News was slowly spreading. Word of a monster attacking the streets, a demon of some sort, killing everyone in sight . One that brought forth hell and so much more with it. Of course, much of this was just mere panicked screams, but there was no denying that something was happening in Fuyuki City. Needless to say, whether this 'demon' existed or not, the fact was, the police did need to see just what was going on to cause all this panic.

"This is Unit Bravo, and we're on the move." Running on the ground, two police officers were already moving out. Due to an influx of calls to the station, the occasional sounds of explosions, and what sounded like a roar, they knew the general direction of the source of this chaos.

"Roger that. Good luck, be careful." Nodding, officer Krill kept on moving with his partner, Goven.

"You really think it's a demon?" Now, they were running as fast as they could to see just what was causing such a panic.

Goven shook his head, dismissing such a claim. "Demon. Ha! As if." Seems even other officers were believing this crazy talk. Even his own partner. Shaking his head, Goven simply stated, "No. That's just the panic talking." Avoiding some runners who were screaming, the officer said cautiously, "More than likely it's just some terrorist shooting at people and using bombs." Though maybe the people were right in that regard with the whole 'demon' thing.

After all, time showed that humans can be demons. Vile ones at that. "In any case, let's just be careful and wrap this up. Others should be on their way."

"Not that it'll be easy." Krill replied, bumping into a few people. "There's so many people on the street, I don't think the cars can even get through."

"Well, they'll get here one way or another." Goven responded. The crowd was thinning out now and soon would be gone for reinforcements to arrive. With that said the two were finally getting closer and closer to the source. If they were lucky, the terrorist and whatever cronies with them hadn't left yet. "Then we can work together an-"

Whatever the officer had been about to say was interrupted when, from behind a building, a car flew into the sky and crashed into another building, causing the entire wall to collapse before the car fell onto the streets into a metal pile of junk. Followed by the loudest screech the two had ever heard. One that made them freeze as it was clear it wasn't a human voice.

Stopping in their tracks, the two froze up. Now that they were close, the two could hear the sounds of shrieking. Warrior cries. Not to mention metal being crushed and the ground being stomped on.

There, the two were now uncertain of what they should even do as doubt and foreboding slowly seeped into their bodies. Sweating just a bit in a nervous fit as they couldn't muster their feet to move another step forward. Almost as if their body knew that going even another inch forward meant death.

"Excellent. I see your hesitance will make this easy."

"!?" The two officers then turned around upon hearing a strange voice right behind them. Hands going to their holsters, on the off chance this wasn't a civilian, the two readied themselves to see who this was.

"You never arrived here." Only to feel a strange pressure hit their minds. Eyes becoming vacant, mouths opening up a little and head tilting down. A type of 'buzz' resounded in their heads as their thoughts went slack.

This will make things easy for Kirei, as he lifted his hand and said, "The people need guidance. You attempted to come but decided to help evacuate the civilians instead."

"...yeah. We did." Speaking monotonously, Krill nodded like a machine. Goven was no different, who acted the same as him.

"We went to help out."

"Then go." Kirei stepped aside. "Help the lost sheep to shelter." Wordlessly, the two officers moved away, soon running. In time, they'll regain their senses where the subtle message he gave them will take and they'll immediately do as they supposedly were doing before. With whatever memory they had prior gone.

"I'm here." Now, with that out of the way, Kirei focused back on the task on hand. Speaking aloud, saying, "Are the others in position?"

"They are." Thanks to some minor mystic codes, Kirei could communicate with his father, even from this distance away. Utilized for emergencies whenever members of the Church needed to act swiftly but with no time to prepare a plan pre-hand.

"At the moment, church members, particularly those in the police ranks, are already moving out." The Church, despite tensions between them and the Association, did of course believe that man shouldn't know about magecraft. Even in this day and age, the Church did its best in the concealment of magecraft and all related to it. Naturally, this included anything related to the Holy Grail War.

"Ruaghhhh!" Which extended to the Servants themselves, Kirei hearing the roar of the so-called 'demon' coming a distance away. The Church was many things, acting swift was one of them. Yet at this moment, even they hadn't been fast enough to prevent any of this from happening. Not that they could have foreseen such an action as no self respecting mage would ever commit such a brazen act in broad daylight.

"I will begin analyzing the situation and attempt any possibility at ending this." With Black Keys beneath his sleeves and his body poised for any counter-attack, Kirei was ready for anything that might try and prevent him from stopping this madness.

