruptly jerk to a halt with several crewmembers almost falling over in response.

"Great…" Euryale grumbled to herself, Asterios held onto her side to keep her from falling over as he hunched himself over to keep himself stable "It's him…"

"Eh?" Ritsuka turned to face her with a look of confusion "You mean its…"

"Yes…" She sighed "He's the man's who's been after me." her lips curled downwards into a look of pure disgust "They're also the worlds most perverted Servant."

"...Huh?" Ritsuka wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to respond to that.

Heavy footfalls along the deck of the opposing ship heralded the approach of a man, taller by a head than anyone else on the ship and almost towards the same height as Havel, the figure crested the top of the ship and stared down onto the crew of the Golden Hind.

Ritsuka felt his body tense as the man's eyes scanned the entire compliment, the man's form being fully visible to all at this point as he stared down at them. Wearing a long black coat with his bare chest exposed, a long silver hooked claw extending over his right hand with golden bracelets around both of his wrists, his hair was messy with a furry beard extending down from his face.

The man continued to stare at them with a blank expression before his eyes fell onto one individual in particular, they then gleamed with interest as Euryale felt a disturbed shiver creep up her spine.

"A hook for a hand…" Roman muttered as he stared at the screen "Pirate ship...wait…" he widened his eyes "It couldn't be…"

"What is it Doctor?" Mash asked, preparing herself as they other Servants all readied their weapons in preparation for a fight.

"That Servant's identity...man, its so cliché but I can't think of anyone else who would match the description." The Doctor frowned "If I'm correct...that man is probably the origin for the image brought forth when discussing the concept of 'pirates'. Better known around the world as Black Beard...but his real name is Edward Teach."

"Oh wow…" Ritsuka widened his eyes "T-that's...that's something…"

"I know." Romani grimaced "Be careful Fujimaru-kun, you're dealing with a pirate on their own territory. These readings as well...they're beyond a normal Servant."

"I can see." Olga bit her thumb "...He must be the holder of the Holy Grail we're after."

"...At least our search has ended." David helpfully supplied.

"Not now you air-head!" Romani snapped "This is terrible!"

Blackbeard slowly uncrossed his arms as he stared at Euryale, his lips drawing themselves into a thin line before they slowly parted.

"Euryale-chan!" He exclaimed in a high pitched voice, his expression doing a complete one eighty until it was in a gleeful leer "You're really here! Ahhh!" he cooed "So cute! It's way too cute! I want to lick you up and be licked!" he threw his arms wide "Mainly around the armpits because they're just so soft!" his eyes then widened as an epiphany came to him "Oh! Oh! Please step on my barefooted as well! I want to be walked all over like a little cockroach!"

His words of 'wisdom' seemingly gifted, dead silence spread across the deck of the ship.

Ritsuka found himself blinking several times before he moved his hand up to his ear and cleaned it out with his finger as he tried to ensure he didn't have anything stuck in it.

Boudica's face was scrunched up in a way where she wasn't entirely sure how she was supposed to react to whatever that was, her shoulders had gone slack with her brows furrowed.

At this point, Havel surmised the situation best.

"What...the...fuck?"

AN: Mimic's and Blackbeard! Pretty long Chapter as well, and Archer got snipped before he could use boom sword by someone!

Who was it? All will be revealed in the next chapter!

In the meantime…

Away!