Fate / Lost World
Chapter Five: The Second Night Part 1
After a long day, the sun had finally set and disappeared behind the horizon.
Even the woman working in the small, windowless kitchen could tell it was getting rather late. Slowly reaching the point when there wouldn't even run any more trains until the next morning. Not that this little detail had anything to do with her. Having her rented hotel room just twenty minutes away by foot, there was no reason for her to worry about transportation.
Standing at the sink the brunette woman simply kept on washing the dishes. She had started early in the afternoon but the towers of plates and cutlery never seemed to shrink. This ever-repeating work was at the same time one of the pros and one of the cons of this place. While the Chinese restaurant was pretty famous for its delicious food, meaning the pay there reflected said popularity, the many customers also meant there were a lot of dishes to clean.
Ordinarily a dishwasher would take care of the pieces of leftover food and sauce, or any dirt on the plates. It was a cheap working force basically every restaurant used.
However, unfortunately for the establishment said machine had irreparably broken down two days ago and it would take a few days to get a new one. Fortunately for the woman however, this meant the restaurant needed someone to clean the dishes as soon as possible. That was how the woman had gotten a pretty good paying part-time job for some of the days she had to stay in Fuyuki City.
No matter how good of a pay she received, it was still an arduous and monotonous job.
All she had done the past few hours was to stand at the sink wearing rubber gloves and washing one piece after the other, barely keeping up with the constant flow of costumers who needed clean dishes.
"Good job. You kept up well today too", complimented one of the chefs.
"Thank you."
"It's impressive you can do the work of two people. Do you do this kind of job often?" Right. When getting hired the owner had mentioned there were two open jobs. Because of how much work was to do, for as long as they didn't hire another dishwasher, she would receive 25% more salary on the condition she finished all of the dishes for that day. The brunette hadn't thought much of it. With how good a pay they offered, surely there would soon be someone else to take the other job.
However, after the second day the woman wasn't so sure anymore.
She had the feeling her overwhelming good performance on her first day had led to the owner no longer looking for another help, thinking she could handle all of it for the next days too. Saving him the cost of another hire.
While she appreciated the extra money, the added workload almost didn't make it worth it.
"Not really. But the extra pay is a good motivation, and it's only for a few days." Doing this for three days was long enough. If they couldn't get a new dishwasher after tomorrow, then that was on the owner.
The chef laughed at the part-timer's words.
To say she got along with the other staff would be an exaggeration. They worked together without any issues so far but she had only interacted with them when necessary. Though somehow this man seemed to have found an interest in her. Again and again, he stopped by to make some small talk.
He looked like he was around her age.
"Who knows, maybe the boss considers keeping you around even after the new dishwasher arrives. You're pretty fast with your hands and we could use more waiters."
"No, thanks. Customer service isn't something I'm good at."
"Then, how about I teach you how to cook?" The woman glanced at the male chef, not slowing down while cleaning the plate in her hand. She really didn't want to have this conversation. Working in silence was more comfortable. But she supposed it was only polite to keep talking for a bit longer.
If she couldn't even do some small talk, she wouldn't be able to survive in this society.
"Why?"
"Why not? Cooking is a useful skill. It'll also take some work of off my shoulders", the man replied grinning. However, the woman didn't show any more enthusiasm to his words. She just looked back to the sink to continue her work.
"Cooking may be useful but I have no interest in working here."
"Hmm, sounds like you already know what you want to do in the future. Would you mind telling me?"
"I-"
"Master, their targets are Lancer and their master. It looks like they are about to fight."
"I'm sorry. We are colleagues but I don't know you all that well yet", the woman replied, looking away while faking uneasiness about the topic. She really didn't want to have this conversation when Assassin had something to report.
On any other day she would have put up with it and answered any questions about herself in half-truths like always. Right then, however, she already had her hands full with the dishes, literally, and listening to Assassins live report at the same time. Ideally, she would have been out there, a bit closer to her servant. However, leaving wasn't a good option. Most of the dishes were done but a good chunk still remained dirty. The restaurant was also still open, so she would have to stay for a bit longer to make sure there were enough clean dishes available for the customers.
