Halloween - The Singing Pumpkin Castle: VI

Spear met sword in a clash of metal, Ash stared up at the slightly taller blonde man as he stared down at the Saber with a slightly narrowed expression, easily pushing the Servant back with his superior strength before spinning the weapon above his head and thrusting it towards his shoulder.

Ash parried the strike to the side, his face remaining passive as he narrowly avoided being run through before he jumped back as Vlad stabbed the butt of the spear into the ground. Ash watched as the ground rumbled before dark stakes burst through the tiles and chased after him. Ash widened his eyes before throwing his left hand forwards and unleashing a black orb of fire directly into the stakes, burning them to dust and halting their advance. His eyes flickered upwards as he locked onto Vlad - the man looking equally impassive at the display - and rushed to the side to flank around him.

He paused when one of the rats jumped up at him through the air, the Saber paused and backhanded the rodent away from him before swinging the sword in his right hand upwards and cleaving the rat in half, the body disappearing into motes of light. He raised a lone eyebrow before he looked over to where Basile was sitting and narrowed his eyes.

Taking a single step forwards, he leaned back as a spear slashed through the air where his head had been before he turned back towards Vlad, the man giving him an almost chiding expression. "I'd advise you not to get distracted, it would hardly 'hype up' this meeting if you were defeated because you were not paying attention."

"Hm." Ash merely hummed in response as he thrust his straightsword forwards and clashed it against the spear once again. Vlad hissed as he managed to sense the metal for the first time, vanishing into a cloud of smoke and shooting across the room to gain some distance before he reformed himself into a solid form.

"A holy sword?" Vlad raised an eyebrow before giving a grim nod "I see. That would indeed be clever to use against one such as myself." pausing, the man stared at the Saber with a hint of intrigue "However, given your own nature would it not be somewhat self-destructive of you to wield such a sword?"

Ash paused before he shrugged "Most opponents I faced were undead." he replied "It is logical to wield weapons that are capable of slaying them more effectively. My own status held little bearing on the situation."

Vlad shrugged, "An adequate point." he admitted before he stabbed the spear into the ground and unleashed a second wave of stakes. This time the stakes snapped off and launched into the air before rushing towards him like a swarm of insects. Ash raised his left hand and released a constant stream of fire, acting as a shield against the stakes and destroying them before they reached him.

Ducking down, he rolled forwards and through the flames as the stakes rushed over his head and embedded themselves into the floor before dissipating. As he rose to his feet, Ash's left hand clasped tightly around the Astoran straight sword and thrust it upwards towards the King. Vlad met the attack with his own downwards slash with the spear. Ash twisted the thrust into a block as the spear fell upon him.

Ash's knees buckled as the full weight of the attack fell upon him and forced him down. Vlad's right hand thrust forwards and unleashed a large stake from the palm aimed at his shoulder. Rolling to the side, Ash narrowly avoided the strike before the King followed through with the attack and struck him in the side of the head with the butt of the spear.

Swinging his left hand to the side, Ash released a stream of fire aimed at the vampire. Vlad vanished into the smoke and shot upwards into the air and managed to avoid being caught in the attack before the smoke rushed down behind the Saber and reformed into a solid shape. Ash turned around as the man stared down at him before he swung the spear upwards and caught him in the chest with an uppercut strike of the spear and launched him backwards.

Ash crashed into a nearby bookcase, sending the tomes flying from the shelves and crashing to the floor. Shaking his head, Ash stood back up only for a rat with the body of a wolf charged him and sunk its fangs into his sword arm. Ash merely stared down at the beast with a raised eyebrow before he pulled his left arm back and punched the animal in the side of the head. The rat dog released a screech as it was forced away from him. Leaning down, Ash roughly grabbed the animal by the scruff of its neck before hurling it across the room towards Vlad.

The vampire sidestepped the flying animal and pursed his lips before he advanced forwards. Then paused at the warcry before he turned around and raised his spear in front of him and blocked the charge from Mash, the girl's shield slammed into his guard and forced him to stumble back in surprise from the rather bold strategy before catching his footing and sliding to a halt, staring past the shield at the girl with a half smile.

"That was a rather bold strategy, young lady." He replied to her with a hint of amusement as he pushed her backwards "However, crying out before delivering a surprise attack defeats the purpose."

Mash winced ever so slightly, flushing in embarrassment "I'm not used to ambushes." she admitted.

"I'm sure you will learn." He paused "Unless you would prefer a frontal assault and given your class, I'd say you are better suited for such engagements." he informed her "Leave the act of sneaking to assassins and the like." he paused before he swept out his leg, kicking the shield to the side and spinning it in Mash's hands as she was distracted. The girl released a surprised cry before Vlad swung the side of the spear towards her ribs.