"Be careful, Kirei." Speaking, not as the overseer, but as a father, Risei spoke in worry. "While a Bounded Field is being placed to prevent any civilians from coming, with others keeping the news at bay, this event is unprecedented." Even those in the Third Holy Grail War never went this far in their battle for the grail, keeping to the rules of secrecy despite how close they were to crossing that line,

"I understand." It was true that attacking civilians in such a blatant manner was unexpected. It meant that the Master, or perhaps Servant, were letting loose without considering any of the consequences. "While I will observe the current situation and report, I ask if this means you will use your position to begin scouring for the person behind all this."

"I will." Risei's words were stern. One might even say unforgiving, which meant something considering he was a priest. "Even if the perpetrator happens to be the Servant, the Master is ultimately responsible for them. There will be ramifications for this."

Kirei didn't doubt this. Even if the Servant acted on their own, the fact that they managed to do this without the Master using a Command Seal to stop this, even after all this time, showed either the Servant somehow managed to circumvent the rule…or their master was likely in on this butchery.

The killing of civilians was, to an extent, allowed so long as it was done in secret especially in a Holy Grail War. This however was a step too far deranged even. The Master will and must pay for all this, starting with their Servant.

"Attempts to locate the Master will begin now." With the civilians out of play, Kirei had an opportunity to see if the Master of whatever Servants this was, Assassin most likely, is around. " Lancer, have you arrived?"

"I'm here." Naturally, Kirei wasn't going in this alone. Up on the rooftop, right where the source of battle was, Lancer had arrived both as back-up for Kirei and to potentially fight. "Although I must report that what's happening here isn't being caused by a Servant."

"...excuse me?"

"Mmm. The source of all this disaster isn't a Servant, but something else entirely. Thankfully-"

"-it seems some help has already arrived." Lancer reported as she observed from above, watching intimately.

Skidding on the ground through its heels, rearing its claws back and leaning its maw forward, Dark Mist shrieked angrily at those who opposed it. Then launched itself forward against Saber and Rider as the two wielded their blades and made contact with the beast's armored body in any attempt to break through it.

At that moment, the two sides collided in a vicious battle between claws and blades. Sparks from contact could be seen while the two Servants did their best to avoid the clutches of the angry beast itself. Not helped when it extended its own claws in an attempt to skewer them alive, only to hiss when the two either avoided them or sliced them apart.

"Hm, yes." Lancer nods, communicating privately to Kirei. "While it does have a presence like a Servant, whatever this thing is, it's no Heroic Spirit. More like, what did you call them, Phantasmal Beast I believe."

Rider got behind the creature and leapt up, attempting to slice its back open. Like before, she at best left a small mark that did nothing but allow the creature to know her location. Twisting around, it launched its claws like a cannon, which smacked the ground and broke the street apart as Rider jumped back to avoid the blow. Though Lancer couldn't help but notice that Rider moved a bit slower, almost as if she were distracted.

As for Saber, he seemed to take advantage of Rider's attack and went for the beast's joint behind the knee. Shouting a battle cry, he ran up the beast's leg and slashed at it.

"Gruagh!" Only for the attack to have no real effect and was smacked by the creature into the nearest building. As the beast stalked its way towards Saber, Lancer narrowed her eyes and looked around for any clues.

"Oh." Up above, she noticed a laughing figure whom she knew quite well. 'Ah,' She smiled rather deviously. 'I believe I know what this is now.'

Meanwhile, for the duo below things certainly weren't going so well. Slashes that would have sliced limbs or machines did little but bounce off the monsters 'skin'. Attempting to attack the forearms and legs just caused their swords to fly through. Combined with its relentless fury and seemingly limitless stamina, both Saber and Rider found themselves unable to do much.

"If anything, I can't say this is going to end well, Master." Moving away from the crater he had been embedded in, Saber barely avoided the beast from grabbing him. Saber spoke to Waver as he continued to fight, parrying an extended claw before running backward to get some distance away.

"Is it really that strong?" Waver asked, worry bleeding through his voice. The beast stomped right near Saber, then screeched as raised both fists in an attempt to smash him into the ground. Saber managed to jump away in the nick of time. The fists left their mark though and the creature went back on the chase, slashing at him with its claws.

"Yes." Saber stated as he really wished he had a better sword, damaged as he parried one of the claws. "Normal attacks do nothing against it. I tried to destroy it in one blow and all I did was anger it. Worse," Rider came in from above. With her own war-cry, she went straight down to the beast's back and with her sword, slashed right through it.

"Gruagh!" Yet what should have been a death blow did little but leave a mark. The sword bouncing back along with Rider who fell onto the ground with the beats turning around and now aiming for her life.

"...Not even Riders attacks are having any effect despite having higher stats than me. I don't think we're going to win this." As his Master moaned, Saber attempted to simulate any path to victory. Using this new-found skill, Mind's Eye, the path of victory should have been set for Saber. The fact that the path to victory was to wait it out for the beast's mana to run out was more than a little concerning.