Otherwise, she could forget about the pay for this shift.
The things she did to have a nice future…
"It's alright. Don't worry about it. I was just curi-" The man wanted to explain but was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door to the dining area being pushed open and a voice shouting:
"Stop flirting with the new girl and get me the order for table three!"
"I wasn't flirting", replied the man, swiftly grabbing the finished dish and handed it to the brunette waitress in a trained motion, "Just getting to know her a little."
"Sure, just like with all the other girls, Shirou-senpai." The waitress shot the young chef a doubtful look before returning to the dining area. The red-haired chef just sighed. Judging by his reaction he was already used to these kinds of comments. The young chef returned to the stove to complete the next order.
"Work is still going to take a while. You're on your own for now, Assassin."
"Understood."
Well, this wasn't exactly ideal but it had to do.
While she couldn't join Assassin, at the very least her co-worker didn't seem to want to continue their former conversation for now.
Cleaning the tower of dishes in silence, the brunette woman waited for any updates from her servant.
"Good evening."
"…" The reply to the woman's greeting was silence.
On one side stood the brunette woman Assassin had shadowed for the past few hours, Rin Tohsaka. She had been the one to greet the servant-master pair after arriving at the park. Though her tone seemed to be far too casual for an encounter between two masters.
As night had fallen over the town, she had put on a vermillion coat on top of the outfit she had worn earlier that day.
Opposite of Tohsaka stood Lancer and their master. Unlike Tohsaka, the girl behaved more appropriate being on guard of the woman in front of her. Her outfit had changed from when Assassin had last seen her. Wearing a blue jacket and a beige scarf on top of some sort of black, skin tight bodysuit which covered all of her skin from her throat to her toes. It even seemed to include footwear. The girl held a silver gun in her right hand, one finger already on the trigger.
As Tohsaka's servant was still in Spirit Form there was no clue as to which servant the woman had summoned.
"We know where Tohsaka's base of operation is but I wasn't able to get a glimpse at her servant. Every time she leaves her mansion, they follow her in Spirit Form", Assassin thought, watching the encounter from a tree at the edge of the Fuyuki Central Park. They too were in Spirit Form, having their presence concealed by their class skill.
"Do you have an alliance with Assassin's master?", asked the black-haired girl out of the blue.
Assassin froze from where they observed the scene.
"Why do you ask?", replied the brunette woman after a few seconds.
"Assassin arrived here with you. They are hiding close by."
"Do they now… I have no alliance with anyone right now, and I intent to keep it that way", explained Tohsaka, probably wondering how much she could trust the words of the girl, "If they arrived with me, they must have shadowed me for some time." Just like Tohsaka, Lancer's master most likely wondered just how much she could trust this answer.
Meanwhile Assassin had to reevaluate their actions.
Had they done something to give themselves away?
No. There was nothing they did to blow their cover. Staying in Spirit Form, having their Presence Concealment active and keeping a distance from the masters and servants.
Judging from Tohsaka's sceptical reaction it didn't seem like she had noticed them. However, barely a minute after entering the park Lancer's master had discovered them. Was she an even greater magus than the heir of the Tohsaka? Was this just a bluff of the girl, not knowing her words had actually been the truth? Or was it possibly some kind of ability of her servant?
"Whatever it is, I shouldn't rely on stealth when dealing with Lancer and their master in the future, just in case."
"If that coward is around, we're going to have a spectator; not like I care."
"I do not mind either."
On one hand Assassin did mind being called a coward; not like they could object it out loud though. However, them not minding being watched by another servant on the other hand suited them just fine.
Watching how Lancer's master took the initiative, the servant of the shadows started to report back to their master. About the new information gathered from this exchange and the upcoming fight.
Swiftly raising the silver gun to her eye level to take aim, Lancer's master pulled its trigger.
The sound of the gunshot resounded through the park. As it was the middle of the night, at least there was nothing to worry about any civilians hearing it. They stood near the centre of the Fuyuki Central Park and the park itself was large with a lot of foliage which should dampen the sound.
