Kyoko took a deep breath as she pulled her spear back out of the Witch's… face or whatever it was. Either way it was very satisfying being able to strike the killing blow for once and watching it collapsed in front of her. Even the screams the damn thing let out was music to her ears. The fate of any monster that tried to prey on innocent people.

"Good job Sakura."

She glanced back at her fellow Magical Girl as the labyrinth collapsed around them. "Nothing to it Mams." They undid their transformations as they were brought back to an empty construction site. "Wasn't really that tough was it?"

"That's because you've gotten stronger," Mami admitted.

"Thanks." No grief seed this time sadly, but just killing another Witch was reward enough. They still had a few stockpiled between the two of them so it wasn't like they'd be in trouble anytime soon. "It's pretty early ain't it?" The sun hadn't even set yet despite their plans to take the night to hunt it down. It was a testament to how trivial it had been.

"It is," Mami replied. "We should head back. I'm sure your Sister will be glad to see you back early."

"Yea." Kyoko began shuffling her feet. It was just the two of them right now. Wouldn't this be the perfect chance? "Actually, do you want to hang out? You know, since we have the time?"

"Hang out?"

"No Witches or anything. Just two girls hanging out. We haven't done that… ever now that I think about it."

Mami looked a bit surprised at the suggestion. Like she had never considered just hanging out with a person, which knowing her was probably true. A bit of a workaholic that one between school and hunting Witches.

"S-Sure. That sounds wonderful Sakura," Mami eventually replied.

Kyoko resisted the urge to cheer. It wasn't like it was a date or anything. Or was it? Did it count if the other person didn't even know it was a date in the first place?

"So, what would you like to do?" Mami asked.

A nighttime stroll next to the river holding her beautiful Mentor's hand while whispering sweet nothings to her ears, was the first idea that popped up in Kyoko's head. She then immediately stabbed said idea with a spear before going to a more reasonable plan. "We could go shopping at the mall or maybe catch a movie? Your choice."

Mami put a hand to her chin as she considered the options. "I would like to go shopping. I've been meaning to get you some new outfits anyway."

"What's wrong with what I wear?"

"You need to diversify your wardrobe. You could at least stand to wear a skirt or two."

Kyoko wanted to refuse as she had enough of skirts at school. Those damn airy things that didn't provide much protection and made her feel vulnerable down there. Granted her Magical Girl outfit was a dress, but it was a Magical dress with decent protection. She also wore a pair of shorts underneath so it wasn't like anything could see anything down there while she was jumping around.

But then again if this was a chance to play dress up with the girl, she liked…

"Fine but you gotta try some of the things I pick out for you," Kyoko replied.

"That's perfectly agreeable to me."

The two of them made their way to the nearest small, the cell phone in Kyoko's back pocket left forgotten and untouched.

"No." Momo stepped back as she tried to stop the tears from flooding her eyes. "It can't be. Mami, Kyoko. Big Sis can't become a Witch!" She couldn't, her sister couldn't become one of those disgusting monsters. There was no way.

"Kyubey has deceived us all. That is the truth and eventual fate that all Magical Girls must face."

"Including you," Momo replied.

The woman nodded serenely. Despite everything she just said she still had that scary smile on her face. "Including me."

"Aren't you scared?"

"I am aware of my fate. What must be done, and I have accepted it."

"B-but you can't just give up. There has to be some way to save everyone!"

"At this moment the only way to relieve them of their fate is death."

Kyoko had to die? Kyoko would either have to kill herself or become a monster? She would become one of those things that had tried to eat her?

"No," Momo begged. "There has to be another way."

"There is. Though the question is, do you have the will to do what's necessary?"

"What?"

Momo didn't have much chance to say much more Oriko suddenly began walking towards her. She backed away, trying to get away from the white Magical Girl, only for her back to quickly hit the wall. She conjured a knife and held it up, hoping to use that to stop the Magical Girl, but Oriko easily pushed it aside with her hand. Trapped with no way out, Momo was helpless as Oriko stopped just inches away.

"My power is precognition," Oriko informed her. "I can see the future."