'While not a Servant, the fact that it needs mana to continue must mean it was summoned here by either a magus…or a servant itself.' There was no way the beast just came out of nowhere when a Holy Grail War was happening. As Saber dodged more of the monster's attacks, the swordsman came under the belief that this creature had indeed been summoned by a Servant. The information the Holy Grail provided stated some Servants can summon phantasmals to aid them. While a magus could have summoned one, summoning a phantasmal beast to rival that of a servant was unthinkable, especially in this day and age.

Said phantasmal beast managed to land a kick against Saber's chest, the air leaving his lungs while his own armor cracking under the force of the blow. 'Not that it matters much if we die facing it.'

Crashing into yet another building, feeling the back of his head smack through the walls, Saber couldn't help but feel just a sliver of envy towards Rider. As he adjusted himself, he saw the girl, even if a fledgling with the blade, held agility and strength that put to shame some of the monsters that he had trouble with. With the wicked beast unable to even land a single hit on her, only managing to score blows to the ground than her body.

Yet…

"Hm?" It was subtle, but Saber noticed that as good as Rider was, her posture and stance seemed more…irresolute. How at some moments her body locked up before she moved again at the last moment. As if she were, dare he say, afraid. But of what, the beast?

Pulling himself up, Saber decided that for now, he couldn't worry about that. If anything, he needed to find a way to last longer to continue the fight with Rider, otherwise, this would all be for nothing. I mean, the reason he even came here was to see if he could speak with Rider and her Master on a team-up.

"Gruagh!" Not expecting a freakish monster to ruin all of that. One which noticed Saber and wailed at him. Lifting its arm up, Saber expected the beast to launch more tendrils at it.

Smash!

Instead, its claws dug right into the earth with its other arm following suit. Then tearing it off the ground where rubble was held between its claws.

"Oh, boy." The beast threw the rubble at Saber who moved to avoid the pieces of asphalt, watching carefully as the beast threw the second piece in its hand with Saber managing to dodge it as well. Not that this made Saber happy, as dodging seemed to be the only thing he could do. Watching how Rider, who thankfully seemed intent on fighting the creature more than him compared to last time, struck another blow from behind, only for the same result to occur again.

"Tch." With Rider realizing the same, as she dashed off before the creature could land a hit on her as it twisted around. Not even Raye had been this annoyingly tough, with no machine capable of being as absurdly durable as this nasty creature.

'And the other man seems to be as useless here as anything else around.' Rider thought to herself as the man, Saber, did very little in making progress. Not that she was accomplishing much herself, as all her attempts in destroying the creature in battle yielded nothing.

"That's likely because it has some manner of protection. Certain phantasmal beasts are sometimes known to hold some conceptual defense against mankind." Rider flinched. In her head, speaking, is none other than her Master, Kiritsugu, who was disappointed in her having not figured that out herself.

"Iri contacted me, she's told me of the situation at hand." A mistake Kiritsugu was willing to correct as he was now inserting himself into this conflict. The magus killer had been surprised when Irisviel called him not too long after she left. Then startled when she explained that a phantasmal beast was butchering people in the city, with no regard to the rules of the war.

Kiritsugu had a lot to say about that. A lot. For now, though, he needed to concentrate and focus on the task at hand. It was already likely that members of the Church were ensuring that nobody would enter the area, with little chances of a helicopter coming down and video taping the entire scene. Still, time was limited, and unlikely to be on their side. As such, Kiritsugu needed what all soldiers needed when engaging with a foe they knew nothing of. Knowledge.

'Very well.' In a rare moment of agreement, Rider spoke no complaints, immediately telling Kiritsugu all she knew.

How the beast attacked without a moment's notice, its strange anatomy, ability to extend its claws, durable armor, and possessing an outright brutal nature. She also spoke of how Saber had apparently come and decided to help her out for some reason. This made Kiritsugu hum a bit in her mind.

"Interesting. Saber arrived to help you out." Rider wanted to retort that she needed no help, yet found herself hesitant in saying the words itself. Once more finding her eyes drawn to the dead, and the vacant their faces (those with faces) expressed.

The same fate she had once desired to give Raye…

As for Kiritsugu, he found his face scrunched up and feeling rather amiss. Back in his apartment, far from the conflict at hand, he couldn't deny this situation wasn't good, an understatement really. Not helped that while this creature was likely a summoned phantasmal by a Servant, the Servant had yet to reveal itself, with the Master doing the same. And with how neither Rider or Saber could inflict any fatal wounds on the creature, this only decreased any chances of success over it.

Should the fight occur any further, defeat may be certain. As such…

"Rider." He found the solution that would best increase chances of victory. "Leave Saber."