There was also no reason for Rin to worry about the fired projectile itself.
It had been neatly sliced in two pieces before coming too close.
Right in front of the brunette woman, her servant had materialised and taken care of the danger without even the need of an order.
"I am servant Saber; if you want to kill my master, you will have to kill me first."
The first time the Tohsaka heir had seen the servant she had summoned she had believed the ritual to have gone wrong somehow. Instead of the legendary warrior she had aimed to summon, a tall, beautiful woman had stood before her. The servant's black hair, almost as long as she was tall, was tied near the end.
Yet, the woman standing on top of the summoning circle had introduced herself with the class and name of the Heroic Spirit Rin had aimed to summon.
While her gender and voluptuous body had certainly been a surprise, at least her clothes, or rather her armour fit the image of a Japanese warrior. She wore an ō-yoroi, a type of armour often seen on Japanese samurai of Saber's era. Her shoulders, thighs and back were covered by guards with a red base and green laced scales. The guard at the front of her torso had the same colour and laced scales but with a violet heart-shaped insignia in the centre. Front and back guard were connected with red cords, safely securing both guards without constricting the woman's large chest.
Her arms and legs were protected by tight, black and golden gauntlets and grieves, reaching elbow and knee-length respectively. The parts of her body which weren't covered by guards, gauntlets and grieves showed that she wore some kind of purple latex bodysuit underneath her armour and a violet cloth covering her crotch area.
A sheathed Japanese Tachi, connected to her with red cord, was her weapon of choice.
She had also worn a helmet after being summoned. However, as it would have been a big clue to her True Name master and servant had agreed to forgo it during the beginning phase of the war. This meant her long black hair and piercing violet eyes were in plain view for her opponents.
While Rin did have doubts about her servant's identity at first, it wouldn't be the first time for recorded history to get things wrong. As long as the gender was the only thing that had been passed down wrong, the Tohsaka heir didn't mind. Just because King Arthur had been a woman didn't make her weaker during the Fourth Holy Grail War; she had reminded herself.
"You heard Saber", said the brunette woman unimpressed, "Take her out, then you can try your luck against me."
"Lancer." The girl didn't need to say more. Her androgynous servant acted right away as if reading her thoughts. Stretching out their hand to Saber, a chain shot out of their white sleeve.
Of course, Saber had no problem knocking the unusual weapon aside with the sword in her hand. The green-haired Heroic Spirit, apparently not learning their lesson, raised their other hand and from their other sleeve emerged a second chain. It went just as fruitless as the first attempt.
Just as Rin wanted to sigh at this pitiful attempt, the chains shot back up seemingly on their own and each one wrapped themselves around one of Saber's wrists. Before both their surprise could completely wear off Lancer was already pulling at the chains. Her servant tried to resist the pull as soon as she had realized what was happening. But it was already too late.
Knowing Saber's strength stat, Lancer must have used some herculean strength completely unbefitting their slim build as they pulled her servant away from Rin and hurled her across the park.
Huh.
The brunette could only stand there and watch how her servant got farther and farther away from her, hiding her surprise and any other emotion she felt behind a mask of neutrality.
She hadn't expected that.
Crude, but it got the job done.
They had effectively removed Saber to deal with her alone.
Hearing one of her barriers breaking Rin finally snapped out of it. Turning to her opponents, the magus saw the remnants of her automatic barrier which was supposed to stop any physical attacks from reaching her. A drop kick from Lancer had shattered it into hundreds of pieces as if it was nothing more than glass. At the same time the gem in one of her rings shattered as well.
She had hoped the onyx would last longer than that…
Taking out a small emerald from the pocket of her coat she threw it right at Lancer.
The gem broke halfway to the enemy servant, triggering a massive gale. Lancer, not having anything to hold on as they were still in mid-air from their kick, was blown away.
In the same direction where Saber had been hurled to.
"Let's hope she'll get to Lancer before they get back here." Having to fight a servant by herself was not something she wanted to do if she could help it.
Hearing the sound of two gunshots, Rin turned to the other master. The first attack from the girl's servant had shattered her barrier in one hit but the attack from the girl herself hadn't even scratched it. It had paid off preparing two automatic barrier spells. If she would have needed to activate the spell manually this situation might have become a little dangerous.