"You can?" Momo's eyes went wide. "Does that mean Kyoko will be saved?"

"Perhaps. The future is not certain. I can see one of many possibilities of the actions that we take that will lead us there. As it is now though, Magical Girls are still doomed to their fate."

"But it's a possibility, right? That means it can be changed?" Momo asked, clinging to that small hope that was being presented to her.

"Yes, you are a smart girl to figure that out. There is a way to change it and it is all up to you."

"You need me," Momo realized, a bit more confident now that she knew she wasn't going to be hurt. However, she was still very confused. "But why me?"

"Your sister is one of those who holds the path to our salvation. However, she is walking down the wrong one as she now. That needs to be corrected."

"What does she need to do?"

"Not her. You."

"Me?"

"As I asked before. Do you have the will to do what's necessary?"

"Why me?"

"Because both you and your sister shine so brightly," Oriko suddenly cupped Momo's face with a hand and forced her to look up into her eyes. Momo tried to squirm away but her grip was just too strong. "Each of you are instruments of revolution, the potential to completely reshape the future. To change the fates of countless others in this world."

"Then we'll work together!" Momo shouted defiantly despite the position she was in. "Me and Kyoko will do what it takes to save her and everyone else!"

"What wonderful resolve," Oriko released her before patting her on the head. "But resolve will not be enough."

"Why not?" Momo pushed the hand away. "You said the future can change."

"But there is only one path I see that leads to salvation and it is very thin. There will only be room for two of you."

"Exactly! Me and my big Sister!"

"What about Archer?"

"How-"

"I know about him the Servant brought to this world. Much more than you ever did."

Momo simply stared at Oriko in silence.

"No matter who his partner is, he must walk the path of our salvation. So, who will be the one to stand by his side?"

There was only room for two. If Archer had to be there no matter what, then she and Kyoko…

"Tonight, you must make your decision. You shall be the one who decides who shall walk with him."

"And the one who doesn't?" Momo asked.

"Will have their own role to play." The smile that had been present on Oriko's face that entire time suddenly disappeared. Somehow that made her even more frightening. "So, I still haven't heard your choice,"

"Wh- How could I possibly choose!?" Momo looked down at the ground. "You're lying," she muttered to herself. "It has to be a lie. I shouldn't listen to you." That was the smart thing, rather than just blindly following what this Magical Girl told her despite what she had just said. All Momo had to do was just wait there, until her Big Sis came back. Then they could hug, talk it out, and figure things out together.

"Don't believe me then. Don't choose." Oriko leaned in until her mouth was just next Momo's ear. "Just let your Big Sis fight and die for you then. Like you always do."

Archer picked up the grief seed even as bits of smoke still continued to come out of the singes of his clothes.

The fact that he had encountered a Witch with a strength bordering that of a lower tier Servant was expected considering their numbers, but it was still troubling. He wasn't injured but he had to resort to several Noble Phantasms from his arsenal before the damn thing finally went down. He would have to discuss it with his Master later when she got home.

Archer turned to block the black sickle that had tried to strike him from behind with Kanshou.

After he interrogated the enemy trying to sneak up behind him of course.

He then swung with Bakuya at his assailant only for them to block it with another sickle. They then drew three more pairs of sickles from their white sleeves that they used to strike at him. He blocked several of the swings before kicking them in the stomach and forcing them back.

It was a Magical Girl in a dark gray and white outfit. In her arms were her weapons, eight red and black sickles. Most notable to him though was the eyepatch she wore; he had a feeling that eye wasn't even injured in the first place and it was just the design of her transformation. It was rather unnecessary and stupid considering that covering an eye would normally interfere with one's depth perception.

To be fair, it probably wasn't an issue for her in the first place because… well Magical Girls. It also wasn't that outlandish of an outfit compared to some of the Servants on the throne, but it still unnerved his more practical senses.

"Are you that desperate for a grief seed?" Archer asked the Magical Girl. It was the most likely possibility with the information he currently had.

"I just came to fight you," she replied casually.

"For what reason?"