"...huh?" In the midst of another attempt at striking the beast from behind again, Rider found herself pausing at her Master's words. The sounds of battle no longer reached her ears as she attempted to comprehend what Kiritsugu just told her to do.

"Leave the area immediately." Kiritsugu just repeated, with little fanfare in expressing himself any further. "Let the beast kill the competition. Or, if possible, attempt to 'aid' Saber but quickly strike him down before leaving. Either way, he will be dealt with while the beast will eventually vanish sooner or later from a lack of mana."

Logical. That was what Rider immediately understood.

The advice suggested was indeed the most logical course of action. Proper even. After all, Saber wasn't her friend, let aside her ally. Barley acquaintances at best. If anything, the proposal was a pragmatic way to ensure that a competitor was killed before they could cause any more trouble.

"I'm always here for you! And always will be!" A concept Raye herself rejected, even if it would have benefited her. After all the times she attacked her, Raye never once sought to attack from behind.

If anything, one might say Raye was a fool to ignore such an opportunity.

"No." With Rider now doing the same, a frown featuring on her face with a slight scowl to accompany it.

"...I'm sorry." Obviously, Kiritsugu didn't expect such a response. Why would he? Even Roze was a bit surprised. After all, did she not claim she would follow his orders to the letter? To lessen his guard to ensure she could get the drop on him?

"I said, no." None of which mattered to her at the moment. Not as much as the disgust she felt at his suggestion.

All around her were bodies. Bodies of…humans. Weak humans. Pathetic humans. But humans, all the same. Saber, despite clearly having trouble, especially on his own, was still fighting valiantly against the strange creature. Ensuring nobody else would die to it, honorably at that.

Kiritsugu was telling her to kill him with no disregard of the fallout. How very…machine-like.

Even if she couldn't see it, she could tell her Master was frowning. A sense of irritation coming off of him.

"He is the enemy." He repeated, sternly. "Be it by your hand or another, his death now ca-"

"And what part of 'no' did you not get?" It was official. Kiritsugu, despite being human, acted no differently than Zard. Logical. Pragmatic. Demanding.

But for all of Zard's own faults, in the end, he was just following his original programming. Even if Zard enjoyed it, with an outlandish personality to boot, ultimately he just did what he was commanded to do by the long dead humans that made him for their war. The very same war that annihilated the humans of her own world.

What was her Master's excuse, to commit to similar actions of dishonor?

"If you want me to kill him, then just force me." Rider mockingly suggested her proposal to Kiritsugu. No longer wishing to listen to him. She then held her own blade evenly towards the beast as it fought Saber still. "Otherwise, shut up and just watch." She was certain her Master said something, but she ignored him now. As she thought, she could never get along with him. If anything, he was just too different from her.

But Saber…

"Hraa!" The man parried one of the beast's attacks. Fear, worry, doubt, all could be seen in his eyes. Yet not once did he turn back to run and continued to fight. Almost like her rival.

While Rider still held concerns over the bodies she saw now was not the time to focus on that. Now was the time to focus on what was in front of her. She readied herself, prepared to deal another finishing blow.

Noticing from afar, Saber saw her and smiled. With a shout, he drew the monster's attention back on him, exposing its back as per usual. Oddly, for all the beasts might, it seemed to hold little ability to learn from its mistakes. Then again, why would it? So far every attack used at it did little but make it angrier. Livid.

No wounds appeared, just marks and shallow cuts at best.

Still…as if they'd give up from that setback. With a small smirk, Rider prepared for another strike, useless as it may be. Having no intentions of giving up. With all that in mind, Rider stepped forward and-

Countless silver-tipped tendrils burst out of the ground and made contact with the beasts back.

"Grr-GRUAGH!" With each and every single one piercing through its body.

"Hehe. About time." Kayneth El-Melloi grinned, watching from above a rooftop and letting one of his hands slide down his hair. Observing the scene before him and dealing with it like any true Master should when dealing with rogue pests such as this.

As it should be for him.

Man, talk about kill-stealing. But as this and the last chapter showed, nothing was hurting Dark Mist at all. But you all knew that, since after all, Dark Mist can't be destroyed in battle except by a Number, as established in Yugioh Zexal. But then, how did Metal Reflect Slime do it? The answer is obvious as if you read the little hints I gave in earlier chapters.

Plus, hope you enjoyed what I did with Roze and Kiritsugu. Funny. When I first did those two, you'd think they'd be perfect. Ruthless, pragmatic, somewhat detached from emotions, the perfect team.

But as OCG Stories showed us, in time Roze slowly gained a sense of self, emotions, pride and honor. Kiritsugu, despite being a human, did away with all of that. Funny, how one slowly became human while the other (through tragedy) made himself more machine-like as Roze realized.