"These toys won't be of much help against a barrier made by magecraft", lectured the brunette woman calmly, raising her arm up until her hand was almost level to her shoulders. Imitating a gun with her index finger and thumb, Rin aimed with it at the master before her, "Gandr."
Having practiced this simple spell for almost two decades, she barely had to think about collecting and converting the mana at the tip of her index finger, then shooting it at her intended target. It was nothing more than a simple Finnish curse, but used by Rin it was turned into a something more like a bullet. A bullet which would deteriorate a target's health rapidly when hit. If the shot hit at certain spots, it could even be lethal to its target.
Whether she knew what to expect or in a show of good instincts the black-haired girl leaped to the side to evade the hazy black orb of magical energy. The impact of said orb created a little crater in the verdurous meadow.
Not letting up that easy Rin followed the girl with the tip of her index finger and continued to shoot Gandrs. Breaking into a run her opponent evaded bullet after bullet while attempting to return fire with her own bullets. Not that it did any more damage than before. All of her bullets just bounced off of the barrier.
Meanwhile one of the Gandrs had finally hit her. Or at least her scarf. The magic bullet had hit right through it, tearing it up pretty badly. Fortunately for the girl, the only thing getting hit had been the fabric behind her neck. Sensing the immediate danger, she took refuge behind a large tree.
"Do you seriously think that thing's going to shield you from anything?" Aiming at the middle of its trunk, right where the girl's head would most likely be, Rin shot another bullet.
It pierced through the thick wood, leaving behind a hole the size of her palm.
No blood and no sound of the girl's body hitting the ground. She must have knelt or sat down behind the tree, avoiding the shot aimed where her head would have been standing up.
A sudden movement caught the woman's eyes. Rin shot immediately at whatever had moved from behind the tree. However, instead of the girl, the remains of the beige scarf were torn into pieces. At the same time, while the brunette woman's attention was still on the destroyed piece of fabric, her opponent slipped out from the other side of the tree, guns blazing. Quite literally, as she was again firing her gun in Rin's direction.
You don't learn, do y-", just before she could finish this thought, she noticed it.
A scratch.
No. Two scratches. Then three.
With each gunshot another scratch was added to her formerly unscathed barrier.
Without missing a beat, Rin started running after the girl while doubling the speed with which she fired the Gandrs.
Something had changed. Whether she had cast a spell or changed her munition; whatever she had done behind the tree outside of Rin's field of vision, it had allowed her to damage the barrier. Right now, her attacks only caused small scratches, barely even noticeable. However, this could change any moment.
Giving her opponent the chance to further adjust her attacks would be beyond foolish.
Reinforcing her legs, Saber's master broke into a run, stopping the barrage of Gandr for the moment. Surprise flickered in the girl's eyes, probably realizing it would only take seconds for her opponent to cross the distance between them. Switching tactics as well, she stopped running immediately taking a stance, one knee on the ground, to aim directly at Rin. Shooting once more, the bullet hit close to a scratch, adding another one to the barrier.
The Tohsaka heir didn't mind one more scratch. There were barely five metres between them. With the next step would be close enough to attack. After reinforcing her arms as well, she took the final step.
Suddenly a spear shot out from the earth aiming right at her midsection.
Rin was barely able to react before the force of the weapon flung her a few dozen metres away from her opponent.
The brunette woman had to roll thrice on the grass before she could plant her feet firmly back on the ground. Holding her midsection Rin immediately looked back to the girl. Not wanting to leave her out of sight any longer than necessary.
If the tip of that spear had actually hit her un-reinforced torso she would have been in massive trouble. It would have pierced right through her, damaging some organs in the process and probably losing her the fight; perhaps even her life. Luckily, she could bring her reinforced arm between her torso and the weapon just in time.
The damage to her midsection was a bruise. A bad one, that would probably give her skin a dark purple colour for the foreseeable future if left alone. Not to mention the ribs right above felt very much strained.
Her right arm however was a different matter.