The girl's expression suddenly hardened as she leaned backwards, the spear sailing just past the top of her body as she swung her left leg upwards in a high kick and caught the man in the chin with the attack, snapping his head back and causing him to release a grunt in surprise. The girl spun on her heel and readjusted herself and assumed a combat posture with the shield tightly held in her right hand and cocked backwards for a thrust.

Vlad slowly lowered his head as he stared down at her with a raised eyebrow, lifting his free hand and rubbing his lip before pulling his hand away and staring at the small drop of dark blood from the split lip he received courtesy of the kick. Releasing a faint chuckle, he gave the girl a smile "As I have said. A frontal offensive."

Kiyohime swept her hand to the side and unleashed a wave of fire into the ground, forming a ring around them before she sent a glance towards Siegward and gave him a single nod. Siegward responded in kind before he pulled his sword back under his armpit and started to charge up the weapon with a heavy spinning wind.

The moment it reached maximum, the man released a cry as he swung the sword out across in a horizontal strike and unleashed a vortex of winds which slammed into the fire like a wave, the gust carried the flames across the room like a tsunami of fire. The attack washed over the summoned rats and caused them to squeal in agony as they were burnt to dust and vanished into motes of light.

As the flames died down, more than half the force had been decimated and yet Basile - still sitting in his chair situated behind the force - stared at them with an utterly unconcerned expression before his eyes turned towards the scorch marks in the tiles. "Tis expected that one with the blood of the sky serpents would hold mastery of the flames." the rat pondered aloud in a tone which betrayed nothing. "But thee will need more than the flames."

"I am certain I can procure some mouse traps." Kiyohime remarked with narrowed eyes "But my cleaning skill also covers vermin."

Siegward blinked behind his helmet and stared at the girl, soon followed by Ritsuka staring at her in surprise.

"I realise they might not be the most usual company." Siegward admitted with a hint of puzzlement "But is that reason enough to be so hostile with them?"

Kiyohime merely pursed her lips "The presence of rats means that the location is unclean." the girl replied as if that was the only answer "As one with a cleaning skill as high as mine-"

"I'm still convinced that isn't a real skill." Romani commented in the background in an exasperated tone of voice.

"-it is only natural that I would find issue with rodents casually living here."

Basile stared at her with a raised eyebrow before he tilted his head "Thou art a headstrong child, art thee not?" he replied to her "But there are elements of truth to your words. My people prefer the dark and cold of our burrows to the chiselled stone and sun cursed lands of the humans and sky serpents."

"You mean you prefer to be underground." Ritsuka surmised with a nod of his head, finding himself unsurprised by the revelation "So…no offence, why are you here?"

Basile blinked once before he leaned back into his chair "My motives remain my own, human." he merely replied "I am a King and have granted thee audience. Thou shall fight until I am satisfied. Tis all thee needs know."

"Well alright then." Ritsuka shrugged then looked left and right as more of the rats seemingly appeared from the gates in the side of the walls to reinforce the already existing number, this time differing types emerged such as larger ones around the size of wolves. Ritsuka widened his eyes slightly as he pointed at them "What they heck?"

"My subjects are legion." Basile replied in his ever monotone voice "And we rats are hardy creatures, our forms can change to survive and defend." his snout curled in what could almost be described as an amused smile "Now then, fight hard humans. I am judging thy worth."

The rats charged forwards as Ritsuka backed away before his eyes briefly wandered to the direction of Mash and Ash battling Vlad, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out "Mash! Shield, Ash fire!"

Vlad paused as the words echoed across the room, raising a lone eyebrow in the direction of the Shielder as the girl abruptly raised her guard up and hid behind the cross shaped shield, manifesting a luminescent blue wall around herself. The man paused before he felt heat build up behind him and swung around to see Ash raise his left hand back and generate a colossal orb of fire in his hand.

The orb continued to grow until it was slightly wider than he was in diameter with two small spheres of flame orbiting around it. Ash stomped one foot forwards and leaned heavily on it before he hurled the orb of fire towards the Berserker. Vlad widened his eyes and dove to the side as the orb crashed against the ground and unleashed a powerful explosion which had him almost blown off his feet but still sent stumbling away.

The distraction was more than enough for Ash to close the distance and swing down at the Vampire. Vlad's eyes widened as he leaned away not a moment too soon as he felt the bite of blessed steel cut across his cheek, the man released a loud hiss as the holy element attacked his nature and caused blue flames to spout forth from the wound. Vlad swiftly responded as Ash attempted to swing the sword back up towards him. His spear stabbed into the ground beneath the Sabers and caused him to widen his eyes in alarm and snap his vision downwards just in time for the stakes to shoot upwards from Vlad and stab into his legs.

Ash grunted as he found himself immobilised by the attack before looking upwards and being struck in the side of the head by Vlad's spear and sent stumbling away. The moment Vlad made to advance, Ash's bottomless box flipped open and the Saber withdrew the shortspear of the drang weapons and thrust up towards the vampire. Vlad leaned back and once again found himself face to face with blessed weaponry.