"Cause I was told to."

"So, you're just a tool sent my way. For money?"

The girl's eye went wide as her face suddenly became unhinged. Well as unhinged as you could get looking like something straight out of those slasher flicks that Momo liked to watch when her sister wasn't there. "Money? You think I choose to be with her for money?"

"Loyalty then?"

She leaned forward and began tilting her head. "What we share is not that trivial. Loyalty is finite. Love is finite. Those we choose to express either of those in gradation are ignorant of their true essence. Tell me, do you know true love?"

He did, at one point, but he wouldn't tell her that. "A fanatic then."

"Faith is finite too." She lifted a clawed arm in front of her. "I am devoted to her for infinity." A savage crazed smile appeared on her face as she tensed her legs. "She is my world; She is all I need and anything that she deems unnecessary shall be wiped from this world!" She ran at him recklessly.

Archer raised his blades and readied himself to end the fight in a single strike, when he felt Magic begin to envelop him and his surroundings.

Time Manipulation. She was separating the passage of time inside a designated space from the flow of time in the outside world. The field was enough to lower his Agility by a single rank, perhaps even more if he wasn't putting effort into diminishing its effect, and the area it encompassed around her was quite large. This gave her more than enough speed to match him, in fact she was just a bit faster.

Their blades clashed and it soon became apparent what would've been a quick and instant encounter was now becoming a drawn-out affair thanks to her Magic.

However just because she matched her speeds didn't mean she matched the countless years he had spent as a Counter Guardian and a Servant of the Throne. That experience couldn't be matched alone by a crazy little brat and soon enough he began to push her back.

She went for one of the openings he presented to her only for him to switch the grip on his blade, grapple with her scythes, and fling them aside where they embedded themselves in a nearby wall. With both of her hands disarmed, he quickly swung both his blades at each of her sides. She wouldn't be able to deflect or dodge both of them.

At least not by herself.

He immediately jumped away to avoid the metal sphere that had been shot had him from above, his Mind's Eye worked well to prevent him from getting caught by surprise by the new combatant.

He glanced upwards and found another Magical Girl in white standing on a rooftop above them.

"Oriko!" The Magical Girl in black called out. Judging by the reverent tone of voice, the one above them was her Master.

"I thought I warned you to be careful fighting him Kirika," Oriko chastised her, but not too harshly. More like a mother lecturing a misbehaving daughter. "And you still don't listen to me, despite my warnings." She sighed in a bourgeoisie and condescending manner. "Though I had predicted that."

The bloodlust that radiated from Kirika was just gone in an instant, replaced instead with the face and attitude of a sullen child. "Aw. Come on Oriko. He left himself open to a killing blow. I'd be stupid not to take it."

"He does that on purpose. He leaves openings in his stance to-"

Archer threw his blades into the air only for Oriko to knock them aside with her orbs. Normally this wouldn't have stopped them, but she had caused them to collide with each other. Their attachment achieved; they simply fell down to the ground as a pair rather than continuing to harry through the air like he had planned.

"To invite your attacks so that they can be parried or countered," Oriko finished casually.

Archer created another set of his blades as Kirika had jumped at him once more. After blocking a few strikes, he left his side open hoping to take a small cut in exchange for decapitating an arm. Before the black Magical Girl could fall for it though, another metal orb was sent at him. He was forced to block and give up on the feint.

He continued to trade blows with Kirika all while having to avoid and deflect the metal orbs being sent at his direction.

Not only did they work well together, but it seemed like the one in white knew a considerable amount of what he was capable of and countered accordingly. Anytime he tried to set up a trick, technique, or feint she would stop it before he could even set it up. It was as if she could predict everything that he planned.

A Mind's Eye even stronger than his? Or was it even some level of Precognition? Either way she proved to be a danger.

By themselves, each of them wouldn't have been an issue. The metal orbs were certainly versatile, but they lacked power and defensive ability and Kirika wouldn't be able to compete with his experience even if she could match his speed thanks to her Magic. Together though they had forced him into a stalemate, the black one keeping him at bay from her fragile ally and the white one preventing him from utilizing his tricks.