Even though it had been reinforced, the white spear had nearly pierced through it, even after having to go through her second barrier, completely shattering it in the process. At least her lower arm wasn't cut off. While it held on mostly thanks to the reinforced muscles and skin, it wasn't something Rin couldn't heal given enough time.
"Blut der Erde, Lebenskraft." It was just a simple healing spell. Nothing that could regenerate her pierced bones in a few seconds. But it should suffice to stop the bleeding and to stabilize the arm. Mana started to gather at her wound and she could feel how the pain subsided a little. It still hurt like hell, but she could do little else than just endure it until the fight was over.
Her break was short-lived.
As expected, it didn't take her opponent long until she tried shooting her again.
This time Rin couldn't take much chances. Reinforcing her whole body, she broke into a run. Her two automatic barriers were destroyed. She did have more shields, but those ones required manual activation. They were stronger than the onyx barriers but neither lasted as long nor were they as practical.
Using them against bullets that couldn't even pierce the onyx barriers seemed like a waste. If possible, she'd have liked to save them for a real emergency.
Rin knew the real threat was that spear.
Just as sudden as it had appeared, it had also disappeared into thin air. The next time Rin had looked over to the girl, it had already been gone.
Was it some kind of spell? It didn't look like her opponent had used one. Perhaps a trap set beforehand? Lancer's master had waited at the park, so that was a possibility. However, it didn't look like she was luring Rin to this exact spot to activate it. Did she have a partner who had used the spell to defend her? Unlikely. Her familiars hadn't picked up on anyone else in the park.
Intervention from Assassin could also be a possible. But the spear Rin got a glimpse of was not a weapon wielded by a person. It had its origin directly in the ground. Almost like it had grown out of it. That pointed to it being magecraft more than an enemy servant. However…
"Saber, I was attacked by a spear coming out of the ground half a minute ago. Could it be Lancer's doing?", the woman asked her servant over their link.
"No. They only used chains and magical energy to enhance their limbs", explained Saber, still in the middle of their fight, "However, they did react slower the during our last exchange, roughly around that time. It was enough for me to cut them across the chest."
"I doubt that's coincidence. Lancer most likely has some kind of ability to mess with the earth. Keep them busy so they won't interfere in my fight with their master again. I'm going to finish this right now."
"Understood. I will make sure they will not be able to interfere again."
Hearing the dead serious response of her servant, Rin put the threat of the earth spear aside for the moment. If Saber said she would take care of it, there was no reason for her master to worry. She still exchanged the two broken onyx rings with two other gems meant for defence, just in case. Using gems embedded in rings or other jewellery had turned out to be a reliable way to swiftly activate spells. The size of the gems may have been limited but the added speed was mostly worth it.
As long as it wasn't a servant attacking her, this defence would do.
Now that she had restocked her defensive means, it was time to switch to a more offensive approach. Admittedly, she hadn't taken this fight very seriously. However, after having received a wound this bad, Rin couldn't allow this encounter to drag on for much longer. For one she had to heal her arm as she was severely limited when it came to fighting in her condition, and of course she also had no intention of receiving any more wounds from these opponents.
Taking out two rubies from her pockets with her good arm, she kept them hidden within her palm. Watching her opponent and waiting for an opportunity, she evaded each and every bullet aimed at her. With the speed of her reinforced body, it was a cakewalk to evade these attacks.
When the girl finally stopped shooting, removing the empty magazine from her gun to reload, Rin took action.
Before Lancer's master could even take out a spare magazine, the brunette woman threw the two gems at her and shouted: "Entzünden, verzehren; Feuersturm!"
A fire ignited between the rubies and instantly shrouded both the stones in bright flames. Consuming more and more oxygen and magical energy they grew larger and larger while closing in on their target to burn it until nothing of her would remain.
While the flames closed in on her opponent, Rin saw the girl's eyes grow. Again, she had not expected the attack of the Tohsaka heir.
However, the last thing Rin's eyes saw before the fire covered all of the black-haired girl was the device she held in her left hand. Even someone as inexperienced in the field of science as Rin knew what it was. Although so far, she had only ever seen it in movies.