Then the spear burst into flames, Vlad stepped backwards and parried the weapon upwards as Ash turned towards him and thrust the sword in his right hand towards his leg. Vlad rushed down and caught the arm by the wrist and twisted it, causing Ash to wince before a stake thrusting through the limb caused him to drop the sword and release a faint gasp. Using his superior strength, Vlad pulled the Saber towards him and spun on his heel and threw the Servant across the room and into Mash's shield. The girl released a surprised gasp at the impact.

Vlad stared down at the blessed straight sword before curling his lip and kicking it away from himself and across the room before refocusing on the Servants in front of him. "A most troublesome opponent you are, Saber." Vlad praised with a nod of the head as the blonde man got back to his feet, staring at the right arm with the large hole through the wrist with a grimace. "With a great many tricks up your sleeve. Although one would accuse you that you have no pride as a fighter if you have so many weapons rather than focus on one."

Ash rolled his shoulder as he raised his left arm - spear still in his grasp - towards the vampire. "I have no pride in my skills as a warrior as I have never encountered a fair fight."

Vlad raised an eyebrow before giving a single nod "A good reason, I suppose. Although to face a King with no pride is rather insulting. Then again, in my current form I could hardly be said to be the most prideful being as well…naught more than a vile bloodsucker."

"Then perhaps I shall end this suffering existence for you." Ash remarked with narrowed eyes as he spun his spear and stabbed it into the ground before raising up his left hand over his right and casting warmth to heal the wound as best he could before grabbing hold of the spear again. Mash moved her shield to the side and stepped around to the side of the Saber.

"Not quite so suffering." Vlad remarked with a raised eyebrow "Perhaps had I been summoned as a Lancer, I would indeed find this situation most disgusting but it might be a product of my Madness enhancement that I cannot find myself more aggrieved by my situation." he shrugged, looking around "Still, you are doing remarkably well in such an enclosed environment." he paused "Perhaps I should put in more effort."

Mash blinked at him "You mean you were not before?"

"All of my attacks have been to wound you, young lady." Vlad kindly informed her as his posture tensed "This is hardly a life or death struggle for either of us. However, I have my pride as a King to - at the very least - treat you like warriors and respond appropriately."

Flipping the spear in his hand, he nodded towards Ash "That is mainly why I am allowing you the opportunity to heal and why none of Basile's subjects have approached us yet."

The Saber and Shielder duo paused as they realised they had not yet been attacked by the rats, looking around they soon found that they were all focused on battling Siegward and Kiyohime while leaving the pair of them alone. The two looked back at Vlad with obvious surprise on their faces.

"It is merely the pair of us fulfilling our own selfish desires." Vlad responded to the unasked question "I merely wish to help a young - if slightly troubled - girl with her dream and Basile wishes to judge the fortitude of a human who might one day summon him. A perfectly reasonable decision to judge the man who might one day serve as a Master."

"Is it not the duty of a Servant to serve?" Ash asked with a frown, staring at the vampire in slight puzzlement.

"Perhaps it would come more naturally if in life you were a servant to something greater." Vlad replied "I personally would be unaccustomed to following the commands of a man whom I had never met before and like Basile, am rather interested in learning more about the man who would order me. We Kings do have our pride in character. We are those who ruled over our Kingdoms, subjects we were not."

"Are you a King still?" Ash frowned, gesturing around him "This is not your Kingdom."

"A King carries the dignity of his Kingdom with him at all times." Vlad chided "I may not be within my Kingdom now but my behaviour exemplifies what my kingdom was in life. That did not change in life and death will most certainly not change it now." he stared at Ash "I wonder what you carry within you, perhaps service does come easily to you but is there more to you than that? What wish drove you in life?"

"An end to the suffering of the world." Ash replied with a straight face "That was the sole purpose for which I was risen. The sole purpose I believe I was risen for."

"A hefty wish indeed." Vlad nodded to himself "And one which is wholly suitable for our current situation, however you must realise that a world without suffering is impossible. Your wish will never be completed and you will be forced to wander the world forever."

"...A wish?" Ash repeatedly slowly, tasting the word before he shook his head "It is not a wish. It is simply my purpose. My duty. The reason for my existence. To call it a wish would be to admit it is a selfish desire of mine."

"Then do you have no wish at all?" Vlad asked curiously, noting that Mash was now staring at him out of the corner of her eye. "You fight for a sense of duty and nothing more? No selfish desire for yourself? Not even for your condition?"

"My condition is my penance for failure." Ash swiftly replied before he frowned "...Even if I disagreed with the duty…It was still my purpose and I failed. It was not a request, I asked for no curse to be laid upon me nor did I ask to be risen once again but it happened all the same. Had I succeeded…it would not have."

"Had you succeeded in a task you personally disagreed with?"

"...Yes."