It became apparent that fighting as he did now wasn't going to work. The best strategy would be to utilize the ranged capabilities that his class was supposed to be known for and snipe them outside their range. The Archer class was made up of archers after all. However-

Archer jumped back and tried shooting Oriko with his bow. He could only get a few shots off before he had to switch back to his blades to deal with Kirika. These arrows were quickly knocked aside by the orbs and the Magical Girl in white continued to leisurely follow the two of them.

They weren't letting him get away. As long as Kirika remained in his vicinity then her magic would slow him enough that he couldn't just retreat. It would be best to dispatch of her but-

He was forced to deflect four orbs sent at him from above. Kirika then suddenly somersaulted in front of him and struck his cheek with a scythe she had attached to her foot. He hopped back and ignored the savage grin she had given him for actually drawing a bit of his blood.

Once again. Oriko was preventing every attempt to do so. It didn't help that he used a significant portion of his Magical Reserves to kill that previous Witch. Thanks to Independent Action he was able to conserve his remaining energy, but he would only be able to use one or two more Noble Phantasms. They would be his best option to end this fight quickly though. All he needed was to make a single opening.

"Trace On."

Ten, Twenty, Thirty, blades appeared in the air above him. Simple mundane weapons that didn't take much energy to use. Though they lacked power and range compared to the arrows he shot from his bow, they made up for it with the speed and ease in their use.

He lifted his hand up and they all shot straight for the Magical Girl in white.

"Oriko!" Kirika shouted as she immediately jumped to deflect the blades even though they were no threat to the other Magical Girl.

The solution was simple in the end. Just because the one in the white knew what he was doing, didn't mean her partner did. And her partner was very devoted to her safety.

The time Kirika took to defend Oriko was all that Archer needed to draw from his Reality Marble and bring his weapon into the world.

He nocked the pitch-black arrow against his bow and fired. It flew into the air and headed straight for his target.

Kirika tried to block the arrow only for its power to knock her aside as it continued on its path toward Oriko.

Hrunting: Hound of the Red Plains one of the magical swords wielded by Beowulf and the one he used in his battle with the Mother of Grendel. A blade that would always seek to sniff out and draw blood. Turned into an arrow it became a magical bullet enveloped in red light that reached incredible speeds as it took the most direct path to its target. Even when parried, repulsed, or avoided, it would continue to pursue the target as long as the shooter kept aiming at them.

Despite the power of the weapon though, Oriko remained serenely calm even as the arrow flew toward her. Even as it was just inches away from her face.

And then she was gone.

Disappeared in an instant. Archer hadn't even blinked. The girl was just gone, she was there and then she wasn't.

He turned to the other Magical Girl, ready to make her Hrunting's next target, only to find that she had disappeared too.

With no target left to hunt, he let his Projection disappear in the air.

Another Magical Girl with some form of teleportation? No, even if it was less than a second, he would've sensed them the moment they appeared on the battlefield. Remote transportation maybe? The ability to move objects from a distance? That would mean they would have a range outside the detection of an Archer Servant though.

Either way, it was dangerous. Two Magical Girls with abilities suited to countering him were able to force him into a stalemate. Add in a third combatant whose abilities he still couldn't discern, and they might have a good chance of killing him if he wasn't careful. Doing that against a Servant was an impressive feat and it said much about the power of the inhabitants of this world.

It was something that he'd have to warn his Master about.

With nothing left for him here, Archer made his way back to the apartment with his blades still in his hands. He made sure to take a more roundabout path and went into his Astral Form several times in order to lose anyone that may or may not have been following him.

Why him though? Were they really that desperate for grief seeds or were they aware that he was a Servant? The fact that he had ended up here didn't entirely discount the idea that other Servants or just other people with knowledge of them existed in this world. If that was true though, then how did they know about him? He always made sure to keep his presence in the world subtle and that no one else apart from Mami, his Master, and Momo had ever seen him fight. Was there a group that escaped his notice? Or did they have some way, either a tool or some form of Magic, that allowed them to learn about him?