"You're kidding…", was all she could mumble before the battleground was consumed by flames.
From where the black-haired girl had stopped to change the magazine of her gun…
To where Saber's master had activated her fire spell.
"Even the water of the river is completely red… Well, of course. It enters into the sea after all."
"…"
"I wonder, are there any rivers with blue water left? As long as they don't have a connection to the sea, the water should stay blue after all."
"…"
" I've never seen one before because our castle in Germany is really high up the mountains. There's only snow and ice, no rivers at all. Although, perhaps there were some rivers but they have been all frozen and then covered by the snow."
"…"
"What's gotten into you, Rider? You haven't said a word since we left the castle. Yuji was way more fun to talk to."
"Is that so?"
"You're giving me the silent treatment since we left the castle. Did I do something to upset you?"
"Not really. I'm just thinking."
"What about?"
Standing close to the riverside, the white-haired boy kneeled over the edge of the river looking into the red water; presumably watching his own reflection in the lifeless liquid. He didn't seem particularly concerned about his vulnerable position with his back to the person approaching him.
The servant beside him was the complete opposite of the boy's carelessness. While his casual words could imply that he was just as unconcerned about their situation, his tense posture showed he was ready to move the second he sensed something was wrong.
"Master."
"I know. We'll talk later", the boy replied, standing up he dusted his white trousers and violet coat off before turning around to the one approaching them, "Good evening, it is nice to meet you. My name is Mark von Einzbern and I'm the master of Rider."
"I am Charles Benoit." While responding to the boy's greeting, the older man's legs came to a halt around ten metres away from him and his armoured companion. Like the night before, that was when Archer decided to appear beside him.
The woman really must love to have a big entrance.
"You're Rider huh. What's with the armour? You one of those Super Sentai guys?" As usual Charles had no idea what his servant was thinking. For being famous for her accomplishments as a military commander, she gave more the impression of a curious, young child who couldn't read the room. Though one of her nicknames did contain the word fool, so perhaps he should have expected something like this.
"Me? A Super Sentai? No. I don't think they'd even qualify as Heroic Spirits. Though if the grail implants such niche knowledge, perhaps there's actually a chance for that happening…", mused the armoured servant out loud. Archer raised an eyebrow at Rider's response.
"If you're not one of them, what's with the fancy purple armour?"
"Who knows? Perhaps a blessing from a god, or perhaps advanced technology; you'll have to figure that out for yourself." Judging from her smirk, Archer seemed motivated to look for the answer.
While Charles had stayed silent, he shared the question about Rider's armour.
All of the servant's body was covered by it, showing nothing of their actual body and giving no clue about their identity at first glance. The armour could point to a more modern servant who had lived at a time when technology had reached a point to produce an armour of this level. On the other hand, it could also be a blessing of a god or something similar like Rider had mentioned. It could be a mix of the original ancient blessing or magic with an application or appearance of technology of the modern time.
Charles wasn't actually sure if that was even possible. But Archer had apparently somehow 'prepared' her current clothes for when being summoned as a servant even though she had never worn anything like it during her lifetime. If it was possible for a servant to be clad in clothes not from their era, the man couldn't rule out the possibility of it being applicable to skills and Noble Phantasm too.
"What is the meaning of this, Charles Benoit?" The change of tone made the man look at the young white-haired boy. His carefree attitude from the earlier greeting was completely gone, replaced by a cold glare.
"What are you referring to?"
"Your servant. How did you summon her?"
"I used a catalyst. Is there a problem?"
"Don't play dumb. Even with a catalyst, summoning her shouldn't be possible."
He had caught on to that. Not surprising for the heir of one of the founding families.
"What do you mean 'it shouldn't be possible to summon me?'", the servant of the bow asked with a demanding gleam in her eyes. Apparently, their conversation had sparked Archer interest as well.
"You are a Japanese servant, aren't you?"
"Obviously."
"That's why it should be impossible", explained the boy factually, "The Fuyuki Grail War has a certain rule in place; only the summoning of western Heroic Spirits is possible. It was implemented so there wouldn't be unfair advantages for servants gaining more strength due to their greater fame in eastern countries."