"I am certain you see the strange contradiction in logic." Vlad remarked with a raised eyebrow before he frowned "Unless you consider this to be the price of failure and a fitting punishment. One who - even in a duty they dislike - must commit to it wholeheartedly."

Ash looked away from him briefly.

"Unless of course…you did not commit to it wholeheartedly." Vlad pressured further "Tell me something, man of ash. Was your duty truly to end the suffering of man when you were risen, or was that a task you gifted yourself."

Ash remained silent.

"You need not answer." Vlad shook his head, "I already know but you are no subject of mine and forcing change upon a man who does not wish it will destroy him. For now, we should return to a far more simple approach." with those words said, he rushed forwards and thrust his spear towards Ash's chest. The Saber swung the shortspear down and knocked the trajectory of the attack towards the ground, tiles chipped and shattered as the attack made contact with the floor.

Vlad gripped his spear with both hands and twirled the spear upwards, using his strength to push Ash to the side as he swung the butt of the weapon towards Mash, slamming the attack into the centre of her shield and shunting her away from him. His eyes snapped back to the 'Saber' as the man once again ignited the spear in flames and pushed back before throwing his right hand forwards in a clumsy throw.

The King raised a lone eyebrow at the complete lack of technique before he easily sidestepped the attack before laying a hand on the back of the passing Saber and giving him a rough shove, combined with his momentum, he went sprawling to the floor before quickly rolling to the side as he already sensed another attack. Sure enough, he moved just in time to avoid the trail of stakes springing up from the ground.

Leaning back, Vlad avoided the sweeping attack from Mash's shield aimed at his neck which was soon followed up by the girl planting the weapon into the ground and using the momentum of the swipe to carry her through the air and deliver a roundhouse kick towards his body. Vlad raised his forearm and managed to block the attack as the armoured heel crunched against the back of his wrist.

The man narrowed his eyes before he pushed the kick away from him, Mash allowed the attack to push him back and used the power to lift her shield up and swing it back across towards the side of Vlad's head. The man swung his spear up as a counter and caught it in the cross section and halted the attack before he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.

Turning to the direction of the attack, the man widened his eyes as he saw the chiselled greatsword sweeping towards him from under the Saber's left arm while burning a brilliant orange as demonic flames coated the blade. Vlad shoved Mash away from himself before spinning the spear to the side and slammed the polearm of his weapon into the weapon and stopped it dead, frowning as the flames flickered towards him as if they had a will of their own.

Grimacing, Vlad saw Mash rushing back towards him and jumped back to avoid the girl catching him with a thrust. The shield moved just past the front of his chest before he swung his elbow towards her in a quick jab. Mash raised her hand and caught the strike with her free hand a few inches from her body and had a strained look on her face as she struggled against the man's superior strength.

She was granted a reprieve when Ash thrust Galvatyne towards the man's head and forced him to duck his head to the side to avoid it. Mash then thrust her knee towards his gut, slamming the armoured limb into his side and forcing a sharp gasp from the man and causing him to recoil away before Ash thrust his left hand in a quick jab and caught the man in the shoulder. Vlad grimaced as the limb forced his aim to go low when attempting a counter, the spear moving just past the Saber without hitting him.

The Berserker grimaced before stamping his foot down and causing a wave of spikes to explode out from where he was standing in the direction of the pair of attacking Servants, the pair jumped away from him to avoid being caught in the stakes as they rushed towards them and forced them from the vampire.

The man gave the pair of them a critical gaze "I believe your teamwork is currently adequate." he complimented the pair before his posture turned relaxed "However, I believe that will be more than enough for a mere dance."

Mash blinked at him in surprise before sharing a curious glance with Ash and watched as he slowly lowered his sword but didn't loosen his stance, still prepared for an ambush. Vlad then directed his attention past the pair and towards the battle still ongoing between Basile and the others.

Siegward swept his sword sideways and unleashed another blast of wind which sent half a dozen rats flying through the air, Kiyohime unleashing a blast of heat as they flipped through the air, catching them in the orange waves and turning them to dust just as quickly.

The Berserker shifted her expression past the burning rats towards Basile still sat in the chair and stared at her with an unchanged expression as he stared between the two of them before tilting his head, then nodding downwards. Siegward narrowed his eyes behind his helmet before he widened his eyes and jumped to the side as the rat with a mohawk snapped at his ankles, narrowly avoiding biting him in the process.

The rodent merely hissed at him before scurrying forwards at impressive speed and nipping after the knight before rushing off to the side and avoiding the blast of fire from the dragon girl. Kiyohime frowned in annoyance before weaving her flames again and thrusting forwards another burst of heat at the rodent.

This time, several of the rat dogs jumped in the way and absorbed the blows before they could reach the rat, shielding it from the worst of the damage and obscuring it from vision. Siegward cocked his sword arm back, building up the twister of wind around his blade and then thrusted it forwards, the gale force winds blasting the burning corpses away and showing off the mohawk rat once again.