And the timing of that attack… just after he had been forced to confront a Witch. They went for him at a time when he would be weakened and yet they chose to run rather than continue to fight him, despite their advantage. What was the point of that confrontation? It wasn't to kill him apparently, they put too little effort with the advantages they already had, but then why? To stall? What would they have to stall for? The only thing left-

Archer shifted on his feet and shot his way straight towards Mami's apartment.

It didn't seem likely, but when you got rid of all other possibilities then all that remained had to be the truth. Besides, the sequence of events that had happened was too much to be considered a coincidence. There was a small part of him that wished it was though, even as that cynical side of him constantly denied it.

Unfortunately, his cynicism was ultimately correct as he opened the balcony door to an empty apartment.

He quickly scanned the area once he checked that the bedroom and bathroom were also empty.

There were signs of an intruder at the same door he went through, but no signs of a struggle. Momo was better at detecting Magic than he was, she would've noticed something was off and at least left something behind before they had taken her.

He opened the guest closet and found one outfit missing, along with Momo's home clothes neatly folded and set aside.

She had willingly changed her clothes and left the apartment. Someone had been here, but they hadn't taken her. Whoever they were, they had somehow convinced her to leave willingly. Not very difficult, considering Momo was still an impressionable young child.

He should never have left her alone. He should've simply taken her with him to safety. But that would've meant abandoning and likely sacrificing the entire apartment complex. Even without his dream, he still couldn't do something like that.

In the end, the fault for Momo's disappearance was his own.

Then, as if all the non-existent Gods in this world were out to spite him, he could feel his mental connection with his Master reestablish itself as she got within his range.

Momo's missing, Archer informed her.

What!? I thought you were watching her. Why did you leave her alone!?

He didn't need to see her in person to tell that she was frantic and panicked. There was a Witch heading straight for the apartment. We agreed that it would be best if I dispatched it while she stayed behind.

Damn it, Archer! You should've just taken her and ran away.

And the other people at the apartment? He wasn't making excuses, but rather he wanted to see how his Master would answer.

They would've been… fine. At least until Mami and I got there. You should've just kept Momo safe!

So, she still prioritized her family over her dream and other people. She had denied the idea of sacrificing her Sister to save the many. That was some comfort to hear, even as his Master was conflicted over her decision.

I apologize. I should've prioritized her most of all. If he had been given an order from his Master to prioritize her sister over others, then the choice of taking Momo away from the apartment and running away would've been much easier to make. Sadly, hindsight being 20/20 was a constant in any timeline or universe.

As was Murphy's Law.

Why would she leave though? Is it because of Dad? His Master asked.

No, she wouldn't have left just because of that. Not without good reason. After I hunted the Witch I was attacked by a pair of Magical Girls.

What!?

Archer quickly described his encounter with the Magical Girls as he began looking for any traces Momo left behind for him to follow. The issue was though that he was never a dedicated tracker and it was difficult to discern her tracks from the countless others left by the people that walked these streets. He made his way to Kazamino instead, hoping to find Momo in places she often went to.

Mami says she's never heard of an Oriko or Kirika, his Master informed him. Why would they attack you?

I have many theories and none of them conclusive. What is clear though was that I was separated from your sister and stalled while she was convinced to go elsewhere.

What could they have told her to run off like that?

I don't know. But this situation is dangerous. You two better be careful.

You should be worried about Momo!

I am. You just have to realize that those three Magical were able to fight a Heroic Servant to a stalemate. If they attacked you and Mami-

We can handle it!

They couldn't, but he decided not to argue that with her. I'm already heading to your father's church to see if she ran off there.

No, Mami and I are closer to that side of Kazamino. Try checking her school and the park instead. I'll deal with my… dad's church and home.

Are you certain you can handle it?

I'll use my magic to hide myself… or just send Mami to check. He hasn't met her yet.

Understood. Archer replied as he made his way towards Momo's school. His Master was adamant on heading to the church and her old home. In the end she would have to deal with what waited for her there. He could only hope that she would be able to handle whatever was to come.