"An interesting interpretation of the rule. Considering all three founding families have their origin in western countries and maintain strong ties to them until today, I would have thought it was to prevent eastern magi from gaining an advantage over them by using catalysts to summon local Heroic Spirits", Charles argued.
"You knew of the rule. Yet you used a catalyst for a Japanese servant and ended up summoning them", the Einzbern boy remarked ignoring the man's words, "How did you do it?"
"I just used the catalyst, nothing more", the man answered, "If you want to accuse me of modifying the ritual, I have to refuse that claim. My knowledge and abilities in magecraft are not nearly advanced enough to alter a ritual of this magnitude to remove a single rule."
"Then who did it?"
"I'm not obligated to tell you. Investigate yourself if you want to know."
"I see. Rider, we're leaving." Following his words Mark turned and began to walk away. His servant slowly followed while still keeping his eyes on Charles and Archer.
"You just leave, not even trying to get the answers out of me by force?" Admittedly, it was a little bit surprising. Considering his age, the man had expected the boy to be a bit more impulsive and attack him. Though it could also have to do with the boy being a homunculus. You never knew what kind of personality their creators would implement in them.
"You said the ritual was altered to remove a single rule. Who it did is not as important as the fact that it was altered in the first place. We can continue our talk after I assess how much the Greater Grail was compromised." Judging by his fast pace the white-haired boy really had no intention of continuing their talk right now.
However, an impact right before his shoes made the boy stop.
"As interesting as that little talk was, don't think I'll just let you go after we came all the way to fight." Still holding the smoking rifle, Archer's cold words made her stance clear. "Any other summon I'd be all about the 'winning without fighting' shtick. However, this time around I want to have some fun. Don't be a buzzkill and leave before the fighting has even started."
"If your definition of fun is getting your ass kicked, I'll gladly do so." Positioning themselves before their master, Rider seemed ready to fight too.
"Big words for a Kamen Rider knock-off."
"We'll see about that, lady."
"Like Archer said, we are not letting you leave. Our objective is to take you out, here and now", Charles explained taking a battle stance, ready to attack at any moment. Just because Einzbern knew he had summoned Archer intentionally didn't change anything for him. The fact someone else had altered the Greater Grail didn't have anything to do with him either. He had only used it to his advantage.
The brunette man went there with his servant to eliminate one of his enemies, and that was what they would do.
Sighing Mark ran his finger through his hair. As soon as they touched his braid, it undid itself, freeing his long white hair. Now, it almost reached the lower end of his violet coat safe for the bangs in the front which framed his face. Those ran only down to his chest area.
"As you don't have any intention of backing down, I suppose there's no way around this", grabbing three strands of his hair, the boy pulled them out. Glowing in a silver sheen, each of the strands took the form of a small dove. They looked almost like little pieces of art, consisting only of silver lines. Yet, those dove imitations moved. Swinging their wings up and down, they gave the impression of actually flying at the boy's side.
Without incantation and without any apparent preparation, he had created little terminals.
People could say what they wanted about the Einzeberns but their ability to create homunculus was one of the best in the world of magecraft. As such Charles had no intention of underestimating what these dove look-alikes could be capable of.
"Saber and Lancer are fighting in the Fuyuki Central Park, Archer and Rider are about to start fighting at the eastern riverbank close to the bridge."
"What about the rest?"
"Nothing. Assassin is probably smart enough to always keep their presence concealed and I couldn't find any trace of the last one yet."
"I see. If you have such a good grasp of the situation, could you remind me why the hell I'm running around the city to supposedly do reconnaissance?", mumbled the man while walking down the main street close to the Fuyuki station.
"Half a dozen bounded fields are placed all over the city; not counting the two made by me. You need to look into them."
"Of course, because I have such profound knowledge of magecraft."
"Your knowledge is irrelevant. You just need to go there and trigger them, so I can analyse them. You can also figure out why they have been placed at those locations when you're there already."
"Am I your guinea pig and errand boy now?!"