Siegward rushed forwards, raising the sword above his head with both hands and swinging it downwards.

Then Basile opened his mouth "I name thee, Siegward of Catarina. Halt."

Siegward paused as if suddenly held in place by an unseen force, by the surprised grunt of the man, he clearly wasn't expecting it either.

Basile merely scoffed "Thee forgets, humans. Ruler I am in both Class and Title."

The mohawk rat charged forwards while Siegward was held suspended, the rat slammed its jaws shut against his ankle and earned a pained grunt from the knight as he was freed, stumbling backwards and feeling his foot go numb as he stared down at the thin layer of stone starting to creep over the top of the armour and through it.

"Petrification?" Siegward exclaimed in alarm and earned a wide eyed look from Kiyohime and Ritsuka.

"We rats defend our burrows thusly." Basile replied as if the answer was obvious, staring at them before his eyes fell onto Ritsuka for a brief moment then looked away. Noticing that Vlad had ceased his own battle and was staring expectantly at him. "However, this audience approaches its close. There is another thou must entertain."

Ritsuka blinked, then looked around "You mean we're done?"

"Yes." Basile bluntly replied "I had no desire for such a permanent end to this duel. I wished only to see thee human and I have." his eyes fell upon Kiyohime and narrowed "And despite thy company…thee has potential for an adequate Servant."

Ritsuka furrowed his brows in confusion at the Rat, then slowly looked to his left in the direction of Mash and saw her equally puzzled expression, the girl stared at him for a few moments more before she turned towards Basile and called out in a slightly confused tone.

"Erm…E-excuse me, your majesty?" To add onto the question, she even raised her hand which earned the attention of Basile "I-isn't that the wrong way around?"

Basile stared at her for a moment of silence before he replied. "No."

Mash blinked once again at the rather blunt statement before closing her mouth and looking towards Ash for some measure of guidance. She was rewarded with an equally dumbfounded look from the Saber as he then turned around to stare at Vlad with a questioning expression.

Vlad merely shrugged "Some monarchs are like that. You cannot truly expect all Kings to adhere to being treated as though they are less than what they are. Even if I am nothing but a monster in this form, I still have my pride." the man paused before straightening himself "Still, I would consider my role officially over and from here on, you are all free to proceed."

Siegward looked up from his kneeling position on the ground and tilted his head "Just like that?"

"Just like that." Vlad confirmed with a single nod "There is no need for death in these festivities and I would prefer not to be thought of as nothing more than a bloodthirsty monster and I very much doubt that King Basile would wish to be thought of as a barbarian."

Siegward turned towards Basile, the rat gave a single grunt in affirmation before nodding his head once. The rats that were still present turned away from the group as one and made their way back over to the stone entrances in the walls, moving through the gates and back into the darkness. When the last of the rats passed through the gates, the stone archways slowly shut and vanished into motes of light. The Catarinan felt the tightness in his injured limb abruptly vanish as the layer of stone peeled away from his armour and allowed movement of the limb once again.

"I say." Siegward muttered, shaking his leg to get some measure of feeling back into it "You are all quite reasonable are you not?"

"Naturally." Vlad remarked with a hum before he turned away from the group and gradually walked his way back over to where he had been sitting before they arrived, dismissing his spear from existence and placing himself elegantly in the leather chair "I would ask that you hurry along now and continue to play along in this little game for just a touch longer."

"Oh?" Kiyohime sent him a curious look "You seem rather concerned about a certain dragon girl. Are you perhaps related?"

Vlad merely chuckled at the notion, dismissing it with a wave of his hand "Nothing of the sort but I am allowed to show my pity to a comrade. Being tied to a legend you personally have little appreciation for is something I understand all too well." he leaned back into his chair "I merely wished to lend whatever aid I could to such a person. As for how that help manifests? I cannot help that."

Kiyohime's eyes fell onto Basile expectantly.

"I have my own motives which I have since completed." Basile merely replied as he lowered his head onto the chair and closed his eyes, exhaling lightly "Thou art free to leave, kin of the Sky Serpents and human of the sun cursed lands. Thy task has yet to be completed."

"Right…um…nice to meet the both of you." Ritsuka replied with an honest nod of the head "Hope to see you again under…different circumstances?"

"Naturally." Vlad replied with a hum "Although I would ask that if you do summon me to do so as a Lancer." he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and hiding his own irritation "Being called a Vampire repeatedly is…grating to the nerves."

Ritsuka nodded towards the others, gesturing towards the door at the far end of the room before he started to walk towards it, the others soon followed after him while giving cursory glances in the direction of the two kings to see if they would do anything. Neither one of them made any attempt to move, content to go about their business.

As they passed through the doors and out of the room, Vlad chuckled and returned to his knitting "A rather polite young man, was he not?"

"The human master?" Basile grunted "Simple, honest but otherwise unremarkable."

"I find that the mundane can be just as interesting as the exotic." Vlad replied with a wry smile before he gave a thoughtful hum "And at what point does the exotic become mundane? If a man remains average amongst a sea of brilliance, is it not a feat in itself?"

Basile merely snorted "Tis something of note."

"It is indeed." Vlad admitted before he looked down at his work before looking towards Basile "...Would you like me to make you a scarf?"

"...No."

"Very well."

"For a rat and a vampire they seemed pretty decent." Romani bluntly stated as the group wandered through the next corridor "Although in this out of control world, is it evidence of more weirdness if common sense comes from people like that?"

"Roman, I'm not touching that logic with a ten foot pole." Ritsuka gave a wry chuckle as he shook his head "Frankly I'm still working through the fact a rat was speaking to me. I mean…that's never happened to me before."

"Nor me." Ash admitted from behind the Master "The rats I encountered were little more than savage beasts, encountering one who held the ability to talk as well as claim the title of a King was rather…baffling."

"So, wait…were you actually surprised?" Ritsuka asked with wide eyes "Really?"

"It was an oddity." Ash shrugged in response to the expression "Although given what the rats were like when I encountered them, I am left to assume that what befell the kingdoms of man also befell the kingdom of the rats." he turned to Siegward "Unless you have heard of them?"

"Rat kingdoms? Nope." Siegward shook his head "I dare say I was left as dumbstruck as the rest of you when the rat opened up his mouth and spoke to me and a Ruler servant as well?" blowing out air from his mouth, he turned to Romani "I suppose I can see why they can be dangerous at times."

"Yeah, looks like they caught you in a bind." Romani remarked with a grimace "From what Jeanne's stat sheet tells us about Rulers, they are designed to mediate Grail Wars so they have a fair few advantages over Servants. Least of all being the ability to incite their true name and extoll some small level of command over them."

"Is that what that was?" Ritsuka asked with a worried frown "Because he just froze up."

"Only limited control and it only works on Servants." Romani replied then paused, looking up "As for any more on that…you'd probably have to ask Jeanne about it because frankly, I don't know. I'm basically just reading off a piece of paper and telling you what it says."

"That can be spoken of later." Olga cut in, sliding into the picture and causing Romani to wheel his chair to the side "From what we're looking at on this end, you are approaching the very top of the citadel and thus we can assume that you are approaching the end point of this Singularity. Remember to beware of anything that might be considered dangerous or otherwise unexpected."

Ash blinked once at her before he looked down at Ritsuka. "I believe she just means 'be careful'."

Olga sputtered before levelling a faint glare at the Saber "And considering your track record thus far, I am inclined to believe that you will just ignore any warning you receive!"

"I am not careless." Ash defended himself with a stern frown, then paused when he saw the looks of disbelief he received from everyone present. Even Siegward managing to convey a tone of incredulity through his helmet gave him pause. "...I'm not."

"Erm…you are quite reckless, Ash-san." Mash replied to him in a strained expression "A-and you do have a tendency to be very…forwards."

"I have not died yet. Therefore, I am not careless."

"Is that your criteria for being an idiot!?" Olga blurted out in clear exhaustion through the communicator and then pointed at him "You-you-you! You idiot!"

"You called him an idiot twice." Romani helpfully supplied before the Director's glare fell on him and caused his mouth to snap shut.

"With how dense his skull is, I very much doubt the first time registered at all!" Her gaze fell back onto Ritsuka and caused him to stand up straight "Make sure he doesn't run off like a fool and get himself killed or crippled."

"Yes, Director." The woman gave a satisfied smile before the communicator shut off and allowed an awkward silence to fill the hallway. "...I feel as though there's a habit of people getting the roles mixed up around here." the Master eventually spoke in confusion after a few moments "This world is crazy."

"You look stressed." The cat eared woman with large pawed hands stated as she stared down at the man sitting in the corner with his head in his hands "Have a Jack-o-lantern." she smiled, sliding once across to him.

"...For the last time…" The man groaned "We don't eat them-"

"Up, up, up!" The girl shook her finger "Which one of us is the aspect of a God?"

"...You are."

"So who has the best advice?"

"...You."

"There, see?" The girl smiled, leaning back "Naturally my advice is purrrrfectly correct at all times."

The man merely released another groan "Why did you purr the word?"

"Because I'm a cat. It's what I do." She shrugged as if that was the only answer before turning away from him and strolling over to the table "Now then, we'll probably be having guests over soon. They completed the fight against Vlad and dinner - I mean the Rat - a short while ago and are menow making their way here."

"...How do you know this?" The man's voice changed from tired to puzzled in a split second, tilting his head and staring at her "Divine wisdom?"