"It's the most efficient way and it's not like anything those bounded fields do could kill you."
"That's beside the point!", he exclaimed before sighting, "Fine. I'll do it. Just hurry up and get your Noble Phantasm working already."
"Of course, master."
Cutting of the link to their servant the master heaved a sigh at that last, mocking remark.
It really didn't feel like he was in command here.
"Seriously, who does she think she is? Ordering me around like an errand boy and giving me the most stupid tasks imaginable. As if getting information about the other masters wasn't hard enough already for someone like me.
Summoning Berserker would have made things so much simpler. Frontal assaults suit me so much better."
"Are you really sure she's in Fuyuki?"
"For the tenth time, yes! I'm sure she is there! The GPS doesn't lie."
"Okay, I just wanted to make sure." Nervously fumbling with her long, brunette hair, the girl turned to the window displaying a scenery shrouded in darkness.
"Are you nervous because it's the first time you're doing something this naughty?" The grin in his face could be clearly heard in his little tease.
"What!? What do you mean naughty?! We're just making sure Ayanami is alright."
"Suuure. We totally didn't lie to our parents and the NERV agents, totally didn't plant a tracker in the laptop I lent Ayanami, and totally don't plan on skipping school tomorrow because we're on the other side of the country looking for Ayanami."
"Hey! I had nothing to do with the tracker! That's on you, Aida!"
"Yeah, and I'm proud of it! Without the tracker, we wouldn't have any idea where Ayanami went!" Crossing his arms, the glasses wearing boy proudly puffed out his chest.
"I guess you have a point", admitted his companion reluctantly, "You still didn't tell me how you knew Ayanami would just leave without us."
"Well… you know… it was suspicious… how Ayanami acted these last few days. That's why…"
"Spill it, Aida."
"Fiiine", sighed the teen irritated throwing his hands in the air, "Originally, I just built it into the laptop because I thought it would be cool being able to locate it like a spy. Also, because it could be helpful in case, I lost it somewhere. But still… I knew something was wrong with how weird she acted the last few weeks."
"Yeah, I get what you mean. It's great she found a way to bring back Ikari-kun and that she even asked for our help but… something feels wrong about this. She didn't tell us what she wants to do, asked us to keep it a secret from NERV and Asuka, and now she runs away without even telling us."
"Let's be honest; it's unlikely she actually found something. Even NERV with the most advanced technology on this planet couldn't do anything.", Aida explained objectively, "I want to bring back Shinji just as much if not more than you do but realistically speaking, it's just not happening."
"What? Then what is she doing right now?"
"Coping with what happened as best as she can. Best case; she convinced herself to have found a solution and ran off to get what she thinks she needs to make it work. Worst case; someone conned her and she's on the way to them right now."
"Are you sure? Ayanami's not the kind of person to be tricked so easily."
"With how close she was with Shinji she probably just wants to hold on to some kind of hope. Even if it's complete bull."
"… then you really don't believe there's any hope to save Ikari-kun?"
"… sorry class rep. When even NERV has given up on their ace pilot, I can't bring myself to hope otherwise."
Sinking back into his seat the brunette boy closed his eyes, "You should get some sleep. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day."
"You are right", was the girl's reply while still watching the night-time scenery rush by.
It took half an hour until she finally followed her classmate's advice.
Sleep didn't come easy for either of them that night.
Author's note:
First of all, sorry for not updating sooner. Some things came up irl.
My goal for 2024 is to update this story at least once a month, so you can expect new chapters to drop more regularly from now on, hopefully.
I hope you liked this chapter.
Putting Rin against Rei is pretty unfair and realistically she has no chance winning this one on one. But Rei has experienced a fight against a mage, so she is somewhat aware it and decided to not fight alone. After finishing this chapter, I realised I, again, swapped scenes from the Rei fight right after an explosion. Is that going to be a thing with her fights I wonder…
Also, like Mark revealed the usual Fuyuki Grail War rules do exist in this world too. Or at least they did until the end of the Fourth one. I wonder what you guys think the Who and the Why are going to be.
That's all for now. See you in the next chapter!
-LuckySeven-Chomei