"...Yeah, sure. If that makes you feel better." She gave an uncaring shrug before she beamed "Now then! It's time for this maid to do her best and offer her warmest greetings to-" she then paused and narrowed her eyes at the man as she realised something "Wait a second…you aren't in costume."

"You were being serious?" The man blurted out in surprise as he shot to his feet and stepped away from her "I assumed that you were merely joking."

"I never joke about maid stuff." She paused, "Unless I do joke about maid stuff and then it's fine but usually I don't." she pointed a claw towards him "Now. Put on the butler suit."

"Why?"

"Because we're in a castle and are both guards." She replied as if the answer was obvious "So naturally we need to dress for the part don't we? I'm already a maid and you have the physique for being a kickass butler…So wear the outfit."

"But-"

"No buts woof!"

"D-did you just bark at me?" The man stuttered "I thought you were a cat?"

"No, I'm a fox."

"What? But you said-"

"I am many things. I am a cat and a fox. Don't question it because I'm not going to. Woof." She pressed a hand against her chest "I am Tamamo cat and I can bark like a fox if I want."

Arkon merely stared at her in silence for a few moments before his shoulders slumped "I-is that a command?"

"Yes. This is the wisdom of the avatar of the Sun Goddess." Tama Cat stated with a face of absolute seriousness before she gave him a wide grin "Now get on it, Butler-kun!"

"...Yes Goddess." Arkon gave a nod of the head before dragging himself over to one of the side rooms and stepping into it, closing the door behind himself.

Tama Cat shook her head "I'm sure with a bit more training he'll make a good butler, woof!" her eyes then snapped to the door as her smile widened "Which means I can make him a surprise reveal to shock the guests despite the fact everyone else already knows he's here."

Her eyes turned around and scanned the table before they located something and sharped "Excellent…Now then. Let's get ready for the (Not Master Just Yet Because this is the first time I've been summoned) guests to arrive."

Ritsuka stared at the doors with a nervous expression "I'm telling you guys. I can just tell that something horrific is waiting for me on the other side of these doors and I just can't help but feel as though opening them is a big mistake."

"You're probably overreacting, Senpai." Mash comforted him with a pat on the back, only to recoil the hand when Kiyohime slapped the top of her wrist with her fan, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly at the girl before turning to Ritsuka and giving him a beatific smile.

"You are merely stressed, Anchin-sama." The girl stated "A nice relaxing bath after this is all over will put all your worries to sleep."

"Yeah…yeah probably." Ritsuka sighed, rubbing his forehead and nodding "Probably."

"And I can scrub your back-"

"And now the worries have grown exponentially." Ritsuka carried on with an even heavier sigh "There's no need for you to do that." he waved towards Kiyohime with a slightly strained expression before looking past her and towards Siegward and Ash "I'm just saying that if we open this door, I've got a feeling something terrible might happen."

Ash stared at the door and narrowed his eyes slightly "Do you believe there might be some manner of ambush awaiting us on the opposite side then?" he gave a grim nod "A possibility."

"Yeah but the craziness has just been getting wilder and wilder since we got here and I'm worried that we're about to hit the climax." Ritsuka replied, crossing his arms and staring at the door, the sense of foreboding remaining attached to him "Like if we open that door…we're gonna see something we wish we hadn't."

"...That's ominous." Romani remarked through the communicator "You mean like in a horror movie? In which case you should probably not go in first."

"Are we really going to use horror movie logic here?"

"You're the one in the haunted house."

"...Touché." Ritsuka nodded his head in a conceding fashion "...So how do we get in if we can't go in through the door?"

"Is the door locked?" Siegward asked, staring at the handles "I don't recall seeing anyone attempt to open it."

"It's less to do with the attempt to open it up and more to do with assuming that if we open it up something bad will happen." Ritsuka explained "I mean…we could probably just open up the doors and stroll on in but the chances of that ending in any manner which isn't horrible are slim."

"Now you're being cynical, Senpai." Mash chided him "I fear Doctor Roman might be rubbing off on you."

""Hey!"" The pair called out at the same time, Ritsuka following through "I'm not that bad."

"Talk of that aside." Ash interrupted the pair as he walked towards the door with his arms out in front of him "I believe there is a simple method of determining whether or not this is an ambush." He rested his hands on the door handles before twisting them "And that is the simplest approach available to us."

"Ash no!" Ritsuka called out with wide eyes, reaching towards the Saber but too late to stop him from pushing the doors open in a dramatic fashion.

"Woof! Is it time for walkies?"

Ash and Ritsuka were the first through the door and found themselves staring dumbfoundedly at the individual on the opposite side.

Dressed entirely in a maid outfit, Ritsuka was unsure where exactly he was supposed to look. Either at the bright orange animal ears sitting atop her head, the furred arms and legs or the large bushy orange tail flicking back and forth in a pleased manner.

The smiling girl continued to stare at them as she offered a lead in their direction. Which was attached to the dog collar around her neck.

Ritsuka stared at her in silence before he raised a single finger "...Excuse us for one moment." he smiled at her in a strained manner before he grabbed the doors and slowly closed them again before he turned around and noticed Ash still giving an unblinking stare towards the closed doors. "...This is why we wait."

"...I see." Ash nodded his head once before he paused and furrowed his brows "...No actually…I don't."

"...Me neither." Ritsuka admitted with a sigh before he faced the others behind him "So I'm not sure if you heard what was spoken in there."

"Something about a walk?" Siegward replied, scratching his chin "Actually you closed the door before we could tell what was going on."

"...You would probably be thanking me for that." Ritsuka replied as he looked over his shoulders back towards the door "Because…erm…I don't actually know."

"Me neither." Romani's face flashed up, the man looking utterly baffled. "I mean…I appreciated it but it sort of came out of nowhere if I'm being honest. It doesn't really fit in with the haunted theme of the castle." the man paused before he furrowed his brows "Unless we're talking about a werewolf approach here."

"In which case she was probably about halfway done and looks as though she gave up." Ritsuka bluntly remarked, looking back over his shoulder at the door "Either that or…that wasn't a dog tail though, was it?"

"No, that was definitely a fox tail." Romani nodded his head "...A werefox?"

"...Werefox."

Romani gave a shrug and a half smile "I mean…its the best I could come up with."

"Right. Werefox." Ritsuka blinked profusely before he looked around "Does anyone know what a werefox is?"

Tama cat stared at the closed door with a pouting expression, lowering the lead and placing her pawed hands on her hips with a grim frown.

"Why did they leave?" She asked herself, shaking her head "They came this far and then just turned tail and ran off. Woof!" she then paused and cupped her chin "Unless they were intimidated by my awesome power and couldn't find a way to beat me…That's possible! In which case, as a guard I am pawsitively outstanding!"

She turned to the right as the side door opened, Arkon walked back into the room with his armour gone. However, the helmet still remained on his head leading to the rather amusing image of a butler suit with a full steel helm resting atop it.

"...Meh, it'll do." Tama cat shrugged before turning back to the door "You just missed them."

"I what?" Arkon tilted his head at her, looking left and right "Did they just walk past?"

"No…They took one look at me and fled." She pumped her fist victoriously into the air "It must have been my amazing power they feared!"

Arkon - however - was staring at the dog collar around her neck and the lead still in her hands "...What are you doing?" he asked in a distant and somewhat concerned tone of voice.

"What do you mean? I'm a dog. I need to go for walks."

Arkon did a double take "B-but you said…you…what?"

"Are you confused? It's really not that hard to follow." Tama cat put her hands on her hips and stared at him with a frown. "Besides, we need to kill them anyway so there's really no time for me to run through the complete guide. Although the chances are we're going to hit a cut away any moment now."

"A what?" Arkon stared at her "What are you-"

"-talking about?" Olga stared at Ritsuka with clear confusion "She just had slight aspects of fur on her body. Probably some manner of shapeshifting skill. Hardly something to be overly concerned about."

"She just offered me a lead and told me it's time for walks." Ritsuka stared at her with a flat expression "I don't want to go back in there if I can help it. We've hit peak madness." he raised his right hand to the side of his head "I don't want it to go any higher."

"You haven't even made it to the concert yet." Romani stated with a hint of dread "Wouldn't it really be weird if that was the normallest thing you encountered?"

"Please don't tempt fate like that." Ritsuka pleaded with the man, then pointed at Ash "Even he can't comprehend what he just saw."

"It was…what did she mean by walkies?" Ash asked as he looked at the others "And why was she holding a noose around her neck?"

"See? Now I have to explain this to him." Ritsuka rubbed his hands over his head "This is just weird…"

"I'm sure it will be-" Romani cut himself off, then shook his head "Actually forget I said anything. It probably won't."

"Thanks a lot, Roman." Ritsuka groaned before he exhaled long and hard, then raised his head up and turned back around. "Alright then…As long as it's just her, I'm sure we can deal with it."

The doors opened back up behind them, the ground turned around as one to see the familiar helmet of a Silver Knight mounted atop a butler suit in an odd clash of styles. The man stared at them in silence before he sighed and straightened himself out.

"I am Sir Arkon of Anor Londo." He introduced himself "And I am supposed to welcome you to…the…" he slowly trailed off and looked down. "Must I say it?"

"The Divine Avatar has given you a command!" Ritsuka heard the voice of the cat girl coming from behind the man. "Say it!"

"...Welcome to the Rumble Zone." Arkon finished "...Can I take your coat?"

Ritsuka stared dumbly at the man before he said the first thing that came to mind "I'm not wearing a coat."

Arkon looked back at them in silence before he lowered his head even further and his shoulders slumped "...This is a strange penance I suffer…yet I am convinced I deserve it."